Save management

Save Management

Dreamcast games store their progress on the Visual Memory Unit, a small removable card that slots into the controller. Managing those saves well protects you against the two biggest threats to your data: limited card space and the VMU's own draining clock battery. software

Understanding the space limit

Each VMU holds 128 KB of storage, divided into 200 blocks. Some games consume a surprising number of blocks for a single save, and a few reserve extra space for mini-games or extra content. When a card fills up you must delete old data or move it elsewhere before a new save will fit.

Backing up and transferring

Saves can be copied between two VMUs using a game's own file menu, but this is slow and limited. Homebrew tools make it far easier:

• DreamShell's VMU Manager copies saves to and from an SD card.
• Dedicated backup utilities dump entire cards to a single archive file.
• A PC-side card reader can pull saves off the VMU directly on supported hardware.

Good habits

Keep at least one spare VMU formatted and empty. Back up important saves to storage before experimenting with homebrew, since a malfunctioning program could overwrite blocks. Label your cards so you know which holds which game.