Mononymous security researcher and software preservationist Rairii has got one step closer to Bill Gates’ famous vision for “Microsoft on every computer” — with a port of Windows NT 3.51 for the Nintendo GameCube.
“[Microsoft Windows] NT 3.51 RTM [Release To Manufacturing] and higher [are supported],” Rairii explains of their work. “NT 3.51 betas (build 944 and below) will need kernel patches to run due to processor detection bugs. NT 3.5 will never be compatible, as it only supports PowerPC 601. (The additional suspend/hibernation features in NT 3.51 PMZ could be made compatible in theory but in practice would require all of the additional drivers for that to be re-implemented.)
The Nintendo GameCube’s IBM PowerPC “Gekko” chip can now join its siblings in running the best game of all: Windows NT. (
: Baz1521, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Microsoft launched WIndows NT, named for the “New Technology” it brought to the table, in 1993 — and its core still lives on today in Windows 11. In addition to versions supporting x86 processors, Microsoft launched builds for a variety of other platforms — including PowerPC, built by the triumvirate of Apple, IBM, and Motorola as a competitor to the Intel monopoly of the time. The PowerPC architecture is perhaps best known for driving Apple hardware until the move to Intel starting in 2006, but also found its way into other devices including games consoles like Nintendo’s GameCube.
Launched in 2001, the GameCube was Nintendo’s first console to natively use optical disks, rather than cartridges, for its games, reducing production costs and increasing the amount of storage available. Inside the boxy casing was an IBM Gekko PowerPC chip running at 486MHz and an ATi Flipper graphics processor running at 162MHz — enough for some well-remembered games, and it seems also for Windows NT.
The operating system can be controlled, after a fashion, with just a standard controller, but a keyboard makes things easier. (: TarkusAB, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Rairii’s work allows selected PowerPC versions of Windows NT boot on the GameCube as though it were a desktop computer — complete with its familiar graphical user interface. There’s support for the GameCube’s keyboard controller accessory and a mapping system that allows the user to control the mouse and selected keyboard keys with the gamepad — plus theoretical support for Nintendo’s mouse accessory for the earlier Nintendo 64, though Rairii says this is “completely untested so may have issues.” There’s even some support for USB devices — though hotplugging is not supported.
Instructions on trying “Entii for WorkCubes” yourself — which will require Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Wii Mini with SD Card hardware modification, or Wii U — are available in the project’s GitHub repository.
