Sega CD...YOU BASTARD!!!!

so the day has finally come, my Sega CD has finally decided to shit itself and totally not read games. Ever since I got it ~9 months ago it has gotten progressively worse and worse with regards to a grinding sound when tracking. I think the culprit is actually the little switch that tells the drive motor to stop isn't working and its slowly wearing out the gears which will eventually ruin the drive. The good news is that the motherboard is fine and the laser is dandy so worst case scenario I just need to find a dead Model 2 with an OK shape drive to swap out with. Fortunately for me, there is one at Play N Trade that didn't survive a fuse replacement surgery (rather, me bridging the fuse with wires and I think shorting it out against the RF plate and thanks to the shitty model 2 Genesis that won't stay on I didn't notice until it was too late...its a long story, I don't want to go into it), so I'm going to try that.

Has anyone else ever had a problem like this with a model 2 Sega CD? When it loads fine sometimes but other times it makes a super loud GRRRRRRRR sound like a Dreamcast drive X1000. I want to know because if I can't piece together a working drive from the Play N Trade parts Sega CD I want to try buying one that won't power on but I want to know my odds when doing so so I don't get the same problem all over again.

lil update: well, I tried it again about an hour later and it worked fine. I mean, it works, but making those kind of sounds which no doubt mean something is getting badly abused leads me to believe it can only last for so long. I wish I knew exactly what to do to make it stop doing that because I don't want to have it work for 5-10 years and then totally crap out when Sega CDs have become as rare as Vectrex systems and cost me $500 to replace. I love my Sega CD, I wish it wasn't such a gear grinding bastard. Also, in sort of answering my own question, I read on an eBay listing (I was really thinking I had to replace it last night) that another model 2 "clicked" when you turned it on but read games (what mine does), so apparently it is something at least somewhat common once it gets old. I really think its the switch that tells the laser to stop, but I don't know what to do to make it better since there is a plastic housing around the copper so there is no way to clean it and it doesn't seem like it has been permanently deformed. Plus, if I were to bend it too far it may not be able to reach the inner track of the disc, making things ultimately even worse. Do model 1 Sega CD's ever have problems like this? I may try to pick up a model 1, I would imagine the drive must be a little more durable than this...

All in all, I'd say the SCD2 is more reliable and durable than SCD1. Your best bet would be to find a nice SCD2 and buy it and be done with mucking around with fixing broken ones. Systems that are broken are usually broken for a reason which most often means it has been used a lot and/or having been treated like a red-headed stepchild.

finding a good one is easier said than done. For starters, a "good one" that has been tested, etc. usually won't be priced below $100...bullshit. Most Sega CDs are untested because it requires having a Genesis and all the necessary hookups and thats more than closet divers or pawn shops/flea markets are willing to mess with. After playing some other games, I realized only certain games do it, so it may just be that games like Samurai Shodown and NBA JAM make the laser do weird things that make a loud noise. Sonic CD, F1 Beyond the Limit, and Cliffhanger made no unusual sounds while playing (spare for one tiny click every once in a while). There is no escaping the fact that all Sega CDs are used (except for sealed ones...yeah, good luck with that) and no matter what you do there will probably be SOMETHING not perfect about it. Also, many problems stem from actual LACK of use like stagnation of lubricants, possible damage to springs from long term deflection, and of course dead save batteries due to not being powered on to keep it charged. I would argue a Sega CD used 1-2 times a month would be in substantially better operating condition than one kept in a box all these years. In a related note, I remember hearing Samurai Shodown was actually recalled, though from my understanding it had to do with a glitch that kept you from fighting the final boss, though based on my situation it may have also had to do with the in track being set too far inward to the point it freaked out the laser every time you went to load game data.

Add up the fact the drawer is mechanical, has separate switches to let it know when its fully open, and fully closed (VS one switch) and the whole assembly has to come up and grab the CD (if it doesn't come all the way up and lock into position the CD will grind off the bottom of the tray) the Model 2 "should" be more reliable. That is if its been taken care of. Since the lens assembly is exposed when the door is open there is more potential for some damn kid to damage it. I've always got my eye open for a model 2 for playing on and I'll keep my Model 1 for looking at only!

Mine has this problem also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U55FF7NLgn4

On the lasers drive, one of the gears tend to wobble a little and slip when warm.

I've not found a fix other than that the whole mech must be replaced.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by evildragon

Mine has this problem also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U55FF7NLgn4

On the lasers drive, one of the gears tend to wobble a little and slip when warm.

I've not found a fix other than that the whole mech must be replaced.

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oh, that has NOTHING on what mine does. I got the fried Sega CD from Play N Trade and the drive looks to be perfect (all gears are nice and tight), so I'm going to try to swap them out tomorrow. I'm going to take before and after video tomorrow so you can see what an obnoxious asshole a model 2 can be at its worst. The most unbelievable part is that it will still read games even after all the ruckus. That's Sega for you, chop off their legs and arms and the stump of a torso will wobble on with every ounce of life left in it.

This begs the question, is there an alternative for replacement parts?

Is there another way to play CD games on the SegaCD? Use a regular CD-rom with an adapter or tranlator board or something? Something I can rig up?

Just had a DVD player go out on me, a set-top burner, and discovered it has a full blown DVD-rom drive in it when I took it apart (has a power issue).

So I'm wondering if a rigged up CD-rom or even a DVD rom can be made to function with the Sega Genesis to play the cd games?

Good luck with repairing your unit, good thing you found a parts unit!

Nathan

Another thing you could do, is check and make sure no gears lost the tooth and gears haven't lost it's lubrication.

Btw, you can't swap the laser mech, but you can replace it, there's countless sites online where you can purchase the mech for like 50 or 60 bucks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scooter

Your best bet would be to find a nice SCD2 and buy it and be done with mucking around with fixing broken ones. Systems that are broken are usually broken for a reason which most often means it has been used a lot and/or having been treated like a red-headed stepchild.

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http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5901

pssssh, who needs a pansy ass "perfect condition" Sega CD when you have skills that pay the bills.

replace the laser as they are cheaper then the segcd1 laser
have a look at the laser to find the laser number
usaly starts with kss or khs