dreamcast freezes after 5 minutes...HELP

megs · #1 04-02-2002, 21:24

i just bought a used dreamcast a week ago and after about 5-10 minutes of play the sound will stop playing or the game will freeze.... the bottom doesnt feel hot so im not sure if its overheating...anybody know whats wrong???

Wayne · #2 04-02-2002, 22:37

Believe me, it is overheating. The heat doesn't tranfer well from the inside to the outside. The fan on the side is vented backwards to do any good, and the design of the heat-sink on the three major chips is inadequate to competently cool them on some machines. I have even bent the heat-sinks down a bit so they press on the chips a bit harder and mine still overheats unless I turn the Dreamcast over on its side with the fan port up, and place a small desk fan beside it, blowing over the bottom of the console.

If I follow this procedure, I can usually play for a long while before eventually (sometimes never) locking up. If I don't follow this procedure, it rarely lasts 5-10 minutes before freezing. Once it starts freezing up, it won't run reliably unless it has been left turned off for several hours (at least).

Try it. The lack of perceived heat coming from the bottom of the console does not mean that the machine isn't overheating.

wasabi · #3 05-02-2002, 08:47

I have the same problem and tried your techique using a fan blowing the bottom of the console. BUT I didn't work... it still freezes after 20 mins... oh no... help?

Wayne · #4 05-02-2002, 14:42

I also tweaked the heat-sinks on my DC console, although this is an operation I don't recommend people do unless they're very confident in disassembling and reassembling complex electronics.

The top shield that covers the main circuit board has a heavy aluminum heat-sink riveted to it. This heat sink may not be obvious at first glance, but it has metal tabs that are bent down a bit from the rest of the metal. These tabs make contact with the large chips on the circuit board (the chips have soft rubber thermal material on them).

To me, these tabs didn't look like they fully touched the chips, so I very VERY carefully bent them slightly so they would press against the chips a bit more firmly. DO NOT OVERBEND! TO MUCH PRESSURE ON THE CHIPS COULD BREAK THEM OR THEIR SOLDER JOINTS!!

After reassembly, test to make sure it works. If not, disassemble and try to find your assembly mistake.

Note: I've torn down and reassembled my Dreamcast down to the main board several times and it worked fine after each reassembly. I have, however, also build components for expensive avionics RADAR and FLIR systems before, so... ...your abilities may vary.

juschillin · #5 13-02-2002, 23:43

bros i have had my dc for 2-3 yrs and never had it over heat or freeze up my buddy too, you might have got a jacked up one but you can still buy them new for 49 bucks online and the you risk it not working with your backups 1 out of 15 dont work w/ them. but at least you got a good chance