Hacking The Definitive vWii Hacking Guide!

[hirvimies]

The KEYS.txt from my dump with xyzzy is empty and 0 bytes, did the dump fail? The card is not read only since I did a NAND dump afterwards and it seemed to finished normally since my WiiU rebooted when I wasn't looking.

Edit: Still no luck with the keys but I proceeded with the tutorial and got all the IOS installed. Only thing left for me now is setting up USB Loader but since I only have sticks lying around and no external case for a HDD I'm gonna wait a bit before moving on. In any case, thank you CJB100 for this comprehensive guide. It's well written and I had no problems following it.

Just noticed a minor mistake in how you describe the Yu-Gi-Oh hax, it says 3. Go to SD card and select the "Tales of Symphonia" savegame. It really is no biggie, just me nitpicking on a great guide since I used that game as an exploit and noticed it.

 

[n00dz]

I just want to start by thanking you for making such an easy to follow guide! I just followed this entire guide and almost everything works great!

The problem I'm having is every time I quit a GameCube game using Nintendont, it loads up USB Loader Gx but it can't see the HDD anymore. So I try to go to the homebrew channel and it completely locks up on a black screen. It's like Nintendont disables my HDD and my SD card.

Did I do something wrong, or is this common with Nintendont? Any help would be great!

 

[CJB100]

The KEYS.txt from my dump with xyzzy is empty and 0 bytes, did the dump fail? The card is not read only since I did a NAND dump afterwards and it seemed to finished normally since my WiiU rebooted when I wasn't looking.

Edit: Still no luck with the keys but I proceeded with the tutorial and got all the IOS installed. Only thing left for me now is setting up USB Loader but since I only have sticks lying around and no external case for a HDD I'm gonna wait a bit before moving on. In any case, thank you CJB100 for this comprehensive guide. It's well written and I had no problems following it.

Just noticed a minor mistake in how you describe the Yu-Gi-Oh hax, it says 3. Go to SD card and select the "Tales of Symphonia" savegame. It really is no biggie, just me nitpicking on a great guide since I used that game as an exploit and noticed it.

Thanks for the catch, I'll edit that soon. As for the keys.txt, yes, it does sound like it failed. That isn't terribly uncommon. Just try it again. If you can't get it to work the second time, don't worry too much about it. Of all the backup steps that could have failed, that one is the least important, and you are past the hard sections where messing up would be more likely to cause a brick.

I just want to start by thanking you for making such an easy to follow guide! I just followed this entire guide and almost everything works great!

The problem I'm having is every time I quit a GameCube game using Nintendont, it loads up USB Loader Gx but it can't see the HDD anymore. So I try to go to the homebrew channel and it completely locks up on a black screen. It's like Nintendont disables my HDD and my SD card.

Did I do something wrong, or is this common with Nintendont? Any help would be great!

Thanks! As for your issue, no, its certainly not common. It sounds like either an issue with the HDD or the way you installed the cIOS.

1. Do you have partitions on your HDD? If so, I'd personally recommend reformatting the entire drive to one FAT32 MBR partition as shown in the guide. You can have partitions, but they can cause issues for users that don't know exactly how to set them up for all the various homebrew quirks.
2. If you're using a Y Cable and you installed the cIOS that allows plug and play, you may try switching the USB ends and see if that helps.
3. Do you keep your homebrew on your USB HDD, or SD Card?
4. What kind of HDD is it?
5. If all this fails, try updating USB Loader GX manually and Nintendont in the manner discussed in the guide.

If none of the above works, its a cIOS issue. Let me know the results and if we need to do further steps, we will.

 

[n00dz]

Thanks! As for your issue, no, its certainly not common. It sounds like either an issue with the HDD or the way you installed the cIOS.

1. Do you have partitions on your HDD? If so, I'd personally recommend reformatting the entire drive to one FAT32 MBR partition as shown in the guide. You can have partitions, but they can cause issues for users that don't know exactly how to set them up for all the various homebrew quirks.
2. If you're using a Y Cable and you installed the cIOS that allows plug and play, you may try switching the USB ends and see if that helps.
3. Do you keep your homebrew on your USB HDD, or SD Card?
4. What kind of HDD is it?
5. If all this fails, try updating USB Loader GX manually and Nintendont in the manner discussed in the guide.

If none of the above works, its a cIOS issue. Let me know the results and if we need to do further steps, we will.

Thanks for responding!

1. I don't think I have partitions, but the one part of the guide I skipped was formatting the drive. I was using the drive on a softmodded Wii with USB Loader Gx and DIOSMIOS. I think I'll try backing up my games and reformatting like in the guide.
2. I had to order a Y cable, I'm not sure if I installed the cIOS? I installed the 3 you mentioned in the guide.
3. I keep my homebrew on an SD card, which is why I thought it was weird that after quiting Nintendont even the Homebrew Channel was freezing.
4. The HD is a Western Digital 750gb. I can check the exact model in a bit, I bought it about 3 years ago for the Wii. All I know is that it is USB 3.0.
5. I updated both, the Nintendont build is from today, wasn't sure if it was just a bad build.

 

[n00dz]

Thanks for responding!

1. I don't think I have partitions, but the one part of the guide I skipped was formatting the drive. I was using the drive on a softmodded Wii with USB Loader Gx and DIOSMIOS. I think I'll try backing up my games and reformatting like in the guide.
2. I had to order a Y cable, I'm not sure if I installed the cIOS? I installed the 3 you mentioned in the guide.
3. I keep my homebrew on an SD card, which is why I thought it was weird that after quiting Nintendont even the Homebrew Channel was freezing.
4. The HD is a Western Digital 750gb. I can check the exact model in a bit, I bought it about 3 years ago for the Wii. All I know is that it is USB 3.0.
5. I updated both, the Nintendont build is from today, wasn't sure if it was just a bad build.

I just formatted the drive correctly, and manually updated Nintendont. The issue is still there. I don't know what else to try. Possibly getting an externally powered harddrive?

 

[CJB100]

Thanks for responding!

1. I don't think I have partitions, but the one part of the guide I skipped was formatting the drive. I was using the drive on a softmodded Wii with USB Loader Gx and DIOSMIOS. I think I'll try backing up my games and reformatting like in the guide.
2. I had to order a Y cable, I'm not sure if I installed the cIOS? I installed the 3 you mentioned in the guide.
3. I keep my homebrew on an SD card, which is why I thought it was weird that after quiting Nintendont even the Homebrew Channel was freezing.
4. The HD is a Western Digital 750gb. I can check the exact model in a bit, I bought it about 3 years ago for the Wii. All I know is that it is USB 3.0.
5. I updated both, the Nintendont build is from today, wasn't sure if it was just a bad build.

Ok, sounds like it's some sort of issue with the cIOS most likely, since it's affecting your homebrew on the SD card.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/syscheck-hacksden-edition.356133/

Run a syscheck and post a picture of the results if possible. We need to figure out what went wrong in the installation process so we can correct it.

 

[n00dz]

Ok, sounds like it's some sort of issue with the cIOS most likely, since it's affecting your homebrew on the SD card.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/syscheck-hacksden-edition.356133/

Run a syscheck and post a picture of the results if possible. We need to figure out what went wrong in the installation process so we can correct it.

Is this what you're looking for?

 

[CJB100]

Is this what you're looking for?

That is what I'm looking for exactly! But I don'tsee anything wrong at first look. @Cyan @Robins Does anyone else see anything?

 

[n00dz]

That is what I'm looking for exactly! But I don'tsee anything wrong at first look. @Cyan @Robins Does anyone else see anything?

I'm stumped. If it was my harddrive, why would my SD card also stop working? It's like Nintendont disables all my storage devices.

 

[CJB100]

I'm stumped. If it was my harddrive, why would my SD card also stop working? It's like Nintendont disables all my storage devices.

Does it do this after exiting a Wii game?

 

[n00dz]

Does it do this after exiting a Wii game?

Nope, only GameCube

 

[CJB100]

Nope, only GameCube

Maybe upon exit Nintendont is attempting to reload software on a bad IOS or something. Check your USB Loader GX setting for GameCube games and see if you can find any settings regarding reload or exit actions.

 

[7Robins]

I'm not the biggest expert here, you're much more competent than me. The syscheck looks normal though, unless there's an issue with the cIOSes, maybe try reinstalling them?

 

[n00dz]

Maybe upon exit Nintendont is attempting to reload software on a bad IOS or something. Check your USB Loader GX setting for GameCube games and see if you can find any settings regarding reload or exit actions.

I tried launching games just through Nintendont, and the same thing happened. I looked at the settings in USB loader and Nintendont, and I don't see anything that could cause this.

I'm not the biggest expert here, you're much more competent than me. The syscheck looks normal though, unless there's an issue with the cIOSes, maybe try reinstalling them?

I tried re-installing the 3 cIOS that are in the guide, and the problem is still there.

 

[n00dz]

I tried launching games just through Nintendont, and the same thing happened. I looked at the settings in USB loader and Nintendont, and I don't see anything that could cause this.



I tried re-installing the 3 cIOS that are in the guide, and the problem is still there.

I was using a 64gb SD card that I also use for Wii U stuff, so I swapped that out for a 2gb SD card I had lying around. The same thing is happening.

One thing I didn't mention before, when I go into Nintendont to update, using the home button to quit Nintendont locks the system up on a black screen. It seems like once Nintendont is opened, the system is going to freeze.

Another thing to mention, launching a GameCube game works wonderfully, I'm able to use my Wii U Pro Controller and I love it. All these issues are after quitting Nintendont.

 

[Cyan]

The HD is a Western Digital 750gb. I can check the exact model in a bit, I bought it about 3 years ago for the Wii. All I know is that it is USB 3.0.

There's a known issue (which I don't know the cause yet) with some USB3.0 Western Digital HDD on vWii.
I bought a "Western Digital Element" to test myself, I haven't took the time to do it yet. it seems the "element" brand is more affected than other WD drives.

One solution is to set the Loader's IOS to 58 instead of 249.
USBLoaderGX settings > Loader settings > Loader's IOS.


If it still happen with the loader's IOS set to 58, maybe it's an issue with the USB Port.
- Did you try both ports on the back of your console ?
- Connect only ONE HDD at the same time. (having a vWii and a WiiU hdd connected at the same time is known to create issues if not setup correctly).
- Try d2x r52 (the v10 non alternative), as r53 is initializing both USB Ports, so maybe it's conflicting somewhere.

 

[n00dz]

There's a known issue (which I don't know the cause yet) with some USB3.0 Western Digital HDD on vWii.
I bought a "Western Digital Element" to test myself, I haven't took the time to do it yet. it seems the "element" brand is more affected than other WD drives.

One solution is to set the Loader's IOS to 58 instead of 249.
USBLoaderGX settings > Loader settings > Loader's IOS.


If it still happen with the loader's IOS set to 58, maybe it's an issue with the USB Port.
- Did you try both ports on the back of your console ?
- Connect only ONE HDD at the same time. (having a vWii and a WiiU hdd connected at the same time is known to create issues if not setup correctly).
- Try d2x r52 (the v10 non alternative), as r53 is initializing both USB Ports, so maybe it's conflicting somewhere.

Thank you for responding!

After I posted my previous responses, I tried other SD cards, fresh installs of Nintendont, I unplugged the HDD and tried to update Nintendont. Every combination still causes my vWii to freeze after leaving Nintendont. This includes trying to restart Nintendont for an update, and even just going into Nintendont and quiting normal. This is with just a normal 2gb SD card in the system and no HDD connected.

I tried using 58 for the Loader's IOS, and the issue was still there.
I'm using a Y cable for my HDD, and I tried swapping and the HDD wasn't seen at all.
I'm not using a HDD for my Wii U, I have Wii U files on my SD card though.
I will try using d2x r52 now, currently waiting for my Wii U to respond, it's completely locked up after trying Loader IOS 58.

I'm sorry about all these posts, but I really appreciate all the help you guys are giving me!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Thank you for responding!

After I posted my previous responses, I tried other SD cards, fresh installs of Nintendont, I unplugged the HDD and tried to update Nintendont. Every combination still causes my vWii to freeze after leaving Nintendont. This includes trying to restart Nintendont for an update, and even just going into Nintendont and quiting normal. This is with just a normal 2gb SD card in the system and no HDD connected.

I tried using 58 for the Loader's IOS, and the issue was still there.
I'm using a Y cable for my HDD, and I tried swapping and the HDD wasn't seen at all.
I'm not using a HDD for my Wii U, I have Wii U files on my SD card though.
I will try using d2x r52 now, currently waiting for my Wii U to respond, it's completely locked up after trying Loader IOS 58.

I'm sorry about all these posts, but I really appreciate all the help you guys are giving me!

Just tried d2x r52, same exact thing still happens.

 

[blutarch]

Hey, I wanted to thank you for this awesome guide. It worked like a charm and I can finally stop taking my gamecube out to play older games!

I just have one question. I used UStealth to hide my HDD, and it works fine with USB loader. However, the emulators (SNES, NES, etc.) were unable to notice the HDD while it was hidden. Is there a work around for this that I might of missed? Otherwise, it's not too big a deal just leaving it visible and declining formats every time.

 

[Cyan]

Every combination still causes my vWii to freeze after leaving Nintendont

Then, it's because you didn't install the USBLoaderGX forwarder, which is required for the "return to the loader" to work.

if you don't want to install that channel, you can try to change the "return to" option to another channel (for example HBC channel) in the loader's settings.
I didn't try to set the "return to" to another channel, but it should work with wii games, I don't remember if the forwarder's channel ID is hardcoded or not.
It's probably hardcoded, and the reason it black screens. It tried to load it even if you don't have it.
by looking at the sources, it should return to system menu if there's no channel installed. so maybe it's an issue with vWii only. I can try it, I don't have any custom channel installed, only HBC.

 

[CJB100]

Thank you for responding!

After I posted my previous responses, I tried other SD cards, fresh installs of Nintendont, I unplugged the HDD and tried to update Nintendont. Every combination still causes my vWii to freeze after leaving Nintendont. This includes trying to restart Nintendont for an update, and even just going into Nintendont and quiting normal. This is with just a normal 2gb SD card in the system and no HDD connected.

I tried using 58 for the Loader's IOS, and the issue was still there.
I'm using a Y cable for my HDD, and I tried swapping and the HDD wasn't seen at all.
I'm not using a HDD for my Wii U, I have Wii U files on my SD card though.
I will try using d2x r52 now, currently waiting for my Wii U to respond, it's completely locked up after trying Loader IOS 58.

I'm sorry about all these posts, but I really appreciate all the help you guys are giving me!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Just tried d2x r52, same exact thing still happens.

You've literally been the perfect person to try and help lol I'm sorry we dont seem to be getting anywhere.

Hey, I wanted to thank you for this awesome guide. It worked like a charm and I can finally stop taking my gamecube out to play older games!

I just have one question. I used UStealth to hide my HDD, and it works fine with USB loader. However, the emulators (SNES, NES, etc.) were unable to notice the HDD while it was hidden. Is there a work around for this that I might of missed? Otherwise, it's not too big a deal just leaving it visible and declining formats every time.

As far as I'm aware, the emulators don't support ustealth. If you have a big SD card, store your Roms there. I have had the entire NES, Genesis, GBA, SNES, and TGfx-16 romsets on an 8GB Card for a friend on top of all the vWii stuff.