Game backups

Game backups

A game backup is a digital copy of a disc you own, dumped to a file you can load from SD, USB, or over the network. Backups let you play without wear on original discs and laser, and they enable patches, region-free loading, and faster access through Swiss.

Making a dump

Swiss can read an original disc in the GameCube's own drive and write it to SD or USB. A clean disc and a healthy laser give the most reliable dumps. The result is a disc image you can store, verify, and reload anytime.

Storage realities

• A full GameCube disc holds about 1.35 GB, so raw ISO images add up quickly.
• Compressed formats like NKit and RVZ shrink images dramatically, often by half or more.
• Large libraries benefit from a roomy SD card or USB drive and a network-boot setup.

Loading them

Point Swiss at the image file and launch. Swiss applies any needed patches for the loading method on the fly, such as forcing progressive scan or enabling SD or USB reads. Multi-disc games keep each disc as its own image, and Swiss can prompt for the swap.