Best option for modding the Dreamcast to load backups?

[GameOverYeah]

Hi guys


I am really illiterate when it comes to these things so forgive me for the potentially dumb question.


I know by now there are a myriad of ways to play backup roms on your Dreamcast but I never really tried them before. Now that it looks like my GD-rom is fried (for the second time), I want to look into this.


What is the easiest way to do this? I don't mind if it's a little more expensive as long as I don't have to do any soldering. Is there any service where I can just send my dreamcast and have someone else do it for me?

[Anthony817]

Easiest way is getting a GDEMU clone for $40 online and taking the DC apart, removing some screws and taking the drive out and plugging the replacement ODE device in it's place. Games can be loaded via the great and free GDMENU.

I have had my clone GDEMU since summer of 2018 so going on 3 years almost. Only problems I ever had with it was due to oxidization on the PSU pins of the Dreamcast which had issues getting enough power to it, which I fixed by sanding them down with fine grit sandpaper and putting the PSU back on and no more issues booting the games on the device. Some cheap SD cards, or ones rated low can have issues playing games but for the most part most decent brands work great with it.

[GameOverYeah]

Easiest way is getting a GDEMU clone for $40 online and taking the DC apart, removing some screws and taking the drive out and plugging the replacement ODE device in it's place. Games can be loaded via the great and free GDMENU.

I have had my clone GDEMU since summer of 2018 so going on 3 years almost. Only problems I ever had with it was due to oxidization on the PSU pins of the Dreamcast which had issues getting enough power to it, which I fixed by sanding them down with fine grit sandpaper and putting the PSU back on and no more issues booting the games on the device. Some cheap SD cards, or ones rated low can have issues playing games but for the most part most decent brands work great with it.

I see. I heard some bad things about the UI for GDEMU; what has been your experience?

[megavolt85]

I heard some bad things about the UI for GDEMU

this is a blatant lie
GDEMU has the best user interface of any ODE
you can also create your own theme using the GDMENU theme manager, which no other ODE has

[Anthony817]

Yeah, you are not going to find a better menu than GDMENU unless mrneo240's Open Menu gets finished. Like I said, get that and it is great. GDMENU is the community made menu for it. Others can come out in the future due to the Menu Loader being available so anybody can code their own menu for it.

[Motoracer5]

I honestly prefer MODE as far as menu goes. Games can be organized into folders, not just a huge list that can take forever to navigate

[GameOverYeah]

I honestly prefer MODE as far as menu goes. Games can be organized into folders, not just a huge list that can take forever to navigate

Is MODE easy for a dumbass like me to install?

[dubcity]

GDEMU is a nice option and if you have access to other sections of the site you will find a game set that is easy to use with covers displayed that makes it look nice. M.O.D.E. has a redream like menu with covers displayed also that looks nice.

both are very easy to install.

price is a big difference. $40-50 for GDEMU clone. $200 for M.O.D.E.

GDEMU will play many homebrew games without problems. M.O.D.E. has more difficulty playing homebrew. If you just want to play retail dreamcast games then you can't go wrong with either one. But if you want to play beats of rage, indie dreamcast releases, emulation and homebrew then go with GDEMU.

do a search on youtube for each option to see how they install and work to compare.