Your Gamecube has been configured with Picoboot, an internal mod chip which attacks the BIOS on boot in order to load a payload from an SD card. This allows you to launch into SWISS, which is the front end you will see when the system boots up. However, everyone wants to see that iconic boot animation when turning the system on, and as such the system has also been configured with Flippyboot, which not only shows the boot animation, but allows further customization, such as changing the color and allowing for a custom “logo” to replace the “Gamecube” logo. These are all configured and stored on the microSD card which came with your system. You can read more about each component by clicking the links above.
As a quick breakdown, Picoboot is what loads the payloads(IPL/.dol files). Flippyboot is configured as “IPL.dol”, which then loads SWISS (boot.dol). The config for flippyboot is located on the root of the SD card as “cubeboot.ini”.
Your SD card is attached to the system via a SD2SP2 or GCgecko, one of which connects to the serial port on the bottom of the system, the other which plugs into a memory card slot. Both perform identically, and such your usage is preference on a DOL-001 (DOL-101 does not have the serial port and requires a GCgecko.)
<aside> <img src="/icons/question-mark_purple.svg" alt="/icons/question-mark_purple.svg" width="40px" /> When you turn the system on, you will see some text flash quickly on the screen. This is the Picoboot exploit displaying its progress, and can be safely ignored. If for some reason your system boots to the “stock” boot menu, ensure your SD card is connected, IPL.dol is still present on the root of the card, or simply reboot the console.
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Swiss is the front end for your Gamecube. When you boot it up, you will see a similar screen.
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Left Joystick or D-Pad | Navigate through the UI |
| A | Select |
| B | Enter/Exit Bottom Menu |