Dreamcast Boot Discs

[Matt]

That's it. This thing is impossible to find and I wanna play my game, dammit. I'm gonna buy me a used DC and try my hand at soldering a mod-chip. Anyone done it before? I know I haven't.

Soldering DC mod chips is not hard at all. The ones out now only require 4 points, and they're all pretty big and easy to hit. This, of course, assumes that you have at least a little experience with soldering.

I have a few modded DCs for sale, BTW - PM me me you're looking for one

[jyoung]

I've got an unused Gameshark Lite that I picked up for $1 at Circuit City. From what I've heard it's fairly consistent and it doesn't require a memory card, but I'll have to get my hands on an import game before I can offer any first hand success stories.

[Josh]

Download a self booting version of the game.

Problem solved.

[RedCoKid]

At the holidays, I have obtained Napple Tale from my parents for the Christmas. Heard it was nifty, wanted to give it a shot. I used my usual Utopia v1.1 to boot it, and the game's menu doesn't load after I press start (Utopia 1.2 doesn't work, either). I also have a copy of Sengoku Turb that won't boot. I'm guessing both of these problems are due to my boot disc, though I could be wrong. Does the DC-X work better than Utopia?

If I remember correctly, my Gameshark did NOT boot Napple Tale. I bought a DC-X instead (same as Innovation's Super Game Converter or whatever it's called), and that has worked fine for 100% of my 20 or so DC imports.

My DC is pre-Oct 2000, though. There was a rumored change after that manufacturer's date that supposedly disallowed CD-ROMs from playing. (Someone else may have to clarify if you need to know more.)

[Josh]

my 20 or so DC imports.

Noob.

[g0zen]

I've always been partial to self-boots myself.

Though, if I were going to use a boot disc, it would be Utopia.

[Matt]

My DC is pre-Oct 2000, though. There was a rumored change after that manufacturer's date that supposedly disallowed CD-ROMs from playing. (Someone else may have to clarify if you need to know more.)

This is true. DCs with a manufacture date of 10/00 or later refuse to boot any sort of CD. They also have a very different (and more efficient) internal structure. You need a modchip on these systems to run imports.

[dhowerter]

I use an Xploder DC; its a cheat device and import converter, but probably MOST important to YOU is the fact that I HAVE Napple Tale and it loaded up fine with the Xbploder

[ChaoofNee]

Only problem is finding the damn thing...
Thanks for the info.