Hacking Gamecube games on Wii

[Aryudsoh]

I'm having problems running some gamecube backups on my Wii. On some games I get the error "The Memory Card in Slot A is damaged and cannot be used". While there is nothing wrong with the memory card (tried several) and they work on some backups but not others. Anyone else had this problem and know a way of resolving it?

Also does anybody know how to play NTSC originals (gamecube) on a PAL Wii. Freeloader didn't work. I had an import gamecube so I've got mostly NTSC games in my collection.

 

[roboz]

1. Try using slot B, to see if there is any difference. There shouldn't be any problems if you used your gamecube or wii to format it.
2. Since Freeloader doesn't work for you, you will need to chip your wii to play games from a different region, but not all games are compatible depending on your chip.

 

[Aryudsoh]

1. Tried formatting already and it makes no difference. Tried a brand new memory card and same problem. I can save on other games even some other games on the same GC multidisc but there are certain games that just won't save. This is only on SOME backups though. All originals save fine. Slot B doesn't allow save data to be created or saved to in a lot of games so it doesn't make a difference either.

2. My Wii is chipped with a D2CKey. Don't think it makes a difference when it comes to GC games as imports won't boot.

 

[otto888]

if the GC card is PAL and the game is NTSC,it may think its corrupt. Try converting it with a Wii SDK file named cardedit.elf(can't give link)

 

[Aryudsoh]

Don't think it's a regional problem. The card is NTSC. I can save other NTSC games fine on the card. Heck one of the games that won't save is Sonic CD (part of the Sonic Gems Collection) but I can save other games from the SGC just fine. Really weird. Has no one else had this problem before but me?

 

[SkH]

if the GC card is PAL and the game is NTSC,it may think its corrupt. Try converting it with a Wii SDK file named cardedit.elf(can't give link)

I can't find it. Why not you give the link?

 

[Aryudsoh]

Got a strange fix for one of the games that I was having trouble with. Downloaded a save file for the USB memory card and tried booting up with that save on the card. It doesn't recognize the save but will allow me to create a new save file and I can play and save like that. However if I delete the downloaded file off the memory card, then the game does not recognize the new save anymore and won't allow me to create another one (The Memory Card in Slot A is damaged and cannot be used). So basically I still need both save files to get it to work. Weird.

Anyway haven't got this to work for Sonic CD ont the Sonic Gems Collection yet. But at least one more game saves now.

 

[TSPhoenix]

Sounds odd, the only idea I can think of is the card reader in your Wii having dirty contacts or something.

 

[Arakon]

are they original nintendo cards? 3rd party cards are known to have plenty of issues.

 

[Aryudsoh]

Original cards and a third party usb card which I used to download internet saves on to. Strange thing is that they work fine on most games (all originals and most backups). Perhaps it's a compatibility problem with GCOS or multigameisocreator? Tried compressed and uncompressed just in case but doesn't make any difference. Out of ideas for now.

Does anyone know how how to run NTSC originals on a PAL Wii? I tried Freeloader but when I try booting up a game I just get a black screen.

 

[Pikachu025]

make-multi v4 is known to have something odd with save files, use make-multi v4f instead if you used v4 before, maybe that fixes it.

That said, the Gamecube Memory Card region thing is not as fixed as some may believe. There are only two "regions" for memory cards: Japanese, and non-Japanese. The only thing that checks which region the memory card is is the GC or Wii itself, most games have no problems saving to the memory card as long as the memory card region is the same as the GC/Wii one. A Japanese GC-game played on a US or PAL Wii, for example, will write fine to a non-Japanese card (some exceptions apply like Donkey Konga, but this is mostly correct), but not to a Japanese one. Actually, as long as you never use Japanese games or systems, you never have to bother with Memory Card regions in any way.

 

[AshuraZro]

if the GC card is PAL and the game is NTSC,it may think its corrupt. Try converting it with a Wii SDK file named cardedit.elf(can't give link)

I can't find it. Why not you give the link?

If it's part of an official Wii SDK, I think it's pretty damn obvious why you can't link to it.

 

[Aryudsoh]

make-multi v4 is known to have something odd with save files, use make-multi v4f instead if you used v4 before, maybe that fixes it.

That said, the Gamecube Memory Card region thing is not as fixed as some may believe. There are only two "regions" for memory cards: Japanese, and non-Japanese. The only thing that checks which region the memory card is is the GC or Wii itself, most games have no problems saving to the memory card as long as the memory card region is the same as the GC/Wii one. A Japanese GC-game played on a US or PAL Wii, for example, will write fine to a non-Japanese card (some exceptions apply like Donkey Konga, but this is mostly correct), but not to a Japanese one. Actually, as long as you never use Japanese games or systems, you never have to bother with Memory Card regions in any way.

I used MultiGame ISO Creator 3.2.4.0 which is uses GCOS v4 so that sounds like a likely solution. I'll try it out and see if it makes a difference.

Knew about the region thing because I had a Panasonic Q modded to play US games as well as Jap, and I live in a PAL region so I bought some PAL games as well. All US/PAL games can share the same memory card but Japanese games needed a separate one.

EDIT: Tried GCOS v4f and it has fixed the saving problem so thank you!