Dreamcast Laser Calibration Trick
I’ve been browsing through my hit logs and noticed quite a few search requests for calibrating the Dreamcast laser. I decided to post a quick, small tutorial to reviving a dead Dreamcast. Within the past couple of weeks, we had a total of 6 Dreamcasts in the house.
First we bought a complete system for my mom, yes, she loves video games. We had given her our old NES but it wasn’t working very well so we bought her a Dreamcast and I made her a disk full of her favorite NES roms. Anyway, the other 3 dreamcasts I picked up for $5.00 a piece because they were broken. One thing I’ve learned with taken apart my first Dreamcast is that the setup is very basic and with most Dreamcast problems you can fix them quite easily. Which is what I did with all three of the broken Dreamcasts. So technically I got 3 Dreamcasts for $15 and I know some of my friends aren’t complaining because I’ve been passing them out.
Here’s a quick trick for those of you that have a Dreamcast that has suddenly stopped spinning disks:
Open up your Dreamcast by removing all of the screws.
Push the laser to the back and lift it’s casing out towards the back.
Unfortunately my picture is a little blurry, but there’s a little knob-type things that I’m gripping with pliers, all you have to do is turn it clockwise just slightly. What I do is turn it, test it, repeat.
Here is a clearer image submitted by eniacpx. (Thank you!)
It’s so easy I taught my ferret to do the work for me:
That should do it. You might have to turn it a few times or just once but it’s been flawless for me.
12/29/2007 Update:Thank you dreamcast-scene.com for caching my post and saving the images for me!
82 Comments, Comment or Ping
that last picture is adorable! your brains have now passed down to your ferrets!
Apr 23rd, 2004
I knew ferrets were clever, but that ferret takes the cake! And here I thought they needed to grow opposable thumbs before they could do anything productive other than dig the soil out of flower pots.
Apr 24th, 2004
He is officially in charge of repairing and rebuilding now.
Apr 24th, 2004
There’s no end to these two’s shenanigans, that’s for sure. Forget about taking anything apart with big Murphy lurking around, he loves tools & motherboards :-P.
The words ferret and flower pot brings back terrible, terrible, flashbacks of heaps of soil strewn into the carpet!
Apr 24th, 2004
i miss you
Apr 24th, 2004
Thanks for the write-up. I was afraid my Dreamcast was lost forever…
Aug 9th, 2004
Glad it worked for you. It’s saved quite a few of my dreamcasts.
Aug 12th, 2004
Now I know what to teach my ferret next, now that he’s done refinishing my cabinets and solving my rubik’s cube…
Apr 10th, 2008
I tried this and the knob is warping every time I try to turn it. Is that a problem?
Apr 17th, 2008
i just did this and i can verify that it does work. i turned the “screw” very slightly and it worked on the first try with all my games again…thank you so much for figuring that out!
Aug 9th, 2008
YES!!!!! I fixed my Dreamcast!!!! I owe it all to you!!! Thanks for keeping these instructions up!!! I played an NES emulator on it in your honor <3 Oh god I’m so happy right now
Sep 15th, 2008
I’m glad this worked for you, Mike! Enjoy!!!
Sep 16th, 2008
WOW it actually worked! Thanks! I thought I would have to buy a new one but today I play Marvel VS. Capcom 2 with pride. Heres looking at you!
Dec 22nd, 2008
thanks man…
I googled up this subject (dreamcast lens calibrate) and found this webpage…
I really thought my DC has become a BRICK…
no such anymore…it’s spinnin’ like a happy cat again…
thanks so much, thanks so much….!!!
Jan 19th, 2009
oh…by the bye…..
it worked on the attempt!!!
Jan 19th, 2009
@Marsiozo
I’m glad it worked for you, long live the dreamcast!
Jan 22nd, 2009
PIMPTASTIC! Mine started having issues out of the blue definitely laser related… Tried this… And on the first go my DC is running as good as new again! Thanks for posting this!
Jan 24th, 2009
Awesome! Glad this helped fix it, enjoy!
Jan 24th, 2009
Thank you 1000 times over! my poor DC was loading nothing, neither backups or bought games, now everything loads and plays nice again. However, i must say, i dont have the magic touch. Took me a few turns to get it right, but well worth the effort
Feb 8th, 2009
Awesome! I’m glad you got it working! It’s saved many, many dreamcasts for me.
Feb 8th, 2009
hi! do you have any lens/laser calibration tutorial for the ps2 slim version?
Feb 10th, 2009
Unfortunately, I don’t. Maybe try taking it apart and see if it has the similar structure? I personally haven’t disassembled a ps2, yet. If you figure it out, let me know how you did it!
Feb 10th, 2009
Hi Jessica,
So I’m an idiot and accidentally turned it way too far clockwise.
Do you know of anyway to guess or figure out about where it’s supposed to be positioned?
Or am I to spend the rest of my life turning this thing randomly?
Also, cute ferret!
Feb 27th, 2009
Update: Ok, by some miracle it still plays games.
But I still wonder if there’s anyway to tell how well the laser is calibrated?
Because I know there’s no way it’s in the right position..
Feb 27th, 2009
That’s a good question. I have no idea where it’s supposed to be positioned, I just know if you tweak it a bit, it starts up again. If it still plays games, I’d just enjoy it and worry about it when it stops again.
Feb 27th, 2009
I see..
Well, thank you~
I’ll just be happy it still works. ^_^
Feb 27th, 2009
My dreamcast is alive!
Thanks!
Feb 27th, 2009
And another one lives! You’re welcome!
Feb 27th, 2009
you probably need an oscilloscope to adjust the lens correctly at this point. better send it to an expert.
http://ps2repairs.amenet.co.uk/laser.htm
Apr 3rd, 2009
Tried to calibrate it but laser was dead anyway. Purchased a new laser/lens unit at http://www.adictron.com and my Dreamcast is now alive!
Thanks anyway for tutorial, will try it again if my new laser stops working some day
Apr 12th, 2009
Thanks for posting that link to get a new laser/lens unit! Should be helpful for those who aren’t able to use this calibration trick! Thanks!
Apr 12th, 2009
mine didnt work but idk if im doin it right…it boots my back ups with no problem but my original sonic adv freezes at the dc logo or loads to the dc menu
Apr 25th, 2009
The ribbon came off by accident… i heard that it can be put back on but im finding it impossoble! do you know how?
Apr 26th, 2009
@Brandon - I’m going to guess that maybe it’s your copy of Sonic? Since the Dreamcast is playing everything else…
Apr 27th, 2009
@Hannah Yikes, I haven’t run into that problem yet, not sure how to fix that one. Let me know if you get working though and how you did it!
Apr 27th, 2009
hey it totally worked..
thanks a million!!!
Apr 29th, 2009
You’re welcome! Glad it’s working for you now!
Apr 30th, 2009
Thank you so much! You just saved my Dreamcast with this post!!!!!
May 22nd, 2009
Thanks so much for this. I really appreciate it.
Its running fine and reading games no problem, however, before I start to use it properly, I wanted to ask about a squeak that I hear sometimes when its reading discs.
I believe its connected to the motor or laser because when it reads the disc, I can hear the disc reading coupled with the squeak so I wanted to ask if this squeak is normal. Thanks.
May 24th, 2009
Right, I have another problem now. The screen just goes black and before, it would load the logo at the beginning then reset and keep doing it.
I’m really upset now as you can imagine so does anyone know this problem?
May 24th, 2009
With F355 Challenge. it gets to the point about the Ferrari licence then the screen would go white as it usually would before the intro but then the dreamcast resets
May 24th, 2009
Well, I found out that it was because I hadn’t screwed the side with the lever for the cover in properly so it was a little loose so I fixed that now.
I’m having a strange problem now though and thats certain games, that are in near perfect condition, aren’t working. The games in question are Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat Hold, Virtua Fighter 3TB and House of the Dead II
May 25th, 2009
Those are a lot of games that don’t seem to be working. Only thin I can think of is trying a new copy. Sometimes the Dreamcast can be a little fickle about disks.
Jun 2nd, 2009
hey i got a question i recently found out about that you can play backups of games on your dreamcast. i recently downloaded some old dreamcast games (that i own but the disks are to damaged to be read) and i heard that backups can ruin your dreamcast faster if so does this recalibration trick works in case that my dreamcast stop working. I’m asking this because apparently when you use a backup the dreamcast reads the disc backwards or something like that.
Jun 27th, 2009
uh i got a bigger problem now on my dreamcast. It isn’t reading the games (official and backup). and it was having a hard time reading soul calibur (the only official game that works) because it was like repeating the stage song and somes stages song wont even be read. and like i said it isnt reading them since i did this help please
Jun 27th, 2009
Ummm…my dream cast still isn’t working. I tried to recalibrate the laser and still no success. I’m trying to play test drive 6 and it spins the disc but it stops at the sega screen…Help please?
Jul 10th, 2009
Thank you very much, my DC is back once again!
Jul 17th, 2009
YOU MADE MY WHOLE YEAR!!!
Jul 20th, 2009
Thanks alot! I recently tried using my dreamcast again and all I can play are my 2001-ish games; I couldn’t get backup to work. Thanks to this I can use backups now! Thanks!
Jul 27th, 2009
Unpacked the DC today after finding it in the attic, then realised why I put it there years ago..not reading any disks, was trawling for replacement lasers when I saw this - tried it and PRESTO!! DC’s working again, now I just have to decide if I’m going to sell it after all. Thanks for posting this easy fix !!
Oh and does Big Murphy do PC’s too?
Aug 6th, 2009
That worked great, I am amazed!!! Thanks sooooo much! Pat
Aug 25th, 2009
DC games resetting frequently after a bit of play are generally associated with the power supply area needing some cleaning up at the pin connectors. Use google with the keywords “dreamcast reset problem” and you’ll find several DIY fixes that might remedy this problem.
Aug 27th, 2009
Also, I’m sorry I haven’t responded to a lot of recent posts guys. Waiting on my new internet provider to get setup. I can’t believe it takes over a week! My only connection is my crapberry!
Thanks to all who leave feedback and tips. I will get back with everyone once my internets are connected. You know how hard it can be running all those series of tubes together to get them to work.
Aug 27th, 2009
Hello… well I cant fix my dreamcast even though Ive tried to calibrate it at both direction… for a very long time… well my dics spins but it read it as if the games were music disks and u can hear a nice voice telling you that it is a disk made for the dreamcast console. Well yea my dreamcast can play normal music cds and so without problems. Ive cleaned the lins and the disks many times. No I havent played any “home made” disk on it not even home made music cds. I wanna know what to do… shall I continue to calibrate until I got lucky or????
plzz help me (yea Ive cheacked google soo plzz I dont want to hear the answer “just google it boy”)… 
Aug 30th, 2009
I am getting the reset problem. Also, I notice that whn a game is loading you can hear the motor grinding back and forth and the load times are long. I’m gonna try the recalibration.
Why cant someone just make it possible to play DC Games off a HDD?
Sep 2nd, 2009
Funny how long your post is lasting. Nice farret btw
Sep 26th, 2009
It worked! But i had to turn it counterclockwise and just a tiny tiny bit.
Oct 6th, 2009
i tried rotating clockwise, and it just spins really fast, but wont read games=(
i tried rotating counter clockwise, and still no fix…am i doing something wrong
Oct 9th, 2009
ok..so..it read a regular music cd, but it wont read pirated music cd’s, does this mean no more pirated video games??
Oct 9th, 2009
Oh, i’m doing this tonight. My DC just died on me. Won’t read any of my games… and I wanted to play some PS2 (that is Power Stone 2 =D)
Nov 16th, 2009
i wish there’s a calibration trick for the “ps2 slim” version
Nov 18th, 2009
Ok, just coming back to say that my dear Dreamcast is back from the dead! Thanks for the tip! Long live the ferret!
Nov 18th, 2009
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Dec 25th, 2009
okay, i opend it but that little knobby-screwwy thing you have to turn is glued in place. is there any other way to do this!?
Dec 27th, 2009
That’s the first I have ever heard of it being glued.
Unfortunately, this is the only way I know how to fix it.
Dec 27th, 2009
Thank you so much for the fix. I bought mine un opened and was so mad to find it didn’t read discs, you saved my life!
Dec 28th, 2009
Dreamcast stopped playing games today. Shuts down when powering on with disc in, but powers on ok with no disc. Will not read discs at all. Do I have a bigger problem?
I tried the calibration as suggested, but no luck. Have I spun the knob too far? I was making quarter turns was that too big?
Jan 3rd, 2010
Hi,
Fantastic post and wonderful blog, Thanks for yet another insightful post, as always!
Jan 12th, 2010
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And this weasel and help her? It is a job. I for one do not I would stick to it. Beyond me.
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Like a Charm, beautiful, I used a pair of scissors, did a small adjustment once, all is good again, thanks
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ok my dreamcast just died a couple of hours ago and i want to re calibrate but the screw just wont budge and idk if i have to twist harder cause i fear of breaking somthing
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