Hacking NGC games not showing in USB Loader GX

[mmajunkie77]

Hey guys! I've run into a bit of an issue. I use two different USB drives (one for Wii backups, one for GameCube backups). Wii usb drive is located in the first port, and the GameCube USB drive in the second. I'm almost certain I have my custom paths set correctly under the GameCube and Nintendont settings. My problem is, only Wii games are showing up. I have the GameCube games checked on "Select title sources" as well.

On the root of my GameCube usb drive, I have the "Games" folder. Then about 50 other folders with the game names and inside each their respective iso which I renamed game.iso (btw, after I did this process, Nintendont stopped recognizing I had any games on my usb drive at all)

Any reason the GameCube games aren't showing up? Do I need to add the Game ID for each game? And is it even possible for USB Loader GX to show games from both USB ports from two different USB devices? Any help is seriously appreciated!

 

[Cyan]

You have 2 problems :

1)
If, after renaming and moving files to subfolders, nintendont doesn't find your games anymore, then you did something wrong because nintendont is perfectly compatible with that filename and folder layout.
something is wrong on your drive. I don't know what.

maybe the folder "Games" should be "games" (no uppercase), or something else is wrong.
You don't need the TitleID in the folder, but it's recommended for USBLoaderGX faster loading time.

2)
using 2 USB at the same time is the problem here.

when you say "first port" I suppose it's USB Port0, the one near the edge. so, it contains Wii games, that's good.
the "second port" should therefore be USB Port1, that port will NOT WORK with cIOS v8 or v10 r52, AT ALL.

if you want the second port to work, you need either :
cIOS v10 r53, but it's buggy and you will have issues with Wii games.
IOS58, but it will reverse the HDD order (fist port will be USB Port1, second port will be USB Port0)

in both cases, you will have to setup the loader a bit more to make DUAL USB working. it requires user's brain to understand how the console is working and mounting drives.

You can try to go to settings > loader settings > loader's IOS : set the value to 58 and reboot.
Then, you will have to set the path to wii games and gamecube games manually :
1. settings > user path > for the "main gamecube folder"
2. settings > hdd > first option to choose the Wii partition.


I don't recommend installing d2x r53, it's broken. don't broke your setup more than it already is.


3)
Third, and better, solution : Put Wii and gamecube to the same HDD ! use only one HDD in port0.

 

[mmajunkie77]

Thanks for the response and info. I should have clarified a little better. Yes, the USB drive I use for Wii backups is located in port0, where as the USB drive I use for the GC backups is located in port1.

I do have the GC named "Games" on the root, so perhaps it is that uppercase letter. I'll have to see when I get off work. I know when I had them all on the root, Nintendont recognized them. I also believe when I tried to change usb ports under loader settings, it gave an error message along the lines of "you need Hermes cIOS", but I'm not entirely too sure if that's relevant or not.

Lastly, if all else fails, can you recommend or perhaps provide a link of a decent, yet compatible HDD to store everything in? Thanks for your help!

 

[tswntk]

1. if the partition you used to store Wii games is FAT32, and if it is not full, you can just copy your GC games over (\games\....) or you may copy your Wii games to the HDD with GC games.
2. If you are using Windows, the default is to hide known extension types (.iso is one of them), so maybe you renamed your games to games.iso.iso?
3. not sure if recent ULGX versions still show "you need Hermes cIOS". Check your ULGX version from the credit page. You actually need Hermes or d2x v9 or d2x v53 (which as stated, is not recommended) if you insisted on using 2 HDDs.

 

[mmajunkie77]

Both USB drives (64gb) are full.
I've renamed the actual iso's to game.iso in the games title folder.
And yes, they must still show up the error. It is definitely on the latest update. Only other option I can think of is to bite the bullet and purchase a HDD. Just wish I could have figured out a solution to it!

 

[Cyan]

I suspect you have an older version of the loader. At least, I really hope you do (because that would be a simple explanation to your problem, and easy to fix ).

The loader should have enough hardware and setup error detection for gamecube games to tell you what's wrong instead of just black screening.

edit:
ah, I posted before seeing your reply.
So, you are on 1262 ? (please, STOP saying "latest", there are different version corresponding to latest : latest googlecode version, latest full channel version, latest official release, latest commited revision, latest modded version)

 

[mmajunkie77]

My apologies, sir. Yes, I am on r1262.

 

[Cyan]

ohh, too bad (I hoped you were outdated ahah)

so, you don't see any gamecube games in usbloadergx.

Which IOS did you decide to use ? IOS58 or d2x v10 r53?

Check that:
you have USB path to : usb1:/games/
If you use d2x r53, you need to enable both USB ports at the same time in hdd settings > usb ports > both (don't bother with "list all partitions", it's only affecting wii games)
if you use d2x r53, you'll have to change to USB2:/games/
if you have a mix of r52 and r53, set the loader's IOS to r53 slot, but the Wii game's IOS to r52 slot. <-- it's probably the best method for dual usb to keep incremental USB mount order.
if you use IOS58, you'll have to keep usb1:/games/ but select correct partition for wii games in hdd settings menu.


you have SD path to : SD:/games/
you have nintendont path to : sd:/apps/nintendont/
you have "gamecube" enabled in the 4th icon's top menu, right? (just so we don't look for something harder while it's just that simple to fix)
You have "gamecube mode" set to nintendont.
You have the "gamecube source" set to "Main + SD" in the loader's settings (so you list USB in priority if games are present on both "gamecube main path" and "gamecube SD path")
Note that if you have the "source" set to SD only, it will never list games on USB. that might be your problem.


games are located in folder structure :
usb:/games/<game's title> [<TitleID>]/game.iso & disc2.iso
or
usb:/games/<game's title>/
or
usb:/games/<TitleID>/

(all three folder name should work)
if you want, you can find ALL the working layout here :
https://gbatemp.net/posts/5455832


if all fails, reset your loader's settings.
but it's normally one of the thing I listed above.

 

[mmajunkie77]

So, it appears Windows actually did have a hidden (.iso) already, so I renamed everything game.iso.iso by mistake. Fixed that and everything shows in Nintendo again. So thanks for that advice, above poster!

I went to credits and it shows Nintendont v5.468. Rev1262 and running IOS249(Rev 20) could that be my problem??

Anyways, GameCube source is set to Main Path/SD
GameCube mode set to Nintendont

Main GameCube path is on default saying "usb1:/games/
When I tap on it, it only shows the SD card files.

Hope this maybe helped shed some light on what my problem might be?

 

[Cyan]

1)
oh, you have rev20 ?
That's another problem yes.

cIOS rev18-20 were not really good.
rev21 was "okay", and d2x cIOS is based on that version.
There are 10 "updates" to rev21 : rev21 d2x v1, v2, v3, .... v10

Download this installer :
d2x cIOS installer full pack for Wii
create a d2x_installer folder in sd:/apps/
extract the content of the download into that folder
put on wii, launch d2x installer from HBC
be sure you have a working network connection, you'll get files from nintendo's servers (disable any nintendo filters if you followed a wiiu hacking guide).
select this with your dPad :
what : d2x v8 final (don't go with LATEST ! latest =/= best. latest == buggy beta)
where : 249
base : 57
version : 21008
Press A to install, after install press A to go back to the main selection screen and press Home to exit to HBC.


2)
you should really disable "hide known file extension" for your computer. it will always create issues.

So, nintendont see the games, but USBGX still don't see them ?
it might be caused by the cIOS rev20, so first, let us know if it fixed your problem.

 

[tswntk]

He is probably confused about the ports and USB: Port0 = USB1 and Port1=USB2 (assuming the storage in Port0 has only one partition)
he should still won't see GC games in USBGX as those reside in USB2, he will need d2xv9 (or ios58 for booting USBGX but that complicates Wii game loading.)
Moving all games to a single, bigger HDD will make everything much simpler.

 

[Cyan]

well, he said the device browser is only listing SD card.
he didn't mention if it's just because he didn't click on the other device (bottom center of the screen) to mount USB instead of SD or if it's really not mounted by the loader which can be the issue related to the used IOS slot.

He didn't mention Wii games not displayed, so I suppose USB are mounted and loading correctly, so it's probably due to trying to use 2 USB at the same time, which is not recommended.

 

[mmajunkie77]

Thank you Cyan, I always enjoy how detailed your replies are. I will try this when I get home from work.

And I am not confused, the USB are loaded and mounted correctly.

Like I said, if all else fails, I'll bite the bullet and purchase a HDD. But until then, I'll give the d2x installer a shot. Do I need to delete anything off of the SD card? Or just simply create the folder and extract the contents?

 

[tswntk]

So you tried the GC games on port0 removing the drive with the 'Wii games? USBGX should show them as "usb1:/games/"
if GC games are still in port1 (and Wii games on port0), then you should set the path to "usb2:/games/" for USBGX to show them
but USBGX will not mount anything from port1 without Hermes or d2x v9 or ios58

Nintendont itself will show GC games even if they are in port1 as Nintendont is using ios58 for USB detection
edit: If you put GC games in port0 and Wii games in port1, I guess Nintendon't won't even find the GC games as they should be on the first FAT32 partition found. IOS58 mounts port1 first. Though I have never tried that.

 

[mmajunkie77]

Cyan, I installed the d2x installer exactly as you told me to, and everything went well, didn't run into any issues. I noticed I can now switch the USB to "both ports", which I could not do before. But the Main GameCube path is still focused on the "sd". And GameCube games are still not showing up on the loader. Under credits I now have:
Nintendont 5.468
Rev1262 - IOS249(Rev 21008)
(d2x v8final base57)

*Note* If I take the port0 usb drive out (Wii games), switch and replace it with my port1 usb drive (GC games), USBGX hangs on "Initialize usb device" and I'm forced to do a hard reset.

 

[tswntk]

Still trying to list games from port1? You have been told many times:

2)
using 2 USB at the same time is the problem here.

when you say "first port" I suppose it's USB Port0, the one near the edge. so, it contains Wii games, that's good.
the "second port" should therefore be USB Port1, that port will NOT WORK with cIOS v8 or v10 r52, AT ALL.

3. not sure if recent ULGX versions still show "you need Hermes cIOS". Check your ULGX version from the credit page. You actually need Hermes or d2x v9 or d2x v53 (which as stated, is not recommended) if you insisted on using 2 HDDs.

and I just check that with d2x v8 installed, the error message "you need Hermes cIOS" will not show up so it is probably just for old cios such as rev20. Maybe @Cyan should add that message for d2x v8 (7,6,... anything not Hermes or d2xv9, v53) too when time allowed for the sake of completeness.

Now, you just discovered another problem with your GC drive - it is not compatible with USBGX/cios
Double check that the drive is indeed MBR and FAT32, not GPT or exFat. You may also need to use ios58 to boot USBGX to detect that drive but I will leave that to Cyan as it is a bit "complicated". Using one bigger HDD is still what is recommended.

 

[Cyan]

yes, I should probably detect if it's not hermes/v9/r53.
I would like to rewrite a lot of messages and prompts, it's often telling how to fix or what the problem is, but not both.

If you really want to use multiple USB Port, I would have to write another guide.
I wrote many already, but mostly for WiiU (people wanted 2 HDDs, but legitimately because they wanted both a Wii and a WiiU HDD at the same time which is understandable due to the console type).
https://gbatemp.net/posts/7216091

what you want is a "2 Wii HDDs" setup. which is VERY useless, and just add complications and compatibility issues.
I already explain most of what you need to do on my posts above.
if it's not working with IOS58, it's probably due to partition format like tswntk said, be sure it's not ExFAT ! (nintendont works with exFAT, but no other homebrew)

 

[mmajunkie77]

Although I'm quite sure it's formatted at FAT32, I'll double check. But I appreciate all the help and advice you both gave me. I definitely learned alot and am still learning! I enjoy this type of stuff and I had the best guiding me through it. I'll be purchasing a bigger external drive tonight, and hopefully no issues cause me to return lol. Thank you guys again!

 

[jt_1258]

having a single drive(pluged into port 0) partioned into 2 separate drives, 1 in ntfs with wii games and another in fat32 for gc games, works just fine

 

[GreyWolf]

having a single drive(pluged into port 0) partioned into 2 separate drives, 1 in ntfs with wii games and another in fat32 for gc games, works just fine

For some people it works fine. For others it doesn't. There is no advantage in using anything other than FAT32. d2x cIOS does not care what the filesystem is. It supports only WBFS partitions or a list of the sectors for the game.