Another Dreamcast Question (Slightly Urgent)

[Guy]

I've tried burning several Dreamcast games so far, but none of them work on my system, despite being either 'self-booting' or when using my boot disk. So, the natural conclusion would be that my system was created after 2000. However, I've just found something that can supposedly work around that and let them work, anyway. The only problem is... I don't understand a word of it. I was wondering if someone here could perhaps dumb this whole thing down for me.. or.. -and I hate asking such a thing, but..- actually doing this for me. I know it's a lot of trouble, but I'm a complete and utter idiot when it comes to this kind of stuff. At the least, I really hope someone can explain what this means to me in an 'easy-to-understand' way. At the most.. I'd be forever greatful if someone could do it all for me and then just send me the iso via AIM (I'll do whatever I can to pay you back for it. Also, the two main games -not nessissarily both, one or the other- I'm trying to burn are Power Stone, and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike or 2nd Impact) Here is what I found:

6.1. Newer Non MIL-CD DCs and workaround
Thanks to DJ Motion from isonews, jc, OEM, and Xeal on dcwarez.

Some newer DCs have their BIOS programmed to prevent booting CD(R)s which have audio (audio boot data in this case) before the game data (formally known as the MIL-CD format, informally as the audio/data selfboot layout). Not nice, especially considering nearly all previous games - including ECHELON rips - work like this. When buying a Dreamcast, look for Dreamcast units manufactured BEFORE October 2000. There have been some units manufactured in Oct. 2000 and Dec. 2000 with the new BIOS revision that will not work with CDR's. Note that how recently you bought it and retail box type (regular or Smash Pack) do not matter, only the manufacture date of the unit, which should be visible through a small window on the Dreamcast retail box. Also identified as not working with the audio/data selfboot layout games are the Sakura Taisen and Hello Kitty special edition Dreamcasts available in Japan.

Many people have reported that there are plenty of units in the Oct 2000 - Dec 2000 timeframe that play the audio/data selfboot layout games just fine... thus the only way to check is to buy the unit and take it home and try it.

Note for Japanese DC owners (from OEM of dcwarez): My Jap DC refuses to boot the data/data selfboot format unless the total image size is below 70 minutes. Thus releases such as San Francisco Rush 2049, Deep Fighter & NFL2K1 don't work on my DC. (I have been able to get most of them to work though, by converting them to the old audio/data selfboot format.) According to Xeal this is a known problem with early Japanese models, which may explain why groups rarely use this format. It is also my experience that newer units won't boot the data/data format if the total image size is above 82 minutes (thus making it impossible to selfboot games like Sonic Adventure without ripping something out).

Addendum: Echelon's releases of NBA2K1 and NFL2K1 (and SFRush2049, of course) are already in the data/data selfboot format... other Echelon releases that use the data/data selfboot format are unknown.

The data/data selfboot solution (No modifications to console needed):
Right, so you've got your CD written and you want to make it selfboot and work on your new Dreamcast. Here goes...

1. Rip the CD with DiscJuggler to a CDI file.
2. Go in to a DOS/Command Prompt and using CDIRip, rip the CDI file so that a .CUE and .BIN file are created.
3. You can delete the .CUE file. Download a free copy of ISOBuster from the net and extract the files to a directory from the .BIN file.
4. Using IPBIN4WIN, create an IP file which corresponds to the game. It normally needs to be pointing at the 1st_read.bin file, or perhaps a different file if it is a WinCE game. A WinCE game can be detecting by checking if it has a 'WinCE' directory on the CD. If so, make sure you take this in to account when creating the IP file.
5. Now you'll need a tool called 'mkisofs'. It is included in the selfboot toolkit. Create an ISO from the files you have extracted, and the IP.BIN in the root directory. Make sure you use an offset of 0,0 *NOT* 0,11700.
6. Then you'll need to use Xeal's amazing 'Bin2Boot' tool on the ISO, which creates a selfboot CDI which puts the game data BEFORE the audio boot data. A miracle. Now the game works. It's been tested on a real non-CDR boot DC (one of the first in the UK) and it works fine.

[Josh]

What is your question?

[Guy]

Quote from my previous post: "I was wondering if someone here could perhaps dumb this whole thing down for me.. or.. -and I hate asking such a thing, but..- actually doing this for me. I know it's a lot of trouble, but I'm a complete and utter idiot when it comes to this kind of stuff. At the least, I really hope someone can explain what this means to me in an 'easy-to-understand' way. At the most.. I'd be forever greatful if someone could do it all for me and then just send me the iso via AIM (I'll do whatever I can to pay you back for it. Also, the two main games -not nessissarily both, one or the other- I'm trying to burn are Power Stone, and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike or 2nd Impact)" That was my question(s)

[Guy]

Bumping the topic. Sorry, this is my last day to try my hand at burning EDIT: I've just tried the whole proccess myself.. it's far, far too complicated for me. I don't understand a word of it.. I downloaded everything I needed, all the programs, ect. But after that, I was lost. I really, really need help..

[az_bont]

It's a dud workaround. The only problem it solves is with CD writers that are unable to correctly burn the audio track.

This has been confirmed by Rand Linden, who performed some very extensive tests into the various methods of boooting Mil-CDs when he was developing bleem!cast.

[Guy]

I don't know what that means, either. So are you saying then.. that I guess the only way I could ever get the games to work is to find a Dreamcast that was produced before Oct. 2000?

[az_bont]

Possibly. If you can find an Audio/Data disc burned by a friend, or bought from a shop (bleem!cast, Action Replay etc.) and it does work, then it's just your burner. If not, then you're screwed.

If you do need to purchase a new console, make sure you ask in the shop to see the manufactere date. October 2000 is only a very rough estimate, and there are machines produced months afterwards that can handle Mil-CDs just fine.

[Guy]

I don't suppose you'd happen to know good places to look for Dreamcast consoles? The only places I can think of are pawn shops.. but I wouldn't think a pawn shop owner would know the manufacture date of the system.

[mushindo]

ebay, wonderful ebay. You can also find out the manufacture date by looking under the console's base and taking a gander at that shiny sticker Also, if your console can use a gameshark then it can play cdrs. Dcemulation.com has some nice faqs for this type of stuff as well.

[Guy]

I just found the manufacture date on my Dreamcast. It is indeed Oct. 2000. So much for that.. but you mentioned a gameshark. I happen to have a gameshark for my system. If I pop in the gameshark, and then the burnt disk, it might run? Or did you mean something else? I apologize for sounding so pathetic, but this is really the only way for me to get Dreamcast games now. I'm unable to purchace anything online (bad history with buying stuff online. Ripped off far too many times) and absolutely nowhere around here sells them.