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

Bluemercury said:
well i understand, but you see i was not the one who actually put the homebrew channel up and running.....althought ive managed to install the latest scummvm version i dont even know how or when to use the geckos.....:S
Click to expand...
Go to this site and read through it.

Download this file: http://www.codemii.com/wiihomebrew/homebrew_browser_v0.3.zip

I trust you have an application to unpack zipfiles, otherwise go here and get winrar, or here and get 7zip.

Unpack the zip file somewhere on your computer. Open an Explorer window to look at what was inside the zipfile. Locate the directory "homebrew_browser".

Insert your SD card into your PC and open it in another Explorer window. Locate the directory "apps" and open that.

Now copy the entire homebrew_browser folder into the apps folder on the SD card (drag-n-drop between the Explorer windows).

Erase all the files and folders you extracted from the zipfile, and the zipfile itself. They are useless now. Close both Explorer windows from before. Unmount your SD card (rightclick on the tiny tray icon and select "safely remove hardware", or open "My computer", select the SD card, rightclick on it and choose "eject").

Insert your SD card into the Wii, open the Homebrew channel, choose the homebrew browser, and you're done.
 
TheGreatDave said:
Think I know the answer, but is there anyway to do a fresh install of the HBC on 4.0 yet?
Click to expand...

No, not yet.

Anybody see that you can downgrade 4.0 without cIOS installed? //edit: Haha, late to the game. I don't know how I missed this on the previous page. Got super excited today when I found out.
 
I updated to 4.0 with Waninkoko's updater. When I put in one of the more recent games like NPC Pikmin my Wii still shows me that I need to install a new update before I can play it. What would happen if I update my Wii with the update from the disc? That update is supposed to install firmware 3.4, isn't it? Would it brick my Wii?

I know that I can play the game nevertheless via GeckoOS, it's just a question out of curiosity.
 
CTLance said:
Go to this site and read through it.

Download this file: http://www.codemii.com/wiihomebrew/homebrew_browser_v0.3.zip

I trust you have an application to unpack zipfiles, otherwise go here and get winrar, or here and get 7zip.

Unpack the zip file somewhere on your computer. Open an Explorer window to look at what was inside the zipfile. Locate the directory "homebrew_browser".

Insert your SD card into your PC and open it in another Explorer window. Locate the directory "apps" and open that.

Now copy the entire homebrew_browser folder into the apps folder on the SD card (drag-n-drop between the Explorer windows).

Erase all the files and folders you extracted from the zipfile, and the zipfile itself. They are useless now. Close both Explorer windows from before. Unmount your SD card (rightclick on the tiny tray icon and select "safely remove hardware", or open "My computer", select the SD card, rightclick on it and choose "eject").

Insert your SD card into the Wii, open the Homebrew channel, choose the homebrew browser, and you're done.
Click to expand...

I assume the homebrew browser is the homebrew channel???where i can run scummvm for example right? if yes i already have that.

edit: nevermind......:S, ill try later today installing it.

thanks anyway.
 
GeckoOS is a series of tools rolled into one, probably the two most important of which include the ability to load games regardless of region and bypassing the usually mandatory on-disc updates, and the Ocarina cheating system.

wrowa said:
I updated to 4.0 with Waninkoko's updater. When I put in one of the more recent games like NPC Pikmin my Wii still shows me that I need to install a new update before I can play it. What would happen if I update my Wii with the update from the disc? That update is supposed to install firmware 3.4, isn't it? Would it brick my Wii?

I know that I can play the game nevertheless via GeckoOS, it's just a question out of curiosity.
Click to expand...

It'll probably just install the IOS you're missing that the game needs to run. You didn't really do yourself any favors by using Waninkoko's 4.0 updater instead of Nintendo's. Nintendo's updater includes just about all of these "side" IOSes, and assuming you have a cIOS installed, you can use Waninkoko's IOS Downgrader (not to be confused with cIOS Downgrader) to patch most of those nice exploits right back into the "fixed" IOSes Nintendo so kindly provided you with.

Bluemercury said:
I assume the homebrew browser is the homebrew channel???where i can run scummvm for example right? if yes i already have that.
Click to expand...

The HBB (Homebrew Browser) is VERY different from the HBC (Homebrew Channel). The HBC is basically required to launch homebrew. The HBB is merely an app that communicates with an online homebrew depository. It's homebrew library is by no means comprehensive (and usually on a few days' lag with actual updates and releases), but it's a very convenient way to scour for new homebrew emulators/apps/utilities (no shady or illegal content hosted) and download them straight to your SD card, circumventing your computer entirely. It'll also allow you to upgrade to new versions of installed homebrew apps, once the HBB servers get update to include them. Sadly, this sometimes can take a few days.
 
So, now that there are non-Waninkoko USB Loaders (seriously, I'm not going to support for-profit stuff, and he's a scummy guy), I've decided to backup my Wii collection. I know the new USB loaders are based on his code, obviously, but even not having to look at his ugly mug is a pretty good incentive.

I'm going to document game install sizes here as they install, in case people are trying to budget out hard drive space to do the game install thing:
Animal Crossing City Folk - 0.33GB.
Battalion Wars 2 - 2.61GB.
Blast Works - 1.41GB.
Boom Blox - 1.32GB.
De Blob - 1.90GB.
Dewy's Adventure - 2.35GB.
Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire - 2.18GB.
Dragon Quest Swords - 2.51GB.
Elebits - 3.14GB.
Endless Ocean - 0.90GB.
Escape from Bug Island - 3.43GB.
Excite Truck - 0.65GB.
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon - 1.58GB.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - 2.92GB.
Ghost Squad - 0.63GB.
House of the Dead 2+3 Return - 3.26GB.
Kororinpa - 0.24GB.
Link's Crossbow Training - 0.22GB.
MadWorld - 3.41GB.
Mario Kart Wii - 2.59GB.
Mercury Meltdown Revolution - 3.14GB.
Metroid Prime 3 - 4.13GB.
My Word Coach - 2.35GB.
Ninjabread Man - 0.08GB. Yes, 80 megabytes. Wow.
No More Heroes - 3.30GB.
Opoona - 3.56GB.
Order Up - 2.08GB.
Red Steel - 3.87GB.
Resident Evil 4 - 3.90GB.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - 3.90GB.
Sonic and the Secret Rings - 3.59GB.
Smarty Pants - 0.18GB.
Super Mario Galaxy - 3.28GB.
Super Paper Mario - 0.41GB.
Super Smash Bros Brawl - ???
Trauma Center: Second Opinion - 0.93GB.
Trauma Center: New Blood - 3.45GB.
Wario Land: Shake It - 3.55GB.
We Ski - 0.67GB.
Wii Fit - 0.79GB.
Wii Play - 0.11GB.
Wii Sports - 0.32GB.
Zack and Wiki - 1.96GB.
Zelda: Twilight Princess - 1.89GB.

If anyone has games that I don't and is installing them, I'd love to hear what the install sizes are. Anyone got anything smaller than Ninjabread Man?
 
Hey folks,

So there was a supposed new exploit that would allow you to install the homebrew channel without TP. Most likely being fake, does anybody know if we should expect a true non TP exploit anytime soon? If not I will just go rent TP and install it. I am still on 3.2 so am not really sure what I would need to install a USB loader, gecko, homebrew channel, and any other vital apps. Advice would be fantastic.
 
Stumpokapow said:
So, now that there are non-Waninkoko USB Loaders (seriously, I'm not going to support for-profit stuff, and he's a scummy guy), I've decided to backup my Wii collection. I know the new USB loaders are based on his code, obviously, but even not having to look at his ugly mug is a pretty good incentive.

I'm going to document game install sizes here as they install, in case people are trying to budget out hard drive space to do the game install thing:
Wario Land: Shake It - 3.55GB
We Ski - 0.67GB.
Wii Play - 0.11GB.
Click to expand...

Cheers.
I've been spending each evening this week tinkering with various USB Loader mods (current favorite = the 1.1 build of Ultimate USB Loader 6.7) and slowly installing my entire collection. Last night I finally finished installing my 54 or so discs. All told, I've utilized about 111GBs of my 500GB HDD (a Seagate Freeagent Go).
 
I think when bootmii is released I'll start using all this stuff as well. Especially the USB Loader sounds great. I don't want to take all my discs with me all the time. Especially because if I loose my games-bag that would be a lot of money :/
 
Mejilan said:
It'll probably just install the IOS you're missing that the game needs to run. You didn't really do yourself any favors by using Waninkoko's 4.0 updater instead of Nintendo's. Nintendo's updater includes just about all of these "side" IOSes, and assuming you have a cIOS installed, you can use Waninkoko's IOS Downgrader (not to be confused with cIOS Downgrader) to patch most of those nice exploits right back into the "fixed" IOSes Nintendo so kindly provided you with.
Click to expand...

I followed your upgrade path and I'm stuck at the IOS Downgrader. I'm figuring it should be in the "apps" folder, but it doesn't show up in the Homebrew Channel. Made sure it wasn't cIOS Downgrader, but am I missing anything here? Everything else works fine. Haven't tried DVD capabilities or any of the emulators yet, but GeckoOS works fine (which is all I really need at the moment).
 
If you're launching it via the HBC, then yes, the IOS Downgrader needs to be in its own subfolder under the apps folder. Also, make sure that the .dol executable is renamed to boot.dol.
 
Okay so I've installed the HBC via the Twilight hack on my 3.3U Wii. What next? What do I need for SNES? The zip on the first page and the wad installer thingy?
 
So, what are some homebrew apps worth getting if I generally don't care much about emulation or anything like that? I only have GeckoOS for playing my imports but I've been playing some gamecube games and I've been wondering if there was something that would let me save to an SD card or use my classic controller with Gamecube games. Are there any basic "improve functionality of the Wii" programs I should put on?
 
GCN mode removes Wii-level support, so you'll need GCN controllers and memory cards to play GCN games. No way around this currently, to my knowledge.
 
Stumpokapow said:
If anyone has games that I don't and is installing them, I'd love to hear what the install sizes are. Anyone got anything smaller than Ninjabread Man?
Click to expand...
Here is every game that I own.
Picture10.png

Pulled an all-nighter to dump them. This OS X app is really useful for renaming the games to their proper names. No way do I want Wii Sports to be "Revolution sports pak" or something like that, and games in all caps, like "SUPER MARIO GALAXY" look annoying.

I love USB Loader, it totally makes homebrew worth having for me as if GeckOS was not enough. The fact that I can now have every single game that I own just available to be played with a touch of a button is just amazing. All my disc games, and thanks to 4.0, all my VC and all my WiiWare, is just all there, and it is amazing.

I have a question though, a while back with starfall, or was it anyregionchanger or something I dunno, I changed Shop Channel regions for a bit to buy a copy of Mario's Super Picross from the UK shop. It won't work on my USA Wii, and even though really tempted, I refuse to resort to illegitimate ways to get it running. Is there anything, preferably 4.0 compatible, that will allow me to play this UK download on my USA Wii? Regardless, I am happy now, so imagine how happy I will be if I ever get a chance to play Mario's Super Picross!
 
so i had HBC on my wii before, but then i uninstalled it and updated to 4.0, is there anyway i can reinstall the HBC again??
 
HUELEN10 said:
I love USB Loader, it totally makes homebrew worth having for me as if GeckOS was not enough. The fact that I can now have every single game that I own just available to be played with a touch of a button is just amazing. All my disc games, and thinks to 4.0, all my VC and all my WiiWare. It is just all there, and it is amazing.
Click to expand...

The disc changer has finally come to consoles!
 
MikeE21286 said:
The disc changer has finally come to consoles!
Click to expand...
Indeed!
HellsYEAH.png

(Yes, that is all of them, on top of each other)

Indeed. I now see why applications like this exist. Things like this loader could be used for piracy, face it guys, you know it as well as I, BUT now I have learned that just because something can be used for something, doesn't mean it HAS to be used for something. Homebrew is a tool, and this "Disc Changer" is an extremely useful one, and it will only get better as time goes on and I buy more games! I look back now, and I ask myself "Why not sooner?", and now my hope for the future is that VC/WiiWare games could be loaded from an SD Card or HDD, because I am paranoid of my internal storage going bad with so many writes and rewrites!
 
HUELEN10 said:
Here is every game that I own.
!
Click to expand...


wow - link to that OSX app?

Also, whats all this about waninkoko hate, and multiple USB loaders? I've not backed anything up yet, but I have my HDD formatted by a friend using his PC, and I'm ready to go with the 1.1 which is I think is waninkoko's one.

I dont' want to start backing stuff up if the apps are going to change and maybe affect compatibilty - can someone clear this up for me please?
 
HUELEN10 said:
I do not know if it would be against the ToS to link it, but it is called "WBFS For Mac OS X" Version 1.2.
Click to expand...

That was the first thing I googled seeing your pic but it didn't show up, I'll try again thx.
But it wouldn't be against the TOS, isn't it just a DVD Profiler-like app?

edit: found it
 
HUELEN10 said:
Indeed. I know see why applications like this exist. Things like this loader could be used for piracy, face it guys, you know it as well as I, BUT now I have learned that just because something can be used for something, doesn't mean it HAS to be used for something. Homebrew is a tool, and this "Disc Changer" is an extremely useful one, and it will only get better as time goes on and I buy more games! I look back now, and I ask myself "Why not sooner?", and now my hope fore the future is that VC/WiiWare games could be loaded from an SD Card or HDD, because I am paranoid of my internal storage going bad with so many writes and rewrites!
Click to expand...

I've been doing similar trickery on my DS, PSP, and PS2 for years. But I'm totally effin' thrilled that it's hit the Wii as well.
 
Holy shit that hd loader stuff looks ace. I wish I had the technical proficiency to understand and utilize it. I have a bunch of Wii games, and I would love to have them all in one spot.
 
mrklaw said:
Also, whats all this about waninkoko hate, and multiple USB loaders? I've not backed anything up yet, but I have my HDD formatted by a friend using his PC, and I'm ready to go with the 1.1 which is I think is waninkoko's one.
Click to expand...

Why would you go with 1.1 when Waninkoko has released 1.5? But ignoring that, the consensus seems to be that Ultimate USB Loader is the better piece of software.

I dont' want to start backing stuff up if the apps are going to change and maybe affect compatibilty - can someone clear this up for me please?
Click to expand...

The images are the images are the images. If compatibility changes, it won't impact the already-ripped disc images.
 
Mejilan said:
I've been doing similar trickery on my DS, PSP, and PS2 for years. But I'm totally effin' thrilled that it's hit the Wii as well.
Click to expand...
Here is the thing though, while I now admit and believe that loaders like these are merely homebrew tools, I will not download any games since its is my thought on the matter that the games I play should be bought and dumped by me for my use. Are you saying that like this USB Loader, there is some soft-mod way to dump DS games, like through download-play or something, & then put them on some card? If this is the case, I better hope GAF Search lets me find a DS homebrew thread if it exists! This concept of a "Disc Changer" in my pocket sounds pretty neat, if possible.

Also for my prior question about getting Mario's Super Picross to run, I tried starfall yet again this evening, but it failed to work. Any other utilities?
 
HUELEN10 said:
Here is the thing though, while I now admit and believe that loaders like these are merely homebrew tools, I will not download any games since its is my thought on the matter that the games I play should be bought and dumped by me for my use. Are you saying that like this USB Loader, there is some soft-mod way to dump DS games, like through download-play or something, & then put them on some card? If this is the case, I better hope GAF Search lets me find a DS homebrew thread if it exists! This concept of a "Disc Changer" in my pocket sounds pretty neat, if possible.

Also for my prior question about getting Mario's Super Picross to run, I tried starfall yet again this evening, but it failed to work. Any other utilities?
Click to expand...
with PSP and PS2 it's certainly easy to rip your own game images.
 
HUELEN10 said:
Here is the thing though, while I now admit and believe that loaders like these are merely homebrew tools, I will not download any games since its is my thought on the matter that the games I play should be bought and dumped by me for my use. Are you saying that like this USB Loader, there is some soft-mod way to dump DS games, like through download-play or something, & then put them on some card? If this is the case, I better hope GAF Search lets me find a DS homebrew thread if it exists! This concept of a "Disc Changer" in my pocket sounds pretty neat, if possible.
Click to expand...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114149
DS Homebrew is different though. You have to buy a cart (I have a CycloDS), but you can check that out in that thread. I jumped in to DS homebrew and I'm glad, as I can play my GB games on my DS. :)

If you would like more info post in that thread.

I'm thinking of jumping into Wii homebrew. Especially with the Fatal Frame crap and... it just seems cool. DVD playback would be nice too. Unfortunately, I have 4.0 so I'll have to wait for an exploit.
 
Well, homebrew on the DS requires a flashcart. I personally recommend the CycloDS Evolution (DS and DSL only, won't work with the DSi). That matched with an 8GB micro SDHC card and the EZV Flash 3-in-1 slot 2 expansion basically allows you to dump and carry around all of your DS and GBA games on the SD card. It's pretty effin' brilliant.

I don't know too much about Starfall, since it was 3.2 only. I use Preloader 0.29 for my System Menu hacks + moderate brick protection needs.

PSP and PS2 can also be somewhat easily soft-modded, if you have the right models.
 
Mejilan said:
Well, homebrew on the DS requires a flashcart. I personally recommend the CycloDS Evolution (DS and DSL only, won't work with the DSi). That matched with an 8GB micro SDHC card and the EZV Flash 3-in-1 slot 2 expansion basically allows you to dump and carry around all of your DS and GBA games on the SD card. It's pretty effin' brilliant.

I don't know too much about Starfall, since it was 3.2 only. I use Preloader 0.29 for my System Menu hacks + moderate brick protection needs.

PSP and PS2 can also be somewhat easily soft-modded, if you have the right models.
Click to expand...
I will wait for a DSi Card that works in both DS and DSi modes I guess. I love my DSi. BTW, does that dumping device work on any OS? As long as I am the one doing the dumping, I am cool with it, but I seriously don't like ROMs. Also, how long does it take to dump a DS game?

About the PSP thing, I HATE UMDs but I did not know that dumping your own games from a psp was easy! Anyone have a link to the PSP homebrew thread? I might be interested now, if I can buy and rip a collection for myself that is!

As for preloader, it does region-free channels?!?!?!?!?

Sorry to side-track the thread for a bit, but thanks for all the help! I'll keep additional questions in the appropriate threads.
 
There's only one DSi-compatible flashcart that I know of (the Acekart 2i), but it only opens up DS mode homebrew (like any other DS/DSL flashcart). DSi-mode is still out of reach.

That also means, of course, that you'll need a slot 2 solution in order to dump DS carts, and for now, that means DS or DSL only, since the DSi had the slot 2 removed. A CycloDS Evolution + EZV Flash 3-in-1 can dump a 128MB game in 4 passes, taking up a total of 15 or so minutes. It's a bit annoying, but it's very reliable. As a bonus, it can also dump your saves right out of the cart, so that you can continue your game without the need for the cart, or to start over!

As for the PSP homebrew thread, it's maintained by yours truly. Click on my username, search for posts created by me, and it's likely to be the first one on the list. :) Keep in mind that only PSP 1000s and earlier 2000s can be cracked. Most newer 2000s and all 3000s are currently crack-proof, although there's some recent hope of progress on that front.

And finally, regarding Preloader 0.29, I think it requires System Menu 4.0, but it certainly does have hacks available for region free games and channels.
 
HUELEN10 said:
About the PSP thing, I HATE UMDs but I did not know that dumping your own games from a psp was easy! Anyone have a link to the PSP homebrew thread? I might be interested now, if I can buy and rip a collection for myself that is!
Click to expand...

Mejilan is probably about to tell you that it's the only way to play! UMD has loading times, and depletes the PSP battery far too quickly.

I don't know if a true "jukebox" is really feasible though... UMDs are often GBs of data and the largest cards are still only 32GB.. last I checked.

Last I ripped a game there was a homebrew app that let you mount the PSP as a disk drive, and all you had to do was then drag and drop the contents of the PSP UMD drive to the hard drive. What was it called again?
 
I love loaders used for legitimate purposes but remember this: It is a scummy thing to start downloading titles or even worse (because it is really dumb and scummy) selling your collection after ripping them all to a hard drive. I laughed my ass off when my friend did it years ago on his PS2 HD loader and the drive proceeded to die about a month later.

I do have a Japanese Wii sitting pre-4.0 somewhere, I might try this out if one of my hard drives happens to work with it...
 
BocoDragon said:
Mejilan is probably about to tell you that it's the only way to play! UMD has loading times, and depletes the PSP battery far too quickly.

I don't know if a true "jukebox" is really feasible though... UMDs are often GBs of data and the largest cards are still only 32GB.. last I checked.

Last I ripped a game there was a homebrew app that let you mount the PSP as a disk drive, and all you had to do was then drag and drop the contents of the PSP UMD drive to the hard drive. What was it called again?
Click to expand...
That's done right from the CFW. You change the option for the USB connection to read the UMD instead of the MS. Drag/Drop to your PC then drag/drop back to your MS. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
 
Fuzzy said:
That's done right from the CFW. You change the option for the USB connection to read the UMD instead of the MS. Drag/Drop to your PC then drag/drop back to your MS. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Click to expand...
Nice! My CFW is hella out of date... but it's been updated since the "update firmware" option was hacked to update CFW... can I still go ahead and use that to get the latest firmware?
 
BocoDragon said:
Nice! My CFW is hella out of date... but it's been updated since the "update firmware" option was hacked to update CFW... can I still go ahead and use that to get the latest firmware?
Click to expand...
I'll quote Mejilan's last post in the PSP CFW thread.

Mejilan said:
If you're not 100% confident that M33 Network Update is enabled, and you're too lazy to check, you can initiate the network update download, then cancel out of it when it prompts you to execute it. Then navigate to the Game / Memory Stick menu on the XMB, and scope out the installer. It'll be dead obvious if it's the M33 installer or not.
Click to expand...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=226650&page=102
 
New Play Control! Pikmin at 1.91 gigabytes? Interesting. Considering how little it changed, I wouldn't have guessed it would go over the size of a GameCube disc.
 
Ok, so I havent updated my Wii to 3.0 yet after I got it repaired. Im just wondering, is there any real reason I shouldnt updateÉ Like what is this usb loader and stuff.
 
whitehawk said:
Ok, so I havent updated my Wii to 3.0 yet after I got it repaired. Im just wondering, is there any real reason I shouldnt updateÉ Like what is this usb loader and stuff.
Click to expand...
USB Loader is every Wii Disc you own on an HDD at the touch of a button. Combined with Wii System 4.0 for your VC and Wiiware, it turns your Wii into a jukebox of awesomeness, anytime you want!
 
JoshuaJSlone said:
New Play Control! Pikmin at 1.91 gigabytes? Interesting. Considering how little it changed, I wouldn't have guessed it would go over the size of a GameCube disc.
Click to expand...
Maybe they're not compressing stuff on the disc now?
 
I can't seem to get the usb loader to completely install. It runs through everything fine until it gets to the custom IOS and then it fails and gives me the 2011 error code.

Any way to fix this?
 
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