If successful, the Dreamcast will boot directly into the game. No modchip. No swap trick. That is the beauty of the CDI format.
The Sega Dreamcast CDI Archive: A Guide to Preserving Gaming History sega dreamcast cdi archive
The ecosystem is a vital part of retro gaming history, stemming from a unique security loophole that allowed the console to boot unlicensed software without hardware modifications. The Core Technology: MIL-CD Exploit The Dreamcast used proprietary GD-ROMs ( The Sega Dreamcast CDI Archive: A Digital Time
The is unique in the world of retro gaming because its games were stored on GD-ROMs (Gigabyte Discs), not standard CDs. However, the CDI file format (DiscJuggler Image) is one of the most common ways these games are archived and distributed online. That is the beauty of the CDI format
After the Dreamcast died in 2001, the homebrew community did not. The CDI archive became a lifeline for independent developers.
. Early Dreamcast consoles (Models 0 and 1) can boot multi-session CDs, which allows "self-booting" homebrew and backups to run without any hardware modification or modchips.