Welcome to my guide! This will teach you to "backup" your games that you TOTALLY legally own. Right?
This guide is completely compatible with Windows, Mac (Wine), and Linux (Wine). I do not have access to an Apple machine, but theoretically, it should work. Please note that this guide requires you to format your HDD, however you can still use it for storage after we're done, so just back it up before we begin.


NOTE BY A MODERATOR :

There are different methods to play Gamecube games off a USB HDD, and this outdated guide will only tell you ONE method.
It will not explain to you how to run gamecube games from USB HDD, but instead will tell you to do things blindly and install specific outdated files and use a specific outdated USB Loader version.
It doesn't cover other USB HDD methods or other Gamecube loaders.
Don't follow this guide if you want updated informations, updated loaders or if you want to use a different gamecube loading method.

You can follow it only if you want DIOS MIOS 2.8 (outdated) and CFG Loader v70 r36 (outdated).
Thanks for reading,
Cyan

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You will need:

Spoiler

-An SD Card
-A USB HDD
-Wii Mote
-GameCube Controller
-A Wii with Homebrew Channel installed
-A GameCube iso

Download Links:

Spoiler

WiiFlow: http://code.google.com/p/wiiflow/downloads/detail?name=WiiFlow v4.1.zip&can=2&q=
DIOS MIOS v2.8: http://uploaded.net/file/1zrie6yr
EaseUS: http://download.cnet.com/Easeus-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html
MMM: http://www.4shared.c...od-Manager.html

COMPUTER:


1.) Download WiiFlow from the Download List above. Put it in the apps folder of your SD Card.

2.) Download the DIOS MIOS v2.8 RAR. Go to 'DM', then move 'DIOSMIOS_2.8' to the root folder of your SD card, or for easier installation put it in a folder on the root titled 'wad'.

3.) Download MMM, and put it in your apps folder.

4.) In the DM folder in the RAR, there will be a file named DMToolbox.exe, run it, select your games iso file, and choose where you want the game's folder to go (Desktop will do.). Hit 'Install', and the folder will appear where you wanted it to, it will be named the game's ID, which will, to you, appear to be a bunch of random characters.

5.) Download and Install EaseUS Partition master, and open it. Find your HDD, and right click it, and select 'format'. Format it as FAT32 with 32KB Clusters. *DON'T IGNORE! Press OK, and then "Apply".

6.) Look at your empty HDD, and make a 'games' folder. Put the folder with the Game ID in there.

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WII:




1.) Plug in your HDD in USB Slot 0. Turn on your Wii. Launch Homebrew Channel. Then launch MMM.

2.) Choose WAD Manager on the menu and install DIOSMIOS_2.8.wad

3.) After you're done, exit MMM. Launch WiiFlow.

4.) Go to Settings, and change game partition to USB1

5.) Press 'B', and select the Gamecube icon

7.) Choose a game and press Start. Every time you add new games, you have to hit the home icon, and hit update cache, and your game list will refresh.

Congratulations! You can now play GC games from your USB HDD!

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CFG USB LOADERv70 r36:

COMPUTER:
Follow steps 3-7 in the COMPUTER guide above.

WII:

1.) Follow step 3 in the guide above.
2.) Install DIOS MIOS using MMM.
3.) Launch CFG USB Loader.
4.) Click the icon with tools on it
5.) Set "DML Version" to DM.
6.) Launch your game!

 

[ScarletBloodmoon]

Firstly, this guide is awesome! Can't wait to figure everything out and play GC games.

The main road block for me right now is the USB Loader Mod links all are unavailable for me to download because it's either encrypted or broken (according to MediaFire). Does anyone have another link, or at least what mod I should be downloading (file name and version number)?

Thanks!

 

[TheVlad]

Same problem here!

 

[tbgtbg]

Firstly, this guide is awesome! Can't wait to figure everything out and play GC games.

The main road block for me right now is the USB Loader Mod links all are unavailable for me to download because it's either encrypted or broken (according to MediaFire). Does anyone have another link, or at least what mod I should be downloading (file name and version number)?

Thanks!

http://code.google.com/p/cfg-loader/downloads/list

download version 70 from there and then after running it go into the global options and select update and get mod r51 or download it from http://code.google.com/p/cfg-loader-mod/downloads/list and just copy it over version 70's boot.dol

 

[macschwag14]

Hi.

Does anybody know if DIOS MIOS will work correctly on the new Wii models that don't have GameCube ports? I haven't found a clear answer about this and the poor grammar in its read me is somewhat unclear. I was thinking about getting a USB GameCube adapter that I could run in the back of my Wii since DM probably doesn't support Wii controls. But since it looks like DM can't save game progress to the hard drive/USB yet I'm thinking I'll have to keep the GC console for a bit longer. Just don't want to waste anymore time on this if it flat out doesn't work for me.

Thanks!

 

[Maxternal]

Hi.

Does anybody know if DIOS MIOS will work correctly on the new Wii models that don't have GameCube ports? I haven't found a clear answer about this and the poor grammar in its read me is somewhat unclear. I was thinking about getting a USB GameCube adapter that I could run in the back of my Wii since DM probably doesn't support Wii controls. But since it looks like DM can't save game progress to the hard drive/USB yet I'm thinking I'll have to keep the GC console for a bit longer. Just don't want to waste anymore time on this if it flat out doesn't work for me.

Thanks!

Nope, it won't work in those wiis since there's hardware limits that make it not able to properly connect to Wii controls with the way Dios Mios has to do it.

Basically, you can get it to start the game but you can't control it so there's not much use to it.

 

[RareKirby]

Everything works perfect now. I just got a Wii U and was able to get Usb Loader on it on the Wii mode. But the Usb loader isn't moded to play Gamecube games. So I can play all my Wii games I played before but not my Gamecube games. I hope you guys invent a new Usb Loader that will let me play my Gamecube games on Wii U

 

[Timic83]

is there a quick wad i can download that will overwrite DIOSMIOS and give me back my old disc backup launcher? diosmios is great but i still have a ton of discs of games that diosmios wont work with, and if theres just some way to overwrite a diff wad every time i want to play on USB or disc it would be nice ^^

also, what does NMM, Prog, GCReEx, and DiscEX -c mean on this page?
http://crediar.no-ip.com/gc/ and what does it mean by "Requires .ISO format to change discs"

 

[Maxternal]

is there a quick wad i can download that will overwrite DIOSMIOS and give me back my old disc backup launcher? diosmios is great but i still have a ton of discs of games that diosmios wont work with, and if theres just some way to overwrite a diff wad every time i want to play on USB or disc it would be nice ^^

Go to ModMii for Windows. On download page 4 on the right column in the middle there's a section titled "(cM)IOSs" Any of the bottom three are what you're looking for. Two of them can play DVD-R backups from the disc channel. The other one uses the GC backup launcher.

also, what does NMM, Prog, GCReEx, and DiscEX -c mean on this page?
http://crediar.no-ip.com/gc/ and what does it mean by "Requires .ISO format to change discs"

There are basically three different game formats that DM(L) can read
1. RAW - This is just a full sized original 1:1 rip of the game disk in an ISO disk image. Basically all games that work at all should work this way so it's not on the list.
2. DiscEX -c - This is still an ISO image of the game disk but a game disk often contains "padding" which is garbage data that is just there to move the real info closer to the faster reading outside of the disk. This format removes that garbage to save space. It works with a lot of games but there are some games it breaks so those are marked on the list.
3. GCReEx - Instead of making a disk image this format just takes all the files that were stored on the game disk and extracts them into a folder. Because it also ignores any garbage data it's also usually smaller than the RAW format PLUS the added bonus of better loading times in some cases. As before, there are some games that don't work this way so those are marked on the list.

Requires .ISO format to change discs - The latest version of DM(L) can switch disks images for multi-disk games (like the Resident Evil games) When you have both disks copied to the Wii and the game asks you to eject one disk and put in another it detects that the game is looking for that and switches to the disk image of the other disk so you can keep playing. This ONLY works with format #1 and #2 above which are the ones that use IOS images of the disks.

The other things on the list.
NMM - stands for "No More Memory" and it's to save to the SD card or HDD instead of a memory card. It doesn't work for all games and many games it will make them not work at all so that shows which ones it works with and which it doesn't.
Prog - This is the option to force games into progressive scan mode (480p instead of 480i or 576i). Again, this works with some games and doesn't work with others.

 

[Katsumi San]

QQ: Where can I download the original thing(Mios?) that lets me load the games from disc again? The legit loading way in other words.

 

[Maxternal]

QQ: Where can I download the original thing(Mios?) that lets me load the games from disc again? The legit loading way in other words.

ModMii or NUS Downloader

 

[mythical77]

Followed the guide 100% (the only difference being I'm loading off a FAT32 partition on my HDD), and I'm getting black screens. Tried multiple usb loaders and DM 2.2 and 2.8 with multiple games, and nothing seems to be working. What do?

 

[Timic83]

Great response Maxternal

another weird question, I can play Melee (PAL) and X-Men Next Dimension (NTSC) without a hitch, I was playing Metroid Prime (PAL) perfectly earlier today with super quick door transitions, but now i just get a black screen after DM screen. if it helps, i use DIOSMIOS booter, is there any one loader that is considered better?

edit: aaand i used wiiflow like guide says and it worked fine XD
why does "disabled" in NMM have so many asterisks?

 

[macschwag14]

Hi. Thanks for the great, simple guide!

I'm able to boot games from an 8 GB FAT32 flash drive just fine. When I try to boot games from a larger FAT32 hard drive, though, I only get black screens after I select the game I want to play. Any thoughts? I've formatted the HDD to FAT32 in 32kb clusters multiple times, and even copied the flash drive to the HDD trying to jumpstart it. I'm using DM 2.8 and WiiFlow.

 

[Genyus]

Thanks for the great guide! Is DIOS MIOS the best GC backup loader out there at the moment? I'm getting back into playing the classic Nintendo games but since my brother took my Gamecube with all of it's games this seems like a great alternative.

Also, I've currently got my Wii set up with USB Loader GX already to play some Wii games I have and I was wondering if I still need to follow the full guide or if I only need to make some simple changes?

 

[Maxternal]

Hi. Thanks for the great, simple guide!

I'm able to boot games from an 8 GB FAT32 flash drive just fine. When I try to boot games from a larger FAT32 hard drive, though, I only get black screens after I select the game I want to play. Any thoughts? I've formatted the HDD to FAT32 in 32kb clusters multiple times, and even copied the flash drive to the HDD trying to jumpstart it. I'm using DM 2.8 and WiiFlow.

Unfortunately there are some drives that just aren't compatible with Dios Mios even if they work just fine with other Wii homebrew.

Thanks for the great guide! Is DIOS MIOS the best GC backup loader out there at the moment? I'm getting back into playing the classic Nintendo games but since my brother took my Gamecube with all of it's games this seems like a great alternative.

Also, I've currently got my Wii set up with USB Loader GX already to play some Wii games I have and I was wondering if I still need to follow the full guide or if I only need to make some simple changes?

Just follow the guide and skip anything you already have and just make those "simple changes" you haven't yet.

You MAY need to update your GX version, though.

 

[Genyus]

Alright, I've updated my GX version as well as my cIOS and everything else I could think of. Followed all the instructions given in the guide but can't get the games to work. Found out USB Loader GX now loads Wii games from FAT32 partitions as well (yes, it's been a while ) so I formatted my old WBFS partition to a FAT32 (32kb clusters). When I had the WBFS partition I got the SD card error, but I figured it was because my GC games were on usb2:/games (in the GX screen that is) so that's why I formatted the WBFS partition. Now I got my games in usb1:/games yet still I get the 'copy to SD card or delete error'.

I'm at a complete loss as to what step I could take next, I've read all the threads I could find but I've been busy all afternoon and I gotta get some sleep now. I hope you have a solution for me, maybe it's even a stupidly obvious one but I'm too tired right now to figure it out.

 

[nukeboy95]

Alright, I've updated my GX version as well as my cIOS and everything else I could think of. Followed all the instructions given in the guide but can't get the games to work. Found out USB Loader GX now loads Wii games from FAT32 partitions as well (yes, it's been a while ) so I formatted my old WBFS partition to a FAT32 (32kb clusters). When I had the WBFS partition I got the SD card error, but I figured it was because my GC games were on usb2:/games (in the GX screen that is) so that's why I formatted the WBFS partition. Now I got my games in usb1:/games yet still I get the 'copy to SD card or delete error'.

I'm at a complete loss as to what step I could take next, I've read all the threads I could find but I've been busy all afternoon and I gotta get some sleep now. I hope you have a solution for me, maybe it's even a stupidly obvious one but I'm too tired right now to figure it out.

have you converted your iso with diskex?

 

[Genyus]

have you converted your iso with diskex?

If you mean this step:

4.) In the DM folder in the RAR, there will be a file named DMToolbox.exe, run it, select your games iso file, and choose where you want the game's folder to go (Desktop will do.). Hit 'Install', and the folder will appear where you wanted it to, it will be named the game's ID, which will, to you, appear to be a bunch of random characters.

then yes, but as said I used DMToolbox. Or is converting it with diskex a different/better process?

 

[nukeboy95]

If you mean this step:

4.) In the DM folder in the RAR, there will be a file named DMToolbox.exe, run it, select your games iso file, and choose where you want the game's folder to go (Desktop will do.). Hit 'Install', and the folder will appear where you wanted it to, it will be named the game's ID, which will, to you, appear to be a bunch of random characters.

then yes, but as said I used DMToolbox. Or is converting it with diskex a different/better process?

yes and it does the same thing

 

[Genyus]

yes and it does the same thing

I figured, just making sure. I doubt that's the problem as well because I can't even load the iso in the first place due to it giving the SD card error