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GAF Wii Homebrew thread: Homebrew, emulators, USB disc installs! Easy tutorial!

Clipper

Member
fernoca said:
Oh well..me again..
Everything's fine...just noticed one .."minor" thing and is that , yesterday I updated to 4.1..everything's cool and stuff..but noticed that every time I click on the SD icon on the Wii Menu it crashes the Wii..

Is there a file in the SD card, that it's causing it..that might be solved by deleting it?

I think..the original file/channel I put in there (to start the homebrew/hack process) is still there which is why I think it's crashing, but..I don't remember the name or anything..
Yeah, it's BannerBomb (that app you mention). Rename or delete the private folder on the SD card.

mugwhump said:
derp, I just installed cios38 rev 14 (after updating my homebrew channel and installing bootmii) and now when I click on an app in the homebrew channel it says "this is not a valid wii application." Still haven't upgraded to 4.0 though...

Was that supposed to happen? D:
That error typically means you have a very old app and previously had a very old version of the HBC. Go and get a new version of the app and it should work again. Or does it happen on every app you try to run?
 
Clipper said:
OK, so it seems that my premature statements about rev 14 being bugless were misfounded. Apparently there are issues with Conduit multiplayer and Smash Bros. movies. I can confirm the Smash Bros. bug myself (crashes during "How to Play" video when the game is left at the splash screen).

As for the question of whether you should update or not, I still would. The bugs seem pretty minor and far-spread so far. Hopefully there'll be a fix soon, as it would be nice to have a perfect IOS solution.
I haven't gone through my entire collection yet but EA Sports Active won't load from my HDD since I updated to rev 14. It brings up a strange blue screen that I've never seen before that says there was a disc error.
 

Clipper

Member
Saint Gregory said:
I haven't gone through my entire collection yet but EA Sports Active won't load from my HDD since I updated to rev 14. It brings up a strange blue screen that I've never seen before that says there was a disc error.
Turn off any 002/anti-002 fix options you have set up.
 

Clipper

Member
gimz said:
after i installed a game into my USB hdd, is there anyway to copy it to another drive?
The fastest way would be to rip the game to the other drive. There are ways to do it via PC, but I have a feeling copying it to the PC and then onto the other drive takes longer than the ripping process (there are no drive-to-drive apps, AFAIK).
 
Clipper said:
Turn off any 002/anti-002 fix options you have set up.
Sorry I should have told you which app I'm using because the version of USB Loader 1.5 I have doesn't have the 002 fix (or I can't find it in the options). It's the first time I've seen it so I had no idea what you talking about until I looked it up.

I might go through the HBC steps again tomorrow since the first time I did it the process for installing on 4.0 wasn't perfected yet.
 

Clipper

Member
Saint Gregory said:
Sorry I should have told you which app I'm using because the version of USB Loader 1.5 I have doesn't have the 002 fix (or I can't find it in the options). It's the first time I've seen it so I had no idea what you talking about until I looked it up.

I might go through the HBC steps again tomorrow since the first time I did it the process for installing on 4.0 wasn't perfected yet.
Yeah, USB Loader 1.5 doesn't have the option. Time to start using another loader. And yes, the steps are way easier now, without the 'errors that are OK' that the old method had, but if you already have IOS249 and the latest version of HBC on there, there is no reason to do the rest of the stuff.
 

mugwhump

Member
Clipper said:
Yeah, it's BannerBomb (that app you mention). Rename or delete the private folder on the SD card.


That error typically means you have a very old app and previously had a very old version of the HBC. Go and get a new version of the app and it should work again. Or does it happen on every app you try to run?
On all of the handful of apps I tried, but then again I think they were all old apps, lol
maybe I'll try with a newer app
 
Clipper said:
Yeah, USB Loader 1.5 doesn't have the option. Time to start using another loader. And yes, the steps are way easier now, without the 'errors that are OK' that the old method had, but if you already have IOS249 and the latest version of HBC on there, there is no reason to do the rest of the stuff.
Do you know whether the update on the Grand Slam Tennis disc was safe? I ran it thinking that it was needed for M+ and it didn't seem to break anything at the time (this was like a month ago) but maybe the rev 14 update triggered something.
 

Clipper

Member
Saint Gregory said:
Do you know whether the update on the Grand Slam Tennis disc was safe? I ran it thinking that it was needed for M+ and it didn't seem to break anything at the time (this was like a month ago) but maybe the rev 14 update triggered something.
All disc updates from your region are safe.
 

Hero

Member
Alright so I hope someone can help me out. I just installed 4.1 on my NTSC-U Wii with HBC already on it. Before I installed the new firmware all my stuff worked great but now that I installed the Wii Sports Resort firmware upgrade I'm running into Error 002's when trying to play the game and all my old NTSC-U backups no longer work, they actually don't even get recognized by the Wii or Gecko-OS as a game DVD, but all my NTSC-J games work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

Haunted

Member
Oh, I hear rev14 is out - what exactly does it fix, is there a changelog I can check out anywhere?



And Clipper def deserves some sort of tag for all the help he dishes out in this thread. Good job, mang.
 
Haunted said:
Oh, I hear rev14 is out - what exactly does it fix, is there a changelog I can check out anywhere?
Here is what the changelog that comes with has to say
[ CIOS38 rev 14 ]:

- Support for games with new error 002.
- DIP plugin updated (cover commands emulation fixed).
- ES plugin updated.
- FFS plugin updated.
- EHCI module improved.
- SDHC module improved.
- FAT module improved.
- Implemented new anti error 001 system.
- Anti error 002 system removed.
- NAND emulation system added (from SD/USB device).
- Content override system added (from SD/USB device).
- System Menu support (Disc Channel works again).
- Installer support for cBoot2.
- Installer support for all IOS.
- Some bugs fixed.
Most of that is gobbledegook to me or just not that useful but if you can understand it good for you.

Also some things not documented there are start-up times are faster due to the anti error 002 system being removed and in-game loading times seem to be comparable to the rev 09 speeds.
 

Clipper

Member
Haunted said:
Oh, I hear rev14 is out - what exactly does it fix, is there a changelog I can check out anywhere?
As well as what Starwolf_UK said, it fixes the bug that rev 13 had, it implements a few more spindown fixes, improves drive compatibility and gets rid of the whole confusion of 13 being better than 13b.

And Clipper def deserves some sort of tag for all the help he dishes out in this thread. Good job, mang.
This is at least the fifth time I've seen that said. Thanks for the support :D.

Hero said:
Alright so I hope someone can help me out. I just installed 4.1 on my NTSC-U Wii with HBC already on it. Before I installed the new firmware all my stuff worked great but now that I installed the Wii Sports Resort firmware upgrade I'm running into Error 002's when trying to play the game and all my old NTSC-U backups no longer work, they actually don't even get recognized by the Wii or Gecko-OS as a game DVD, but all my NTSC-J games work.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Wait, you are using backup discs? What hacks have you got on your Wii exactly? It's probably one of the things you installed to get that going that is causing your errors now.
 

gimz

Member
Clipper said:
The fastest way would be to rip the game to the other drive. There are ways to do it via PC, but I have a feeling copying it to the PC and then onto the other drive takes longer than the ripping process (there are no drive-to-drive apps, AFAIK).
yea, i installed many games on my drive, but now i want to use a bigger HDD i just bought.. and i dont want to go thru all the installation again :/

so what are the other ways to do it via PC? i will just leave them transfer when i go out, so time is not a problem :D
 

Clipper

Member
gimz said:
yea, i installed many games on my drive, but now i want to use a bigger HDD i just bought.. and i dont want to go thru all the installation again :/

so what are the other ways to do it via PC? i will just leave them transfer when i go out, so time is not a problem :D
You need a WBFS manager. I detail one you can use here. You don't need the WiiScrubber stuff I mention on that page, though.
 

Clipper

Member
Amon37 said:
I just updated to rev 14 and USB V37, now when I try to start WSR it boots me right back to the main Wii menu?
Was it working before?

If it's the first time you are trying to get it to work, run your original disc once via the disc channel or Gecko OS. It will work in the loader from then on.

If it was working before but isn't now and you are on firmware 4.0, upgrade the firmware, then do the above steps.

Make sure you don't have ios=222-mload in your config.txt, and also make sure you aren't using the 002 fix.

Otherwise, perhaps the rev 14 installation failed. Try installing it again and use the offline method if you used the online one before.
 

Haunted

Member
Starwolf_UK said:
Here is what the changelog that comes with has to say

Most of that is gobbledegook to me or just not that useful but if you can understand it good for you.
Not really. :lol

Starwolf_UK said:
Also some things not documented there are start-up times are faster due to the anti error 002 system being removed and in-game loading times seem to be comparable to the rev 09 speeds.
But that's the kind of info I was looking for, thanks. Sounds good (I assume rev09 had particularly fast loading times?)

Clipper said:
As well as what Starwolf_UK said, it fixes the bug that rev 13 had, it implements a few more spindown fixes, improves drive compatibility and gets rid of the whole confusion of 13 being better than 13b.
Excellent, will dl and install now.
 

Hero

Member
Clipper said:
Wait, you are using backup discs? What hacks have you got on your Wii exactly? It's probably one of the things you installed to get that going that is causing your errors now.

I have a WiiKey installed and then did the Twilight Hack to install HBC. I don't do anything like install other channels or pirate Virtual Shop stuff so I'm kind of upset that 4.1 seems to have killed my NSTC-U stuff. Maybe it has something to do with my rev?
 
gimz said:
yea, i installed many games on my drive, but now i want to use a bigger HDD i just bought.. and i dont want to go thru all the installation again :/

so what are the other ways to do it via PC? i will just leave them transfer when i go out, so time is not a problem :D
Clipper said:
You need a WBFS manager. I detail one you can use here. You don't need the WiiScrubber stuff I mention on that page, though.
http://wbfsmanager.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=26808 is the best WBFS Manager program, I've had no problems with it and it does direct drive-to-drive transfers, which I used when I upgraded from my old LaCie to a Seagate FreeAgent Go.
 

CTLance

Member
Updated to r14. Had to switch the USB port that I used for the HDD, or otherwise it USBloader would not find it anymore. Seems a bit less prone to crashing, but I'm still getting random hangs (just played Overlord for two hours or so, then it froze).

Oh well.
 

Hero

Member
Actually, upon further testing, it seems that backups of older Wii games are fine (Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3) but newer ones like Punch-Out!! and Madworld are suddenly not recognizable, even through Gecko OS. Again, I'm not using USB loader or anything.

Any suggestions?
 

Clipper

Member
Hero said:
Actually, upon further testing, it seems that backups of older Wii games are fine (Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3) but newer ones like Punch-Out!! and Madworld are suddenly not recognizable, even through Gecko OS. Again, I'm not using USB loader or anything.

Any suggestions?
It's probably the 002 error. Install the Gecko OS with new 002 fix that can be found in the links at the bottom of this page and it might fix the problem.

I have to ask, though... Why are you continuing to use disc backups? You're killing your Wii laser much faster than usual and if it's a matter of protecting the originals, the hard drive approach is much easier to use and doesn't destroy your Wii.
 
Finally decided to join in on the homebrew the other night. Hard drive came this morning.

Just want to say thanks to all the people that wrote the super user friendly guides over at the tutorial site.
 

Hero

Member
Clipper said:
It's probably the 002 error. Install the Gecko OS with new 002 fix that can be found in the links at the bottom of this page and it might fix the problem.

I have to ask, though... Why are you continuing to use disc backups? You're killing your Wii laser much faster than usual and if it's a matter of protecting the originals, the hard drive approach is much easier to use and doesn't destroy your Wii.

I didn't really know that disc backups were that harmful to the Wii laster in all honesty, as dumb as that sounds. When I first got into the scene the hard drive approach wasn't available and never thought twice about it.

But now that you've mentioned it, I suppose I should really go that method. Are you the one that writes the FAQ/guide for it here on GAF?
 
What's the best deal for an external USB hard drive right now? 160gb is more than enough and also something compatible with cfg USB loader. Also, updated to rev14 last night and the reset bug and cfg USB being much faster make the update pretty awesome.
 

Drek

Member
Clipper said:
Yeah, USB Loader 1.5 doesn't have the option. Time to start using another loader. And yes, the steps are way easier now, without the 'errors that are OK' that the old method had, but if you already have IOS249 and the latest version of HBC on there, there is no reason to do the rest of the stuff.
What USB loader would you recommend?

I just set mine up last night, all I want is vanilla USB loading that works as best as possible.

The install procedure I followed had a direct link and tutorial on how to go with USB Loader GX, so that is what I'm using. The downloadable covers aren't working for me if anyone knows why that might be (I guess its not that big of a deal, I can just scan my own or something when I get the time).

Also, is there any way I can boot my WiiWare and VC content off the USB HDD? I only have a 2 GB SD card and its already jammed full, not to mention I heard that using them like that moves them to flash memory and can make your Wii's flash memory burn out sooner than normal.
 

Clipper

Member
Drek said:
What USB loader would you recommend?

I just set mine up last night, all I want is vanilla USB loading that works as best as possible.

The install procedure I followed had a direct link and tutorial on how to go with USB Loader GX, so that is what I'm using. The downloadable covers aren't working for me if anyone knows why that might be (I guess its not that big of a deal, I can just scan my own or something when I get the time).

Also, is there any way I can boot my WiiWare and VC content off the USB HDD? I only have a 2 GB SD card and its already jammed full, not to mention I heard that using them like that moves them to flash memory and can make your Wii's flash memory burn out sooner than normal.
OK, well the experiment failed... Back to every page:



Go with Configurable USB Loader. Much more stable than GX, faster support for the things that are actually important and almost everything can be tweaked via the options.

As for your Wiiware/VC problems, your solution may have arrived with rev 14 of IOS249 (cIOS 38). It apparently allows emulation of a Wii NAND Flash on your USB drive, essentially giving you another Wii's worth of data (and possibly multiple ones). The tools to utilise it aren't out yet, though.
 

Nabs

Member
CTLance said:
Updated to r14. Had to switch the USB port that I used for the HDD, or otherwise it USBloader would not find it anymore. Seems a bit less prone to crashing, but I'm still getting random hangs (just played Overlord for two hours or so, then it froze).

Oh well.

(got lost on the last page):

Nabs said:
hey ct, have you ever tried the hermes ios?

and also, what HD do you have?
 

Gagaman

Member
What the hell. I was updating some of the emulators through Homebrew Browser, one of them had a zip error, and when i went back to the homebrew channel it had wiped the whole list of programs. Sticking it in my PC it seems to have removed my apps folder. o_O
 

Mudkips

Banned
So I updated my Wii system menu to the latest dealie (4.1? What changed since 4.0?).

I also updated the homebrew channel, and it gave me the nifty option of installing Boot Mii and DVDX. I went ahead and installed BootMii (via boot2). It said everything went fine, and the directories exist on my SD card, but when I rebooted my Wii, it booted as normal.

1: What is DVDX for, besides playing DVDs on the Wii? I remember people used to always say to install it to get certain shit to work, but I always skipped it and never had any issues because of it.

2: Does BootMii (via the HackMii installer) tell you whether or not you're able to use BootMii via boot2? Or does it just try using the boot2 method and if it works it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't?

3: Does BootMii (via boot2) work with SDHC cards?
My Wii has no problem accessing my 8 GB SDHC for anything else...

I need to update my other crap, too, so I may have other questions later...:
I need the latest cIOS (v14 is it?), the latest USB loader back end (4.1 is it?), and a new USBLoader front end (tons to choose from, I know.

4: Is there anything else I may need?
My Wii has been collecting dust for a while so I dunno wtf is going on right now. Every time I get back into this it's a clusterfuck of firmware versions, cIOS versions, WADs, DOLs, and what have you.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Mudkips said:
So I updated my Wii system menu to the latest dealie (4.1? What changed since 4.0?).

Fixes a bug that existed in System Menu 4.0 whereby accessing the SD Menu could wipe the flag that tracks whether you've watched the annoying 3-minute tutorial video that displays when you try to load a Wii Motion Plus game for the first time. Being forced to watch that vid again and again due to this bug is... annoying.

I also updated the homebrew channel, and it gave me the nifty option of installing Boot Mii and DVDX. I went ahead and installed BootMii (via boot2). It said everything went fine, and the directories exist on my SD card, but when I rebooted my Wii, it booted as normal.

1: What is DVDX for, besides playing DVDs on the Wii? I remember people used to always say to install it to get certain shit to work, but I always skipped it and never had any issues because of it.

It's a necessary component for most of the media players. It allows you to read burned DVDs, which can be used to store media or homebrew.

2: Does BootMii (via the HackMii installer) tell you whether or not you're able to use BootMii via boot2? Or does it just try using the boot2 method and if it works it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't?

The HackMii installer will tell you if you can install BootMii to boot2. If it installed, your good. Otherwise, you'd have to install it as an IOS. (You can still do that if you want instant access to BootMii via the HBC.)


3: Does BootMii (via boot2) work with SDHC cards?
My Wii has no problem accessing my 8 GB SDHC for anything else...

I'm actually not too sure about this. As of 4.0, Nintendo finally expanded the SD slot to read SDHCs. Thing is, legacy games that actually use the SD card, won't recognize SDHCs. Some homebrew still doesn't work with SDHCs, or work well with 'em. Regular SD cards are still the most compatible, and are likely to remain so going forward.

I need to update my other crap, too, so I may have other questions later...:
I need the latest cIOS (v14 is it?), the latest USB loader back end (4.1 is it?), and a new USBLoader front end (tons to choose from, I know.

cIOS38 rev14 is the newest (at least as of last night). Best USB Loader to use, IMHO, is Configurable USB Loader v37. Not sure what you mean by back-end/front-end versions.


4: Is there anything else I may need?
My Wii has been collecting dust for a while so I dunno wtf is going on right now. Every time I get back into this it's a clusterfuck of firmware versions, cIOS versions, WADs, DOLs, and what have you.

The process for updating system menus and cIOSes really hasn't changed. It's as easy as always. USB Loaders, arguably, are getting better and better in the sense that most of them now support network updating (assuming you have one that's new enough to actually have that feature). Cfg USB Loader added network updates some time ago.
 

Mudkips

Banned
Mejilan said:
cIOS38 rev14 is the newest (at least as of last night). Best USB Loader to use, IMHO, is Configurable USB Loader v37. Not sure what you mean by back-end/front-end versions.

When I was last messing with it, there were dozens of loaders all based on the same release. Mainly GUI changes, but that's also where a lot of features like hiding based on rating, disabling options (kid-friendly mode), etc. came from.

I think I currently have one of the early releases of the configurable loader, actually.

Maybe I'll swap my DSi's SD card with my Wii's. My DSi has a 2 GB SD, while the Wii is using an 8 GB SDHC. I moved ALL of my VC stuff to my Wii's SD, so I wonder how much space I',m actually using...
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
No one uses Waninkoko's vanilla USB Loaders. They're pretty awful and spare. At best functional. At worst total garbage.

Cfg USB Loader is based on Waninkoko's newest (and best) USB Loader, but heavily, heavily modified.
 
Gagaman said:
What the hell. I was updating some of the emulators through Homebrew Browser, one of them had a zip error, and when i went back to the homebrew channel it had wiped the whole list of programs. Sticking it in my PC it seems to have removed my apps folder. o_O

Try error checking the card in Windows. It should be able to restore files and folders that were corrupted by something like tha (unless some truly bad stuff happened).

Anyway... it is always smart to back up all of your stuff. A couple days ago, I left the Homebrew Channel up, and my mom accidentally ended up installing the earliest Japanese firmware on the Wii. Fortunately, a few days back from then, I backed up my Wii with Bootmii before I played Wii Sports Resort, so I just restored it.

Also, I know nothing about Configurable. What's so good about it compared to, well, USB Loader GX and Coverfloader? Are there any great themes for it or something? I didn't find any while searching...
 

Clipper

Member
Why would you do that? said:
Also, I know nothing about Configurable. What's so good about it compared to, well, USB Loader GX and Coverfloader? Are there any great themes for it or something? I didn't find any while searching...

The key points of configurable:

  1. Functionality: Configurable gets the important features very quickly. We were using the incredibly useful alternate dol from disc option for a few weeks before it got patched into GX.
  2. Stability: You generally don't get the issue with releases breaking stuff added in previous releases and needing to constantly revert back to finding a version that works (looking at you, GX). If there are problems reported, oggzee and usptactical solve them as a priority, and the fix is usually available within 24 hours.
  3. Configurability: You can configure virtually everything with this loader. Cover sites change? Just add the new sites to your config rather than waiting for the coders to update their list of sites. Don't like the layout? Create your own theme.
  4. Support: I try to follow the GX thread on GBATemp, but it is very difficult. Trying to get your bugs fixed seems to take ages. The Configurable thread is much easier to follow and people are actually getting their problems solved. Plus, my help is always here in this thread too :p.

Now, it isn't the best looking loader, but it is very close. The other points clearly make it superior to most people that have taken the time to try it out properly and delved into configuring it the way they like. I guess it's the same as the graphics vs. gameplay debate. If you want the latest bling and don't mind messing with confusing releases and lack of features, go with GX, Coverfloader or Wiiflow. If you actually want something that does its job the best while still giving a decent level of looks, go with Configurable.
 

Nabs

Member
config is awesome. at first it was my favorite because it just got the job done, but now it looks (and sounds) incredible as well.

be sure to check all the gui options when you try it out. press down on the dpad to see the different layouts, then use the config file to choose which you prefer.

check the link clipper posted, there are a lot of cool things you can change and add.
 
Clipper said:

Thanks, that was quite informative.
I do prefer simpler and faster apps than eye candy (like, I even use the older MPlayer Wii), and I always felt that USB Loader GX struck the perfect balance between ease of use and visuals.

I also didn't know that USB Loader GX broke some games. I wonder if that's why Animal Crossing didn't work, though it was probably rev 14 I installed...

Edit: I tried Configurable, and it really annoyed me because it seems so disorganized, menu-wise and control-wise. It took me a long time to find the menu to get all missing covers and change themes (I had to push 1 on a game to go to the game settings, then push it again to go to global settings) and the function of all of the buttons are weird to me... like, in a menu, I can't push A to advance, or else I'd load a game. This loader does many things right that others don't, and I noticed quite a few little things I liked... but the button layout would ultimately confuse me in the long run. So this loader is staying on my hard drive, when I don't have an SD card in.

To me, Coverfloader looks very nice, and Configurable is... well, very configurable and fast, and USB Loader GX is very user friendly and fast. I guess I prefer the latter.
 

VOOK

We don't know why he keeps buying PAL, either.
DSi Firmware 1.4 is out in Japan

- 'Faster' Camera
- Browser also update to be faster
- Facebook Image upload is on

- Kills Flashcards
 
VOOK said:
DSi Firmware 1.4 is out in Japan

- 'Faster' Camera
- Browser also update to be faster
- Facebook Image upload is on

- Kills Flashcards

I wonder when this will come to America. I don't have a DSi flashcard, as I'm hoping for a software hack over the SD card, but I might finally have pictures on my pictureless Facebook profile.

It's weird that it is Facebook, though. Isn't Mixi more popular in Japan?
 

Firestorm

Member
GX, if it was stable, would be the best as far as simplistic and visually appealing with a good set of features goes. Configurable isn't as user-friendly due to its need for messing around with config files ot get it to do anything.
 
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