Dance Dance Revolution Supernova Problems

fostervs

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It needed to come into the shop for a monitor rebuild, however before our guys brought it in for me to rebuild, it started doing this:
ddr.bad.jpg

No clue what is happening, I suspect perhaps hard drive failure. This unit has a Sony PS2 as the main "computer" in it, so I don't know if an off-the-shelf PS2 and/or hard drive will work with it. The kit originally shipped with an install disc that was never needed, however booting with the disc in, again comes up Japanese so I have no clue what it says.

EDITED TO ADD:
Forgot to mention, Betson is the US distributor for Konami, and their suggestion is to replace entire "computer" in this thing, at a hefty $850 :(
 
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what you seem to have is the imfamous ddr with a jap ps2 in it. it is a bootleg. a pirated version of ddr. it may be a real cab or a fake cab. they would even bootleg the pads using modified metal home pads.
 
what you seem to have is the imfamous ddr with a jap ps2 in it. it is a bootleg. a pirated version of ddr. it may be a real cab or a fake cab. they would even bootleg the pads using modified metal home pads.

No, it is/was a dedicated DDR arcade machine. And the Supernova kit was purchased from Betson, the US Konami distributor, and certainly looks official. It isn't just a PS2, but a PS2 inside a metal chassis with external circuit boards as well. And everything marked Konami. I am certain they used a PS2 as the "heart" of this upgrade, to keep R&D costs down, many manufacturers are doing something similar now.

EDITED TO ADD:
what you seem to have is the imfamous ddr with a jap ps2 in it. it is a bootleg. a pirated version of ddr
If it is this infamous bootleg DDR, then are there pics somewhere I can compare that to what I have?
 
Foster,
You're right... And you're screwed.

Unless you know someone in the dance community that can hack or reverse engineer that thing, you have to spring for a new "computer" at $850. Betson won't touch it. And yes, it is a glorified ps2.

Mike
 
what you seem to have is the imfamous ddr with a jap ps2 in it. it is a bootleg. a pirated version of ddr. it may be a real cab or a fake cab. they would even bootleg the pads using modified metal home pads.

Wrong. Supernova and Supernova 2 use an off-the-shelf Japanese PS2 with a modified BIOS in combination with a custom I/O board. If the I/O board bears the "KONAMI" logo, it's a legit SN/SN2 boardset.

There was a thread on a private forum about fixing these PS2-based machines, let me see if I can find it.

-E- Apparently you shouldn't be getting that screen if your I/O board is functioning and properly connected, even if the HDD is bad. Have you checked into this? Do you have a working SN/SN2 to test?
 
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UPDATE.

I've been reading through the thread I mentioned earlier. (Again, private forum; can't link.) This is a common issue caused by a bug in the bootloader on the HDD, corrupting itself. You can resurrect this machine IF you have:

  • A computer with IDE headers.
  • A working game that is Konami Python2 based, or a HDD dump image from such. (The list is pretty short... Good luck.)
  • A DDR Supernova "Install Disc". This will be a pressed CD or DVD that the PS2 will recognize. It MUST be a legit, factory-pressed disc; PS2 drives won't accept a burned disc without some trickery and the disc boots in a special way that prevents us from using that trickery. Sounds like you already have one.

Here's what you do:

1. First verify your HDD isn't actually bad. Sony PS2 drives should respond to Maxtor's diagnostic tool (don't remember the name of it). If you need a new HDD, try to match up the geometry. At a minimum, get a drive that is AT LEAST as big.
2. Use a tool like ddrescue to bit-for-bit copy the working HDD over the DDR HDD. Put the freshly reimaged drive back into the DDR's PS2.
3. Open the tray on the DDR PS2 and put the Install Disk in. I have no idea how the install procedure actually goes; here's hoping you can figure it out.
4. Once that finishes, take out the disc and power-cycle the machine. According to what I've read, it should boot right up.

Caveat Emptor. This is based on what I've read and I haven't actually tried or tested it. I don't know for sure if it'll work. In fact, there's a decent chance the bootloader is encrypted too -- in which case this won't work. There's a project underway to get an unencrypted copy of the bootloader in circulation, which would DEFINITELY resurrect your machine. It will take dicking around with Free MC Boot and some fun ELFs to bung keys off the PS2 and get everything situated on the hard drive though.

If that's too much for you, I'm willing to buy that computer off you. I'm pretty sure I could get it going again if I had it in front of me.

-E2- I was reading through the thread, but Sony happened. Remember the PS3 hacking scandal? Most of the serious hackers are STILL in hiding from that, and as a result a couple of critical tools we'd need to pull this off aren't being made. Wait, I guess.
 
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UPDATE.
  • A computer with IDE headers.
  • A working game that is Konami Python2 based, or a HDD dump image from such. (The list is pretty short... Good luck.)
  • A DDR Supernova "Install Disc". This will be a pressed CD or DVD that the PS2 will recognize. It MUST be a legit, factory-pressed disc; PS2 drives won't accept a burned disc without some trickery and the disc boots in a special way that prevents us from using that trickery. Sounds like you already have one.

If that's too much for you, I'm willing to buy that computer off you. I'm pretty sure I could get it going again if I had it in front of me.

I'm a computer/electronics tech for many years, so it isn't "too much" for me. The problem at this point is the "working game that is Konami Python2 based". We neither have one, or know anyone that does.

I did have the drive on a PC to do testing on it, but not with Maxtor's tool, I was using something else. Will use that and see if the drive is OK or not, not much else I can do at this point.

Thanks for the help to this point, roothorick, I very much appreciate it :)
 
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Still nowhere with this thing, gathering dust in our shop. And Betson has now raised the price on the replacement Python2 guts from $825 to $995, and it is now apparently backordered.
 
Still nowhere with this thing, gathering dust in our shop. And Betson has now raised the price on the replacement Python2 guts from $825 to $995, and it is now apparently backordered.

For that price you could import a used DDRX compkit... and BemaniPC is a hell of a lot more reliable than Python2.
 
For that price you could import a used DDRX compkit... and BemaniPC is a hell of a lot more reliable than Python2.

Can you give me some pointers were to look for a used DDRX compkit/BemaniPC?
 
Can you give me some pointers were to look for a used DDRX compkit/BemaniPC?

From what I understand, domestic kits were never made, so you'll have to import a Japanese one, with the complications and legal greyness (ha! like that matters in this industry) stemming from that. They show up on Yahoo Japan auctions every now and then, but a lot of sellers there won't ship outside the country so you have to organize a middleman (there's professional services just for this purpose). Never done it myself though.
 
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