FAQ about Arcade DDR

[Aoi-chan]

[Aoi-chan]

[Ho-Man]

With the discussion of monitor repair, I thought this would be a good time to restate a general warning about CRT monitors.

If you don't know what you're doing on a CRT, don't guess! CRTs contain extremely high voltage that CAN KILL YOU. There are ways to work on a CRT monitor safely, but if you don't know what they are, please don't find out the hard way which parts are dangerous.

[Yeehaw McKickass]

[adamaniax]

This is going to sound a bit bad but here.

My local arcade has been pwned into swapping there DDR Extreme mainboards into EuroMIX 2 ones. Problem is they now want DDR Extreme back. Is there any of way of installing Extreme without IC chip / cart? or even a bootleg.

I also made a backup of there original disk before the swap was made will this work without the IC/Cart?

Regards
Adam

[Ho-Man]

You are definitely not going to get Extreme on that system unit with only a copy of the Extreme disc. System 573 has a regional lockout much like many consoles do, and the regions for Extreme (JP) and EM2 (EU) do not match.

Your only hope using only the copy of the Extreme disc is if that EM2 is a bootleg itself (it probably isn't). I've not seen nor heard of EM bootlegs. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but even if they do, there's no guarantee that it would be "compatible" with your Extreme disc.

I have an extra System 573 that I might be willing to trade you for the EM2 hardware. PM me if you're interested.

[adamaniax]

Isnt there a way to hex edit the psx file's region to another one? I may be interested in changing I'll get back to you. Ive tryed fiddling with the ex disk today but now its saying the Security Cassette is fudged even when EM2 is in anyideas?

Also, I'm tempted in buying a 573 board lacking flashrom can you use other brand flash roms in 573? example: http://www.valuemedia.co.uk/popparts.htm?part=ATA032P&popup=popup

[kyaku]

Hi all,
It's been a long time since I've been here, not that anyone would remember me anyway. Now I'm back with a question that I hope has an easy answer.

As part of the next cleaning ritual that I must perform on our DDREX, I'd like to clean the nasty looking back side of the glass that covers the monitor. It LOOKS like it'd be a fairly easy job but if anyone has had one open, I'd appreciate any tips on what to expect.

Thanks for ALL! Love this site.

Kyaku
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Fun with Unk

[Yeehaw McKickass]

It's really easy to clean. Just unscrew the panel with the buttons, lift the glass out, wipe it down, and put everything back in place.

While you're in there you might as well wipe down the screen too (spray your rag/paper towe then wipe down).
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[kyaku]

[Aoi-chan]

[cusicat]

We have an Upgraded DDR EXTREME (originally DDR 3rdMIX korean). after we upgraded it, we notice that some songs doesn't have any preview songs while selecting what shall we do. and also can we put memory cards on it even it is a KOREAN (573 System Digital) please help us..........

[Crono]

[Yeehaw McKickass]

To enter the unlock codes you have to hold down the 1p down arrow then hit a button combination I don't remember because it's been about 2 years since I've had any dealings with a DDR machine.

The FAQ is correct on event mode though. Unless someone else has other information.

Cusicat: Try a different CD in the drive, beyond that, a different CDROM drive.
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[kyaku]

[dancedanceowch]

I got alot of standard PSX connectors and other parts from an a repair gig i do, what can i do with them with a DDR machine?

I also have spare compactflash cards.

HELP!
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sup,
dance-dance-owch

[Dai101]

HI, long time no posting here.

I've been wondering, how you upgrade/downgrade a bootleg machine? I would like to play MAX 2 in my local arcade since i've got to take 2 bus to go to the other and they close early than the other. That is my question, also, can you copy a bootleg disc? How you do it? (I mean, is nothing different from the way you copy any other disc? using any particular software) i hope not being breaking any rule ... BTW, both machines are bootlegs (or at last my local EXTREME, i know it), they got originally a 4th MIX (legit)

[Yeehaw McKickass]

Ho can fill you in on the particular process on upgrading/downgrading. I've never done it, but it's supposedly easy if you're using the bootlegs with 2 discs.

As for copying a bootleg disc, if you've ever made a copy of a data disc it's the SAME exact process. I'll just say you need to be dealing with a file type that begins with i and ends with o, oh, and it's three letters.
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[MonMotha]

Addressing bunches of stuff in backwards order going back a few months, here.

Upgrading/downgrading
------------------------------
Most of the 2-disc bootlegs seem to be based on the same stuff; i.e. you don't need to swap mod boards when changing mixes. In this case, it's just a matter of putting the "install disc" for the mix you want to change to in, allowing the install to complete (takes about 10 minutes), then swapping to the "game disc" and rebooting when the installer prompts you to (obviously, you don't need to write the number on the security cart like it tells you to).

There are some mod boards out there that only work with certain styles of bootlegs. If you get a security error of some sort when you try to boot back onto the game disc, try swapping in the mod board that came with the kit for the mix you're trying to run. This takes some extra time since you have to pull the system unit apart, but isn't too difficult. If you have several mod boards, you may eventually find one that works for every mix you have. I've found that the style which only has a ROM and one other chip (a PIC micro) tends to hold the best chances for being "universal", while the ones with several chips tend to only work with certain mixes (the MAXes seem to use this type).

If you have a one disc bootleg or have lost the installer, you'll probably have to burn a custom installer disc since these will only upgrade, not downgrade. The method that usually works is to grab psx.exe from a known-good installer of a similar mix and replace the psx.exe on the game disc, then burn that as an installer.

Note that you can almost always recover from a botched install if you have a known working two disc set (installer and game disc pair) by using the install disc from that set. The two disc style bootleg installers are set upt to just always do an install, and this will put everything back into a state where things will work.


Cleaning monitors
-----------------------
As for cleaning monitors, just clean the front glass (both sides) and the front of the tube (behind the front glass). Don't mess around on the back. There's no need to clean it, there's potentially lethal voltages back there (~25,000 volts), and applying water to the back of the monitor can actually sometimes render it unusable (by removing the so-called "dag").

I would like to re-emphasize Ho-Man's point on monitor safety: If you don't know what you're doing, simply stay away from the back. They won't bite you from the front, and while they can be safely serviced, if you don't know what you're doing YOU CAN BE KILLED working on a CRT monitor.

Entering unlock codes
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For unlocks, go into test mode, arrow up to "game options" (but don't select it), hold the 1P down arrow, the service credit button (below the test button and above degauss on Japanese machines, and the only other button on Korean cabinets), and then select the option. You'll be taken to the "secret" menu. Select "append". Enter the unlock code using the directions given on the screen. Once done, exit out of the menus to game mode directly without changing any other options. Changing other otpions often invalidates the unlock code entry.


Extreme on the Korean Machine
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Sounds like a crappy bootleg. Lots of bootlegs exhibit this problem. Sometimes, you can try reburning the CD either from a known good image (ISO) or just from the disc itself. Generally, this doesn't affect gameplay. As for mem card slots working, they do. You can actually hook memory card slots up to 3rd Mix Korea and it'll happily load link data and such.

[adamaniax]

Anybody happen to have a DDR EX install disk? My friends cabinet is practically bricked without one as we tryed to install 5th mix with no means of reinstalling EX now we cant get EX back on