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

Clipper said:
Actually, thank your lucky stars that Nintendo isn't implementing proper checks to see if the HBC is on there. There is still plenty of proof that you did have the HBC installed if all you did was move it to the SD card. I guess it's good for all of us that Nintendo isn't checking the play log and tickets yet.
This. Oh, and autobzooty, exploits will come soon enough.
 
Damn, I can't wait for the Lan adapter fix, it really sucks I always have to DELETE my internet connection set-up to have the USB Loader work at all... and then write all my settings back in the Wii everygoddamned time I want to play online... using discs, since we LAN users can't go online through the USBLoader -__-
 
What's the best version of USB Loader currently available? I haven't updated in a few weeks but the last time I did they were releasing a million versions a day...
 
Great King Bowser said:
What's the best version of USB Loader currently available? I haven't updated in a few weeks but the last time I did they were releasing a million versions a day...

Depends what you want. The snazzy GUI versions like coverflow are still updating to add the features the others have all had for ages, but if you want to go for maximum customisability and features, get Configurable USB Loader (latest version is v28).

Having said this, there will be further updates as soon as Waninkoko releases cIOS rev 11 and/or the base USB Loader 1.6. to fix some of the bugs.
 
Wow... I haven't turned on my wii in months, and haven't visited this thread in months. I'm so far behind now. Everything has changed. The whole world has changed! And I have no idea where to begin!
 
Clipper said:
there will be further updates as soon as Waninkoko releases cIOS rev 11 and/or the base USB Loader 1.6. to fix some of the bugs.

Do you know by any chance if one of the fixes he's looking at it's for those hated Lan connection and second USB port problems?
 
Dash Kappei said:
edit nvm then, good for you! :)
I redid the steps and it was the wiiload.tar.gz file inside the wiiload folder that was making the installation process to go wonky. I should have put only the boot.dol file in the sd card, not sure why I thought the wiiload folder was necessary in any form after reading both stump's tutorial and the HBC readme. I blame lack of sleep. :p
 
Dash Kappei said:
Do you know by any chance if one of the fixes he's looking at it's for those hated Lan connection and second USB port problems?
The GBAtemp Wiki (which is down right now, but Google cached version is here) has stated for ages that rev 11 will fix the other USB device issues. This may or may not fix the LAN adapter issues, but it probably will.
 
Help me GAF !

There's a demo of Gyakuten Kenji on the JAP Nintendo Channel ! I don't read japanese and it's probably the same demo than the flash one but I'd love to see how it looks on my DS.

How do I go about downloading the JAP Nintendo Channel on my PAL Wii by the magic of homebrew ?
 
Ramenman said:
Help me GAF !

There's a demo of Gyakuten Kenji on the JAP Nintendo Channel ! I don't read japanese and it's probably the same demo than the flash one but I'd love to see how it looks on my DS.

How do I go about downloading the JAP Nintendo Channel on my PAL Wii by the magic of homebrew ?

This is very dangerous, I strongly recommend against it. To download the channel, you will need to use one of the region changer apps to turn it into a Japanese Wii. This comes with a high chance of bricking if you make a mistake. Once done, you wouldn't be able to play your other apps without changing the region back or using one of the multi-region apps, but these can also be dangerous.

If you do decide you want to risk it, I strongly suggest you change the Wii Region, download, install and play the demo while still using your 'Japanese' Wii, then switch region back to PAL and either delete or hide away the Japanese Nintendo Channel somewhere where you won't accidentally start it (like the final page of channels).
 
Well this thread is quite big, but anyway if anyone can help that would be great. I can't get the Gecko Region Free to work with HBC, I'm running 3.4 firmware HBC, whenever I try to use the app, it says it's not a valid Wii app.

I really want to play my TvC. =(
 
Clipper said:
This is very dangerous, I strongly recommend against it. To download the channel, you will need to use one of the region changer apps to turn it into a Japanese Wii. This comes with a high chance of bricking if you make a mistake. Once done, you wouldn't be able to play your other apps without changing the region back or using one of the multi-region apps, but these can also be dangerous.

If you do decide you want to risk it, I strongly suggest you change the Wii Region, download, install and play the demo while still using your 'Japanese' Wii, then switch region back to PAL and either delete or hide away the Japanese Nintendo Channel somewhere where you won't accidentally start it (like the final page of channels).

This makes me feel better about biting the bullet and simply buying a Japanese Wii.
 
Cheesemeister said:
This makes me feel better about biting the bullet and simply buying a Japanese Wii.

If your mainly interested in the JPN VC Shop, than definitely, that is the way to go.
There's no contest between the JPN VC support compared to US and EU, and that alone might be worth it for some people.

Otherwise, luckily there's nothing else holding down the PAL and US machines, thanks to Gecko, USB Loader and the fact that Wiiware doesn't suffer from Noa/Noe bullshit decisions.
In fact, playing Tatsunoko like it was a digitally distributed PAL game is pretty damn awesome!
 
lupinko said:
Well this thread is quite big, but anyway if anyone can help that would be great. I can't get the Gecko Region Free to work with HBC, I'm running 3.4 firmware HBC, whenever I try to use the app, it says it's not a valid Wii app.

I really want to play my TvC. =(
You did put the Gecko OS thing in the apps folder right? It should be able to recognize it as an app when you boot up the homebrew channel.
 
lupinko said:
Well this thread is quite big, but anyway if anyone can help that would be great. I can't get the Gecko Region Free to work with HBC, I'm running 3.4 firmware HBC, whenever I try to use the app, it says it's not a valid Wii app.

I really want to play my TvC. =(
Most likely, you are using a .elf version rather than a .dol. The later versions of the HBC do not support some .elf files any more. You can convert to .dol using the ELF to DOL Converter.
 
GaussTek said:
Alright, the new exploit for Wii, bannerbomb, has been released. Keep in mind this is an alpha.

http://bannerbomb.qoid.us/

I haven't tested it, but would be nice to see if someone with 4.0 can run something with it.

Be sure to read everything the site says.
This is useless for those of us with HBC, right?
 
Um, at the moment, isn't it also useless to those without HBC? It doesn't let you do anything. It seems to just let you test out which exploit worked and let them know. I guess it's only a matter of time before somebody releases an HBC installer, though.

Edit: Oh wait, my bad. Rereading shows it will read a .dol that you provide. Hence, you can't install HBC, but you can use this to run one of the USB loaders or any other single app.
 
I'm sure most of you guys, like me, don't like or trust much about SoftMii, but I used the SoftMii Tweak to install a themed system menu and I really like how it looks. I went with the black pirate theme, since the only "pirate" part is the health screen which I skip with preloader. Definitely recommend checking it out.
 
Clipper said:
Um, at the moment, isn't it also useless to those without HBC? It doesn't let you do anything. It seems to just let you test out which exploit worked and let them know. I guess it's only a matter of time before somebody releases an HBC installer, though.

Edit: Oh wait, my bad. Rereading shows it will read a .dol that you provide. Hence, you can't install HBC, but you can use this to run one of the USB loaders or any other single app.

the HBC installer is a .dol file IIRC
 
Threi said:
the HBC installer is a .dol file IIRC
I believe there's another hack required to install it onto the Wii (Edit: I just checked wiibrew and this is the case). In any case, the page itself says you can't use it to install HBC, so there must be some reason for that.

For anybody wishing to try out bannerbomb, I suggest trying to get a safe app like Gecko OS or a game going first. Once that works, you can follow stump's tutorial, except use the bannerbomb instructions to launch the various apps listed instead of the Homebrew Channel.
 
Clipper said:
I believe there's another hack required to install it onto the Wii (Edit: I just checked wiibrew and this is the case). In any case, the page itself says you can't use it to install HBC, so there must be some reason for that.

For anybody wishing to try out bannerbomb, I suggest trying to get a safe app like Gecko OS or a game going first. Once that works, you can follow stump's tutorial, except use the bannerbomb instructions to launch the various apps listed instead of the Homebrew Channel.

I can confirm that. I have 4.0u and the aad41_v102.zip file works for me but I still can't install the HBC :(
 
Saint Gregory said:
I can confirm that. I have 4.0u and the aad41_v102.zip file works for me but I still can't install the HBC :(

The good thing is you don't need HBC. If you just want to run USBLoader, then go through stump's tutorial using bannerbomb instead of HBC and you should be able to get it going.... maybe (depending if the partial downgrade that allows you to install cIOS rev 10 works).
 
Clipper said:
The good thing is you don't need HBC. If you just want to run USBLoader, then go through stump's tutorial using bannerbomb instead of HBC and you should be able to get it going.... maybe (depending if the partial downgrade that allows you to install cIOS rev 10 works).
I gave it a try but maybe bannerbomb's app isn't working for me after all. Every time it loads it asks me if I want to load boot.dol, I say yes, then I see a quick flash of a hackmii banner and the Wii goes to a plain black screen :/
 
Saint Gregory said:
I gave it a try but maybe bannerbomb's app isn't working for me after all. Every time it loads it asks me if I want to load boot.dol, I say yes, then I see a quick flash of a hackmii banner and the Wii goes to a plain black screen :/
Which app are you using to test?
 
Saint Gregory said:
Ultimate USB loader. I'm going through their test files again to see if somethings wrong with the one I tried.
I can't understand why you'd be seeing a hackmii banner, then. You do realise you have to install your apps to sd:/boot.dol and not sd:/apps/usbloader/boot.dol like you would with HBC?
 
Clipper said:
I can't understand why you'd be seeing a hackmii banner, then. You do realise you have to install your apps to sd:/boot.dol and not sd:/apps/usbloader/boot.dol like you would with HBC?
I tried it both ways just in case. I wish that someone else could give it a try so I'd know if I'm doing something else wrong.
 
Saint Gregory said:
I tried it both ways just in case. I wish that someone else could give it a try so I'd know if I'm doing something else wrong.
I just gave it a go myself (3.2E Wii). Saw the same thing as you with Configurable USB Loader. Hmmm...I'll try some more apps.
 
Clipper said:
I just gave it a go myself (3.2E Wii). Saw the same thing as you with Configurable USB Loader. Hmmm...I'll try some more apps.
Which of the bannerbomb files did you use? Was it the same as mine?

Edit: I went through all the files on bannerbomb's site and the 41 file was the only one that seemed to load without locking my Wii. I'm starting to think this is just a test they're running for some other exploit instead of a working app. Not sure why they're bothering though with BootMii supposedly so close to release.
 
I'm using 1f. Didn't try the others. I can get Menu Loader and a homebrew game (Giddy 3) to run, but I can't get Configurable USB Loader to run. Perhaps there's something there that doesn't allow the apps that need cIOS to work or something.

Does anyone know of a homebrew launcher app? Essentially, something that does the same stuff as the HBC but doesn't require installation to the Wii would be perfect.

BIG Edit: OK, That worked! Get Homebrew Launcher here. bannerbomb should load that application fine (it works for me at least). Homebrew Launcher uses the same file template as HBC, so it seems to be a very easy workaround.

Here's the simple instructions for those interested:

1: Install bannerbomb using the instructions.
2: Use Homebrew Launcher's boot.dol in the root directory of your SD card.
3: Put Configurable USB Loader, Ultimate USB Loader, and/or whatever other apps you need (like the temporary downgrade thing mentioned in Stump's tutorial) into a /apps/ directory on the SD card (as instructed for HBC)
4: Use the bannerbomb instructions to start the hack, run Homebrew Launcher
5: Select Wii Apps in HBL and select the app you want to run.

Note: the partial downgrade thing to install cIOS may also allow you to install one of the USB Loaders as a channel after you do that. Don't ask me how to do this, though.

Edit 2: Just a disclaimer.... You do all of this at your own risk. Don't blame me if something goes wrong. The above works on my 3.2 Wii which already had cIOS rev 10 and HBC installed. It appears it should work in 4.0, but there are many things that might make it not work.
 
Clipper said:
I'm using 1f. Didn't try the others. I can get Menu Loader and a homebrew game (Giddy 3) to run, but I can't get Configurable USB Loader to run. Perhaps there's something there that doesn't allow the apps that need cIOS to work or something.

Does anyone know of a homebrew launcher app? Essentially, something that does the same stuff as the HBC but doesn't require installation to the Wii would be perfect.

BIG Edit: OK, That worked! Get Homebrew Launcher here. bannerbomb should load that application fine (it works for me at least). Homebrew Launcher uses the same file template as HBC, so it seems to be a very easy workaround.

Here's the simple instructions for those interested:

1: Install bannerbomb using the instructions.
2: Use Homebrew Launcher's boot.dol in the root directory of your SD card.
3: Put Configurable USB Loader, Ultimate USB Loader, and/or whatever other apps you need (like the temporary downgrade thing mentioned in Stump's tutorial) into a /apps/ directory on the SD card (as instructed for HBC)
4: Use the bannerbomb instructions to start the hack, run Homebrew Launcher
5: Select Wii Apps in HBL and select the app you want to run.

Note: the partial downgrade thing to install cIOS may also allow you to install one of the USB Loaders as a channel after you do that. Don't ask me how to do this, though.

Edit 2: Just a disclaimer.... You do all of this at your own risk. Don't blame me if something goes wrong. The above works on my 3.2 Wii which already had cIOS rev 10 and HBC installed. It appears it should work in 4.0, but there are many things that might make it not work.

Gonna test this out now on 4.0. Will edit after I take a crack at it.

Edit: No dice on the Homebrew Launcher, but I did get GeckoOS working, which means other apps should probably work, too. Isn't there an app for downgrading your firmware? If I downgrade, then I can put the homebrew channel back on my system, right?
 
autobzooty said:
Edit: No dice on the Homebrew Launcher, but I did get GeckoOS working, which means other apps should probably work, too.
Yep, same for me. Here's what I've figured out so far- first I'm stupid. I won't say exactly what I did but it actually says on bannerbomb that if you do this you're stupid so that should tell you :) Second, through my stupidity I discovered that the 41 file will let me (and should work for other I would guess) launch the app from the SD card channel instead of the settings option. With the default 1f file I got Gecko to load using bannerbomb's instructions.

I'm going to continue playing with it to see if I can follow Clipper's instructions.

Edit: NVM about the SD card channel thing. I thought it was working but the load doesn't complete unless you're in the Wii data management options as stated on bannerbomb.
 
Well, if Gecko works, we at least have the ability to let 4.0 people play imports now, and it is even less invasive than the HomeBrew Channel as you don't have to install anything to the Wii.

There are a few other apps available that launch homebrew other than the Homebrew Launcher. We just need to find one that works in 4.0 it seems.

Edit: Try these apps... Geckoloader looks promising, maybe? I'm beginning to think none of them are any help, unfortunately.

Edit 2: Ensure you use boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, not boot.elf. Basically, you need the sd:/private directory from bannerbomb, sd:/boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, sd:/apps/something/boot.dol from whichever homebrew app you want to use, and possibly the sd:/apps/something/icon.png and sd:/apps/something/meta.xml of the app and whatever other files the chosen app needs.
 
Clipper said:
Well, if Gecko works, we at least have the ability to let 4.0 people play imports now, and it is even less invasive than the HomeBrew Channel as you don't have to install anything to the Wii.

There are a few other apps available that launch homebrew other than the Homebrew Launcher. We just need to find one that works in 4.0 it seems.

Edit: Try these apps... Geckoloader looks promising, maybe?

What's the app that can downgrade your Wii firmware? If that works with bannerbomb on 4.0, then we're pretty much set until Nintendo's next move against Homebrew.
 
autobzooty said:
What's the app that can downgrade your Wii firmware? If that works with bannerbomb on 4.0, then we're pretty much set until Nintendo's next move against Homebrew.
Don't do it. You could try the partial one from stump's tutorial and see if that works, but the downgraders are dangerous (read bannerbomb's page again).

BTW, were you using boot.dol and not boot.elf for HBL? See my edit above.

Oh well, seeing as it's a new page, here's the edit again:

Ensure you use boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, not boot.elf. Basically, you need the sd:/private directory from bannerbomb, sd:/boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, sd:/apps/something/boot.dol from whichever homebrew app you want to use, and possibly the sd:/apps/something/icon.png and sd:/apps/something/meta.xml of the app and whatever other files the chosen app needs.
 
Clipper said:
Don't do it. You could try the partial one from stump's tutorial and see if that works, but the downgraders are dangerous (read bannerbomb's page again).

BTW, were you using boot.dol and not boot.elf for HBL? See my edit above.

Oh well, seeing as it's a new page, here's the edit again:

Ensure you use boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, not boot.elf. Basically, you need the sd:/private directory from bannerbomb, sd:/boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, sd:/apps/something/boot.dol from whichever homebrew app you want to use, and possibly the sd:/apps/something/icon.png and sd:/apps/something/meta.xml of the app and whatever other files the chosen app needs.
I used the .dol for HBL with no dice. Gecko loads and seems to work but won't load any games for me, import or otherwise. I'm still playing with it though.
 
Clipper said:
Don't do it. You could try the partial one from stump's tutorial and see if that works, but the downgraders are dangerous (read bannerbomb's page again).

BTW, were you using boot.dol and not boot.elf for HBL? See my edit above.

Oh well, seeing as it's a new page, here's the edit again:

Ensure you use boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, not boot.elf. Basically, you need the sd:/private directory from bannerbomb, sd:/boot.dol from Homebrew Launcher, sd:/apps/something/boot.dol from whichever homebrew app you want to use, and possibly the sd:/apps/something/icon.png and sd:/apps/something/meta.xml of the app and whatever other files the chosen app needs.

Yeah, I used .dol and it didn't work. Is it possible to safely downgrade? I really want my channel back, I hardly use my Wii without it. :(
 
autobzooty said:
Yeah, I used .dol and it didn't work. Is it possible to safely downgrade? I really want my channel back, I hardly use my Wii without it. :(
I don't really know the specifics. The fact that many homebrew apps aren't working with bannerbomb makes me think the downgrading app won't work either. Have you tried using the app from stump's tutorial?
 
Clipper said:
I don't really know the specifics. The fact that many homebrew apps aren't working with bannerbomb makes me think the downgrading app won't work either. Have you tried using the app from stump's tutorial?

Only apps I've tried are the Homebrew Launcher and a strange version of Gecko designed just for Brawl+ or something. I guess I'll just wait until a more stable exploit comes for 4.0. But damn, it can't come soon enough.
 
OK, I re-tried all of the files on bannerbomb and none of them were able to launch the HBL. Only the 1f file successfully loaded Gecko for me and even when it's loaded it won't launch games. At least it looks like 4.0 homebrew is getting somewhere even before the BootMii launch. I'm through for the night since it's getting pretty late but hopefully some wiser mind will figure something out by the time I check in tomorrow :D
 
OK, I've had a bit of a think and a look through the downgrade method for installing cIOS to get some familiarity. It is possible that after this is installed, somebody may be able to use bannerbomb to launch Homebrew Launcher to launch a USB Loader. Here's the instructions, modified from stump's tutorial for someone on 4.0 to try out (do not do this if you already have the HBC and/or cIOS installed or are not on 4.0).

And of course, you are doing this at your own risk. It doesn't seem that there's any risk of bricking, but follow instructions carefully and stop if an app seems to do nothing at all.

  • start with a blank SD card (or at least nothing to do with Wii stuff, which means changing the name of the "/private" directory if you have one on there)
  • download this (Gecko OS)
  • copy Gecko1901/Gecko1901/DOL/main.dol from the zip to your SD card's root directory and rename it "boot.dol"
  • follow the instructions here to find a version of bannerbomb that boots to the Gecko OS main screen
  • download this (downgrader)
  • Unrar and copy the wad directory and it's contents to the SD card (the two WAD files should be in sd:/wad/)
  • Copy apps/CMDVDX34/boot.dol from the rar to the root directory of the SD card, overwriting the Gecko OS one.
  • put sd card in wii, boot wii, Press (Wii), Data Management, Channels, SD. Then insert the card. It will pop up "Load /boot.dol?". Select yes.
  • The next step may or may not work. If it doesn't seem to do anything, STOP. Otherwise continue
  • run all parts of the application one at a time in the order specified.
    some people report lockups during one or all of these steps. if your wii locks up, power it down manually and run through this step again. if a given step does not work the second time, move on to the next portion.
  • You read the bolded part above, right? Stop now if the previous step didn't seem to do anything useful at all
  • Copy apps/WMIOS35/boot.dol from the rar to the root directory of the SD card, overwriting the CMDVDX34 one.
  • put sd card in wii, boot wii, Press (Wii), Data Management, Channels, SD. Then insert the card. It will pop up "Load /boot.dol?". Select yes.
  • Again, stop if the next step does nothing
  • install ios35.wad
  • run it again
  • install cios7.wad
  • your wii is downgraded--note, the actual firmware version doesn't change
  • Download cIOS rev 10 Installer
  • Copy cIOS36_rev10-Installer.dol from the zip to the root directory of the SD card, overwriting the WMIOS35 one.
  • mute your television's speakers.
  • put sd card in wii, boot wii, Press (Wii), Data Management, Channels, SD. Then insert the card. It will pop up "Load /boot.dol?". Select yes.
  • Again, stop if the next step does nothing
  • select "network installation". this downloads the firmware you need, patches it, and installs it.
  • Download Homebrew Launcher.
  • Copy boot.dol from the zip to the root directory of the SD card, overwriting the cIOS one.
  • Put Configurable USB Loader, Ultimate USB Loader, and/or whatever other apps you need into a /apps/ directory on the SD card (as instructed for HBC)
  • put sd card in wii, boot wii, Press (Wii), Data Management, Channels, SD. Then insert the card. It will pop up "Load /boot.dol?". Select yes.
  • Select Wii Apps in HBL and select the app you want to run.
  • ???
  • Profit

Man, that was a bit longer than I thought it would be. It's pretty much following the same install path as stump's tutorial, but using bannerbomb instead of the HBC. If any of the above steps fail (except maybe the CMDVDX34 bit during installation), stop right there and don't continue. If you make it part or all of the way through, please let us know your experience.
 
So USB loading...

I think my Wii DVD Drive is dying. Didn't want to read Madworld yesterday. Said disc could not be read, though I put it a second time and it worked. I wanna buy Jungle Beat but I am not sure if it will work. Brawl also gave me an unable to read DVD.

How does the USB Loader thing work????
 
I am trying to do the upgrade to 4.0 but I am completely stuck at the Shop Upgrade portion.

After patching IOS using WAD manager, my homebrew channel apps will not connect to the internet. I keep getting error 116.

Strange thing is, the connection icon on HBC is white, it lists and IP address, and everything else seems for accessing things. How can I patch the shop to finish the upgrade and be on my way?
 
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