HKT-01: 'Please Insert Game Disc' Message

Recently, I purchased a Katana HKT-01 that did not come with a hard drive. At first, I was not able to see the Dreamcast logo splash screen, so I thought I was stuck in emulation mode[1], but I managed to see the splash screen and get to the standard system menu by hitting reset after turning on the system each time. I've tried placing a NTSC-J disc inside the system, but I still get the 'Please insert a disc' message.

Does this sound like I may have a bad disc drive? Or, is it not possible to run discs without some sort of PC connection and/or does no hard drive cause such issues? Similar to [1], I do not have SCSI cables or any way to connect to a computer.

I apologize in advance if this has been covered before in another thread, but I was unable to find a solution.

Thank you.

Settings:
Slide switch: Left
Rotary switch: 4 (NTSC-J)
Dip switch: 0 0 0 0 (Stereo AV/S-Video)
Game: Black Matrix (NTSC-J)

[1] http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?21294-No-video-showing-on-Katana-dev-box-HKT-01

 

If I recall correctly fellow board member Legit posted a guide once on how to get a HKT-01 kit from Emulation mode, without using the SDK. It involved opening the whole system. This could perfectly well just be the emulation mode stopping you from booting any disc.

 

I had a similar problem with my 0120 dev box. What I found out is that the GD ROM drive can be in emulation mode to. You have to connect you dev box to a PC (win xp is the newest os that will work withought tweaking anything), open gd workshop (assuming you have the r10 SDK installed), and there should be an option to switch the drive to GD ROM mode.

 

Since 30 jan 2010, Windows 7 is.
Just use another wnaspi32.dll (Mekugiaspi), and run the program in admin mode. It's as easy as that.
See the stickies in this forum.
http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/how-to-use-the-katana-sdk-on-windows-7.25882/

 

Either way. He should be able to switch the drive to GD ROM mode using GD Workshop.

 

If you need a laser replacement try and get hold of a console and should be fine as for the hard drive it will be a 50pin scsi hard drive or you can buy a 50pin scsi to 80pin and use a more newer type hard drive since there cheaper to get hold of.
i do recommend replaceing the date and time battery if your ok with soldering skills.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I guess I need to build myself a PC, as I only have a laptop. I'll follow up with any progress after I get the PC set up.

By the way, is the SDK difficult to get a hold of?

*Edit*
I was away from the kit for quite some time due to a trip, but I just came back and turned it on via the method above. For some reason, now it shows the Dreamcast logo, but then just goes black. Beforehand, it would show the home screen, but now it's not doing that. Any reason why it would be doing that? Could it be a loose cable somewhere inside or is this thing fried?

 

No the SDK is not hard to find. If you want I made a post with a dl link to a bunch of Katana SDKs (and it includes v9 and v10).

 

I hate to revive a semi-old thread, but I was able to acquire all of the materials necessary to develop using the HKT-01 (
PC, all the SCSI terminators, etc)
However, I opened GDWorkshop and selected the 'Switch to GD-Rom' mode, but I still get the 'please insert a disc' message when I insert a DC game.

At this point, does this signify a faulty drive?

 

Update since last post. When closing the disc tray, I noticed that the 'Checking disc' message will appear only for a second prior to "clicking" the disc tray in place. However, if I hold the disc tray with my finger without pushing the tray in all the way and hearing the "clicking" sound, the 'Checking disc' message will appear longer, and the drive appears to make the loud noise that signifies it is reading the disc. However, the game still does not start.

Edit: I have added pictures to show what the tray looks like when it is opened, closed, and with my finger pressing against the tray.

 

As you might have guessed, the small lever (metal part on the right on the pictures) detecting the closure of the tray is quite malleable,
so that's why it does not detect that the tray is closed when in fact it is...
Add to that the fact that the mechanism to retain the tray in space is also not very solid, and you have problems quite easily...
Things I have tried to fix issues:
- bend the metallic lever a little bit in U shape, with the opening of the U towards the tray, in such way that the bottom of the U presses the small switch
- bend the metal tab (on the left, the one that contains the little plastic box that retains the tray closed) a little bit towards the back

If you're sure you maintained the "close" switch correctly pressed during the read, and it still does not recognize a disc, I would:
- check if the region is set in accordance to the disc (I can't remember if you get a specific message for that or not), or
- swap the GD-ROM block with one of a working dreamcast (they are compatible, the cables of the DC are a little bit shorter, that's all)