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Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 6:22 pm
by RazorX2014
kublai wrote:Does anyone know if a Cobra v2.1 ISO exists? I lost my USB adapter for my Viper GC so I have to upgrade via the DVD. I was able to upgrade my BIOS to v1.6 via the DVD but I'm unable to upgrade to v2.1 since it's only a .vgc file. I tried making a ISO9660 but the disc explorer keeps saying unknown file system. I tried adding the .vgc file to the v1.6 ISO but it made the file size to like 200k instead of the original size of 1.4GB when I saved the ISO. Any help is appreciated.
hi i dont have the iso but when messing with my viper extreme i found the best way was to use a games iso to add the files on for updating the viper and adding themes so i made this iso for you with the updates in so let me know if it works for you.
i maybe wrong but i believe the disc explorer only supports gamecube format discs.

the download is 10mb but when unpacked its the correct 1.35gb then put it in your gamecube and use the disc explorerr then go into the Viper-GC folder and inside you will find:
cobra21.vgc
cobra21_drive20010608.vgc
cobra21_drive20020402.vgc
cobra21_drive20020823.vgc

if you need anymore help let me know, i should point out although i used a gamecube game iso as a base i removed pretty much all the game so it wont boot or anything but you should be able to use it with disc explorer to achieve what you wanted.


Download:
Here (New Link - 2022)

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:18 pm
by GizmoTheGreen
Anyone know if there is a way to DOWNLOAD a filke from the viper extreme flash? :(

some boots it "blank", on ohters the files already there are there including a very old theme I would like to keep!
before I try to format the flash and see if it persists every boot.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:35 am
by novenary
It's probably possible as long as you have the flashing cable, using cobra manager.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:43 pm
by GizmoTheGreen
Streetwalker wrote:
Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:35 am
It's probably possible as long as you have the flashing cable, using cobra manager.
yeah I have a Viper Extreme, and the usb adapter.
cobra manager only lets me add file, delete file or format

well, after a lot of looking around I did find the file of the theme online so for now it's not an issue... but probably possible to make your own app with the SDK?
anyway for now I have my theme and Swiss on there.

but it's still weird on some boots it acts like the flash is empty, showing standard theme and no files in flash.
on other boots it's back O.o and I can't write files with cobra manager when it acts like that, is it acting like regular viper gc? or maybe my chip is slowly failing...?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:46 pm
by novenary
>but probably possible to make your own app with the SDK?
Yes, but I don't have a Viper so I can't really help you with that.
I'm not sure why it fails randomly either.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:44 pm
by GizmoTheGreen
Yup seems like my flash is failing.

Reflashing the firmware with USB hardware flasher (using ribbon cable in programming mode) seems to have fixed sometimes booting with black and white image but I can no longer upload files with cobramanager it just errors out with Viper stopped responding :/.

Tried formatting and stuff to no avail.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:56 pm
by novenary
You can probably try replacing the flash chip if you're up for the task. I would at least check the solder joints first.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:11 pm
by sofakng
I’ve just purchased a GameCube with a Viper GC Extreme already installed but I have a few questions:

1) What firmware/version should I use?
2) Are there any instructions for automatically booting into Swiss? (I know there is a special DOL in the Swiss package but not sure how to install/flash it?)

Is there anything else I should do or know? I think I just want to automatically boot into Swiss so I can play my backups or perhaps launch a GameBoy Player game, etc.

Thanks so much for any help!

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 9:38 pm
by novenary
https://github.com/Streetwalrus/iplboot is all you need. It replaces the Cobra BIOS entirely, and will load any DOL from your SD card, you can put Swiss or GBI on there.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 12:18 am
by sofakng
Thanks very much! I thought there was a "firmware" and a "BIOS" and they were different.

It sounds like there is only a BIOS image which I could use Cobra or the IPLBOOT (which just launches ipl.dol from the sd card).

Do I understand everything correctly?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 1:14 am
by novenary
Correct, there's no firmware, only the BIOS (though it's not really one). iplboot is a complete replacement for Cobra and Swiss has all the features you would expect from it, so you won't be missing out on anything.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 2:55 am
by sofakng
Thanks very much!

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:53 am
by sofakng
I'm having a problem getting the programmer to work. I've tried multiple drivers from the first post but I'm still having problems.

I'm running Windows 10 (x64) and have disabled driver signing. I was able to install a driver for "Viper USB Adapter" and it shows the device is working. However, I have a second device called "USB Serial Port" that doesn't have a driver installed and I can't find anything that works with it.

Can anybody help me?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 10:37 am
by novenary
Does the latter device disappear when you unplug the Viper flasher? Does the flashing utility work regardless of that driver missing? I can't really help you more than that since I don't have one, but that should put you on track. If you still can't get it working, I'd recommend using an old XP machine (even a virtual machine could help).

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:53 am
by GizmoTheGreen
Virtualbox worked great for me and was much simpler than disabling driver signing

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:42 pm
by sofakng
Thanks for the replies.

@Streetwalker, yes the USB Serial Port device does disappear if I unplug it.

@GizmoTheGreen/@StreetWalker, I've installed Windows XP 32-bit on VMware Fusion and it still doesn't work. However, the drivers did install without any problems and I didn't have the extra driver but it still didn't work. It detects the USB programmer but then it says it can't communicate with the Viper GC Extreme chip.

Has anybody recently flashed a Viper Extreme chip? If so, can you tell me the exact files and OS version you used? (ie. WinXP 32-bit, ViperFlasherUSB10.zip driver and flasher)

Also, the Viper GC Extreme is powered on (as it says in the instructions) and has a blue led so I know it's getting power and of course the cable is connected between the Viper and programmer...

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:11 pm
by GizmoTheGreen
Yeah I flashed mine afew weeks ago. If you're using the programming cable and not the GameCubes expansion port make sure you use the right program and the dip switches are in correct position on the USB adapter.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 6:47 pm
by sofakng
Thanks for the reply. Which OS did you use and which drivers?

Also, does it matter if the programmer is plugged into the expansion port or not? I thought all that was required was dip switch 2 being on?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:43 am
by sofakng
Alright, I'm about to give up. I purchased this Viper GC Extreme already installed in a Gamecube (on eBay) and the owner said he used backups before and it worked.

I can't get it to play backups and it doesn't start to the Cobra menu either. I've tried to hold X and/or Y during boot to force the Cobra menu but that doesn't work. I've also tried reprogramming the chip using Win10 x64 and WinXP but nothing at all is working. I've also re-installed the chip multiple times on different Gamecube motherboards.

I think either the chip is bad or maybe the programmer and I can't flash the initial BIOS.

Does anybody have a Viper GC Extreme programmer they can use to try to flash my chip and/or test it in their gamecube? I'm all out of ideas :(

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:24 pm
by blobe
Hey,

I just found out about IPLBoot and because SDLoad doesn't work for me with none of my SD cards, I'm thinking of flashing it to my Viper (not Extreme).

One question: When I have flashed IPLBoot is it then possible to flash the Cobra BIOS again without the USB programmer? I don't own one so I have to flash via DVD.

Thanks in advance and kind regards!

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 8:05 pm
by GizmoTheGreen
blobe wrote:
Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:24 pm
Hey,

I just found out about IPLBoot and because SDLoad doesn't work for me with none of my SD cards, I'm thinking of flashing it to my Viper (not Extreme).

One question: When I have flashed IPLBoot is it then possible to flash the Cobra BIOS again without the USB programmer? I don't own one so I have to flash via DVD.

Thanks in advance and kind regards!
afaik there is no other way to flash the Viper other than the programmer.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 8:09 pm
by novenary
blobe wrote:
Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:24 pm
One question: When I have flashed IPLBoot is it then possible to flash the Cobra BIOS again without the USB programmer? I don't own one so I have to flash via DVD.
In the current state of things: no. The iplboot image doesn't have the proper bits enabled to allow flashing a Viper from GC software. Enabling those bits and supporting flashing would require some extra code that I can't test at all because I don't have a Viper.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 10:06 am
by blobe
Streetwalker wrote:
Wed Sep 26, 2018 8:09 pm
In the current state of things: no. The iplboot image doesn't have the proper bits enabled to allow flashing a Viper from GC software. Enabling those bits and supporting flashing would require some extra code that I can't test at all because I don't have a Viper.
Thanks for the fast reply! Then I will first try to get my hands on another SD Card to try with SDLoad.

EDIT: Damn, I forgot that I also own a Gamecube with a Qoob SX (also without programmer). Is it maybe possible over there?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:01 pm
by novenary
The Qoob SX only supports flashing via software, and you should be able to update it just fine even after the initial flash.

Btw, keep in mind that you can flash iplboot from DVD (or network?) to a Viper with Cobra on it. But if you don't have the programmer, you'll be stuck on that version forever.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:34 pm
by blobe
Streetwalker wrote:
Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:01 pm
The Qoob SX only supports flashing via software, and you should be able to update it just fine even after the initial flash.
Thanks again! I just found out that the Qoob SX has a second BIOS, so it should be possible to reflash the original Qoob BIOS after flashing IPLBoot