Hacking Questions about USB Loader GX and GCN games

[MaGnUmKiLLa]

Hey guys, I just set up my Wii to be able to use USB Loader and I had a few quick questions that I thought you beautiful people might be able to help me out with. This mainly just pertains to GCN stuff.

First off, I'm seeing a lot of people talk about using the clean rip program to get their Gamecube iso's. Is that better than just ripping using USB Loader? I don't figure it is but figured I'd ask.

Secondly, when I rip a Gamecube game using USB Loader, even when I have the compress setting turned on, it still seems to rip to the full 1.35 file size. With or without, it still says it's going to be 1.35gb. Any ideas?

Finally, speaking of compressing Gamecube iso's, I've seen people say that that's not the best idea and it can lead to compatibility issues. Is it really that big of a deal? I would just use 1:1 files but, certain *ahem* friends of mine only seem to have compressed Iso's and that seems to be my only option for certain titles.

*edit* So I just found the Gamecube Iso Tool and I was wondering if I use that to change a .gcm to a full size iso does that count as a 1:1 as far as USB Loader is concerned?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, gang. Thanks a million.

 

[ilikegoldengrahams]

While I'm here (I'm kinda nooby) you don't need a tool for .gcm files. You need to enable file extensions in your folder view and LITERALLY rename the files to game.iso.
Also I've had no issues so far with using USB loader GX to rip games but I perhaps don't use the backups as frequently as other users around these parts.
One more thing, I've seen nothing but people saying that using full .iso's is a good idea and I've stuck with that and again no issues SO FAR. For what it's worth, hope that helps pal.

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

First off, I'm seeing a lot of people talk about using the clean rip program to get their Gamecube iso's. Is that better than just ripping using USB Loader? I don't figure it is but figured I'd ask.

Clean rip software on the PC requires basically the stars aligning in your favor (or a chunk of spare cash). Most DVD drives can't read GCN or Wii discs. Your best bet is to just use USBLGX to rip your discs. The only time I have ever had a bad rip was with a badly scratched disc. From what I have seen, it isn't any better or worse than using a PC to dump your ISO file.

Secondly, when I rip a Gamecube game using USB Loader, even when I have the compress setting turned on, it still seems to rip to the full 1.35 file size. With or without, it still says it's going to be 1.35gb. Any ideas?

To be honest, I don't compress my ISO files. Unless you're running off a dinky SD card/USB hard drive, I wouldn't bother anyway.

Finally, speaking of compressing Gamecube iso's, I've seen people say that that's not the best idea and it can lead to compatibility issues. Is it really that big of a deal? I would just use 1:1 files but, certain *ahem* friends of mine only seem to have compressed Iso's and that seems to be my only option for certain titles.

*edit* So I just found the Gamecube Iso Tool and I was wondering if I use that to change a .gcm to a full size iso does that count as a 1:1 as far as USB Loader is concerned?

There's always the risk of damaging the ISO when you compress it. Again, unless you're desperately low on space, I wouldn't bother. As far as the ISO Tool, I have used similar software and can say it does work, depending on the game. Some games work after being stripped/scrubbed of the empty data, others don't. I don't remember if there's a list of games that function after being scrubbed or not, but I've mostly done mine by trial and error. However, my honest opinion is to, again, just stay with clean rips. Don't compress or scrub them. Sure, you lose space, but you have a much higher chance of your ISOs working.

 

[MaGnUmKiLLa]

Hey, thanks a lot for the responses. My only real remaining question is about resizing the iso's.

If I take a compressed iso and I reconvert it into a full size, will that eliminate the compatibility problems? I don't know exactly what it is about the compression process that causes issues so I don't know if resizing them to full fixes the problem or if I'm just wasting time.

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

Hey, thanks a lot for the responses. My only real remaining question is about resizing the iso's.

If I take a compressed iso and I reconvert it into a full size, will that eliminate the compatibility problems? I don't know exactly what it is about the compression process that causes issues so I don't know if resizing them to full fixes the problem or if I'm just wasting time.

I never messed around a whole lot with compressing/uncompressing ISO files, save for on my PSP, but the Wii seems to be a little more picky from what I have read elsewhere. Go ahead and try uncompressing them, but my gut says to redo your rips cleanly.