Installing a GCLoader optical drive replacement in a Nintendo Gamecube

Channel:

GigerPunk

Subscribers:

1,100

Published on August 18, 2020 4:02:59 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJErmqVnxMQ

Game:

Super Methane Bros. (1994)

Duration: 44:29

421 views

22

So, modern circuitry replacing key components inside original hardware, is that heresy or perfectly rational behaviour?

I tend to go with the latter, in the case of systems that aren't particularly old, and in plentiful supply, anyway. I might feel differently with rare 30-40 year old hardware but for now, this seems like the best way for me to be able to continue playing GameCube games without worrying about the laser eventually burning out or the disks themselves getting damaged/succumbing to disk rot.
And it's REALLY easy to do, with no soldering required (this is what was preventing me from going down the Xeno modchip route) and can be done in less than half an hour! (and far less if you're not taking your time explaining each step, like I am here)

The GCloader itself is available from:
https://www.gc-loader.com/product/gc-loader-pnp/

The instructions given for installing the hardware are here:
http://dansprojects.com/GCL_install.pdf

• To setup the software, you first need to format an SD card (4GB minimum, 1TB maximum) to FAT32 - I used GUIFormat for this: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?guiformat.htm

• You then want to grab the latest version of Swiss from github: https://github.com/emukidid/swiss-gc/releases

• As of version 876 you'll find it includes a folder called GCloader which contains a file called boot.iso - copy this to your Fat32-formatted SD card.

• Then copy whatever backup or .dol homebrew files you want to use onto the drive along with that boot.iso.

• Insert the SD card into your GCloader, switch on your 'cube and it should then boot straight into Swiss where you can choose what you want to run.

At present, system settings can't be saved directly to the GCloader, they instead save to either an SD2SP2 or an SDGecko (both available, dirt cheap, all over eBay or Aliexpress) but this is apparently being worked on for a later release.

Speaking of which, firmware updates are here:
https://www.gc-loader.com/firmware-updates/

You just grab the archive, extract the .dol file from it, copy it to your SD Card and launch it using Swiss to update.

And if you want to print the mounting rbacket yourself, the STL file is here: http://www.retrorgb.com/assets/3dprint/GameCube_SD_Mount_2019-12-17.zip

Or you can buy one ready-printed from here: https://laserbear.net/shop/ols/products/gcloader-sd-mount

And there you go, all sorted and ready to go!
Do let me know if there are any particular games you'd like to see me feature on the channel :)

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MASSIVE thanks for Ricardo Autobahn for the use of
"On the waves of Awakened Light"
From the album
PANOPHOBIA
Go buy it at:
Spray.bandcamp.com/album/panophobia

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