Replacing the drive in a Mega CD 1

[Vertigo]

Will it be upset if I replace the guts with something more than a single speed, or can I quite happily use something like an 8x drive mechanism without worries?

[kendrick]

Replacing the drive (and the related control mechansism) isn't a big deal. It's the software that you have to worry about... Will the Mega CD BIOS and games be able to produce instructions that read data faster than single speed? Without diving down too deep into it, this sounds like more of a programming challenge than a parts compatibility challenge.

EDIT: I just realized that you only asked about replacing the drive, and didn't state that you were interested in producing any kind of performance boost. Shame on me for not reading more carefully. So yes, it is just a parts compatibility issue and I don't really foresee any problems.

-KKC

[NFG]

If you find a drive that fits a SegaCD I'd be bloody stunned.  These were, as far as I know, entirely non-standard drives.  The front-loaders were the same as the NeoCD front loaders, but they were never used in anything else that I've seen.

[Vertigo]

Kendrick: No, I don't want a performance boost, I just want to replace the drive like-for-'like' instead of having to buy a new MCD.
Lawrence: I haven't actually looked into internal dimensions etc yet, that would be the next step, but I wouldn't have had any qualms about pulling the majority of extraneous crap off a PC CD drive to make it fit if it would work in the MCD.
Could you replace the drive mech in a model 1 with the mech from a model 2? Would the lens focusing etc be perfectly happy moving from a top-loader to a drawer model? Essentially, are the drive mechs in a MCD1 and MCD2 exactly the same? If so, then it might be easier to get one of these and use that instead.

[phreak97]

i think the problem is that the hardware probably isnt compatable at all.. not because of the speed, but because its a propriatry drive, it doesnt follow any real drive standard afaik

[Vertigo]

I see.
And I've established that the drives in the different models aren't the same, because the drawer version lifts the disc when the drawer goes in and the top loader you just plonk the disc on the spindle, so I'd have to canibalise another MCD1, which basically means I might as well just use this one for parts or something.

[Guest_MaDMaLKaV]

What is exactly the problem? If it is the spin motor or the lens motor, you can very well desolder it, go to your favourite electronics store, say "I want one like this" and solder the new one. I did it without problems.