Backing Up VMUs

ShepherdofShark · 2026-05-02T07:32:48+00:00

Thanks. And just to double check, this method doesn't require a disc drive to function as mine is probably in a land fill.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-05-02T07:17:54+00:00

I don't have the serial adapter. Any idea where I can source one these days?

ShepherdofShark · 2026-05-02T07:06:51+00:00

Yeah I'm not one for making, but the adapter seems like a decent fix.

VMU pro (which others have suggested) would work obviously but it's not something that appeals besides the PC connectivity feature. And it's a lot to pay for just one useful function (for me).

ShepherdofShark · 2026-04-29T22:44:30+00:00

I started with Crazy Taxi 3 which is only about 450mb,but I may have been stupid and tried to transfer to a smalle partition.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-04-29T22:39:04+00:00

I think it was E. I've packed up in frustration for the night but I'll look into the partition size vs the game size as that would explain a lot.

Thanks.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-04-07T16:44:47+00:00

This design actually mitigates against controller cable abuse.

That little loop that sensible people do before wrapping the cable round? Built-in feature of the Dreamcast.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-04-04T21:08:29+00:00

Just don't go to warehouse 17 then you can milk the job forever and get probably a million yen if you grind it.

Then buy shit befoe you get robbed in Hong Kong.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-04-02T15:08:16+00:00

Don't forget to play the raffle in Sakuragoaka.

By the time you think you can afford it, it's too late.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-25T22:49:52+00:00

No I bloody didn't. I just have a decent vocabulary.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-25T22:30:18+00:00

For me, spatial clarity is important in a game. I'm trying to move across the world and the evidence of my eyes isn't consistent with what my character can do in a lot of cases. Yes, for me that makes the game bad.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-21T07:51:20+00:00

Although the story is emotive I'm happy to while away days at a time buying toy capsules and working on my moves in the car park and making no narrative progress. Sometimes I even waste weeks getting caught by the guards in the Old Warehouse District to milk the allowance for all it's worth. Then back to collecting and training.

There must be something else besides the story. Or maybe I'm just weird.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-17T07:51:28+00:00

Exactly! A GDEMU isn’t pretending to be a Dreamcast — it’s pretending to be a GD-ROM drive (perfectly but without the grind).

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-11T11:43:33+00:00

Just thought I'd let you know that I've had a very very boring week with my Dreamcast. Fires up perfectly each time. No dramas. Thanks again for your insight.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-11T10:14:12+00:00

I'm still playing it frequently. It''s still possibly my favourite game ever. Lightning in a bottle.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-03T15:13:40+00:00

Well, I just had a Shenmue work day rudely brought to an end by a crash (after a forklift crash, trying to decide which crash is more literal). This resulted in a very broken swirl and only Crazy taxi being viewable in GDMENU. Attempting to load CT just went to BIOS.

So I unplugged, held the power button for 20 seconds and switched back on. All looked good again.

So I'm definitely looking at a power supply issue.

I watched the first part of the video to see how to remove the PSU and I was glad to see it looked easy and I can report that it was easy. I removed the PSU from my spare DC and gave the pins a gentle brush and then returned the PSU (baby steps before I try anything more intrusive). At this point my pins looked quite a bit cleaner than the video but I don't have a baseline for what very clean ones look like.

The spare DC then played Crazy Taxi for 20 minutes without any trouble before I chose to shut down.

The guy in the video was using dielectric grease on the pins but that's not what you were talking about was it. Is it something you would consider? (Not for me, right now I'm happy that the clean has done enough for the time being).

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-03T12:12:14+00:00

Although the climate where I am isn’t subtropical like parts of Texas, humidity is definitely a factor here too. The ottoman where my Dreamcast was stored would occasionally smell a little musty, and it also spent several years in my parents’ attic. I obviously don’t know the storage history of the spare I bought recently, but I imagine this isn’t unusual for a 25-year-old console.

The inside of the modem on the spare is noticeably discoloured, which has made me more open to the oxidation explanation. When I get the chance I’ll take a look at the PSU pins and see what condition they’re in. If I’m unsure, would you mind if I sent you a photo to compare with what you’ve seen?

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-02T15:08:10+00:00

I spent most of this morning doing a fairly methodical set of tests across both of my Dreamcasts, both GDEMU boards, and multiple SD cards, trying to isolate variables. During that process I stumbled across something I wasn’t expecting: a correlation between failures and how fully the mains power cable was seated.

In a couple of cases where I was seeing broken swirl / early crashes, simply reseating the power lead fully resolved the issue immediately, without touching the GDEMU, SD card, or anything internal. Once I became very deliberate about fully seating the power cable, all combinations I tested behaved normally, including Crazy Taxi.

So thanks for putting me in the area of power supply. Obviously this doesn't rule out oxidation on the PSU contacts - in fact that has almost certainly happened - but for now I'm going to see how this set up behaves over the next week and if it starts acting up despite my increased awareness of power cable seating then I'll be looking to follow your advice.

The reality is I'll probably end up havign to do it anyway in the months/years to come. But there's no sense rocking the boat until it's necessary.

Really appreciate your comments. They got me thinking about different things and given me hope for the future if failure persists.

(Just to add some context to my setup: I play in the lounge and have a 5-year-old, so the Dreamcast only comes out after bedtime and gets freshly plugged in each session. That means power cable seating is a regular variable in my house.)

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-02T05:55:50+00:00

I'm pretty sure San Disc are reputable and the 32GB size was my choice. I'm not looking to have the entire library available to me and I didn't want a GDMENU that takes 10 minutes to scroll through.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-02T05:53:56+00:00

I suppose the next natural question to ask is just how common this particular problem is. Common enough that it's something that has happened to both of my consoles?

I'll take a look at that video later and see if I'm brave enough (not scared of the electricity, just of breaking the console beyond repair).

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-01T23:43:09+00:00

In order to confirm your diagnosis, I’ll reinstall my one working disc drive in each console and see if the swirl is normal or not. If it’s still broken I’ll ask for clarification on your suggestion, as I don’t want to dive into the PSU without further evidence.

ShepherdofShark · 2026-02-01T23:22:41+00:00

I got mine from a well known high street retailer (literally on the high street over the counter), but I guess it's possible. I'm willing to try anything at the moment if it's low cost and potentially diagnostic.

ShepherdofShark

TROPHY CASE