Sega Mega-CD/Boot ROM
From Sega Retro
- Back to: Sega Mega-CD.
All variants of the Sega Mega-CD come pre-installed with a boot ROM - a menu interface which appears when the console is given power. While a Sega Mega Drive cartridge can boot almost instantaneously, CD-ROMs require verification and loading, which depending on the quality of the disc or drive, can take several seconds. In addition to help drive the CD-ROM, the Mega-CD's boot ROM informs the user that the console is in Mega-CD mode, and crucially gives them something more interesting to look at than a blank screen.
Over time, many slightly different boot ROMs were developed by Sega (or its partners), either for localisation purposes, bug fixes or due to changes in hardware. The Wondermega for example has a different style of boot ROM to a standard Mega-CD, while the LaserActive has to accommodate the Mega LD format.
Contents
Functions
Most Mega-CD boot ROMs offer the same functionality - principally to run Mega-CD games. Most models can also play music CDs and Japanese models accept CD+G discs. As the Mega-CD also contains on-board memory for save games, the boot ROM allows users to manage data, either by removing save data they no longer need, or by transferring it to a CD BackUp RAM Cart. Later boot ROMs and the LaserActive cull some of these features, possibly as a cost-saving measure or limitations with the hardware.
On the Mega-CD, boot ROMs typically play a music track, while colourful Mega-CD and/or Sega logos dance around, demonstrating the system's rotation and scaling abilities. Boot ROM versions 2.00 and later support use of the Sega Mouse in control port 2, should users want to use that device to navigate the menus.
All of these features (and more) were also made available in the Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast, as well as most rival disc-based consoles.
Screenshots
Main screen
JP 1.00
US 1.00
EU 1.00
US 1.10
JP 2.00
US 2.00
EU 2.00
JP 2.11
US 2.21
EU 2.21
LaserActive 1.02
LaserActive 1.04
LaserActive 1.05
Wondermega 1.00
Wondermega 2.00
X'Eye 2.00
Audio CD playback
JP 1.00
US 1.00
EU 1.00
JP 2.00-2.11
US/EU 2.00
Wondermega 1.00
Wondermega/X'Eye 2.00
Storage information
JP 1.00
US/EU 1.00-1.10
JP 2.00
US/EU 2.00
JP 1.00
US/EU 1.00-1.10
JP 2.00
US/EU 2.00
Technical information
ROM dump status
| System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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128kB | 1993-03-29 | LaserActive (NA) (1.02) | BIOS header lists version as 0.98 |  (74 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-03-29 | LaserActive (Japan) (1.02) | BIOS header lists version as 0.98 | (74 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-09-22 | LaserActive (NA) (1.04) | (74 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-08-10 | LaserActive (Japan) (1.05) | (69 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1991-11-14 | Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.00c) | Found on prototype EPROM labeled "1.00c" | (80 kB) (info)
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Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.00 Rev B) | HAA-2910 EPR-14088B | (80 kB) (info)
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Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.00 Rev C) | HAA-2910 EPR-14088C | (80 kB) (info)
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128kB | Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.00 Rev D) | HAA-2910 EPR-14088D | (80 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1991-12-17 | Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.00 Rev E) | HAA-2910 EPR-14088E | (80 kB) (info)
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Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.00 Rev H) | HAA-2910 EPR-14088H, MPR-14088H-T | (80 kB) (info)
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1992-05-01 | Sega Mega-CD (Japan) (1.11) | Dumped from Japanese model 2 sample/prototype | (81 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1991-12-28 | Sega Mega-CD (Asia) (1.00 Rev H) | (80 kB) (info)
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128kB | Sega CD (NA) (1.00) | (85 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1992-10-11 | Sega CD (NA) (1.10 Rev B) | MK-1690 MPR-15045B-T | (85 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1992-10-27 | Sega Mega-CD (EU) (1.00) | MK-1690-18 | (81 kB) (info)
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1992-12-22 | Sega Mega-CD 2 (Funai Model) (Japan) (2.00) | HAA-2912 MPR-15398-T | (79 kB) (info)
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1993-03-14 | Sega CD 2 (Funai Model) (NA) (2.00) | MK4102 MPR-15511-T | (85 kB) (info)
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1993-06-01 | Sega CD 2 (Funai Model) (NA) (2.00 Rev A) | MK4102 MPR-15511A-T | (85 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-03-30 | Sega Mega-CD II (Funai Model) (EU) (2.00) | MK4102-50 MPR-15512-T | (83 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-06-01 | Sega Mega-CD II (Funai Model) (EU) (2.00 Rev A) | MK4102-50 MPR-15512A-T | (83 kB) (info)
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1993-06-21 | Sega CD 2 (Sony Model) (NA) (2.11) | MK-4102A MPR-15764-T | (86 kB) (info)
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1993-06-21 | Sega Mega-CD II (Sony Model) (EU) (2.11) | MK-4102A-50 MPR-15811-T | (84 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-09-07 | Sega CDX (NA) (2.21x) | MK-4121 MPR-16139-T | (86 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-09-16 | Sega Multi-Mega (EU) (2.21x) | MK-4121-50 OPR-16140 | (84 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1992-02-06 | Sega Wondermega (Japan) (1.00) | HWM-5010 G301 | (79 kB) (info)
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128kB | Victor Wondermega M2 (Japan) (2.00) | RG-M2 G303[fn 1] | (81 kB) (info)
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128kB | 1993-12-27 | JVC X'Eye (NA) (2.00) | RG-M10BU G304 | (80 kB) (info)
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128kB | Aiwa CSD-G1M (JP) (2.11) | MPR-15768-T | (80 kB) (info)
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Footnotes
- ↑ The ZIP file contains two dumps, a "good" dump and a "bad" dump. The "bad" dump has an incorrect HINT vector, but is otherwise identical to the "good" dump. The CRC32 listed here is for the "good" dump.
References
| Sega Mega-CD | |
|---|---|
| Topics | Technical specifications | History | Magazine articles | Promotional material |
| Hardware | Mega CD (Asia | North America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | South America | Australasia | Africa) Sega Multi-Mega (Asia | North America | Europe | South America | Australasia) Wondermega | LaserActive | CSD-G1M |
| Misc. hardware | CD BackUp RAM Cart | Mega-CD Karaoke | Pro CDX |
| Development tools | SNASM Mega-CD | PsyQ Mega-CD SDK | PSY-Q CD Emulation System (Mega-CD) |
| Unreleased hardware | Game Genie |