GCLoader HW2 & mini sd problem

[Akina6128]

i got that one, first i tested it, only boot.iso, then i loaded games, played a bit. Next play session it wont boot into it, i tried to reformat it and retry, now it wont even work once

[tjanas]

Did you get the capacitor installed?

[Akina6128]

did i miss something, i need that done?

[tjanas]

There was a post in #black-dog-help in Classic Gaming Discord last month regarding compatibility issues with Sandisk cards with the initial batch of GCLoader HW2:

We obtained one of these non-booting consoles and it seems power supplies between some Gamecubes have a slower rise time. This can create an incorrect boot up on the GC Loader. So far this seems exacerbated by recent San Disk SD Cards. 
There are a few different solutions to fix the problem:
The easiest is to try a different SD Card, preferably a non-San Disk card, like Samsung or PNY.
There are a few hardware fixes that will side step the slow rise time issue and guarantee bootup of the GC Loader no matter the SD card type. 
    Install 4.7u  (50v) or higher cap on the RTS pin to ground. This will hold the GC Loader in reset longer until the power supply has time to reach its nominal voltage.
OR
    You can use a lower value resistor on R7 (4.7k) OE value is 10k 0402 size.  This also works, but the cap is a better solution. 

If all you have is san disk cards and want to play NOW.  You can simply power off the gamecube and power it back very quickly and the gamecube should boot. This also side steps the slow rise time.

This is also seems like an isolated issue and not all gamecube/gcloaders are effected.  If you are unable to get your device to boot and do not feel comfortable soldering please reach out via the website form and we will take care of everything.

[Akina6128]

i could swap the sd card, its new, i can return it, but the 32gb san i have never did that

[tjanas]

If you bought yours from Black Dog Tech, you can contact here for support: https://www.black-dog.tech/contact/

[tjanas]

i could swap the sd card, its new, i can return it, but the 32gb san i have never did that

Correct, it’s an issue with larger Sandisk cards until you get the capacitor installed on the GCLoader HW2.

[Akina6128]

would you recommend i have it installed or get another card? i can solder it myself but idk with one to get

[tjanas]

I’d recommend getting it installed to avoid issues in the future, but that’s up to you.

[tjanas]

I would bet that the next batch of GCLoader HW2 will have its board revised to include the capacitor.

[Akina6128]

yeah well itll be good to know if i get another one, i think im try to find a capacitor for it

[bkacjios]

I actually have an issue with my GC loader not booting, but opposite of what everyone else is saying. I have a PNY 256GB card does NOT boot, but a Sandisk 128Gb works fine? Would the resistor fix that too?

[tjanas]

Probably.