Difference in the GCN NR lazer

Sorry I don't know a whole lot about gamecube development hardware (my speciality is handhelds not consoles). I am getting a Nr soon and I am very currious about it.

So my question is, what is different between the Nr lazer and a comercial units lazer? If a boot loader disc were coded (or freeloader burned to an Nr), could it be posible to get a Nr unit to run comercial GOD games? Just wondering since it would be nice to get more use out of a Nr unit other then just what I have on burns.

:drinkers: * All drink guiness and All will be right in the world *

 

Likely the laser is the same between the two.

 

A laser is a laser. It won't be that which stops you from booting normal games, it will likely be software.

An NR reader is for developing. If you are a developer, you will get a lot out of it. If you are a collector, then you will probably want it to stay all nice, but play what NR discs you have. If you are a gamer, then just buy a GameCube and play the retail versions of the game

In short, an NR reader is for playing betas and devving.

 

retro,

I question it because from what little I know. Nr disc are very specific to only the Nr reader being able to read them (and even the drive to burn them wont reconise them after being burned to). So I am kind of currious to ask if its in the lazer or just boot section of a disc.

I want it for two reasons, 1) to collect, 2) to toy around with. I actualy do work for a dev studio and have access to all the gcn hardware sitting around (sadly). So it will definantly be toyed with.

I'm going to set up my Nr unit at my desk. I personaly dont own a comercial unit because there is little worth owning (i use to live with someone who had one so I already played a majority of the must play titles) & I dont have space to set two gcn units. So if posible it would be nice to play a few gcn games not on Nr disc (would prefer to keep legal and not just burn games to a Nr).

So hense my pondering.

 

It is most likely hardware, i.e. a different BIOS.

 

In which case, it isn't the laser which is different, but the player - as in the hardware. That would be major programming and major soldering to sort out, it wouldn't be worth the hassle!

GameCubes are cheap, buy one If you want an NR reader too, get one... but be satisfied with what it does

 

I'll bet the difference is but in the controller's firmware (i.e. for the barcode)

 

As I understand it, the only difference is in the bootloader (GC doesn't really have a bios, it's just code that's cleared out of the memory once the game's ready to be run). Replace the normal bootloader with the NR one and a normal gamecube would run NR discs.

 

I thought it was a different BIOS in the laser unit? I heard you could swap the laser units over and make a retail cube into an NR unit and vice-versa.

 

The only difference between the two units physically is the controller board attached to the laser unit. You can swap just that board into a retail GC and it will become an NR reader, playing NR discs only.

 

Says the man with more NR Readers than most dev houses.

Seriously tho, give it a go if you want proof. The GCN is *VERY* modular inside and very easy to open up. Cracking the case on a retail and an NR Reader and then swapping the two internal parts is quite easy. I doubt it'll take you more than 15 minutes.

-hl718

 

According to an ex nintendo-ite, He says the drives (not lazer) are different & a boot rom. If the whole drive section is swaped out it will become a comercial unit. The boards and everything else is the same.

I also asked about a bootloader disc and he is unsure but thinks it could be posible to work.

interesting stuff.

 

So in other words IT'S EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT, controller?

 

I have tried it. I bought an NR Reader that wound up having a faulty drive and did some experimentation with it and a retail GC while I fixed it. The only thing which was required to turn a retail GC into an NR Reader was swapping the controller board on the laser assembly. There are 2 chips which are labeled differently on this board in the NR Reader. I'll see if I can get off my lazy ass and take some pics shortly to show the differences.

And if anyone cares, the faulty NR drive was fixed simply by tossing in a retail laser assembly, keeping the NR controller board.

 

Peekb,

I look forward to seeing the pictures. Should be quite interesting.

 

...This is correct, it's only the firmware for the laser that differs, the IPL is the same as a regular GC, it has to be for debugging purposes.

If you study a blank NR disc you will see what the NR laser firmware is looking for on bootup ;-)


...Oh, and I don't know where Assembler got the DVD8 quote from but it doesn't tally up with anything.

DVD5 = roughly 5gb
DVD9 = roughly 9gb

...GC = 1.4gb

...If DVD8 did exist it would equate to roughly 8gb !

Hope this helps.

 

"If you study a blank NR disc you will see what the NR laser firmware is looking for on bootup "

Anyone got a good scan of an NR disc?