iplboot

A minimal GameCube IPL

Usage

iplboot will attempt to load DOLs from the following devices in order:

1. SD Gecko in Card Slot B
2. SD Gecko in Card Slot A
3. SD2SP2
4. USB Gecko in Card Slot B
5. USB Gecko in Card Slot A

For each device, iplboot checks for the presence of the following files in order:

1. iplboot.ini
2. File matching held button (a.dol, x.dol, etc.)
3. ipl.dol

If no file is found, the next device is attempted. After all devices are attempted, the system will reboot into the onboard IPL (original GameCube intro and menu).

Creating an iplboot.ini configuration file is the recommended route.

⚠️ NOTE: Be careful not to touch any of the analog controls (sticks and triggers) when powering on as this is when they are calibrated.

Something not working? See the troubleshooting section.

Configuration

Create a file named iplboot.ini at the root of your SD card. This file should be formatted using INI syntax, which is basic NAME=some value. The following parameters are supported:

⚠️ All values are case sensitive. ⚠️

Parameter	Description
{SHORTCUT}	Shortcut action.
{SHORTCUT}_ARG	CLI argument passed to shortcut DOL.
DEBUG	Set to 1 to enable debug mode.

Replace {SHORTCUT} with one of the following: A, B, X, Y, Z, START, DEFAULT.

Shortcut action my be one of:

Value	Description
A filepath	Path to a DOL to load. All paths are relative to the device root.
ONBOARD	Reboot into the onboard IPL (original GameCube intro and menu).
USBGECKO	Attempt to load from USB Gecko.

Holding a button during boot will activate the shortcut with the matching name. If no button is held, DEFAULT is used (if unspecified, the DEFAULT action is /ipl.dol).

Specify one {SHORTCUT}_ARG per CLI argument. You may specify as many as you like. Also consider using a CLI file.

For example, this configuration would boot straight into Swiss by default, GBI if you held B, or the original GameCube intro if you held Z:

DEFAULT=swiss.dol
Z=ONBOARD
B=gbi.dol

This configuration would boot into the original GameCube intro by default, Swiss if you held Z, or GBI if you held X or Y:

DEFAULT=ONBOARD
Z=swiss.dol
X=gbi.dol
X_ARG=--zoom=2
Y=gbi.dol
Y_ARG=--zoom=3
Y_ARG=--vfilter=.5:.5:.0:.5:.0:.5

Comments may be included by starting the line with the # character. These lines will be ignored.

See the Special Features section for additional functionality.

Button Files

⚠️ If a config file is found, this behavior does not apply.

The following buttons can be used as shortcuts to load the associated filenames when a configuration file is not present:

Button Held	File Loaded
A	a.dol
B	b.dol
X	x.dol
Y	y.dol
Z	z.dol
Start	start.dol

Holding a button during boot will activate the shortcut. If no button is held, ipl.dol is used.

For example, this configuration would boot straight into Swiss by default, GBI if you held B, or the original GameCube intro if you held D-Pad Left:

• /ipl.dol - Swiss
• /b.dol - GBI

This configuration would boot into the original GameCube intro by default, Swiss if you held Z, or GBI if you held B:

• /z.dol - Swiss
• /b.dol - GBI

Pro-tip: You can prevent files from showing in Swiss by marking them as hidden files on the SD card.

Special Features

CLI files are supported. They will be append after any CLI args defined in the config file.

Holding D-Pad Left or the reset button will skip iplboot functionality and reboot straight into the onboard IPL.

Holding D-Pad Down enables debug mode. You can hold this along with a shortcut button.

iplboot also acts as a server for @emukidid's usb-load, should you want to use it for development purposes.

Installation

Download the designated appropriate file for your device from the latest release.

Prepare your SD card by creating a configuration file and/or copying DOLs onto the SD card according to either the Configuration or Button Files instructions above.

PicoBoot

You can download ready-to-go firmware featuring iplboot directly from the PicoBoot repo. Just follow the installation guide. This is likely what you want.

Otherwise, use iplboot.dol and follow the PicoBoot compiling firmware instructions to flash your Raspberry Pico.

Qoob Pro

Flash iplboot.gcb to your Qoob Pro as a BIOS.

Qoob SX

Qoob SX is not currently supported due to size constraints.

The last version available for the Qoob SX is r5.2. Download qoob_sx_iplboot_upgrade.elf and flash it to your Qoob SX as a BIOS.

ViperGC

Flash iplboot.vgc to your ViperGC as a BIOS.

GameCube Memory Card

Use iplboot_xz.gci and a GameCube memory card manager such as GCMM to copy to your memory card. It will be saved as boot.dol and can be used in conjunction with the various save game exploits.

Troubleshooting

Enable debug mode by holding d-pad in the down direction. This will allow you to read the diagnostic messages as well as enable more verbose output. Look for warning messages about unrecognized configuration parameters, file read failures, etc.

When choosing a shortcut button, beware that some software checks for buttons held at boot to alter certain behaviors. If your software behaves differently when booted through iplboot, ensure the assigned shortcut button is not used in this way. For example, it is not recommended to assign Swiss to the B button as holding B causes Swiss to disable the DVD drive.

Compiling

You should only need to compile if you want to modify to the iplboot source code. Otherwise, you can just download prebuilt binaries from the latest release.

1. Ensure you have the latest version of devkitPro installed.
2. Ensure you have the latest version of libogc2 installed.
3. Ensure your devkitPro environment variables are set: DEVKITPRO and DEVKITPPC
4. Python3 is required.

PicoBoot

1. Run make dol.
2. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/iplboot.dol.

Qoob Pro

Qoob Pro requires BS1 (early hardware initialization code) from the original IPL. This can be obtained from an existing Qoob Pro BIOS or any IPL dump.

To use an existing Qoob Pro BIOS (easiest method):

1. Download iplboot.gcb from the latest release.
2. Rename iplboot.gcb to ipl.rom and place it at the root of this project.

Alternatively, you can dump the IPL ROM from your own GameCube using Swiss:

1. Ensure file management is enabled in Swiss settings: Press B, select the gear icon at bottom right, press R until you reach "Advanced Settings", scroll down to "File Management", press right to enable, save and exit.
2. Switch to the system device: Select the eject icon at bottom left, scroll right to "System", press A.
3. Scroll down to ipl.bin, press Z then X, and copy to your SD card.
4. Copy ipl.bin from your SD card to the root of this project. Rename it to ipl.rom.

You should now have ipl.rom at the project root.

1. Run make qoobpro.
2. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/iplboot.gcb.

Qoob SX

NOTE: Qoob SX is currently nonfunctional as the resulting BIOS is too large.

1. Download Qoob BIOS v1.3c Qoob (1.3c).rar from this archive post and extract qoob_sx_13c_upgrade.elf (MD5: 2292630e7604bc2ae8bfa4d3e4ba5941) to the root of this project.
2. Run make qoobsx.
3. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/qoob_sx_iplboot_upgrade.elf

Viper

1. Run make viper.
2. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/iplboot.vgc.

GameCube Memory Card

1. Run make gci.
2. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/iplboot.gci.

Optional: If you want to reduce the file size by ~50% so it will take up less space on your memory card, you can create a compressed version.

1. Run make gci_compressed.
2. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/iplboot_xz.gci (Notice the _xz suffix).

Compressed DOL

Should you need it, you can create a compressed version of the base DOL.

1. Run make dol_compressed.
2. Follow installation instructions above using the newly created build/iplboot_xz.dol (Notice the _xz suffix).