Hacking UStealth - Wii U 'Format Disk' Nag workaround :)

Cyan

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Anyone have a current link for WiiSXR or WiiMC?
Sorry, I don't have WiiMC 1.3.4 Ustealth (I guess I forgot to archive it)
Hey, I found it.
it was just not named like the other releases, so I didn't see it.

I renamed it to a more explicit filename, and uploaded it here WiiMC 1.3.4 - Ustealth compatible (Dol only). (I hope it's 1.3.4, if it's older let me know)
it's only the compiled dol and elf. It's neither a "full version" nor an "update version". You still need to get the proper additional files from WiiMC 1.3.4 (full or update) from WiiMC website, then replace the dol.
This link doesn't have any included sources, but the changes/patches are explained here.
 
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bostonBC

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Hey, I found it.
it was just not named like the other releases, so I didn't see it.

I renamed it to a more explicit filename, and uploaded it here WiiMC 1.3.4 - Ustealth compatible (Dol only). (I hope it's 1.3.4, if it's older let me know)
it's only the compiled dol and elf. It's neither a "full version" nor an "update version". You still need to get the proper additional files from WiiMC 1.3.4 (full or update) from WiiMC website, then replace the dol.
This link doesn't have any included sources, but the changes/patches are explained here.
Fantastic! Thanks so much. I will check it out when I get home today.
 

nerubii

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just wanna feedback that i've tested on my 4tb portable hdd with 4k sector. no issues. only issue i had is the app's false feedback on error.
 

Cyan

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Even if wiiflow wasn't compatible, it wouldn't kick you back. it would just not find any HDD.
did you try booting wiiflow without a HDD ? that would do the same.

I'm not sure to understand your "being kicked back". you mean, it's not a problem detecting the drive when in wiiflow but when launching a game it returns to wiiflow?
then the problem is not wiiflow, but the cIOS. if it works when inside wiiflow, tit means wiiflow is compatible.

Or, as wiiflow uses 2 different programs (GUI + launcher) maybe the launcher is checking the partition table? but I don't see why it would do differently than the main GUI.
People are using wiiflow and Ustealth for years without reporting any issues.
 

ModdingBird

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Even if wiiflow wasn't compatible, it wouldn't kick you back. it would just not find any HDD.
did you try booting wiiflow without a HDD ? that would do the same.

I'm not sure to understand your "being kicked back". you mean, it's not a problem detecting the drive when in wiiflow but when launching a game it returns to wiiflow?
then the problem is not wiiflow, but the cIOS. if it works when inside wiiflow, tit means wiiflow is compatible.

Or, as wiiflow uses 2 different programs (GUI + launcher) maybe the launcher is checking the partition table? but I don't see why it would do differently than the main GUI.
People are using wiiflow and Ustealth for years without reporting any issues.
Hummm! will try again when I get home, maybe I had it plugged in the wrong slot...

Edit.
It only works with wii and gamecube for me, all emulators not working, it reeboots wiiflow when atempting lo launch.
 
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Cyan

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ahhhh, the problem is not the game, or wiiflow. I thought you talked about Wii games.
your problem is using non compatible emulators as plugin homebrew.

Emulators are not using cIOS at all, and your problem has nothing to do with IOS, but with the emulators themselves.
you need to put in your plugin folder only emulators which are compatible with hidden drives.

there are some emulators which were recompiled to work with hidden drives, but I don't know the urls.
some of them might be on the first post. (gen, snes, fce), but I don't know if they are working as plugin.

you might need to find emulators compiled with both Ustealth AND argument compatibility.


you can always unhide your drive using ToggleUSB homebrew before playing an emulator, and run it again before shutting down your console so on next launch it will be hidden to WiiU.
or you can unhide it, and press B at WiiU boot to go directly to vWii
or you can unhide it, and just answer "no" when asking if you want to format it. don't worry, it will not format right away if you ever answer yes by mistake, it asks 3 times. you really need to be stressed and in panic to answer 3 time the wrong answer when "yes or no" are the only choices.
 
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Cyan

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you could use dd ?
you need to extract the sector 0 of your drive.

ATTENTION : it will work only on the SAME device.
restoring on another device will destroy/modify the partition table, losing your partitions.



Either you extract sector0 first 512bytes and edit the last byte manually in a copy of your dump, or you use USBToggle to do it and you dump both states of sector 0.
Keep both version of that sector dump, and run a script to write the needed sector (stealthed or not)

I don't use linux, but I think it should look like this :

dump sector 0's first 512 bytes:
Code:
dd if=/dev/usbx of=hdd_sect0_unstealth.bin bs=512 count=1

Make a copy of hdd_sect0_stealth.bin and edit the last byte with a hex editor to 55AB

Now you can write the dump you want to your device with:
Code:
dd if=hdd_sect0_(un)stealth.bin of=/dev/usbx bs=512 count=1

Please, review my code before following it, I never used dd.


Maybe you could even skip the first 510 bytes to dump/write only 2 bytes?
edit:
no, it seems you can't set bs (block size) less than 512, so you can't make bs=2 and skip=255 first blocks up to byte 510


edit 2:
you can apparently make the script an executable like this :

create a file named make_<your device name>_stealth
Code:
#!/bin/bash
dd if=hdd_sect0_stealth.bin of=/dev/usbx bs=512 count=1

then make it executable with : chmod a+x <shellscriptfile>
 
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Cyan

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USBtoggle is maybe the easiest method.
it edits only the 512th byte of the drive, it doesn't touch the rest of the sector's data, so it can't mess with the partitions definition.

some people reported losing their partitions/data, but some users also reported that with Ustealth.
I don't know what really happened, but toggle is just touching the "AA" and doing + or -1
but I think it still put the full 512 byts in memory.
dump 512 first bytes -> edit byte 512 -> restore the full dump to the first 512 bytes. I don't think there's a check to verify if the dump is good before writing it back. there's only a "is byte 512 == AA ? +1 : -1;"

what you can do is keep a backup of your MBR (sector0) in case something bad happen you will be able to restore it manually with dd :)

I always wanted to make a toggle directly in USBLoaderGX, with a lot of check before writing back to prevent issues, but never completed it.
Maybe I'll finally do it one day.
I added one of your request in r1267!
 
Last edited by Cyan,

Nimrod-002

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can you please elaborate on USBToggle, i cant seem to run the .elf included in the usbtoggle.zip from wii u hbl. i dont have any wiimotes so i dont have access to vwii hbl and therefore cant use .dol

i m on win 10 and i cant toggle the state of my flash drive from r7 or r8 even with windows defender turned off , and since i cant even format anything with guiformat.exe i assume that windows 10 stops anything from accessing boot sectors probably as an obnoxious security mesure.

so where do i go from here btw if it matters i m using Mocha 0.2
 
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Nimrod-002

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is this the edit ustealth applies?

a601666c-c449-4498-9b92-21a9c7e5c979.png
 

Cyan

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yes it's 0x01FF, not the one you highlighted in your picture 0x007C.

maybe your program is preventing you to open HDD in write mode (as it can be dangerous if you edit your HDD where your OS is currently running).
look if there's an option to allow or mount HDD in write mode, or deactivate "read only" mode.



If you don't have a wiimote, using the .elf is not the solution.
elf and dol are BOTH the same program. elf is not the "wiiu" version. they both are Wii homebrew and both require a wiimote.
if you can't use a wii homebrew, then your only solution is the computer's program choice.

OR, even better : just answer NO when the wiiu asks you to format the drive.
if you, inadvertently, press yes.... nothing happen ! another prompt opens and ask you AGAIN if you really want to format. if you say yes, AGAIN, nothing happen... you need 3 confirmation to format a drive.
You can't "inadvertently" format it, unless you let anyone else touch your consoles without supervision, or unless you really are stressed by random prompt warning message and you panic and, unluckily, select "yes, please, format me!" three times in a row....

Oh, and, if you use Mocha 0.2, then DO NOT HIDE YOUR DRIVE.
another reason to not use Ustealth.
Mocha0.2 is, by itself, preventing the format message! no need to mess your partitions.
 
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