Table of Contents
Changing The Battery Of A Sega Dreamcast VMU
| Field | Videogame maintenance |
| Went Obsolete | 2001 |
| Made Obsolete By | The demise of the Sega Dreamcast |
| Knowledge Assumed | Use of a screwdriver, ability to recognise a CR2032? battery, and the knowledge that your VMU makes a horrible beeping noise when you turn on your console |
| When useful | If you want to play Chao Adventure |
The VMU (Visual Memory Unit) was the Dreamcast's version of a memory card. But it was also so much more - you could unplug it from the console and play simple games on it like a shrunken Gameboy. The only way to get such games onto your VMU was to play a Dreamcast game which included one. The most common was Chao Adventure, which came with Sonic Adventure, and let you build up skills and stats for your chao.
Without batteries, the VMU would still work as a memory card. However, for standalone gaming you needed two CR2032? batteries, which drained incredibly quickly. Since CR2032? batteries aren't particularly cheap, and changing them involved removing a screw, many people soon gave up on their VMU minigames.
So, how to do it:-
- Unplug your VMU from the console controller.
- Turn it over.
- Locate battery compartment lid. (It's got a diagram of the batteries on it.)
- Take screwdriver and unscrew the lid.
- Remove any old batteries and discard.
- Screw the compartment lid back on again.
- Either plug the device back into the Dreamcast controller, or enjoy whatever minigame is still stored on the VMU.
