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

I had my Wii softmodded and it was working fine. However, my friend upgraded the firmware on the system and it seems that programs like the USB loader I had on it no longer work.

I haven't used my Wii in awhile but would like to softmod again to easily play out of region games. If I install through Letterbomb, will it overwrite the previous softmod and start out clean? How do I go about deleting/wiping the old mod? Just delete the homebrew channels or what?
 
Nothing to be afraid of, currently, yes (apart from voiding warranty of course). If there was, I'd say so. I guess I should make that clearer on the startup page...

LiK said:
Anyone know where I can get the region free channel? The wiibrew site is getting some error
Click to expand...
What region free channel? You mean Gecko OS (it's not a channel, but I can't think what else you might mean)?

Reckoner said:
Just enable the features to block updates from Priiloader and you're pretty safe.

I presume Gecko OS does the same job as Priiloader with the Region Free Everything enabled for the Disc Channel. Right?
Click to expand...
I don't actually recommend Priiloader, which is why it doesn't appear in the tutorial. There is stuff to fear if you installed it as future updates can brick you if you're not careful. Gecko OS is an app that launches games in a region free manner without altering your Wii in any way. There's also StartPatch, which gives you the same convenience you get with Priiloader, but isn't nearly as dangerous. All of these safe methods are explained in the tutorial's region free page.

Dr. Zoidberg said:
If you are using USB Loader to play your games, do they still show up in the Wii menu with time played? (i.e. Played Mario Galaxy for 2:30). I like being able to rate games in the store after an hour of play.

EDIT - Also, my wife plays WiiFit very often and removes my discs to do it. Would it be easier to install WiiFit and have her use the Loader, or just leave the WiiFit disc in there for her and have my games installed so I never have to take that disc out.
Click to expand...
Yes, you can get the Wii Message Board to be maintained properly. Just add "write_playlog=1" to config.txt with the Configurator or manually editing the file.

As for Wii Fit, both methods would work. It's probably easier for you to have them all installed and let her choose whether she wants to use Cfg or launch via the disc menu.

Keyouta said:
I had my Wii softmodded and it was working fine. However, my friend upgraded the firmware on the system and it seems that programs like the USB loader I had on it no longer work.

I haven't used my Wii in awhile but would like to softmod again to easily play out of region games. If I install through Letterbomb, will it overwrite the previous softmod and start out clean? How do I go about deleting/wiping the old mod? Just delete the homebrew channels or what?
Click to expand...
Don't bother deleting old stuff. Just follow the GWHT as if your Wii was unhacked. Upgrade everything. If you'd been keeping it up to date according to the instructions there, your friend wouldn't have killed anything when he updated. You don't need LetterBomb, if you still have a working HBC, though. That is the only assumption of pre-installation that you should make.
 
Clipper said:
Yes, you can get the Wii Message Board to be maintained properly. Just add "write_playlog=1" to config.txt with the Configurator or manually editing the file.
Click to expand...
Didn't knew this was possible!
 
LiK said:
yea, Gecko OS, Wiibrew site is down, i can't even get it
Click to expand...
You'll still be able to get everything you need for Cfg if you can't wait for it to come back up. If you already installed the Homebrew Browser, then that's another method available to get Gecko OS.
 
Clipper said:
You'll still be able to get everything you need for Cfg if you can't wait for it to come back up. If you already installed the Homebrew Browser, then that's another method available to get Gecko OS.
Click to expand...

Xenoblade not shipped yet so i'll probably wait. if not, i will ask you for help. thanks
 
Clipper said:
You'll still be able to get everything you need for Cfg if you can't wait for it to come back up. If you already installed the Homebrew Browser, then that's another method available to get Gecko OS.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I used the Homebrew Browser to install Gecko OS.
 
Clipper said:
I don't actually recommend Priiloader, which is why it doesn't appear in the tutorial. There is stuff to fear if you installed it as future updates can brick you if you're not careful. Gecko OS is an app that launches games in a region free manner without altering your Wii in any way. There's also StartPatch, which gives you the same convenience you get with Priiloader, but isn't nearly as dangerous. All of these safe methods are explained in the tutorial's region free page.
Click to expand...
What is it to fear about Priiloader since it blocks update? Ok, now I'm thinking of uninstalling it, if you say so. I tried to install StartPatch before, but it gives me an error and does nothing.
 
So, I have a working homebrew channel running on 4.2. I want to use the shop channel. What can I do?

edit: never mind. I saw it in gaf's tutorial.
 
Stumpokapow said:
Yo Clipper, is there a reason why the message board playlog thing isn't a default?
Click to expand...
I think that if you do not go to official Nintendo Wii Channel Menu, between every game you play the next game will not boot if using playlog, happens to me a lot because I autoboot HBC and run CFG Loader, never go to official menus.

So its safer to keep it offline as default?
 
So, with Letterbomb is there no need to beat around the bush to continue to update the firmware on the console now? Or do I have to bend over backwards like I did going from 3.2 or whatever to 4.1 or whatever for Trauma Team last year?
 
TheSeks said:
So, with Letterbomb is there no need to beat around the bush to continue to update the firmware on the console now? Or do I have to bend over backwards like I did going from 3.2 or whatever to 4.1 or whatever for Trauma Team last year?
Click to expand...

i use 4.3 and letterbomb installed homebrew fine. pretty slick.
 
Stumpokapow said:
Yo Clipper, is there a reason why the message board playlog thing isn't a default?
Click to expand...
The implementation of it causes Cfg to alter a file stored on the Wii's NAND. When I added it into Cfg, I disabled it by default due to the risk that maybe it might potentially corrupt things. Turns out my implementation was perfectly safe after all, but it's never really been considered important enough to make it the default action.

The caveat that you can't bypass the Wii Menu if you want to use it is present, but it isn't really part of the considerations.

Reckoner said:
What is it to fear about Priiloader since it blocks update? Ok, now I'm thinking of uninstalling it, if you say so. I tried to install StartPatch before, but it gives me an error and does nothing.
Click to expand...
Once it's installed and while you remain at a certain firmware, you are fine. The issues arise if they add a feature to a new firmware that you want. Priiloader relies on modifying certain Nintendo IOSes that Nintendo stubs at later dates. Certain installation of Priiloader can cause your Wii Menu to try to use a stubbed IOS , which results in a bricked system. This mismatch can also occur during installation if it crashes part-way through (although they have fixed the order so this doesn't really happen any more). As long as you're careful to properly uninstall it before your next upgrade, you'll be fine, but I just don't trust it when we don't know what future updates will bring.

It has caused bricks in the past, it may cause them again in the future and there are other apps that provide almost all of its capabilities (i.e., all except brick protection on newer Wiis that can't use BootMii and channel autolaunch).

TheSeks said:
So, with Letterbomb is there no need to beat around the bush to continue to update the firmware on the console now? Or do I have to bend over backwards like I did going from 3.2 or whatever to 4.1 or whatever for Trauma Team last year?
Click to expand...
You haven't needed to beat around the bush to not update for a long time now. Installing d2x in the 248 and 247 slots means official updates won't change any of your homebrew setup. LetterBomb's only usefulness is to install the HBC on a virgin (or wiped) 4.3 Wii and it doesn't actually work on previous firmwares.
 
What's with the "Cut the Red Wire" and "Cut the Blue Wire" bullcrap?

I clicked on "Cut the Red Wire", nothing happened and now I can't do shit. Why?

EDIT: I realized I did nothing wrong, either Cut The Red or Cut the Blue works...

Then, where is suppose to be that zip file?
 
I keep getting this screen when I try to load Donkey Kong from Gecko OS. I got Gecko from the the homebrew browser, so I assume its up to date.

Any ideas?

oic7rt.jpg
 
Clipper, I suppose the uninstall feature on the Priiloader app does the job safely, right? Also, I already did a backup of my nand so if it bricks it will be easy to unbrick I expect.

So, there's only a risk if I upgrade my system software, I see.
 
BY2K said:
What's with the "Cut the Red Wire" and "Cut the Blue Wire" bullcrap?

I clicked on "Cut the Red Wire", nothing happened and now I can't do shit. Why?

EDIT: I realized I did nothing wrong, either Cut The Red or Cut the Blue works...

Then, where is suppose to be that zip file?
Click to expand...
You should get to save the file to a location, unless your browser autodownloads it.
 
LiK said:
You should get to save the file to a location, unless your browser autodownloads it.
Click to expand...

The download prompt never popped up. Like I said, I click Cut the Something Something ... but nothing happens. I tried again but even deleting my cookies doesn't work, both buttons are still greyed out and I can't do anything.
 
BY2K said:
The download prompt never popped up. Like I said, I click Cut the Something Something ... but nothing happens. I tried again but even deleting my cookies doesn't work, both buttons are still greyed out and I can't do anything.
Click to expand...
Maybe try a different browser? I dunno, I used Chrome.
 
Clipper said:
You need the BootMii app to be on your SD card in order for it to run. Use the Hackmii Installer (used during Bootmii and/or HBC installation) and select the option to prepare your SD card.
Click to expand...

When I hit prepare SD card, after it tries to, it says "Failed (-1)"

I followed every step, what could I be doing wrong? I have the latest FW update.
 
So booted up my Wii, clicked on the red letter, installed the Homebrew Channel and BootMii IOS.

I'm all good?
 
26thletter said:
Just (re)bought a Wii and letterbombed it to prepare for Xenoblade. It literally took less than 10 minutes
Click to expand...

Yup me too... I'm a moron and it took less than 5.

What else do you need to install to play euro games?
 
Deadly Monk said:
When I hit prepare SD card, after it tries to, it says "Failed (-1)"

I followed every step, what could I be doing wrong? I have the latest FW update.
Click to expand...

BootMii is ridiculously finicky when it comes to SD cards. I had to buy 3 different SD cards before it would properly back up to one of them. I don't know if this is just me, but both 8 GB SDHC cards I bought failed, but the 2 GB SD card worked.

http://gbatemp.net/t154883-lets-make-a-list-of-bootmii-compatible-sd-and-sdhc-cards
 
BY2K said:
What's with the "Cut the Red Wire" and "Cut the Blue Wire" bullcrap?

I clicked on "Cut the Red Wire", nothing happened and now I can't do shit. Why?

EDIT: I realized I did nothing wrong, either Cut The Red or Cut the Blue works...

Then, where is suppose to be that zip file?
Click to expand...
I see you got it going, but incidentally, were you following the tutorial, or just trying to figure it out on your own?

Gouty said:
I keep getting this screen when I try to load Donkey Kong from Gecko OS. I got Gecko from the the homebrew browser, so I assume its up to date.

Any ideas?

http://i55.tinypic.com/oic7rt.jpg
Click to expand...
Try forcing video and the other options in Gecko, ensuring you have the latest Gecko and other things. If all else fails, try another region free method.


Reckoner said:
Clipper, I suppose the uninstall feature on the Priiloader app does the job safely, right? Also, I already did a backup of my nand so if it bricks it will be easy to unbrick I expect.

So, there's only a risk if I upgrade my system software, I see.
Click to expand...
Yes to all.

Deadly Monk said:
When I hit prepare SD card, after it tries to, it says "Failed (-1)"

I followed every step, what could I be doing wrong? I have the latest FW update.
Click to expand...
As suggested, it's probably just not liking that particular SD card. It is finicky and it won't work on SDHC. Try others, but don't worry if you can't get it going. The only way to brick the console is to do stupid stuff. Just don't do stupid stuff (aka anything not sanctioned by the GWHT or this thread) and you won't need the backup.

LevityNYC said:
Yup me too... I'm a moron and it took less than 5.

What else do you need to install to play euro games?
Click to expand...
Sigh... Sometimes I miss the good old dire consequences days...

http://gwht.wikidot.com/for-dummies
http://gwht.wikidot.com/region-free

 
LevityNYC said:
Thanks.

Its VERY easy to do.

The letter bomb thing is the way to go



http://hackmii.com/2011/08/letterbomb/
Click to expand...
It only works if you are already on 4.3 and those instructions don't give you the whole process and have the confusing red wire/blue wire problem and stuff. My tutorial, which I updated as soon as I heard about LetterBomb within hours of its unveiling, actually gives you the necessary steps whether you are already at 4.3 or not and if you are, it also steps you through LetterBomb in a much easier to understand way.
 
Just did LetterBomb today. Seemed to work just fine on an old 512MB SD Card I've had in the Wii since Day 1.

Now I have to do some reading about how to best use it! USB Loader sounds very nice...

But I should also go to work...

And I didn't know the red/blue wire thing meant anything...thought it was just one of those "red pill or blue pill" goofy choices, where either both will work, or one will yell at you. I chose the one on the left, red wire, and I don't think I broke anything.

I also found out today that the newer Wiis don't allow that certain kind of BootMii installation (boot2 I believe it is). Bummer. I had a launch-day Wii but after its NAND got corrupted, I didn't trust it, so I did the $50 trade-in at Gamestop to get a brand new Black Wii. Wouldn't have if I knew about that.
 
I don't know exactly when it happened, or if it was a direct result of, but a few years ago after I first soft-modded my wii, it could no longer connect to the internet. I can scan for networks but when I try to connect it gives an error code (not sure which one exactly).

It was hard-modded with a wiikey in 2007, and first soft modded when that scene first came to prominence, with the HBC, etc (2008?). I'm quite sure it did go online for a while after it was soft-modded because I remember playing mario kart online with a hack which made me always get a star (I'm not a cheating hacker, I was just curious to see if it would work). I also bought a USB ethernet adapter from ebay which didn't work, whether this is because it was a cheap Chinese knock-off or because of my wii I'm not sure. Though I do know it's not my router as other wiis have connected fine through it.

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it could be something to do with soft-modding (updating IOS's, etc) but I have no clue as I do play my wii but only for a few days whenever I get a decent game (once every 4-5 months). Also I have little memory of the soft-mods and programs I have ran on it over the past few years, and any resulting changes to the internal firmware. So I have little clue what's actually going on in there and whether its running the best/latest versions of the software in it.

I would love a solution to this as I would still like to try Monster Hunter and GoldenEye.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
 
rpgb46 said:
I don't know exactly when it happened, or if it was a direct result of, but a few years ago after I first soft-modded my wii, it could no longer connect to the internet. I can scan for networks but when I try to connect it gives an error code (not sure which one exactly).
Click to expand...
Finding out the error code and looking it up on Nintendo's support site is a good place to start. Also IIRC some of those "disable updates" hacks (ones found in startpatch) could cause the connection test to fail (as passing the connection test gives you a promt to download updates; even if you're on the latest firmware).
 
Clipper, yea, the Hackmii site doesn't tell me what else to do after I installed everything. I'm a total noob so I didn't know I had to install other things into HBC to use other functions. i thought it was all included.
 
Does HBC take a while to install?

I opened the letter bomb, and went to install the HBC. Upon hitting the "A" button the screen went black, and my drive is flashing blue.
Is this normal?

Doh! Must've pressed the a butoon too quickly last time. Installing HBC now.
 
ShinUltramanJ said:
Does HBC take a while to install?

I opened the letter bomb, and went to install the HBC. Upon hitting the "A" button the screen went black, and my drive is flashing blue.
Is this normal?
Click to expand...

not normal. you should see a install screen and the actual install takes a few seconds.
 
So I installed the HBC, and now there's nothing there on the screen besides little bubbles dancing around. I just put the Homebrew Browser on my SD Card, but apparently I did something wrong as there's nothing on the screen at all.
 
Okay, finally got around to updating my IOSes (including 236) and installed d2x. I thought I'd try it out with Brawl's Masterpieces. I've tried setting the options for both 247 and 248 with prevent IOS reload ON and I just get a black screen.

What am I missing? please help.
 
LevityNYC said:
What is that red wire / blue wire thing? I forgot which one i picked.. (i think whichever choice was on the left). Does it matter?
Click to expand...
This is why I keep touting my tutorial rather than just telling people to use LetterBomb. An excerpt from the page that includes my LetterBomb instructions (see bolded part in particular):
Code: 
5. Go to [URL="http://please.hackmii.com/"]this page[/URL] and follow the prompts using the following substeps:
    1. Select your System Version region (4.3E=PAL, 4.3U=US, 4.3J=JAPAN, 4.3K=KOREA)
    2. Enter your MAC Address into the 6 boxes that start off as AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF with two characters per box.
    3. Leave the check box for bundling the Hackmii Installer checked
    4. Copy the displayed Captcha text
    5. [B]Click either the "Cut the red wire" or "Cut the blue wire" button. They do the same thing.[/B]
    6. Download the zip file provided to you. If you entered the wrong text for the Captcha box, you will need to fill in the whole form again.
        * Do not attempt to use FlashGot or other download accelerators with this download as they probably won't work.

rpgb46 said:
I don't know exactly when it happened, or if it was a direct result of, but a few years ago after I first soft-modded my wii, it could no longer connect to the internet. I can scan for networks but when I try to connect it gives an error code (not sure which one exactly).

It was hard-modded with a wiikey in 2007, and first soft modded when that scene first came to prominence, with the HBC, etc (2008?). I'm quite sure it did go online for a while after it was soft-modded because I remember playing mario kart online with a hack which made me always get a star (I'm not a cheating hacker, I was just curious to see if it would work). I also bought a USB ethernet adapter from ebay which didn't work, whether this is because it was a cheap Chinese knock-off or because of my wii I'm not sure. Though I do know it's not my router as other wiis have connected fine through it.

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it could be something to do with soft-modding (updating IOS's, etc) but I have no clue as I do play my wii but only for a few days whenever I get a decent game (once every 4-5 months). Also I have little memory of the soft-mods and programs I have ran on it over the past few years, and any resulting changes to the internal firmware. So I have little clue what's actually going on in there and whether its running the best/latest versions of the software in it.

I would love a solution to this as I would still like to try Monster Hunter and GoldenEye.

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
If anybody noticed that you were using the star hack and reported you to Nintendo, then your console could have been banned. Why would you go online with that code? You could test it out in offline play without ruining anyone else's game.

If that's not it, I don't know what could have caused it. Your best approach is to use the Dop-Mii method on this page to upgrade your Wii to 4.2 or 4.3. This will undo any bad IOS stuff you did and also undo other menu hacks that might be causing your problems. The only thing it won't fix is if your console is banned.

Kaizer said:
So I installed the HBC, and now there's nothing there on the screen besides little bubbles dancing around. I just put the Homebrew Browser on my SD Card, but apparently I did something wrong as there's nothing on the screen at all.
Click to expand...
That is what you should see. Use this page to work out what else you want to install. E.g., use this one to properly install the Homebrew Browser via virtually impossible to mess up steps.

Choppasmith said:
Okay, finally got around to updating my IOSes (including 236) and installed d2x. I thought I'd try it out with Brawl's Masterpieces. I've tried setting the options for both 247 and 248 with prevent IOS reload ON and I just get a black screen.

What am I missing? please help.
Click to expand...
It depends on how you rip the game. I believe Brawl's masterpieces will not be ripped by default in Cfg as they exist on the non-game partition. You want to install the game again with all partitions or as a 1:1 rip (by adding the option install_partitions=all or install_partitions=1:1 to config.txt).
 
Thanks for the help Clipper, even though I did figure out what was wrong a few mere minutes after I asked. Now I've got everything set up and I'm exploring which Homebrew uses look the best. Can't wait for Xenoblade.
 
I've been thinking about modding my Wii for a while. My decision deoends on the answer to this question: Theoretically, would I be able to play Mother 1 & 2 with a Classic Controller in English on my television?
 
Chopper said:
I've been thinking about modding my Wii for a while. My decision deoends on the answer to this question: Theoretically, would I be able to play Mother 1 & 2 with a Classic Controller in English on my television?
Click to expand...
Sure!

NES and SNES emulators on there.. And I believe GBA too if you want to go that route.
 
Sorry if Im asking a question ad nauseum as Im sure others have asked, but I cant troll through 189 pages. I just letterbombed my wii, worked fine. Now I have a homebrew channel (that's empty save for bootmii) and bootmii, and that's it. Am I good to go for a retail disc of Xenoblade or do I need something else?
 
Snapshot King said:
Sorry if Im asking a question ad nauseum as Im sure others have asked, but I cant troll through 189 pages. I just letterbombed my wii, worked fine. Now I have a homebrew channel (that's empty save for bootmii) and bootmii, and that's it. Am I good to go for a retail disc of Xenoblade or do I need something else?
Click to expand...

You need a program to launch your out-of-region disc.

Gecko OS is your best option if you want to use the Xenoblade disc itself. Configurable USB Loader is best if you want to install the disc to a USB hard drive and play off that.
 
I suggest Cfg even if you want to play it from disc (you don't require a hard drive to use it to launch discs). That way, you can turn on the feature to write to the Wii Message Board playlog and stuff too.

A discussion and comparison of all the region free techniques can be found here.
 
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