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

It's not about dumping method. Redump guys just came up with some highly questionable ideas and "implemented" them in gdi format. The guy in comments even admits that .gdi can't support their "findings" properly so they had to hack it up.
So now we have proven old school .gdi that everyone (emulators, gdemu, usb-gd, dreamshell, etc) uses and insane redump version of .gdi with no real way to distinguish them. It won't work itself out.

Your own dumps, TOSEC or Dumpcast

 

@ keropi.
^^ if i was in possession of a gdi emu board/assembly replacement, the TOSEC images are the way to fly. (or any that are aligned really)
speculation here, but i believe TOSEC use the sd dumps as the base verify for their catalogues. (if not the sd dumper, then something that recreates the same output even)
...
waiting my turn for a gdi job, a polished final version though...
something that allows indiscriminate directory names/locations and limitless gdi's. (as much capacity of the hdd used)
NOT doing the ide mod, to insane for my blood...though the retained use of the gdi assembly is a winner.
...
up to you, do as you will! (at another place, i've submitted a few of my gdi's, it's a public place, but if i give out names, BAN is sure to follow)
[edit]
@ above.
be that as it may, the others have a LOT of catching up to do...
(why dumpcast doesn't have this item is beyond all reasoning from where i stand)

 

allrighty, thanks! TOSEC it is

btw, here are some installation pics with he usb-gd , it has the same size/holes as the original gd-rom pcb and you can install it in the original gd-rom "shell".
This is actually the best way to install it as I noticed, else all force from the usb port (when you insert/remove devices) gets transferred to the motherboard connector , and it's a bad idea to have force applied there.
You need to remove a small part of the lower shield to be safe, so that the USB port pins don't touch it. Otherwise it's just a matter of dissasembling the gd-rom unit and replacing the board with the gd-usb one:

here is a pic with the drive disassembled (not pictured is the lower shield, forgot to put it close)




and here is the part you need to cut, where the red line is between the 2 screw holes, on the picture it's how it is supposed to look after the cut:




and here is assembled, usb-gd board instead of the stock pcb and everything lines up perfectly:

 

Looks nice keropi!

The Trurip (Dumpcast) set is also good. Not sure if either is set is 100% complete.

edit:
I now see Helicopter already mentioned the Dumpcast set above.

 

^^ slick! :smile-new:
that board looks nice.
the usb socket is a hmm?
that's gonna have to be offset, can't bring myself to shred a housing for the socket.
...
insulation tape.
if you get another board like that, wrap some electrical tape around the usb socket, or seat a piece of plastic under the socket so it saves having to mash the shield in.
...
have fun with that beast. nthego:
...
good work guys.
not that it matters, i take back what i said about the concept in the early days, doubted it at other places.
i was WRONG. (the evidence is clear)

 

Trurip = Dumpcast = TOSEC. All the same.
They are the way to go.

Redump is the way to the trash bin.

 

@amiga1200
Insulation tape is not that good in this specific situation , the pins do touch the metal shield and you need to press it to close. The bottom shield is so thin that it's easy to remove such a small part and have piece of mind forever with such an expensive toy

I've also added a new pic above showing how the board looks from the under side once it's screwed in the gd-rom shell.

 

so basically, the usb strip (the part with the contact teeth) would be level with the shield?
if so, makes PERFECT sense why you had to gouge the shield.
if i'm understanding correctly, the usb socket is level with shield? (which would force inevitable modifications)
...
in any case, thanks for filling me in! :smile-new:

 

Yep, the usb port pins coming out at the back side of the usb-gd board would make contact with the bottom shield.
Infact the 2 parts of the gdrom shell would not close without force because of that. Removing that small piece of the bottom shield made everything fit perfectly.

 

Hey genius, Dumpcast's dumps ARE TOSEC's dumps. In 2007 I started the Dumpcast project and when TOSEC started dumping Dreamcast games weeks later, the dumpers in my community combined our efforts with TOSEC's dumpers to form a single collaborative project.

This is all described in literally the first paragraph of the Dumpcast website so how you don't understand this is beyond all reasoning from where I stand.

The dumps in the TOSEC set have been dumped by 2 or more people from separate discs and on separate Dreamcasts to verify their absolute legitimacy and authenticity. TOSEC set is 100% for USA and PAL games, but not for Japanese games.
The dumps in the Trurip set are not all 100% verified so they could have issues with bad data from scratched discs etc.


All of the dump data for both sets above were submitted to the maintainer directly in private, or posted on the Dumpcast community boards.

The vast majority of dumps were done with ackmed's Broadband Adapter-based dumper (httpd-ack). A few people have used SD card and parallel port dumpers. But they have ALL been done using an actual Dreamcast.

If you want to test whether or not your dump will work on the GDEMU before actually loading it, japanese-cake's GDROM Explorer now has the ability to check this.

And if there is there a game in the set that you can't find? Well, how about you go online and buy it, and dump it yourself and post the hashes and contribute instead of whining. Dumpers in our community have spent hundreds (and some thousands) on GD-ROMs to index and archive for preservation. None of them deserve your comments.

 

There is a 600GB NEWSGROUP Archive on Alt.Binaries.emulators.Misc

I can verify it does work. Someone was kind enough to post FILLS so you don't need to let quick-par repair for 18 hours.

I am not sure this is a complete archive of dreamcast games, but it is close.

 

It is the complete Trurip Dreamcast set.

 

Well that is good to know, for anyone attempting this massive download the FILLS help a lot.

 

@ darcagn. i saw a line like this elsewhere: do you have to be as stupid as a monkey to be a fan of DC?
...
(adlib, a yes, yes you do, got me all figured out! :cocksure:
...
it is now VERY clear why i ditched the scene, thanks for the reminder, GENIUS!
you mean THIS disk?

^^ sorry, but all my gdi's are my own BOUGHT retails, not that i'd ever sign up to dump or be dumper.
you say 'don't deserve comments'...
well, one dumper is like all the rest, slate one, slate them all. (how redump gets knocked, and nobody bats an eyelid, the one way street has a strong current here)
if you want that dump...oh, who am i kidding?!
not sticking my neck out for anybody but the dev/user, not dumper. (or anybody affiliated with DC scene)
that is all!
[late edit]
the disk has been dumped, uploaded it to a known private tracker, get an invite (not from me, sorry) you can be the first to claim it as part of the catalogue.
@ keropi.
thanks for spelling it out, looking good still. :smile-new:
[edit]
typo.

 

I have never bad mouthed any dumping group or any dumps... sure I have stated I want GDIs over CDI but doesnt mean i dont respect the work and hey at least people still get to enjoy the games. I just really want a 1-1 experience and GDI are the way to go if you really want it. With That said and Done after I download all of Trurip I do plan on downloading and uploading TOSEC

 

Neuroacid, according to feedback I've got, the GDmenu works from 01 folder if there is no GDEMU.INI file oon SD card root so maybe it's somehow related to this file?

 

I went ahead and tested it without GDEMU.INI on root, no difference. Still freezing. Also tried it without VMU, noch change either.

 

Could it be that he has different firmware for gdemu than the rest of us? Maybe Denuan gave him some kind of wip firmware, but then changed something in it and released it publicly as 5.6.0?

 

I tried it myself and surprisingly it worked for the first time, then after powering off and on the console it froze again so bummer. Tried two 16GB cards, 4 and 10 class, no difference. I have PCB v5.0 and 5.6.0 firmware.

 

From other people reports, it had no influence...
Reading his comment I get the impression that he was implying that it worked without GDEMU.INI in addiction to working with that file in the SD card.

I did have a different version, but I've also updated to 5.6.0 when he released it. I also had some people testing with both firmwares without any success.

Did you use the tact switch by any chance before booting the menu, while testing it without the GDEMU.ini file?

I've also tested with a wide array of different SD cards (from a very old 256MB SD to 32GB SDHC UHS-I) without any problems.
My PCB rev is 5.2, not sure what rev Madsheep has, but it worked fine for him.

Anyway, I think I've figured what is causing the problem.
Unfortunately it probably requires a new firmware to fix. I've already contacted Deunan about it.

So for now, if you are affected by the freezing problem just move the GDmenu to folder 02 and it wont freeze anymore.
Also pressing the switch on the PCB during the Dreamcast startup animation, should boot the GDmenu directly.
The only down side to using folder 02 is that the numbers on the list will be wrong and folder 01 will be last on the list.
(If you have two switches you can actually use folder 01, just press up/down quickly during the start up animation)

Thanks to everyone that helped with the testing to narrow the problem down, especially NightbreedUK.

I'll post an updated version later with some minor bug fixes that I made while tracking this problem down.