Dreamcast G1-ATA (IDE) adapter/ Dreamshell Bios

Discussion in 'Modding and Hacking - Consoles and Electronics' started by meg4drive, Nov 18, 2015.

  1. meg4drive

    meg4drive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2014
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    3
    Hello,
    I have tried to find the information I need but am having some trouble. I purchased a Dreamcast G1-ATA IDE Adapter that replaces the optical drive. The kit also came with a nice bonus - ide to cf adapter and a pre burned Dreamshell boot bios that I was not expecting.
    Here is the item I got - http://world.taobao.com/item/457842...in&spm=a312a.7700824.w4004-717747455.8.pDfIcQ


    Okay so after this new bios was installed I can boot dreamshell off a sd card without any cd in the tray, but in order to boot successfully I had to rename SD_DS_CORE.BIN to DS_CORE.BIN otherwise it would get stuck at the dreamshell startup logo.
    Which would make me presume that the bios installed is
    boot_loader_wsc_bfont_sd.bios* - Bootloader with setup original syscalls and full original Sega BIOS fonts. Without G1 initialization.
    info taken from - http://www.dc-swat.ru/page/dreamshell/firmware/
    but upon statup it clearly sates checking for G1 ATA devices, so I am a little confused.
    http://imgur.com/a/REEHf
    I also cleaned it up a bit as there was mess of flux on it.
    On to my main point which is the system will not boot without the optical drive present both with and without the G1 ATA adapter plugged in. It gets to the dreamcast bios logo and the sound is all weird.


    I would like to try flashing another bios just to be safe but I have never used the Bios Utility in dreamshell before. Could anyone please give some instructions on how to first backup the current bios and then flash a recommended version as I had a look but do not want to start selecting random options. If anyone has any other knowledge in case that is not the problem here, I am listening.

    Sorry about the wall of text, Thanks for the time
     
  2. Bad_Ad84

    Bad_Ad84 Keyboard Error: Press F1 to Continue

    Joined:
    May 26, 2011
    Messages:
    7,087
    Likes Received:
    279
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    There are parts on the gdrom that are required for the dreamcast to boot correctly.
    Dont remember what exactly, memory says a crystal but I couldnt be sure
     
  3. meg4drive

    meg4drive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2014
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    3
    Interesting, further searching lead me to this -
    In any case you need GD-ROM board for getting AICA clock from it.
    If you want fully remove GD-ROM, you need attach AICA clock manually to pin B23 (use active crystal 33.8688 MHz), without it DC can't work normally.
    It looks like that crystal is already installed on the G1-ATA I received. Is there a way to test is its working?
     
  4. meg4drive

    meg4drive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2014
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    3
    I tried removing the crystal and re-soldering it with the same result, I will next try a new crystal and post back with results. Thanks for the info.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2015
  5. RaZiel

    RaZiel Enthusiastic Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2008
    Messages:
    517
    Likes Received:
    53
    Location:
    Ole Carolina
    Thanks for this been wanting to buy one but never stumbled upon anyone actually selling them or willing to do the mod.
     
  6. toto99303

    toto99303 Newly Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2016
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hi, I have the same problem with this adapter. Did anyone found a solution?
     

Share This Page