gc-forever - Gamecube/Wii Forums

https://8bitmods.com/accessories/memcard-pro/

The PS1 MemCard Pro has been indispensable for me since I got it early this year.

Looking forward to having this for the GameCube instead of risking my saves with shoddy Chinese clone memory cards or the virtual memory cards in SD2SP2.

I've never ever lost any GC memcard, not even chinese clones, while in the past two years, I lost three SD cards, 1GB, 4GB, and 64GB, risky saves, really?

Besides this, it is quite useful and more practical than saving raw cards from time to time, I have to admit.

Papy.G wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 06, 2022 5:58 pm

...I lost three SD cards, 1GB, 4GB, and 64GB, risky saves, really?...

In my entire life, I've only damaged one card from not cleaning it while switching back and forth between PC and GameCube in the process of creating codes. I tried to save time and paid a high price for it.

The two most common ways to kill an SD card are dirt and voltage.

If you always clean the card without using chemicals before connecting, it only remains to check what you use to connect the cards. USB adapters usually do not guarantee protection against excess voltage generated by the PC. Causing future problems.

Among many other examples...

Thanks for that link as i keep missing stuff like this! Super excited!

I've had two 16MB clone cards and unfortunately the saves get corrupted after 5-6 writes. To be fair, I experience the same thing with PS1 clone cards too.

I also lost a Baten Kaitos save in the virtual memory card in my SD2SP2.

retro wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 29, 2022 12:56 am

I've had two 16MB clone cards and unfortunately the saves get corrupted after 5-6 writes. To be fair, I experience the same thing with PS1 clone cards too.

I also lost a Baten Kaitos save in the virtual memory card in my SD2SP2.

I had no idea these clones could cause so much trouble. I've been using the same clone since 2008 and I've never had any problems. I only lost my saves because of the bug in Resident Evil 4 and playing the japanese versions that format the memory card.

I also have the issue of needing to turn off the GameCube before plugging in the clone. I think Papy.G reported this somewhere. But I don't really see it as a problem.

The GameCube already has a sensitive laser... I think I would have given up if I had problems with saves at that time.

Andross89 wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 29, 2022 9:24 am

I had no idea these clones could cause so much trouble. I've been using the same clone since 2008 and I've never had any problems. I only lost my saves because of the bug in Resident Evil 4 and playing the japanese versions that format the memory card.

Maybe things were different when you got your clone card in 2008.. whereas I got mine in 2020, which was when I got my GameCube.

It is certainly believable that quality of such clone cards have dropped. That is certainly true for PS1 and PS2 memory cards. I relied on clone cards in my childhood (that still work today), but modern clone cards are utterly useless and I wouldn't depend on them to maintain JRPG saves.

retro wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:28 am

Maybe things were different when you got your clone card in 2008.. whereas I got mine in 2020, which was when I got my GameCube.

It is certainly believable that quality of such clone cards have dropped. That is certainly true for PS1 and PS2 memory cards. I relied on clone cards in my childhood (that still work today), but modern clone cards are utterly useless and I wouldn't depend on them to maintain JRPG saves.

I agree. But I think bad luck should also be included.

I remember when the PS2 was released, there were a lot of clones. And this type of problem was common.

I can't remember anything I bought from China that lasted less than the product I used before. Bad manufacturing, of course.

And we're talking about a relatively simple component, in this case. I wonder the probability of finding a good VMU clone for DreamCast. If they still make them...

Andross89 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 07, 2022 9:32 am

If you always clean the card without using chemicals before connecting, it only remains to check what you use to connect the cards.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try to keep that in mind from now on.

Never had any OEM Nintendo cards and no problem so far except with Collector or master quest save, but I think it's more tinkering with homebrews related.

I don't use my "semi-defective" card as my main memcard, just in case it goes wrong any day.

I'm not sure quality of such cards is dropping, while getting them straight from Alix or so is a bet for less strict to no quality control, in whici case luck is a parameter.
While I have two GB multicarts from back in the days, and have seen recent ones that doesn't stand up to the same quality standards, and by faaar.

Andross89 wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 30, 2022 9:32 am

I wonder the probability of finding a good VMU clone for DreamCast. If they still make them...

I don't think so. The only Dreamcast components I see on AliExpress these days are clone GDEMU and DCHDMI.

AFAIK all clone VMUs of the past only replicate the memory card functionality and did not include the LCD screen or the game controls.

looks promising as it has been added to the Swiss code...