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

Thanks for such a quick reply.. I'll take a look at the programs once i get home from work.

I'll keep you posted on progress.. some others may be able to use the info.
 
Have I already mentionned how incredibly user-friendly the Homebrew channel is/has become ?

Aside from the very first set-up, it looks like a professional thing. You just load up the thing and "oh there's an update, want it ? Click here" *click* --> load bar for 3 seconds --> "mkay it's done".

Want an app ? Homebrew Browser and you don't even have to move your fat ass. And if you don't think about using it, a lot of the time the version on the Homebrew channel is more recent/functionnal than the one you put on your SD yourself :lol

Why am I posting that right now ? I opened Homebrew Channel for the first time in one/two months, and it asks me for a update. Up to now I hadn't fiddled around with Bootmii because I didn't really want to get my head back into tutorials and PC/SD/Wii transfers, which a lot of the time need to happen multiple times because you f'd something up the first time.
A bit too tedious and I don't really need anything Bootmii related right now.

All of that in a very cool GUI (with poppable bubbles), and everything translated to my language.

So what does the Channel say to that "oh hey, we've packed in Bootmii and DVDX to install with the update just cause we can. If you don't know what Bootmii and DVDx are, just disregard what I said".

Not only is this awesome, but I seriously feel like any soccer mom could use the Channel post-installation. It's so simple.
 
So, I have preloader 0.29 AND BootMii (boot2) installed.

Now everythim I turn on the Wii it starts with the BootMii menu.
I'd like to skip that by default since I don't wanna have to always have a GCN controller connected or to get up to use the console's buttons.

Help?

Besides, can I skip the health warnings with BootMii like I did with Preloader?
 
Is there a way to make the Wii launch the homebrew channel as soon as it gets turned on?


Dash Kappei said:
So, I have preloader 0.29 AND BootMii (boot2) installed.

Now everythim I turn on the Wii it starts with the BootMii menu.
I'd like to skip that by default since I don't wanna have to always have a GCN controller connected or to get up to use the console's buttons.

Help?

Besides, can I skip the health warnings with BootMii like I did with Preloader?

look in your SD card for the config file... its plain text .. i think its inside the bootmii folder

also

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/BootMii_Configuration_Editor


and i dont think you can do that with bootmi
 
Dash Kappei said:
So, I have preloader 0.29 AND BootMii (boot2) installed.

Now everythim I turn on the Wii it starts with the BootMii menu.
I'd like to skip that by default since I don't wanna have to always have a GCN controller connected or to get up to use the console's buttons.

Help?

Besides, can I skip the health warnings with BootMii like I did with Preloader?
As has been said multiple times, and in the FAQ in the tutorial (hint, hint) and in the readme file for BootMii, just rename the bootmii folder on the SD card and BootMii will be reduced to a disc slot flash in the boot sequence.

And no, BootMii is only for brick protection and running stuff directly on the ARM processor without any of the background processes going.

HisshouBuraiKen said:
Yeah but it has that game reloading glitch, no? That's why I haven't upgraded from 10 yet.
The game reloading bug is not that bad. It adds about two seconds to your game switching sequence to reset instead of going directly back to the Wii Menu. For that minor setback, you get a ton of spindown fixes, Wii Speak/LAN adapter/mic support and better game compatibility without resorting to "anti-002" fixes.
 
Clipper said:
As has been said multiple times, and in the FAQ in the tutorial (hint, hint) and in the readme file for BootMii, just rename the bootmii folder on the SD card and BootMii will be reduced to a disc slot flash in the boot sequence.

Sorry, I upgraded to BootMii directly through HBC, didn't know I had a readme file in the SD now, I'll get on that to see how do I need to config that to skip the BootMii splash screen.
 
Dash Kappei said:
So, I have preloader 0.29 AND BootMii (boot2) installed.

Now everythim I turn on the Wii it starts with the BootMii menu.
I'd like to skip that by default since I don't wanna have to always have a GCN controller connected or to get up to use the console's buttons.


Through the Homebrew Channel, download the new utility, the BootMii configurator... it allows you to easily set BootMii to automatically start EITHER the Wii channel menu -or- the Homebrew Channel if nothing is pressed on the Wii. You can set it to start within 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 seconds...

I've done that and it's nice. If I want the HBC, I just stand near the Wii and tap two buttons.

If I don't, I merely wait a few seconds.
 
logo.png


From the Wiki:

http://gwht.wikidot.com/hermes-ios222-223

This time select Custom IOS 223 and select IOS60 merged with IOS36

What does that even do?
 
So what is the final verdict on the spindown issue?

Does cIOS 38 rev13a or 13b fix the spindown problem once and for all, or do some drives still have this problem?

I'm wondering if I need to focus on getting a Seagate drive (because of their spindown software control), or if any drive will work fine now.
 
Clipper said:
The game reloading bug is not that bad. It adds about two seconds to your game switching sequence to reset instead of going directly back to the Wii Menu.

So if this is the only 'glitch' in my installation, you'd recommend just sitting pretty for now? All my disc games are installed on an HDD and every one I've booted has worked fine.
 
Dalthien said:
So what is the final verdict on the spindown issue?
Does cIOS 38 rev13a or 13b fix the spindown problem once and for all, or do some drives still have this problem?

I'm wondering if I need to focus on getting a Seagate drive (because of their spindown software control), or if any drive will work fine now.
I haven't heard of any spindown related problems on 13 (aka 13a), and 13 fixed the spindown problem I was experiencing (Hermes' IOS222/223 also fixed most spindown problems, but not mine). There are still some drives that apparently don't work, but very few. Stick to any of the major brands and you should be fine.

TwinIonEngines said:
So if this is the only 'glitch' in my installation, you'd recommend just sitting pretty for now? All my disc games are installed on an HDD and every one I've booted has worked fine.
Yep, you're good. Make sure it's 13 and not 13b, as 13b does have additional problems. Just don't try to play two games back-to-back without resetting.
 
Is there any alternative to the Wii System Menu that can be launched straight from the HBC? I like the System Menu, but having all my HBC contect and VC/WiiWare content seperate is a little cumbersome -- any way I can bypass the System Menu entirely and load my purchases from the HBC? I can edit the BootMii ini then, and load straight into HBC.
 
Kazenone said:
Is there any alternative to the Wii System Menu that can be launched straight from the HBC? I like the System Menu, but having all my HBC contect and VC/WiiWare content seperate is a little cumbersome -- any way I can bypass the System Menu entirely and load my purchases from the HBC? I can edit the BootMii ini then, and load straight into HBC.

Check this app http://wiibrew.org/wiki/BootMii_Configuration_Editor is a bootmii editor, you can change bootmii.ini values straight from HBC, without open it on the PC.

To launch directly to HBC just put ''autoboot=HBC'', then save.

To bypass the bootmii screen choose a ''0'' value in ''boot delay time''. -it requires bootmii beta2 installed-

You can make changes on the bootmii.ini file too through your PC, it works the same way.
 
Kazenone said:
Is there any alternative to the Wii System Menu that can be launched straight from the HBC? I like the System Menu, but having all my HBC contect and VC/WiiWare content seperate is a little cumbersome -- any way I can bypass the System Menu entirely and load my purchases from the HBC? I can edit the BootMii ini then, and load straight into HBC.
You're saying you want one menu that includes both your VC/WiiWare and Hombrew apps? I'm not sure that's been done, especially given the SD menu and so on. You could set up forwarder channels for each homebrew app on the system menu itself, I guess, but it's slightly complicated and risks bricking.

Getting between the HBC and menu only takes two clicks in either direction, so I guess you might have to put up with it for now.
 
Clipper said:
You're saying you want one menu that includes both your VC/WiiWare and Hombrew apps? I'm not sure that's been done, especially given the SD menu and so on. You could set up forwarder channels for each homebrew app on the system menu itself, I guess, but it's slightly complicated and risks bricking.

Getting between the HBC and menu only takes two clicks in either direction, so I guess you might have to put up with it for now.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'd like but I'm not that desperate for it to risk bricking. It's not too much effort for me to switch between System Menu and HBC, it just would have been nice to have everything in one list.

TunaLover, thank you. I already had that app but I didn't know you could set it 0.
 
Clipper said:
IOS 37 or higher is needed for microphones and so on. Doing it that way gives you two different configurations of Hermes' IOS to try (I believe the IOSes themselves are equivalent)
Ok, but if so, then why 60 and not 38? What is the difference? That's what I'm asking. Why whomever wrote the guide decided it that way.





Dalthien said:
So what is the final verdict on the spindown issue?

Does cIOS 38 rev13a or 13b fix the spindown problem once and for all, or do some drives still have this problem?

I'm wondering if I need to focus on getting a Seagate drive (because of their spindown software control), or if any drive will work fine now.
The verdict isn't quite final yet because there are still more cIOS revisions to come. Currently it seems that the fix does not fix all possible drives, but it does some, including the most popular brands which are sometimes effected, such as WD.

I would get the Seagates anyway because they are on sale at Costco and very slim and the silvers apparently match almost as well as the white WD drives.
 
Metal Gear?! said:
I would get the Seagates anyway because they are on sale at Costco and very slim and the silvers apparently match almost as well as the white WD drives.

I will vouch for the seagates kicking ass. Plus they come with software that lets you turn off spindown completely without needing your cios to do it.
 
Metal Gear?! said:
I would get the Seagates anyway because they are on sale at Costco and very slim and the silvers apparently match almost as well as the white WD drives.

How much at Costco?
 
Metal Gear?! said:
Ok, but if so, then why 60 and not 38? What is the difference? That's what I'm asking. Why whomever wrote the guide decided it that way.
I chose 60 for (hopefully) maximum forward compatibility. It probably won't ever be important, but something may eventually need that one.

HisshouBuraiKen said:
I will vouch for the seagates kicking ass. Plus they come with software that lets you turn off spindown completely without needing your cios to do it.
I strongly suggest not using that software or resetting the option back to its default if you changed it as you are likely damaging your drive. Spindown is there because it saves power and mechanical lifetime of the drive.

Amon37 said:
Wait, since I have the newest configurable USB loader I thought you didn't need the Hermes CIOS'
You do need it for some fixes (like playing House of the Dead 2 without alternate .dol). If you don't have that game, it is still nice to have there just in case it ever becomes important again.

Ramenman said:
Just in case, does anyone know if the update that comes with Another Code (PAL) fucks anything up HBC-side ?
Seems to just be the same IOS update that's been doing the rounds in every new game. I can't say for sure until my copy arrives (stupid NAL not giving this a date, gotta wait for shipping from the UK to Australia).
 
Just following up to my previous question; Aeana let me know that the latest version of Gecko OS (1.9 and up) has a Launch Channel function, which lists all my channels (VC, WiiWare etc.) and I can load them up. The readme.txt says you might need to edit a database file, but I didn't and everything is named correctly.

So now I have bootmii load up HBC immediately and I can load up Gecko OS if I want channels! Very cool stuff.
 
Kazenone said:
So now I have bootmii load up HBC immediately and I can load up Gecko OS if I want channels! Very cool stuff.
Um... doesn't booting up Gecko OS and using the launch channels option take just as long as exiting to the system menu?
 
Clipper said:
Um... doesn't booting up Gecko OS and using the launch channels option take just as long as exiting to the system menu?

It's faster for me to go into Gecko OS than it is waiting for the System Menu to come up. :/
 
Kazenone said:
It's faster for me to go into Gecko OS than it is waiting for the System Menu to come up. :/
Yeah, just tested for myself. One thing though, your message board won't show your time played on your channels (it gets assigned to HBC), if that was important to you.
 
Clipper said:
Yeah, just tested for myself. One thing though, your message board won't show your time played on your channels (it gets assigned to HBC), if that was important to you.

I'll keep that in mind but I doubt I'll miss that feature. It's really neat just staying in the HBC without having to keep switching to and from System Menu and HBC.

The one downside to this is that I still have to enter the System Menu when I want to quit game. I don't think it's possible to get around that, however.
 
So I just did the whole process.... I had downgraded to 3.2 at one point. Installed Homebrew Channel... Then I upgraded the HBC and added DVDx and IOS249 .... Then I upgraded to 4.0... it wasn't as simple as just upgrading as I had been led to believe... it broke HBC. So I Bannerbombed it, reinstalled HBC and reinstalled DVDx... Phew.

So now it's all "working".. 4.0 firmware with homebrew.. I don't have a USB drive to try that out, but whatever.... but the Wii will randomly freeze. I might go into the Wii Shop channel and it freezes.. I have to hard power-down. It might freeze in the same way when I go into HBC.... Sometimes the DVD drive will keep looking for the disc for an eternity, when other times I'll power up and it loads instantly. it's kinda killed my buzz... The Wii is all buggy now. :( a buggy Nintendo console... it doesn't feel right :(

Is this a result of all the upgrade insanity I've had to go through? Can I clean it up in there somehow? Anything I can do?
 
BocoDragon said:
So I just did the whole process.... I had downgraded to 3.2 at one point. Installed Homebrew Channel... Then I upgraded the HBC and added DVDx and IOS249 .... Then I upgraded to 4.0... it wasn't as simple as just upgrading as I had been led to believe... it broke HBC. So I Bannerbombed it, reinstalled HBC and reinstalled DVDx... Phew.

So now it's all "working".. 4.0 firmware with homebrew.. I don't have a USB drive to try that out, but whatever.... but the Wii will randomly freeze. I might go into the Wii Shop channel and it freezes.. I have to hard power-down. It might freeze in the same way when I go into HBC.... Sometimes the DVD drive will keep looking for the disc for an eternity, when other times I'll power up and it loads instantly. it's kinda killed my buzz... The Wii is all buggy now. :( a buggy Nintendo console... it doesn't feel right :(

Is this a result of all the upgrade insanity I've had to go through? Can I clean it up in there somehow? Anything I can do?
This isn't right and sounds very weird. Never heard of it happening to anybody who followed the standard procedure. If I had to put it to anything, I'd say it was the downgrading, which is often very destructive to the existing IOSes on the Wii. Why and how did you do that?

As for trying to fix the problem, the only thing I can suggest is installing BootMii, making a backup (just in case) and then format the Wii and start fresh. You can copy your saves and non-homebrew channels to the SD card first so that you can easily restore them later. Savegame Manager should help with the saves the Wii doesn't let you usually copy. You'll likely need to follow a 4.0 sequence to reinstall IOS249, but you can find that easily enough in our tutorial:

 
My Wii has been freezing, too. I never downgraded. I just did bannerbomb on my Wii after the 4.0 update about a month and a half ago to play an imported Captain Rainbow. I haven't actually used the HBC in a few weeks, but my Wii freezes somewhat commonly when I try to use various channels. It's happened with the Wii Shop Channel, the Internet Channel (my computer has been down), Phantasy Star 4 from the VC and I think the disc channel, too.

I wasn't too concerned and I figured it was because I soft-modded my Wii. But it's definitely happened a lot and it only froze maybe once or twice before that (had my Wii since March '07).
 
2 quick questions:

Can´t I install cios38 rev 13 through wad manager 1.4 directly? The installer is giving me error everytime I try. BTW, for some reason my network connection is not being recognized(using the wifi dongle) so I am only doing it with wad.

My Wii can already load usbloader,( I am using rev 10 and upgraded officially after installing the cios), but the installer won´t load either with cios 249 or 35.

Is this bootmii version easier to unninstall/safer than the first one? how reliable is it?



well so I lied, it wasn´t 2 and they weren´t so quick after all... :p
 
Baiano19 said:
2 quick questions:

Can´t I install cios38 rev 13 through wad manager 1.4 directly? The installer is giving me error everytime I try. BTW, for some reason my network connection is not being recognized(using the wifi dongle) so I am only doing it with wad.

My Wii can already load usbloader,( I am using rev 10 and upgraded officially after installing the cios), but the installer won´t load either with cios 249 or 35.

Is this bootmii version easier to unninstall/safer than the first one? how reliable is it?



well so I lied, it wasn´t 2 and they weren´t so quick after all... :p
You can't install it with Wad Manager, but you can use the proper installer to do a WAD install. There's instructions to do so in the tutorial.

As for Bootmii, it is more compatible with SD cards. It has an uninstaller, but we don't know exactly what it does. It seems safe and is very reliable.
 
So as I explained with a lot of joy in my last post, I was prompted with the hackmii combined installer automatically with my HBC update. Problem is I didn't know what to do with the bootmii install and since I didn't want to screw up my console I only chose "SD card install" and then quit. I seem to understand from the tutorial that just having it on your SD card does nothing (which doesn't really surprise me).

The problem is, I can't find how to re-run the installer now that I'm eager to install it. Isn't there some kind of "check for updates" function in the HBC that would tell me "you don't have Bootmii, want to install ?".

I'd feel a bit stupid putting the installer manually on my SD since technically it's already been downloaded on it and used.
 
Ramenman said:
So as I explained with a lot of joy in my last post, I was prompted with the hackmii combined installer automatically with my HBC update. Problem is I didn't know what to do with the bootmii install and since I didn't want to screw up my console I only chose "SD card install" and then quit. I seem to understand from the tutorial that just having it on your SD card does nothing (which doesn't really surprise me).

The problem is, I can't find how to re-run the installer now that I'm eager to install it. Isn't there some kind of "check for updates" function in the HBC that would tell me "you don't have Bootmii, want to install ?".

I'd feel a bit stupid putting the installer manually on my SD since technically it's already been downloaded on it and used.
Preparing the SD card does nothing (with regards to the installer), and the HBC deletes the installer after it is updated. Your only options seem to be downloading and putting the installer on your SD (which is easy), waiting for a new HBC or BootMii (might take weeks) or downgrading HBC from an old installer so it will recognise it needs to update and redownload the installer (just plain silly).
 
Clipper said:
You can't install it with Wad Manager, but you can use the proper installer to do a WAD install. There's instructions to do so in the tutorial.

As for Bootmii, it is more compatible with SD cards. It has an uninstaller, but we don't know exactly what it does. It seems safe and is very reliable.

as I posted earlier the Installer is giving me error with either cios 249 or 35. I already have usb loader working.

Should I re-downgrade the wii?

the error is:
[+] Reading "IOS38-64-v3610.wad", please wait...
ERROR! (ret= -1)


I heard about error 2011, but not this one...
 
Baiano19 said:
as I posted earlier the Installer is giving me error with either cios 249 or 35. I already have usb loader working.

Should I re-downgrade the wii?
Sorry, I thought the error was coming from the network install seeing as you mentioned it straight afterwards. If the installer is failing even with the WAD installation, you probably have to do the 4.0 IOS35 downgrade steps.

Do not downgrade the Wii itself, it is never a good idea to do this.
 
I think my Wii is in seriously bad shape...

At first I tried to reinstall ios35 and it failed. The I decided to check my current IOS with Any Title Deleter and it gave a bunch of errors before opening their menu...

I am afraid to even use BootMii right now.
 
Baiano19 said:
as I posted earlier the Installer is giving me error with either cios 249 or 35. I already have usb loader working.

Should I re-downgrade the wii?

the error is:
[+] Reading "IOS38-64-v3610.wad", please wait...
ERROR! (ret= -1)


I heard about error 2011, but not this one...
Did you put it in the right location? It should be in the root directory.

Edit: I just confirmed, that is the error I get without putting the WAD in there first.
 
Clipper said:
Did you put it in the right location? It should be in the root directory.

Edit: I just confirmed, that is the error I get without putting the WAD in there first.

The wad has to be in the root instead in the wad folder?!
what a shame if that´s it the cause... :lol

gonna test right now...


EDIT: :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

THAT´S IT! I can´t believe it...
 
All those using USB Loaders, take notice:

The original site for downloading game covers has gone to a new donation based service. They are still working out some problems with their new hosting arrangements. In the meantime, some new sites have shown up hosting the covers.

If you are using Configurable USB Loader, you can make it use one of those sites by adding the following options to the end of your config.txt file, depending on which setting you are using for cover_style:

2d covers:
covers_size = 160,224
cover_url=http://wiicover.gateflorida.com/flat/{ID6}.png

3d covers:
covers_size = 176,248
cover_url=http://wiicover.gateflorida.com/3d/{ID6}.png

disc art:
cover_url=http://wiicover.gateflorida.com/disc/{ID6}.png

Again, it is important they go at the end as many options change these back to the defaults.

The covers_size option for 2D is virtually the same (160x224 instead of 160x225) and will just ensure there's no scaling. For 3D, the size has changed from 160x225 to 176x248. If this messes up your style due to placement, you can either tweak the covers_coords option or remove the covers_size option and Configurable will auto-scale the images for you to the default size.
 
Is that why USB Loader GX doesn't download covers? I just installed it (used to be on second or third release of Ultimate USB Loader I think) but the cover download option doesn't work.

It's much more intuitive than Configurable USB Loader. Waaaay easier to deal with. Everything can be changed on your Wii instead of screwing around with text files.
 
So I finally bit the bullet and installed HBC/BootMii/cIOS249 on my wii this weekend. I haven't done anything with it yet, my primary goal is the USB Loader...and my USB HDD hasn't arrived yet.

So, aside from that, what else is fun I can install in the HBC? I haven't looked into much. I know theres emulators like scumm and snes, and mplayer for dvds... anything else I should be enjoying?
 
After a rocky start to getting my 4.0 Wii set up with HBC I tried to get it to play DVD backups using dvd-backup.dol (or something along those lines but it didn't work. I tried gamma loader the geckos to load. One gives me nothing and the other blue screened and error 002'ed until I put the 002 fixer on. I was trying Donkey Kong Jungle Beat but it seems to get stuck at loading the disc. It makes a funky noise in the optical drive. I ejected and it asked me to insert DKJB in, I do, no grinding, but no change on the screen aside from a beige window I'm guessing would be for creating a save file or something on the Wii.

My real question is, is it impossible to use a USB flash drive (like a Kingston Traveler USB stick) to use with a USB loader program? I've formatted it for WFSB on my WinXP box but the Wii continues to ask to format the drive after that I can't put it on my Win box and load any game.

Are hard drives the only option?
 
handofg0d said:
So, aside from that, what else is fun I can install in the HBC? I haven't looked into much. I know theres emulators like scumm and snes, and mplayer for dvds... anything else I should be enjoying?
Tyrian.
 
I decided to try again after finding a guide for LU64/65 Fix for system menu 4 here

For some reason, I found it easier to follow. Although, I am a complete noob to any of this stuff and I found the guide posted there (and a clarification on page 4 of that thread) to be great.

So now I have a new hardware revision Jap wii on system menu 4.0 playing backups, media, emulators and homebrew browser / channel :D

I still havent tried a USB loader yet, but will buy a big external HDD next payday and try it out.
 
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