Why not make my own GC Save Exploit Mem Card?

[fababop]

Hi guys!

I'm totally new here, because I need some help. After spending days researching how to mod my GameCube, i'm thinking of using a soft mod technique to play backups with a SD2SP2. (unfortunately GC Loader PNP is still out of stock because of chip shortages)

Here's what bothers me though. Why can't I just make my own memory card with a save exploit? Why do I see on so many tutorials where i need to buy one from ebay? Can't I just use a SDCard to Memory Card adapter (like a gecko), format the SD card, load the save exploit .gci and use that? Can't I just drag and drop the files? If not, can I otherwise format the SDcard with Dolphin and load the save exploit on windows?

Cheers & thanks!

 

[FR0ZN]

The SD card is not used for save game space.
You need a way to put the exploit onto a memory card - for example with a modded GameCube or Wii.

 

[fababop]

I find it hard to believe and understand that this is not possible. How come are SDCards used for loading homebrew software, but can't be used like a memory card? I am willing to program something to format SDcards to behave like memory cards. But what makes a GC memory card so different to a SD Card with adapter/gecko?

 

[KleinesSinchen]

I find it hard to believe and understand that this is not possible. How come are SDCards used for loading homebrew software, but can't be used like a memory card? I am willing to program something to format SDcards to behave like memory cards. But what makes a GC memory card so different to a SD Card with adapter/gecko?

The Memory Card is not an SD -- but very similar.
The GC can only use Memory Cards (for game saves) up to 16MB -- far less than modern SDs.

If you insert an SD with SD-Gecko the "BIOS" will tell you that the object in the slot cannot be used. Swiss - once loaded - on the other hand can access much larger things (modern SDs including exFAT file system) and load games from SD-Gecko and SD2SP2.

Writing to a normal Memory Card is a chicken-and-egg problem: You need to load homebrew software to put the exploit on Memory Card... but you need the exploit on Memory Card to load homebrew software.
Means: Another way of loading homebrew is needed once:

• Datel SD Media Launcher
• Another GC with modchip like XenoGC
• A Wii with homebrew
• Buying a Memory Card already with exploit(s) on it

 

[fababop]

The Memory Card is not an SD -- but very similar.
The GC can only use Memory Cards (for game saves) up to 16MB -- far less than modern SDs.

If you insert an SD with SD-Gecko the "BIOS" will tell you that the object in the slot cannot be used. Swiss - once loaded - on the other hand can access much larger things (modern SDs including exFAT file system) and load games from SD-Gecko and SD2SP2.

So I assume a GC Memory Card has some kind of proprietary memory controller that the BIOS recognizes, until you can by pass it with an exploit and/or swiss that can then load arbitrary code from a SDcard/Gecko?

 

[TheNintendoEnthusiast]

I was doing some research on this and it looks like it was brought up in another forum

"Has anybody made a DIY memory card?"
https://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2771

"GameCube Memory Card & SD Gecko Diagrams"
https://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=666

There are a ton of info regarding soft/hard modding your GC but if you want to go down that route you can see some more info from this post.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/so-i-wa...othing-of-gc-homebrew-etc.559753/post-8971410 (This pretty much links you to GC-Forever on the ways to do so)

It has references and links to schematics and some more specific info. I hope that can point you in the right direction.

 

[N7Kopper]

So I assume a GC Memory Card has some kind of proprietary memory controller that the BIOS recognizes, until you can by pass it with an exploit and/or swiss that can then load arbitrary code from a SDcard/Gecko?

Not so. It's a matter of protocols. The GCN and PS2's memory card slots are both electrically compatible with SD cards, but the protocols that both cards use to talk with the system are completely different. Think like trying to read track 1 of an orangebook CD in a redbook player. It's all screeching.