List of SD card hack, carts, alternative replacements to CD drive.

[Titchgamer]

The GC loader is amazing.
Runs really well and so easy to install.

Howard, OG is best!
I dont own any mini consoles.

The thing I like most about flash carts though is the ability to play indie games on them.
Some really great indie games for old consoles now

[Locke141]

Been thinking of doing the rgbNES mod, but do I really want to spend all that time and money when I have a NES classic with all the games on it?  It's questions like that which haunt me.

I 100% agree on the NES. It’s bam near perfectly emulate and the original hardware is a bit expensive to mod to RGB. You can say the same thing about the N64, it has S-video of a high quality and is a pain to mod to RGB.

[Locke141]

Here is the PS1 I worked on last night. I hooked it up and turned it on this morning. Seemed to work fine but all my games are at my dad’s house. I’m going to buy a CD to confirm the CD drive works. Am hoping to get the SD card setup and games played this week.

I haven’t checked time see of it’s a working game yet, but I think I really want to try Kingdom hearts II. I played 1 in the 90’s and it was good, but I hear II is one of the best games ever made for the system.

[nitrogen_widget]

my kids play GC games on a wii with GC controllers.

My mom gave me my c64 she found in the basement while cleaning.
had no idea it was still around.
PSU is bad, (ripples on screen and no color).

also, it's telling me a rom chip is bad (or it could just be a bad PSU).
so i'm going to order a new after market PSU and see if that fixes me up.
if not, ram chips are cheap but annoying to desolder.

once it works I have to get a 1541 emulator for an sd card.
Or I can use a raspberry pi zero with some components as a 1541 emulator.
but I don't have to worry about that just yet.

[Howard_Casto]

Been thinking of doing the rgbNES mod, but do I really want to spend all that time and money when I have a NES classic with all the games on it?  It's questions like that which haunt me.

I 100% agree on the NES. It’s bam near perfectly emulate and the original hardware is a bit expensive to mod to RGB. You can say the same thing about the N64, it has S-video of a high quality and is a pain to mod to RGB.

You know I did the n64 rgb mod a few years back and it wasn't that bad.  The only issue is there isn't a whole lot to hold those wires on mechanically so some kind of tape or glue is needed to keep them from working loose.  I like mods like that because I don't have to cut up the case.  If it were a destructive mod I would have probably skipped it.  That's the thing that worries me about the NES.  I'm thinking it might be possible to run the wires out the expansion slot in the bottom and then run a pigtail out the back, but I've never seen it done that way so I don't know.  I guess these modders for hire don't even flinch about cutting stuff up. 

[opt2not]

I agree there are a bunch of good games on the Wii.  My problem with it is mainly A. the menu is annoying to deal with. I'm not a fan of the "channel" style they have, and I feel the transitions are so slow between screens because they wanna animate that style.  B.  having being forced to hook up the sensor bar, use the wiimotes to navigate the menu is also annoying. C.  Every time someone mentions playing gamecube games, there always that guy who says "why not use a Wii to play Gamecube games".  It's 2020...you think we don't know you can play Gamecube games on a Wii?  If I wanted to do that I would.  No, I want to play on the original system, and there are still features of the GC that aren't present in the Wii.  Like the ability to play my GBA carts.

These 3 reasons have tainted the Wii for me. YMMV

[Howard_Casto]

Personally I absolutely love the channel system and wish more companies would have followed it.  Just use the maximum amount of space to show all my games that I can directly click on.  If you look at Microsoft's tile system on the xb1 it's actually very similar and that's probably why it's my favorite interface of the generation.  As for the sensor bar stuff yeah it's annoying but you don't need the sensor bar to navigate the menus.... a classic controller works just fine and I think they eventually released a custom firmware that allows the gamecube controller to be used. 

[Locke141]

I've hacked one wii and loved it. Going to do at least two more, from friends how know I love doing system hacking. My plan for one is to put two TB HD for GB/wii games.

The other one will probably only get fitness, dance, and sports games. This will be as a station in some of my PE units. I was just at a thrift store that had at least two wii fit platforms, wishing I bought them. I already use Step Mania in my dance unit and have used WII sports at a batting station back in my baseball unit for students on the autism spectrum. Just to put things in perspective, I'm now back in as an Adaptive Phys Ed teacher, working with students with disability's in small groups.

[opt2not]

Holy cow there are a lot of screws in the Gamecube.

[pbj]

Why aren’t you streaming this?

[Howard_Casto]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that looks worse than the Wii.  Let us know how it goes. 

[Titchgamer]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- that looks worse than the Wii.  Let us know how it goes.

They are easy to take apart, But there is like 20+ screws to strip it down to get the Drive out lol

[KenToad]

Personally I absolutely love the channel system and wish more companies would have followed it.  Just use the maximum amount of space to show all my games that I can directly click on.  If you look at Microsoft's tile system on the xb1 it's actually very similar and that's probably why it's my favorite interface of the generation.  As for the sensor bar stuff yeah it's annoying but you don't need the sensor bar to navigate the menus.... a classic controller works just fine and I think they eventually released a custom firmware that allows the gamecube controller to be used.

Agreed, I liked the Wii system menu better than other interfaces of that generation, at least once I got past the confusion of why starting the disc was called a "channel." I can't argue with the simplicity of the GameCube, but that's another era and it's trying to do almost nothing beyond play disc games. Does the GC Loader add a menu? I guess I'll look it up eventually. I can't see going to the trouble of removing a disc drive unless it was faulty, but it's cool to see how you guys are upgrading your systems.

[Locke141]

Soldering worked out. Booted to setup no problem but got a 8000004 error after the power of power on. Will try to get the software pare under control. So happy to be this fair along.

[chopperthedog]

I've enjoyed the psio over the last year.. Guess I don't play the games that have issues. I've had some games that don't boot in the K1V4 mode that should cover most, but you can try the other 3 modes and once you find the mode that works for that game, just drop in a file named that mode in the game folder and you'll be good from there.

Bravo to the xstation, install looks a bit invasive. But to each there own and nice to have options.

In the gamecube realm swiss has had some great updates in recent months for the sd2sp2. All the games that I'd have to have disk handy for all play from SD now.


good day.

[opt2not]

Why aren’t you streaming this?

It's a really easy install. Literally took me 15 mins to put in. Not worth a stream IMO. The hardest part is unscrewing all those damn screws. It's just over 20 screws to open the shell, remove the fan, remove the optical drive, and shield.
But once that's done, it pretty much just attach the GC Loader to the metal shield, then reassemble. I haven't ordered the 3D printed cover yet, but I'll do that once I can free up some more hobby funds.

Does the GC Loader add a menu?

You use Swiss for the menu, and it's fantastic.  You can force 480p (if you have the hardware for the video output), turn on Anisotropic filtering, adjust screen sizes, and a ton more.
Also, the GC loader has significantly lowered load times for a lot of games. Heavy load games like the Resident Evils or Soul Calibur 2 now load in a fraction of their original speeds.
It's crazy.

I really love this ODE. Simple install, simple software set-up: just copy the swiss file to root, then all the iso you want. No hoops to jump through.

The only downside, which is minor because they are going to update the firmware to fix, is the GC Loader doesn't have write-capability, so it doesn't save your settings to the sd card in the GC Loader. BUT, you can get around this right now by using a sd2sp2 or other sd card reader like Gecko or SD Launcher to save your settings to a secondary sd card.  The GC Loader guys are working on this fix now, and when the firmware is updated, there will be no need for that secondary card.
Other than that, this thing is fantastic! for $90 too, it's great a value.

[opt2not]

Here’s F-Zero GX being run at 480p RGB (not component), upscaled to 1080p, forced windscreen, with anisotropic filtering on. All running on the original system. Looks amazing and load times are non-existent.

My iphone pictures don't do it justice. I'll probably stream this in a couple weeks and show you guys the output, sans potato camera.

[Locke141]

I added GC loader to the list. If anything is missing from the list or changes I should make please let me know.

70’s
Atari 2600
   •   Harmony SD cart
   •   UNO cart


Intellivision
   •   LTO

80’s
Atari 5200
    •      5200 SD

ColecoVision
   •   https://www.atarimax.com/colecosd/documentation/

NES/Famicon
   •      Ever Drive   
   •      PowerPak          

90’s (early)

Neo Geo both the AES & MVS
   •    Terraonion makes a few SD carts and are listed on there page

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
   •    Another Ever drive
   •    Terraonion Mega SD (also Sega CD)

Sega CD
   •    Terraonion Mega SD (also Genesis/Mega Drive)

SNES
   •    Another Ever drive. Three ever drives actually see chart

TurboGrafx-16/PC engine
   •    Another Ever drive
   •   Super SD System 3 *Also adds CD expansion SD replacement, arcade card, and RGB out.

TurboGrafx-16/PC engine CD expansion
        •   SUPER SD SYSTEM 3. *Sports card games, CD, games, Arcade card sport, and added RGB out.

90’s (mid to late)
3DO
   •   http://3do-renovation.ru/How_to_buy.htm

Dream cast
   •   https://gdemu.wordpress.com
   •   http://3do-renovation.ru/How_to_buy.htm

N64
   •    Another Ever drive

PSX
   •   http://ps-io.com

Sega Saturn
   •   https://gdemu.wordpress.com
   •   Alternative in development

2000’s
Game Cube (Pleas note that the Wii is also a better native game cube. You should look at the Wii options below)
   •    SD-Media-Launcher
   •   MEGADRIVE

PS2 (Please note this mod doesn't allow you to natively play PS1 games. PS1 games can only be played natively on a PS2 via disk) 
   •   Per hacked SD cards suports up to 2TB HD
   •   SATA hard drive mount]
   •   HDD replacement mod



Wii
   •   GC loader (This one seems to be a better options)
   •   WiiBrew soft mod configurable-usb-loader



Xbox (Original)
   •    Soft mod
   •   CoinOPS (Your going to have to find your own links. All the ones I found seem to also point to Roms)

Hand Helds

Game boy
   •   Another Ever drive   

Game Gear
   •   Another Ever drive

Game boy advanse
   •   Another Ever drive   
   •   EZ-Flash

3DS
   •   3DS games

NeoGeo color
   •   NeoGeo color

PSP
   •   homebrew

Links to out side lists on the same topic

   •   Retro collect's list

   •   Atariage's list

 

[KenToad]

Mega Everdrive Pro can play Genesis, Master System, and Sega CD

[nitrogen_widget]

so, you can play psone games off the hard drive on a modded ps2 now?
I have 2 ps2's.
a slim with a working cd-rom I use for light gun games I thought for ps2 and psone but after realizing the guncon guns I bought won't work for a lot of psone games and I needed to buy some hybrid guns...i lost steam on the psone stuff and just got a psone mini to load up.
it looks like crap on an hdtv btw.

the fat ps2 with the dead optical drive is a future project.
I have the network adapter with the sata.

[Titchgamer]

so, you can play psone games off the hard drive on a modded ps2 now?
I have 2 ps2's.
a slim with a working cd-rom I use for light gun games I thought for ps2 and psone but after realizing the guncon guns I bought won't work for a lot of psone games and I needed to buy some hybrid guns...i lost steam on the psone stuff and just got a psone mini to load up.
it looks like crap on an hdtv btw.

the fat ps2 with the dead optical drive is a future project.
I have the network adapter with the sata.

You have been able to play PS1 from PS2 HDD for a while but its a bit hit n miss not 100% compatible or reliable.

Hence why I still have the PS1 to lol

[Locke141]

I think the PS2 can’t run PS1 games off the hard drive natively and has to emulate at least part of the system, I don’t know why. As the PS2 can run PS1 CD natively.

If you have a Fat PS2 the upgrade is the simplest you can do. And once’s you setup a HD, you literally can just clone it, plug in a modded SD (that are cheep online), a PS2 HD adapter, and your good to go. I had 4 Fat PS2’s that were bought cheep or given to me, that I just cloned a HD for, plunged in, and added an SD card and gave way to friends and family as gifts. So so simple.

[Locke141]

Mega Everdrive Pro can play Genesis, Master System, and Sega CD

Wow, Thanks added.

[Titchgamer]

I think the PS2 can’t run PS1 games off the hard drive natively and has to emulate at least part of the system, I don’t know why. As the PS2 can run PS1 CD natively.

If you have a Fat PS2 the upgrade is the simplest you can do. And once’s you setup a HD, you literally can just clone it, plug in a modded SD (that are cheep online), a PS2 HD adapter, and your good to go. I had 4 Fat PS2’s that were bought cheep or given to me, that I just cloned a HD for, plunged in, and added an SD card and gave way to friends and family as gifts. So so simple.

Correct, That is why its a bit iffy if it works or not.

But yeah phat ps2 modin is probably the easiest mod out there to do and costs bugger all.

[nitrogen_widget]

I think the PS2 can’t run PS1 games off the hard drive natively and has to emulate at least part of the system, I don’t know why. As the PS2 can run PS1 CD natively.

If you have a Fat PS2 the upgrade is the simplest you can do. And once’s you setup a HD, you literally can just clone it, plug in a modded SD (that are cheep online), a PS2 HD adapter, and your good to go. I had 4 Fat PS2’s that were bought cheep or given to me, that I just cloned a HD for, plunged in, and added an SD card and gave way to friends and family as gifts. So so simple.

got it.
I must of missed the part with the sdcard when I was looking to see if I could do that.

[Howard_Casto]

PS2 soft mod with the sd card adapter is the way to go.  I've had zero problems. 

[Locke141]

So I think I'll hold off on some Siri driver placement for a while. There seems to be lots of people release an interest in stuff right now. It may be better to hold off for improvements.

https://stoneagegamer.com/terraonion-mode-dreamcast-saturn-ode.html?afmc=retrorgb



it ant cheep.

[bigster]

I mean, like what you like, but I splashed out on the Fenrir because Saturn is still an emulation train wreck.  I’m still chewing on buying an N64 and one of those multicarts.  Had a Z64 back in the day.   

There's really no point in a multicart for the N64.  I got a everdrive clone for it for like 40 bucks.... plays every title.  It's even fancy enough to support thumbnails and stuff.  I didn't mean I preferred emulation... I've got a everdrive (or equivalent) for everything but my NES and 2600 at this point, I just meant putting things in perspective none of what we are doing is at all practical.  Somehow you guys sucked me down this rabbit hole and I'm playing most games on original hardware now.  I'm not complaining, but it's good practice to take a step back every once in a while. 

Been thinking of doing the rgbNES mod, but do I really want to spend all that time and money when I have a NES classic with all the games on it?  It's questions like that which haunt me.

Which clone n64 ed did you get for $40?  I checked the usual places but maybe I am not doing the right search.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Howard_Casto]

ed64 plus  It's the goofy looking black one. 

[KenToad]

My 1001 model playstation started having laser issues, so I went ahead and ordered an Xstation after confirming that the mainboard revision was compatible.

The install seemed to go smoothly, but the Xstation doesn't boot from power on into the menu. It gives me the insert Playstation CD message. However, the Xstation boots up and works perfectly from reset. I posted a thread on the support forum for the device, but this is almost better for me, as it means that my kids or their friends are less likely to accidentally boot into a menu full of inappropriate games. Also, apparently, I have the somewhat rare version of the 1001 that grounds out PAL video signals, although I doubt that it's related to my issues with the Xstation not power cycling directly into the menu.

As for the Xstation itself, I am amazed. I have had zero issues with it after testing over a dozen games and several hacked games. It's almost eerie playing PSX games on the old gray box without the sounds of the laser assembly spinning up and down. It's completely silent with no moving parts. The occassional loading delays and laser read errors are completely gone.

It's also super easy to add and remove disc images and upgrade the firmware. For $100 this thing seems totally worth it, assuming you can find one of the supported Playstation models.

[thomas_surles]

Been seeing these guys pop up on the old auction site. Micro sd mod
Sd2sp2

[pbj]

The PC Engine / TG16 Everdrive clones are down to <$30 shipped, so I’ve ordered one.

I also own a pile of PC Engines sitting in a warehouse in Tokyo but I am in the middle of an international dispute over shipping fees, so who the hell knows.  It’ll sit nicely in my drawer I guess.

Don’t buy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- in Japan.

 

[KenToad]

The PC Engine / TG16 Everdrive clones are down to <$30 shipped, so I’ve ordered one.

I also own a pile of PC Engines sitting in a warehouse in Tokyo but I am in the middle of an international dispute over shipping fees, so who the hell knows.  It’ll sit nicely in my drawer I guess.

Don’t buy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- in Japan.

 

Great to hear that the flash carts are getting cheaper. I still haven't bought a PC Engine, but I've heard that buying from Japan isn't usually an issue. So I wonder what's going on with your shipment?

The thing that usually deters me from picking up a used PC engine from Japan is concern about the quality of the included controller and of course the system itself, the hassle of making a claim, etc.

[Howard_Casto]

It's a frikkin huge shipment  and/or  they screwed him.  That has yet to be determined.  I'm in the same boat as him.   The plan was to buy some of the consoles off of pbj and he could sell the rest, thus he'd essentially get his stuff for free.   At this point I believe the goal is to not go too far in the hole.   

[thomas_surles]

It's a frikkin huge shipment  and/or  they screwed him.  That has yet to be determined.  I'm in the same boat as him.   The plan was to buy some of the consoles off of pbj and he could sell the rest, thus he'd essentially get his stuff for free.   At this point I believe the goal is to not go too far in the hole.   

I have cash if that ever gets worked out. I want one.

[Locke141]

I got a TurboGrafx 16 used in the 90s when they were dirty cheep. I also bought one of those SD card cartridges for it.

About the Game Cube mod?

I found this on the hack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=tZLe3JFF5RQ
I wonder if it's worth doing this hack in MOD or just get in the city driver play some MOD.

[pbj]

It's a frikkin huge shipment  and/or  they screwed him.  That has yet to be determined.  I'm in the same boat as him.   The plan was to buy some of the consoles off of pbj and he could sell the rest, thus he'd essentially get his stuff for free.   At this point I believe the goal is to not go too far in the hole.   

I have cash if that ever gets worked out. I want one.

Got $700?  We can work this out.

 

[gamepimp]

Got $700?  We can work this out.

 

Wow! Is that what they want for shipping? If so, you must've bought a pallet's worth of stuff. LOL! 

[thomas_surles]

It's a frikkin huge shipment  and/or  they screwed him.  That has yet to be determined.  I'm in the same boat as him.   The plan was to buy some of the consoles off of pbj and he could sell the rest, thus he'd essentially get his stuff for free.   At this point I believe the goal is to not go too far in the hole.   

I have cash if that ever gets worked out. I want one.

Got $700?  We can work this out.

 

Not for 1 lol. We'll figure it out

[pbj]

No further comment on the Japan situation.  It’s over, get a system elsewhere.

First, some rambling thoughts on the exotic new system I own.

I bought a different PC Engine Duo and I’ve been dinking around with CDRs this week.  It’ll read anything but there’s a bunch of bad rips out there.  Some so bad the laser will get stuck in the outermost position.  I think just about everything mechanical has been taken out and cleaned at some point because it was jamming.  Tonight it was the magnetic ring in the cd tray lid.

Getting a power supply is a total pain in the ass, but it works fine with a 15V Toshiba laptop supply that will run you ~$10 shipped.  3283U seems to be the cheapest one.  If 15V makes you nervous, it also works fine with a 9V 2A wall wart plugged into a 5.5mm to 6.3mm adapter.  The voltage regulator inside the system is rated to 24V, 15V was fine for the week I used it.  A 9V 1A supply will boot but not get a CD at full speed.

So, with the Everdrive plugged in, there is no way to get it to boot to a CD.  I tried every button combination while turning the system on.  The truly lazy could run CD bios off the Everdrive, and then load a CD.  That method works fine.

After market AV cables meant for a SEGA Genesis 1 or master system will shave an inch off the width of the console.  You’ll have to use a headphone to RCA cable to get stereo sound.  Your volume pot on the headphone jack is probably bad, but the system goes full volume if that pot is bad/missing.

The Hyperkin repro controller feels great and very similar to a real controller.  The 10 foot cord corrects a grave offense on the originals with their four foot cords.  Unfortunately you have to use a dongle to convert it from TG16 to PCE.  Original controllers are incredibly expensive.

And dongles are sadly the name of the game with this system.  Dongles everywhere.  The system is unbelievably wide with the AV cable plugged in.

No spring on the CD tray door.  Games don’t care if you open the tray in the middle of them.  That’s occasionally gotten a locked up game playing again.  Red book audio seems to just stop after about 20 minutes if the track doesn’t change.  Then it’ll start right back up with no problems when you go to the next level.

I’m still waiting on yet another dongle - a multi tap for 2 player games.

According to forums much like this one, any and every problem is solved with a cap kit.  My caps look fine so I’m not touching them for now.  There’s 56, btw.



Okay, the Everdrive.  Very no frills.  Hit select to play the last game you loaded.  Otherwise navigate to the rom and hit run.  Loads everything but SF2 instantly.  Shame they didn’t let you remap I and II to roundhouse and fierce, so you have to toggle between punch and kick constantly.  It’s a good port but so were SNES and Genesis.

I have to admit, circa 2005 emulation of this system isn’t great.  The games play much better on original hardware.  I was genuinely surprised by this.  Maybe more modern emulators are better.

Cartridge came with an SD card loaded with games.