With the Pico W just having been released today'ish, he might need to make a different firmware for it. And having WiFi now, he could even introduce a web interface and other networking features. That would so awesome.
Initially I thought "what would I need Wi-Fi for?"... But then I realized, you would be able to get your game info and cover art directly from online onto there.... Just like with the Nintendo switch Atmosphere OS.
It is great to see mod developers using easy to get parts. I really hope this trend continues with other systems old and new. Thanks, Tito, for another impressive video too!
if it wasn't for the micro soldering, on the chip pin's I would say any one could do it? it looked so easy without the two wires the two leg pins on the chip's, I'm wounding if you could connect to the chip pin's some where else on the PCB, with a little bit more room for errors being made like the rest of the wires, treading neatness, for less risk?
@@dh2032 like mentioned in the video, there will be custom ribbon cables sold in the future, those will make the instalation MUCH easier. It's the same approach of other mods like the Ultra HDMI.
@@dh2032 I'm kinda intrigued with the idea of making a little PCB with pogo pins that could just be sandwiched into the machine. But I'm not sure if there'd be enough room.
I saw a few people saying that soldering was a deal breaker, it made it just an option not a replacement. Personally I view soldering the same way my parents and grandparents viewed fixing cars, as in it’s very valuable knowledge for anyone to have right now. The world is growing more and more digital/ technical by the day and soon enough a decent soldering will be more important to have than a wrench. I know soldering can seem scary to people who don’t know how to do it, but trust me when I say this. Soldering is a very easy thing to learn, it’s just that the most popular mods (WiiBoy, Shank’s GameCube Joycons, etc...) take a lot of experience to pull off. Start with something easy and well documented, like the GameBoy.
It's one of those things I've been meaning to pick up one of these days and I have an old Clear DMG gameboy that I'd love to put an IPS screen into. But then I'm never sure what I should buy? I know Hako are meant to be a good brand of iron?
Honestly for anyone even looking into console modding, soldering is a skill they'll want to pick up, otherwise they'll miss out on a LOT of cool stuff. It's not hard to learn, I would just recommend practicing on either broken devices or electronic project kits to get down the basics of soldering. From there the only real difference is learning how to manage the tools to do smaller soldering. My first hardmod was a basic solder bridge on an OG xbox in order to tsop flash the bios. the solder blob was ugly given my skill and tools back in high school, but now I can fairly easily do things like a new 3ds xl capture card mod. Soldering opens up so many cool things you can do, even if you don't do them often it's a real nice skill to have.
@@IdiotRace You don't need a Hako. I have a slightly more expensive iron from this brand (mainly because it has a hot air gun). It's a decent brand. I would recommend avoiding the unleaded solder they include and buying yourself some leaded solder and some good quality flux. Flux is a big thing a lot of new people ignore or go cheap on, but its very important for making good solder joints easier to get done. Shop around though, and read reviews. You can easily get a decent soldering station for $40 or less
@@chadwolf3840 Yeah and do not use your heat gun next to anything that melts, especially plastic connectors/ ribbon clips. If something doesn’t want to come off you gotta ask yourself why. As long as you don’t force anything off you should be relatively okay, I say relatively because sometimes things go sideways and you realize you don’t know your own strength lol.
And the creator can still make money out of selling custom parts that make installation easier for the less solder-savy modding enthusiast and other custom hardware like that M.2 reader! This is what open source is all about, everyone wins, including the software itself which will be improved upon by many different brains thinking together.
Gamecube modchip with a Pico, someone else making an N64 flash cart with a Pico, a third dude did a proof of concept on a gameboy flashcart... also with a Pico. This thing is a GAMECHANGER
The wii is fairly obnoxious, and the 3ds line is absolutely one of the worst I've had to work on mainly due to the ribbon cables running through the hinge. But for most everything else, fully agree
This is awesome. It seems like a fairly easy solder job, I might give this one a try. I was thinking that I could substitute thermal paste for thermal pads, but when you mentioned the varying thickness I realized that was a no go.
Just got my pico for another project, trying to solder header pins, I cannot for the life of me do it like how the do it in this video. Solder won't stick to anything but the soldering iron, got any tips?
@@SypherKon I have some flux (Rosin) and placed some before trying to solder the pin and header. I press the Iron up to the hole & pin, wait a few seconds and press the lead upon the pin, the solder just bend and not wanting to melt.
@@reignandbongao9497 ensure your iron tip is coated with some solder. Solder should melt easily on the tip outside of your work area. If it doesn’t, turn up the heat. Never hold the iron too long on your intended target or you can potentially damage electronics. Good luck.
@@hakimdurand8427 im about to buy the whole thing also but im thinking 128gb sd card, do you think a 128gb sd card would be better then a 64gb (ie would the 128 be compatible with this mod essentially)
Your hardware work is simply a joy to watch! Usually I quite like the aesthetic of a cyberpunk-esque messy hack job but having everything neat and clean and going the extra mile wherever possibly useful sure does the console more justice.
Just a few minutes ago, I managed to finish this wonderful mod. To be honest, I took me 3 times to get it right... the most difficult part is to solder are the two wires on the chip (which is also, tiny and hard to maneuver. I didn't give up and went again though all steps... and as they say, third time is the charm... it boot up properly and got into Swiss. Your video help me a lot! Also was good soldering practice. This is not for everyone... but worth the effort. Thank you!
Hey pal waiting for everything to come by post but I still don't know what wire to buy could you tell me what you used, first time doing this much appreciated
@@goofygoober263 Hello, I didn't have proper wiring cables to be honest, as you mentioned, the ones used on the tutorial are not specified... so I have stripped some ethernet cables which are pretty thin already. But to be honest, buy proper ones, at least same or a little bit thinner, like 1mm.
I just did my install and the GC comes up blank. If I remove it, everything boots like normal. The RPi how's a green light, but nothing nothing happens. I think I'm using wire that is way too thick and that's messing me up. Going to try the 26GA wire linked above.
Love it! Just did this mod and gotta say its actually really and youre tutorial video is perfect. Word to the wise, make sure you solder to the correct 3V3. Mine didnt work at first and I went over everything with the schematic and realized I soldered to 3V3 EN on mistake.
Great video but I feel you should include the thermal pads, wire, shrink wrap, double-sided tape, and kapton tape to your parts list. I understand you almost always have them on-hand but us budding modders usually don't. I'm tempted to try this but I've already gone through the trouble of buying a Swiss memory card .
Such an awesome mod. I installed PicoBoot on my Gamecube a few weeks ago without a hitch. It is a bit tricky to solder directly to pins on a surface mount IC if you're not used to it, and I was glad I had thermal pads on hand, but this was a breeze, and it works exactly as advertised.
Great video. A easy solution to keep thermal pads on there is allow the heat sink to heat up without the cooling fan in place. 30 seconds later a easy pull off.
@@guardsmenhool9765 ya turn the console on and allow that heat shrink to get a little warm and it'll come out easily. Make sure your console is off when you go to remove the thermal bar. Just to be safe you don't short it anywhere on accident
Great video! I randomly found this since I'm into retro gaming and mods and I love your in depth information and especially the pros and cons section. Def got a new subscriber!
Technically this method should work on any system including ps5 and Xbox series S/X. I've always been curious why the pie hasn't been used as an open source mod chip, glad to know I wasn't the only one.
This is absolutely incredible, being able to take a $7 board and turn it into a modchip is insane to me! This was the first ever modchip I installed into a game console, and wow was I amazed.
Great work dude! I had no idea about the quickboot options or about that internal SSD that's in the works, That internal SSD is going to be a gamechanger for sure!
WOW! This is like reliving my childhood. I installed the picoboot this past Saturday and could not test it until the SD adapter came in. It came in today and it booted to Swiss and I am very happy. Thanks @Macho Nacho for the tutorial!
Dude! I love how you put EVERY detail in the description... Like every question I came up with had the answer there INCLUDING the gauge of wire for soldering. Thanks for being so pro man! Respect!
This is incredible! I've been waiting for a GC loader to be available for months now. Looks like I can pick up a Pico and use the money saved to up my soldering equipment to pull this one off!
It's hard to keep up with day to day life and all the innovations that keep on coming - viewed the video the day you released it, and order the materials right away. Without this video, I would for sure have missed this! Today, I followed your guide step by step, and boy am I happy camper. This mod is great. Thanks a bunch, and keep em' coming! :)
This was actually my first soldering mod that I've done and even though I messed up the first install and the second install was pretty ugly, I still got it to work and I'm loving it. I definitely would recommend it and as long as you maintain patience its a pretty easy mod.
@hamsteerio To play gba games at a good framerate you need the GBA player but only the attachment and the game. As for the thermal pads I have no clue since I've never damaged any of my thermal pads.
As far as starting up swiss on a gamecube this is easily the more elegant approach over the Action Replay + Gecko route. However - the big con is that you would currently still be limited to running backups off the SD2SP2 adaptor which has bandwith issues with quite a few games. It's not as bad as trying to run PS2 games off USB but full screen video can get stuttery and games can have weird issues. GC Loader is way better in that regard and even cuts down on load times in a lot of games. I hope using the M.2 in Serial Port 1 of the Cube won't run into the same bandwith issues as SD2SP2. Having GC-Loader-like compatibility AND getting to keep the original DVD drive would be extremely cool. Excited to see where this is headed! :)
I wonder why S1 would be faster, is that where the broadband adaptor connects? So perhaps that connection has more bandwidth? The adaptors and sd card surely wouldn't be the bottleneck, it would have to be the serial connection itself right?
@@Wilbure My guess, too. Across all consoles from that generation the interface is the limiting factor. You don't see significant improvements after a certain point (hdd vs. ssd e.g.). Modded my OG Xbox with an SSD because I wanted it quieter - only to realise that the fan is the actual culprit. :D Could have gone HDD and it wouldn't have mattered (except cut costs) - I knew going in that speed wouldn't be a factor (and it wasn't). Even the GC Loader doesn't fully take advantage of SD Card speeds (although it does improve things), mostly you are limited by the CPU speed and game engines. There also is a flip side to increased read speeds: sometimes you can overload an engine with too much readily available data (Metroid Prime or Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes need the "emulate read speed" option turned on or you get FPS drops).
With the PS2 there's that hacked MagicGate (it must be original Sony with MagicGate or 3rd party with MagicGate) memory card and a simple SD card to PS2 memory card adapter. Load up an SD with game ISOs, plug in the hacked card and the SD adapter, you're done. Remove them both and the PS2 is 100% back to original. This mod is built on Free McBoot but unlike regular Free McBoot it must be used on a card with genuine MagicGate capability. The memory card bus is at least as fast as what the disc drive is connected to, so playing games off an SD card through that works without slowdowns, unlike playing through the USB 1.1 ports.
@@greggv8 Currently the only tangible drawbacks of the SD memory card adapter is game compatibility and IIRC you can't put save files on that memory card, you can only put them on the free space from the FreeMCBoot card.
I got the idea to do a picoboot myself from watching your video and I also used your video in particular to help me do this mod on my dol-101. My first time ever attempting a mod on a console and it worked perfectly. Thank you!!
This is rather interesting and I may try it in the future. If I did this I would need to do a little trimming to the case and extend the micro for access. Excellent build Tito.
I'm so glad this is an easy mod to get, as I was on vacation last week and I want one badly and don't have to worry about the mod getting sold out while I was gone. Great video Tito - I ordered one of these today and am looking forward to installing it!
This truly is massive for GameCube owners. This definitely makes me feel a little better about my family giving away the GBA boot disc by accident. Only a little better though, I have missed being able to play my GBA games for a long time and I couldn’t mod my GameCube without it.
For anyone who searches this comments section for why their mod isn't working: Make sure your wires aren't too long. Especially if you're using 30ga. I soldered everything up with fairly long wires because I intended to get it working first before trimming length and picking a forever home for the pico. I spent hours trying to understand what I did wrong and why the GCN wouldn't boot at all, just fan. Turns out that this mod is sensitive to wire length. Besides that bit of stress, it's still an amazing mod! Thank you to WebHDX for it!
I can second this! Use very small gauge wire if you can, and keep your cable length short! The resistance of the wire can impede the signal. It's actually better to mount the pico next to the fan and only slightly bend the shielding for the cables to pass through.
@@starlandmedia8902 Yeah, I ultimately wound up fan mounting mine as well. Also, another potential problem if anyone is having them is that on the DOL-001 the BIOS chip is underneath the heatsink, so you might want to throw some tape over it to keep the connections from shorting.
@@retrodecade6699 I can see that, I think that ultimately goes back to use the thinnest cables possible -- should help add clearance for that possible short and prevent poor heat sink placement as well. It'll be dope, when someone releases a kit with a custom small gauge ribbon cable
i third this. i was totally confused why the screen kept black. then i scrolled through this comment section and found your comment, fixed the length, now it works like a charm! Thanks so much!
I'm still quite happy to have my GCLoader for games with full motion video (which gecko solutions struggle with), but this is absolutely fantastic!! I'll be performing this mod on my "disc ripping" backup cube, which currently has a Xeno and a burned swiss disc. Excited to see what features this could evolve into unlocking. I'll miss the BIOS song though!!! If there's any way to retain it while adding all the new features... 🙏
@@Nickfil the sd2sp2 adapter that he used runs fire emblem's fmv's without issue in my GameCube. I see no reason why it wouldn't work just as well with this mod.
@@darksnow222 Not all GameCubes have a port where the SD2SP2 connects - mine is just a blank where it should go. I haven't tested SD2SP2 and fire emblem specifically to confirm or deny, but I can say with confidence that when I tried an SD Gecko to launch tales of Symphonia, it would drop frames like crazy. Additionally, the GCLoader is much more convenient for those using the GB player, as it doesn't require removing the player in order to access the SD. Yes, I know there are variants that allow you to access the SD from the side, but in my opinion none look even close to as clean as the GCLoader. Again though - this new pico method is god-tier for its price to performance ratio. I love and will continue to defend my GCLoader cube, but it's not going to be my first recommendation to people anymore - pico+gecko/sd2sp2 all the way, no question. GCLoader for us tryhards out there, and those with consoles with broken disc drives.
@@mistaecco I never went for a GCLoader because I have some extreme fear of missing out. I know it's something that probably only I struggle with, but I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want the convenience of launching games from SD, but I dread the idea of not being able to launch from a disc (even though i literally NEVER do that)
I was able to successfully mod my GC by following this guide. It was the first time I ever soldered anything, so I appreciate all of the helpful tips throughout the video 😊
I did a technique I want to share that doesn’t rip the thermal pads when removing the heat sink so you don’t have to buy new ones. I broke down the console to the motherboard, then put everything back together without the screws (so I can quickly take it back apart), then I plugged in the console and let it run for about 30 minutes. This warmed up the thermal pads pretty well. I turned off the console and took it apart to get the heat sink. When wiggling the heat sink it’s so much looser and easier to work with while warmed up. I took a flathead and slowly prided up the heat sink on one side and it popped off cleanly with all the pads unripped and perfectly together.
Thanks so much for the concise and informative tutorial. I'm waiting for the chips to come, have some suitable wire, and need to get some thermal pads of the correct thicknesses. I've always enjoyed my soft modded Wii but this is what I've actually been waiting for! So cool.
The new GCLoader update has brought me here (‘bricked ‘my console)…. Just bought some Picoboots to do this to my 2 GameCubes with busted cd drives .. thank you for this all and the quality vids!
You can format larger than 32 GB FAT 32 from the command line. About one year ago Dave's Garage said he was the one that put the limit in the windows formatter when FAT 32 support was added to the NT kernel which started in Windows 2000.
You could even extend and relocate the micro USB port to be accessed on the outside of the shell for quick updates. That would be pretty amazing to just upgrade or tinker without even having to remove the shell.
you'd need to extend the boot select button too though I believe. my thought is to drill a small hole to run the wires into the expansion bay and mount the pico there. It should fit as it is significantly smaller than an m2 drive, and you'd only have to flip your gc over, take off the expansion cover, and you'd have immediate access to the boot select button and micro usb port needed to change firmware, as opposed to having to unscrew and remove the top case.
@@Wilbure that's what I'll be doing once my materials arrive, thanks for the idea. The m.2 drive is WAAY too much overkill for me, so I don't mind never having it there... at least not right now.
@@Wilbure You could probably wire a momentary button to the pico as a jumper, but I'm not sure why anybody would want to disfigure their game cube for something that's going to be done periodically to start and eventually never.
Thanks for the video! I watched it when it first came out, and just re-watch it tonight while doing this mod myself. There was a couple points of confusion in the official docs that were made more clear in your video, so I highly appreciate it! I'm thankful to be able to play both my domestic and import games on a single system now. :)
soy médico y gamer de la vieja escuela, tus vídeos me llenan de conocimiento siempre se sienten muy didácticos que ya he hecho modificaciones a mis consolas siguiendo tu guía, saludos desde Colombia viejo Tito.
I'm now wondering what other consoles this can be done to. I guarantee it's a lot cheaper than the alternatives. I love this mod and it's potential, great video!
it is just a microcontroller like the ones any other mod chips use, but it's one that is widely available and easy to work with. The only reason it's probably not the norm already is that someone is making money selling custom chips.
So awesome that this is open source and can be installed on a raspberry pi. That's a huge pro since you will never have to worry about supply or continued manufacturing.
Great video! Saving this for later for sure! It's really great there are developers and engineers out there that really think outside the box with our old tech. Exciting time to be alive. Also a little anxiety inducing, but that's a whole other box! ✌🏼❤️🍻
It definitely wins in terms of cost and future prospects. Personally I would want something that I didn't have to solder, but this looks fairly simple all things considered. Curious to see how the m.2 drive performs and they definitely need to get that GC boot animation back, that's iconic.
I'd love the ability to make our own boot screens. Just a quick little 5 second video or something we get to see each time we turn the system on. Also, that M.2 boot drive mod has got me very excited.
I doubt I ever will use a disc in my retro consoles again but there's something beautiful about still having it available. I love this mod because I can still keep the stock look to my console after installing
Another top notch video, thanks for keeping the great content coming Tito! I wonder what other modchips could be replaced with a Pico now that they're more readily available vs older mod chips?
This is phenomenal. What a wonderful time to mod. I wonder if there will be an update for the Pico W. Also, thank you for showing how to install GBI as well.
Dude I have no idea what your channel is even about, but I'm so glad I got recommended this. This is the greatest news I've heard since my daughters birth.
just finished picobooting my spice orange DOL-101 with this guide :) having this model was def more of a challenge with the double sided mobo work, but it was so satisfying to see it boot into Swiss when it was all said and done, thanks again Tito!
I love how the pico can be used from pentesting, to automation, to even modding! I'm probably going to get a pico soon just for the sake of experimenting.
One tip top making sure that you don't ruin your thermal pads when removing the heatsink is to use a hairdryer to warm the heatsink up and soften up the existing thermal pads, comes off like a charm. Another thing to do is make sure that the gauge and length of wire that you use is correct. In my first install I didn't get any video out because the wires I used were too long, but after trimming them down (to about 5 inches) it booted into swiss just fine.
Just followed this. Soldered, de soldered, soldered different wire, desoldered, cut wire shorter etc etc. FInally, it works. Im glad you made it look so easy :)
I just finished this mod. A couple points: 1. The thermal pads are not recoverable. Even if they Look like they were. I got mine off and had similar issues as you with the GPU thermal pad. I replaced it and left the others. I screwed the heat sync back down and when i checked it, i saw the memory thermal pads were no longer making contact, even tho they were the original pads. It was hard to see, but i did see a slight gap. Just be safe, and replace ALL the pads, regardless of how they look. I wasted days waiting on new thermal pads to arrive.. twice. 2. It would have been nice to know that gauge wire to use. I used too thick of wire at first and had to re-wire it when i couldn't get the dvd drive back on. Even then, when i used the thinner wire i had, it still didn't sit all the way down. I'd love to know what gauge you used that allowed the Dvd player to sit down slow flush. Wire type and gauge should always be included in your 'parts list' if wiring is involved, given the tight spaces consoles have to work with. 3. For those wanting to keep the original GC boot up, you can rename the Swiss loader dol file to one of the buttons instead (x/y/b). That way, if you just hit the power button like normal, it will boot like normal. But holding down the button while powering on, will boot it into the boot loader. This makes it more of a 'stealth' mod :) 4. The Gameboy Interface zip file that I downloaded has the GBI.DOL file in a different location. In one of the sub folders.. Not a huge deal, but it threw me off for a second. 5. Thanks for showing this off. Im giddy now that this is all done. I even took the opportunity to replace my power LED to an emerald green :)
May I ask what kind of LED you used? I hadn't even thought of this and I'm looking to get the final parts for my ultimate GameCube mod I'm working on. Still trying to figure out the best wire to use for the install of the Pico too. 😅
Thanks for sharing this mod! I really enjoy your channel. This an awesome mod. I like it much more than the GCloader, I get to keep my optical drive, and pico is easy to source.
It's incredible, just this week I bought a GameCube and it turns out that this project came out today. I'm so glad I don't have to save up to buy a damn GCLoader!
GC loader is still great. You can buy a knock off one from china. It’ll be called the gcloader mini or something to that effect. I accidentally bought it and have had no issues with it. It comes with the sd2sp2 that is mandatory for it. Super easy install and cheaper than the official units.
Why would you ever 'need' the GCLoader? I use my SD2SP2 to load ROM's, this new Picochip doesn't change that. Just makes it slightly easier to get into Swiss than with the Xeno Chip. As far as loading ROM's goes, the GCLoader will likely always be the most superior way, as it has the fastest load times due to it going directly into the Optical Drive interface.
@@KingCornWallis Certain games don't perform well with SD2SP2 or SD gecko, such as ones that use full motion video. Tales of Symphonia's anime cutscenes play like a slideshow on them, but GCLoader runs them perfectly. Also the disc load/swaps are instantaneous on GCLoader - I haven't timed the swap time differences recently to compare to gecko, but I doubt it's quite as fast. There's also something to be said for cleanliness - I'm quite fond of my GCLoader's form factor, as it doesn't require me to remove my GB player to access the SD or sacrifice a memory card slot. In the configuration I use, it's completely undetectable until you open the disc tray, which I'm quite fond of. That said, these are all premium features. I'd say the GCLoader can now be considered a premium option of sorts, while the picoboot is likely to become the optimal solution for just about anyone looking to boost the functionality of their cube.
Hey! One thing I want to call out, is the wire length. I had troubles with getting a black screen and not booting when I used cables approx. as long as shown in this video, and looks like the recommended is 4" by the creator. I did 6" long and mounted the Pico vertically by the fan which worked like a charm
A brilliant solution to a mod-chip alternative! I wonder if the pico can be used in other consoles? If so it will revolutionize the mod-chip scene. Not to mention the new pico update released yesterday that has Wi-Fi onboard that can potentially open up more functionality.
Awesome tutorial! made this work and its a BLAST. Picoboot just works, it's amazing. My GC doesn't have the port for the SD so I had to use a GC SD Memory Card, and it works perfectly fine. Thanks again!
i know its not a huge deal but my OCD is flaring because of the black GC on the Orange GBA player with the Orange GC right next to it lol. Amazing content by the way!
Oh this is dope!! I was just looking for a GC Loader clone and then you and RockerGaming both dropped videos about the PicoBoot... much easier to find and a lot cheaper too. I've just started my retro collection and have 8 of the 10 systems I want and this makes my GC mod a lot easier. Thank you and your videos are awesome and very informative 👏
Installed everything couple days ago and it works like a charm. Never soldered in my live and just with a quick soldering tutorial I got everything done beautifully. I have to say the hardest part was to get the connection on the IC done. Thanks for the video dude!
With the recently released Raspberry Pi Pico W.. perhaps we might see WiFi support added with PicoBoot in the future :) Edit: I've installed the mod on my previously unmodded DOL-001 and it works really well. I did rename IPL.dol to Y.dol however, as I wanted the console to boot up as normal and only boot into Swiss when I hold Y on boot up, and it worked perfectly :)
@@jezziah2 With no IPL.dol on the SD card or with no SD card in your gamecube, the gamecube will behave like an unmodded console and use the original IPL. However, you are still able to boot up the dol files that are mapped you your gamepad buttons on your sd card, so you can switch between unmodded an modded whenever you want. In my case I've got swiss on Y (with swiss renamed to Y.dol), I'm also planning on assigning GBi to X (X.dol) once I get hold of a Game Boy Player. I'm looking for a black one without a disc. I would really like to have the classic game cube logo for swiss thought, as that's how I like it.. perhaps there might be a way to add it in the future.. I really hope so.
@@WaCrex That's exactly what I'm after - thanks for clarifying. I'm also hoping that the boot screen can be incorporated into Swiss, but at this point it's a very minor improvement, given how well everything else works.
Awesome guide on installing an awesome mod, I managed to pull it off on my first attempt with no issues by carefully following your video. I've seen some people saying it's easy to short the IPL chip connections to the heat sink so I added a layer of kapton tape over all the solder points on the board just to be sure
Perhaps not having an IPL.dol file might allow the GC to default to its stock bios? You can then assign Swiss to buttons B, X or Y…? Just a guess - I’d like to know the answer to this also.
@@RetroDX This is correct. If you rename IPL.dol to B, X, or Y.dol, it will boot to the stock bios and you can choose to boot to Swiss by holding the appropriate button.
Looks great. Seems like it uses the same connection points as my Pluto IIx HDMI mod, anyone know if installing the Pico along with the Pluto will conflict in any way?
@@seraph4581 Yeah same here. "The XenoGC leaves a lot to be desired". Like what exactly? This chip does pretty much everything that's expected from a modchip.
@@seraph4581 the gamecube disk drive is pretty much the only failure point the cube has, and it's very common considering the age. Having an ancient mod that relies on the disk to boot homebrew does not make sense. Also you have to adjust the pot to read burnt discs, decreasing the life of the laser further. It's just a pain to deal with, and Picoboot alleviates all those issues, while conserving the disc drive life.
@@ButtholioTheGreat Makes sense. Indeed, I also believe the Gamecube disk drive has to be preserved as much as possible. I have had a Gamecube with a Xeno chip installed die on me while I was playing an original disc, but I'm not sure if it was the cause.
Wow. This is a console I planned on modding next, it was confusing and i was waiting to get a boot disk. Going to scratch that and use this method instead. Mostly wanted it for the GBA player. Love the vids! Keep em coming!
I just did this mod on my childhood Gamecube! The optical drive stopped working years and years ago, and now I'm glad I never threw it out or sold it. It feels like magic to see the old girl playing all my old favorite games again.
Great starter mod for anyone looking to get more comfortable with soldering. It's extremely affordable and only requires 5 wires going to solder points that have ample working room.
You're the man Tito. I now have 1 more modded system thanks to your help. Just completed it this morning and works like a dream. My recommendation is to run the system for 10-15 minutes before disassembly, and the thermal pads will come off in one piece, so you dont have to wait for replacements.
I just finished this mod! it booted up first try. I love my modded gamecube now, paired with the gameboy player and an ez flash omega cartridge it is officially my favorite console!
Yassssss love this I can unleash my game cube had this thing sitting around for ages bc I couldn’t afford all the games with how much the games have raised in price already got a ps2 with loads of games on it now the game cube can’t wait to install this mod
as a kid i was a huge 64 fan boy and said that GC not being solid state is a major missed opportunity. it is great seeing the future unfold such interesting things.
With the Pico W just having been released today'ish, he might need to make a different firmware for it. And having WiFi now, he could even introduce a web interface and other networking features. That would so awesome.
Maybe retronas support?
Updates over wifi would be awesome.
Slippi maybe🤓
Initially I thought "what would I need Wi-Fi for?"... But then I realized, you would be able to get your game info and cover art directly from online onto there.... Just like with the Nintendo switch Atmosphere OS.
@@teckdech4707 That would be the dream. Rollback netcode on real hardware, automatic updates, etc.
It is great to see mod developers using easy to get parts. I really hope this trend continues with other systems old and new. Thanks, Tito, for another impressive video too!
if it wasn't for the micro soldering, on the chip pin's I would say any one could do it? it looked so easy without the two wires the two leg pins on the chip's,
I'm wounding if you could connect to the chip pin's some where else on the PCB, with a little bit more room for errors being made like the rest of the wires, treading neatness, for less risk?
@@dh2032 like mentioned in the video, there will be custom ribbon cables sold in the future, those will make the instalation MUCH easier. It's the same approach of other mods like the Ultra HDMI.
@@dh2032 I'm kinda intrigued with the idea of making a little PCB with pogo pins that could just be sandwiched into the machine. But I'm not sure if there'd be enough room.
@@pseudotasuki definitely not under the heatsink, but aside from that, there's about a centimeter of headroom under the RF shield.
@@valshaped Hmm. Maybe I can find somewhere else to connect to those circuits.
I saw a few people saying that soldering was a deal breaker, it made it just an option not a replacement. Personally I view soldering the same way my parents and grandparents viewed fixing cars, as in it’s very valuable knowledge for anyone to have right now. The world is growing more and more digital/ technical by the day and soon enough a decent soldering will be more important to have than a wrench. I know soldering can seem scary to people who don’t know how to do it, but trust me when I say this. Soldering is a very easy thing to learn, it’s just that the most popular mods (WiiBoy, Shank’s GameCube Joycons, etc...) take a lot of experience to pull off. Start with something easy and well documented, like the GameBoy.
It's one of those things I've been meaning to pick up one of these days and I have an old Clear DMG gameboy that I'd love to put an IPS screen into. But then I'm never sure what I should buy? I know Hako are meant to be a good brand of iron?
Honestly for anyone even looking into console modding, soldering is a skill they'll want to pick up, otherwise they'll miss out on a LOT of cool stuff. It's not hard to learn, I would just recommend practicing on either broken devices or electronic project kits to get down the basics of soldering. From there the only real difference is learning how to manage the tools to do smaller soldering. My first hardmod was a basic solder bridge on an OG xbox in order to tsop flash the bios. the solder blob was ugly given my skill and tools back in high school, but now I can fairly easily do things like a new 3ds xl capture card mod.
Soldering opens up so many cool things you can do, even if you don't do them often it's a real nice skill to have.
@@IdiotRace You don't need a Hako. I have a slightly more expensive iron from this brand (mainly because it has a hot air gun). It's a decent brand. I would recommend avoiding the unleaded solder they include and buying yourself some leaded solder and some good quality flux. Flux is a big thing a lot of new people ignore or go cheap on, but its very important for making good solder joints easier to get done.
Shop around though, and read reviews. You can easily get a decent soldering station for $40 or less
Soldering is pretty easy, but prepare to break the first thing you try to solder. Takes a couple tries but then it’s like riding a bike.
@@chadwolf3840 Yeah and do not use your heat gun next to anything that melts, especially plastic connectors/ ribbon clips. If something doesn’t want to come off you gotta ask yourself why. As long as you don’t force anything off you should be relatively okay, I say relatively because sometimes things go sideways and you realize you don’t know your own strength lol.
You know we're living in the best time line when you can build your own modchip for cheap, with open source software created by the community 💜
And the creator can still make money out of selling custom parts that make installation easier for the less solder-savy modding enthusiast and other custom hardware like that M.2 reader! This is what open source is all about, everyone wins, including the software itself which will be improved upon by many different brains thinking together.
Gamecube modchip with a Pico, someone else making an N64 flash cart with a Pico, a third dude did a proof of concept on a gameboy flashcart... also with a Pico.
This thing is a GAMECHANGER
@@S31Syntax the pico can also be used to flash the nand of an xbox 360 without having to buy an expensive nand flasher making it much cheaper to mod
Jammmmmie, we have talked about this....
Illegally mind you... illegally.
The removal of boot animation breaks my heart in thousand pieces - really, I love it ♥ as much as I love the PS1 boot animation - it is a must
It breaks my heart when people write this without realizing there is "boot through IPL" option in Swiss.
I wonder if the boot animation can be integrated into the pico
In addition to the "boot through IPL" option in Swiss, if you turn on the Gamecube without an SD card, it'll boot normally!
@@valshaped custom boot animations. Or press and hold R to bypass the chip for playing original games
@@Sonic2585?
I love how easy it is to open up and work on Nintendo consoles. Their engineers made these things so neat and tidy.
The wii is fairly obnoxious, and the 3ds line is absolutely one of the worst I've had to work on mainly due to the ribbon cables running through the hinge. But for most everything else, fully agree
@@GamersCharisma yeah the wii is so compact and has the most screws of any console I've taken apart
@@GamersCharisma OmG that ribbon cable this hit so hard
This is awesome. It seems like a fairly easy solder job, I might give this one a try. I was thinking that I could substitute thermal paste for thermal pads, but when you mentioned the varying thickness I realized that was a no go.
Yeah it’s a bummer that thermal paste can’t be used. I bought a bunch of thermal pads in bulk that you can cut to size so thankfully I had that
Just got my pico for another project, trying to solder header pins, I cannot for the life of me do it like how the do it in this video. Solder won't stick to anything but the soldering iron, got any tips?
@@reignandbongao9497 You need to buy some flux. Its applied before soldering as seen in the video.
@@SypherKon I have some flux (Rosin) and placed some before trying to solder the pin and header. I press the Iron up to the hole & pin, wait a few seconds and press the lead upon the pin, the solder just bend and not wanting to melt.
@@reignandbongao9497 ensure your iron tip is coated with some solder. Solder should melt easily on the tip outside of your work area. If it doesn’t, turn up the heat. Never hold the iron too long on your intended target or you can potentially damage electronics. Good luck.
Beautiful work on the wire management; I'm often inspired by how careful and clean your hardware work is. Thanks for all you do!
Hey do you know what wires he is useing ? Really need them haha
I'm literally buying, programming, and installing one of these immediately.
Ordering right now. Absolutely psyched for an M.2 mod in the future.
Just bought my pico's (3 for 20), 64gb sd, and the SD2SP2 adapter just now DX. This will revive my gamecube
SAME! I have been waiting for a mod like this for YEARS. I cannot describe how excited I am right now!!!
@@hakimdurand8427 im about to buy the whole thing also but im thinking 128gb sd card, do you think a 128gb sd card would be better then a 64gb (ie would the 128 be compatible with this mod essentially)
@@goldenkow5161 I swore that was a bot. I seen that message years ago lol. Now I am seeing it again.
Is there a m2 mod now?
Including details like the thickness of the thermal pads is why I enjoy your videos so much!
Your hardware work is simply a joy to watch! Usually I quite like the aesthetic of a cyberpunk-esque messy hack job but having everything neat and clean and going the extra mile wherever possibly useful sure does the console more justice.
Just a few minutes ago, I managed to finish this wonderful mod. To be honest, I took me 3 times to get it right... the most difficult part is to solder are the two wires on the chip (which is also, tiny and hard to maneuver. I didn't give up and went again though all steps... and as they say, third time is the charm... it boot up properly and got into Swiss. Your video help me a lot! Also was good soldering practice. This is not for everyone... but worth the effort. Thank you!
Hey pal waiting for everything to come by post but I still don't know what wire to buy could you tell me what you used, first time doing this much appreciated
@@goofygoober263 Hello, I didn't have proper wiring cables to be honest, as you mentioned, the ones used on the tutorial are not specified... so I have stripped some ethernet cables which are pretty thin already. But to be honest, buy proper ones, at least same or a little bit thinner, like 1mm.
@@Roanfire thanks much appreciated brudda
I just did my install and the GC comes up blank. If I remove it, everything boots like normal. The RPi how's a green light, but nothing nothing happens. I think I'm using wire that is way too thick and that's messing me up. Going to try the 26GA wire linked above.
Where do I download the games to put in the "Games" folder that this guy has? I would like to download as many as possible.
Love it! Just did this mod and gotta say its actually really and youre tutorial video is perfect. Word to the wise, make sure you solder to the correct 3V3. Mine didnt work at first and I went over everything with the schematic and realized I soldered to 3V3 EN on mistake.
Great video but I feel you should include the thermal pads, wire, shrink wrap, double-sided tape, and kapton tape to your parts list. I understand you almost always have them on-hand but us budding modders usually don't.
I'm tempted to try this but I've already gone through the trouble of buying a Swiss memory card .
Also the bit screwdriver….
Man, your channel is amazing, I'm binge-watching your videos and I'm really enjoying it, high quality!
Thank you so much 🙏. I really hope you enjoy the channel! 😁
Such an awesome mod. I installed PicoBoot on my Gamecube a few weeks ago without a hitch. It is a bit tricky to solder directly to pins on a surface mount IC if you're not used to it, and I was glad I had thermal pads on hand, but this was a breeze, and it works exactly as advertised.
Great video. A easy solution to keep thermal pads on there is allow the heat sink to heat up without the cooling fan in place. 30 seconds later a easy pull off.
hi I'm new to modding, would you just turn the console on with the fan removed?
@@guardsmenhool9765 ya turn the console on and allow that heat shrink to get a little warm and it'll come out easily. Make sure your console is off when you go to remove the thermal bar. Just to be safe you don't short it anywhere on accident
Great video! I randomly found this since I'm into retro gaming and mods and I love your in depth information and especially the pros and cons section. Def got a new subscriber!
Thank you 🙏
Amazing concept. It makes me wonder how feasible it would be to use the Pico as a modchip for other systems.
I was thinking the same thing, like for ps2
I’d like to know that too 😁
It sort of is one for a 360 (well, technically it's needed to read/write the NAND and the console itself is the modchip).
One modchip to rule them all.
Technically this method should work on any system including ps5 and Xbox series S/X. I've always been curious why the pie hasn't been used as an open source mod chip, glad to know I wasn't the only one.
This is absolutely incredible, being able to take a $7 board and turn it into a modchip is insane to me!
This was the first ever modchip I installed into a game console, and wow was I amazed.
Great work dude! I had no idea about the quickboot options or about that internal SSD that's in the works, That internal SSD is going to be a gamechanger for sure!
Thanks dude! Yeah the m.2 adaptor is going to be killer 👍
Would it be possible to swiss itself to a button if someone wants to make it able to load to IPL by default except when button is held. 🤔
@@Demokirby that should work. Give it a try
WOW! This is like reliving my childhood. I installed the picoboot this past Saturday and could not test it until the SD adapter came in. It came in today and it booted to Swiss and I am very happy. Thanks @Macho Nacho for the tutorial!
Man, I've been waiting for a mod like this for YEARS. I can finally have my smash bros save back onto my memory card!
Dude! I love how you put EVERY detail in the description... Like every question I came up with had the answer there INCLUDING the gauge of wire for soldering. Thanks for being so pro man! Respect!
This is incredible! I've been waiting for a GC loader to be available for months now. Looks like I can pick up a Pico and use the money saved to up my soldering equipment to pull this one off!
It's hard to keep up with day to day life and all the innovations that keep on coming - viewed the video the day you released it, and order the materials right away. Without this video, I would for sure have missed this! Today, I followed your guide step by step, and boy am I happy camper. This mod is great. Thanks a bunch, and keep em' coming! :)
The biggest bonus for me here, is being able to keep my the disc drive over the GCLoader. Definitely going to be replacing.
The GC loader will still be better than an sd2sp2 solution, but they’re very close these days.
This was actually my first soldering mod that I've done and even though I messed up the first install and the second install was pretty ugly, I still got it to work and I'm loving it. I definitely would recommend it and as long as you maintain patience its a pretty easy mod.
Would i need the gba caddy under the game cube for thus to work?
@hamsteerio Do you mean the GBA Player? If so then that's not really required.
Thank you for your reply. Do you need a gba adapter to play gba games from the sd? And what thickness thermal pads does the gc use?
@hamsteerio To play gba games at a good framerate you need the GBA player but only the attachment and the game. As for the thermal pads I have no clue since I've never damaged any of my thermal pads.
Those things are $50-180 on ebay 💀💀💀
As far as starting up swiss on a gamecube this is easily the more elegant approach over the Action Replay + Gecko route. However - the big con is that you would currently still be limited to running backups off the SD2SP2 adaptor which has bandwith issues with quite a few games. It's not as bad as trying to run PS2 games off USB but full screen video can get stuttery and games can have weird issues. GC Loader is way better in that regard and even cuts down on load times in a lot of games. I hope using the M.2 in Serial Port 1 of the Cube won't run into the same bandwith issues as SD2SP2. Having GC-Loader-like compatibility AND getting to keep the original DVD drive would be extremely cool. Excited to see where this is headed! :)
This
I wonder why S1 would be faster, is that where the broadband adaptor connects? So perhaps that connection has more bandwidth? The adaptors and sd card surely wouldn't be the bottleneck, it would have to be the serial connection itself right?
@@Wilbure My guess, too. Across all consoles from that generation the interface is the limiting factor. You don't see significant improvements after a certain point (hdd vs. ssd e.g.). Modded my OG Xbox with an SSD because I wanted it quieter - only to realise that the fan is the actual culprit. :D Could have gone HDD and it wouldn't have mattered (except cut costs) - I knew going in that speed wouldn't be a factor (and it wasn't). Even the GC Loader doesn't fully take advantage of SD Card speeds (although it does improve things), mostly you are limited by the CPU speed and game engines. There also is a flip side to increased read speeds: sometimes you can overload an engine with too much readily available data (Metroid Prime or Metal Gear Solid Twin Snakes need the "emulate read speed" option turned on or you get FPS drops).
With the PS2 there's that hacked MagicGate (it must be original Sony with MagicGate or 3rd party with MagicGate) memory card and a simple SD card to PS2 memory card adapter. Load up an SD with game ISOs, plug in the hacked card and the SD adapter, you're done. Remove them both and the PS2 is 100% back to original. This mod is built on Free McBoot but unlike regular Free McBoot it must be used on a card with genuine MagicGate capability. The memory card bus is at least as fast as what the disc drive is connected to, so playing games off an SD card through that works without slowdowns, unlike playing through the USB 1.1 ports.
@@greggv8 Currently the only tangible drawbacks of the SD memory card adapter is game compatibility and IIRC you can't put save files on that memory card, you can only put them on the free space from the FreeMCBoot card.
I got the idea to do a picoboot myself from watching your video and I also used your video in particular to help me do this mod on my dol-101. My first time ever attempting a mod on a console and it worked perfectly.
Thank you!!
This is rather interesting and I may try it in the future. If I did this I would need to do a little trimming to the case and extend the micro for access. Excellent build Tito.
Thanks nubatman! You may be able to get an extension to the rear vent and. It not need to trim anything
I'm so glad this is an easy mod to get, as I was on vacation last week and I want one badly and don't have to worry about the mod getting sold out while I was gone. Great video Tito - I ordered one of these today and am looking forward to installing it!
Mod installed successfully. Thanks Tito! Now I don't have to rely on my Wind Waker disc/hacked save to boot into Swiss...
This truly is massive for GameCube owners. This definitely makes me feel a little better about my family giving away the GBA boot disc by accident. Only a little better though, I have missed being able to play my GBA games for a long time and I couldn’t mod my GameCube without it.
For anyone who searches this comments section for why their mod isn't working: Make sure your wires aren't too long. Especially if you're using 30ga.
I soldered everything up with fairly long wires because I intended to get it working first before trimming length and picking a forever home for the pico. I spent hours trying to understand what I did wrong and why the GCN wouldn't boot at all, just fan. Turns out that this mod is sensitive to wire length.
Besides that bit of stress, it's still an amazing mod! Thank you to WebHDX for it!
I can second this! Use very small gauge wire if you can, and keep your cable length short! The resistance of the wire can impede the signal. It's actually better to mount the pico next to the fan and only slightly bend the shielding for the cables to pass through.
@@starlandmedia8902 Yeah, I ultimately wound up fan mounting mine as well.
Also, another potential problem if anyone is having them is that on the DOL-001 the BIOS chip is underneath the heatsink, so you might want to throw some tape over it to keep the connections from shorting.
@@retrodecade6699 I can see that, I think that ultimately goes back to use the thinnest cables possible -- should help add clearance for that possible short and prevent poor heat sink placement as well. It'll be dope, when someone releases a kit with a custom small gauge ribbon cable
I used 28 gauge and mine isnt working... sucky.
i third this.
i was totally confused why the screen kept black.
then i scrolled through this comment section and found your comment, fixed the length, now it works like a charm! Thanks so much!
I'm still quite happy to have my GCLoader for games with full motion video (which gecko solutions struggle with), but this is absolutely fantastic!! I'll be performing this mod on my "disc ripping" backup cube, which currently has a Xeno and a burned swiss disc. Excited to see what features this could evolve into unlocking. I'll miss the BIOS song though!!! If there's any way to retain it while adding all the new features... 🙏
yeah- would've liked to see tito run something like Fire Emblem to check if the full motion videos load right.
Yeah, I love the bios animation too. Would have been amazing if it could be retained
@@Nickfil the sd2sp2 adapter that he used runs fire emblem's fmv's without issue in my GameCube. I see no reason why it wouldn't work just as well with this mod.
@@darksnow222 Not all GameCubes have a port where the SD2SP2 connects - mine is just a blank where it should go. I haven't tested SD2SP2 and fire emblem specifically to confirm or deny, but I can say with confidence that when I tried an SD Gecko to launch tales of Symphonia, it would drop frames like crazy.
Additionally, the GCLoader is much more convenient for those using the GB player, as it doesn't require removing the player in order to access the SD. Yes, I know there are variants that allow you to access the SD from the side, but in my opinion none look even close to as clean as the GCLoader.
Again though - this new pico method is god-tier for its price to performance ratio. I love and will continue to defend my GCLoader cube, but it's not going to be my first recommendation to people anymore - pico+gecko/sd2sp2 all the way, no question. GCLoader for us tryhards out there, and those with consoles with broken disc drives.
@@mistaecco I never went for a GCLoader because I have some extreme fear of missing out. I know it's something that probably only I struggle with, but I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want the convenience of launching games from SD, but I dread the idea of not being able to launch from a disc (even though i literally NEVER do that)
I was able to successfully mod my GC by following this guide. It was the first time I ever soldered anything, so I appreciate all of the helpful tips throughout the video 😊
I did a technique I want to share that doesn’t rip the thermal pads when removing the heat sink so you don’t have to buy new ones. I broke down the console to the motherboard, then put everything back together without the screws (so I can quickly take it back apart), then I plugged in the console and let it run for about 30 minutes. This warmed up the thermal pads pretty well. I turned off the console and took it apart to get the heat sink. When wiggling the heat sink it’s so much looser and easier to work with while warmed up. I took a flathead and slowly prided up the heat sink on one side and it popped off cleanly with all the pads unripped and perfectly together.
Yes, this is the same way I did it, should come of fine with this method.
This is amazing. I love seeing how these projects come together and might make this my first attempt at hardware modding.
Thanks so much for the concise and informative tutorial. I'm waiting for the chips to come, have some suitable wire, and need to get some thermal pads of the correct thicknesses. I've always enjoyed my soft modded Wii but this is what I've actually been waiting for! So cool.
The new GCLoader update has brought me here (‘bricked ‘my console)…. Just bought some Picoboots to do this to my 2 GameCubes with busted cd drives .. thank you for this all and the quality vids!
You can format larger than 32 GB FAT 32 from the command line. About one year ago Dave's Garage said he was the one that put the limit in the windows formatter when FAT 32 support was added to the NT kernel which started in Windows 2000.
Great mod (and video of course)! I will definitely try it!
You could even extend and relocate the micro USB port to be accessed on the outside of the shell for quick updates. That would be pretty amazing to just upgrade or tinker without even having to remove the shell.
USB-C in one of the ventilation holes on the back.
you'd need to extend the boot select button too though I believe.
my thought is to drill a small hole to run the wires into the expansion bay and mount the pico there. It should fit as it is significantly smaller than an m2 drive, and you'd only have to flip your gc over, take off the expansion cover, and you'd have immediate access to the boot select button and micro usb port needed to change firmware, as opposed to having to unscrew and remove the top case.
@@Wilbure oh that’s a great idea too!
@@Wilbure that's what I'll be doing once my materials arrive, thanks for the idea.
The m.2 drive is WAAY too much overkill for me, so I don't mind never having it there... at least not right now.
@@Wilbure You could probably wire a momentary button to the pico as a jumper, but I'm not sure why anybody would want to disfigure their game cube for something that's going to be done periodically to start and eventually never.
Thanks for the video! I watched it when it first came out, and just re-watch it tonight while doing this mod myself. There was a couple points of confusion in the official docs that were made more clear in your video, so I highly appreciate it! I'm thankful to be able to play both my domestic and import games on a single system now. :)
Ive been waiting forever for the GCloader to become available, and with money currently being tight, this is super exciting.
Totally agree! Gcloader is scarce and expensive. This is a great affordable alternative 👍
@@MachoNachoProductions and especially with the m.2 support!!! Cant wait
soy médico y gamer de la vieja escuela, tus vídeos me llenan de conocimiento siempre se sienten muy didácticos que ya he hecho modificaciones a mis consolas siguiendo tu guía, saludos desde Colombia viejo Tito.
I'm now wondering what other consoles this can be done to. I guarantee it's a lot cheaper than the alternatives. I love this mod and it's potential, great video!
Thanks! I think we’ll see the pico be utilized more in the future
@@MachoNachoProductions 100%
it is just a microcontroller like the ones any other mod chips use, but it's one that is widely available and easy to work with. The only reason it's probably not the norm already is that someone is making money selling custom chips.
So awesome that this is open source and can be installed on a raspberry pi. That's a huge pro since you will never have to worry about supply or continued manufacturing.
I got 4 picos in preparation for this, as soon as I finish lunch I'm going into the shop to mod that GC that's been on the shelf for a year
Nice!
Great video! Saving this for later for sure!
It's really great there are developers and engineers out there that really think outside the box with our old tech. Exciting time to be alive. Also a little anxiety inducing, but that's a whole other box! ✌🏼❤️🍻
It definitely wins in terms of cost and future prospects. Personally I would want something that I didn't have to solder, but this looks fairly simple all things considered.
Curious to see how the m.2 drive performs and they definitely need to get that GC boot animation back, that's iconic.
I mean, that’s why the GC Loader (revision 2) is so user friendly. It just plugs directly into the GC. No soldering required.
You guys seriously have one of the coolest intros I've ever seen for a gaming channel. Kudos. ✌🏻🙂
I'd love the ability to make our own boot screens. Just a quick little 5 second video or something we get to see each time we turn the system on.
Also, that M.2 boot drive mod has got me very excited.
I've been thinking about custom boot screens for a while, I'm glad I'm not the only one.
I doubt I ever will use a disc in my retro consoles again but there's something beautiful about still having it available. I love this mod because I can still keep the stock look to my console after installing
Where do u get non disc games from? I did all this and have no games lol
Another top notch video, thanks for keeping the great content coming Tito!
I wonder what other modchips could be replaced with a Pico now that they're more readily available vs older mod chips?
Not only is this video pretty in-depth but its also calming :)
This is phenomenal. What a wonderful time to mod. I wonder if there will be an update for the Pico W.
Also, thank you for showing how to install GBI as well.
Dude I have no idea what your channel is even about, but I'm so glad I got recommended this. This is the greatest news I've heard since my daughters birth.
Excited to see the Pi Pico W implementations
Me too!!
just finished picobooting my spice orange DOL-101 with this guide :) having this model was def more of a challenge with the double sided mobo work, but it was so satisfying to see it boot into Swiss when it was all said and done, thanks again Tito!
I love how the pico can be used from pentesting, to automation, to even modding! I'm probably going to get a pico soon just for the sake of experimenting.
One tip top making sure that you don't ruin your thermal pads when removing the heatsink is to use a hairdryer to warm the heatsink up and soften up the existing thermal pads, comes off like a charm.
Another thing to do is make sure that the gauge and length of wire that you use is correct. In my first install I didn't get any video out because the wires I used were too long, but after trimming them down (to about 5 inches) it booted into swiss just fine.
Got to think quick access upgradability is going to be a must for all mods in the near future.
You could even extend and relocate the micro USB port to the outside of the GC shell so you don’t have to take the shell off at all.
Fantastic video as always mate! Just ordering a Pico right now and will get this built ASAP. Thank you!
Lol I have a dozen Pico boards on my coffee table right now, and oh look a pile of gamecubes across the room...
Nice!
@@MachoNachoProductions Just finished watching, and this was good. Thanks! Time to get to work lol.
Just followed this. Soldered, de soldered, soldered different wire, desoldered, cut wire shorter etc etc. FInally, it works. Im glad you made it look so easy :)
I just finished this mod. A couple points:
1. The thermal pads are not recoverable. Even if they Look like they were. I got mine off and had similar issues as you with the GPU thermal pad. I replaced it and left the others. I screwed the heat sync back down and when i checked it, i saw the memory thermal pads were no longer making contact, even tho they were the original pads. It was hard to see, but i did see a slight gap. Just be safe, and replace ALL the pads, regardless of how they look. I wasted days waiting on new thermal pads to arrive.. twice.
2. It would have been nice to know that gauge wire to use. I used too thick of wire at first and had to re-wire it when i couldn't get the dvd drive back on. Even then, when i used the thinner wire i had, it still didn't sit all the way down. I'd love to know what gauge you used that allowed the Dvd player to sit down slow flush. Wire type and gauge should always be included in your 'parts list' if wiring is involved, given the tight spaces consoles have to work with.
3. For those wanting to keep the original GC boot up, you can rename the Swiss loader dol file to one of the buttons instead (x/y/b). That way, if you just hit the power button like normal, it will boot like normal. But holding down the button while powering on, will boot it into the boot loader. This makes it more of a 'stealth' mod :)
4. The Gameboy Interface zip file that I downloaded has the GBI.DOL file in a different location. In one of the sub folders.. Not a huge deal, but it threw me off for a second.
5. Thanks for showing this off. Im giddy now that this is all done. I even took the opportunity to replace my power LED to an emerald green :)
Most mods require 30 awg wire, I would probably use 28 for gnd/3.3v
May I ask what kind of LED you used? I hadn't even thought of this and I'm looking to get the final parts for my ultimate GameCube mod I'm working on. Still trying to figure out the best wire to use for the install of the Pico too. 😅
Thanks for sharing this mod! I really enjoy your channel.
This an awesome mod. I like it much more than the GCloader, I get to keep my optical drive, and pico is easy to source.
It's incredible, just this week I bought a GameCube and it turns out that this project came out today. I'm so glad I don't have to save up to buy a damn GCLoader!
GC loader is still great. You can buy a knock off one from china. It’ll be called the gcloader mini or something to that effect. I accidentally bought it and have had no issues with it. It comes with the sd2sp2 that is mandatory for it. Super easy install and cheaper than the official units.
@@adrthegreatball4596 SD2SP2 is not mandatory with the real GC Loader though...
Totally! This is much cheaper and does effective the same thing while also keeping the optical drive
Why would you ever 'need' the GCLoader? I use my SD2SP2 to load ROM's, this new Picochip doesn't change that. Just makes it slightly easier to get into Swiss than with the Xeno Chip.
As far as loading ROM's goes, the GCLoader will likely always be the most superior way, as it has the fastest load times due to it going directly into the Optical Drive interface.
@@KingCornWallis Certain games don't perform well with SD2SP2 or SD gecko, such as ones that use full motion video. Tales of Symphonia's anime cutscenes play like a slideshow on them, but GCLoader runs them perfectly. Also the disc load/swaps are instantaneous on GCLoader - I haven't timed the swap time differences recently to compare to gecko, but I doubt it's quite as fast.
There's also something to be said for cleanliness - I'm quite fond of my GCLoader's form factor, as it doesn't require me to remove my GB player to access the SD or sacrifice a memory card slot. In the configuration I use, it's completely undetectable until you open the disc tray, which I'm quite fond of.
That said, these are all premium features. I'd say the GCLoader can now be considered a premium option of sorts, while the picoboot is likely to become the optimal solution for just about anyone looking to boost the functionality of their cube.
Dude you're the trifecta. Some can solder, some can teach, and some can film but you got all 3.
Hey! One thing I want to call out, is the wire length. I had troubles with getting a black screen and not booting when I used cables approx. as long as shown in this video, and looks like the recommended is 4" by the creator. I did 6" long and mounted the Pico vertically by the fan which worked like a charm
Super clean tutorial with great footage! Thanks for sharing this!!
A brilliant solution to a mod-chip alternative! I wonder if the pico can be used in other consoles? If so it will revolutionize the mod-chip scene.
Not to mention the new pico update released yesterday that has Wi-Fi onboard that can potentially open up more functionality.
Awesome tutorial! made this work and its a BLAST. Picoboot just works, it's amazing. My GC doesn't have the port for the SD so I had to use a GC SD Memory Card, and it works perfectly fine. Thanks again!
i know its not a huge deal but my OCD is flaring because of the black GC on the Orange GBA player with the Orange GC right next to it lol. Amazing content by the way!
Haha very true. I need a black gbplayer asap 😅
Oh this is dope!! I was just looking for a GC Loader clone and then you and RockerGaming both dropped videos about the PicoBoot... much easier to find and a lot cheaper too. I've just started my retro collection and have 8 of the 10 systems I want and this makes my GC mod a lot easier. Thank you and your videos are awesome and very informative 👏
The Pico W was just released today as well, I wonder if this is gonna get updated to take advantage of the wireless module for firmware updates.
Installed everything couple days ago and it works like a charm. Never soldered in my live and just with a quick soldering tutorial I got everything done beautifully. I have to say the hardest part was to get the connection on the IC done. Thanks for the video dude!
With the recently released Raspberry Pi Pico W.. perhaps we might see WiFi support added with PicoBoot in the future :)
Edit: I've installed the mod on my previously unmodded DOL-001 and it works really well. I did rename IPL.dol to Y.dol however, as I wanted the console to boot up as normal and only boot into Swiss when I hold Y on boot up, and it worked perfectly :)
Does that mean you still get the logo on boot? If so - consider me sold on this mod! 😁
@@jezziah2 With no IPL.dol on the SD card or with no SD card in your gamecube, the gamecube will behave like an unmodded console and use the original IPL.
However, you are still able to boot up the dol files that are mapped you your gamepad buttons on your sd card, so you can switch between unmodded an modded whenever you want.
In my case I've got swiss on Y (with swiss renamed to Y.dol), I'm also planning on assigning GBi to X (X.dol) once I get hold of a Game Boy Player. I'm looking for a black one without a disc.
I would really like to have the classic game cube logo for swiss thought, as that's how I like it.. perhaps there might be a way to add it in the future.. I really hope so.
@@WaCrex That's exactly what I'm after - thanks for clarifying. I'm also hoping that the boot screen can be incorporated into Swiss, but at this point it's a very minor improvement, given how well everything else works.
Awesome guide on installing an awesome mod, I managed to pull it off on my first attempt with no issues by carefully following your video. I've seen some people saying it's easy to short the IPL chip connections to the heat sink so I added a layer of kapton tape over all the solder points on the board just to be sure
Im so glad that Im lazy and havent yet installed my Xeno chip lol
Just did this mod yesterday, and it worked perfectly. Thanks for this nice vid, helped out a lot.
is there a way to boot into the regular gamecube menu while this is installed?
Perhaps not having an IPL.dol file might allow the GC to default to its stock bios? You can then assign Swiss to buttons B, X or Y…? Just a guess - I’d like to know the answer to this also.
Maybe if you keep the lid open, or use a Gamecube BIOS as the IPL.DOL?
I also heard you could hold A as a game is booting to go to the Gamecube menu
I think one of the icons at the bottom of the Swiss interface will load the GC menu.
I believe you can get to it with in swiss
@@RetroDX This is correct. If you rename IPL.dol to B, X, or Y.dol, it will boot to the stock bios and you can choose to boot to Swiss by holding the appropriate button.
Nice video man, great job showing this to us, thanks a lot!
Thank you 🙏 so glad enjoyed it!
Looks great. Seems like it uses the same connection points as my Pluto IIx HDMI mod, anyone know if installing the Pico along with the Pluto will conflict in any way?
Hopefully webhdx can chime in as I’m not sure
Ahh, hmm. This will be something I need to know as well. Also, anyone know if you can leave the xeno soldered in if you use this?
@@zebular Yes, it is stated in the creator's github and personally confirmed by me. It works without desoldering the Xeno.
@@MachoNachoProductionsI was wrong about the same connection points as Pluto HDMI, works fine alongside PicoBoot.
Thanks for the video! I just successfully completed my picoboot mod following along with you!
I don't need to keep adding things to my GameCube.
I think.
Unless it's worth adding
This is a good one to add. You could even subtract something from it by adding this 😁
I've already got a gcloader but the ability to boot up different DOLs at startup is appealing. I wonder if that could be done there as well.
It's a good alternative to replace a damaged optic block. Thank you for sharing this!
I have always hated the XenoGC and refused to use it on my systems. Hopefully Picoboot will also discourage scalping of the GCLoader
I think it will. I think picoboot may have laid the xeno gc to rest
Why exactly? Curious.
@@seraph4581 Yeah same here. "The XenoGC leaves a lot to be desired".
Like what exactly? This chip does pretty much everything that's expected from a modchip.
@@seraph4581 the gamecube disk drive is pretty much the only failure point the cube has, and it's very common considering the age. Having an ancient mod that relies on the disk to boot homebrew does not make sense. Also you have to adjust the pot to read burnt discs, decreasing the life of the laser further. It's just a pain to deal with, and Picoboot alleviates all those issues, while conserving the disc drive life.
@@ButtholioTheGreat Makes sense. Indeed, I also believe the Gamecube disk drive has to be preserved as much as possible. I have had a Gamecube with a Xeno chip installed die on me while I was playing an original disc, but I'm not sure if it was the cause.
Great content! keep up the good work, you'll hit 1mill subs soon enough!
Ughhhhh. I've been wanting to get a gamecube again for so long...
Time is now. Don't even need physical games with most of the mods on the consoles today. Also dolphin emulator on your phone can play gc games.
Nows a good time to get one 👍
Wow. This is a console I planned on modding next, it was confusing and i was waiting to get a boot disk. Going to scratch that and use this method instead. Mostly wanted it for the GBA player. Love the vids! Keep em coming!
I just did this mod on my childhood Gamecube! The optical drive stopped working years and years ago, and now I'm glad I never threw it out or sold it. It feels like magic to see the old girl playing all my old favorite games again.
Great starter mod for anyone looking to get more comfortable with soldering. It's extremely affordable and only requires 5 wires going to solder points that have ample working room.
You're the man Tito.
I now have 1 more modded system thanks to your help.
Just completed it this morning and works like a dream.
My recommendation is to run the system for 10-15 minutes before disassembly, and the thermal pads will come off in one piece, so you dont have to wait for replacements.
This is badass! I already modded a GCN for my brother with the GCLoader PNP, but if I ever do it again I might go this route! Great video Tito!
I just finished this mod! it booted up first try. I love my modded gamecube now, paired with the gameboy player and an ez flash omega cartridge it is officially my favorite console!
I'm glad I watched this video! I was going to do the GC Loader mod soon but, not anymore. Thanks!
Yassssss love this I can unleash my game cube had this thing sitting around for ages bc I couldn’t afford all the games with how much the games have raised in price already got a ps2 with loads of games on it now the game cube can’t wait to install this mod
as a kid i was a huge 64 fan boy and said that GC not being solid state is a major missed opportunity. it is great seeing the future unfold such interesting things.