SEGA Dreamcast DreamShell and Serial Port SD Card Adapter | Setup Guide
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
- The Dreamcast isn't short of ODE options, with the GDEmu and MODE being two of the most popular, but if you're not looking to open up and mod your console, another option is using a plug and play serial port SD card adapter and DreamShell.
We'll walk through the process of getting DreamShell up and running, including the setup process for the SD card and see how a couple of games run using the iso loader app.
Software Link:
DC SWAT: www.dc-swat.ru/page/dreamshell/
Supplies I used (Affiliate Links):
Dreamcast SD Card Adapter & DreamShell Disc: amzn.to/2PkwZ5E
Hyperkin Dreamcast HD HDMI Cable: amzn.to/34mRoZp
Silicon Soldering Mat: amzn.to/39WTxPZ
Elgato Game Capture Card HD60 S: amzn.to/2XCFuuu
Original outro music by Shirobon.
HCF Twitter: @HCFGaming
Shirobon: www.shirobon.bandcamp.com - เกม
For casual users, you need a VA0 or a VA1 model Dreamcast to run DreamShell, because the startup CD (in my case) is a MIL-CD format. One of my VA2 models is from December 2000, and it was in late November 2000 they changed the BIOS to prevent MIL-CDs from loading. VA2 models from October 2000 work just fine though with DreamShell (which I also have). I wrote all about this for the Console Mods Wiki, because the VA2 is an enigma for many.
So for simple terms:
• October 2000: Yes
• early November 2000: Yes
• late November 2000: No
• December 2000: No
• 1st quarter 2001 (this batch appeared in Japan only): No
With that said, November 2000 is a 50/50 chance of working with DreamShell or burned games, so you need to look at the motherboard or just try of luck. No batch, however, can run GDEMU because all VA2's use a PS1-style drive with ribbon cables & wires, which GDEMU doesn't have.
funny enough i have a december 2000 and it can run burned cds, but it feels like lottery almost
How do i know what month is my dreamcast?
Thanks, for helping me steer clear.
You’re welcome! While there are definitely better options if you’re just looking to play games, it does offer a couple of other neat functions.
@@HalfCircleForward thinking of going the route of replacing the optical drive with SD. I recently did a review of the green goblin stick and this has me interested in modifying my console.
I put a GDEmu clone in mine and I've been very happy with it. The mod is pretty straight forward and works like a charm!
@@HalfCircleForward exactly what I’m going after. Thank you for the confirm.
Max Luv.
Seriously. I was about to buy it and now…no thanks.
I wish i had this guide in the npast. I suffered so much in making this work and learnt the sd card had to be formated not only in fat32 but a specific other thing as well the alocation unit size. I needed this in order to backup my vmu saves
I ran into the the same issues when I was setting mine up, which is what led me to put the video together. I’m glad it wasn’t just me! Thanks for sharing your experience!
bought this last month, didn't come with any setup instructions, thought you just drag games onto the SD card and thats that. so glad you made a video on it. its ashame it doesn't work well though, bit of a waste of money. just going to buy the GDEmu now.
Happy I could help! Agreed, if you’re just looking to play games on it, it’s super hit and miss, but it definitely offers a couple of features that make it worth having I think. You’ll have a much better experience with your games in the GDEmu for sure!
This device only seems to work well with about 45% of the retail Dreamcast Library. However, the serial port sd card adapter works practically perfect for the recently released Atomiswave ports. I have a video about them on my channel if interested.
Seems to be a good solution for a "bottomless" VMU though
That's a good call, I didn't check out the Atomiswave ports on this, I'll have to give them a go!
It's one of the big selling features of this for me!
Past Steve would love this future we have.
I know exactly what you mean!
Very interesting, is there a way to boot directly on SD adaptor with SD card without CD? (like a Satiator for a Saturn). Thank you!
thx for this video. very quick and helpful :3
You’re very welcome! Glad you found the video helpful! 😊
Can gdi files insert to Dreamshell 4.0 ?
Do i need to copy the whole order to the sd card, or just the gdi files for Games?
How do we do with games with several CDs ?
what did you use to create your isos? i can get games onto the sd card, everything is recognized but when i select any iso game. i get code like those old 90s dos loading windows, and then error mounting message. any suggestions or links?
Thanks for sharing this mate. Never knew this device existed.
Shame about the lag on some of the games. I think will stick to burning games on CD since they are inexpensive.
You're welcome! It's been around for a while, and I hadn't seen much information on it, so I thought I'd take a look. It's certainly not a replacement for a GDEMU or MODE, and you're right, burning discs is pretty inexpensive, but it's an option! :)
@@HalfCircleForward First time I have seen this, thanks sir :) I have tried the USB mod for the PS2, sadly the transfer rates of USB1.1 is quite slow. Some games do stutter when too much is on screen similar to what you showcased BUT its certainly playable.
I had the same experience with the PS2 as well, and I can live with it for the most part, but some games stutter enough to drive you to madness!
@@TheIsolatedGamerz I bought a cheap network adapter for the ps2 and used and old hdd. Games play smooth as butter with HDL
Hi, there. What can I do if I get stuck on the screen shown at 4:32?
Great video! Thank you for this.
Any recommendations on SD cards to use? I’ve tried three different ones and none have worked. All formatted to Fat32, two by default and one with the GUI exe. Two micro and one regular
You’re welcome, and thanks for the feedback! As far as SD cards go, I usually stick with SanDisk and haven’t every really had any issues. I used SanDisk micro SD formatted using GUI format and it worked great! Hope that helps!
Just purchased a GDEMU and a Dreamcast serial port adapter. I put the disc image of Dreamshell on my GDEMU and it gives me quick access to backing up my VMU saves(thanks to your other video).
Its definitely a handy little device to have for VMU back-ups!
@@HalfCircleForward I'm hoping it will help me add the downloadable quests for PSO to my VMU.
@@braillynn4903 You should be able to! 😊
Can I get the link to this so I can put it on my GDemu as well please
Sure, here you go! www.dc-swat.ru/page/dreamshell/
Hope that helps!
I was using this for the past 3 days and it was working just fine but now when i tried using it today everything works fine then after it reads the sd and goes to load to the next screen i get stuck on a black screen any solutions?
Update I removed my vmu from my controller and tried it again and it loaded up like it usually did all the way,the odd thing is it was working just fine with my vmu in my controller before I just hope it continues to work like it was before. Also thanks for the tutorial really was nice of you to put this up
tried soul caliber, but got stuck at the character select stage
I am following this to the letter and when I boot my disc the black screen identifies the fat 32 formatted card capacity but doesn't detect the fat32 file system. The system then goes off to menu where my options are RAM and CD. I can move up and down but I can't select anything. I formatted the 32 gb SD using windows fat32 option. Any Ideas?
Try reformatting the card using the GUI Format software and recopying the files over. If that doesn't work, it may be worth trying a different SD card. Let me know if that works for you!
i’have sucses install gnemu like video. but my problem now is game play with lags, do you know solition thats proble?
Sadly, it’s a limitation on the transfer speed thought the data port. Some games will run fine, but others will struggle. Unfortunately there’s no real way to fix it that I e come across.
up to how many gb sd card supports
I have not been able to run a single game on mine. Every game I have goes to a black screen after selecting them. The VMU does happen to load the images on them how ever, and I think the gens4all emulator can load genesis games off the SD card. I also couldn't use the microSD card slot for some reason, but could use the same microSD card in the standard slot with a adapter which could be adding limitations of resistance in crappily made adapter.
Running retail games can definitely be hit and miss but you should be able to get some working. It sounds like the games a re loading to a point, since it’s giving you VMU screen image, but I’m not sure why it would hang on the black screen. Most of the games I tried did take a second to boot, but not too long.
I was hoping you wouldn't need a working disc drive in order to use this adapter, but the disc drive needs to work in order to run Dreamshell. Looks like GDEMU is the option to use if your disc drive doesn't work.
You’re 100% on point. If your drive is bad then the GDEMU is absolutely the way to go!
Is it possible to use a 128Gb SDXC Card formatted in Fat32 with 32Kb allocation cluster? I can't figure out how to manage it, Dreamshell doesn't recognize SD Card and initialize MBR on it.. (already tried with "Gui Format" by GBATemp)
Discgenie is the program for that
Half-Circle Forward, downloaded NEO XYX cdi iso and not working with iso loader what is wrong?
I haven't tried NEO XYX myself, so it's hard to say. Have you tried getting the iso from another source? It may just be a bad upload.
I only have VA2 DC and it sucks there's not many options with these consoles 😭
how hard is it to burn a dreamshell disc? or something equivalent
It’s definitely doable, but in all honesty, you’re probably better off just buying one of the adapters that comes with the pre-burned CD, just to save yourself the headache.
Where are you finding your SDISOs?
I’ve had an SDiso reader for a min but can’t find anywhere to DL them
Most of the games I have on my DC, I ripped years ago, but there was a Redump set floating around for a while. If you google that it should give you some results. Hope that helps!
They're out there, I won't post the link, but the to...nt links are easy to find.
@@HalfCircleForward Hi do you have a e*mail i can reach you at to ask you for a private personal request. :) You are also in the USA like I am right?
Can i save game on it or i have to put the vmu?
You'll still need a VMU to save your games, but you can use the memory card manager to back those saves up if you'd like. Hope that helps!
How do I add a ssd or hdd in place of gdrom? I've seen that online around just not sure how go about it. Thank you!
That’s a great question! The Terraonion MODE would be what you’d need if you want to go with an SSD or HDD. I have a GDEMU clone in mine which replaces the GD Rom drive and runs off an SD card. Pretty much the same results as the MODE, just cheaper. If you’d like to check out the installation and setup process for that, I have video that you might find interesting.
th-cam.com/video/ophCIx06xqc/w-d-xo.html
Hope that helps!
@@HalfCircleForward awesome ty much
@@jimsinnovations2737 You’re very welcome! 🙂
it says the name is too long asks me if i want to skip some folders when i try to drag it to the sd card
you need winrar
My cd rom is not reading disc anymore. So maybe this is mot a solution to me. GD Emu looks the best choice.
Cool vid bro, only thing is that when I try to boot up sonic adventure it just goes to a black screen. It shows the coverage before I click it. Is it slow to load? Perhaps the format my rom was in? Thanks
Thanks for the feedback! It could be the format of the file you’re using, some retail games can take a while to load. What format do you have the game in?
Tbh I’ve tried cdi and gdi files, when I try to load both it just goes black, it weird because it’s supposed to be a compatible game. Should I convert it to iso?
It should definitely work with GDI files.. I wouldn't mess with the format of the file, GDI is a 1/1 rip of the original disc. Have you tried sourcing a different copy of the game? I'm wondering if there's an issue with the image file itself?
have anybody found a solution to fix glitches?
I try do your guide but my dc can't load boot loader. I stucked at select boot screen. That screen want me to select boot from ram or cd but I can't select anything.
Okay, I did run into a similar issue with mine when I hadn't copied all the files over to the SD card correctly, so that would be the first place I'd start, just by re-copying the files. Also, have you tried a different SD card?
@@HalfCircleForwardI have this very same issue, I copied the files exactly the way you did on fat32 but once connected to the console it just boots and then just shows boot from ram or cd
Hmm, do you reckon this would work on my Dreamcast which is really bad at reading disks? After about 15 minutes to an hour it usually crashes to the boot menu because the CD drive is failing to read anything. Would it have the same problem with this kind of setup?
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, since the disc is only accessed initially to boot into DreamShell, then everything else reads from the SD card. That being said, if your drive is on the way out, I’d probably recommend looking into the GDEmu, which will replace the drive completely, and you won’t have any issues with the data transfer rates. I have a GDEmu clone in my other DC and it’s been pretty rock solid so far. This is certainly an option though!
@@HalfCircleForward thanks I'll look into that. Not keen on having my dreamcast just decorative as it pretty much is now 🤣
Will this work for cdi files or just gdi?
You shouldn’t have any issues with either format. Hope that helps! 😊
games files have to be on cdi or gdi format?
It’ll boot either one. Hope that helps! 😊
@@HalfCircleForward can you make a video about download game files for this!??
My dreamcast is Japanese NTSC-J will it work NTSC-U USA?
That’s a great question! The DreamShell software is region free, so should boot just fine on an NTSC-J machine. Once that’s booted, you shouldn’t have any issues running PAL or NTSC-U region software. Hope that helps!
Can you take out the disc after loading the sd?
Yes
Does this work with a Model 2 Dreamcast?
Only if it's made in October 2000. For November, there's a half chance it will work, but December it won't work. I did very in-depth examinations of these machines for the Console Mods Wiki. It was in late November 2000 that the new BIOS chip was introduced, and DreamShell's boot CD (in my case) is a MIL-CD. I currently have a unit made December 2000 that doesn't work with anything, but my October 2000 unit works just fine with DreamShell's boot CD.
Mine always stops at loading Dreamshell. It says boot from sd card or ram.......... what do I do next??
It sounds like the software isn’t registering the SD card since it should just kick right through. Try reseating the card, or possibly do a quick reformat in case some of the software didn’t copy over properly. Hope that helps!
Doesnt seem to work ill have to get a gdemu
Came here because I heard this thing has a new mod that allows it to run in-game mods by using this for cache. I guess the dreamcast can't do that as is because the ram is too low
That’s interesting, I’ve not seen anything about that yet, I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads-up!
Where I can dowload gdi files for this device? And what kind of SD I need? 32gb is ok?
I can’t link to any sites but there are a few redump sites out there that you should be able to find fairly easily. As far as the SD card size goes, it all depends on how many games you want on there. 32Gb would be a decent start though. Hope that helps!
@@HalfCircleForward
Bro! Why only few games works on my DreamShell? Where can be a problem? Maybe you have experience?
To be honest, it's a bit hit and miss with retail games, it just depends on how the games were programmed and how they stream data to the Dreamcast (CvS 2 is a good example of one that doesn't work great). If you're looking to run retail games, it might be worth looking into a GDEMU, which is a bit more of an investment, but they work like a charm with very few issues.
does this work with japanese dreamcast?
That’s a great question! Yes, it’s region free. Hope that helps!
Where can i get the Games for SD Card?
You have to find those yourself, I assume you know that by now.
Did it work on a pal Dreamcast ?
That’s a great question! The software is region free, so you shouldn’t have any issues with a PAL machine. Hope that helps!
Does this work on VA2 dreamcast?
That's a great question! The console will need to be MIL-CD compatible, and from what I've read, there was a change in the bios in the VA2's mid-production, removing the functionality. If you have an early model (Fall 2000), there's a possibility it'll work, but if it was made after that, most likely not.
Same for burning games discs on CD-r. The early made systems with a 0 or a 1 on the bottom are the ones that will work. If it says 2 it won't work.
A console comes up every time I go to boot a game, something about it not being able to mount the GDI. I have the exact files & followed the steps exactly but it just won't boot into any games for some reason. Anyone else have this problem? I have what seems to be the exact disc & card reader, console is a model 1.
A couple of folks have run into this issue and it's tough to troubleshoot without having exactly the same setup. Have you tried a different SD card in it?
@@HalfCircleForward Not yet, currently using a 32gb micro SanDisk Ultra Plus card. I've seen some people say cards with less storage perform better for some reason, guess I'll give it a try lol.
I have a 128 micro SD card, is that too large? Because my PC won't give me the option to change format to FAT32.
To get Windows to format to FAT32, you'll need to use the GUI Format software, it's super easy to use. Here's a link: Windows FAT32 Formatting Software: gbatemp.net/download/gui-format.33869/
Hope that helps!
@@HalfCircleForward Thanks for the quick response!
@@HalfCircleForward Everything is up and running. Also able to use Dreamshell to play my Japanese import discs. Thanks a ton!
Glad you got it all sorted! Have fun!
And if the lenz not work it won't be boot?
If the GDRom drive is bad, there’s no way to boot into the software. Your best bet is to look into one of the ODE solutions like the GDEMU. That being said, at that point, if you’re just looking to play games, if you have an ODE, you really wouldn’t need the SD adapter. Hope that helps!
Your lens probably isn't bad just needs a good blowout with air duster or compressed air and use a Q-tip with 99% alcohol to gently... And I mean gently!... clean in a circular motion on the laser lens itself. It's highly likely it's got years and years of compounded dust on the lens and a few light passes with clean alcohol coated Q-tips will do the trick usually!... I've repaired three old Dreamcast that wouldn't read discs by using this method so I highly suggest it! 😎✌️
can it run shenmue 2 and skies of arcadia fine i know that skies of arcadia runs terrible on mil cds
Shenmue 2 struggled, but it did play. Definitely not the optimum experience, to be honest.
@@HalfCircleForward ah thanks for the info also what is there any difference in performance between the dreamshell and the gdemu sd card laser replacement or do they both lag?
@@Gillian_Seed That’s a great question, and yes, there is! The data transfer rate on the Serial Port is lower than the GDRom, hence the issues with buffering audio and loading graphics efficiently. The GDEmu has the same transfer rate as the GDRom, so you’ll see no difference between a game running from an original GDRom and a game running on the GDEmu. In all honesty, if you’re looking to play retail games, a GDEmu is the way to go. The clones are pretty solid and aren’t too expensive and the installation process is super straight forward. Hope that helps! 😊
@@HalfCircleForward thanks a lot man i think ill get a gdemu then i wanna play skies of arcadia and shenmue 2 hopefully it doesnt have region protection with gdemu and it shouldnt be too hard to install like installing a modchip for saturn
@@Gillian_Seed No problem! You won’t have to worry about region protection, the GDEmu will bypass it. 😊 Have fun!
Can it also play other games on the SD card from other consoles?
You know, that’s a great question! Theoretically, you should be able to run some of the native emulators, but I haven’t tried it myself. I know that there’s at least a NES and Genesis emulator that was developed for the Dreamcast, so if you got those and dropped them onto the SD card, I can’t see why they wouldn’t play. Hope that helps!
Yes it can I run DreamSnes from mine and works fine.(Theres a couple ready to go .cdi’s on limetorrents)
Hi guys request from either of you. I'm looking to pay someone for SD Kingston or SanDisk cards that have specific emulators and games I need on them with my links provided and them formatted as Fat32 so they work great on my modded Wii. Can one of you do it?
@@berealsupportive2744 I can do it, not sure why you can’t it’s really pretty easy to do but I’d be willing to help if you wanna hit me up.
@@AK47z ☺ Thank you yes well I'm a girl and I have no knowledge or computer. It's best to let a man do it for me. What's your e*mail
hi
well the only "good point" of this adapter is to be able to make a gdrom bakckup...but the serial port of the dreamcast is damn slow
Very true, it’ll never replace the ODE’s to play games, but it does bring a few handy options like the GDR and VMU back-up apps.
Had this console new about 20yrs ago and got a boot disc that run back up discs can I still get this and how do I get the discs? Please help an old man out here😂
Hey now, let’s not start calling ourselves old already, I worked the Dreamcast launch! 😉 The disc you’re looking for is the DC-X by Datel. They’re around, but the last few I’ve seen were pretty expensive. I have seen an iso of it kicking around, so if you wanted to go that route and burn your own, that would be an option, I guess. There’s a pretty comprehensive Dreamcast redump library floating around on the web, so if you search for that you should be able to find what you’re looking for. Hope that helps!
@@HalfCircleForward thanks for info. Recently got another console and have bought hdmi converter and the DC Saturn controller converter. Should have looked into games first😂😂
@@McRDR On the positive side, you have plenty of options as far as running games on the Dreamcast! If you’re up for a bit of modding, I recommend the GDEMU, but if you’re looking for plug and play, the Serial Port SD adapter works, but it can be a bit spotty with how it runs the games.
@@HalfCircleForward yea looked into gdemu but lose the disc drive is it worth the swap? Do games run faster compared to the sd adapter?
@@McRDR I’ve had a GDEMU clone in one of my Dreamcasts for a couple of years now, and in all honesty, it’s probably the best thing I’ve done for it. I’ve only run into a couple of comparability issues with games that won’t run, but for the most part it’s pretty bulletproof, and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between a game running off the SD card and a game running on disc. If you’re solely looking to play games, the GDEMU is the way to go (in my opinion). If you’re looking for additional features, it’s good to have a Serial Port SD adapter handy since it will allow you to back up your VMU saves, has a handful of other useful features, and it’s cheap!
I just bought mine yesterday with the cd and the sd adapter for 15 bucks on ebay.
That’s not a bad deal at all!
@@HalfCircleForward I know im very glad that i kept my dreamcast
@@Thecolemineexpress. Cool but is it working great or is it a waste of time
@@berealsupportive2744 I have no idea because it hasn't arrived yet it will arrive on november 12th.
Just purchased every game i tried lags bad,sticking to discs.
It's definitely hit and miss, that's for sure and it'll never replace the likes of the GDEMU or MODE for gaming, but the VMU back-up capabilities are super useful and what I've been using mine for the most.
@@HalfCircleForward I know its weird,the one i got for the gamecube runs perfect as well never had to use the serial port 2 .Im going to stick to backup discs on dreamcast it feel nostalgic 😂👍🏻
@@Gold2thGaming LOL That’s awesome! 😂
i think if you use an original micro sd card and strong like sandisk it should run fine
I got a question, is this region free?
That’s a great question, and yes, it is!
The port isn't made for that amount of data to be transferred.
You’re 100% correct! It definitely has its uses, but has its limitations.
Thanks for the review. Definitely a pass due to the bottle neck of the serial port
You’re very welcome! It definitely has its uses, but as a dedicated game loader, it struggles.
mine keeps sending me to the boot loader menu V2.4 boot from Ram and Boot from CD I press any of them and nothing
Mine did the same thing a couple of times. I ended up reformatting the SD card and ready-copying over all of the files again. I’m assuming it was just a bad copy the first time I set mine up, but if you try that and it still doesn’t work, it might be worth trying a different SD card. Hope that helps!
this is cool not really a Sega guy but I really am into Xbox and PlayStation
Glad you enjoyed the video! 😊
That looks like an interesting opportunity for me to be able to put my DC back into operation, my reader is unfortunately quite raped and doesn't work too well anymore, I still have many original games at home and could finally play DC again. I wanted to get a General Obsolete Dreamcast but I know that the reader is the biggest weak point because he likes to detach himself very strongly over time and at some point cannot read the GDroms properly and that is with some titles that I would like to play again too bad.
It’s definitely an option, but if you’re looking at using this as a replacement for a failing GD ROM drive, I’d definitely recommend looking into a GDEmu mod. The clones are fairly reasonably priced and the installation is pretty straight forward, and it’ll give you a more reliable experience with retail games. Either way, you can definitely keep your Dreamcast alive!
Thanks for the review
Device is garbage, First thing you should have mentioned in the video.
While it’s certainly not the best option if you’re just looking to play games from an SD card, some of the features you can access with it through DreamShell, like the VMU backup manager made it worth it to me. If it were more expensive I might have questioned it’s worth a little more though!
Yikes these are not good for fighting games at all thanks for covering this!