Dreamcast-Talk.com

Hi there just wondering if anyone can offer advice on issues with certain games.

I bought a dreamcast with preinstalled gdemu 5.5, but discovered a lot games would Freeze or reset and return to the menu. For some games this would happen after a short amount of playtime and others at specific points (Rez would black screen after finishing the first boss, Sonic Adventure 2 when getting to the truck)

I have tried using different ROMs of the same games including different regions and using TOSEC ROMs but still having the exact same issues
So decided the issues must be the GDEMU and bought a new 5.20 one.
Installed it last night and tested some of the problematic games: Rez, sonic, gigawing 2, DOA 2 (theres a ton more but these are easiest to quickly test) - seeing exact same issues with all these games...
Have also tried using standard menu and openmenu

I'm using an 128gb Sandisk extreme and also tried Sandisk ultra MicroSD 32gb with result being the same issues

Starting to think its either the dreamcast, so tempted to buy a new one or give up entirely....
Does anyone have an idea what could be going on here?

if you are using an SD card extender, then try without it.
sometimes this problem occurs due to poor contact of the power supply

megavolt85 wrote:if you are using an SD card extender, then try without it.
sometimes this problem occurs due to poor contact of the power supply

Tried it both and seeing the same results unfortunately

It's strange that you'd see reboots in the exact same places. However, the symptom still sounds a bit like a PSU issue. Cleaning the PSU pins has worked for many others in the past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9kNP27LZUU

Clean the PSU pins and reseat the PSU on the Dreamcast. Also make sure the GDEMU has good contact to the motherboard and is properly screwed in place.

I've had this same issue in the past with one of my premodded Dreamcasts (the main one i use) and cleaning the PSU pins has fixed this issue for me. I also noticed my GDEMU wasn't screwed in properly (the guy who did the mod was VERY careless) so i reseated the GDEMU, made sure the pins on the motherboard made good, firm contact, and screwed it back into place properly and haven't had any issues.

I had a psu issue , sometimes reseating ut solved the problem for some minutes , but I totally solved it replacing the power supply witb the internal meanwell Rpt-6003 adapted to dreamcast ( you have to search Google for the mod) . Old dreamcast era ones are starting to fail due to faulty capacitors . The meanwell Rpt-6003 is an high efficiency one from a super reliable brand

Had similar issues. Two culprits I discovered:

(1) PSU was faulty. Some days worked, other days it was problematic like yours. I use a sandisk with SD Extender without issue after PSU replacement. If you don't want to replace the PSU, you could try sticking a USB/battery external fan with the lid open to exhaust the inside of the Dreamcast and test your results if it's overheating. I ran a Dreamcast for months this way and my GDEmu always ran solid, whereas without the fan...main screen resets; overheat internal clock resets...etc.

(2) CDI rom instead of GD rom. Check to see if you have the appropraite roms (GD prefered), when in doubt...test multiple variants and rips of games.

GDEMUs are great, but are prone to results may vary.

thanks for the help guys thought I'd give quick update:
- Tried a new sandisk ultra 32gb card
- PSU is a replacement dreampsu, checked the pins and they looked clean
- not sure overheating is an issue, directed a fan at the open dreamcast and crazy taxi, giga wing 2 and DOA 2 all start having audio issues before black screening around the same time as usual.
- Had already reseated the GDEMU but did it again for sanitys sake and no luck there either

Just Seems weird that I can run some games fine for hours and others will always have the same issues despite trying ROMs from different locations and regions (I always use GDROMS)

hazmorgan wrote:thanks for the help guys thought I'd give quick update:
- Tried a new sandisk ultra 32gb card
- PSU is a replacement dreampsu, checked the pins and they looked clean
- not sure overheating is an issue, directed a fan at the open dreamcast and crazy taxi, giga wing 2 and DOA 2 all start having audio issues before black screening around the same time as usual.
- Had already reseated the GDEMU but did it again for sanitys sake and no luck there either

Just Seems weird that I can run some games fine for hours and others will always have the same issues despite trying ROMs from different locations and regions (I always use GDROMS)

Do you have image_tests = 0 in the file GDEMU.INI (root of sd card)? If not, add it.

MoeFoh wrote:

hazmorgan wrote:thanks for the help guys thought I'd give quick update:
- Tried a new sandisk ultra 32gb card
- PSU is a replacement dreampsu, checked the pins and they looked clean
- not sure overheating is an issue, directed a fan at the open dreamcast and crazy taxi, giga wing 2 and DOA 2 all start having audio issues before black screening around the same time as usual.
- Had already reseated the GDEMU but did it again for sanitys sake and no luck there either

Just Seems weird that I can run some games fine for hours and others will always have the same issues despite trying ROMs from different locations and regions (I always use GDROMS)

Do you have image_tests = 0 in the file GDEMU.INI (root of sd card)? If not, add it.

Yeah got this thanks, games that have been shrunk can't launch without it for me on open menu