Interested in a few other openMenu tutorials? Folder view for openMenu (open source Dreamcast GDEMU menu software) ua-cam.com/video/71BLpSyzfwQ/v-deo.html Restore original BIOS www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=189992#p189992 x.com/DerekPascarella/status/1851949929314357530
Perfect timing. I had been wanting to clean up my GDEmu setup with a fresh 256gb card and OpenMenu. This helps a ton as everything else I had seen was very outdated. Thanks for all that you do in the DC community!
I just accidently corrupted my SDcard so it's a good as time as any while rebuilding it to finally upgrade to the much nicer openmenu. I also have to say friend, i love your translation projects and have to thank you for the work you've been putting into the dreamcast community :)
Thank you, switching from gdmenu to openmenu has a little learning curve, even getting it set up. Going through the process from start to finish and even troubleshooting like this will help tons. I'll be sure to share it around if anyone needs help.
I turned on my Dreamcast and GDemu wasn't loading. Then I searched for the problem and found your video. First of all, thank you for your great tutorial. Openmenu is perfect and runs well. We've been waiting for this. Later I noticed that the SD card was locked using the small button every time I plugged it into the Dreamcast. xD Whatever, Openmenu is perfect :))))
@@DerfJagged you're welcome, my friend! Be sure to check the video description for info on how to obtain latest cheats file, as well as how to implement the lettered folders (huge usability improvement, in my view).
This is great and what I've been after for a long time, but surely there can be some kind community database? Seems ridiculous that potentially hundreds of us are all doing the same thing
Well, openMenu ships with something of a community database. In terms of the retail library, you'll find 90% or so of artwork is already taken care of. I purposefully chose four games (two retail, two indie) for which only one already had artwork. If you browse the Dreamcast-Talk.com forums, you can probably find people sharing their artwork database files. Personally, I'd rather do it myself. That 10% was easy to add myself, and now I have complete control over indie/homebrew/Atomiswave artwork without the need for overwriting what somebody else thought looked good.
I'm tempted to try out migrating a 128GB gdmenu SD card over to OpenMenu. But I know what I'm like and will probably methodically, compulsively fill out every single metadata box and replace all boxart images with title screenshots before booting a game. I imagine that 200-odd installed Dreamcast titles viewed on the full mode might affect menu performance? If the software is Win7 compatible I might experiment. Thanks for this pleasure of a video.
Hi A Team thanks so much for this tutorial. When adding artwork let’s say I have my own custom cover art for games that have preexisting art - let’s say idk DOA2, would I be able to use my own custom artwork over what would be the default choice within the database? Thanks!
I have found openMenu to be a very nice improvement over GDMenu but I'm surprised it doesn't come with many themes. Could you make a tutorial on how to make/import themes for it?
I've added properly sized images to OpenMenu Dat, saved to card manager and input same title id values but the two covers ive tried still don't show up on dreamcast, any ideas? all other covers work. Two I'm having trouble with are Ikaruga and Half Life.
How do you enable/disable the modem icon in Open Menu?. From what I understand the DAT Tool doesn't ask for modem support in the metadata section, but regardless Open Menu has the modem icon present for every game using the line description style. Also do the accessories in the metadata serve any purpose if they aren't even reflected as icons in Open Menu? Maracas, Keyboard, Mouse, Arcade stick etc.
@@derekpascarella Feel free to refuse but would you be willing to post a tutorial or help walk me through the process of applying a theme for Open Menu? The video tutorial I followed seems to focus specifically on GDMenu even during the Open Menu portion of the video, unless I'm completely missing something. All I'm really trying to do is apply simple NTSC Dreamcast bios theme/background.
@@chillvillmancuecas6513 please watch the entire video where I cover the settings menu and "Grid" view. Regarding your games not showing up, I'd suggest using the Dreamcast-Talk.com support thread in the video description. Unfortunately I'm not able to assist in troubleshooting at this time. I will say you need valid GDIs (TOSEC-style, not Redump) or valid CDIs.
After switching to openMenu, I have had a hell of a time getting my games to actually launch. For awhile I could bypass the issue by taking out the VMU, but now even that method isn't working. Are there troubleshooting steps to make sure games will launch?
@@j__r0d try the support thread linked in the video description. This part of the forum may be locked for new accounts. If so, make five posts/replies to unlock it. I personally haven't heard of this issue. Sorry I can't be of more help.
@@Gladson given the nature of indie/homebrew, there really isn't such a thing. Some people have tried to put together sets, but you may not like some of their artwork choices. In my view, it's best just to add the missing artwork yourself. Not as bad as it sounds!
How did you get codebreaker working that way? I open code breaker like a game and select what I want. Then I have to press the gdemu reset button the number of times the game is in on the list.
@@aaronthomas9016 you highlight the game and press B. CodeBreaker is built in. You don’t have to launch the disc at all. You must be on latest version of openMenu and use latest version of SD card manager utility, as instructed in video.
@ you should be able to. There were some changes in newer openMenu, but should be fine. Just be sure to use latest version of DAT Editor (linked in my video) for any future changes to the metadata.
Is there any easy way to add coverart for gdmenu? I have coverart for open menu that was easy. but gdmenu has no art. it seems the only way is to add the art to the gdi itself which is too much work when you have 200+ titles. Is there no BOX.DAT for gdmenu? theres one issue with openmenu i found. when you have you have too many games and you are scrolling there seems to be lag at one point it froze, this is my reason for switching to gdmenu but theres no coverart for it.
Why not just use openMenu in Grid view sorted by name so you can have nice folders, like in this video? ua-cam.com/video/71BLpSyzfwQ/v-deo.html Follow the steps in the description if you are interested in implementing it. Regarding legacy gdMenu and artwork: the way it displays disc art is by using the 0GDTEX.PVR file located inside the disc image itself. Some games have them by default, some do not. Some have upside down disc art too! You need to manually extract and rebuild your disc images to include a custom 0GDTEX.PVR disc art image for those missing it. I cannot support or give instructions on how to do this (sorry). However, some googling should help.
@@derekpascarella the grid view was the better solution because it doesnt freeze since its not showing all that info. but i just found this "Easy 0GDTEX.PVR Tools" and started using it. its working so im doing them one by one converting the pvr. well its a bat file so kinda easier
@@aaronhoward1083 if you're using a clone GDEMU, you can't update firmware (unless you're using a v5.20 clone, in which case it's already at the latest version).
Tried this whole spuel before, but it doesn't play nicely on a clone GDEMU 5.3 or whatever. Not all my games show up on openMenu, and when I revert back to GDEMU, the game list loads slowly no matter what I try to do 😢
It has nothing to do with your clone GDEMU. You're either doing something wrong (like not using all the latest versions per this video), or have subpar disc images. If you put even an ounce of faith in my years of Dreamcast work, believe me when I say that openMenu can work for you 🙂
@@aaronbr311 Finally, I fixed the problem on my end. It turns out that it was a VGA-patched version of a game that was the culprit. I deleted it and then the rest of the games appeared
Great work!! in which firmware version of the gdemu do we need to be? mine was never updated since i bought it in 2016. I went to the creator of the project but he refused to give me older firmware version to update it accordingly (i cannot simply install the latest one). thanks in advance
GDEMU firmware typically doesn't matter for openMenu, but it's hard for me to speak to a version as old as 2016. Try contacting Deunan again for firmware updates.
@@Akina-vh5by someone else reported this. What controller and memory card are you using? I suggest creating a post on the openMenu support thread linked in the video description.
@@derekpascarella its a sandisk extreme pro, the controller is the sn30 wireless (but i use it wired for now) and the game i cant add is hdr-0003 blue stinger
@@Akina-vh5by there have been issues reported with non-OEM controllers. Please report to the linked thread. No idea about Blue Stinger. Works fine for me.
@@Akina-vh5by it's not dead, but only so many people willing/able to help for these specific issues. Were you sure to take out hyphens from game IDs like I instructed in video? It's also likely that your controller just isn't compatible.
I have over 250 games on my sd card but when I insert the card in my Dreamcast it only shows 8 games…..why is this? Every single game shows up in the card manager program but on the Dreamcast it just shows 8 games on screen
Sorry man, never seen that before. Perhaps try the openMenu support thread from the video description. You're also sure you don't have any filters or anything applied (from openMenu option screen)? Also, is it just the first eight games on your list that you see? Is it as if the list is prematurely cut off? I ask because this may be indicative of some corrupt disc image you've got on your card that isn't playing nicely with the newer SD card manager utility.
@@11Eighty6 Thanos, the 8BitMods developer, says he'll submit code to openMenu so it'll support game IDs. That being said, he's also developed a method for ID'ing a good portion of the retail library automatically even when using original discs.
Great tutorial, thanks. However I'm unable to return to BIOS with OpenMenu, it just keeps resetting back to the menu. Any ideas how to fix? I reverted to standard GDMENU and now it is working fine again.
@@emagid3599 you're selecting "Exit to BIOS" from openMenu and it's not working? Never heard that before. Very weird. Maybe try turning off auto-start in your BIOS settings.
@@derekpascarella unfortunately this isn’t working. Seems auto off was already selected in BIOS. Only way I can fix this is by reverting back to GDMENU.
@@emagid3599 By the way, are you sure you followed my guide and not only grabbed latest version of the card manager utility, but ALSO the latest version of openMenu and overwrote the necessary files?
@@derekpascarella Sorry, I was busy these past two months with a move to another state. I just tried this again from the beginning, watching your tutorial carefully. When I select return to bios, the system restarts and then goes back into Open BIOS. No way to get back into BIOS unless I remove the SD card, and then revert back to GDMENU. Any ideas on a fix? I really prefer the look of Open Menu, but not being able to access BIOS is a problem for me.
@@TheGeokaiser there are probably hundreds of image editing tools out there capable of this. The GIMP is a free open source alternative to Photoshop that'll do the trick.
I cannot for the life of me get this application to detect an SD card and I've been struggling the past 4 hours for what should have been really straightforward...
Interested in a few other openMenu tutorials?
Folder view for openMenu (open source Dreamcast GDEMU menu software)
ua-cam.com/video/71BLpSyzfwQ/v-deo.html
Restore original BIOS
www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=189992#p189992
x.com/DerekPascarella/status/1851949929314357530
That was real simple, brilliant guide man! Now for the slow and tedious part: replacing about 100 box arts that are missing lol!
Yes, I went through it too! All worth it, in my view.
Glad you found the video helpful.
Perfect timing. I had been wanting to clean up my GDEmu setup with a fresh 256gb card and OpenMenu. This helps a ton as everything else I had seen was very outdated. Thanks for all that you do in the DC community!
My pleasure. Love seeing people make use of all this great stuff!
I just accidently corrupted my SDcard so it's a good as time as any while rebuilding it to finally upgrade to the much nicer openmenu. I also have to say friend, i love your translation projects and have to thank you for the work you've been putting into the dreamcast community :)
Derek, you rock for this man. happy to have you in the DC scene
Thanks so much Derek - really easy to follow and so much better to be on this setup!!
Thank you, switching from gdmenu to openmenu has a little learning curve, even getting it set up. Going through the process from start to finish and even troubleshooting like this will help tons. I'll be sure to share it around if anyone needs help.
Cool, hope it helps people!
Loved this tutorial. I hope you heart condition gets better
@@Júpiter-Crush thanks, happy you found it helpful 🙂
Great 😃👍 Dreamcast for sure anybody still rocking Dreamcast System
Thank you for tutorial. Nice time spent adding missing box art today! 👍
You're welcome. Happy to hear it!
Great video. Love the presentation style and directness. Keep up the incredible work you do!
@@MrXiandra appreciate the kind words! I do what I can 🙂
Thank you for this guide, it was more helpful than many of the other ones!
Very happy to hear it!
The homebrew scene is going in the speed of light nowadays !!!
Super cool man! Amazing work.
Thanks 🙂
Oh man, thank you so much, looks great and very easy tut to follow.
Hoping it helps people!
Bless you for making this Derek.
Hope it helps!
I turned on my Dreamcast and GDemu wasn't loading. Then I searched for the problem and found your video. First of all, thank you for your great tutorial. Openmenu is perfect and runs well. We've been waiting for this. Later I noticed that the SD card was locked using the small button every time I plugged it into the Dreamcast. xD
Whatever, Openmenu is perfect :))))
@@HLYE1991 happy to hear it 🙂
@@HLYE1991 happy to hear it 🙂
Brilliantly helpful. Thank you.
@@JimWood28 🫡 you're welcome
Thanks for the video, just converted my card over!
@@DerfJagged you're welcome, my friend! Be sure to check the video description for info on how to obtain latest cheats file, as well as how to implement the lettered folders (huge usability improvement, in my view).
This whole time it was the hyphen! I can finally add new art!
Haha, nice. Glad this helped!
Thank you
I'll be following this video later to setup my SD card.
@@robwagner8616 hope you find it helpful 🙂
Linux works great in my experience, grateful it's supported ❤
Awesome, happy to hear that! Seems stability has greatly improved in recent times then. Thanks for chiming in.
Great tutorial, very detailed. @@derekpascarella
love this video, it will help me so much!
thank you. great info
Return of the Goat
This is great and what I've been after for a long time, but surely there can be some kind community database? Seems ridiculous that potentially hundreds of us are all doing the same thing
Well, openMenu ships with something of a community database. In terms of the retail library, you'll find 90% or so of artwork is already taken care of. I purposefully chose four games (two retail, two indie) for which only one already had artwork.
If you browse the Dreamcast-Talk.com forums, you can probably find people sharing their artwork database files. Personally, I'd rather do it myself. That 10% was easy to add myself, and now I have complete control over indie/homebrew/Atomiswave artwork without the need for overwriting what somebody else thought looked good.
Thank you 😊
Cheers for this! the missing artwork was starting to really bother me .
Happy it helped you out.
Can you just drag & drop your ROM files like the MODE or do you have to use the GDEMU software that rewrites the entire SD card?
You must follow the process outlined in this video. So, special software.
I'm tempted to try out migrating a 128GB gdmenu SD card over to OpenMenu. But I know what I'm like and will probably methodically, compulsively fill out every single metadata box and replace all boxart images with title screenshots before booting a game. I imagine that 200-odd installed Dreamcast titles viewed on the full mode might affect menu performance? If the software is Win7 compatible I might experiment. Thanks for this pleasure of a video.
There's no hit to menu performance, even with 500 games!
I don't know if its my tv or what but I have noticed aspect ratio 16:9 actually makes the text super blurry.
Any reason why if I press Y it brings me to the bios directly instead of opening the menu for code breakers?
Hi A Team thanks so much for this tutorial. When adding artwork let’s say I have my own custom cover art for games that have preexisting art - let’s say idk DOA2, would I be able to use my own custom artwork over what would be the default choice within the database? Thanks!
@@cannonballkid yes. Just replace the images.
I have found openMenu to be a very nice improvement over GDMenu but I'm surprised it doesn't come with many themes. Could you make a tutorial on how to make/import themes for it?
@@flumphflumph6021 www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17862
I've added properly sized images to OpenMenu Dat, saved to card manager and input same title id values but the two covers ive tried still don't show up on dreamcast, any ideas? all other covers work. Two I'm having trouble with are Ikaruga and Half Life.
How do you enable/disable the modem icon in Open Menu?. From what I understand the DAT Tool doesn't ask for modem support in the metadata section, but regardless Open Menu has the modem icon present for every game using the line description style.
Also do the accessories in the metadata serve any purpose if they aren't even reflected as icons in Open Menu? Maracas, Keyboard, Mouse, Arcade stick etc.
@@ians_parks no idea, I don’t use those features at all. I prefer grid view with lettered folders.
@@derekpascarella Feel free to refuse but would you be willing to post a tutorial or help walk me through the process of applying a theme for Open Menu? The video tutorial I followed seems to focus specifically on GDMenu even during the Open Menu portion of the video, unless I'm completely missing something. All I'm really trying to do is apply simple NTSC Dreamcast bios theme/background.
not authorized to vew topic (for OPENMENU ARTWORK DAT MANAGER link) even after registering
@@John_M_B you have to register and make at least five posts. Did you also see in the video description that I provided a Google Drive link?
Open menu is up but now a lot of my games are not showing up and it’s scrolling left to right instead of having the whole screen with games
@@chillvillmancuecas6513 please watch the entire video where I cover the settings menu and "Grid" view.
Regarding your games not showing up, I'd suggest using the Dreamcast-Talk.com support thread in the video description. Unfortunately I'm not able to assist in troubleshooting at this time. I will say you need valid GDIs (TOSEC-style, not Redump) or valid CDIs.
I switched back to gdemu and everything is back to normal at least not sure why open menu doesn’t work
Thank you for the video, but what about “force VGA mode” for those DC games that don’t play if you’re running a DC with an HDMI adapter?
I should've mentioned! openMenu does auto-region and auto-VGA patching without needing to enable it.
@@derekpascarella Then I’m sold!
@@1776Sledge 😉
After switching to openMenu, I have had a hell of a time getting my games to actually launch. For awhile I could bypass the issue by taking out the VMU, but now even that method isn't working. Are there troubleshooting steps to make sure games will launch?
@@j__r0d try the support thread linked in the video description. This part of the forum may be locked for new accounts. If so, make five posts/replies to unlock it. I personally haven't heard of this issue. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Looks great, is there any way to download a complete metadata file?
@@Gladson given the nature of indie/homebrew, there really isn't such a thing. Some people have tried to put together sets, but you may not like some of their artwork choices. In my view, it's best just to add the missing artwork yourself. Not as bad as it sounds!
there are any incompabilities between the various gdemu versions and openemu?? i can't find a single information about it
@@TheProgressiveStyle No.
How did you get codebreaker working that way? I open code breaker like a game and select what I want. Then I have to press the gdemu reset button the number of times the game is in on the list.
@@aaronthomas9016 you highlight the game and press B. CodeBreaker is built in. You don’t have to launch the disc at all. You must be on latest version of openMenu and use latest version of SD card manager utility, as instructed in video.
Thanks. I will update this. Can I use the asset pack from the earlier version, which contained meta data and art?
@ you should be able to. There were some changes in newer openMenu, but should be fine. Just be sure to use latest version of DAT Editor (linked in my video) for any future changes to the metadata.
Is there any easy way to add coverart for gdmenu? I have coverart for open menu that was easy. but gdmenu has no art. it seems the only way is to add the art to the gdi itself which is too much work when you have 200+ titles. Is there no BOX.DAT for gdmenu? theres one issue with openmenu i found. when you have you have too many games and you are scrolling there seems to be lag at one point it froze, this is my reason for switching to gdmenu but theres no coverart for it.
Why not just use openMenu in Grid view sorted by name so you can have nice folders, like in this video?
ua-cam.com/video/71BLpSyzfwQ/v-deo.html
Follow the steps in the description if you are interested in implementing it.
Regarding legacy gdMenu and artwork: the way it displays disc art is by using the 0GDTEX.PVR file located inside the disc image itself. Some games have them by default, some do not. Some have upside down disc art too! You need to manually extract and rebuild your disc images to include a custom 0GDTEX.PVR disc art image for those missing it. I cannot support or give instructions on how to do this (sorry). However, some googling should help.
@@derekpascarella the grid view was the better solution because it doesnt freeze since its not showing all that info. but i just found this "Easy 0GDTEX.PVR Tools" and started using it. its working so im doing them one by one converting the pvr. well its a bat file so kinda easier
Would this work on a GDEMU bought from Aliexpress?
@@SONYPVM yes.
Can I ask is it easy to switch to open menu from gdemu
Can I also ask hav you ever attempted to update gdemu firmware etc how do I accomplish this
@@aaronhoward1083 the entire point of this video is to show how easy it is. I can't possibly answer any better than my video already has.
@@aaronhoward1083 if you're using a clone GDEMU, you can't update firmware (unless you're using a v5.20 clone, in which case it's already at the latest version).
Tried this whole spuel before, but it doesn't play nicely on a clone GDEMU 5.3 or whatever. Not all my games show up on openMenu, and when I revert back to GDEMU, the game list loads slowly no matter what I try to do 😢
It has nothing to do with your clone GDEMU. You're either doing something wrong (like not using all the latest versions per this video), or have subpar disc images. If you put even an ounce of faith in my years of Dreamcast work, believe me when I say that openMenu can work for you 🙂
@@derekpascarella Sounds like it works with the clone version then? I'll give it a shot :)
I also have clone version and no problem, maybe try formatting the SD fresh with guiformat or try new SD card
@@aaronbr311 Finally, I fixed the problem on my end. It turns out that it was a VGA-patched version of a game that was the culprit. I deleted it and then the rest of the games appeared
Does openmenu still struggle to recognise utility type CDI images? Last time I loaded up openmenu it wouldn’t read some at all.
Not in my experience, no. Just be sure to use all of the latest versions per the video.
Great work!! in which firmware version of the gdemu do we need to be? mine was never updated since i bought it in 2016. I went to the creator of the project but he refused to give me older firmware version to update it accordingly (i cannot simply install the latest one). thanks in advance
GDEMU firmware typically doesn't matter for openMenu, but it's hard for me to speak to a version as old as 2016. Try contacting Deunan again for firmware updates.
openMenu was written on a first gen clone from around that time. Works fine
i managed to add 1/2 image missing and i cant get the settings to save in open menu
@@Akina-vh5by someone else reported this. What controller and memory card are you using? I suggest creating a post on the openMenu support thread linked in the video description.
@@derekpascarella its a sandisk extreme pro, the controller is the sn30 wireless (but i use it wired for now) and the game i cant add is hdr-0003 blue stinger
@@Akina-vh5by there have been issues reported with non-OEM controllers. Please report to the linked thread. No idea about Blue Stinger. Works fine for me.
@@derekpascarella i reported, nothing yet, might be a somewhat dead forum idk
@@Akina-vh5by it's not dead, but only so many people willing/able to help for these specific issues. Were you sure to take out hyphens from game IDs like I instructed in video? It's also likely that your controller just isn't compatible.
I have over 250 games on my sd card but when I insert the card in my Dreamcast it only shows 8 games…..why is this? Every single game shows up in the card manager program but on the Dreamcast it just shows 8 games on screen
Sorry man, never seen that before. Perhaps try the openMenu support thread from the video description.
You're also sure you don't have any filters or anything applied (from openMenu option screen)?
Also, is it just the first eight games on your list that you see? Is it as if the list is prematurely cut off? I ask because this may be indicative of some corrupt disc image you've got on your card that isn't playing nicely with the newer SD card manager utility.
@@derekpascarellait’s just the first 8 games
@@dogeymon83 your 9th disc image is not being liked by GDMENU Card Manager. What is it? Going to guess some homebrew software.
@@derekpascarellait’s alienfront online
@@derekpascarellaI removed a special VGA patched version of some game and then I started seeing games get added
will openmenu support the upcoming 8bitmods vmu memcard aswell?
@@11Eighty6 Thanos, the 8BitMods developer, says he'll submit code to openMenu so it'll support game IDs. That being said, he's also developed a method for ID'ing a good portion of the retail library automatically even when using original discs.
Great tutorial, thanks. However I'm unable to return to BIOS with OpenMenu, it just keeps resetting back to the menu. Any ideas how to fix? I reverted to standard GDMENU and now it is working fine again.
@@emagid3599 you're selecting "Exit to BIOS" from openMenu and it's not working? Never heard that before. Very weird. Maybe try turning off auto-start in your BIOS settings.
@@derekpascarella unfortunately this isn’t working. Seems auto off was already selected in BIOS. Only way I can fix this is by reverting back to GDMENU.
@@emagid3599 By the way, are you sure you followed my guide and not only grabbed latest version of the card manager utility, but ALSO the latest version of openMenu and overwrote the necessary files?
@@derekpascarella Sorry, I was busy these past two months with a move to another state. I just tried this again from the beginning, watching your tutorial carefully. When I select return to bios, the system restarts and then goes back into Open BIOS. No way to get back into BIOS unless I remove the SD card, and then revert back to GDMENU. Any ideas on a fix? I really prefer the look of Open Menu, but not being able to access BIOS is a problem for me.
@ very strange, and I'm not aware of such an issue. Please report to the Dreamcast-Talk thread, along with your console revision.
Does this process work for Aliexpress GDEMU V5.20.5 Clones? I want to do it with mine but I heard that those work differently
@@moisesbarboza4535 this works with all GDEMUs, including clones of any version.
any one knows a way to turn the images into 256png cux im failing bad.
@@TheGeokaiser there are probably hundreds of image editing tools out there capable of this. The GIMP is a free open source alternative to Photoshop that'll do the trick.
I cannot for the life of me get this application to detect an SD card and I've been struggling the past 4 hours for what should have been really straightforward...
@@whodafaqareyou try the support thread linked in the video description. Include as many details and screenshots (if necessary) as possible.