Warning for cd swap users

[bulleta]

Warning

For those people who use the CD Swap technique to play backups on your Sega Saturn should be now warned, I have used this techique on my Sega Saturn for 2 and a half years, and now, the cd wont spin up, it spins so slowly that you can practically read the copyright printed on the CD, okay, what I mean is, it spins and slows down, then spins and slows down, it doesn't go at a constant full speed. The only game I have, that actually spins up to speed, is Sonic Jam, which is like, really strange. This is a warning for people and a request for help, do you know how I can fix this, without having to spend loads of money on ebay to get a replacement.

 

[DBOY]

At least someone's finally confirmed what I've been saying for quite a while now...

As for fixing it, unless the lens or motor unit are damaged it could be as simple as needing to re-lube the bars the lens assembly moves along. If it's the actually motor that's gotten to thoroughly abused, you're just fucked (sorry to say).

BTW, was your Saturn a Model 1 or a Model 2?

 

[SkankinMonkey]

Well that's interesting since I've been swapping for almost 3 years now, and some have been for longer. What you're probably doing is spinning it backwards or some stupid shit. Swapping with the saturn does not hurt it, the motor DISENGAGES when the cd is taken off, meaning if you dont do something stupid, it doesn't harm the system.

 

[DBOY]

The motor disengages but the laser keeps on going. I've actually seen it happen where the lens assembly was in the up position (it moves up and down) when someone stuck a disc back in their saturn and it made a horrid grinding noise for a second when the lens assembly met the CD. And yes they placed it in level.

 

[Fabrizo]

The disk drive may disengage when the disk is removed from the saturn, but their is still a split second where the drive doesn't realize you are removing the disk, and durring that time it being forcibly stoped. Even if it is only for a split second, after several years of doing that it can harm the system.

 

[ExCyber]

Well, playing it is going to eventually cause damage too (Sega knew this; if you submitted a Saturn game that hit the seek motors above a certain frequency, your game didn't get approved). It's not entirely unlike overclocking a CPU - some people are willing to make that sacrifice in longevity to get increased usefulness out of the device, because the difference is something along the lines of 10 years of operation vs. 5, not 50 years of operation vs. 1.

 

[bulleta]

Okay, my Saturn is a model 2, and when I swap games, I DONT spin them backwards. okay, now, this was true, my saturn went out of business about five weeks ago, and I have been trying everything to get it working, yesterday, I got sick and came on here for help, this morning, I opened it again, and turned every screw on the cd unit I could, clockwise by 45 degrees, then, I noticed It didn't affect the actual CD motor, so having a close look, I noticed two things, one, it had no lube on it and two, there were pet hairs on it. After removing these, my saturn now works.

If anymore problems arise, I will work my but off to find the problem and post the info on the forums here, thanks to all who gave some inclinatoin of what the cause could have been.

God, I can finnaly run my Shining Force Premium disc again.

 

[Arakon]

you DO know you are not supposed to stick a hamster into the saturn?

 

[Nemesis]

What? Well someone could've told me earlier. I guess that's what's been wrong with my saturn all these years.

*removes hampster from saturn*

 

[bulleta]

hehe, nice joke, shame about the accoustics, or you may have heard at lest one snicker, anyway, remember, be carefull of what torture you put your saturn through, and if anything, don't use your saturn when you have it sitting on the carpet and you've got a dog or cat (or both like me), hairs are awfull to clean up.

 

[Gallstaff]

hey hey, don't flame him. I use my hamster to clean the saturn all the time. So nice and fluffy, attracts dust like nothing i've ever seen before!