Dreamcast: Link83's Region Free Katana BIOS FAQ
Link83 Modfied Dreamcast BIOS 1.0 (07/03/09)
BIOS MD5 hash: 787b6639a04b090e071cdc414a853396
Also included in this rar is a standard retail Dreamcast flash
Flash MD5 hash: 9338b10ee6f13fbc8bfcd6276e156fad
This modified Dreamcast BIOS is a mix between the HKT-0120 Dreamcast development box BIOS, and a retail Dreamcast BIOS. It has been tested on a retail Dreamcast system with a VA0 motherboard using a programmed 2 MB flash chip and was found to work! :o)
Features include:
- The HKT-0120 alternate startup sequence (In many peoples opinions much cooler than the retail Dreamcast startup)
- Region Free - will play Dreamcast games from any region
- Mil-CD boot - will boot software from CD
- Region & Video Mode set in flash - this is normal for most retail Dreamcast's (but isn't normal for the HKT-0120 dev box)
If your using this in an emulators you can alter the flash settings using a program called 'Region Changer' available here: http://dchelp.dcemulation.org/?Region_Changer
If your going to try and use this on a retail Dreamcast system (There is no guide yet for doing this) you can alter the region and video mode though a simple one wire mod and DC-SWAT's 'Region Changer' software disk (Make sure you remove the wire after changing the settings) Since this BIOS is region free the region setting will only affect the startup swirl color (Orange for NTSC, Blue for PAL) Although the video mode can also be separately switched between NTSC/PAL etc.
Currently it is unknown if this BIOS will boot GD-R's (Dreamcast game development disks) If it doesnt I will try and add this feature at a later date (if its possible) and make an updated BIOS.
(Update: This will not nor will it ever allow direct booting of GD-R's)
This BIOS has not yet been tried on an actual HKT-0120 development box, I personally wouldnt risk it unless you have the knowledge to repair/replace the BIOS chip should it go wrong - otherwise you could end up bricking a valuable development system!
Usual disclaimers apply - if you attempt to modify your system I wont/cant be held responsible for any damage caused to you, or anything/anyone else!
A big, BIG thank you goes to the following people for helping me (Link83) develop this bios, without their help this would not have been possible.
In no particular order:
- ConsoleFun - for the GD-R disk for future testing
- mathieulh - for his great BIOS knowledge and giving me the push to actually finish/release this
- l_olivera - for testing the bios on a retail system, and for the information on how to make the bios region free, the information you have posted in my threads have also been extremely valuable.
- Also a big thanks to everybody else who has helped me, and anyone else I may have forgotten to mention.
More info about the development of this bios can be found in this thread: http://assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20622
