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    Dreamcast Reset Problem

    I bought a spare Japanese Dreamcast. When I was using it yesterday, it reset when I was playing a game. I thought it must be a problem with the game, but then it happened again with another game. So then I tried to work out what was happening. I discovered that when I touch the lid when a disc is inserted, it resets the machine. Even a slight vibration near the Dreamcast can be enough to reset the machine. Without a disc inserted it doesn't happen.

    Is this a common problem? Can it be fixed?

    #2
    It's caused by a poor connection between the motherboard and PSU.

    I used to solve it by connecting the lines directly, would be happy to perform that mod if you'd like a permanent solution. Just makes dissembling ever so slightly more awkward.

    You can also try bending the pins a little, I suppose. That never did much for me though.

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      #3
      The pin bending did work for me on this, I used a chopstick. Mmmonkey has a good page on simple fixes here:



      I've had this problem a few times over the years. One time it was also that I had a massive dust bunny clogging the 'trigger' that tells whether the drive is open or not. Getting rid of that fixed it.

      The good news is that disassembling a Dreamcast is extremely easy so it shouldn't take you long to have a go at fixing it.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by wakka View Post
        The pin bending did work for me on this, I used a chopstick. Mmmonkey has a good page on simple fixes here:



        I've had this problem a few times over the years. One time it was also that I had a massive dust bunny clogging the 'trigger' that tells whether the drive is open or not. Getting rid of that fixed it.

        The good news is that disassembling a Dreamcast is extremely easy so it shouldn't take you long to have a go at fixing it.
        this is a great fix - just make sure the pins are bent the correct way.

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          #5
          Yeah, I've had this twice. Both times it was the lid trigger.

          Comment


            #6
            This happened to me when I bought a new USA Dreamcast years back. The power LED was flickering slightly, and very occasionally the machine would reset. Took the lid off and pressed down a little on the area where the PSU connects to the motherboard and it shifted down into place, looked like it had just worked a little loose during shipping or something along those lines.

            Anyway, as others have mentioned, it should be an easy fix. Maybe clean the pins with some isopropyl alcohol also.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by speedlolita View Post
              It's caused by a poor connection between the motherboard and PSU.

              would be happy to perform that mod if you'd like a permanent solution.
              If I can't fix the problem, I would definitely like you to do the mod. Thanks for the offer.

              Originally posted by wakka View Post
              One time it was also that I had a massive dust bunny clogging the 'trigger' that tells whether the drive is open or not. Getting rid of that fixed it.
              I hope that's the problem. I will open the DC up and take a look.

              Comment


                #8
                I opened up the Dreamcast and hoovered it a bit, even though it looked clean. After I put it back together, I loaded a game and tapped the lid really hard all over, and it didn't reset. So somehow the problem is now fixed.

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                  #9
                  Glad you got it sorted out!

                  I had two DCs that reset differently.

                  My UK one would hard reset(so the boot-up animation would play, and then the game would load) until I bent the pins. It was ok after that.

                  Some years later, I built a Frankenstein JP one using parts from different faulty consoles. It would occasionally soft reset to the DC menu (boot-up screen would be static like when you turn it on without a disc inserted). Turns out it was because the GD-ROM drive was from a different model and wasn't sitting properly on that metal shield platform. It was misaligned by a teeny tiny amount but that was enough to trigger the resets. When I used the shield from the drive's original console, the problem went away.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by randombs View Post
                    I built a Frankenstein JP one using parts from different faulty consoles.


                    I'm glad vacuuming inside fixed the problem, without having to mess about with bits & pieces.

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