Where can I buy a region free bios chip for the Sega Saturn?

TeamScriptKiddies

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TeamScriptKiddies

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Just went ahead and ordered myself one of these: http://www.shopncsx.com/stkey.aspx because I want to try the cart flashing method without sacrificing my AR 4 in 1 plus. Tried googling if the ST-Key is compatible with the pseudo-saturn hack, but apparently there are tons of different versions of it made by different companies (hurray for clones lol) so results are varied quite a bit. Some people said it works for them, while others had no success. Needless to say, I will be trying out the one by NCS Inc (linked above) and will post my results here. If this works, people will be able to just buy this $10 region free cart and "upgrade" it to run backups too :P

UPDATE 6/9/15: Okay, so my ST-Key came in today, unfortunately I'm unable to flash it. It fails at 99% (during the erasing process) and then when I reboot, the ST-Key firmware (stock) is fully in tact still lol. So that being said, I risked bricking my AR 4 in 1 plus. Prior to starting the process, it gave me the same warning the ST-Key did, unknown chipset, do you want to try and flash with default settings? Or something to that effect... Anyways, I took the plunge and went for it, erasing went well and so did the flashing :). Great! Tried some homebrew cd-r's I had lying around and some backups of my retail games and sure enough they all seem to boot fine with this method :). Keep in mind that I haven't done extensive testing, just a few discs right now. I will make a video later (tutorial) and also show everything running hunky dorey :P. You can also also reflash your AR back to stock if you ever want to restore the original functionality.

UPDATE 2 6/19/15: As promised here's the video tutorial Totally noob proof (tried to cover everything anyways from start to finish :P). Hopefully this is helpful to others
 
Last edited by TeamScriptKiddies, , Reason: Noob proof video tutorial!

RemixDeluxe

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Assemblergames is having issues making an account and segaage is currently undergoing site maintenance. Where else can I go to ask for Sega Saturn, Dreamcast mod chips?
 

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www.segastyle.com somebody already mentioned it earlier in this thread. The guy that runs that site is THE MAN :P. If you don't want to deal with messy soldering, get an Action Replay from him and flash it with the Pseudo-Saturn exploit, it will boot everything, imports, backups, homebrew, backups of imports etc. Most Saturn modchips only boot domestic backups but no imports (with the exception of the preflashed bios chips you mentioned. Honestly if all you care about is booting original imports (no backups), your best bet is just an Action Replay (you don't have to hack it) it boots imports right out of the box. Just put the cartridge in your console and don't remove it to avoid damage to the cartridge slot. Get the 4 in 1 like I have as it serves as an extra 4mb RAM cart too.

I just don't see the sense in doing all that soldering when there's a much safer solution, that's super easy to use with the same end result. I mean to each their own, but to me the cartridge method works fine. Of course, I'm using the Pseudo-Saturn setup now so I can boot backups and homebrew too without swapping, which can be a pain to set up initially, but the end result is great and the risk of damaging something setting it up is pretty low, whereas trying to replace the bios can be pretty risky....
 

RemixDeluxe

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www.segastyle.com somebody already mentioned it earlier in this thread. The guy that runs that site is THE MAN :P. If you don't want to deal with messy soldering, get an Action Replay from him and flash it with the Pseudo-Saturn exploit, it will boot everything, imports, backups, homebrew, backups of imports etc. Most Saturn modchips only boot domestic backups but no imports (with the exception of the preflashed bios chips you mentioned. Honestly if all you care about is booting original imports (no backups), your best bet is just an Action Replay (you don't have to hack it) it boots imports right out of the box. Just put the cartridge in your console and don't remove it to avoid damage to the cartridge slot. Get the 4 in 1 like I have as it serves as an extra 4mb RAM cart too.

I just don't see the sense in doing all that soldering when there's a much safer solution, that's super easy to use with the same end result. I mean to each their own, but to me the cartridge method works fine. Of course, I'm using the Pseudo-Saturn setup now so I can boot backups and homebrew too without swapping, which can be a pain to set up initially, but the end result is great and the risk of damaging something setting it up is pretty low, whereas trying to replace the bios can be pretty risky....
I'm not sure what you have against soldering, its scary at first but once you install the bios chip your good to go. You dont need to think about inserting a cart or a disk or anything else. If your that afraid to solder you could pay to have your console serviced.

Also I already stated before I dont want anything occupying the cartridge slot in case there are imported games that would require it. I just want to put in any given game disk and have it run, no issues.
 

TeamScriptKiddies

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I'm not sure what you have against soldering, its scary at first but once you install the bios chip your good to go. You dont need to think about inserting a cart or a disk or anything else. If your that afraid to solder you could pay to have your console serviced.

Also I already stated before I dont want anything occupying the cartridge slot in case there are imported games that would require it. I just want to put in any given game disk and have it run, no issues.

You misunderstood me :P, I have nothing against soldering, I'm an electronics engineering major lol. I just meant, why go the more difficult route when there's an easier solution, but to each their own. I missed the part about you not wanting the cartridge slot used up etc. If you'd much rather go the region free bios route, go for it :). You could always flash the chip yourself with a PIC programmer, google is your friend on that one. I'm pretty sure it would violate the rules to post a link to the bios here as it's just a slight modification to the official Sega one. There's a tons of downloads for it all over the internet though :P. If you're handy with a soldering iron, you could probably make your own custom PIC programmer for this particular use if you don't have one that's compatible with whatever chipset the Saturn bios uses. I honestly don't think many people (if anyone at all) is selling these pre-flashed chips anymore.

Keep us posted on how it goes, if you need any pointers, I'd be more than willing to lend a helping hand.
 

RemixDeluxe

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Region switching a Saturn is retardedly easy, no need for a chip at all.
But I don't wanna switch the regions. I would like to make it completely free, wouldn't it be nice to just play any game disk and not think about having to flip a switch or put a cart in (unless that game needs a cart.)

It's all about the ease of access and making it region free will achieve that.

P.S. I found a guy who is very talented with console modding who can do any kind of professional modding including region free on almost all retro consoles. I'll post his services once I find out its legit.
 
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TeamScriptKiddies

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But I don't wanna switch the regions. I would like to make it completely free, wouldn't it be nice to just play any game disk and not think about having to flip a switch or put a cart in (unless that game needs a cart.)

It's all about the ease of access and making it region free will achieve that.

P.S. I found a guy who is very talented with console modding who can do any kind of professional modding including region free on almost all retro consoles. I'll post his services once I find out its legit.

Good luck!
 

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