Dreamcast freezing on load screens.

[rmwing]

Basically what the title says. The only game I have at the moment for my DC is Sonic Adventure 1, sometimes it freezes on the first screen and sometimes it'll load the first cut scene but then freeze trying to load the level. Only thing I can think of is a heating issue, has anyone experienced similar things?

[Lord of Pirates]

Basically what the title says. The only game I have at the moment for my DC is Sonic Adventure 1, sometimes it freezes on the first screen and sometimes it'll load the first cut scene but then freeze trying to load the level. Only thing I can think of is a heating issue, has anyone experienced similar things?

Is the fan blocked and is it sitting on carpet?

[rmwing]

Basically what the title says. The only game I have at the moment for my DC is Sonic Adventure 1, sometimes it freezes on the first screen and sometimes it'll load the first cut scene but then freeze trying to load the level. Only thing I can think of is a heating issue, has anyone experienced similar things?

Is the fan blocked and is it sitting on carpet?

Nah it is on a shelf and definitely not cramped.

[Sixfortyfive]

FWIW, I'm pretty sure the first US print run of Sonic Adventure 1 was kind of spotty. I remember having to trade my disc in for a new one in 1999 because it was the only game I had that had serious loading issues. So I'd try to test out another game and see if it's actually the hardware that's the issue.

Does the DC disc drive sound like it's actually moving around and trying to load anything?

[Konsolkongen]

How does the disc look? If it's full of scratches that's most likely your problem.

[rmwing]

How does the disc look? If it's full of scratches that's most likely your problem.

Yeah it think this is it lol, I can't believe I didn't think of the disc being the problem, must need some caffeine........

[vladiris]

I had that problem ,and problem was in disk.Can't load boot data.

[Konsolkongen]

Treat your games better. I don't mean to sound like a dick, but every time you scratch a disc there's a very real chance that it won't work any more.

Proper handling of a disc isn't hard at all. Index finger in the center hole and thumb on the edge like this:

Holding it like that you'll be able to place the disc in a tray or top loading mechanism without dragging its surface across anything.

All the games I bought new are still completely scratch-free because I follow these simple rules. I believe the same guidelines to handling your games can be found in several of the game systems manuals too.

I guess it goes without saying, that every time you are done using a disc it should be placed safely back in it's cover.

[Fudoh]

lost cause, people just don't get this. I borrowed discs to friends which were returned like being used as a coaster....

[Lord of Pirates]

lost cause, people just don't get this. I borrowed discs to friends which were returned like being used as a coaster....

You can say that again, someone I know somehow got jelly on some discs .

[HydrogLox]

lost cause, people just don't get this. I borrowed discs to friends which were returned like being used as a coaster....

Understood, however ....

Proper handling of a disc isn't hard at all. Index finger in the center hole and thumb on the edge

I've been running into recommendations to handle discs only on the outside edge between the thumb and middle (or ring) finger (http://magicpork.com/images/holding_dvd_1.jpg) - the index finger is only used to press the disc release of the case and never touches the edge of the center spindle hole. Apparently this is supposed protect the reader device from 'grease' transference from the finger to the edge of the spindle hole to the spindle of the reader - 'grease' accumulation over time could in the best case reduce friction on the spindle or could in the worst case hasten the breakdown of the spindle's material. This may be a worthwhile consideration when dealing with vintage optical readers.

[Konsolkongen]

Never been a problem for me or anyone I know. As long as your index finger isn't dripping with sweat I can't imaging any dirt getting stuck in the drive mechanism by doing it this way. Of course your hands should be fairly clean when inserting a game. That goes for any system.

If you do have sweaty or greasy hands for whatever reason, you won't have a secure grip holding the disc only on the edges. The disc may slip right out of your hand, but stick a finger in that hole and you're good

[TransatlanticFoe]

Incidentally, has anyone had this type of issue with Code Veronica?

I have had 3 disc 1s of this game and only one has ever reliably gotten me past the first area of the game. And even that sometimes fails to load rooms - screen goes black after door animation, no sound from the disc drive. One of the discs that never worked looked pristine, like the one that mostly works now.

Other Dreamcast games - no problem. Except V Rally 2, which does a similar thing after races and between menu screens - just black screen and no disc drive activity. Really weird - and I have an utterly ruined Soul Calibur I bought for 99p that works perfectly. I also have a fairly beat up Soldier of Fortune - and that has about 5 minutes solid of howling Dreamcast loading before each level, so surely if the DC was on its way out it'd never deal with that!

[Konsolkongen]

I assume you're talking original discs? I wouldn't rule out that the drive itself is dying. Are you by any chance using a modchip?

The first modchips was mounted on a little PCB and would turn off after booting the game, the newer ones (cheap copies I assume) doesn't do this and it's my experience that this wears out the laser at an alarming rate. If you want a region-free Dreamcast you should get a region-free BIOS installed, as it doesn't mess up anything.

If your drive is failing you could always try adjusting the pot and see if that gets it working again, but in my experience this will only last a short time

[TransatlanticFoe]

Original discs (PAL), no modifications - I use a boot disc for imports.

Maybe I've just been really unlucky with the discs I have... everything else (bar V-Rally) works without any problems at all.

[Endymion]

I've been running into recommendations to handle discs only on the outside edge between the thumb and middle (or ring) finger (http://magicpork.com/images/holding_dvd_1.jpg) - the index finger is only used to press the disc release of the case and never touches the edge of the center spindle hole. Apparently this is supposed protect the reader device from 'grease' transference from the finger to the edge of the spindle hole to the spindle of the reader - 'grease' accumulation over time could in the best case reduce friction on the spindle or could in the worst case hasten the breakdown of the spindle's material. This may be a worthwhile consideration when dealing with vintage optical readers.

*cough*bullshit*cough*cough*

[HydrogLox]

*cough*bullshit*cough*cough*

Put it down to internet folklore if you like especially as the National Institute of Standards and Technology Report (2003) states:

Handle discs by the outer edge or the center hole.

But most of these recommendations focus on the condition of the disc and its (immediate) readability - not the potential impact that these practices have on the long term usability of the optical reader itself. For example:
AVS Forum: Can anybody tell me about the basic rules of DVD handling and storage?

1-Handling discs with a finger through the hole is fine for discs but will require more frequent cleaning of the rubber hub/spindle area of the optical drive itself as oily residue and dirt/dust collects there, eventually causing disc slippage with resulting errors in recording/finalizing.

Depending on the circumstances a soiled hub/spindle can be just as detrimental as a dirty lens to the point that some feel that it is just as important to clean the rubber hub/spindle as it is to clean the lens.
Panasonic 2006 and newer DVD drive hub/spindle cleaning and reassembly complications.

On top loaders like the Dreamcast it is easy enough to clean the hub/spindle area but currently tray and slot loader designs are more common making hub/spindle cleaning a pain - so it makes sense to "keep it clean" for as long as possible - short of keeping everything in a cleanroom and donning cleanroom gloves every time you handle a disc.

[Endymion]

I can't believe anybody with a mind enough to learn to read and write could believe any of that enough to recommend it, but honestly, if there is grease enough on your fingers to advise against holding a disc by slipping your finger through the hole, you've got way bigger problems on your hands than dirty video games. And yes, even accounting for accumulation over time. What the hell do your fingers secrete, SAE 10W40?

[Sarethums]

Could be your disc speed, get a youtube video on it.

[Ed Oscuro]

The argument for slippage doesn't make sense to me if you're reading at constant angular velocity - I would only see slippage occurring when dramatically changing the angular velocity (i.e. when going from the outside to the center of the disc, which can be a move from 5X-1X DVD-ROM read speed on PS2/Xbox generation drives) and this is probably already likely to happen anyway.

Disc reading, with the physical interface between the drive spindle and the center hole, isn't like a hydraulic automatic transmission constantly losing energy (and even if it was, it'd be at a predictable rate leading to a predictable spin speed).

[HydrogLox]

The argument for slippage doesn't make sense to me if you're reading at constant angular velocity.

The slippage discussion is usually found in connection with recorders. Some recorders employ high-speed constant linear velocity and zoned constant linear velocity recording modes. That could explain why this phenomenon is rarely observed on playback devices - unless they offer high-speed CLV modes for some reason.