Homebrew GCN Assistance with Gamecube Homebrew

[Gallaer]

I've been looking into Gamecube Homebrewing as I just got a Gamecube myself. I'm well used to Homebrewing other consoles like the Wii U and 3DS. However, Gamecube seems to be way different and much more difficult due to all the external devices needed. My main goal is to be able to boot up Swiss without GC Loader and to do it easily as well.
I was originally planning on installing a XenoGC Modchip and combine it with the SD2SP2. However I'm struggling on finding ways on how to actually boot Swiss from there. I know there are preburned discs with Swiss on them already but they are all outdated and I'd want the most up to date version constantly. I'm not sure on where I could find reliable mini dvds to write to and also a reliable mini dvd writer that would actually work with it.
I ended up going to the Nintendo Homebrew discord for assistance and I got told of a project called the Pico Boot for Gamecube using the Raspberry Pi Pico as a modchip instead. It's supposedly coming out in a few days so i'm not sure if that would be a better solution. It also doesn't seem as easy or seemless to install either, also messy. There is the link to the tweet showing it off.


So I'm not sure what to do at all and I don't want to shell out a lot or even use an action replay. I need help.

 

[master801]

You can use the Swiss disc to boot Swiss from the sd card.

Pico Boot in theory is a good idea, but not very practical for regular users since it's big and bulky.

tl;dr Pick a method and run with it. It's not hard.

 

[Gallaer]

You can use the Swiss disc to boot Swiss from the sd card.

Pico Boot in theory is a good idea, but not very practical for regular users since it's big and bulky.

tl;dr Pick a method and run with it. It's not hard.

I'd like to use the disc method but I don't know what mini dvds are reliable and also where to get a good mini dvd burner from.

 

[master801]

I'd like to use the disc method but I don't know what mini dvds are reliable and also where to get a good mini dvd burner from.

You don't need a specific mini DVD burner. Any DVD burner will work. That's why the disc tray has a groove in it.

Verbatim, Ritek and Sony are the most popular choices, but all DVD brands will work. I've even burnt full sized Memorex DVDs and used them on the GameCube with no problems nor laser adjustments.

 

[Gallaer]

You don't need a specific mini DVD burner. Any DVD burner will work. That's why the disc tray has a groove in it.

Verbatim, Ritek and Sony are the most popular choices, but all DVD brands will work. I've even burnt full sized Memorex DVDs and used them on the GameCube with no problems nor laser adjustments.

What DVD writer/burner would you suggest?
Also are these good mini dvds?

 

[raging_chaos]

I was originally planning on installing a XenoGC Modchip and combine it with the SD2SP2. However I'm struggling on finding ways on how to actually boot Swiss from there. I know there are preburned discs with Swiss on them already but they are all outdated and I'd want the most up to date version constantly.

The way Swiss updates work is you place them on the SD card. When you boot with the Swiss disc it will automatically boot the one on the SD card instead, so them being outdated is not a concern. It's also a lot cheaper to buy a premade Swiss disc and SD2DP2 chip combo than it is to try and buy a single blank mini-DVD to burn it yourself. I recently revived my son's old GC a few years ago and this is what I have been doing with it ever since.

 

[Gallaer]

The way Swiss updates work is you place them on the SD card. When you boot with the Swiss disc it will automatically boot the one on the SD card instead, so them being outdated is not a concern. It's also a lot cheaper to buy a premade Swiss disc and SD2DP2 chip combo than it is to try and buy a single blank mini-DVD to burn it yourself. I recently revived my son's old GC a few years ago and this is what I have been doing with it ever since.

Really? So if I put the boot file for Swiss on the SD2SP2 and use a preburned disc, it'll work and update? Can you send me a link to a good disc?

 

[master801]

What DVD writer/burner would you suggest?
Also are these good mini dvds?

Any DVD burner works. You don't need a specific one.

Do not use RW discs.

Not many good mini DVD choices exist without overpaying for them. If you're only using it as a boot disc, I recommend either these TDK or Maxell, but they're still overpriced.

If you really don't feel comfortable with all this, buy a premade disc from Ebay. They're most likely tested before being packaged and shipped, anyway.

 

[Gallaer]

Any DVD burner works. You don't need a specific one.

Do not use RW discs.

Not many good mini DVD choices exist without overpaying for them. If you're only using it as a boot disc, I recommend either these TDK or Maxell, but they're still overpriced.

If you really don't feel comfortable with all this, buy a premade disc from Ebay. They're most likely tested before being packaged and shipped, anyway.

The way Swiss updates work is you place them on the SD card. When you boot with the Swiss disc it will automatically boot the one on the SD card instead, so them being outdated is not a concern. It's also a lot cheaper to buy a premade Swiss disc and SD2DP2 chip combo than it is to try and buy a single blank mini-DVD to burn it yourself. I recently revived my son's old GC a few years ago and this is what I have been doing with it ever since.

Would you just be able to update Swiss Via the SD2SP2 SD Card even if I got a disc that contained an earlier version of Swiss?

 

[master801]

Would you just be able to update Swiss Via the SD2SP2 SD Card even if I got a disc that contained an earlier version of Swiss?

No. You can only boot Swiss from the SD card using the Swiss on the DVD. Once it's burned to the disc, it's there forever - unless it's an RW disc. But I don't recommend those at all.

 

[Gallaer]

No. You can only boot Swiss from the SD card using the Swiss on the DVD. Once it's burned to the disc, it's there forever - unless it's an RW disc. But I don't recommend those at all.

So I could boot like Swiss V5 with a disc then load into Swiss V6 with the SD card from there?

 

[raging_chaos]

Really? So if I put the boot file for Swiss on the SD2SP2 and use a preburned disc, it'll work and update? Can you send me a link to a good disc?

Yes. You just need to rename the newer version of Swiss to boot.dol and place it on the root of the SD card. You could even autoboot to the Gameboy Player/Gameboy Interface this way if you wanted to. As far as to which one to recommend, other than the pressed NickDisc versions they are all going to be more or less the same, just be prepared to make a pot adjustment. I also recommend reading Method 2 from this post here.

Loading Swiss becomes a piece of cake once the chip is soldered on and the laser is correctly adjusted. To not waste a lot of DVD-R on frequent Swiss updates: It is possible to load a newer Swiss from SD with the older version you have on DVD-R.

So I could boot like Swiss V5 with a disc then load into Swiss V6 with the SD card from there?

Yes, you can chainload it that way too if for some reason you end up with an older disc that doesn't autoboot the newer version. The disc I use has Swiss r1066 on it, I'd check for auctions with revisions equal or higher to that.

 

[Kioku]

So I could boot like Swiss V5 with a disc then load into Swiss V6 with the SD card from there?

Yes, this works fine. Just installed a Xeno this last week, and bought it paired with an outdated Swiss disc and using SD2SP2. Popped the latest version on the root of my SD as boot.dol and it loads up the latest and greatest with no issues.

Edit: I didn't need to make a pot adjustment to boot, but my pot reads at about 175 ohms. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Gallaer]

Trying to find a good DVD Writer. Any suggestions?

 

[raging_chaos]

Trying to find a good DVD Writer. Any suggestions?

Any modern burner is going to work, just burn at a slow speed if you are dead set on making your own disc. Use verbatim discs.

 

[Gallaer]

Any modern burner is going to work, just burn at a slow speed if you are dead set on making your own disc. Use verbatim discs.

Does it have to be Verbatim? Does this work?
Can't find any DVD Mini's from them

 

[raging_chaos]

Can't find any DVD Mini's from them

From Method 2 in this post:

Sadly finding blank media the cube likes is not easy. The most recommend (I think it was RITEK-G03 or RITEK-G04) have been out of production for years. Verbatim mini DVD-R work for me pretty good.

You aren't going to get any "good disc" suggestions for the reason stated above. Any mini-dvd will work as long as it's not a rewritable one. If your GC has trouble reading it then you need to make a simple POT adjustment to the laser.

Also, the first question on that Amazon page answers your question:

Do these work for gamecube for back up copys?
Answer:
Hello and yes they will work with gamecube. Thank you.

If you want to skip using discs you could always get an IPL chip that boots straight into swiss. If you have decent soldering skills and experience with lifting pins you could always get an IPL chip like this, it's based on the open-source Shuriken Attack chip design.