Hacking The Definitive vWii Hacking Guide!

[CJB100]

You're a wizard! (and I'm a dumb ass)

Thanks so much for your help! All good now

Nah. It took me nearly a whole day to find that menu when I first hacked my Wii. Lol. xD

 

[Effi]

Thank you so much for this.

I have another question if that's OK.

Since I love old school arcades, you didn't mention any mame, retroarch and maybe more emulators. Do you know if they are compatible with vWii, if so can you help me find them please?

Thanks in advance

 

[CJB100]

Thank you so much for this.

I have another question if that's OK.

Since I love old school arcades, you didn't mention any mame, retroarch and maybe more emulators. Do you know if they are compatible with vWii, if so can you help me find them please?

Thanks in advance

They should be compatible. Any homebrew that worked on the original Wii should theoretically work on vWii. And with apps that don't actively mess with installing things like wads, IOS, etc, it's a pretty much guarantee it won't harm your vWii even if it crashes.

As far as those two in particular, I am pretty sure there is a port of retroarch for vWii but I could be mistaken. I know there is a similar app called something like medafen, mentioned in the first section of the emulators part of the guide with a link. No clue about MAME. I'd search Google for "MAME emulator wiibrew" and see what pops up.

Edit: here's a really good site for Wii homebrew.
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/List_of_homebrew_emulators

I will put this in the guide at some point.

 

[Cyan]

I don't seem to have sub-categories for Wii and Gamecube games:

I kept only one picture.
This option shouldn't have a X (cross) but a V (check) mark.

click on it and it will scroll between :
nothing > check > cross > nothing > etc.
If you have only "nothing and cross" as possible choices, you currently have an old USBLoaderGX version.

For information, V and X are managing the filtered categories differently. You don't have any categories, so it shouldn't affect you, but in case one day you "import categories from Wiitdb" (in the settings>features menu), it's best to use the correct filtering option.
Detailed information about how the categories are working : here

 

[whitephoenix00ZX]

You still have a case of the chatties lol. But yes, correct thread.

As you have read, vWii and Wii are not one to one copies of the same software, and Modmii as well as most of the cIOS you installed are for the regular Wii. Homebrew Channel attempts to load from IOS58, though, not a cIOS file. So you've replaced your IOS58 I believe at some point. Since Homebrew Channel can't boot from there, it may try your cIOS files, but even those files it sounds you have replaced with original Wii cIOS.

That's going to be the hurdle here. We need access to some homebrew applications to install the correct IOS file, but you can't currently run the homebrew channel.

I am going to be at work and school all day. Give me til tonight to think about what we can do. In the meantime, wait and see if someone else has some suggestions.

Hey, so any word yet? (I hate to sound impatient and pushy) So far, I haven't gotten any other suggestions since yours. By the way, please don't by any means feel pressured, I'm quite patient so take your time.

 

[CJB100]

Hey, so any word yet? (I hate to sound impatient and pushy) So far, I haven't gotten any other suggestions since yours. By the way, please don't by any means feel pressured, I'm quite patient so take your time.

Sorry, I honestly forgot. Thanks for the reminder! Anyways, you said you can't get the Hackmii installer working using SSBB hack correct? Try booting YAWMM instead by downloading it and placing the boot.dol / boot.elf file on the root of the SD Card. Then run the game hack. If it boots, don't do anything yet, just back out of it and / or cut power to the Wii and report whether that works or not back here. If it does, I will write you up a little mini guide on what to do. Otherwise we will need to find a different workaround.

 

[Deleted User]

I apologise if this sounds like a nooby question, but I'm having trouble installing WADs on my console.
I have put the green HBL and USB Loader GX forwaders (from the OP post) on my SD Card inside a folder called 'wads.'
When I load Yet Another Wad Manager Mod, and enter the wads folder, I'm immediately greeted by 'Exception (DSI) Occurred!' every time.
Using gdb, I was able to track the error back to a function called 'Wad_Read' that doesn't appear to exist in the source code anywhere.

I believe that I've been given a faulty build of YAWMM, do you know of any other Wad Installer tools that have been verified to work with vWii?
I have tried Multi-Mod Manager, but it is incompatible with my controllers, and as such, I cannot use it.

 

[CJB100]

I apologise if this sounds like a nooby question, but I'm having trouble installing WADs on my console.
I have put the green HBL and USB Loader GX forwaders (from the OP post) on my SD Card inside a folder called 'wads.'
When I load Yet Another Wad Manager Mod, and enter the wads folder, I'm immediately greeted by 'Exception (DSI) Occurred!' every time.
Using gdb, I was able to track the error back to a function called 'Wad_Read' that doesn't appear to exist in the source code anywhere.

I believe that I've been given a faulty build of YAWMM, do you know of any other Wad Installer tools that have been verified to work with vWii?
I have tried Multi-Mod Manager, but it is incompatible with my controllers, and as such, I cannot use it.

You downloaded all the homebrew software from the OP as well, correct?

 

[whitephoenix00ZX]

Sorry, I honestly forgot. Thanks for the reminder! Anyways, you said you can't get the Hackmii installer working using SSBB hack correct? Try booting YAWMM instead by downloading it and placing the boot.dol / boot.elf file on the root of the SD Card. Then run the game hack. If it boots, don't do anything yet, just back out of it and / or cut power to the Wii and report whether that works or not back here. If it does, I will write you up a little mini guide on what to do. Otherwise we will need to find a different workaround.

That's alright, don't worry about it. Noted, I will report back with the results.

 

[Deleted User]

You downloaded all the homebrew software from the OP as well, correct?

I have the Homebrew Channel installed on my console, and I'm loading the build of YAWMM that you provided. You did not say that any other software is necessary for Forwarder Channel installation.

You also mentioned in Step 2 to select 'No' when asked to load another IOS. I also tried using IOS 249 for this, and was greeted by the same error when opening my WAD folder.

This error only occurs while navigating into a folder containing WADS, if I travel into another folder without WADs, like my HBL apps folder, the folder successfully opens and is shown on screen.

 

[whitephoenix00ZX]

Sorry, I honestly forgot. Thanks for the reminder! Anyways, you said you can't get the Hackmii installer working using SSBB hack correct? Try booting YAWMM instead by downloading it and placing the boot.dol / boot.elf file on the root of the SD Card. Then run the game hack. If it boots, don't do anything yet, just back out of it and / or cut power to the Wii and report whether that works or not back here. If it does, I will write you up a little mini guide on what to do. Otherwise we will need to find a different workaround.

It didn't work. When I went to the Hackmii Installer folder I didn't have the option of loading the boot.elf file, I guess YAWMM is for installing wads only. However, in the past I tried using Multi Mod Manager(MMM) to load Hackmii's boot.elf and it boots but Hackmii Installer itself didn't work after the scam warning screen. So would, using MMM be a possibility or no?

 

[7Robins]

I have the Homebrew Channel installed on my console, and I'm loading the build of YAWMM that you provided. You did not say that any other software is necessary for Forwarder Channel installation.

You also mentioned in Step 2 to select 'No' when asked to load another IOS. I also tried using IOS 249 for this, and was greeted by the same error when opening my WAD folder.

This error only occurs while navigating into a folder containing WADS, if I travel into another folder without WADs, like my HBL apps folder, the folder successfully opens and is shown on screen.

Which wads are you attempting to install?

 

[Deleted User]

Which wads are you attempting to install?

I am attempting to install an HBL forwarder and a USB Loader GX forwarder.
The HBL forwarder came from here - which I followed from a link in the OP.

This Forwarder Channel allows you to load the Homebrew Channel in 16:9 aspect ratio as it should. You can find a list of other colors here!

The USB Loader GX Forwarder also came from the OP.

UPDATE: I can successfully navigate into the folder containing my BlueDump WADs (sd:/YABDM/WADS) without any trouble. This folder contains backups of all the IOSes on my console. However, when I navigate to the folder containing my uninstalled HBC and USBLoaderGX WADs (sd:/WADs), it crashes.

 

[7Robins]

I am attempting to install an HBL forwarder and a USB Loader GX forwarder.
The HBL forwarder came from here - which I followed from a link in the OP.


The USB Loader GX Forwarder also came from the OP.

UPDATE: I can successfully navigate into the folder containing my BlueDump WADs (sd:/YABDM/WADS) without any trouble. This folder contains backups of all the IOSes on my console. However, when I navigate to the folder containing my uninstalled HBC and USBLoaderGX WADs (sd:/WADs), it crashes.

What if you try placing the forwarder wads in a different folder and try installing them from there?

 

[CJB100]

It didn't work. When I went to the Hackmii Installer folder I didn't have the option of loading the boot.elf file, I guess YAWMM is for installing wads only. However, in the past I tried using Multi Mod Manager(MMM) to load Hackmii's boot.elf and it boots but Hackmii Installer itself didn't work after the scam warning screen. So would, using MMM be a possibility or no?

If one doesn't load the other won't. We are not going to use YAWMM to install the Homebrew Channel. We are going to install the original vWii IOS files (to essentially revert your vWii system back to factory settings) and then install Homebrew Channel cleanly using the methods described in the guide. Did YAWMM work at all? You will need to download the YAWMM zip file from my original post, unzip it, then take the boot.dol or boot.elf file out of there and put that file directly on the root of the SD Card. If you already have a boot.dol or boot.elf file on the SD Card's root, delete it first, then copy over the boot.dol / boot.elf from the YAWMM folder. When you do the SSBB hack, it should auto-load YAWMM. Does YAWMM load at all?

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

I am attempting to install an HBL forwarder and a USB Loader GX forwarder.
The HBL forwarder came from here - which I followed from a link in the OP.


The USB Loader GX Forwarder also came from the OP.

UPDATE: I can successfully navigate into the folder containing my BlueDump WADs (sd:/YABDM/WADS) without any trouble. This folder contains backups of all the IOSes on my console. However, when I navigate to the folder containing my uninstalled HBC and USBLoaderGX WADs (sd:/WADs), it crashes.

I must commend you on following my directions so thoroughly. However I'm not certain what could be causing your issue. Worth noting, I did notate to use a folder called WAD, not WADs. You are correct in not loading to IOS249. And it appears everything else is set up correctly for you. Trying a different folder, or renaming your current folder, is the only thing I can think of trying. Also, are there any files in that folder without a .wad extension? Is the SD card formatted in FAT32 using the bootice configuration in the OP? I doubt either of these is causing the issue, but frankly it is just as likely to be causing it as the name of your folder.

 

[whitephoenix00ZX]

If one doesn't load the other won't. We are not going to use YAWMM to install the Homebrew Channel. We are going to install the original vWii IOS files (to essentially revert your vWii system back to factory settings) and then install Homebrew Channel cleanly using the methods described in the guide. Did YAWMM work at all? You will need to download the YAWMM zip file from my original post, unzip it, then take the boot.dol or boot.elf file out of there and put that file directly on the root of the SD Card. If you already have a boot.dol or boot.elf file on the SD Card's root, delete it first, then copy over the boot.dol / boot.elf from the YAWMM folder. When you do the SSBB hack, it should auto-load YAWMM. Does YAWMM load at all?

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



I must commend you on following my directions so thoroughly. However I'm not certain what could be causing your issue. Worth noting, I did notate to use a folder called WAD, not WADs. You are correct in not loading to IOS249. And it appears everything else is set up correctly for you. Trying a different folder, or renaming your current folder, is the only thing I can think of trying. Also, are there any files in that folder without a .wad extension? Is the SD card formatted in FAT32 using the bootice configuration in the OP? I doubt either of these is causing the issue, but frankly it is just as likely to be causing it as the name of your folder.

Okay, do I have to go to a certain thread to get the YAWMM.zip file, because I can't find a link in this thread. Oh, and yes, YAWMM did work when I loaded it through smashstack, I just couldn't boot Hackmii Installer from there. Could I just use the YAWMM I already have or do I have to download a new one?

 

[CJB100]

Okay, do I have to go to a certain thread to get the YAWMM.zip file, because I can't find a link in this thread. Oh, and yes, YAWMM did work when I loaded it through smashstack, I just couldn't boot Hackmii Installer from there. Could I just use the YAWMM I already have or do I have to download a new one?

You said you did get YAWMM to work right? All I need to know is did you get YAWMM to work at all, in any sense? There's no specific version you need, just can you get it to load?

If you haven't downloaded it yet, there's a link on the front page of this thread, on my original post, the vWii Hacking Guide. It's under the section on Installing Forwarder Channels, the first part I believe. There is no specific version you need, but the one on that page is confirmed to work correctly. If you already have a working version of YAWMM, you don't need to bother downloading it again.

I'm sorry, if I'm sounding harsh, but I can't help you if you aren't following my directions. I've stated these exact instructions 3 times now, in different ways. I just need to know if you are getting YAWMM to work when using Smashstack. If so, just let me know, "Yes, I am getting YAWMM to load using Smashstack." If not, let me know, "No, I am not getting YAWMM to load using Smashstack."

After I know this information I can give you exact instructions on how to proceed.

 

[whitephoenix00ZX]

YES, I am getting YAWMM to load using Smashstack.

 

[Xoo00o0o0o]

I just want to thank the very dedicated @CJB100 , thanks to this guide I was able to get my vWii hacked today! I have all my favorite Gamecube and Wii games running from my external HDD. Again, thanks so much. I hope all that are having issues get them resolved.

 

[CJB100]

YES, I am getting YAWMM to load using Smashstack.

Ok, I'm going to write you out a guide, but this is a bit of a painful process, and it can potentially cause things to get worse if we don't do it exactly right. So I'll need some time to get the proper files for you and I want to confirm with Cyan that I will be instructing you correctly. Look for a response late tonight or sometime tomorrow, I think we can get you fixed up. I will be PM'ing you with the solution, I don't want anyone else to be trying this, as every case can be slightly different and require a slightly different fix, and I will also need to get your Skype or email in a PM, as the files I need to give you technically aren't allowed to be posted anywhere on this site.