Hardware What's Wrong With My Wii U?

[Nonstiq]

Hey all, hoping to get some help here since I'm still pretty n00bish when it comes to fixing consoles. My Wii U has been having problems where it either doesn't startup most of the time because the gamepad doesn't connect and TV just shows a black screen or it does try to startup and I get picture on TV but it freezes on either the Wii U logo or sometimes on the home menu or settings. I can say it doesn't seem to be a gamepad issue since I've tried it on another Wii U and it works fine and also there are no error codes it spits out at me like the google searches I've done like to say so it seems to be a problem with the console itself. When it does go to the home menu it usually freezes fast within a minute but the other day I managed to have it work for like 7-10 minutes before it froze, long enough to format an external hard drive since I'm hoping to backup my saves and games in case there is no fix. I haven't modded the system or anything like that. Was wondering if anyone knows about this issue and a possible fix. Thanks!

Honestly, when I first read this, the first thing that came to my mind was the wireless antennae.

When I installed my NAND-AID and reassembled my Wii U, it was working fine. Then it started freezing randomly. Then it would freeze on the Wii U logo each and every boot. And unlike my failing EMMC, it never spat out an error code. I had the same issues of the GamePad not connecting like you've experienced. I panicked a bit, thinking I had stuffed up the fine soldering on the NAND-AID somehow, but I triple checked under a microscope and it was all great.

I removed all the various antennae, cleaned them up, reinstalled them and placed a bit of padding right above each of their connectors. The idea with the padding in a different location was to press against the bottom shield plate gently and to make sure that each connection stayed tight and straight.

Reassembled the Wii U and it has worked flawlessly since.

As mentioned in the Ultimate Wii U Troubleshooting guide - https://gbatemp.net/threads/ultimat...reset-black-screen-after-stuck-update.642339/

"Wii U Menu freezes when trying to launch anything -> Defective 2.4Ghz Wifi Module

All games freeze on the splash screen -> Defective Bluetooth Module

Wii U freezes during boot on Wii U Menu splash screen while coldbooting Aroma / Tiramisu -> Defective Bluetooth Module"

In my case, the modules themselves weren't defective, its just the connectors are particularly sensitive and need to be aligned.

 

[FlashStrife]

Do you have the wfs-extract on your computer? To need to give it the path to it. You can also just drag it indo the window and it will insert it with the full path

Getting a new error message when typing

sudo ./wfs-extract --input/dev/sdb2 --output save-extract --type mlc --otp backup_otp_0.bin --dump-path usr-save

that says

Error: Unrecognized option '--input/dev/sdb2'.
Use --help to display program options

Tried sdb1 sdb3 and sdb4 as well just to be sure and all the same as well. I guess since it's not say wfs-extract: command not found anymore it's working just something in input is incorrect.

 

[V10lator]

sudo ./wfs-extract --input/dev/sdb2 --output save-extract --type mlc --otp backup_otp_0.bin --dump-path usr-save

You're missing a space between --input and /dev/sdb2

 

[FlashStrife]

You're missing a space between --input and /dev/sdb2

Yeah, didn't notice it before. Guessing we're at the home stretch now. Just getting Error: Didn't find directory usr-save in wfs now.

Edit: Got it. Typed usr-save instead of usr/save before. Says it dumped now that I put usr/save and added the folder to the sd card. Thanks for all the help everyone! So what's next?

Also I saw your post Nonstiq, just waiting to finish this first before I continue on repairing that Wii U. I did think it was a connection issue a while back but I thought it was on the gamepad end, not console end. Will look into it when I have time since I still need to get voltage readings on other sections plus it likes to turn off now almost immediately if the heatsink and fan aren't connected it seems.

 

[SDIO]

Look good. Now You can either use SaveMii or FTP to copy the saves to your new console.

Also you might consider still fixing your old console.

But when you use ftp make sure to only copy the game saves and not the system saves or it might cause trouble.

 

[FlashStrife]

Look good. Now You can either use SaveMii or FTP to copy the saves to your new console.

Also you might consider still fixing your old console.

But when you use ftp make sure to only copy the game saves and not the system saves or it might cause trouble.

Got it. Just the first 3 folders then in the picture correct? Also the system needs to be modded with CFW to use SaveMii or FTP right? What's the best CFW to go with? Sounds like Aroma is the best from what I'm reading but best to ask first to be sure. Also definitely still going to work on the faulty Wii U, I think console preservation is important so if it's salvageable it's worth it IMO and having an extra working console never hurts.

 

[SDIO]

The 00050000 contains the game saves. Miis are stored in 00050010/1004AX00/user/common/db/FFL_ODB.dat

Here you see the title list, so you know which save belongs to which game: http://wiiubrew.org/wiki/Title_database#00050000:_eShop_and_disc_titles

Inside the sasve folder for each game, you will find one folder for each user. The user ID starts with 80000000 and then counts up for each user created. You may have to either rename the userid in your save or create users on the new console to match your old IDs.

And yes, you need a CFW. Aroma is state of the art, and it even has a FTP plugin (but you would need to enable system file browsing in the plugin settings)

 

[FlashStrife]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-set-up-isfshax.642258/#post-10280396

Should follow that like I did the first time I assume to backup this new Wii U and install Aroma. Now that I dumped the saves and have everything all backed up on my laptop I'm going to format the sd card to use with isfshax. Should I do the Uninstalling ISFShax section after I finish everything else?

 

[SDIO]

What is your plan? Do you want to do the redNAND thing? Then you should find an SD card that works better with your Wii U. Generally Samsung or Sandisk Endurance cards are recommended for that. Or do you want to replace the eMMC internally with an SD card, using MLC2SD?
Anyway, for now you should keep ISFShax installed, and if you go the redNAND route, you need to keep ISFShax installed at all times.

 

[FlashStrife]

Plan for now is doing a backup, getting Aroma and maybe a few things that would be useful/improve the experience like Pretendo. Guessing the redNAND thing is for if the eMMC fails right? If you or anyone have any recommendations to make the system CFW experience better I'd love to hear it.

 

[FlashStrife]

Took a bit of work but got Aroma on the system and some apps on it. Also restored my Xenoblade X save with over 325 hours on it so that's good. Just need to test it by playing a bit to see if everything is fine.

SD card must be inserted at all times right? If it's inserted I need to go to Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc) in minute to get to the Wii U IOS otherwise if the sd card isn't inserted it seems to automatically do it in minute and send me to the Wii U IOS without the apps from Aroma like a normal bootup. Also does having the SD card with Aroma and the apps inserted cause slowdown or anything like that? Earlier noticed some slowdown or screen tearing which wasn't normal from my experience using Wii U systems but tried it now and no issues.

 

[SDIO]

Not sure which Wii U you are speaking of and what exactly you did.

I only heard of tearing after leaving the settings

 

[FlashStrife]

Not sure which Wii U you are speaking of and what exactly you did.

I only heard of tearing after leaving the settings

New Wii U and only scrolled down a notice for miiverse termination and during a game when I saw tearing. Only happened that one time though so far so need to test it some more. Thought maybe it was because of some process running in the background after adding Aroma that was causing issues.