Newbie Brain Explosion!!!
 

I'm going crazy, all day I've been trying to burn a DC CD. I got padus Disk juggler, I downloaded and put together a RAR file from a news group, I got the CDI file and I used the juggler to copy the file to CD. And it didn't work in my Dreamcast! I've read every FAQ I can find, tried everything I can think of, and still I'm stuck. I'm sure it would be hard to find the exact problem with just this message. But could anyone recommend some ideas or some info. to help??? Please???
Thanks.

Try it in other people's Dreamcasts. I'm guessing you may have a newer DC, I think there is a work around to it. *shrug*

~The Masked M0M0~

I don't think it's very new, I got it about a year after it came out, so I assume that's not too new? Son of a bitch, I'm gonna cry, I've been on here since 8:00am today, and it's 10:30 now, and I'm still where I started.

Flip your DC over and look at the black sticker on the back. Now find the manufactured date... if its made before Oct 2000, then you should feel relieved, and if it was made after then thats probably the problem. Those "new" dc's just cant read cdrs, although some of those can, but its mostly rare if it was made after October 2000.

It may be the media you're using that's at fault. My machine doesn't like the dark blue media. You can't use CDRW discs at all (unless you do some dangerous tweaks to the laser that may cause premature failure).

Also, once you burn the disc, if you leave it in your computer's CD drive, can you browse the files on the disc or does it appear to be an audio disc or a blank disc with 648 mb of free space?

If it appears as an AUDIO or a blank with 648mb free, it's a coaster (bad burn). If you can browse the files on the disc, chances are it may be a good disc an your machine just doesn't like the media. If it doesn't like the media, just try a different brand. I've had the best luck on mine with the light green or champagne colored (almost silver) discs. Your mileage may vary though.

This isn't entirely true. New (Post-Oct2000) units CAN read CDR discs. They cannot read the AUDIO/DATA formatted DC copies because their firmware was rewritten to prevent it (apparently in an attempt to stem pirates attempts). If the disc is arranged correctly, the newer machines will read them just fine. The newest BIN2BOOT program creates a .CDI file that will work just fine on newer machines.

Majin, it's old, Sept. 1999, so I'm pretty happy about that.
Wayne, I'm prayin you're right, I put the CD in and the player keeps prompting me to put in a CD so I assume it's because it's of poor quality (they aren't great CD's).
Man, will I feel dumb if that's the problem. Thanks guys.

Or.. your burner might not be compatible with DJ.. try converting the cdi for nero using cdi2nero...

What game exactly are you trying to burn?

I'm trying to burn a CDI of the new NCAA game, it was the only one I could get the full CDI of...As for my burner, it's a Samsung DVD/Burner Combo, the DiscJuggler seems to recognize it fine. Well today I went and bought some good Verbatim CD's and they still won't work. But here's something that might be of use....When I try and see what's on the CD in my CD drive, it just keeps prompting me to insert a disc!?!?!?!?! If this provides andy clues, I could use some help, I've sorta hit a stand still in my progress.
Thanks.

does anyone have a suggestion?

It could be your burner. I just started burning DC games this week. Had a Mitsumi 4801TE that previously copied over 150 Playstation games but couldn't burn a good DC game . All software I used reported the burns were successful at 1x but they wouldn't play. Couldn't read them with my puter either. I decided it was time to get a new burner. I got the Lite-On 24x ($150) last week and every burn since has been succesful..12 in all. This drive is so good that twice my puter crashed (blue screen), pressed a key, windows returned and the drive kept buring. Burn them at 8x - 24x. Also while burning I have been downloading new iso's, on IRC and the web...no problems. Hope this helped.

It Does sound like the burener now, do any of your friends have a burner? Maybe you could take the rar files over to thier house and burn it from thiers and if it works then it's probably your burner, but still you could try converting it to another format, as one of the earlier messages suggests.