Hacking How does bricking occur?

[Zesu-chan]

So I used all of those fancy safety tricks when I hacked my Wii. Priiloader, NAND backup, all that. But I'm still a little worried. I have friends who tell me that they know somebody who had a hacked Wii and it just inexplicably stopped working. This implies that a hacked Wii can just stop functioning over time whether you were careful or not, through normal use. One of my friends told me how his friend was really careful and his Wii broke anyway.

Can a hacked Wii just stop working over time for no real reason? What causes bricking? Are all hacked Wiis inevitably doomed to fail at some point for some reason? I also heard a hacked Wii can cause its disk tray to burn out.

 

[PsyBlade]

Can a hacked Wii just stop working over time for no real reason? What causes bricking? Are all hacked Wiis inevitably doomed to fail at some point for some reason? I also heard a hacked Wii can cause its disk tray to burn out.

No, there is allways a reason - doing something stoopid in the past or present most likely

No they are not doomed

The wiis laser is subject to wear and tear - over time and by usage - hacked or not
reading burned media causes most stress
reading pressed media is better
and reading from usb is best

 

[Zesu-chan]

What about SD cards? And what else can cause bricking?

Also, have you ever heard of a Wii using homebrew channel that ends up requiring a very complicated process in order to run regular, legitimate game disks? A friend of mine mentioned that his friend's Wii was like that before it bricked. Some kind of complicated process in order to run regular Wii games.

 

[dorayaki95]

my sd slot works at times and malfunctions at time ( when i say malfunctioning it simply implies that i cannot access my apps through HBC and everything is unreadable through the wii. If i go to the SD slot in Wii Settings, it would say that the SD slot cannot be used ) well, i simply resorted to accessing my HBC through USB

EDIT: however when the SD is put into my PC, the files are left intact. it is unreadable at times through the wii. It might be the faulty SD slot of my wii, but i am 89% sure that it has nothing to do with homebrew hacking, LOL

 

[The_Dragons_Mast]

What about SD cards? And what else can cause bricking?

Also, have you ever heard of a Wii using homebrew channel that ends up requiring a very complicated process in order to run regular, legitimate game disks? A friend of mine mentioned that his friend's Wii was like that before it bricked. Some kind of complicated process in order to run regular Wii games.

First of all whenever you hear a story from a friend about someone else doing something 90% of the times you are not getting the full story weather it be becouse your friend didn't bother concentrating on the boring parts or the other guy was too embaressed to admit he did something wrong .

Now conerning wii bricks its almost impossible for you to open your wii to find it bricked without doing something to it . The only risky part of hacking your wii is the procces itself & the things you can do with homebrews .Things that commonly people do to cause a brick are installing a bad channel or a wrong version of a system menu theme but those are easily fixable with priiloader. Now the only thing that can cause a brick that can't be fixed with priiloader is messing out with the ios or deleting the system menu which you should never do anyway . Finally a wii can suddenly stop working without any obvious reasons but the cause for most of those is a hardware failure like the bluetooth or wifi module dieing .

As for the story you just said it makes no sense whatsoever so you are probably not getting the full story . If you want my guess he probably screwed some of the ios required for running games from disc channel or he is taking about running backups not legimete discs .

 

[SifJar]

If a Wii gets bricked, if is purely the fault of the owner/user.There are many, many ways to mess up a Wii, but none of them will just happen. You can get bricks by deleting or corrupting the System Menu, or the System Menu IOS, or by installing a bad theme or custom channel, or by somehow messing up boot2, or a number of other things.

The only time Wiis have been bricked without it being the owner's fault is with the 4.2 update when Nintendo updated boot2, and some people bricked, but that was not because of homebrew, and it happened to consoles with owners who had never even heard of homebrew.

As for retail discs stopping working, it is almost certainly either messed up IOS or someone buying into the stupid myth that you can't update your Wii once you have homebrew installed, so resorting to workarounds to play new games without installing updates from them. There is currently NO disc based game in existence that contains an update that is incompatible with the latest version of the Homebrew Channel.

 

[PsyBlade]

it is possible that your friend did someting stupid (like a downgrade - totally unneeded) that would brick his wii if he ever upgraded again
since he knew it he worked around the games update request in a complicated way (instead simply disablig updates with priiloader)
then one time he forgot it and bricked

 

[WiiPower]

WiiBrick24

 

[CrimzonEyed]

One way the system can get bricked could be after flashing, wrong voltage is sent which can overload the motherboard. (just a wild guess)

 

[BrandonKlopp]

I bricked my wii by trying to delete the internet channel and attempting to re-install it. My wii wasn't hacked/modded at all. Explain that one.

Thread Here:
http://gbatemp.net/topic/317547-i-bricked-my-unmodded-wii/

 

[XFlak]

I wrote this in another thread a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd re-post it here cuz it's pretty relevant to this topic as well

just the fact that you are asking this question tells me that you will never brick your will, lol. But it's true, 99% of bricks are caused by people guessing at what they should do.

As long as u don't do the following things u should always be safe:

• lose power during short installations of a few things ie. bootmii@boot2, system menu (SM), SM IOS, priiloader. And if you are able to install bootmii@boot2, once it's installed anything other losing power during another boot2 installation is easy to recover from (and bootmii@boot2 updates are scarce so that's almost a moot point).
• do something stupid like uninstall your system menu or system menu IOS (or install a stubbed SM IOS), but these u can recover from if u have bootmii @ boot2
• bannerbrick by installing a bad channel or custom theme, but these u can recover from using priiloader (or bootmii@boot2)
• update a region changed (formerly korean wii) to system menu 4.2 or higher or downgrade a newer lu64+ wii to

 

[WiiPower]

Brick from overheating = WiiBrick24. Why else would the bluetooth and/or wifi adapter just die?

 

[yogibear83]

Please: Do Install-
Bootmii, Priiloader, and Indiana Pwns.- These will help you recover from bricks.

Make a nand

Below is a list of things you can do, if you wish to brick your wii.

Please do not do these things.​

Never....ever, ever:​

Never uninstall your system menu
Your wii will not work very well without a system menu.

Never uninstall your system menu ios
Ios30, Ios50, Ios60, Ios70

Never uninstall any ios less the 200
Ios files under 200 are important to the wii, it is very important you will brick. Never ever uninstall.


Remove Stubbed System IOS files
Stubbed ios files are installed by Nintendo durring system update. If a wii is ever downgraded with these stubbed ios in place the wii will brick.
IOS30-v2816, IOS50-v5120, IOS60-v6400, IOS70-v6912, these are stubbes
Example: Down from 4.0 to 3.2, then up to 3.4 = brick with IOS50-v5120 installed
Example: Down from 4.2 to 3.2, then up to 4.1 = brick with IOS60-v6400 installed
Example: Down from 4.3 to 4.1, then up to 4.2 = brick with IOS70-v6912 installed

Never Update From Nintendo/Online
Updating online will remove all softmods, bootmii included, and could brick your wii.
Don't do this unless you're instructed to do so by a forum mod.


Never update from disk
Updating from disk can brick or semi-brick your wii. It is almost never necessary, even when the disk says otherwise.
Don't do this unless you're instructed to do so by a forum mod.

Never downgrade system menu of newer wii models
System menu versions less then 3.4 do not support newer wii hardware. Downgrading a newer wii will result in a brick.
Example- Downgrading a newer wii to 3.2 could brick it.


Never downgrade ios files of newer wii models
Newer wii models will not function with many downgraded ios files. Downgrading your ios files to enable trucha bug could cause many black screens or worse, brick your wii.
Example- Downgrading Ios36 to Ios36-v1042 will cause most Homebrew to load to black screens on a newer wii.
Use TBR, or Dop-Ios-Mod to enable trucha bug instead

Never install wads of unknown origin
Bad wads can bannerbrick your wii, or worse, brick your wii. There have been some malicious wads in circulation, that when installed can brick your wii. Only download and install from a reputable source, one with good feedback. Always read the comments.


Never install System menu themes
Without bootmii install as boot2. System menu themes have a bad habit of bricking wii !. Usually because they are not compatible with your current system menu, and other issues. Installing them will remove your preloader, so if you don't have bootmii installed as boot2, there is very little you can do to recover. Having a theme is not worth the risks. Don't do it, or be prepared to pay the price.

Never install cIOSCORP
Unless you know what cIOSCORP is, what it does, and fully understand the risks involved in its installation, do not install it. cIOSCORP is a very complex system modification, which offers legitimate features, but its installation can be very problematic. If you don't know what it is, don't install it. Don't install it to fix black screen issues with games.

Never format your wii
Formatting your wii will not remove all of your softmods, and it could brick your wii.

Never update a region changed Korean wii
If you have a region changed Korean wii, updating will result in a brick.
You will receive, which is currently unfix-able. Korean wii models have a LKM#########]. If you have one of these, do not update your wii. Also region changed Korean wii users should install cIOS70, which may prevent "error 003" should you update by mistake. Don't update. SM 4.3 is out, install cIOS80 to prevent any issue. Remember, never update.

Never format a semi-bricked wii
If your wii is semi-bricked from an out of region disk update and you are unable to enter the system settings, never format.
Formatting a semi-bricked wii, with Nintendo's recovery disc or other method will result in a bigger brick.

Never listen to youtube
Youtube guides are a nice idea, but they FAIL all to often. Stay on wiihacks, read the guides found here. Many guides become out dated, and could brick your wii. Be sure to ask questions if you do not understand something.

Never rush
Most bricks happen from careless actions. Slow down, read the forums, and be sure to ask questions.


Thanks to Mauifrog @wiihacks for this information, the original author of this valuable info.

 

[XFlak]

@yogibear83,

Not only is the formatting in your post all screwed up, but a lot of the information is not true. For example, it's easy to recover from theme bricks as long as someone has priiloader installed, so themes can be enjoyed by those even without bootmii@boot2. There area lot of other areas where I want to correct you, but I just don't have the time.

Anyways, the main problem with your post is that it has links to files that are not permitted (ie. cIOSs), you should edit your post and remove those links before a mod does it for you

 

[yogibear83]

@yogibear83,


Anyways, the main problem with your post is that it has links to files that are not permitted (ie. cIOSs), you should edit your post and remove those links before a mod does it for you

Done.

 

[Burton]

Brick from overheating = WiiBrick24. Why else would the bluetooth and/or wifi adapter just die?

This! I had a Wii that worked flawlessly until I decided to let WiiConnect24 on and from that day on it started behaving strangely to the point of not booting.

 

[Zesu-chan]

Brick from overheating = WiiBrick24. Why else would the bluetooth and/or wifi adapter just die?

This! I had a Wii that worked flawlessly until I decided to let WiiConnect24 on and from that day on it started behaving strangely to the point of not booting.

Strange. I've used WiiConnect24 with no problems. I mean, Animal Crossing: City Folk uses it to receive DLC, and so far I've received several pieces of DLC with no problems. Should I be worried?

 

[giantpune]

just my opinion, but i would say that a bricked wii is one that is in any state where there is no way for the user to launch any program. i mean, you turn on the console, and it may do some stuff, but eventually it gets to the point where there is no way for the user to load any other program. there was the dop-ios-syscheck brick that would let the console start up, and even show the system menu. but it still wouldnt let you start any channels or games. IMO, that is still a useless piece of junk. with the mailbox and smash stack exploits, then as long as there is a way for the user to launch a program (such as a game or enter the system menu), there is a way to fix software issues.

going by that definition of a brick, the causes would be anything that caused the wii to get stuck that situation. the earlier in the boot process it happens, the less options you have to fix it. and the earlier into the boot process you can insert your brick-protection, the safer you are from killing your console by doing stupid things.

 

[Hielkenator]

If a Wii gets bricked, if is purely the fault of the owner/user.There are many, many ways to mess up a Wii, but none of them will just happen. You can get bricks by deleting or corrupting the System Menu, or the System Menu IOS, or by installing a bad theme or custom channel, or by somehow messing up boot2, or a number of other things.

The only time Wiis have been bricked without it being the owner's fault is with the 4.2 update when Nintendo updated boot2, and some people bricked, but that was not because of homebrew, and it happened to consoles with owners who had never even heard of homebrew.

As for retail discs stopping working, it is almost certainly either messed up IOS or someone buying into the stupid myth that you can't update your Wii once you have homebrew installed, so resorting to workarounds to play new games without installing updates from them. There is currently NO disc based game in existence that contains an update that is incompatible with the latest version of the Homebrew Channel.

Mostly it's the fault of the user.
But remember the Ninty 4.2 update? the fault was on Ninty's side.

Also just recently my Wii got bricked all of a sudden, it just would not display anything at all.
It did nothing previous before hand. And I know my stuff very well concerning this.

Luckely I have bootmii in boot 2 and know how to manufacture a new Nand with Ohneswanzenneger ( awesome app! )
otherwise I would'nt be able to fix it.

I don't now untill this day what went wrong with my Wii...
I still have a NAND dump from right after the crash, but it only shows that part of the structure is missing....
Maybe somebody can look into this someday?

 

[SifJar]

If a Wii gets bricked, if is purely the fault of the owner/user.There are many, many ways to mess up a Wii, but none of them will just happen. You can get bricks by deleting or corrupting the System Menu, or the System Menu IOS, or by installing a bad theme or custom channel, or by somehow messing up boot2, or a number of other things.

The only time Wiis have been bricked without it being the owner's fault is with the 4.2 update when Nintendo updated boot2, and some people bricked, but that was not because of homebrew, and it happened to consoles with owners who had never even heard of homebrew.

As for retail discs stopping working, it is almost certainly either messed up IOS or someone buying into the stupid myth that you can't update your Wii once you have homebrew installed, so resorting to workarounds to play new games without installing updates from them. There is currently NO disc based game in existence that contains an update that is incompatible with the latest version of the Homebrew Channel.

Mostly it's the fault of the user.
But remember the Ninty 4.2 update? the fault was on Ninty's side.

I did explain that in my post.