TUTORIAL: How to play backups w/o mod chip, only Max Drive Pro Memcard

its your cube, change the pot settings man, some games wont work unless your pot is the right setting.

i changed mine and i have had 0 coasters ever since.

 

msickler,

how does the pot setting on the cube affect the DVD burner getting a "power calibration" error ??

As I say - plenty of backups work fine so I don't think it is the pot

 

Burned so far around 50 disks, only 4 don't work so far. So I may need to adjust my POT to get those few that don't work.

 

Hiya Bruce,

Tried your method and managed to get the gamecube to see the gcos 1.5, also had to update the pc software as before it would not allow me to copy sav data or the gcos file onto the memory card. Your tutorial works great up to a point for me, when I try to boot a disk burned using nero 6 onto a mini-dvd-r 1.4gb memorex it fails to recognize the media and going by your tutorial it would appear to me, maybe wrongly, that the pot laser needs adjusted, it's my daughters gamecube passed down to my son and it may be old but is failing to read burned iso images using nero 6.

I know you've done a great job with this thread and certainly I would have given up by now but was wondering if this was your thoughts regarding this problem? Also, I come from the uk and was trying to play a usa iso (on a uk pal gamecube), bad I know, but trying to save some money for other things now.

Thanks.

 

Nah, it's not so bad to play region games, I play Europe games all the time gcos takes care of it.

As far as everything else goes, there's some main points to check. I've stated them several times in this thread so you may already know, but then again I don't expect anyone to read all 20+ pages, so I will outline them for you:

Burning:
- Make sure to burn at 4x, not 1x or 2x, and make sure to finalize the disc. Also, if your iso is a .gcm file you had to rename and it was less than roughly 1.4gb in size, remember to put it through the GCtool first (I know the link on my first post is probably dead, a google search will find it easily tho. If not I will put it up)

Media Type: Usually ritek g04 or g05 type dye is the best for gamecube, although others have worked. I'm not sure whether memorex uses this or not.

Burner Type: Pioneer, NEC, BenQ and LG are better for burning GC Games than say, Sony, Panasonic or HP.

If all else fails: your pot may need adjustment. My experience tells me this is more of a problem with UK based users, as a lot of the people which had problems with their POT settings are from the UK. Before you do this though (since it requires opening the gamecube) I would take the MDPro and your burned games to a friends gamecube and try em' on there. If they work then it's definitely your POT that needs adjusting. If not, than you may be in luck and it may be another problem, or both of your POT's need adjusting .

Good luck m8 and lemme know how it goes. If you be more specific w/ your error I might be able to help further but until then this is all I've got. From the sounds of it, it looks like a POT adjustment may be needed.

 

I've had the Maxdrive Pro for about two months now and I just got a BBA (broadband adapter). And I wanted to say thanks brucedlx. Not only does the Maxdrive Pro w/GCOS allow me to play burnt backups but I can save money by playing games loaded directly from my PC.
So far I've had better luck with the BBA than with mini-DVD. The BBA is a little bit slower loading but I've had a 100% success rate. I've made two or three coasters out of mini-DVDs.
I've read that it takes an immense amount of time to load a game with the BBA but for me it is almost as fast, just a tad slower. I also read about choppy video and sound with the BBA but so far I can't tell the difference in quality.

Thanks again brucedlx!
You deserve an award!

 

bjhgames, I have sent you a PM.

It might be good if you could post on here exactly how you have achieved this in a simple, almost idiot-proof, guide.

 

Hi Bruce, thanks for the info. Tried also burning with nero 7 but keep getting error message 'media unrecognised' at the boot game option so looks like I'll have to get digital multi-meter and adjust the laser, will keep you posted. Thanks for all your help.

 

Thank you for tutorial. Almos everething work as expected. Burner BENQ and mini dvd Fujifilm work good without POT adj.
One small Q.
I know, that I can run PAL games on my NTSC cube, but my tv does not support PAL and all i can see is running frames. Can I play PAL games on the TV set that doesnot support PAL?
Sincerely,
jsbulat.

 

Have you tried playing PAL games yet? They should work if you force NTSC region through GcoS even if your TV is not PAL Compliant.

 

Thanks To Everyone that replied to my post listing there burnres and media!
For those in the UK I cam across something that was a bit shocking, 4 mini dvds 4x 1.4GB for £1 from poundland (get them while you still can). I bought a few and have burnt some games already, but I can not test them as I am still trying to find the Max drive software for GC.

Also another question, is it possible to load GCOS via a mini DVD?
Thanks In advance for you reply

 

to brucedlx
Yes. It running ok. black and white running frames.

 

wait I dont get it, is it running ok?

Or is it running w/ black and white frames?

Also, it is impossible to load gcos off of a minidvd UNLESS you could create a minidvd which was bootable on the gamecube, which is IMPOSSIBLE unless you have a modchip, in which case there is no point.

The only ppl who can create a disk which can boot on an unmodded gamecube are nintendo and codejunkies, hence the need for the MDPro set.

 

brucedlx
Thanks for your response, the fact is that I purchased the MD Pro, only a few weeks ago, however the DVD is now broken (thanks to little brother), I asked for a replacement disc and was told to purchase the whole thing again, so now I got a memory card with GCOS I got a bunch of games and mini DVDs but no way of playing them

 

unfortunately your outta luck the MDPro gamecube disc is key for playin backups and you should be very careful with it. Without it the MDPro is useless.

 

@mir_98

I emailed codejunkies a few months ago and they indicated if I returned the damaged disc they would send a replacement for $9.99 (i think that is the price). The reason for my inquiry was the possibility of damaging the disc because I have 2 sons under the age of 7. They are really hard on discs. The reason for getting the MDPro in the first place. btw I backup movies too. lol. Give them a call or email them to see if they will replace the disc for a nominal fee. You never know.

@brucedlx

The GameCube seems to be working fine now. I have the occasional hiccup but I think it may be attributed to a bad burn. I updated IMGBURN to 2.0, but have never tried Nero. Can you check the burn on a game the same way you can a movie? That may give me a clue as to why I have the sporadic bad disc. I would think it was the disc manufacturer but I have both discs doing the same thing (optodisc and ritek ridata). Thanks again for all your help and what seems like endless good advice. lol.

.........c

 

In your case it might just be a bad image. If you dl from torrents or especially if you rip the games yourself, the image may be bad. Remember always to pad ISO's which are under 1.4gb, always tick the finalize option (don't know if this is in IMGBurn, never used that) and always burn at 4x.

 

hey,

i'm new here and am interested in trying out the max drive pro method. i have a question though: if i order from codejunkies, will i still recieve both discs which will allow me to use this method?

because on the website it lists: The system consists of 3 components – the MAX Drive Pro cartridge, USB cable and the Loader Disc. it doesn't say there is a 2nd disc so i was just checking if anyone who ordered recently recieved both discs.

also does anyone know if they ship to canada?

thanks a lot

 

Alright, I posted a while back before this new method came out (back in the days of the ethernet hack) and would just like some guidance about what the best way of going about playing gamecube backups is now. I've got some questions as well:
1. Is the Max Drive Pro method still the best method?
2. Is a replacement top difficult to install?
3. Do any DVDRWs work on the gamecube?
4. Is it possible for me to get a Max Drive Pro and do this mod with a launch model gamecube?
5. Using the Max Drive Pro method and a replacement top will I be able to play any gamecube backups I have without further investment; will my launch model gamecube need a laser tweak?
6. What's the best place to order the Max Drive Pro and the best place to order a replacement top?

 

you can download it from the codejunkies website , and i think they ship to canada

1. softmod yes
2. no
3.no
4 . yes
5. you may need a multimeter and security srewdriver and it may need a lasertweak
6. codejunkies website is the only place to order , though i see them on ebay now and again