Question about memory cards and corrupted save data....

[dave4shmups]

So I have a PS2 and a Wii, and I want to buy both a GameCube memory card and a PS1 memory card-is it OK to use buy 3rd party brands-how much of a chance do I have of ending up with bad/corrupted save data? Because at least on Ebay, the prices sellers are charging for Nintendo-brand GameCube memory cards and Sony-brand PS1 memory cards are ridiculous.

[Ex-Cyber]

There's nothing really hard about making a PS1 card, but it seems that some third-party ones flake out anyway because they're just cheap (crappy QA and/or sloppy manufacturing tolerances I guess).

Last I heard, no one had properly cloned Gamecube cards; they were all just detecting the command sequence that unlocks the card rather than actually implementing the commands. AFAIK that's not so much a data corruption issue as a compatibility issue, though. I'm also not sure Nintendo ever actually changed the sequence; ironically it was unlicensed stuff (homebrew, cheat discs, etc.) that tended to have trouble with off-brand cards.

Definitely run away as fast as you can from anything outright admitting to using compression or otherwise claiming to be some multiple of the size of an official card. Your odds of getting a legit, bug-free product aren't good. The only time that this is ever okay is if it's a modest multiplie (like 2 or 4) and there's a physical switch with a position for each bank (so it's essentially multiple memory cards in one package), and that can still be fucked up by a flaky switch.

[dieKatze88]

There's nothing really hard about making a PS1 card, but it seems that some third-party ones flake out anyway because they're just cheap (crappy QA and/or sloppy manufacturing tolerances I guess).

Last I heard, no one had properly cloned Gamecube cards; they were all just detecting the command sequence that unlocks the card rather than actually implementing the commands. AFAIK that's not so much a data corruption issue as a compatibility issue, though. I'm also not sure Nintendo ever actually changed the sequence; ironically it was unlicensed stuff (homebrew, cheat discs, etc.) that tended to have trouble with off-brand cards.

Definitely run away as fast as you can from anything outright admitting to using compression or otherwise claiming to be some multiple of the size of an official card. Your odds of getting a legit, bug-free product aren't good. The only time that this is ever okay is if it's a modest multiplie (like 2 or 4) and there's a physical switch with a position for each bank (so it's essentially multiple memory cards in one package), and that can still be fucked up by a flaky switch.

The only exception to this are some of the newer PS2 64 meg deals, those seem pretty solid.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The 1st-gen and 2nd-gen PSX memory cards from Performance, a brand by InterAct Accessories was manufactured by Recoton Co. based out of Hunt Valley in Maryland, were notorious for losing such valuable PSX game saves. I know since this has happened to me on several occassions. The PSX 32x mega memory card made MadCatz is a solid PSX memory card and I, personally, haven't lost a PSX save since buying one. Btw, it's a cool 32MB PSX memory card with a high-tech LCD display that shows you which slot you've selected (or will be selecting next).

The MadCatz 3rd-party produced Gamecube memory cards work just fine on a GCN console as I haven't lost a GCN game save using one. But if you're concerned, by all means, acquire an official GCN memory card and it'll work on day one of purchasing it.

The official Sega DC 4x memory card is quite versatile, considering that you have four seperate slots to save/store your valuable DC game saves for posterity.

Yeah, those 32mb (4x the capacity of a standard 8mb official PS2 memory card) and 64mb Datel (8x the capacity of a standard 8mb official PS2 memory card) produced "Max Memory" PS2 memory cards are made utilizing a combination of Toshiba and Samsung technology for a quicker transfer rate.

The internal 2mb of Back-Up RAM storage space on a PC Engine Duo/Turbo Duo console is robust enough for some PCE game saves (but if you use an optional 1st-party NEC produced Tennokoe Bank Rom-Ram Hu-Card, it has a whopping 8mb of storage space, more than enough space for your precious PCE game saves indeed). Or use an optional NEC produced "128 Memory Base" external memory adapter and gain access to an even bigger storage medium with 128mb of storage space -- works equally well with the original white colored PCE console all the way up to the last PCE Duo variant console produced without any problems.

TTI never did release the 128 Memory Base unit for the USA Turbo Duo market (their thinking was that the internal 2mb would be more than adequate for all the TG-16 & Super CD-Rom2 based games that used memory saves...but just using one game save on the TTI version of SCD Sim Earth uses a whopping 2mb allocation + the fact that the instruction manual doesn't mention that you'll lose your valuable TG-16/Duo game save if you proceed with such a SCD Sim Earth game save). I learned the hard way and was shocked to learn that all my TG-16/Duo game scores/saves were wiped out doing this SCD Sim Earth game save stunt.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Endymion]

Last I heard, no one had properly cloned Gamecube cards; they were all just detecting the command sequence that unlocks the card rather than actually implementing the commands. AFAIK that's not so much a data corruption issue as a compatibility issue, though. I'm also not sure Nintendo ever actually changed the sequence; ironically it was unlicensed stuff (homebrew, cheat discs, etc.) that tended to have trouble with off-brand cards.

So you're saying that Nintendo licensed memory cards from third parties but never shared the technical information in order for them to make a working memory card? Dubious.

I use 128MB memory cards with my PS2. You can pick these up for +/- 20USD. They work great with two caveats: you need to loosen the screws on the back of the card just a touch, and they will not work properly with homebrew programs that need to load at boot time, at least not consistently. You might get it to work one out of every 20 boots. So what I do is use a standard 8MB card to boot FMCB and other homebrew programs go there, all my saves go on the 128MB card. Works a treat.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The 3rd-party Nyko manufactured 128MB Gamecube memory card works equally well on a GCN console & is considered a solid/reliable storage medium to use (if you don't have access to a 1st-party official Nintendo GCN memory card). Haven't lost any GCN game saves using this brand of memory card either.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Ex-Cyber]

Last I heard, no one had properly cloned Gamecube cards; they were all just detecting the command sequence that unlocks the card rather than actually implementing the commands. AFAIK that's not so much a data corruption issue as a compatibility issue, though. I'm also not sure Nintendo ever actually changed the sequence; ironically it was unlicensed stuff (homebrew, cheat discs, etc.) that tended to have trouble with off-brand cards.

So you're saying that Nintendo licensed memory cards from third parties but never shared the technical information in order for them to make a working memory card? Dubious.

No; I'm talking about unlicensed cards. I don't think I've ever seen a licensed third-party Gamecube card.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Third-party peripheral manufacturer Dragon's Nexus 16MB memory card for the DC comes with a special 6-pin interface that allows one to transfer DC game saves to a PC's HDD for posterity (with the proper d/l'ed program). You'd need to get a 6-pin header to 25-pin based parallel port adapter cable and you're good to go. Sixteen seperate slots for saving DC games saves are possible with this particular monster DC memory card indeed (four times the amount of memory of a single official Sega 4x memory card at your disposal).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~