Well I just got a Sega Saturn and I hooked it all up correctly only I have one problem. Everytime it loads up, it just goes to the system menu (the one with the play/pause, set system time buttons, etc). It goes there for my PDS disc 1 and my NiGHTS game (only games I have so far). Anyone know what the problem is? All discs are fine. I also recently replaced the battery…
Either the disc themselves or the drive are the problem. It doesn’t recognise a game CD is in apparently so those are the only possible problems I guess. Hope for the discs because it’s sure gonna be hard to find a new laser piece for the Saturn… Or it might just need cleaning…
Yeah that happened to me a couple of months ago. You have a burned out battery and need to replace it. It’s very easy, on the back of the saturn is a cover which slides off, within, the battery can be found sitting face down. Just pop in out and replace it with another one. As for the battery type, I put in a + Newsun 3v Lithium cell. You can easily find them at Radio Shack. I bought mine at a local used video game shop for 3 bucks. Now my Saturn works perfectly and I can save files on the internal memory again.
i actually did replace the battery :\
after replacing it, the next time the saturn booted up, it asked me to set the time/date 
im going to try something that involves turning on the saturn without closing the lid all the way. heard it works in this situation, only hope it does.
Well, when I first put the battery in I had to set the time and date as well. But after doing it once, I shut off the saturn put a game in and it worked fine. When you put a new battery in, the Saturn will automatically take you to the time/date screen. But once you set the time/date, you shouldn’t be taken back to, or have to do it again.
Have you turned your Saturn on with a game in it, since you put the batery in, and set the time/date?
Actually, your laser track system is probably stuck; it happens ALOT with older systems. To remedy this, simply put your thumb or a screw driver near the laser driveshaft and give it a small nudge; that should fix your problem.
If your Saturn isn’t recognising the discs at all, you can almost certainly rule out a problem with the battery; the battery allows you to store save-game files to the system’s memory and it allows you to store system settings (such as the time and date), though a Saturn should load games up properly without these things; I’ve used each of my own Saturns for long periods of time without a battery, just relying on a memory cartridge to save to instead.
If it isn’t reading either game disc, you can very probably rule out a problem with them too, although if you wanted to make absolutely sure you could try just putting any old disc in the system and turning it on - it should play audio CDs just fine, and a message should pop up telling you that non-Saturn game discs are “unsuitable for this system”. Currently I expect it’s a problem with the laser mechanism though, as Alex and Kadamose said…
(By the way, this thread would probably be better suited to one of the off-topic forums; I’ll move it to the Holy District later on…)
which one is the laser drive shaft? the little O where the cd goes on top of? or below it in the little hole?
The drive shaft is on the laser itself - it’s basically a rectangular piece that holds the laser diode in place and goes up and down the track to read the CD. What you need to do is put your thumb on that rectangular piece and give it a push along the track; sometimes the screw that drives that mechanism gets lodged in the plastic brackets, and thus becomes stuck.
It only needs a slight push; once you hear the mechanism give an audible pop, it means it’s on the track and you’re ready to play again.