DreamCast Plays Backup Games - How long will it last?

I am unsure if this belongs in the General Gaming section or the Repair And Restoration Section. I have a used DreamCast that plays both regular and backup games. I understand that this makes the laser work harder, but I think it's pretty cool that the console can do this. I am curious to know how long will the console last playing the backup games before the console breaks down?

 

Well, I still use my PAL launch console without a problem, thats both with CDR's and original GD's

 

Well I don't know how much harder it will need to read the games, as long as when you selfboot them the original file sort is retained and used to create the cd backup. Also if it's a small game make sure you create a dummy file to fill in the start of the disc as this will allow for better reading of the files on the outer side.
In the end the console will break down even when reading GD-ROMs but hopefully that's many years down the track

 

You have it right, the CDR does make the laser work a little harder. When possible run the pressed disc if you have a choice, especially if your DC is getting a lot of use. As long as both the CDRs and pressed discs are in good shape, you should get many years with no issues.

 

Yeah I for one have recently become more skeptical of this kind of thing.

 

As long as you use games that don't require huge seeking times, it should be ok. Use high quality media as well.

I've stopped playing backups just because I don't want to burn out my laser. Though it has been said that some people's Dreamcasts have died from only using GD-ROMs.
All I can say is, Enjoy it while you can.

 

My DC has seen lots of use, mostly with back ups. It doesn't load sometimes, it took SEVERAL years of near exclusive backup use for it to get to that point. I'm not too worried about it.

 

There is very little difference unless you use bargin bin/shitty media. Use good quality CD-Rs and keep them clean like you should GD-ROMs and there is little difference in the lifespan of your system. If you use bargin bin media you may reduce the life of your drive if it is constantly having read errors and retrying to read sectors. The same sort of thing can happen if you have a dirty or badly scratched original disc. So again, just use good media and keep your discs clean of dirt, dust, and scratches.

 

Well using a CDR is more stressful as data can only be accessed at 6x speeds instead of the GD-ROM's 12x speeds. So if a backup isn't properly don eit will cause it to seek more, the laser must focus more when quality media isn't used. Then the fact that data isn't streamed to the system fast enough can cause it to work harder as well or if it is not properly laid out on the disc to help aid the slow access speeds.

 

I have a dreamcast JUST for CD-Rs it's a launch model that can't read GD Roms

 

Had one like that till I adjusted the laser and still works for both to this day. It isn't found of AUDIO/DATA backups but DATA/DATA work just fine on my Japanese launch system. I don't play CDR's though to be honest. I make them for my child as I cherish my system and games. I am so close to a complete set of GD-ROM's I don't want to get them fussed up by a five year old.

 

in the case of VF3 I don't have a working Legit copy but my burn works just fine.

Only No longer working burn I have right now is Karous.

 

I don't know if this whole 6x and 12x thing is true about the speed but that certainly doesn't "stress" it more even if it were true. The second part about a backup that isn't properly done sounds right as in theory you could position the files on the disc (their LBA) in a way that causes the sled to have to seek further to read data but that is the sled and not the laser lens. This bit about data not being streamed to the system fast enough making it work harder is false. The system requests data, the drive attempts to read the data. There is no emotional scale of OH MY GOD WE NEED DATA NOW that makes the thing "work harder".

We are mainly talking about 3 components that can wear out or go bad. The laser lens, the motor that spins the disc, and the sled system that moves the lens up and down the track. All of them can be replaced. The causes of excessive wear are anything that would cause the system to seek a further distance than normal (a backup with incorrect or poor layout of files on the disc surface), and anything that would cause extra repeated reads of the disc surface such as a dirty, scratched, or poor quality disc.

So back to my original advice. If you use CD-Rs you should be sure to use good quality media or premium quality media. I did not mention the possible issue with backups that may not be optimized or organized since I imagine you are sticking to the "release group" isos like Echeolon or Kalisto. I doubt you're making your own backups. And again keep your discs clean and free of surface scratches. Eventually with enough use it will need parts replaced regardless of if you have been playing CD-Rs or GD-ROMs. The difference in how fast you get there is not going to be significant unless you use bargin bin CD-Rs. Or again, dirty horribly scratched discs.

 

It is in the Dreamcast SDK documents by Sega themselves it isn't a hidden mystery as they produced specs of the GD-ROm drive long ago, CD media is accessed at speeds of 6x while GD-ROM is a full 12x. And the games if video files are not pushed to the edge will cause skipping or the audio to become desync'd. This pushes your laser to it's max to try and obtain the data. So it is basically like pushing the pedal to the max on a car all the time, doing so puts more stress on the system pushing it harder and producing heat which can damage a laser.

 

Just for educational purposes, atreyu187 is a major league player in the Dreamcast backup scene, also being a part of the ReviveDC team, which are producing the best Dreamcast backup releases anywhere in the world today.

Atreyu187 gets major props and respect from me, as I seek out the ReviveDC releases exclusively and update older games with their releases.

Not wanting to be kissy kissy, but dude knows his shit.

 

LOL just a guy that loves my Dreamcast, I just happen to involved in about every aspect. I dump for TOSEC & Trurip, selfboot for ReviveDC & Dreamcast Clean Merge Project on Underground-gamer which I happen to be a mod of the site as well. But even then I have a ton of help from others in each department, I wouldn't know much without their help.

I have pushed my systems to the limit and have some good first hand experiences. I have even found a way to fix the bad flash ROM boot loop or the "black swirl of death" if anyone is curious and has this problem where the date and time come up over and over no matter if you replaced the battery or not try setting your time to 01/01/1950 and watch as your DC comes back to life and boots properly again.

Not sure why it works but it does, also it doesn't fix the bad flash rom jsut bypasses it, the system is useless for online play via BBA or anything that involves storing of an IP addres. 56k networking still works fine as all the needed info is stored on your VMU instead of the flash rom like the BBA does.

 

Have to agree with this guy.....

 

Fair enough but I did not challenge you that you were wrong about 6x or 12x. But you are wrong about "pushes your laser to the max". Your "laser" just reads data. What "pushes it" is a poor disc surface. If it is having trouble reading the surface then it won't like that. The video files on the edge of the disc is simple, the fastest access rate is achieved on the outside edge of the disc. Depending on the bitrate of the video you may have those problems like skipping. But your laser doesn't care. It's just reading along as it is asked. There is no extra "stress". This is not parallel to "pushing the pedal to the max on a car".

The drive just reads data. What wears it out? Using it. When you have a poor quality disc surface it's more likely to have read errors which will try to be recovered from by attempting to read the sectors again. So that is a legitimate concern that you're putting additional wear on your drive assembly. The rate of data transfer, doesn't matter. The seeking back and forth excessively does make sense because the extra seeking would put wear on the parts involved in moving the sled. In theory the 6x versus 12x could matter if the drive motor spins faster for CDs than GD-ROMs. But that's about the only thing I could think of. I seriously doubt there is substantial lifespan difference between never using CDs and always using CDs. For one thing you can't even do a real test because even two brand new systems aren't identical.

If you have a further explanation I'd like to hear it. I'm not claiming to be a guru, but this is how I see it.

 

DO NOT USE MEMOREX

that is all

 

^This MEMOREX IS A SHIT BRAND FOR CDR.