Dreamcast-Talk.com

Hey all,

So I've spent all day dinking around with this, but I can't seem to get any further.
Basically, the lights on my Dreamcast live USB modem are telling me that something's up. Only the left one lights up, and only sometimes; it tends to turn off after a few minutes of my Pi idling. Here are the specs of my setup as well as everything I've tried so far:
-Dreamcast Live USB modem with internal LVI
-Raspberry Pi Zero W running Dreampi 1.7 DLE
-32 GB Sandisk High Endurance MicroSD, brand new, flashed with both Raspberry Pi Imager and Win32 disk imager (creates small boot partition that Windows seems to have a problem with, but otherwise fine)
-using sudo wificonfig to manually enter my SSID and password
-router can see Dreampi whenever it's turned on
-Dreampi password changed from default
-firewall disabled, DMZ for Dreamcast IP (******.98)
-Dreampi is connected to 2.4 ghz band of my router
-Pi is powered via a Samsung adaptive charger rated at 5v and 2a, which should be perfectly adequate for the Pi Zero.

I've tried reflashing the memory card multiple times. I've tried playing around with /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. I'm using planetweb 2.6x to configure my dialup settings, and everything is correct.

Since the beginning, I've gotten this error message every time: "Failed to start dhcpcd on all interfaces." I was also getting "failed to start raise network interfaces," but it hasn't happened the last few times. The whole setup seems to be behaving sporadically. As far as I can tell, I haven't done anything wrong on my end. Right now, I'm going to try manually entering my wifi settings. I'm connected to my router; the Dreampi has an IP address; both lights are currently out.

Possibly worth noting: my keyboard is only able to input when plugged into one of the two micro USB ports. The other one seems to work fine for power. Changing the port when using the modem doesn't seem to affect anything.

Try plugging the USB modem into a PC or another device with a USB port (a PS4, a TV, etc...) and see if you get one light. It should flash both lights at first and then light up one light after a few seconds. If you don't see any lights then the modem is probably dead. If that's the case, you can email me about a replacement.

pcwzrd13 wrote:Try plugging the USB modem into a PC or another device with a USB port (a PS4, a TV, etc...) and see if you get one light. It should flash both lights at first and then light up one light after a few seconds. If you don't see any lights then the modem is probably dead. If that's the case, you can email me about a replacement.

Appreciate the response! I plugged it into my computer and it does exactly what you say it should. For further diagnostic purposes, I have a question: say my Dreamcast is off, and the Pi is on. Everything is connected. Should I be getting one light on the modem at this time? i.e. does the second light only come on when the Dreamcast is attempting to dial? It sounds to me like no; it's supposed to have both lights on when DreamPi is loaded and the Pi is connected to the internet.

I'm about to try manually editing the wifi settings. I can't think of why that would be affecting anything unless wifi isn't booting properly on startup due to an error--weird that I would still be able to see that it's connected to my router, though. If that doesn't work, I may try flashing the Pi 4 image.

Is "failed to start dhcpcd on all interfaces" important for DreamPi to work, or is it purposely disabled? Let me know if there are any diagnostic steps I've missed so far! I've been itching to play online all weekend

If I had to guess, I'd say it's a power issue of some kind. Maybe the power supply you're using for the Pi isn't working properly. Either that or there's a problem with the USB ports on the Pi itself. I don't think a software issue can cause no lights on the modem. As I said, even plugging it into a PS4 will result in getting one light on the modem so it's not dependent on software.

Malihide wrote:For further diagnostic purposes, I have a question: say my Dreamcast is off, and the Pi is on. Everything is connected. Should I be getting one light on the modem at this time?

You should get two lights on the USB modem as soon as the DreamPi software is booted and ready to accept a connection. The Dreamcast doesn't need to be connected to it.

Malihide wrote:Is "failed to start dhcpcd on all interfaces" important for DreamPi to work, or is it purposely disabled?

That error is normal. Doesn't mean anything.

pcwzrd13 wrote:If I had to guess, I'd say it's a power issue of some kind. Maybe the power supply you're using for the Pi isn't working properly. Either that or there's a problem with the USB ports on the Pi itself. I don't think a software issue can cause no lights on the modem. As I said, even plugging it into a PS4 will result in getting one light on the modem so it's not dependent on software.

You should get two lights on the USB modem as soon as the DreamPi software is booted and ready to accept a connection. The Dreamcast doesn't need to be connected to it.

Appreciate the response. I've ordered an official power supply. Fingers crossed...!
I'll make sure to update the thread for future reference.

Alright, so the cheapest method of getting a charger turned out to be buying a cheap Pi 1 from someone on craigslist. My Dreamcast is now online with ethernet to boot. Thanks for your help, pcwzrd13!!