Getting SDLoad to work

[hobblinharry]

First, sorry if this is in the wrong section!

I am trying to get SDLoad to work for my GameCube. I have an Action Replay of the proper version and I have an SD card adapter I bought off of eBay. I am using a 256MB SD card so its not an SDHC card or anything (if that even matters for this).

I'm following the directions off of http://gc-linux.org/wiki/SDload which I think are pretty clear but I don't know if I'm missing something.

I entered the AR codes twice just to make sure I entered them correctly (huuuuge pain in the butt but I don't know of a way to just look at all the codes without reentering them)

I ran SDpatch.exe targeting my SD card. I am running Windows 10 and I found one thing while researching why I couldn't this to work on some forum some people were saying they had issues with SDpatch working on OSes later than Vista. SDpatch seem to run fine for me, but if it is an OS issue, the oldest OS I have access to is 7.

Only other thing I can think of is maybe the SDcard adapter I got doesn't work. It's not an SDGecko or the official Nintendo one, its just some Chinese one I found on eBay a few years ago when I tried this the first time (unsuccessfully as well)

What winds up happening is when I go to start game and open and close the lid, my GameCube stays powered on but the video cuts out. I have double checked the codes remain enabled.

If anyone has first hand experience with SDLoad, I'd appreciate the feedback! In the past I have successfully executed homebrew running the PSOLoad method but thats a bigger pain than entering all those AR codes in my opinion! Plus the way I have my house setup now I'd have to run a mile long ethernet cable to go from my GameCube to my router

[andzlay]

Some of these cheap sd gecko clones are poorly built e.g. too thin. You can try to put some tape or paper under the pcb, to push it a little bit up.

[Hobbs678]

I've actually had similar issues which have caused me to join and post after quite a bit of lurking the boards. I have used the same guide, used a 4GB SD card formatted into 2 partitions of FAT16 by using command prompt, have used a separate PC with Windows XP to execute the SDpatch.exe file with success (unlike Windows 10 which thwarted me at every step), and have triple checked the required AR Codes. I'm running an AR 1.08 disc and using the SD to GCN card seen here http://www.ebay.com/itm/141246674593?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT. My GCN is able to detect it and tell me that it's not a proper Memory Card, so I don't think it's loose as the previous post mentions. My only possible concern is that my SD card should be under 2GB, in that the wrong partition is being loaded. Once I move from the AR software to the SDloader boot, I just get a black screen and nothing. Interestingly enough the TV (a Sony Trinitron) immediately displays the Video Channel once the boot fails, leading me to believe there is something deeper going on, like a failed video delivery. But, this doesn't fly with everything working up to this point. I'm essentially at a total loss.

Ideally I wouldn't have to invest in another AR disc, another SD reader, and start all over just to run Game Boy Interface. Any advice would be appreciated.

[andzlay]

Well there are other ways to run Game Boy interface. If you have any of the games that are pinned in the Softmods section of the board, you could try those.
The SD Gecko clone you ordered is probably fine, but that formatting with 2 partitions sounds a bit weird I don't know if SDload can handle that.

[novenary]

I thought my SD gecko was fine as well until I realized all the reseating I had to do to make it work in Swiss was actually caused by the thin pcb. Even if the IPL detects it, the contact may not be optimal.
You should also avoid using multiple partitions. Few things support them, and SDload is the last one I'd expect to support it.

[theclaw]

AR versions with code entry never supported SD cards in the first place, the capacity shouldn't matter on that end.
I haven't tried SDload to say for sure what it does above 2GB.

[Hobbs678]

Update: Tried formatting to FAT and explicitly FAT16 through command with no partitions and via Disk Management. DM worked for FAT (no explicit FAT16 option). Command just states that it is now FAT16 but also incompatible with the format. Did this in both Windows 10 and Windows XP with no luck upon testing. I even went through DISKPART and couldn't get it to recognize the SD card, in attempt to force the existence of a 500MB FAT16 partition and nothing else on the card, effectively nerfing its size.

I've been slipping a piece of paper in to try and maintain better contact, still no boot.

I'm just going to give up on SDLoad. It's either the SD/Card adapter not being any good, or it's some particularity with the 4GB SDHC not being able to actually become FAT16 (despite the internet repeatedly telling me it's possible). I'll look into the softmods some more, the instructions aren't terribly helpful for those of us who are more visual learners. Off to youtube!

[theclaw]

Try borrowing an actual SD card under 2GB. Formatting the card to FAT16 might not change that it's still physically SDHC hardware.

[emu_kidid]

The SDLoad init code when using it from AR doesn't support the extra initialisation SDHC requires.

[Hobbs678]

Update: Family member gave me a 2GB SD card and it worked! I had to do the formatting and SDPatch through command prompt (the exe itself wouldn't function) in Windows XP. Wouldn't work in Windows 10 at all. Interestingly even formatting to FAT16 in Windows 10 caused a failure in SDloader to boot. So good to know for anyone else that tries this down the road.

But I finally have access to GBI and couldn't be tickled more pink. Sincere thanks for the help and feedback.

[GenPDP7]

It's 2019 (going on 2020) and I have no access to a windows XP machine. In fact all I have is Windows 10. I have purchased the proper SD card and GC adapter, but now what? This rabbit hole is a lot deeper than I thought. (Oh yeah, I have ActionReplay MAX also). I just need to know how I can get SD loader to work without Windows XP.

[Papy.G]

If you don't want to install an advanced formatting tool, maybe you can try formatting it with an old Digital camera?

[GenPDP7]

If you don't want to install an advanced formatting tool, maybe you can try formatting it with an old Digital camera?

Do I not need to run SDPatch.exe for the specific SD card I want to use, in order to get it to work with Action Replay? I have formatted my SD using command prompt into FAT with 32K cluster size, but Action Replay is not recognizing it at all and I just get a "Please Insert Action Replay Hardware into Slot B" error message every time.

[Papy.G]

I'm not much aware of AR stuff, but if there is a patcher for the SD card, and your SD card has just been formatted, It may be wise to patch it, and see what happens.
BTW, I have read somewhere that Windows sometimes forces FAT32 format, even if asked differently from the command prompt, check wether it has been really formatted to FAT16