How to open Rev 0 Dreamcast?

I have just bought a Rev 0 Dreamcast off of ebay and I can't get it open. The screws are not philips head and there not torx either. Looks more like a gamebit. I tried both a 3.8 and 4.5 mm and no luck to open it up. The screw has small circle in the middles of it. Which would make a torx bit not fit.

 

Is it exactly like torx but with kind of a pin right in the middle?



That's a security torx screw, and you'll need security bits to unscrew them. That's the kind of screws used in the Xbox 360 and its wireless controllers.

 

That's odd, never seen them with different screws and had quite a few va0 consoles

 

Do the American kiosk VA0 consoles perhaps have the different screws?

 

Sounds like an ex-Hollywood Video rental unit - they were renting out the Dreamcast before it was released in the US, and their machines had security screws in them. They also had a large silver "Property of Hollywood Video" sticker on the bottom of the machine, which you might be able to see some residue of. In every other respect, they seem to be identical to the pre-release units that were shipped to developers for testing purposes.

The only other NTSC:U VA0 machines I've seen are the kiosk models - but they have a different P/N and a different (Japanese style) model label - they also say "Kiosk unit" on them and don't have an FCC statement.

 

Get a BIOS dump if its one of those please.

 

On a side note, is there a reason you actually want to open it?

 

There is a problem with the laser. Wants to try to read a disc and can't. This one sounds like it wants to spin up but doesn't. It was torx t10 security screw. Got a screwdriver to remove the t10 security screws. You'll need a screwdriver and not a insert bit as the holes on the rev 0 Dreamcast are two small. I bought the screwdriver off of ebay. cost $2.48 with shipping. So I got it open. Did the laser soak thing mentioned in another post. I just need to see if it works or not.

 

Yeah that it's. Except it is a t10 torx screw for the Dreamcast.

 

Is this normal for American DC's?

I have only had PAL and JAP consoles, but they are all normal screws.

 

it's evil i tells ya! evil!!!! aint no good gonna come of this! ya hear! mark my wurds!

 

The laser wasn't reading the disc. I got it working. But it wasn't working fully wouldn't read house of the dead 2 gd-rom disc.

 

Not for the regular retail ones - they have exactly the same types of screws as all the other DCs. The only one I ever saw with those security torx screws was a Hollywood Video unit (and this one still had the "Property of Hollywood Video" sticker on it, to avoid any doubt). Now I think about it, it also had a really early production date - May 1999, I think.

 

Wouldn't mind getting a hold of one of those - intact that is. Preferably with the gaudy Hollywood Video stickers intact as well.