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Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 2:00 pm
by novenary
You don't need to use the second bios. I think you can just run the updater from Swiss or even as ipl.dol.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 3:27 pm
by blobe
Whaaaaaat? Nice! I'll try that within the next days!

I will edit this post with the result, just in case there are other people with the same problem/question.

EDIT: Flash via DVD was successful!

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:55 pm
by sofakng
I'm still having problems with my Viper Extreme. I still can't determine if the chip/programmer is bad or something else is wrong.

Does the programmer need to be plugged into the serial port to program the chip? Obviously the FFC cable needs to be connected between the chip and programmer but does the programmer need to be inserted into the Gamecube serial port?

So far I've tried:

1) Re-soldered the chip to the Gamecube motherboard (and removed the heatsink to make sure the solder connection was good).
2) Purchased new FFC cables.
3) Created VMs for Win XP, Win7 x86, and Win7 x64.
4) Tried different combinations of dip switch settings.
5) Tried the Cobra Manager and the flash loader.

The loader says it detects the USB adapter but can't communicate with the Viper chip. (yes, the Gamecube is turned on)

The Viper Extreme has a solid blue LED if that means anything.

I don't want to give up but I'm not sure what else to try! :(

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 7:14 pm
by novenary
I'm pretty sure you do need to plug it into the serial port yes. No idea what the FFC is for. It won't hurt to try either way.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 7:38 pm
by sofakng
Thanks. I think most of my attempts had the programmer outside of the GameCube.

The FFC (flexible flat cable) connects the programmer/serial board to the actual Viper Extreme so I’m almost positive it’s required.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 7:43 pm
by novenary
Yeah no doubt it's required, but I think you need to have both.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:14 am
by GizmoTheGreen
Streetwalker wrote:
Thu Sep 27, 2018 7:43 pm
Yeah no doubt it's required, but I think you need to have both.
the FFC cable if for hardware programmer. (dip switch setting, change from viper comm/programmer, you must set dip switch back to use viper normally after programming)

Serial port on gamecube is only needed for the tools, like taking screenshots and usb streaming iso. you can also program the viper in "software" using Cobra Manager, but this requires VIPER 2.1 installed and BOOTED to work (no need to use programmer mode dip setting)

hope this clears it up?

TL;DR DIP switch in programming and FFC = program viper standalone/hardware mode
DIP switch not in programming/NO FFC required but Requires Viper OS BOOTED = can program via Cobra Manager

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:25 am
by sofakng
Thanks Gizmo. I'm completely out of ideas and thinking either my programmer or Viper Extreme chip is permanently dead.

I've tried my Win 10 x64 machine (driver signature disabled) and many VMs (WinXP, Win7 x86, Win7 x64, etc). Every single OS installs the driver successfully but then the flash says communication error and to enable dip switch 2 and turn on the Gamecube (both which I've done).

I've also replaced the FFC cable incase it was damaged.

The Gamecube doesn't boot to any Cobra BIOS and holding X and/or Y doesn't force the Cobra menu.

Does anybody have any last ideas I can try besides throwing out the chip? :( :(

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 7:23 am
by novenary
Are you trying to do this with the console on or off? Did you check your DIP switch positions?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:22 pm
by sofakng
The console is turned on, dip switch 1 is off and dip switch 2 is on.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:28 pm
by GizmoTheGreen
Is the FFC in correct orientation?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:42 pm
by sofakng
Yeah... the blue tape side is facing away from the board and the other side is making contact with the board. (like this picture: http://ngc.scorpei.com/post2_images/sec ... w(big).jpg)

I've also purchased new FFC cables from Amazon (0.5mm pitch, 14 pin) and they also don't help.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 3:03 am
by sofakng
I've attached two pictures of my install.

If anybody has any last minute ideas please let me know ASAP. Otherwise I'm going to return this Gamecube with the chip to the person I bought it from.

EDIT: These pictures were taken after I removed the heatsink and disconnected the DVD drive cable to get better pictures. When I'm testing everything is connected as normal.

Thanks so much for all of your help everybody.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 10:38 am
by novenary
Looks like DA15 on your mainboard has been ripped off, though that shouldn't affect the chip. The wire harness solder joints don't look too great though so you might wanna try to fix that.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:47 pm
by sofakng
Thanks. I noticed DA15 right after the pictures were taken and I fixed it. I've also tried this chip on two different Gamecube motherboards. Also, that solder job was a little quick and dirty because I've desoldered those points several times.

Here are some more recent pictures of a much cleaner solder job but it didn't help at all.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 7:30 am
by novenary
At this point it's safe to assume that the chip has a problem. Since you said you could return it, you should probably do that and look for another one.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 7:40 pm
by sofakng
So the guy I purchased it from refunded my money and said to just keep the chip. I'm pretty much done trying to get it working, but does anybody have another working chip and programmer that could test and program my chip? I can send prepaid shipping envelopes and also $20 extra for the effort. Let me know if anybody can help

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 3:43 pm
by thor171
Hello everybody!

Found my old Gamecube and noticed, it is now possible to play backups and homebrew stuff from sd card. It's been a while since I used it.
However, trying to flash swiss to the Viper extreme's flash memory fails using Cobra Manager 1.1. Sending a DOL via DOLsendUSB is working fine. So the usb adapter seems to be fine.
Any advices?

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:40 am
by emu_kidid
I'll have to find mine and have a go.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:00 am
by sofakng
I still can't get my Viper GC Extreme programmed after many months...

Would either of you loan me your USB programmer, or let me send you my chip and see if it can be programmed? I'm not sure if my programmer or chip is broken :(

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 2:22 pm
by thor171
Ok, I thought it might be something about an USB incompatibility, because I had such problems before when connecting my old laser printer to an USB3 port. So I tested on different machines and also with USB2 ports. No luck.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 9:39 pm
by thor171
Well, if I cant get the USB programmer working, I have to create a disc, where swiss.dol is stored in the root directory of the disc, because Cobra 2.1 can only browse through this directory. Is that even possible?
I tried to create a bootable disc, well it's able to boot, but my files are not stored in the root directory, so I can't copy the dol file to the flash.

SOLVED:
Just had to burn the DVD with ISO9660. Swiss r563 viper verion is not working, r533 does.
So glad it's now working! No DVDs needed anymore!!! :D

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:05 pm
by cFmisfit
So I recently obtained a Viper GC chip (non extreme)and installed in my Cube. Installation is a breeze. Figuring everything else out has led me here. I finally managed to get my PC to work with the usb adapter after a frustrating evening. When I open the Viper USB app (with switch 2 on and Cube on) I click the big write button I am then able to select which BIOS I want. The box dialogue then prompts that it is erasing the chip. The blue bar fills up as it says writing and that is where she stays. I have left it for up to 45 minutes and still the same thing.
This is where I start to have questions. Is the usb adapter compatible with a non Extreme? These chips when brand new are blank correct? Am I supposed to flash something to it initially or can I go straight for 2.1? Am I overlooking something? Does a standard Viper chip have activation LED's to know that it at least functions or am I working with a dead chip? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:13 pm
by emu_kidid
cFmisfit wrote:
Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:05 pm
So I recently obtained a Viper GC chip (non extreme)and installed in my Cube. Installation is a breeze. Figuring everything else out has led me here. I finally managed to get my PC to work with the usb adapter after a frustrating evening. When I open the Viper USB app (with switch 2 on and Cube on) I click the big write button I am then able to select which BIOS I want. The box dialogue then prompts that it is erasing the chip. The blue bar fills up as it says writing and that is where she stays. I have left it for up to 45 minutes and still the same thing.
This is where I start to have questions. Is the usb adapter compatible with a non Extreme? These chips when brand new are blank correct? Am I supposed to flash something to it initially or can I go straight for 2.1? Am I overlooking something? Does a standard Viper chip have activation LED's to know that it at least functions or am I working with a dead chip? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all.
Non Extreme should work with the USB programmer, I've never tested it but it was meant to be backwards compatible via the flex cable.

Try a PC or OS closer from that era (mid/late 2000's) to work around your USB issues. The chips shipped blank, you can go straight to the latest Cobra 2.1 BIOS. Standard ViperGC doesn't have any LEDs on it but if you can read from it you should be mostly OK.

Re: Viper GC

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:59 pm
by cFmisfit
I tried XP mode on a VM but it just seemed to confuse my PC with driver issues. Im gonna dig out my old PC with serial ports and try it with the serial programer. Im hoping its not a dead chip. I got it with a new XCM top that would be cool to add to my collection. Ill use the shell either way just thought it would be neat to have the chip to go with it. Thank you for your help. I appreciate it emu_kidid.