I'd like to apologize in advance if this was posted in the wrong place.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Dreamcast and a copy of Shenmue. However, I’ve run into an issue.
First time I put the game in, it worked fine, up until the loading screen for ‘Ryo’s Room’. There was music, but it was frozen at the loading screen. I restarted the console, but the game did not load up automatically. I kept trying to start the game, but it kept returning to the Dreamcast home screen. I thought that maybe there was an issue with the console, so I tried the only other game I had (Crazy Taxi), and it loaded fine. I tried the Shenmue disc again. For whatever reason, it worked, and I was able to make it past the ‘Ryo’s Room’ load screen, and play the game briefly. However, after a couple of minutes of play, the game froze up again when I tried to pull up the notebook. I reset the game, but again I was stuck at the home screen, and was unable to start the game. Later, I tried the game again, and had a bit more success. I was able to get to the shrine (where you find the kitten), and I thought that maybe my luck had changed. However, when I took the road to the next area, the game froze at the loading screen again.
So I decided to try the Passport disc to see if there were any problems. I didn’t go through it extensively (in an attempt to avoid spoilers for the game), but I ran into an issue with the movie viewer. I started a video, and it played fine. However, when I tried to play another video, the screen went black, and I was returned to the Dreamcast home screen. I tried booting the Passport disc, but had no luck. At this point, I had looked online a bit about disc read issues with the Dreamcast, and found that some people were able to get their Dreamcast consoles to work by setting them on their sides or placing them upside down. I set the console on the side and was able to boot the Passport disc again. However, I ran into the same problem: played at video in Theater mode, worked fine; tried to play another video, crashed to Dreamcast home screen.
I don’t believe the issue is with the discs, since they all seem to be in perfect or near-perfect condition. Based on what I read in this thread (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=45539), I think the issue might be with the console. There, someone thought the issue might be with the lens, and they provided a video showing how to open the console and tweak the GD-ROM laser/lens so that it could read slower or faster. However, I’m nervous about doing this, as I don’t want to risk damaging the console beyond repair. So I’m providing my experience so far to see if there may be another issue, with an appropriate fix that does not involve opening up the console.
I should also note that the deadline to return the console has passed.
Thanks to anyone who can provide feedback, and I apologize again if this was posted in the wrong place.