Homebrew Is it possible to make a virgin NAND backup?

[marzsyndrome]

Well, as it turned out, using a different version of LoadMii - v0.3 to be precise - works a LOT better. DOLs actually load off of it!

Of course, I then discovered that all the various NAND dumpers (besides BootMii) showed various problems, but all generally sharing the same issue of not making a dump. WiiND would flash "initializing SD card/USB card" briefly on the screen but not dump, RealWnD said "ERROR: Cannot open NAND. Maybe you have new IOS.", SFSD wanted me to select a cIOS but I guess I don't have anything for it to select, YaWnD gave me "ERROR reading flash at 0 (error:-4)", and the Key Grabber DOL (which came with WiiND) says "loading keyhack IOS blah blah blah sending things to Earth...." for some seconds, then quits out and initiates the exploit/LoadMii again.

So I guess you guys have a point - these seem to want *something* installed - possibly the BootMii IOS you're all referring to?

If I understand this question correctly, then no. Think of the nand as the hard drive of your wii. Everything that the wii stores - savegames, channels miis, system settings, personal messages, firmware stuff, ... - is all stored on that nand. As such, restoring your nand will put your wii back to the exact spot when you made the backup (I may we wrong, but I think even the wii's date and time will be set back to that moment).

I know that the NAND acts like a snapshot of your system, but what I'm asking is whether the tool makes a virgin NAND file in the sense of "factory-reset, barebones, no extra WADs/channels on the system" or "store everything that was already installed in the NAND when you got the system"?

 

[SifJar]

Well, as it turned out, using a different version of LoadMii - v0.3 to be precise - works a LOT better. DOLs actually load off of it!

Of course, I then discovered that all the various NAND dumpers (besides BootMii) showed various problems, but all generally sharing the same issue of not making a dump. WiiND would flash "initializing SD card/USB card" briefly on the screen but not dump, RealWnD said "ERROR: Cannot open NAND. Maybe you have new IOS.", SFSD wanted me to select a cIOS but I guess I don't have anything for it to select, YaWnD gave me "ERROR reading flash at 0 (error:-4)", and the Key Grabber DOL (which came with WiiND) says "loading keyhack IOS blah blah blah sending things to Earth...." for some seconds, then quits out and initiates the exploit/LoadMii again.

So I guess you guys have a point - these seem to want *something* installed - possibly the BootMii IOS you're all referring to?

All these tools rely on an IOS exploit that was publicly revealed several years ago and has long since been patched out of every official IOS by Nintendo. So of course none of these tools work. But nor will they work if you install BootMii/IOS. However, installing BootMii/IOS allows you to take a NAND dump (NAND dumping is a feature of BootMii itself).

 

[giantpune]

i already posted a link to the program ohneswanzenegger. you can get the job done with this and bootmii.

1) use some exploit to load the hackmii installer. the hackmii installer automatically installs bootmii IOS
2) in the hackmii installer, tell it to prepare a SD card and nothing else. just exit
3) use the same exploit you used in step 1 to start a .dol that loads bootmii IOS
4) make a nand backup. this will be virgin except for bootmii.
5) open the nand in ohneswanzenegger and install the latest IOS254 from nintendo. this will overwrite bootmii and youre nand is virgin again

 

[marzsyndrome]

Ta for that, giantpune. Is there a dummy's guide on all things IOSes though, since I don't really know how you go about downloading this IOS254 and how you install it?

Or is ModMii supposed to do all this for me?

EDIT: Couple more questions....

1) I can also use ohneswanzenegger to delete the Indiana Pwns save from the NAND, right?
2) How can I tell which IOSes are already installed without installing any tools? Just to see if red 4.3 Wiis usually have IOS254 installed right off the bat so I can tell if it was part of the original setup.

 

[SifJar]

Ta for that, giantpune. Is there a dummy's guide on all things IOSes though, since I don't really know how you go about downloading this IOS254 and how you install it?

Or is ModMii supposed to do all this for me?

EDIT: Couple more questions....

1) I can also use ohneswanzenegger to delete the Indiana Pwns save from the NAND, right?
2) How can I tell which IOSes are already installed without installing any tools? Just to see if red 4.3 Wiis usually have IOS254 installed right off the bat so I can tell if it was part of the original setup.

1. I don't think so, just delete it on your Wii before taking the NAND dump.
2. It does. I am 99.9% sure of this. It would make zero sense for Nintendo NOT to install the latest revision of every IOS at the factory. Anyway, it would not be a giveaway if you were to restore this dump at some stage, because IOS254 would automatically be installed where you to click the update button right now, if it isn't already installed.

 

[marzsyndrome]

Ta for that, giantpune. Is there a dummy's guide on all things IOSes though, since I don't really know how you go about downloading this IOS254 and how you install it?

Or is ModMii supposed to do all this for me?

EDIT: Couple more questions....

1) I can also use ohneswanzenegger to delete the Indiana Pwns save from the NAND, right?
2) How can I tell which IOSes are already installed without installing any tools? Just to see if red 4.3 Wiis usually have IOS254 installed right off the bat so I can tell if it was part of the original setup.

1. I don't think so, just delete it on your Wii before taking the NAND dump.But then I'd have no exploit with which to run the BootMii IOS and therefore make the dump. :-\

QUOTE

2. It does. I am 99.9% sure of this. It would make zero sense for Nintendo NOT to install the latest revision of every IOS at the factory. Anyway, it would not be a giveaway if you were to restore this dump at some stage, because IOS254 would automatically be installed where you to click the update button right now, if it isn't already installed.

Thanks for the information.

 

[SifJar]

But then I'd have no exploit with which to run the BootMii IOS and therefore make the dump. :-\

Oh yeah. Didn't think of that. Well, it may be possible. But anyway, you could always just delete the save AFTER restoring the NAND dump if you ever for some reason need to. BTW, you do realise that it's kinda risky to restore a dump with BootMii/IOS, right? Cause if that screws up, your Wii is bricked in such a way that it can ONLY be fixed with a NAND programmer (i.e. requiring disassembling Wii and desoldering NAND chip to connect it to a computer). Of course, that's reasonably unlikely, but if you were to lose power during the restore process (which I've never done, but I believe takes a reasonable amount of time; 5-10 minutes perhaps?), your Wii would be bricked. Not trying to scare you or anything, just inform you of the facts

 

[giantpune]

go rent smash bros. and use that for the exploit.

 

[marzsyndrome]

go rent smash bros. and use that for the exploit.

I already have Lego Indiana Jones for an exploit.

 

[giantpune]

think about this. how are you planning to launch ANY homebrew at all to make a nand dump with no traces of homebrew on it?

you cant have you cake and eat it too. you dont want to open up the wii and dump the nand with a hardware programmer. you dont want to spend $3 and rent a game. sorry. what you are asking cant be done simply because you are too cheap.

 

[marzsyndrome]

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. How is the Smash Stack exploit any different? Doesn't that still require that you copy a file to the NAND like every other exploit? I don't understand why my not getting Smash Bros Brawl is a bad thing.

Also, I just wanted to know if your tool can change what savegames are stored in the NAND as well. Hence me wondering if a dump can be made and then opening it up later and eliminating both the BootMii IOS and the I.P. save.

 

[giantpune]

my tool is just an example program from a library. the library itself can delete files. but there is no button it this specific program to allow you to delete specific files.

and yes, the SSBB exploit doesnt require you to write anything to the nand. it works all from SD card and RAM.

if you want to write your own little program, you can make a dol that will delete your indiana pwns exploit from NAND before booting bootmii IOS to make the nand dump but technically the exploit will still be on the NAND. it is just marked as free space but not deleted.

 

[marzsyndrome]

and yes, the SSBB exploit doesnt require you to write anything to the nand. it works all from SD card and RAM.

That does sound interesting. And I'm chuffed that a PAL version of the exploit came out lately so I'm considering a rental or eBay. Thanks for the tip and the exploit.