Viper GC

ViperGC/Qoob/etc
User avatar
RazorX2014
Posts: 173
Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2014 6:50 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by RazorX2014 » Fri Mar 03, 2017 6:22 pm

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)
Last edited by RazorX2014 on Sat Nov 26, 2022 7:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
GizmoTheGreen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by GizmoTheGreen » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:18 pm

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.
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:35 am

It's probably possible as long as you have the flashing cable, using cobra manager.
GizmoTheGreen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by GizmoTheGreen » Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:43 pm

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...?
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:46 pm

>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.
GizmoTheGreen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by GizmoTheGreen » Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:44 pm

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.
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:56 pm

You can probably try replacing the flash chip if you're up for the task. I would at least check the solder joints first.
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:11 pm

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!
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Fri Sep 14, 2018 9:38 pm

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.
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Sat Sep 15, 2018 12:18 am

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?
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Sat Sep 15, 2018 1:14 am

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.
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Sat Sep 15, 2018 2:55 am

Thanks very much!
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:53 am

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?
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Sat Sep 22, 2018 10:37 am

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).
GizmoTheGreen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by GizmoTheGreen » Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:53 am

Virtualbox worked great for me and was much simpler than disabling driver signing
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:42 pm

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...
GizmoTheGreen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by GizmoTheGreen » Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:11 pm

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.
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Sun Sep 23, 2018 6:47 pm

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?
sofakng
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 8:08 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by sofakng » Mon Sep 24, 2018 2:43 am

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 :(
blobe
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:19 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by blobe » 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!
GizmoTheGreen
Posts: 55
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 12:40 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by GizmoTheGreen » Wed Sep 26, 2018 8:05 pm

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.
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » Wed Sep 26, 2018 8:09 pm

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.
blobe
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:19 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by blobe » Thu Sep 27, 2018 10:06 am

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?
novenary
Posts: 1754
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:50 am

Re: Viper GC

Post by novenary » 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.

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.
blobe
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:19 pm

Re: Viper GC

Post by blobe » Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:34 pm

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
Post Reply