How to Install and Setup Dreamcast SD Reader?

Did you know that you can now play Sega Dreamcast games without burning CDs? Yes! You heard that right. There is a Sega Dreamcast SD adapter that allows you to play Sega Dreamcast games on your console by installing them on an SD card. This guide will take you from the installation process to properly setting it up and playing your games. So let us get started,

Set Up your Tools First

There are a couple of things you are going to need first so make sure you have them ready

The GDEMU adapter
A high-speed memory card
A Windows PC
GUI formatter
GD menu files
Legally dumped games

Installation

Alright! Let’s get to work. Installation is simple, but the only thing cumbersome is the disassembly process.

Get a Phillips screwdriver and unscrew the three screws at the bottom of the console. This will open up the upper shell, and you can then access the CD drive.
Remove the CD drive and pull it out from the bay.
After you have pulled out the CD drive, don’t throw it away — it might come in handy.
Now place your GD emu in the drive bay and plug it into the ports in which CD-ROM was plugged. There you go — you have just installed the GD EMU.
Close and screw back the shell and when you open the drive cover you will be able to see the memory card slot in which you will later put the memory card.

Setting Up the Memory Card

Now all you got to do is format the memory card, so it can be detected by the console, and put games on it. But first, let’s stick to setting up the card.

The first step is to format the card to FAT32 format and not NTFS. We recommend using a 128 gig high-speed card for this purpose. But there is a problem! Windows can’t format cards of that size to our required format.

You will need a third-party program called GUI formatter to do the formatting. Once you have downloaded the program, carefully format the memory card and copy the GD menu files and the ‘01’ folder to the card’s root folder. There you go – your card is ready to be booted in your console.

Installing Games

Now all you got to is copy your legally dumped games to your card. Carefully read this to do it properly. You will notice a ‘01’ folder on the card that you just copied for the menu. That folder contains the GD menu.

To install games, you have to make a separate folder titled ’02’ to put a game in it. For each game, you will have to create a separate folder titled 03, 04, 05 and so on. Remember that once you put your games inside these folders, change their names to ‘Disk’ otherwise your console may not detect it.

Final Word

So there you have it — a simple and easy way to install and set up an SD card reader with Dreamcast. Now plug the card in the SD card port of the GDEMU and start playing games.