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[Clipper]

Clipper, quick question:

Can you use codes/cheats for GC games loading from Gecko?

I don't know, but Geckocodes.org, the site to get cheat files and stuff, lists Gamecube games. They probably only work with the GameCube Gecko homebrew app, which you would need to run from a burnt disc I think, which requires a way to do that of course and I'm not going to go into how to do that (apart from saying it's impossible on newer Wiis).

Two quick questions, though:
Is the HBC dependent on an internet connection? My router is wonky and occasionally stops working when my Wii tries to connect to it.

Do any of the extra programs require the SD card to be in the Wii at all times?

No it doesn't need Internet, but you don't require the SD card for anything else. The tutorial recommends it throughout for simplicity purposes, but the ground rules on the starting page mention the fact that you can use your FAT formatted hard drive for everything else in place of the SD if you like. Personally, I keep all my apps on the SD as they are easier to manage that way (moving the SD between my PC and Wii is easier than the hard drive for me). I do keep all my Cfg stuff apart from the .dol to launch it on the hard drive for the added speed that provides, though (covers, etc.). All other homebrew apps will launch off the hard drive provided you don't have the SD plugged in.

Ahhhhh. Did not know that. I guess I should be very careful about moving things around, then. Thanks.

Edit: Alright, first real problem. I'm trying to install IOS236. I'm connected to the internet, but it gives me an error about "net_init failed: -24". So I'm going with the offline option, but I'm confused:
I downloaded NUS Downloader, opened the program, checked the "Pack WAD" box, copy/pasted "0000000100000024 v3351" into the title bar, and clicked "Start NUS Download!" I now have a file in the /titles/0000000100000024/3608 directory called "IOS36-64-3608.wad", which is different than the "IOS36-64-v3351.wad" in Clipper's guide.

Is this just an updated version of the .wad file and not something worth worrying about? Should I have typed "v3351" in the text box next to Pack WAD?

You require the correct version number so you do need to try some more. Note that there are two boxes in the NUS downloader box and the v is already written there for you. Copy the two different numbers into the two boxes. Alternatively, use the menu option to select IOS36 v3551.

 

[SecretMoblin]

You require the correct version number so you do need to try some more. Note that there are two boxes in the NUS downloader box and the v is already written there for you. Copy the two different numbers into the two boxes. Alternatively, use the menu option to select IOS36 v3551.

Thanks.

Also, apparently there's a new version of d2x, 3.0, released two days ago.

 

[Clipper]

Thanks.

Also, apparently there's a new version of d2x, 3.0, released two days ago.

Yes, I had just noticed myself. However, I'm beginning to hear reports that it can cause drive errors on launch of games with many drives. They've transitioned to d2xv7 using some of the modules from Hermes' IOS and there are either bugs or we don't have full compatibility added to Cfg yet (all the Cfg devs, including me, are pretty busy right now).

By all means, try it out, but if you get errors, run the 2.2 Installer again to revert to d2x v6.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Sorry if I'm missing something, but are there no words in the Cfg GUI? I'm confused by all the random icons; one looks like a shield, one looks like a grid, etc. Is there a layout or something that would add short descriptions of everything?

Also: ripped Sin & Punishment. It felt really good, and it went a lot faster than I had anticipated.

 

[Clipper]

Sorry if I'm missing something, but are there no words in the Cfg GUI? I'm confused by all the random icons; one looks like a shield, one looks like a grid, etc. Is there a layout or something that would add short descriptions of everything?

Also: ripped Sin & Punishment. It felt really good, and it went a lot faster than I had anticipated.

Hmm... that might be the new default theme, although I'm not sure. The default should still be set up to have the menu bars that appear when you scroll to the top or bottom of the screen, I believe, and those buttons have text. I don't have time to check now, but I'll check for you later. Are you absolutely sure you are using Cfg and not GX or WiiFlow?

 

[SecretMoblin]

Hmm... that might be the new default theme, although I'm not sure. The default should still be set up to have the menu bars that appear when you scroll to the top or bottom of the screen, I believe, and those buttons have text. I don't have time to check now, but I'll check for you later. Are you absolutely sure you are using Cfg and not GX or WiiFlow?

Yes -- I followed the instructions exactly as they appear on the Wiki, though I did use the .dol that came with the Cfg .zip (cfg70), rather than using cfg70-222.dol that is on the GBATemp website; could that be the problem? There isn't a menu that pops up when I scroll to the bottom or the top of the screen, the menus are always visible.

Also, I am using d2x 3.0, if that matters.

 

[Clipper]

Yes -- I followed the instructions exactly as they appear on the Wiki, though I did use the .dol that came with the Cfg .zip (cfg70), rather than using cfg70-222.dol that is on the GBATemp website; could that be the problem? There isn't a menu that pops up when I scroll to the bottom or the top of the screen, the menus are always visible.

Also, I am using d2x 3.0, if that matters.

You don't want to use the 222 versions. If you find the button that accesses the main menu, you can change the theme to something else and then you should be able to see the text-based menus. Alternatively, just play with the buttons to figure them out, they're not dangerous. I might put up an image on the tutorial when I get time that indicates what's what in the new default layout, but I don't have time to do that for a while yet.

 

[SecretMoblin]

You don't want to use the 222 versions. If you find the button that accesses the main menu, you can change the theme to something else and then you should be able to see the text-based menus. Alternatively, just play with the buttons to figure them out, they're not dangerous. I might put up an image on the tutorial when I get time that indicates what's what in the new default layout, but I don't have time to do that for a while yet.

Alright, I'll fool around with it a bit.

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[LProtag]

So if it turns out that my lens stopped reading dual layer disks (it worked with Brawl back in the day, but I can't find it to test) when I try playing Xenoblade, if I remove the Homebrew Channel, which is all I have installed, should I be fine sending it in for repairs? Or would I be better off using a friend's Wii to rip it to a USB HD and going through that method?

 

[SecretMoblin]

Just a quick update: I played with some of the buttons on Cfg and found a place to change the "theme", so I moved it from Glass (the default) to GreyMatter, and it's looking much better. Menus pop up at the bottom and top of the screen, and everything has text.

And the music is pretty great, too.

Thanks again, Clipper!

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Is there a Gamecube USB loader yet for the Wii?

 

[Datschge]

Is there a Gamecube USB loader yet for the Wii?

Only a hardware based one.

 

[Clipper]

So if it turns out that my lens stopped reading dual layer disks (it worked with Brawl back in the day, but I can't find it to test) when I try playing Xenoblade, if I remove the Homebrew Channel, which is all I have installed, should I be fine sending it in for repairs? Or would I be better off using a friend's Wii to rip it to a USB HD and going through that method?

This doesn't always work. It truly depends on how thorough the guy who tests your Wii is. Plenty of people find it is enough, but plenty end up getting it refused repair too. It can't hurt to try your luck with a replacement, so give that a go and go with the friend option if it doesn't work out.

Is there a Gamecube USB loader yet for the Wii?

THe project that was going to bring this is dead. It was released, but compatibility is abysmal. It looks like it's never going to happen.

 

[LProtag]

This doesn't always work. It truly depends on how thorough the guy who tests your Wii is. Plenty of people find it is enough, but plenty end up getting it refused repair too. It can't hurt to try your luck with a replacement, so give that a go and go with the friend option if it doesn't work out.

So there's no way to completely erase evidence of homebrew being on your Wii? Tough.

 

[Clipper]

So there's no way to completely erase evidence of homebrew being on your Wii? Tough.

Not unless you were very careful when you first started, creating a BootMii backup as your very first task and even then things will seem highly suspect. It'll also take a lot of work to preserve your saves before reverting to the old backup.

 

[LProtag]

Not unless you were very careful when you first started, creating a BootMii backup as your very first task and even then things will seem highly suspect. It'll also take a lot of work to preserve your saves before reverting to the old backup.

I'll just figure out a way to use the USB loader if I run into trouble I guess. Is the worst they would do refuse service or attempt to charge me for it?

 

[Clipper]

I'll just figure out a way to use the USB loader if I run into trouble I guess. Is the worst they would do refuse service or attempt to charge me for it?

They could refuse service outright and return it unrepaired. They could also give you the option of paying extra for the repair, or retuning unrepaired. They won't force you to pay.

 

[KarmaCow]

Not sure if this belongs here but can you partition a hard drive without formatting it first? I have a half full external drive, and can't move all that stuff to my computer but I would like to use it for the USB loader thing.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Not sure if this belongs here but can you partition a hard drive without formatting it first? I have a half full external drive, and can't move all that stuff to my computer but I would like to use it for the USB loader thing.

I'm using it fine without a partition at all. The Wii games are just stored on a folder on the drive's root directory, and the Configurable USB Loader just recognizes them from there.

 

[Clipper]

Not sure if this belongs here but can you partition a hard drive without formatting it first? I have a half full external drive, and can't move all that stuff to my computer but I would like to use it for the USB loader thing.

You can shrink an existing partition and then create a new partition, but you probably don't need to partition it as mentioned above. Provided the current partition is either FAT32 or NTFS, Cfg will be perfectly fine to use it. Further info about this is on the Cfg page.

 

[KarmaCow]

Oh alright, thanks. I'll try it out tomorrow.

 

[26thletter]

Has anyone been able to get PC Engine CD audio to work correctly? I've been able to play the games, but with no music.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I letterbombed on Thursday and it was super-simple. Clipper, thank you so much for your great contributions and guides. Other than some trouble ripping my games to a (probably) bad external hard drive, I have not had a single issue. A few questions:

1. Is it possible to remove the annoying background music from the cfg launcher?

2. Is it at all possible to use alternate controllers for games were they were not intended? i.e. use the classic controller for DKCR?

3. Is it possible to return to HBC or CFG from a ripped game instead of the Wii menu?

 

[dani_dc]

There is absolutely no use for backup managing software on the Wii except for piracy at this stage, especially if your drive isn't WBFS formatted. Also, there's no way without hardware like WODE to play GameCube games that you downloaded from the Internet, so that answer to ythe other question about doing that is also suspect. I might be missing something, so I will give you a chance to explain yourself before this gets taken to a mod. Please do so.

The Wii Backup Manager question would make sense if he wants to use dolphin.
I had to use the Wii Backup Manager to convert the Wii games I ripped to ISO so I could play them on my PC via Dolphin.
Unless that changed since some months back or I'm misunderstanding the situation.

 

[Brannon]

I'm still genuinely surprised that Wii modding has gotten to such a ridiculously easy method. It's almost Dreamcastian in a way.

 

[Clipper]

I letterbombed on Thursday and it was super-simple. Clipper, thank you so much for your great contributions and guides. Other than some trouble ripping my games to a (probably) bad external hard drive, I have not had a single issue. A few questions:

1. Is it possible to remove the annoying background music from the cfg launcher?

2. Is it at all possible to use alternate controllers for games were they were not intended? i.e. use the classic controller for DKCR?

3. Is it possible to return to HBC or CFG from a ripped game instead of the Wii menu?

1. If you're talking about the forwarder, then you'd need to compile your own. If you're talking about Cfg itself, the music is completely configurable. By default, it will play random .mp3 and .mod files from the base directory (typically /usb-loader). You can also specify a particular file, a particular directory of files or switch the music off using the music option.

2. Only if somebody has programmed a cheat for that game that enables such an action. DKCR does have such a cheat. The cheat engine is called Ocarina and can be turned on in the Wii options. The other option related to cheats is the hook type, that determines when the cheat is applied and different hook types are needed for different games, so experiment.

3. Yes. The return_to_channel option can do just that. Check the forwarder page for info. However, it can't be used in conjunction with the write_playlog option.

The Wii Backup Manager question would make sense if he wants to use dolphin.
I had to use the Wii Backup Manager to convert the Wii games I ripped to ISO so I could play them on my PC via Dolphin.
Unless that changed since some months back or I'm misunderstanding the situation.

You don't need one. Both Cfg and CleanRip can rip directly to .iso files. I'm actually surprised nobody has added .wbfs support to Dolphin as the files take up a lot less space and it would make a ton of sense.

 

[dani_dc]

You don't need one. Both Cfg and CleanRip can rip directly to .iso files. I'm actually surprised nobody has added .wbfs support to Dolphin as the files take up a lot less space and it would make a ton of sense.

Ah I see, I wasn't aware of that. Good to know for future reference.
Still I think I prefer keeping the .wbfs on my external HDD and then converting them to ISO when passing to the PC instead of ripping each game twice. Just more convinient to wait a few minutes while on the PC to convert the files than waiting some 10-40 minutes for my Wii to rip a game a second time.
Hopefully someone adds .wbfs support to Dolphin so that becames uneeded though.

 

[Clipper]

Ah I see, I wasn't aware of that. Good to know for future reference.
Still I think I prefer keeping the .wbfs on my external HDD and then converting them to ISO when passing to the PC instead of ripping each game twice. Just more convinient to wait a few minutes while on the PC to convert the files than waiting some 10-40 minutes for my Wii to rip a game a second time.
Hopefully someone adds .wbfs support to Dolphin so that becames uneeded though.

Cfg reads .iso too, so you can get away with only the one rip per game. If you have your NTFS drive set up as sparse, then they take up the same amount of space as .wbfs files too, so there is no real downside.

 

[Hitoribhoshi]

I'm pretty sure you can compress your games on dolphin by right clicking on them.

 

[Ledsen]

So I haven't updated my Wii in a while. I'm on 4.2E, with IOS249 v20, IOS 236 v2 and IOS58. I'm going to update IOS 236, but what should I do with 249 and 58? 249 is mentioned as obsolete in the wiki, but 58 isn't even mentioned. I don't even know why I installed it in the first place I think it's used in the Homebrew Channel or something? I'm pretty sure that says "IOS 58" in the corner of the menu.

 

[Clipper]

So I haven't updated my Wii in a while. I'm on 4.2E, with IOS249 v20, IOS 236 v2 and IOS58. I'm going to update IOS 236, but what should I do with 249 and 58? 249 is mentioned as obsolete in the wiki, but 58 isn't even mentioned. I don't even know why I installed it in the first place I think it's used in the Homebrew Channel or something? I'm pretty sure that says "IOS 58" in the corner of the menu.

IOS58 is Nintendo's version. There is no need to update IOS236. All the changes in the versions past v2 are in the installer, not in the IOS it installs. You should upgrade to d2x and follow the meta.xml steps within the Cfg page though.

 

[Ledsen]

Thanks a lot clipper! Is ios 58 not needed anymore, since it isn't mentioned in the tutorial?

 

[Black Republican]

I'm still genuinely surprised that Wii modding has gotten to such a ridiculously easy method. It's almost Dreamcastian in a way.

i couldnt believe how easy it was to soft mod this thing, and im no techie whatsoever

 

[Clipper]

Thanks a lot clipper! Is ios 58 not needed anymore, since it isn't mentioned in the tutorial?

The only thing in the tutorial that needs IOS58 to be present is the forwarder. It is mentioned as being necessary during that installation.

 

[Ledsen]

Ah, I do use the forwarder, that explains it.

 

[Abylim]

ok, I've installed the bomebrew channel on my wii, am I ok to play games like Xenoblade etc, still? Will it uninstall my homebrew or anything?

Im brand new to this, literally just did this yesterday.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Does anyone use "StartPatch" for import games? It installed just fine for me (disc is recognized in the menu), but when I start the game (tried Arc of Fantasia) it's stuck on a black screen and won't load.
It works fine with Gecko OS and the USB loader, but I would love to use StartPatch, because it makes the Wii behave naturally for import games without any additional menus I don't need.

I installed the newest version on 4.3E firmware.

 

[Like the hat?]

I want to upgrade the hard drive I'm using with usb loader. Can I just use windows to drag and drop the files onto the new drive, or do I have to re-rip all of my games? Not that re-ripping would be difficult, but it would be time consuming.

 

[Saroyan]

I want to upgrade the hard drive I'm using with usb loader. Can I just use windows to drag and drop the files onto the new drive, or do I have to re-rip all of my games? Not that re-ripping would be difficult, but it would be time consuming.

You can just copy them over with a PC

 

[Like the hat?]

You can just copy them over with a PC

awesome, thanks! can finally finish installing all of my wii games.

 

[ronito]

ok, I've installed the bomebrew channel on my wii, am I ok to play games like Xenoblade etc, still? Will it uninstall my homebrew or anything?

Im brand new to this, literally just did this yesterday.

I'll second this.

What all do we need to play Xenoblade?

 

[Zafir]

All you need is a loader to get round the region locking. Like Gecko OS. Otherwise you should be perfectly fine playing Xenoblade through that. There is no updates on the disk or anything, which means your channels won't be removed.

It's only new updates to the system which will remove the homebrew channel.

 

[Chopper]

Will Homebrew allow me to play import Gamecube games on my Wii? I want to play them in 480p, and GC component leads are ridiculously expensive and hard to find...

 

[Twilight Princess]

ugh, i hacked my wii ;_; i want to use a usb loader to play xenoblade when it arrives. i ripped smash bros, put it on a usb stick and now the game is stuck at a black screen. =(
can anyone help?

 

[slaughterking]

ugh, i hacked my wii ;_; i want to use a usb loader to play xenoblade when it arrives. i ripped smash bros, put it on a usb stick and now the game is stuck at a black screen. =(
can anyone help?

From the wiki:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Metroid: Other M keeps crashing.
Dual layer games don't work well with IOS249 rev 14. Try using Hermes' IOS222/223 or rev 15 of IOS249 to install and play the game.

Maybe that'll help.

 

[The Spoony Hou]

Does anyone use "StartPatch" for import games?

Fucking Startpatch bricked my Wii. Don't be stupid like me and put BottMii there and do a nand backup before messing around.

I bought another one recently. I can't bear not having a Wii .

 

[Clipper]

ok, I've installed the bomebrew channel on my wii, am I ok to play games like Xenoblade etc, still? Will it uninstall my homebrew or anything?

Im brand new to this, literally just did this yesterday.

You'll be fine, just make sure you have read the guide above including the region free page.

Does anyone use "StartPatch" for import games? It installed just fine for me (disc is recognized in the menu), but when I start the game (tried Arc of Fantasia) it's stuck on a black screen and won't load.
It works fine with Gecko OS and the USB loader, but I would love to use StartPatch, because it makes the Wii behave naturally for import games without any additional menus I don't need.

I installed the newest version on 4.3E firmware.

I used to use it on 4.2 for games I couldn't play via Cfg. It works great. Just ensure you get the correct version and only use the hacks suggested in the tutorial (so don't use the menu display hacks and stuff).

I'll second this.

What all do we need to play Xenoblade?

Read this.

Will Homebrew allow me to play import Gamecube games on my Wii? I want to play them in 480p, and GC component leads are ridiculously expensive and hard to find...

Yep, all the region free techniques in the GAF tutorial wiki support GCN disc launching. Just hold B after you launch the game to get the prompt to switch them into progressive.

Fucking Startpatch bricked my Wii. Don't be stupid like me and put BottMii there and do a nand backup before messing around.

I bought another one recently. I can't bear not having a Wii .

What hacks did you turn on that bricked it? I want to add warnings to the wiki.

 

[The Spoony Hou]

What hacks did you turn on that bricked it? I want to add warnings to the wiki.

I tried both Region Free Wii games and Replace Health Screen With Blackmenu.

I tried putting on both at the same time, so maybe I'm just really stupid, but I couldn't find much info on how to proceed. I saw a warning about removing any patches before applying new ones, but I understood that there would be no problems applying more than one patch at the same time.

Also, I used the first version after 4.3 came out (4.3.0u), so maybe something was fixed in the following version.

 

[Clipper]

I tried both Region Free Wii games and Replace Health Screen With Blackmenu.

I tried putting on both at the same time, so maybe I'm just really stupid, but I couldn't find much info on how to proceed. I saw a warning about removing any patches before applying new ones, but I understood that there would be no problems applying more than one patch at the same time.

Also, I used the first version after 4.3 came out (4.3.0u), so maybe something was fixed in the following version.

Right. I suspected it might be that one. I'll add the warnings now.

Edit: Done with the warning. Thanks for the info and I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Jucksalbe]

I used to use it on 4.2 for games I couldn't play via Cfg. It works great. Just ensure you get the correct version and only use the hacks suggested in the tutorial (so don't use the menu display hacks and stuff).

The only other thing I used was to remove the copy protection of save files, maybe I should turn that off.