Hacking USB Loader GX (vWii) stopped working

[Cyan]

right before, or at the count down, it should work too.
the drive needs to be powered and spinning during the 20sec countdown.

 

[pokeparadox]

I personally plug it just as the count down starts. Cyan, is there any clues what's going wrong, why it hangs?

 

[Cyan]

no, I don't know.
that's why I need users to test different revisions to check the diferences between them all.
don't stop on the first you find (1219) because later revision could work (test 1223 to 1229 too).
lik I said, if possible, with a clean meta.xml (or even a clean install to know no config are the cause)


it used to be loaded using cIOS
I tried IOS58 for one revision, then reverted it back to cIOS.
but something might be wrong in the additional code I added (the one to tell the loader if you want to mount USB at launch or skip it)

so, first, I would like a proper result of the tests with all revision since 1217.
then I'll make new version for you to test (as I don't have this issue, it's hard for me to debug it myself).

 

[Hammyface]

1217 result:
1223 result:
1239 result:

OK. I will give this a try soon. I got so frustrated I figured maybe my hard drive was not compatible with the latest USB Loader GX so I am current swapping external drives with a friend. Will report back shortly.

 

[gamecaptor]

Here are my results:
r1217: Works
r1218: Works
r1219: Fails
r1221: Fails
r1223: Fails
r1224: Fails
r1226: Fails
r1228: Fails
r1229: Fails
r1230: Fails

All the version I downloaded from here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?t2x95zd9rz3rc#6a48l4qn0aa1h
All were clean installs (i.e. I would delete the previous usbloader_gx folder and copy over the new one)
I always used the r12xx_IOS249 version

Hopefully this helps! I would love to have a Nintendont version of USB Loader GX working.

You know what else I would love, to have ustealth versions of FCE Ultra GX, Snes9x GX and VBA GX.

I would also love a pet Unicorn...so at this point I'll just be happy with USB Loader GX getting fixed

 

[Cyan]

Thank you for this report.

Could you try now :

1239
settings : Loader's IOS = 249
meta.xml : enable arguments (delete 2 commented lines) and set IOS to 58 like this

		<arguments>
				<arg>--ios=58</arg>
				<arg>--usbport=0</arg>
				<arg>--mountusb=1</arg>
		</arguments>

it should work for you to use a working loader with nintendont.
this is not the proper way to fix the issue, but it's temporary until I fix it.
I'll make a new test revision today to see if it's fixed without the use of meta.xml

 

[Hammyface]

OK it took me a few hours but I can say now that switching to a different hard drive fixed the issue for me. I am not sure why this fixed it, as they are both external Western Digital 1TB hard drives, but they both look a bit different. The one that does not freeze USB Loader GX is in a shiny looking enclosure (kind of like the original PS3 shiny black consoles) and the one that froze all the time is more of a matte finish. Both USB-powered, both 1TB, both Western Digital, and I was using a Y-adapter for both. And even stranger is I used the problematic drive on the regular Wii for years and it never had a problem with USB Loader GX, and never had a problem in USB Loader GX on the WiiU running Gamecube games for Nintendon't. It wasn't until installing 249, 250, and 251 that the specific drive had problems in USB Loader GX.

So while I didn't exactly determine the cause of the problem, I can say that switching to a different external worked, so hopefully Cyan this will help you troubleshoot a bit It's the least I could do for someone who has contributed such great work (and also someone who recognizes FF6 as the best game in the series ).

 

[Cyan]

yeah, that's why I didn't know there was an issue and can't debug it alone.
I will need users with problematic drives to do tests for me.

keep your drive, so we can run tests with it.
I didn't work on the code yet, I'm sometime a little lazy...
I'm taking a look at it now, I'll post a link here when I have one.

edit:
gamecaptor Hammyface fadamox

I still couldn't find what could cause drive init issue.
So, I added few debug text on boot sequence, hopefully it will help determine where it stops.

As most of you don't have USBGecko and SD+USB is not active yet we can't write log files, so each debug text is written on screen for 2 seconds, so please be patient until it freeze for good (more than 5 seconds I guess).
Tell me what is the last message you see.

the loader is loading HDD 2 times :
- mount SD+USB (First time)
- read configfile
- if loader's IOS in config file is different than currently loaded IOS:
- unmount SD+USB
- reload IOS
- remount SD+USB (Second time)

Important : tell me if you see "mounting USB success" one time, but it still hang on the second try.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/ubcfi07q9qcebdb/boot.dol (it's a version250 instead of 249, I didn't reset the build IOS, so it will try to reload if you don't have the setting set to 250)

I tested it, and the messages are still a little too fast. I should have put 5 seconds per message.

 

[gamecaptor]

Hammyface is on to something! I got to thinking about his comments about incompatible hard drive so I downloaded the WD Firmware Update [tool] 3.2.5.1 from http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/wdsmartwareupdate/firmware.asp?id=wdfGeneric&os=win. I updated my Western Digital My Passport Ultra from v1.007 to v1.012.
I then removed r1218 from my SD and put a clean r1239 (didn't touch anything). When I loaded up USB Loader GX, low-and-behold it booted! So it looks like the problem might not be with USB Loader, but rather the hard drive itself (or at least the firmware for the hard drive; I don't see any change long on what the new firmware changes so I can't tell you what it fixed/changed).
I'm curious to see anyone else that has this problem is also using a Western Digital USB drive.
Hammyface, give it a try on the hard drive that is giving you problems and see if it helps.

 

[Cyan]

even if a firmware update fixed it, it's not normal that different revisions of the loader affects it while nothing seems to have changed.
And if you updated your firmware you can't test it anymore

glad for you, it works now! but not everyone have a WD drive or a firmware update available.
I'll wait for someone else to test.

 

[gamecaptor]

True Cyan, I didn't think about that. I have another WD USB Hard Drive at my work that I can see what firmware it is on.

Here are (what little) notes Western Digital provides about the firmware updates:
http://support.wdc.com/download/notes/Win_Univ_FW_Updater_Release_Notes_v3.2.5.1.pdf

 

[Cyan]

there are a lot of "fix drive not mounted after ... sleep/shutdown/etc."
But it's not affected by r1218 so there's definitely something to do with the loader.

I can try to revert back to 1218, rebuild a version to see if it works fine.
then re-add the changes one by one until it breaks.

 

[gamecaptor]

(Thank you remote access) The USB Hard Drive at my work is a WD My Passport v1.025 and is on the latest firmware. I'll bring it home on Monday to test with anyways.

 

[Hammyface]

there are a lot of "fix drive not mounted after ... sleep/shutdown/etc."
But it's not affected by r1218 so there's definitely something to do with the loader.

I can try to revert back to 1218, rebuild a version to see if it works fine.
then re-add the changes one by one until it breaks.

I suppose it could be USB Loader GX, but then why did the latest USB Loader GX work fine until I installed IOS 249, 250, and 251? Before that, I was loading GC ISOs from the hard drive just fine using the latest USB Loader GX, so isn't it a combination of USB Loader GX and the d2x-v10-beta53-alt-vWii ?

 

[Cyan]

do you need beta53 ? (for dual port, I suppose)
if you don't use port1 or dual port support in the loader, you can install d2x v10 (r52, not alt).

but it's a mix of lot of things.
using another cIOS : no issue at all ? then it's part responsible by the cIOS.
using specific hdd : HDD recognition and support is based on cIOS, so that's why updating the HDD firmware fixed it. Beta53 is probably less compatible and the firmware fixed it.
using cIOS 53 : compatibility status changed between 1218 and 1219, I did change the way the loader is loading but didn't touch HDD code.

So, it's not cIOS alone, as there are loader's revision working fine.
so, maybe we should check both changes located in cIOS 52-53 and loader 1218-1219.



Could users with this issue launch the test version I linked above and tell me which is the last message you see on screen?
I will release new builds today too. it will be r1218 again (but recompiled today) and re-add all changes one by one.

 

[gamecaptor]

Hammyface, could you post a dump of your Wii U with SysCheck (like how I did in my first post). SysCheck 2.3.1 was just released recently.
http://www.hacksden.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=149

 

[Cyan]

The full syscheck is not really needed, as long as he knows which cIOS he installed and which base, that's all the info you need.

 

[Hammyface]

Hi, I installed d2x-v10-beta53-alt-vWii on 249, 250, and 251. I did not install anything to 58 or 59; should I have?

I could have installed something other than d2x-v10-beta53-alt-vWii but that's the one the guide here told me to use and since I was worried I could screw up my vWii I didn't want to use anything not recommended. Should I have used a different cIOS?

 

[gamecaptor]

No, if your setup looks like mine, then that is all you should need.

 

[Cyan]

Instead of following guides, it's better to understand why the guide tell you to do it.

Usually, the guides tell you that you have the choice between beta52 and beta53 (and usually tell you the difference!).
Beta52 (v10) = Support only 1 USB port. Good compatibility.
Beta53 (v10-alt) = Supports 2 USB ports. Bad compatibility.

If you don't need 2 USB Port at the same time inside the loader, DON'T install beta53!


In both cases, you don't install "to 58 and 59".
You install to "249, 250 and 251".

DON'T ever install anything in slot 58 or below 80 (or even below200)! if you do, you brick your console!

Your Wii/vWii has 255 slots where you can install IOS (system files).
Nintendo use different system files installed in different IOS slots (slot36, slot58, slot57, etc.)

hackers are patching the official files located in these slots, and install the result (the patched files based on the official files) to a different and empty slot not used by Nintendo.


Slot 249 = a patched IOS, the content is based on the official IOS 56. The program used to patch (d2x) is version 10 (revision 52) or 10-alt (revision 53)
slot 250 = a patched IOS, the content is based on the official IOS 57. The program used to patch (d2x) is version 10 (revision 52) or 10-alt (revision 53)
Slot 251 = a patched IOS, the content is based on the official IOS 58. The program used to patch (d2x) is version 10 (revision 52) or 10-alt (revision 53)

cIOS d2x v10 249[56]
cIOS d2x v10 250[57]
cIOS d2x v10 251[58]


But you can install anything else!
if you want, you can install a base 36 in slot 248... why not?
cIOS d2x v10-alt 248[36]

or overwrite an existing cIOS slot. If you already have d2x v10-alt [56] in slot249, install d2x v10[56] on the same slot, and it will replace its content.
v10-alt 249[56] -> v10 249[56]


Also, you don't need to install ALL three files.
only one at a time is used by the loader anyway.
if you install a cIOS in slot 249 with base56, 90% of games are working.

base 56 = 90%
base 57 = 95% (but it's loading slower)
base 58 = used for musical games, and games with USB access (microphone, etc.)