Hacking Gamecube Memory Cards

Slimmmmmm · May 23, 2010

The GameCube has been dead for a long time now, no new games will come out so you might want to consider getting any and all issues out of the way. Memory storage for your precious game saves will be high up on your priority list so lets look at the options and prices you will have.

So you might be thinking how big are the saves ? Is this even important ? A standard card has 59 blocks...is that not enough ?

Well considering you now get preowned games for about £1/$2 many people will have lots of games. From my experience of having 2 kids no amount of cards is enough, try telling your kids they've got to delete some saves and see the reasction you get. Or if it's you...do you want to delete you effort and time ?

Also, some games take almost the FULL standard card to save (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Slot-Memory-Card-GameCube/dp/B00005QEFG" target="_blank">a standard card will cost you £10</a>) and some games don't even fit on one of these ! ! !

Nintendo have a long history of holding people to ransom over memory to save the user losing saves going back to the N64 and still continuing to the present day Wii. Often the official cards are the only "safe" option.

This topic aims to get you paying the least amount possible to backup and protect ALL your saves, give you options and explain some extra things to consider when dealing with GC saves and memory cards.

How big are the saves ?

So to give you an idea of the sizes, here is what it took me a few seconds to see looking at one of my 64Mb cards (yes one of them I have a quite a few. Please note I have no idea if there are bigger saves, I'd guess there are.

These are from the PAL versions of the games, and some maybe have extra files too that I missed looking quickly through them.

Pikmin 1 = 19
Pikmin 2 = 27
Urbz: Sims in the City = 107
Tony Hawks: American Wasteland = 13 (per profile) + ?? per course
Tony Hawks: Underground 13 = (per profile) + 6 per course (I actually bought an official 251 card @ £35 "back in tha day" just for this game and yes it's full with one game)
Sonic Gems Collection = 27
Bratz Forever Diamondz = 19 (per profile)
Pokemon Colosseum = 48
Zelda: Majoras Mask (from collectors edition) = 21 (collectors edition takes almost a full card iirc)
Harvest Moon = 47
Doshin The Giant = 40
Mario Golf = 13
Paper Mario = 17
Beyond Good and Evil = 55

That just 14 games, I have... well too many games to be bothered counting.

TO ADD# Sortable list of game save sizes, either do an html or make a wiki

So what's the biggest memory card ?

Standard GC card = 59 blocks - 4 Mbit/512 KB
Largest GC/Wii can handle = "up to" 2043 blocks - 128Mb (so these are 32 times the size of a standard card)

Please take note that a standard card is really 64 blocks, but each single GC card requires 5 blocks of system data you don't see or get to use, this means the smaller you buy the cards the more "wasted space" you are buying.

<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bigben-Interactive-128Mb-Memory-Gamecube/dp/B000W9CLOM/ref=dp_cp_ob_vg_h__title_2" target="_blank">Bigben Interactive 128Mb Memory Card for £15.12</a>
128MB is the largest the GameCube or Wii can handle with a single card, you get various 3rd party ones like the one above. Be careful though as some 3rd party cards can corrupt easily, this is more common with memory that is "compressed" like the one in the link, however you get homebrew that can backup and restore most saves.

<a href="http://www.darkplanets.co.uk/product_info.asp?pid=886&ref=frg&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=PPC" target="_blank">Datel GameCube Max Memory 128Mb for £17</a>
This one is made by Datel so should be much better quality. Also it states "uncompressed, super safe". These are know to not corrupt like the cheaper cards.

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/256-Mb-256Mb-MEMORY-CARD-Wii-Gamecube-Game-Console-/260601823865?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item3cad144279" target="_blank">256Mb MEMORY CARD</a>
This is a bit different, it is 2 cards in one and a switch to swap which you are using. So it's like the 3rd party cards times two.

<a href="http://www.dinodirect.com/Nintendo-Wii-GameCube-Console-512MB-Memory-Gift-Card-for-Christmas-Holiday/AFFID-33.html?cur=GBP" target="_blank">512Mb MEMORY CARD</a>
This is a bit different, it is 4 cards in one and a switch to swap which you are using. So it's like the 3rd party cards times a fooking massive four ! ! !

What's the best memory card ?

Official memory cards are some of the most reliable. Nintendo have 3 sizes.
59 blocks (4 Mbit/512 KB, gray card), 251 blocks (16 Mbit/2 MB, black), and 1019 blocks (64 Mbit/8 MB, white).
The bad point about these is that most Wii homebrew will not work with them.
Another thing to consider is if you are using an Acrtion Replay disc then the 251 blocks (16 Mbit/2 MB, black) does perfect in slot B as a substitute for the Action Replay card.

Remember the Datel 128 card is just as reliable as the Nintendo card but much larger.

Going official is good, but you can go bigger and for cheaper......but you would be best to make backups from time to time.

Backing up and restoring saves

You have a few options when it comes to making backups of your saves. You must also consider that some saves can't be moved from one card to another and can't be put back on a card that has been formated, so these saves needed treated with extra care.
*WILL ADD HOW TO BACK THEM UP & RESTORE SAFELY (yes there "might" be a way but you need 2 specific cards)*

Software to make and restore backups
For making backups, homebrew is free but might not be 100% reliable, currently we have 3 homebrew options......

<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Gamecube_Saver" target="_blank">Gamecube_Saver</a> <- Restore only, closed source ?
Only works with 3rd party cards. Writes to both slots. Saves need to be .GCI format *add links to convert tools

OR
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/GCMM" target="_blank">GCMM</a> <- Backup & restore, open source, delete from slot B
Shows info about the saves. Only works for slot B. Can create GCP raw format and restore them.

OR
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/NuGaSa" target="_blank">NuGaSa</a> <- Backup & restore, closed source ?
Works with official cards too but then crashes, doesn't work for all games either.

Hardware to make and restore backups
<a href="http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-26-49-en-70-1yg.html" target="_blank">USB Memory Adaptor 64M</a>
This is an easy way to plug and play, using a USB connection to a pc to make and restore backups

TO ADD INFO ABOUTdont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too).
also...
TO ADD INFO ABOUT#Max Drive Pro by Datel##############

As mentioned already some games can't be moved from one card to another or restored to a card that went corrupt. There is "maybe" a way, but I'll need to do some testing before posting.
Known protected savegames: Medal of Honor: Frontline, F-Zero GX, Pokemon Coloseum, Fire Emblem. (These cant be moved from one card to another and can't be restored to a card that's been formatted)
Maybe I should explain more info here too ? ... hmm

Converting between the formats, converting between the regions

This is really just a place holder until I get some time.

Add some info EG: .GCS to .GCI -> <a href="http://forum.wiibrew.org/read.php?17,1599,1610#msg-1610" target="_blank">http://forum.wiibrew.org/read.php?17,1599,1610#msg-1610</a>

Host some tools.......

Other things - cheats, editing saves, launching homebrew from a memory card + N64/NeoGeo on Wii uses blocks

This is really just a place holder until I get some time.
TO ADD INFO ABOUT#Max Drive Pro by Datel##############

N64 Emulation using Zelda Collectors Edition
Lots of people talk and talk about N64 emulation on the Wii. We have some options for this including Virtual Console (only a few games have been released). Custom injects of Virtual Console, again not many exist and compatibility is low. We also have the great Wii64 emulator, but again compatibility is low so we NEED as many options as we can.

This is where GC mem cards come into play. You can get Zelda Collectors edition the GC game and replace game dols on the disc with other game dols (compatibility is low) but it gives us more options, however each save takes (iirc) 21 blocks because you replace the Majora .dol. Please not anyone trying this you need the 1.1 version (sometimes called V2) of Collectors Edition for best compatibility and the ability to save to the GC mem card.

Sorry been a long time, so I'd need to take a bit of time to remember all this <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />
I did find these though incase anyone wants to experiment without a guide.
<a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/G6UPFPcw/N64_emu_v2_EUR.html" target="_blank">EUR V2</a> + <a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/ynXveUDF/N64_emu_v1_USA.html" target="_blank">USA V1</a>

Also NeoGeo is something people might want to do......
There is a NeoGeo emulator for GC that has better compatibility than anything on the Wii, but again it uses GC mem card blocks for the bios and save files. I'll dig up info one day when I get time incase anyone is interested. Sorry been a long, long time from I played about with it tbh.

TO DO
I will re-edit this post from time to time to try to keep this a handy source for info and links about GameCube saves and memory cards.
Host some tools for converting between formats and between regions. Also a tool that edits a save file to make a cheat file.
Test Cards - I've ordered the Datel card and the one from GPs link, will test them when they arrive in about a week, and test all 3 of the homebrew apps to see what works best.
Get a better app as all 3 have problems from what I've read (I think) It would be good if SaveGameManager had GC save handling added (I posted a request for this <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" /> )
GP said ... "dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too). "

Protect ya sh1t ! ! ! WODE (drive) + BIG MEMORY (saves, time) + WAVEBIRDS (controller ports) = WIN ! ! !

Thanks to those who contributed info...
especially giantpune for info and pics <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="

" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

tueidj · May 23, 2010

An SD Gecko cannot be used as a memory card.

Slimmmmmm · May 23, 2010

tueidj said:
An SD Gecko cannot be used as a memory card.

I had just read that and came back to re-edit my post..... downer

However I found this while reading up on the subject....

Datel GameCube Max Memory 128MB for £17

I think the quality of this would be better than the one I posted about in the first post, it also states it's uncompressed memory which the "cheapy" one in my first post doesn't claim so I think this wouldn't corrupt compared to the cheap one.

giantpune · May 23, 2010

i got a 256MB from ebay for $10 brand spankin new. i havent messed with it too much, but it has a button and a light. when you press the button, the light changes. so it appears to act like 2 128MB cards. so i can use 1 half for NTSC and 1 half for PAL.

http://cgi.ebay.com/256-MB-256MB-MEMORY-CA...=item3cad144279

OSW · May 23, 2010

I have this one http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6214

Works the same as giantpune's in that it has a button to switch between 2x128MB, I also use it in the same way to seperate NTSC and PAL cause I heard some out of region games can corrupt the card...

Only downside is that it's pink, but it's transparent which is cool lols.

BTW even 128megs is absolutely massive! I really should play more GC games!

Slimmmmmm · May 23, 2010

Nice

Thanks for the pics too GP.

You really seem like a bit of a gadget freak like myself

I think you'd love what I'm working on just now, Wii+WODE+lots of memory+wavebirds = no unplugging anything in or out ever again, well hopefully. Just waiting on things arriving, some tools for dealing with the perspex and the wode team releasing the wifi dongle (I'll need to deal with ftp for now

)

I've just ordered one of the Datel GC cards, but might look for one like yours too because of the NTSC and PAL thinking. I dont know much about the fs and structure of GC saves and mem cards but I'm guessing what you're hinting at is that a game can't have NTSC and PAL saves on 1 card (then I'd only have 1 region of the game) but if the actual mem card can only hold either of the regions it might be worth looking into if there are good imports that weren't available in the EU. I can test this as all my GC games are PAL.

If anyone is reading and has games from 2 regions (they dont need to be the same game), can they both go one 1 card ? So if you know about this please post..

Can a game have 2 saves on 1 card if they are from diff regions ?
Can you have saves from more than 1 region on a card ?

@ OSW & GP I might get one of those cards, but I'm thinking it's compressed mem, and also they would fook up my case design and I might not be able to get the switch usable from the outside, then maybe that's a challenge. Pink would suit my wee lassie but not sure about my son though as it's clear perspex I'm gonna be using to house it all in.

I think you like the pink OSW

Zensen · May 23, 2010

I have this one: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4417

Works perfectly.

john.jingle · May 23, 2010

Alternatively, you can buy one 3rd party memory card and also use a GCN save manager homebrew to back up saves of games you hardly play anymore and delete them from your memory card.

Slimmmmmm · May 23, 2010

john.jingle said:
Alternatively, you can buy one 3rd party memory card and also use a GCN save manager homebrew to back up saves of games you hardly play anymore and delete them from your memory card.

Did you read the first post

I already said that there are 3 homebrew apps to backup and/or restore saves.

I think most people here would prefer to spend the $10 / £8 and get sometihng that they don't need to "juggle" saves all the time with, your point is valid though...hence why I already mentioned it in the first post but it's kinda irelevant to point that out again as if it wasn't already posted.

My aim when starting this topic was to try to gather the "best solution" for GC saves which is the biggest, best card that you don't need to worry about or spend time doing anything with. I did add the links to the only apps for handling the GC saves though so you do have an option to back them up incase anything bad happens to your mem card. (*although I'll need to re-edit the first post as some games can't be restored after formating as they are tied to the card with a serial number that changes with a format).

Hey thanks for the bump though

W hat · May 23, 2010

Don't use third party - way too easy to corrupt. 1019 Nintendos all the way. Let me know if you ever successfully use one of those Wiibrew apps. I never have.

Slimmmmmm · May 23, 2010

W hat said:
Don't use third party - way too easy to corrupt. 1019 Nintendos all the way. Let me know if you ever successfully use one of those Wiibrew apps. I never have.

I agree Nintendo make quality cards 100% of the way with you on that, but from reading for hours I also think the Datel card is 100% safe. I've had a LOT of bad experiences back in the gamecube days with some 3rd party cards.

Actually no, no card is 100% because the Urbs game file gets corrupt on any brand of card so that games an asshat.
Some games write corrupt saves if they are launched from GCOS Pikmin 1 for example has a VERY weird bug (the name of the save file changes to lots of different things, like other saves you go on, random 11111111 naming and other things only by you looking at the save file in the memory manager on Wii or GC) if the game is part of a multi game image.

Oh and the 3 apps I linked to ALL have problems with official cards.

Hopefully soon someone will get a GOOD app that works with both official and 3rd party cards but their still seems to be a LOT of unknown things with GC saves and I see coders using the word "random" a lot which is strange to here a coder say

giantpune · May 23, 2010

dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too).

Lazycus · May 24, 2010

I would say my Datel Max Drive Pro is the best. Good luck finding one of those.

Slimmmmmm · May 24, 2010

I updated the first post a little more today. I've not much time these days, but I will keep adding to it so we get a decent topic with all the info relating to GC saves and memory cards in one place. So always remember to check the date last edited of the first post when visiting this topic

I've got lots of "stuff" in mind I want to add, but not enough time or memory (excuse the pun

) to do it all instantly. It's been a long, long time from I messed about with GC stuff.

giantpune said:
dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too).
Will do when I get time, never read about it so it will be a lesson in learning.

QUOTE(Lazycus @ May 24 2010, 03:30 AM) I would say my Datel Max Drive Pro is the best. Good luck finding one of those.

I will be adding info about these, I've wanted one for years but everytime I went to get one the seller goes out of stock, yeah they are bloody hard to get these days.
I did mange to get a BB adapter though but it's in a cupboard somewhere

I don't think the software is compatible with Windows 7 or Vista though, if you have the pc software will you check it and see if it works on your operating system, well if you have Vista or 7 that is

linuxares · May 27, 2010

I have ordered a 128mb from Dealextreme, I will give you a headsup how well it works Slimmmmmmmm

Kurisuellegarden · May 27, 2010

I have a 128mb from Dealextreme. It works perfectly. I've owned it for over 6 months now. ;D SO it's very reliable and you get 2000+ blocks in total. And it's under 10$ so it's a great bargain!

dronesplitter · Aug 9, 2010

I was curious if someone can say for sure if the 128mb card from DealExtreme works fine with NuGaSa and GCMM. Thinking about ordering one but if it doesn't work with those apps it's a bit of a deal breaker.

Riley · Aug 9, 2010

I have found out that Gamecube Saver does work on 1st party cards.

1. Rename the save to J.gci ( anything with just 1 character )
2. Put in the gamecube_saves folder
3. Start the wii and goto Settings -> Data Management -> Save Data -> Nintendo GC.
4. Now without powering off run HBC and run Gamecube Saver
5. Install your save.
6. It should end in a Code dump. HOld the power button
7. Turn on your wii and you should have the save transferred successfully.

dronesplitter · Aug 9, 2010

True, I have had success with that as well for my first party cards. Gamecube Saver is only for transferring saves to the card, unfortunately. If I get "File Read Successfully," I know it worked.
Oh, and instead of holding power button after the code dump, hold Z on your gamecube controller and you get a reload to the Homebrew Channel. Don't press A after the code dump (makes "Reset" appear below dump), though, as it probably won't work that way. A little more convenient than forcing your Wii to shutdown if you use this app for several file restores at a time.

wes11ph · Aug 9, 2010

tueidj said:
An SD Gecko cannot be used as a memory card.

really?

BTW
nice avatar!

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