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Sega Saturn help

I got my white Saturn in today. So I start it up and it goes right to the date. Then afterwards, the CD player and refuses to load any games except play the soundtracks that are on it. Turns out, I need a CR2032 battery. After acquiring such battery, I put it in and start it up. Same thing happens. I took the battery out and put it back in, still, nothing. Is there something that I'm missing?

I had the system off the whole time. I'm starting to get pissed here because I hope I didn't buy a bad Saturn.
 
the battery is just for saving your game, and doesn't have any effect on whether or not games load. you're not trying to play domestic games on a japanese saturn, are you? otherwise, it sounds like your saturn is broken. :(
 
Yes, its a Japanese white Saturn and I was trying to play a Japanese game on it.

It plays the soundtracks fine. I couldn't believe that it can't play games but can read music.

If the lens is dirty, how would I go about cleaning it?
 
The Experiment said:
Yes, its a Japanese white Saturn and I was trying to play a Japanese game on it.

It plays the soundtracks fine. I couldn't believe that it can't play games but can read music.

If the lens is dirty, how would I go about cleaning it?

Thats wierd, if the CD lens was busted, I doubt it would be able to read the music. You can clean the lens by buying a CD lens cleaning kit, safest way. What is the condition of the game, does it have scatches?
 
I have yet to try an American or European game on the Saturn. Its a Japanese Saturn. The date and time is Japanese. So is the options until you switch it to English.

Although no converter was needed.

Would it be possible that its an American unit with a Japanese shell with a Japanese BIOS? Seems like a lot of effort and highly unlikely.

The games are cleaner than a whistle.
 
levious said:
you sure it doesn't have a region switch on the back?

Whats that?

I tried putting in an American Game and a European game in. Neither worked. This shit is starting to piss me off now.

No 4 in 1 cart just yet but it was shipped yesterday. I don't know what the hell could be the problem. The GameFAQ guides suck ass for this.
 
The regional switch is for modded saturns. It usually has two setting up or down to play US, and Japanese regions, you have to put it to the appropriate setting to play that regions games.
 
I had the exact same problem once with a US Saturn (that I had modded with a region switch). Checked all the wires and solder points, and everything looked okay. I removed the switch, and games booted up fine. I reinstalled the switch and games still worked. So I'm guessing there was a bad solder point somewhere. It seems unlikely this could have happened to your Saturn unless someone had messed with it before (you did say it was used). You could take a look at the motherboard and make sure the jumpers are correct for Japanese region.
 
No switches or anything. Damn it, I'm really getting pissed now, especially since I bought it at "Near Mint" with a reputable seller. Yet it still plays soundtracks.
 
Oh, one thing I forgot. Here's a way to check if your NTSC Saturn's region is messed up. The Japanese release of Panzer Dragoon Zwei doesn't check for region. It will boot on either a US or JP Saturn. Also, it will boot on a Saturn that has no region (or an invalid region) set. That's one of the ways I figured out my Saturn boot problem was a screwed up region.

You'll have to open your Saturn to check the jumpers. They're on the motherboard and clearly labelled. There's a table at the GameSX website that will show you what jumpers should be set for each region.
 
Thanks for the help. I'll have to continue it tomorrow night. Outcast2004 is sending me a copy of Panzer Zwei for Japan. If this and the 4-in-1 don't work, I'm asking for my money back.

I opened it up and didn't know where to look. Everything is fucking dirty though. Near mint my ass.
 
Bump for possibly any more help?

Can someone describe to me how a Saturn game boots up? Whats with the + and O on the 3D pad anyway.

I talked to the seller and he said that it was his Saturn and he didn't attempt to mod it. So we're back to square one.
 
The Experiment said:
I talked to the seller and he said that it was his Saturn and he didn't attempt to mod it. So we're back to square one.
I'd ask for my money back. He probably didn't test it before sending it out.
 
The Experiment said:
Can someone describe to me how a Saturn game boots up? Whats with the + and O on the 3D pad anyway.

Well, I can't give you the technical details of what happens when the Saturn boots up. The usual sequence is that after the Saturn logo forming out of polygons you'll get a "Licensed by Sega Enterprises" screen, then the game will start.

The + and O are to switch between digital and analog mode.
 
The guy said he'd chip in for the repairs. Only question is who still repairs Saturns?

I'll test all games. It might be a software thing, I don't know. Still seems odd that its not working and there's no modding involved.
 
Eh. The quotes were too high for repairs so I got my money back. Along with this and the sales I made here, I got a Skeletal Saturn. Since they are so rare, I doubt the owner would fuck it up. Well, I hope so anyway.
 
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