Set up the NTFS partition as sparse. The files will still be the same size, but sparse partitions will automatically compress the space used by the dummy data, so you can fit more on. Cfg is able to write to sparse NTFS partitions too, although I'm not sure about CleanRip.
GAF Wii Homebrew thread: Homebrew, emulators, USB disc installs! Easy tutorial!
- Thread starter radioheadrule83
- Start date
Set up the NTFS partition as sparse. The files will still be the same size, but sparse partitions will automatically compress the space used by the dummy data, so you can fit more on. Cfg is able to write to sparse NTFS partitions too, although I'm not sure about CleanRip.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
Cool, thanks.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
I tried formatting a couple ways and saw no options about making it sparse. On further research it seems it's a file attribute, but I'm not sure how to actually set it? I see Windows has the "Compress drive/contents to save disk space" option, but I think that goes beyond just sparse?
Unless newer Windows version handle this different this option should do what you want.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
It seems like there's some other hidden setting, but as long as Wii Backup Manager knows how to handle it the results are fine for me. I used Wii Backup Manager to convert NSMB Wii from .wbfs to .iso, and whether I create it on my NTFS hard drive or the now-NTSF USB hard drive, the file properties say
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 350 MB
but the compression option is unchecked. However, if I copy the file from the USB drive to main hard drive (EDIT: Even when I make a copy on the same drive), it's clearly taking the time necessary to copy the full file size and the properties say
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 4.37 GB
If I then take that file and activate the compression check, it becomes
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 349 MB
so not quite identical to the original smaller form.
Testing ripping Wii Play direct to .iso with Configurable USB Loader, the result file says
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 4.37 GB
But again I can run it through Wii Backup Manager and end up with
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 96.0 MB
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 350 MB
but the compression option is unchecked. However, if I copy the file from the USB drive to main hard drive (EDIT: Even when I make a copy on the same drive), it's clearly taking the time necessary to copy the full file size and the properties say
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 4.37 GB
If I then take that file and activate the compression check, it becomes
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 349 MB
so not quite identical to the original smaller form.
Testing ripping Wii Play direct to .iso with Configurable USB Loader, the result file says
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 4.37 GB
But again I can run it through Wii Backup Manager and end up with
Size: 4.37 GB
Size on disk: 96.0 MB
harriet the spy
Member
I have the latest configurable USB loader, upgraded to 4.3, but can't seem to run skyward sword from the disk. Is there a quick way to upgrade the ios or d2x or is the best way to follow the wiki and reinstall them?
Heart Attack
Member
When i was a lurker i used this thread to softmod my wii to play Xenoblade. Just wanted to say thank you 
JoshuaJSlone
Member
So this is getting pretty off topic, but I've been trying to figure out more about sparse files.
Windows does have a commandline utility for making sparse files, FSUTIL... but it's extremely manual. As in, you've got to specify byte locations for starting and ending sparse segments.
SparseChecker is a simple utility for analyzing files for regions of 0s and then properly marking them as sparse. I notice this doesn't seem to detect any eligible space from GameCube ISOs from CleanRip, so they must be filled with something else? Also I note its results aren't identical to what another source might create. Whereas Wii Backup Manager turned NSMB Wii into a 350 MB sparse file, SparseChecker took the full file and made it 364 MB.
Windows does have a commandline utility for making sparse files, FSUTIL... but it's extremely manual. As in, you've got to specify byte locations for starting and ending sparse segments.
SparseChecker is a simple utility for analyzing files for regions of 0s and then properly marking them as sparse. I notice this doesn't seem to detect any eligible space from GameCube ISOs from CleanRip, so they must be filled with something else? Also I note its results aren't identical to what another source might create. Whereas Wii Backup Manager turned NSMB Wii into a 350 MB sparse file, SparseChecker took the full file and made it 364 MB.
Mithos
Member
Might be that USB Configurable Loader rips everything to the ISO.
And the Wii Backup Manager maybe remove update partitions and scrubs the iso?
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Some of the Wii-specific utilities also remove update partitions and other valid but useless data, don't they? That might explain the small size difference.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
I've confirmed the files have identical contents. I have the "Keep all partitions" option checked in Wii Backup Manager, and the NSMB Wii file I'm starting with is a 352 MB .wbfs file ripped years ago by Configurable USB Loader. So the larger 364 MB result should just be down to some inefficiency in the SparseChecker program. It was just the first tool I could find that made directly making any file sparse simple.
Yeah, sorry, I'm not sure of the particulars as I never did try that method myself, I just remember oggzee mentioning it when he added NTFS support to Cfg. It did sound more like you could set an option in WIndows and then Cfg could rip properly as sparse files, but I can't be sure.
Okay so I added homebrew to my Wii and added USB Loader. I formatted the HDD to WBSF but can't add the USB-LOADER folder to the root of my USB WII HDD. I tried using FAT32 format but my Wii wouldn't recognized the drive when in USBLoader.
How can I get that necessary folder on there. I have Intel and PPC Macs to use.
How can I get that necessary folder on there. I have Intel and PPC Macs to use.
USBLoader runs fine off of my SD Card which was formatted using FAT32 obviously and my USB WII HDD is plugged into port zero.
My Macs don't format NTFS... unless I find some apps.
The external HDD is a LaCie 1TB drive.
Edit- fuck it. I give up. I'm already overjoyed that I can play WWF No Mercy on Wii64 and the 5 Wii games I have will fit on a SDHC card so no worries. Too bad though.
EDIT 2- Is there anyway to restore my nand using bootmii? I had no choice but to install it as IOS. After configuring those files when installing USBLoader I would feel more comfortable to reset my Wii to it's previous state in case anything happens. Problem is Bootmii won't let me.
My Macs don't format NTFS... unless I find some apps.
The external HDD is a LaCie 1TB drive.
Edit- fuck it. I give up. I'm already overjoyed that I can play WWF No Mercy on Wii64 and the 5 Wii games I have will fit on a SDHC card so no worries. Too bad though.
EDIT 2- Is there anyway to restore my nand using bootmii? I had no choice but to install it as IOS. After configuring those files when installing USBLoader I would feel more comfortable to reset my Wii to it's previous state in case anything happens. Problem is Bootmii won't let me.
You can still use the WBFS formatted hard drive for the games while using the SD card for the USB Loader files. Installing the directories to the hard drive are only necessary if you want to do without the SD card altogether.
BootMii IOS should be able to flash your NAND, sure, provided you made a backup before doing anything. I'm not sure what you configured during the USB Loader stuff, though. Nothing within the USB Loader installation requires you to alter anything on the Wii. Restoring your backup would undo the d2x installation, which USB Loader needs in order to operate.
When I installed BootMii the first thing I made was a back up. Whenever I try to restore my nand using the back up through Bootmii it says:
I press continue and it says that I'm not trying hard enough.
My nand and keys back up files are in my SD root. But it just doesn't let me restore. I've been reading some posts that say you can restore from an IOS back up and some that say you can't. I'm using the newest versions of Bootmii/HBC.
When I installed USBLoader I installed d2x and OS236. The reason I want to restore my nand is to erase any trace of modifications I made during the installs of those two. I'm just worried that the d2x/OS236 mods might cause an unwanted issue if Nintendo ever updates the Wii again or that those 2 mods might cause some sort of instability.
Unrelated to any of this I wish Nintendo bought the licenses for Conkers Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, WWF Wrestlemania 2000, WWF No Mercy and put them on Virtual Console.
They won't cause an issue. If Nintendo wants to attack them, it will stub them out like it has done in the past. Also, it sounded like you still wanted to use USB Loader, which you won't be able to do without those IOSes, which are also stored in the NAND.
If you still want to go through with it anyway, then I'm guessing you just need to enter the Konami code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A).
Choppasmith
Member
So I just tried installing Xenoblade (US) and Last Story (Pal), man those games are large...
They seemed to install just fine, but when I go to load either of them I get:
"wbfs error: hd num sector doesn't match" several times and quits.
Both games shows that they take 0 GB (which is weird because it took a good half hour or so to install them) Other games still load just fine. I have a launch Wii, could the laser be finally dying out or is there soem kind of problem with these games? Got the latest USB Loader and D2X
They seemed to install just fine, but when I go to load either of them I get:
"wbfs error: hd num sector doesn't match" several times and quits.
Both games shows that they take 0 GB (which is weird because it took a good half hour or so to install them) Other games still load just fine. I have a launch Wii, could the laser be finally dying out or is there soem kind of problem with these games? Got the latest USB Loader and D2X
There are bugs in the WBFS code that cause games to corrupt like this sometimes. This is why we recommend FAT32 and NTFS over that format.
Choppasmith
Member
But the thing is, the drive has been set and formatted as FAT32 for a while now...
Sorry, I misread. Something went wrong with the install, then. It should have split them across two files each. Try deleting them and trying again.
Choppasmith
Member
Figured it out. Several, several pages ago, I asked if there was a way (for "perfection's sake") to make the Legacy titles in Brawl playable and you had suggested adding a line to the config file. Something like "Install partitions: all" Turned out that line was causing the problem. Removed it, and they install/load fine. Strange that Just Dance 2 and Skyward Sword were installed just fine with this... weird.
alf717
Member
Is anyone using CFG for Game Cube games? I have two 32GB cards in mind to pick up but I'm wondering if at this point I should just wait for Devolution. Also would a class 10 card help out with loading purchased VC games? When I access my games on my 2GB card it takes a little time to load the list up.
Following the guide to install d2x and it says that version 3.0 is not recommended, but on the download page 3.1 is available. Should I use 3.1 or 2.2? Just looking to set my Wii up to be able to rip my Wii/GC games for use in Dolphin on my new PC.
edit: went with 3.1, but for some reason I can't select the IOS to use for installing. It just selects 58 for me and skips the whole "Working IOS" step. And yes, I did install IOS236.
edit 2: Seems to be working, both games I've ripped so far seem to work fine (Metroid Other M and NSMB Wii, ripping Xenoblade right now) Not going to be able to try them in Dolphin until I get my GPU in though.
edit: went with 3.1, but for some reason I can't select the IOS to use for installing. It just selects 58 for me and skips the whole "Working IOS" step. And yes, I did install IOS236.
edit 2: Seems to be working, both games I've ripped so far seem to work fine (Metroid Other M and NSMB Wii, ripping Xenoblade right now) Not going to be able to try them in Dolphin until I get my GPU in though.
Does this mean you can play rips of GC games now? I haven't really been following Wii homebrew for a couple years. I would love to be able to do that.
alf717
Member
Yes you can run GC titles but they will only run from an SD card. It is recommend you use a Class 10 SD card to avoid skipping during video playback. I ran Melee and Animal Crossing from SD and they ran great. Another program is said be in works that supports USB loading but right now only Youtube videos of it exists and I'm not really sure if it is real.
alf717
Member
NP, I picked up an SD 32GB class 10 card pretty cheap on Newegg last week. I'm sure Amazon has good prices as well.
I use the wad file from http://code.google.com/p/diosmioslite/downloads/list to install GC support. Current version I'm using is DML 1.4b. Pair DML up with CFG an you won't need a game in the drive to play Game Cube games and you get the nice box art for each game is well.
alf717
Member
Sorry but only with a class 10 card. My old 2GB was too small to fit more that one game. It is worth a shot with a class 6. As I recall the guide I used on youtube showed that only the videos is where you need the most speed.
I believe it does, but only to SD. I'd still recommend CleanRip for ripping GC games for now.
alf717
Member
Using CFG has worked fine with the few games I did try out. I know you can shrink the games too but I haven't done it with many games since you need a seperate utility to do it. The only odd thing I noticed was during double dash the wii blue light keeps blinking.
I dusted off my Wii for the first time in quite awhile today, and I noticed a bit of lag with NSMB Wii. The only other game I tested was Mario Party 8, which had no lag. Is it possible this is a problem with my hdd/hbc etc?
I don't have a NSMB disc anymore to test out, thanks to my beautiful 4 year old daughter. I do have a few more games on the hdd I could test out, but I had company over earlier so it wasn't really an option then.
I don't have a NSMB disc anymore to test out, thanks to my beautiful 4 year old daughter. I do have a few more games on the hdd I could test out, but I had company over earlier so it wasn't really an option then.
Chuckpebble
Member
For what its worth, I actually did notice some hiccups when playing Monster Hunter off of my old HD in comparison to my relatively new 8GB thumb drive. I'd say it would be the drive.
Now I have a quick question, there's a lot of talk about large SD cards in this thread. Can I actually use a 32GB card. I thought there was a limit to what the Wii could actually see. But maybe I'm misremembering and its actually just the Wii menu that is limited and homebrew manages to avoid that limitation.
Thing is, i recently got a wired lan adaptor and would also like to use a keyboard with the system, so freeing up that USB slot is relevant to my interests.
Now I have a quick question, there's a lot of talk about large SD cards in this thread. Can I actually use a 32GB card. I thought there was a limit to what the Wii could actually see. But maybe I'm misremembering and its actually just the Wii menu that is limited and homebrew manages to avoid that limitation.
Thing is, i recently got a wired lan adaptor and would also like to use a keyboard with the system, so freeing up that USB slot is relevant to my interests.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
Well according to Mr Google:
http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/sy...menu=documents&submenu=rvl-doc-privacy-policy
This is congruent with my understanding.
I also found a compatibility list here:
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/SD/SDHC_Card_Compatibility_Tests
Chuckpebble
Member
Thanks woo, very helpful. Think I'm gonna go with Sandisk 32GB. If it doesn't work, heck, I have a million other things I can use it for.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Is there a good tutorial out there for playing your ripped Gamecube games on Wii?
Snarfington
Member
Apologies if this is obviously elsewhere but I looked for a moment and couldn't find it. Using USB Loader GX (same thing happens on Configurable USB Loader), trying to play my copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops from USB. Keeps freezing on the first "Loading..." screen. Any solution anyone knows of?