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semi
September 30th, 2006, 17:43
I just got a DreamCast so when I turned it on, it asked me to set the correct date and time. But I don't have any time to set it, because my Dreamcast shuts down. Everytime that I try to play with it, it shuts down. Can anyone tell me what is happening? Is it the internal battery?

Please help! Thanks a lot you guys!
JKKDARK
September 30th, 2006, 17:46
yes, it is the internal battery. Leave the dc connected some hours.
semi
September 30th, 2006, 17:52
Okay, it must have the red led turned on?
Darksaviour69
September 30th, 2006, 18:07
shuts down or resets?
SiZiOUS
September 30th, 2006, 18:28
I think it's the classic reset problem. If yes try to clean the internal connectors between the motherboard and the power supply board.

http://sbibuilder.dc-france.com/.tmp/plaquemetal.jpg
semi
September 30th, 2006, 18:31
shuts down or resets?

It really shuts down. It doesn't reset. The red led stays on... and I can't restart it! I must wait like 10 mins to get back to the Time/Date settings. Then, it shuts down again and again!
Darksaviour69
September 30th, 2006, 18:38
sounds like its over heating, like SiZiOUS said...

http://consolevision.com/?Dreamcast:Tutorials:Fix_to_random_resets
semi
September 30th, 2006, 18:45
I'm gonna try the battery thing, then, Ima look for something else. Since the shut down happens at the beginning of the booting sequence.

And I always thought that the LED was Orange when the DC was powered. So anyway, I'm gonna try it in a few minutes, then I'll re-post!
semi
September 30th, 2006, 19:41
I just cleaned those pins, and it do the same thing. It shuts down and the LED stays red on the DreamCast. What could it be?

Please note that it took a bit longer to shut down. I was able to see the SEGA logo, and the game kind of started to boot...

So... when I start the Dreamcast, I see the bootscreen, then, the menu (i start it with no game in it) appears. It last for about for about 5 seconds or so... then... BLANK SCREEN ... but! The red light is still red... so there is still power in the Dreamcast. So I push power to turn it off... then I try to start it again by pushing Power... but nothing happens. I have to wait a few minutes to retry. When it finally power on, I get the same exact menu (the configuration menu), then again, bloank screen after 5 seconds or so.

I tried everything you told me, but it didn't work. So, what could it be?
Darksaviour69
September 30th, 2006, 21:04
is the fan working? is there dirt in it?
semi
September 30th, 2006, 21:30
is the fan working? is there dirt in it?

The interior is very clean. And the fan is working...
SiZiOUS
October 1st, 2006, 16:35
The interior is very clean. And the fan is working... Hum... doesn't seems to be a common problem. Did you try with another video cable and/or another monitor (tv set) ?

... it's a stupid option because if the dc shut down really, i don't think it's the video cable, but ... :(
bigral
October 1st, 2006, 21:38
check power supply for correct voltage
Kaspanova
October 1st, 2006, 22:33
to be honest, if this was 5 years ago, i would have said take it back to the "seller". but now you can get them extremely cheap. perhaps buy another DC unit and test that with your other one?
beetroot bertie
October 1st, 2006, 23:46
Sometimes, in addition to cleaning the pins you need to make sure they make contact properly with the part you take off. Lightly bending them in a bit may ensure a decent connection. Please don't bend a lot though, just a firm push should be enough.

This is mentioned in the same tutorial linked to earleir though.

http://consolevision.com/?Dreamcast:Tutorials:Fix_to_random_resets

This may not help though if your problem lies elsewhere.
peens
October 15th, 2006, 01:42
my computer did the same thing your dreamcast is doing and it was becuase the fan wasnt working properly. so like most people said, its prolly overheating
matthewmcg
October 21st, 2006, 00:12
open the console its real easy, to the left of the gd rom drive is the power board unscrew it and gently lift it out. clean it finely with a psp cloth or similar and be sure to clean the pins too then reassemble. you have to do this every couple of months due to the poor cooling in the dreamcast and the amount of dust that quickly gathers.
xchinamanx
December 12th, 2006, 04:52
i know! did u get urs from jap or soemthing and ur using the plug adpitor for it? cause it doesn't have power, so it shuts down(u need those eletri box things to transferr jap eletri to us or w/e) like example 5V to 10V