DC won't load games :(

[Mr.Denny]

I got the DC i bought on ebay with 12 games but no games will load. It just hangs at the Dreamcast symbol. Music cds work fine but games won't load at all.

Any help?

[SSaxdude]

Hmmm you might want to clean the lens. On Sega's site it says:

# To clean the lens inside the disc door (it's at the back and will probably appear blue), gently clean the lens with a store-bought lens cleaner intended for plastic lenses.

[nate9999]

I had this same problem too for some reason. Yes, cleaning the laser is a good first choice. My problem was quite odd though because it managed to fix itself. When i got my DC it wouldnt play any real games, only music cds, and backed up games, for some reason. Didnt really bother me cuz i have back-ups of all my real games. Finally, one of my back-ups got lost so i tried my real copy one day, and it happened to work. Everything has worked ever since then, quite odd. So i guess if cleaning the laser doesnt work, try getting cdr back-ups of the games you own and try to "break it in" so-to-speak, then maybe it will work better some day (i know this is probably just a fluke that only happened to work for my DC, but worth a shot i guess).

[Mr.Denny]

Hmmm you might want to clean the lens. On Sega's site it says:

# To clean the lens inside the disc door (it's at the back and will probably appear blue), gently clean the lens with a store-bought lens cleaner intended for plastic lenses.

So, would i clean the actual eye-like lense or the blue bit behind it?.

sorry for sounding a bit thick. :P

[Christuserloeser]

Sounds like the laser needs re-calibration. This tutorial should do:
http://www.ilovetheinternets.com/ind...bration-trick/

[Mr.Denny]

I've tried everything you guys suggested and It still won't work. I'll be sending it back on Monday if I don't get it sorted out.

Any other ideas?.

I appreciate the help so far though.

[Christuserloeser]

Give the laser calibration a few more tries. If you listen carefully to the sounds the laser does when checking the disc you will be able to tell when you're getting closer to the point on where it will start to work properly again:

http://www.ilovetheinternets.com/ind...bration-trick/

[Mr.Denny]

Alright

But, do you have any tips for what to listen out for?. How shouldn't it sound?.

Sorry to be a bother but at this point I'm pretty desperate.

[Christuserloeser]

If you turn the screw too far in either direction it makes different sounds. It's actually a bit tricky if you don't know how it's supposed to sound like, but after some tries you will be able to tell the difference.

Between each time you've changed the screw's position you should insert a CDR/GD to test it.

You shouldn't turn the screw too far with one step. Given you've probably tried it already and thus probably made things worse for now, you should use bigger steps in both directions first (about 1/8), then smaller and smaller steps until it works again and shows the SEGA logo (a very rewarding moment )

If you haven't tried it yet and the laser still is as it came, you got good chances that only a very very tiny correction will fix the laser's position. The less you turn the screw, the better. "All you have to do is turn it clockwise just slightly. What I do is turn it, test it, repeat."

Just don't give up too soon, it will work.

[Mr.Denny]

I appreciate the advice but after 4 hours of trying I gave up. It went from not spinning the disc to spinning it to quickly and everything in between.

It must be just broke I imagine.