"Let's make GD ROM emulation happen" Facebook group.

Yeah, there's not logical reason it wouldn't work with a botched laser. In fact I think the only reason it doesn't work without a gd-rom drive at all is firmware related, the Holly chip checks for it an locks the IDE bus if it doesn't find it. In fact I think it could work without a gd-rom, but you wouldn't have a way to boot DS as a custom bios can't unlock the IDE via Holly or something.

 

Only with bios mod and SD card

 

I know. But you tell me how you remove the gd-rom and boot into DS with a stock bios.

 

I have the BIOS mod on one of my decks but its a va2.1 with different drive. I'm going to try the mod on the one with the botched laser and if it is successful I will just put the laser in that I think. Just worried I'll ruin the board. Never know till you try right? I have done Xbox PS1 GC and Wii modchip installs but I treasure my DC as it isn't a standard white shell system.

 

You can't only with gd emulator (gdemu,dcio), Dreamcast without gd rom will not boot even if you boot you need to start dreamshell so the best way without modifications is a gd emulator. The cheapest way is bios mod to boot DS from SD and a broken gd-rom

 

Yes, we all know all that.

 

So... What's your question, if you know all that?

 

There was none.

That said, I think SWAT is working on the Holly auth process, if he's lucky and can fake it there could be G1 bus with a custom bios, otherwise we'll require cybdyn's g1-ide-adv or dcio/gdemu.

 

MNEMO has made a GDEMU now too, but with USB:
http://renovation-3do.narod.ru/USB-GDROM_Controller.htm

Looks like hes trying to make it easier for people to get stuff from him too as he has a how to buy page now:
http://renovation-3do.narod.ru/How_to_buy.htm

It is a bit more expensive than the Deunan's GD-EMU though, but it has a menu.

 

I kind of like not having something sticking out the ass of my dreamcast, to be perfectly honest. Also, I haven't found the lack of a menu to be very troubling so far, the audio cd menu helps with that. Another 30 Euro is fairly considerable, too...

 

I agree with you fluxcore - things poking out the back not too good and I am also happy to use the audio menu for changing images
However - I do applaud all development for the dreamcast, this new device having a menu, being region free and support for USB HDD's would be perfect for a Dreamcast Cabinet project

 

I figure something poking out the back isn't a big deal since the power and av cords are already there doing that. It looks like the usb device can only load gdi images at the moment too. I haven't had an issue with the lack of menu on the gdemu either but it would be nice. It's great that there are more alternatives popping up.

 

There are low-profile USB drives the size of a wireless mouse adapter. It wouldn't have to look as lame as the example on his page.

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive-SDCZ33-016G-B35/dp/B005FYNSZA

 

While I applaud more such devices, I really think that cybdyn's G1-IDE ADV will be the best of all devices. Probably cheaper than GDEMU, support CDDA/GDDA, GDI and CDI and got a menu!

 

FG - thanx for warm words.
as i see, devices of GDEMU are still "little" expensive, so i'm still interesting to make something simple.

 

His contact email on the "How to Buy" bounces, so either he has gotten flooded, or the email was long-expired to begin with.

$174.32 USD plus $45.44 shipping = $219.76 ... that's a lot of dosh

Neat product, though. I'd give it a try. YouTube videos looks great. Curious that it only supports GDI.

I have a feeling availability will be the issue, however, and as we all know, it might as well not exist if it can't be bought.


Still very excited for your G1-IDE ADV, cybdyn. That does sound like the most straightforward, low-cost option.

 

I emailed him last month about the 3do USB adapter and had no issue so maybe his inbox is flooded like you said.

 

I sent an email about 30 mins ago, haven't had a bounce back yet. I'd love to get this device as I'm really happy with with his 3do ode

 

Cheers, thanks for the info, fellows.

The bounce took 12 hours to come back, so do let me know, Senor Citrus.

I'd like to test his USB-GDROM Controller alongside the GDEMU, see what I prefer.

Obviously, HDD/USB access is a nice upgrade, but at the end of the day, once you settle in on your images stored on a device, how often will you access and manage that device, and how different is plugging in a USB from slotting an SD card when you do so? Not that much, really.

2TB, yes that's neat, too, could put a lot of media and other fun things on there . . . but then again, the DC is a very specific device for me, and my media and other things (emulators, etc.) are usually used on other devices that do it a lot better and are easier to manage.

Dunno what will rise to the top in the end, but it's an exciting time to be a DC-enthusiast!

 

Neat but really expensive!