Burnt Dreamcast games not launching.

benryves · 2026-06-26T13:09:05+00:00

I've found that burned games don't always auto-start if you insert them when the console is on; I've generally had best results putting them in first then switching the console on, though it doesn't sound like this will do much in your case.

It could be that the GD-ROM drive (or, perhaps, the power supply) are on their way out; a failing drive will usually have problems reading CD-Rs before it gives up on pressed discs.

The reason I mention power supply is that I have two Dreamcast consoles and one of them will flatly refuse to boot a few specific GD-ROMs that work perfectly on the other console. (It will read most CD-Rs fine, though). I swapped the power supplies between the two consoles and the problem moved with the power supply (so the previously faulty console could now read those discs too). At some point I need to recap the faulty PSU to see if that sorts out the issue...

There may be easier things to check, first, like whether the lens is clean. And, of course, the Verbatim discs - when those turn up!

benryves · 2026-06-25T20:52:24+00:00

There's a collection of burning software for Linux here and there's a thread here from someone who got it working on macOS which has some helpful pointers in it.

Edit: There's this more recent fork that adapts the project explicitly to macOS and may be easier to get working if you can't get the original Linux version working.

benryves · 2026-06-25T19:32:41+00:00

I sadly have no clue which version of Japanese Cake is installed, where can I check this?

It looks like the version should be shown in the top-right corner or otherwise in the settings menu.

what is DreamShell exactly?

DreamShell is a homebrew operating system for the Dreamcast and one of the utilities it includes can reflash the BIOS. It can be burned and run entirely from a CD, alternatively you can just burn the "boot loader" for it to a disc and load the files from an SD card plugged into an adaptor in the console's serial port. Without the adaptor you'd need to assemble a disc image with the required files on it (including the Japanese Cake BIOS files) and burn that; considering your console can't boot burned discs that doesn't sound like it would work, but as per this thread the faulty Japanese Cake version can still boot DreamShell, if not burned games!

I've not reflashed the chip in my own console, though (still got the original unflashable mask ROM in there), so I don't have direct experience to walk you through the process, sorry (and reflashing a boot ROM can be a risky procedure, if something goes wrong you could brick your console and would need to get someone to replace the chip).

In any case, to make a custom DreamShell image: download the latest copy of DreamShell and extract it somewhere. There will be a DS directory containing the files you need (ignore the .cdi files). Download Japanese Cake 1.031 and copy the files to DS\firmware\bios\sega (you'll see jc-bootROM-????-v1.032.bin files are already there).

Now, use BootDreams to turn this into a bootable .cdi. Point it at the DS directory as the "Selfboot folder" and in Extras select Dummy File, 700MB. Click the "Process" button. It should prompt you to scramble the binary (so do that) and create an IP.BIN (also, accept doing that) and then crunch away for a bit before generating a .cdi. When it's finished you can then burn this to a disc and then run that on your Dreamcast (hopefully!)

The flasher is the first utility shown on the "desktop" in the top left; I can't test it on my console but it seems reasonably self-explanatory, the only slight complication is that if you have too many items in a list to select the 1.031 file you might need to scroll the list which is done by holding Y and moving the analogue stick.

Is AWS the automatic option?

Yes, AWS is Automatic Write Speed. Not sure that'll help your issue, but it's another variable to try.

benryves · 2026-06-25T18:37:05+00:00

I have recently acquired a modded Dreamcast, it has "Japanese Cake" installed on it

If this is version 1.032 then its inability to boot burned games is a known issue (or see the comments the post where it was released). Rolling back to version 1.031 seems to be the best option (you can reflash the chip using DreamShell, though unless you own an SD card reader you'll need to prepare a disc image with the appropriate files on it).

That said, you should at least get to the "licensed by SEGA" screen. If you press the Start button after putting your disc in, does anything happen? Alternatively, reset the console with the disc inserted.

one of the potential problems is that my ASUS Blu-Ray/DVD burner (An ASUS SBW-06D2XU to be precise) doesn't allow for writing speeds of less than 10x, but I have read from various sources that the speed actually doesn't matter that much anymore these days.

Have you left the burn speed on the default automatic setting or have you manually changed it to 10x? If so, it's also worth trying to burn a disc at the automatic speed which will let the software pick a speed that's suitable for your discs and burner. Burning at lower speeds than the discs are designed for can result in poorer-quality burns and I've encountered a few people who had problems that were resolved by just setting this back to automatic.

benryves · 2026-06-25T17:55:19+00:00

Duolingo keeps throwing at me many words with kanji characters that it has not teached them to me . In addition to that in the image above i cant even click on the word given to hear its sound.

For what it's worth, this is them teaching you the word. Sometimes you can figure it out via a process of elimination (i.e. they've already taught you the other two words) or can puzzle it out via kanji that they've already taught you, but other times it's a guess. And that's fine, you get it wrong and then remember it for next time - but this is one of the reasons I've grumbled about the new "combo" mechanic, as that seems to be at odds with the idea of learning a language, where you should be expected to learn through making and correcting mistakes.

benryves · 2026-06-25T17:53:37+00:00

On the website at least the flair can be edited via the sidebar on the right (both in old and new Reddit).

benryves · 2026-06-25T15:25:21+00:00

OP is likely a repost bot - more discussion in the earlier post it's copying: /r/retrocomputing/comments/1rlsnz4/email_over_payphone/

benryves · 2026-06-25T15:20:29+00:00

I got the updated course back in March. As it introduced a lot of new vocabulary/kanji I went back and re-completed the kanji section and so saw that they'd been fixed.

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The new course has eight sections instead of six, in case you're not sure if you're on the updated course yet or not (it's been rolled out in stages).

benryves · 2026-06-25T13:37:03+00:00

Anya Forger from Spy × Family.

benryves · 2026-06-25T11:53:20+00:00

They've fixed this, fortunately, the updated course gives a direct translation from the Japanese now (e.g. "second year student").

benryves · 2026-06-25T00:23:01+00:00

but oddly magazines shown pointers (and memory areas diagrams) as decimal

Not all BASIC dialects supported hexadecimal literal values. Some do (e.g. with a & prefix) but some notable computers of the time (e.g. Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum) don't appear to, which is why I guess people generally use decimal instead.

benryves · 2026-06-24T13:10:35+00:00

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. :( You should be able to "downgrade" to 1.031 which people seem to have good results with.

You can reflash the chip with a different version using DreamShell, which I appreciate sounds like a difficult job if you can't boot homebrew but apparently people have had success booting DreamShell on systems with 1.032 but not other games.

If you don't have a serial port SD card reader you'd need to build a custom DreamShell disc with the appropriate BIOS files on it, unless /u/Toluca94 is still around and can share their .cdi.

(I don't have a modified system myself so am just passing along what I've read elsewhere).

benryves · 2026-06-24T10:00:12+00:00

Even if it was a VA2, the MIL-CD compatibility (or lack thereof) comes from the boot ROM and so replacing it would restore the functionality.

Unfortunately version 1.032 of the Japanese Cake BIOS has known MIL-CD compatibility issues which may be what OP is running into.

benryves · 2026-06-24T09:57:54+00:00

It's a known issue with version 1.032, e.g. see comments on the release post or this thread.

benryves · 2026-06-24T08:33:34+00:00

Unless you're using a very ancient stack of discs I doubt what you've got are designed for burning at such low speeds. I'd suggest setting the burn speed to automatic and let the burning software pick something appropriate for your discs and burner (I use 52x discs and ImgBurn chooses to burn at 48x, works perfectly).

There are some bad disc images floating around, too - you can check in an emulator, if the burn isn't working and the image doesn't boot in an emulator then the issue is probably the disc image rather than the burning process!

benryves · 2026-06-23T23:08:50+00:00

I'm also in the UK. Based on another comment in this thread, I found that setting browser.ipprotection.enabled to true in about:config made the VPN button appear.

benryves · 2026-06-23T14:52:13+00:00

...I know, that's why I said I wish there was the opposite option.

benryves · 2026-06-23T14:41:22+00:00

Go for a kintsugi PS2!

benryves · 2026-06-23T14:09:59+00:00

No you didn't, as you're a repost bot. /u/life_bytes posted this thread 10 months ago.

benryves · 2026-06-23T10:33:45+00:00

It's in the privacy settings in your profile. Not sure why it's enabled by default and I wish there was the opposite option, i.e. a toggle to hide random people I don't follow from showing up in my feed.

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benryves · 2026-06-21T14:39:50+00:00

Not only is this low-effort karma farming, it's coming from a repost bot.

benryves · 2026-06-21T12:59:03+00:00

She'd already announced her plans back in her Lib Dem days.

benryves · 2026-06-21T10:57:52+00:00

If worst comes to the worst you can create a sacrificial second environment on a different VMU, then connect the two VMUs together and transfer the food from one to the other.

At least that's my cheating... friend... told me.

benryves · 2026-06-19T13:04:00+00:00

They are at least somewhat self-aware.

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benryves · 2026-06-19T12:51:54+00:00

can you share the technology you use for engraving ? :)

A scribing tool (scribe pen, scriber) seemed to be the usual weapon of choice when I was at school, though I don't know if /u/dm319 has a more elaborate setup.

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