XenoGC

XenoGC

XenoGC modchip
Specification
Generation	Drivechip
Flash Size
XenoGC	N/A

Overview

The XenoGC is a drivechip for the Nintendo Gamecube. It's installed directly on the disc board and injects patch code into the DVD drive at run time to enable debug commands and read DVD+/-R/RW. The original project name of the modchip was Qoob Lite (later discovered from the source code).

Versions

There are two versions available of the XenoGC. Version 1.0 does not provide MultiGame disc support via the XenoShell, but version 2.0 does provide MultiGame support. (Version 2.0 is displayed as version 1.5). Version 1.0 XenoGC has a Green LED to indicate when the drive was successfully patched whereas Version 2.0 has an orange LED (As do the clones/knockoffs).

Features

• direct boot of DVD+-RW media
• compatible with all regions & all versions
• region free loading
• super easy wireless install
• no need to remove mainboard
• PAL/NTSC region force
• installation control LEDs
• switchable read setting adjustment / error retry
• switchable audiofix
• anti-static packaging
• extremely low cost

Settings

General Info

You can adjust a few settings by holding various buttons on controller 1 while booting a game - this means from just before and during the black screen as the boot up menu goes away and the game starts up. The settings will be in effect per boot and not change behaviour permanently.

[L button] Disable audiofix

If you modified your backup images to work with bioses that didn't support streaming audio correctly, you can disable the native fix.

[R button] Disable DREfix

Turns off the native read adjustment/retries. Can be useful if you want to scan a disc for read errors. The chip will not try to prevent any errors and use the default read settings

[X/Y button] Force NTSC/PAL display mode

Will force the selected region's display mode regardless of the actual game region. This will work for some games, for others it won't.

[START button] Version display

On a version 1.0 XenoGC it shows some basic version info (Chip, GC and drive) On a version 2.0 XenoGC it shows the XenoShell which only runs in PAL50 (bug?) and is only useful for running MultiGame discs (not multi-disc games).

Status LEDs

The XenoGC features two status LEDs to indicate correct function. The red LED is active when the drive resets and the chip is doing its job. Once the drive has been patched successfully, the green (or orange on XenoGC2.0 and clones) LED will light up. Check your install if you only get the red LED, or it doesn't light up at all.

Troubleshooting Installation

The XenoGC doesn't offer much in terms of diagnostics however there are a few ways to diagnose how much is working. Ideally you should see a red LED light up on the XenoGC when the console turns on and then a green (v1 revision) or orange (v2 revision) when the drive has been successfully patched. If you're not getting any LED activity from the XenoGC then check the connections and consider removing it and using wires to install it instead.

The following steps should be performed after the XenoGC has been installed and performed in order, if step 1 fails, step 2 will too, and so on:

1. Start the console with an original disc in the drive and the lid closed, don't press anything, if it works, great, the laser isn't dead. Alternatively try tuning the laser and trying this step again.
2. Hold the Start button down in controller 1, start the console with an original disc in the drive and hold start until the game is supposed to load. If the game doesn't load and a menu (v2+) or credits screen (v1) loads up the XenoGC is working properly. Alternatively try to run a disc for another region if you have no controller.
3. Start the console with a copy of the Swiss ISO or something known to work, use Ritek G05 discs (probably near impossible to get now) or something decent with a dark dye, it seems to work better. If the disc boots then everything works, if it doesn't, tune the laser and go through Step 3 again until it does.

Firmware Updates

Two official versions of software exist which were only available pre-installed at time of purchase. Since the release of the source code, a XenoGC Flashing Utility has been discovered which will enable the user to upgrade and/or downgrade the XenoGC software using the appropriate flashing utility version. In order to prepare the XenoGC to allow flashing, a switch must be installed between GND and any of the letters 'X E N O' which can be found on the circuit board.

Source Code

In February 2011 the source code was made publicly available at GC-Forever

DIY XenoGC Clone

Information on making a XenoGC Clone or to understand how to modify an actual XenoGC for flashing can be found HERE

XenoGC
Developers
CPU	Atmel Atmega8L
Modchip Type	Drivechip
Features	Gamecube BIOS
Installation	0 wires (optional 6 wires)