DDR Supernova AC Downgraded to Extreme, Severe Lag

There is a DDR Supernova machine in the bowling alley where I work that worked rather well for a long time. The Namco technician has been so helpful in keeping it going and maintaining it despite the wishes of Namco to replace the machine. Eventually the machine started crashing and after a hard drive replacement it started crashing again so he opted to downgrade to Extreme as a last ditch to save one of few machines in town. Unfortunately once he got Extreme put in the machine will lag during play and upon reload you will fail. It has displayed error messages upon start up leading us to believe the CD drive was bad. He sent it in and they sent it back saying no issues. Today I got this message (. The machine is just iffy, sometimes it will start up, and sometimes it just crashes and has to be reset. We tried a CD drive swap but it wouldn't start up, I figure it needs a specific drive not just any. Anyone have any clue whether the error message points toward the drive itself or just the game?


Also just to clarify, the songs still play while it lags. But the video freezes entirely and whichever steps were pressed stay lit up.

Your disc drive or disc is the problem. Make a copy of the disc and burn at the slowest speed possible and if that doesn't work replace the disc drive. Here is a list of known drives that will work with system 573.
Compaq 179137-701
LG GCR-8523B
LG GDR-8164B (confirmed great for analog mixes)
LG GH22NP20 Multi DVD Rewriter
Lite-On LH-18A1H (confirmed working for analog mixes)
Lite-On LTD-163
Lite-On LTR-40125S
Lite-On XJ-HD166S
Toshiba XM-5702B
Matsushita CR589B (this is the stock drive; works with analog mixes)
Matsushita SR8589B
MITSUMI CRMC-FX4830T
NEC CDR-1900A
Panasonic CR594C
SONY DRU-510A
SONY DRU-810A
LG GDR-8163B (confirmed working with analog mixes)
TEAC CD-W552E

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I don't believe it is the disc because I have had the same songs lag and fail and then other times play all the way through so I will pass this list onto the tech. Thank you so much. I've been without DDR for over a month now and I don't want my doubles skill to fade

The disc could still be the problem. For instance I had a EuroMIX2 disc that would sometimes load Hypnotic Crisis and play normally but sometimes it would fail to do so and lag. This was with a new disc drive so it certainly is still possible that the disc is the culprit, although it is not as likely as the drive being the problem.

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Yeah this was a new kit from Betson but he did say he thought it wasn't legit. He's gonna custom space the mats since Betson has stopped making all the parts. He said Supernova's are failing nationwide right now

You could always get the SN kit repaired. Besides Betson, who will rape you in the ass for your money while they repair it there are a few other people that know how to fix SuperNOVA/Python 2 hardware. If it a problem with the HDD I can fix it as well.

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Namco would never contract out unfortunately. Betson is scrapping parts rather than repairing now

Well if Namco for some reason wants the Python thrown out or something (I would be shocked if they actually decided NOT to throw it out) I will buy it from you!

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That might explain why I've been seeing SN machines disappear locally over the last few years. They seem to be a dying breed of a machine.

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Well this thread might explain why the supernova machine in my area got changed to a In the Groove 2 machine. Even though itg is alright still sucks that supernova is dying out.

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Heh, seems to be the opposite in my area, SuperNOVA is quickly taking over my area, not by a whole lot like EXTREME used to be, but fairly enough to warrant it a likely DDR machine in my area.

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See and it was the opposite for me. Back in '06-'07 there was a halfway decent ITG2 machine that people took care of. The place also had a Stepping Stage 3 Superior machine, ironically enough. (This is Arkansas)

Then both machines were removed for the longest time and an SN machine went in. Then it kinda just disappeared this past year. The only one I know of local is in Little Rock and like many people use it. I went one go with it and ended up dropping a whole bunch of high scores on it and I'm not really that good.

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Betson is scrapping parts because REPAIR is IMPOSSIBLE. At least officially anyway.

The python 2 kits use the same type of encryption as ffxi on ps2. The data on the hard drive is tied to both the hard drive and console inside. If any component changes, the konami boot loader won't decrypt and the game will refuse to boot. Users cannot legitimately marry data to drive and consoles. In fact betson can't either anymore.

On DDRs 15th birthday, however, a repair kit specifically for DDR supernova was released to fix this unofficially. The instructions are to essentially find an ide drive between 40-120gb and image it. That's it. If your namco tech is competent as you say he or she is, they can do this very easily in under 30 minutes, most of which is waiting for the drive to image.

If you are having trouble finding this I am sure someone can help you in getting this kit so you can give it to your namco tech to do. Really, it couldn't be simpler.

The CD drive was sent by itself to Namco, hopefully they replace it. Thats the only thing stopping the machine from working, it was failing to boot without a reset and still lagging.

I rather bump into this thread than start a new one.

I have a DDR Extreme that I moved a couple hundred miles from Ohio to the Chicago Area and set it up and worked fine. It was then moved down a flight of stairs to the basement and am now getting a "CDR: BAD, HARDWARE ERROR... RESET" message and the machine keeps rebooting. From what I have read, I can only assume the CD-ROM drive went bad.

I have tried the following drives:
1x Lite-On XJ-HD166S
2x HP GDR-8163B (this is what Betson carries under their 44-9000-08 P/N)

No matter what I keep getting the same error. Is there anything I am missing? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Check the power connector. When we received our machine one of the wires actually fell off the connector on the side that connects to the GX700 motherboard. We had to hot glue it back into place because we couldn't find a good crimp to repair it with.

Power connector all good. Actually plugged the board and checked voltage across all the pins and everything checked out. Drive powers on and opens/closes. Even hear the drive start spinning.

Check cables. Your IDE/PATA cable might not be plugged in all the way. on the board side or the drive side. This could result in the drive spinning up but not being read as it has happened to me several times. You could also try to swap the cable just for the hell of it.

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Tried that one too went as far as checking for continuity in all the cables/pins and everything checked out.

Just going off of memory - The security cartridge has some pins, what does the other end connect to?

Just to be sure you are getting a proper and stable +5 and +12 correct?

Maybe the disc can't be read for some reason, try making a copy. Also your drives jumper is placed on master correct?

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