Introduction

Hi! You're probably here because you have an interest in learning the basics of backing up your own private collection of GameCube games. I won't show you how to do it here, but will give a little insight into the process for if you want to go further, or you can always contact me for a bit more info if anything is unclear. If you find this guide useful, please also give it a positive review! This will help other people find it more easily. You can also send me feedback to improve the guide itself.

Owing to the fact that the Cube is aimed at a younger audience than say the Xbox or Playstation consoles, and the fact the discs fit in smaller hands, our discs are obviously going to take a lot more abuse than normal. Under ordinary circumstances, if your disc is damaged you either write it off and get a new one, or jump through hoops getting a new one from the manufacturer.

Methods

Contrary to popular belief, there are ways of preventing this by backing up your games. There are two main methods for doing this. Those options are:

1. Requires purchasing some official GameCube equipent, but does not involve modification of your cube at all (great if you don't want to void your warranty or don't have the tools), or
   
2. Requires installation of a top end modchip (Viper Extreme, great if you want to simplify the process dramatically). 

You will also need a PC to connect to, by ethernet cable for the Broadband Adapter, or by USB for the modchip. Unless you happen to have a Broadband Adapter and a copy of the game Phantasy Star Online (requirements for option 1), both methods are going to cost you money. There are also other methods that involve the use of an Action Replay or Max Drive Pro. I am somewhat unfamiliar with these methods, but they still require a Broadband Adapter, but may also require purchasing of a special new memory card.

Quick Costing

As a quick summary of costs, you are looking at around:

• Broadband Adapter: AUD$55 + postage
• Phantasy Star Online: AUD$32 + postage
• Viper Extreme Modchip: AUD$80 + postage + installation if required

Note that all these are sourced from overseas. If sufficient interest exists, I may be able to make a bulk purchase and pass on a 5-10% discount, but you may be waiting 1-2 months for numbers. As can be seen, you're up for a pretty similar amount with either method, but from experience, having a modchip saves your sanity a lot. What I have done is actually installed a cheap modchip along with the Broadband Adapter/Phantasy Star option. Such a cheap modchip might be around $30 including postage, but is worth it for the extra features and ease of loading your backups.

PSO/BBA Method

As an overview of the Phantasy Star method, you basically make your computer pretend to be a game server, let your GameCube connect, and then you can make a backup from the Cube. You can also use a similar process to send a game from the computer to the Cube, but you will likely have problems with video and the connection needs to be maintained at all times while playing. Once you have a copy on your PC, it is a simple task of burning it (just using Nero for example, no other tools are required once you have it). To most easily burn it, you will need to connect to the PC with your Cube again, and this time load a different program onto the Cube, named GCoS. You then just open the drive on the Cube, stick the disc in and away you go. You can also sever the network connection at that point. The alternative to this is to install a cheap modchip, that way you don't need to connect to the PC when you want to boot a game, which is the majority of the time.

Viper GC Extreme Modchip Method

The modchip route is a little less involved. I have not got one of these chips (I only have a cheap one to assist in booting) but installation should be very straight forward. I installed mine personally in under an hour, from receiving it in the mail, opening the Cube, soldering and putting the Cube back together. Without ever having opened one before too, so it isn't difficult, but there are a lot of screws, seems to be a Nintendo thing, the N64 had a lot too. With the Viper Extreme you get a USB connection, allowing you to dump an image at high speed to your PC (I've heard 6 minutes this way, compared with closer to 60 via the Broadband Adapter method, but may be wrong). It is then a process of burning again, then simply putting it back in the Cube and away you go.

Media Consideration

This gets me to the final point. The GameCube is very picky about which discs it will and won't read! I've personally tried at least half a dozen locally available mini DVD-R discs, and none of them worked. This is a similar sentiment to those around the world. The only universally accepted discs that work are Ritek Ridata mini DVD-R discs. I usually have some for sale, check my current listings. I can't stress enough how important it is to have the correct discs.

Final Comments

Hopefully this guide has given you a quick overview of your options and not scared you off of the idea. Once you have it all worked out, it is a fairly straightforward process to create and run backups, so just try and read as much as you can floating around on the net, or ask and I'll provide some additional links.

If you found this guide helpful at all, please rate it, and view my listings, I might just have what you are looking for!