A:I

Uploaded by A:I on xbox-scene.com forums.

SORAK05'S ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE NINTENDO GAMECUBE:
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ESSENTIAL GAMECUBE SOFTWARE PACKAGE


This package is for those who want to know about what the GameCube can do, in terms of how the ISOs work, streaming through the BroadBand Adaptor, and potential Modding Solutions, and how to go about it efficiently.


PACKAGE CONTENTS:
http://rapidshare.com/users/M12EN8




Here is everything you need to know about GameCube ISO files:


**INTRODUCTION:**
A standard size of a GameCube image (or known as ISO here) is 1,459,978,240 bytes big.. That is 1.35GB. They are burned onto Mini-DVDs.

The reason it is this big is because the GameCube is designed to read a disc that is full, for easy access. The GameCube is unlikely to read, even a homemade disc, that is less than about 700MB-800MB big.

The GameCube has a special way of reading the data on their Mini-DVDs which makes it impossible to read in a standard PC DVD drive. A conventional disc has its data burn from the inside of the disc, and has its last sector on the outside of the disc. The GameCube, however, starts by reading the outside, and has its last sector on the inside. Thus, the only way to make images of GameCube games is to use very select PC DVD drives capable of reading the media, or connecting your PC to the GameCube with the GameCube BroadBand Adaptor Modem and streaming the image file to your PC Hard Disk.

A GameCube image has either the filename extension GCM or ISO.



**WIPING AND FIXING:**
Although the ISO is a standard of 1.35GB, the game contents may actually be less than that. Since this is the case, the remaining space in the ISO is known as 'garbage bytes', and are empty for the purpose of filling up the ISO to make it the standard size.

Using software, it is possible to WIPE an ISO, meaning to take the 1.35GB and to shrink it by removing all the 'garbage bytes', and just be left with a WIPED ISO. This ISO basically contains the game files, and no blank space to fill it to the standard size.

It is also possible to take a WIPED ISO and to 'FIX' it, by filling in the 'garbage bytes' and make the ISO in question the standard size.



**MULTI-BOOT ISO:**
There is software that enables you to take WIPED ISOs that amount to the standard size of a GameCube image and create a 'Multi-Boot ISO' from it, meaning you can make your own 3-in-1 compilations for example.

This software also allows you to make the compilations up to 3GB, allowing you to fill a standard DVD-R, allowing for more games on the disc.

There is also software to allow you to extract individual WIPED ISOs from a MULTI-BOOT ISO image.



**OPENING, VIEWING, AND EDITING GAMECUBE IMAGES:**
For those interested in viewing the contents of you GameCube ISO, to view the game information and region, and perhaps to extract the game banner for archiving, it is possible to do with software.

It is also possible to extract the contents of you ISO to a folder on your hard disk that is readable by the PC. You can then recompile the image if you want to <HOWEVER. Compiling your own ISO is very buggy software, and has a success rate of actually compiling to begin with of about 8%-10%>.



**STREAMING AND RIPPING:**
For those of you who own GameCube consoles and would like to connect them to your PC with the BroadBand Adaptor Modem, it is possible to make backups of the disc inside the machine, and be able to stream any applications from emulators to GameCube ISO images from your PC to the GameCube.

In order to do this, however, you MUST have a GameCube console, a GameCube BroadBand Adaptor Modem, and ANY MODDING solution. The Mod-Chip, however, requires opening up the machine to solder a chip inside.


An alternative is to buy a specific model DVD-ROM drive for your PC that is capable of reading Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii discs, and running an application to rip the disc. This works with GameCube and Wii originals and backups, and is the easier method than the BroadBand Adaptor Modem, and can do Nintendo Wii discs as well.
The model numbers are from a series of LG DVD-ROM drives:
LG-8161b
LG-8162b
LG-8163b
LG-8164b

The LG-8164b series is the most recommendable.



**BURNING:**
The best software to burn Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii ISOs, hands down, is known as IMGBurn.

If an ISO refuses to burn in IMGBurn, you can almost guarantee that it is corrupt, but you may however try to burn it in Nero, as this should burn it for sure. If it DOESN'T burn EVEN IN NERO, then the ISO is corrupt for sure.
One can check the integrity of a GameCube ISO with software that enables you to view the contents of the ISOs.

If you plan on making backups for your Nintendo GameCube, you will need the best blanks available.
The reason for this is that the GameCube has an extremely sensitive lens, and will only read discs that are of very high quality, and will shun completely, or have slowdown issues, with the rest.

It is also possible to buy a 'MODDED REPLACEMENT CASE, like the IcedCube case' which is a case that lets you fit normal size DVD-Rs in your GameCube. This is useful if you only have access to good quality DVD-Rs, and to be able to make larger MULTI-BOOT ISO discs.. The only con with this method is that the GameCube is designed to fit Mini-DVDs, so if you put a normal size DVD, the weight may be too much for the motor of the lens, and will result in the disc spinning too slowly, and having lag in videos and loading speeds, and possibly halting the game altogether.

THE LIMIT FOR DVD-Rs IS 3GB. THE GAMECUBE CANNOT READ ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT, AS IT SIMPLY DOES NOT HAVE THE SPACE TO DO SO.



The best MINI-DVD-Rs to buy for GameCube purposes are known as the RiData Ritek G04 Mini-DVD-Rs...
The best DVD-Rs to buy for GameCube purposes are known as the RiData Ritek G05 DVD-Rs...

The best burners to use would be the PLEXTOR, NEC, and PIONEER burners, but with these blanks, and burning at the lowest speed possible, basically any drive will burn these successfully.


**POT ADJUSTING:**
In the event that you have the best quality blanks, but the GameCube will still not read them, it is possible to adjust the power of the lens the make 'unreadable' media 'readable'. This increases the power of the lens, thus will make it burn out faster, but takes a very long time to do so, especially as good quality media hardly strains the lens.

A good POT would be between 180-220, and is pretty much the default for the best media you can get. The lower the number, the worse. If you have a POT around 80, and the disc barely works then, consider buying a LENS REPLACEMENT for the GameCube.

Instructions on how to adjust the POT can be downloaded from the section below:
All instructions came from the following website:
http://modthatcube.pxn-os.com


**MODDING SOLUTION:**
There are two types of modding solutions:
a) HARD CHIP, which means soldering a mod-chip into your machine.
b) SOFTMOD, which means being able to run home-made applications and game backups without needing to solder in a chip.

The preferable one to do is definately the HARD CHIP solution, as you are able to boot backups, as well as homemade applications like emulators, and media players, instantly, and without needing to swap any discs.



**MODDING SOLUTION A - HARD CHIP:**
There are two types of hard chips:
1) FIRMWARE PATCHER
2) DRIVE PATCHER

1) The first, i.e. the firmware patcher modchip, is a modchip that switches on and boots before anything else. You copy a BIOS to the modchip, and when you switch the GameCube on, it starts with that installed BIOS, at which point you can boot the ORIGINAL BIOS, or run your external/homemade applications with ease.

The two best hard chips are the QOOB PRO and the VIPER GC EXTREME.
Both have identical features, being direct boot of homemade applications, and any game, original and backup.. except one...
Both have USB inputs for you to plug your computer into for the purpose of flashing a BIOS to the chip to get it to run, and to store your applications, like BroadBand Modem Streaming applications, or media players for MP3s and DivX videos...
The USB on the Qoob PRO, is intended SOLELY for flashing... The USB on the Viper GC Extreme, however, can also be used to stream data to the PC... the difference basically is that you can make a backup of a game, or run applications from your PC, solely through the USB Port... You cannot stream a game from the PC to the GameCube however, and only make a backup of it, at an EXTREMELY SLOW SPEED of USB 1.0.

The recommended one, supposing you have a BroadBand Adaptor Modem, would definately be the Qoob PRO, as it also allows you to make your own custom background for your BIOS, and is more user-friendly. The only downfall is that you cannot rip games or stream programs (NOT IMAGES) without the BroadBand Adaptor Modem for this chip.

RECOMMENDED: Qoob PRO


2) The second, i.e. the drive patcher modchip, is a modchip that doesn't interrupt the ORIGINAL BIOS from loading up at all. The only function it has is to patch the lens when you insert a disc to force the machine to think that whatever you put in is an original disc from the region of your machine.

Although this is the preferred method, the only downfall is that you have to burn discs that enable you to be able to stream files, as opposed to the FIRMWARE PATCHER modchips that allow you store the software on the memory banks of the chips.

There are two drive patcher chips, which are the XENOGC 2.0, and the DUOQ.
They both have the same features, but the XenoGC is somewhat more reliable, thus is the recommended one.

As a message of notice, there are 2 models of the XenoGC, which are the 1.0 and the 2.0.
The only difference between them is that the 2.0 allows you to play MULTI-BOOT ISOS (like your homemade 3-in-1 discs), whereas the 1.0 doesn't, and requires you use a swap-disc method to do so. Ensure the chip is the XenoGC v2.0 before its purchase.

RECOMMENDED: XenoGC 2.0



**MODDING SOLUTION B - SOFTMOD:**
The softmod solution basically requires you to have a disc that allows you to boot your own applications onto a card that can connect to your computer as well included in the purchase.

The idea is to copy whichever programs you want and run it from the card, from 'BACKUP-GAME PLAYER SOFTWARE', to 'GAMECUBE STREAMING SOFTWARE', to 'MEDIA PLAYERS' and 'EMULATORS'.


The two best softmod solutions:
1) Max Drive Pro
2) SD Gekko with Action Replay

1) The MAX DRIVE PRO is a solution that comes with a boot disc, and a memory card that can connect to your computer. You simply copy your applications to the memory card that comes with it, run the disc, and then run the application.

This is the recommended one because it is extremely easy to do. The only downfall, however, is that the product is officially out of production, so purchasing one may be extremely difficult. It must be the MAX DRIVE PRO, and no other name.


2) The SD Gekko with Action Replay solution is basically a solution that allows you to use an SD card to store the applications on.

You will require to purchase an SD Gekko card to allow you to put your SD card into your GameCube, an SD Card Reader for your PC, and a version of Action Replay that allows you to add your own code (which has stopped in the latest version, meaning look for a version 1.14 or 1.16 version).

All instructions are in the SDLOAD package to get it working. You must format your SD Card, put some files on it <if you want it to work, and additionally, if you want networking capabilities too>, and then run Action Replay with the card inside the machine, and create a new game and codes, which once run, will open the SD Card, allowing you to run any application on the card.

It is recommendable on if you can get the SD GEKKO and Action Replay v1.14 or v1.16. Unlike the MAX DRIVE PRO, this method is much more plausable as it is still in production, and as a bonus, the SD CARD can also be used in a Nintendo Wii. This method will not work, however, to run homebrew applications on the Nintendo Wii.



**MODDING SOLUTION ADDENDUM:**
It is important to know a very critical difference between the FIRMWARE PATCHER and DRIVE PATCHER modchips.

Traditionally, when you open the lid of your GameCube while it runs a game, the disc should stop spinning and you get a message on your screen that you should close the lid. When you do, the disc spins up and the game loads up from where you left it.

With the FIRMWARE PATCHER modchips, the disc WILL NOT RESTART AGAIN. It is due to the design of the chip. However, in the BIOS files that are programmed for the chips, there is code that allows you to RESTART THE DISC AT THE POINT OF DISC SWAP, meaning in games with 2 discs, when it asks you swap the disc, it will restart the disc you put when you close the lid at that point, and only at that point.
** THIS ISSUE IS ONLY WITH BACKUPS, AND ORIGINAL GAMES OF YOUR REGION WILL WORK IF THE "ALLOW DISC SWAP SETTING" OPTION IS OFF. THE ORIGINALS WILL STILL WORK THE WAY IT SHOULD TRADITIONALLY.

With the DRIVE PATCHER modchips, the disc WILL RESTART, REGARDLESS OF THE DISC INSIDE, LIKE IT WOULD TRADITIONALLY.

    *********
There is a method that allows for both the FIRMWARE PATCHER modchip and the DVD PATCHER modchip to run simultaneously. For this, you will need the XenoGC modchip as the DVD PATCHER modchip, as the DuoQ will not work with this method, and either a Qoob PRO modchip as the FIRMWARE PATCHER modchip, as this allows for the possibility of DVD drive bypassing, which is necessary for the procedure. It is also recommendable to get the IcedCube Modded Case, as you will need to have a cable run out of the machine case, and this case has a hole at the back which would work perfectly for this, which is not on the original case..


The idea is to do this (assuming you have all the soldering tools necessary)
A PICTURE CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM THIS THREAD ON HOW TO DO THIS
1) Buy some Kynar Wire and any ordinary Electronic Switch
2) Have both chips soldered in.
3) Solder a piece of Kynar wire to the letter "O" of the XenoGC chip, and another piece to the grounding on the chip <follow the picture that can be downloaded on this thread, as you have to solder the wires to those exact points>
4) Have the wires run outside the machine to the Electronic Switch, and attach them to the switch.
5) Make sure the Qoob PRO 'lid switch cables' are not connected, and that the original lid switch cable is connected.

Now, when you put the switch one way, the XenoGC will be ON, and when you boot the Original BIOS, the chip will work and you can boot originals and backups without worrying about the disc restarting up or not.
When you put the switch the other way, the XenoGC will be OFF, and you can run your games through the Qoob PRO BIOS.

The reason you have to do this installation, and not just put both chips on as is, is because the Qoob PRO will override the XenoGC instructions, so the cables are, in a sense, to FORCE it to work. If you want to use the XenoGC, put the switch one way, and if you want it off, you put the switch the other way.

Simple as that.
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**DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE:**
The software here does not include emulators or media players, but only the essential software to ensure, regardless of what method you use, to be able to stream data to and from your GameCube and PC, and to manipulate GameCube ISOs somewhat.

All software here is packaged in WINRAR, and so you must download it to open the packages.

All the links provided here are on RapidShare.Com, and it is uncertain how long they will remain there. They are in a premium account box, but, as said, it is uncertain how long they will remain there.

All software is placed in alphabetical order, according to their category.



DEFAULT SOFTWARE:
ImgBurn v2.3.2.0 = THIS IS TO BURN GAMECUBE IMAGES.

POT Adjustment = THIS IS AN ARCHIVE CONTAINING SAVED WEBSITE PAGES WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ADJUST YOUR LENS POT. ALL INFORMATION CAME FROM "http://modthatcube.pxn-os.com"

XenoGC DualModding Procedure = THIS IS A PICTURE THAT ILLUSTRATES WHERE TO SOLDER THE KYNAR WIRE TO MAKE THE DUAL-MODCHIPPING WITH THE QOOB PRO A SUCCESS.

WinRAR v3.70 Final = THIS IS TO OPEN THE ARCHIVED FILES CONTAINED IN THIS THREAD.



BIOS FILES:
GCOS v1.X BIOS (BETA) = HOMEMADE BIOS THAT ALLOWS FOR BOOTING OF ANY BACKUP OR APPLICATION ON A DISC. CAN BE USED WITH ANY MODDING SOLUTION.

Qoob v1.3c BIOS (For Qoob SX and Qoob PRO) = BIOS FILE FOR THE QOOB MODCHIP SERIES. FOR THE QOOB PRO, SIMPLY FLASH THE FILE TO THE FIRST BLOCK OF THE QOOB PRO MEMORY BANK USING THE FLASHER CONTAINED. FOR THE SX, RUN THE "ELF" UPGRADER.

SDLOAD = THE SDLOAD SOFTWARE PACKAGE INTENDED FOR USE WITH THE SD GEKKO AND ACTION REPLAY SOFTMOD SOLUTION.

ViperGC Cobra 1.6 BIOS = BIOS FILE FOR THE VIPER GC MODCHIP SERIES.


ISO SOFTWARE:
BootableDisc3 = DOS-BASED PROGRAM - THIS IS TO CREATE A HOME-MADE BOOTABLE DISC FOR ANY APPLICATION.

Cubeway+ v2.0 = THIS IS TO VIEW THE CONTENTS OF A GAMECUBE ISO, INCLUDING REGION AND INFORMATION, EXTRACT THE GAME BANNER FILE, AND EXTRACT THE FILES FROM THE ISO. THIS IS ALSO USED TO "SHRINK" ISO FILES, AND THUS "WIPE" THEM.

GameCube ISO Creator = THIS IS TO RECOMPILE AN EXTRACTED GAMECUBE ISO. ** IT IS RECOMMENDABLE TO KEEP THE ORIGINAL ISO AS WELL, AS YOU WILL NEED IT TO RECOMPILE THE EXTRACTED FOLDER. **

GC Bootable Disc GUI RC3 = THIS IS TO CREATE A HOME-MADE BOOTABLE DISC FOR ANY APPLICATION. IT IS ALSO EASY TO USE.

GC Tool v1.2 = THIS IS TO VIEW THE CONTENTS OF A GAMECUBE ISO, INCLUDING REGION AND INFORMATION, EXTRACT THE GAME BANNER FILE, AND EXTRACT THE FILES FROM THE ISO.

GCMUtility v0.5 = THIS IS USED TO "SHRINK" ISO FILES, AND THUS "WIPE" THEM. THIS CAN ALSO CREATE MULTI-BOOT ISOS FROM A FEW ISOS. THE LIMIT IS 3GB.

RawDump v2.0 = THIS ALLOWS YOU TO RIP DISCS DIRECTLY ON YOUR PC IF YOU HAVE THE SPECIFIC DRIVE CAPABLE OF DOING SO. FOR NINTENDO GAMECUBE IMAGES, SIMPLY CLICK ON "START DUMP". THE PRODUCT IS THEN READY. FOR NINTENDO WII IMAGES, SIMPLY CLICK ON "START DUMP", THEN TAKE THE PRODUCT AND PROCESS IT WITH THE "COVERT RAW TO ISO" BUTTON. THAT PRODUCT IS THEN READY.

UnMultiBoot v1.0 = DOS-BASED PROGRAM - THIS IS TO EXTRACT INDIVIDUAL ISOS FROM MULTI-BOOT ISO COMPILATIONS.

Viper Multi Boot ISO Creator v1.2b = THIS IS USED TO CREATE MULTI-BOOT ISOS. IT CAN RENAME THE FILE NAME OF THE IMAGE, INSTEAD OF USING THE DEFAULT GAMEID FROM THE ISO WITHIN. THE LIMIT IS 1.35GB.

Wiped GCM Fixer v1.5F with GUI = DOS AND WINDOWS VERSIONS - THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE A "SHRUNK" OR "WIPED" ISO AND RESTORE ITS SIZE TO THE STANDARD GAMECUBE ISO SIZE OF 1,459,978,240 bytes. IT CAN ALSO ALLOW YOU TO "FIX" AN ISO TO 3GB, TO ALLOW THE ISO TO FIT ON A DVD-R. IT CANNOT EXCEED 3GB AS THE GAMECUBE LENS CANNOT REACH FURTHER THAN THAT ON THE DISC.


NETWORKING SOFTWARE:
N.B The default addresses should be as follows:
PC IP Address: 192.168.1.1
GameCube IP Address: 192.168.1.32
Gateway: 255.255.255.0

GameCube Simulator = THIS ALLOWS YOU TO STREAM A GAMECUBE ISO FROM YOUR PC TO A GAMECUBE THROUGH A GAMECUBE BROADBAND ADAPTOR MODEM

GameCube Simulator (With Emulation Support) = THIS ALLOWS YOU TO STREAM A GAMECUBE ISO FROM YOUR PC TO A GAMECUBE THROUGH A GAMECUBE BROADBAND ADAPTOR MODEM, INCLUDING EMULATOR IMAGES FOR THE GBA AND N64 EMULATORS, AS THESE FORMAT OF IMAGES ARE UNSUPPORTED AND DO NOT WORK WITH MULTI-BOOT ISO COMPILATIONS.

GCOM v2.4 = DOS-BASED PROGRAM - THIS ALLOWS YOU TO MAKE AN APPLICATION ACCORDING TO YOUR NETWORK ADDRESS NUMBERS TO STREAM FILES TO AND FROM THE GAMECUBE <EXCLUDING GAMECUBE ISOS>.

GCOM v2.3 Bootable Image - THIS ALLOWS YOU TO MAKE AN APPLICATION ACCORDING TO YOUR NETWORK ADDRESS NUMBERS TO STREAM FILES TO AND FROM THE GAMECUBE <EXCLUDING GAMECUBE ISOS> <THIS IS DESIGNED FOR GAMECUBES THAT ONLY HAVE A DRIVE PATCHER MODCHIP, LIKE THE XENOGC AND DUOQ, AND USE THE DEFAULT IP ADDRESSES AS LISTED ABOVE>.

NetCat v2.0 - DOS-BASED PROGRAM - THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS YOU TO STREAM FILES TO THE GAMECUBE AT FASTER SPEEDS THAN NORMAL.

Wget v1.10.2b - DOS-BASED PROGRAM - THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS YOU TO RIP GAMECUBE IMAGES FROM THE DISC INSERTED IN THE GAMECUBE AT FASTER SPEEDS THAN NORMAL.