Sega Master System

Check the dumping hardware overview for a list of known preservation hardware.

If you need help, please come chat with us on the VGPC or No-Intro discord servers.

Modern Sega Master System dumping tools are still a bit harder to come by, but there are still some great options!

Important Notes

• Unopened games should have their ROM and save data dumped before attempting to play them. This avoids inadvertent modification of the data and helps preserve any possible rewritable data in its unused/“factory” state. This is especially important for types of cart that store the ROM on rewritable media, or games that come with special save data pre-installed. But it is not necessarily possible to know in advance, hence why its advisable to dump first. Note in your submission whether the physical media was sealed and include a photo of the cart/packaging in its sealed state, if possible.
• You should clean the physical media's electrical contacts before trying to dump it, then dump it, clean it again and dump it a second time, checking if both dumps match using a file comparison tool or calculating the SHA256 of each file and comparing those values. This helps ensure that dirt on the contacts is not causing interference, and that dirt was fully removed during the cleaning process.

1. Retrode2
2. Sanni Cart Reader

The Retrode1 is simple system that works really well, and is affordable and readily available.

1. Connect the Master System Adapter with your game, and plug it into the Retrode2.
2. Make sure the voltage setting is at 5V.
3. Connect the Retrode2 to your computer.
4. The Retrode2 should now show up as a regular USB drive, and you can copy the ROM from there for further analysis.

By using the SMS to MD adapter available from the GitHub repository, you can dump Sega Master System games through the Mega Drive/Genesis slot. Then follow the Sanni Cart Reader wiki for proper settings, and dumping instructions.

Unscrew the back of the cartridge with a 4.5mm Gamebit or line head screw driver, lift the back off, and remove the PCB from the two pegs.

Once you've dumped your games, it's time to generate and submit metadata to a preservation project for validating and cataloging. See the dump submission instructions for more information.