Hacking The Definitive vWii Hacking Guide!

[WilliamLC]

Try with USB (even by connecting your SD card to an USB adapter).

There are some incompatibilities with SD card, but I don't clearly remember the issue it was nor what caused it.
I just remember SD card had an issue (maybe with MetaFortress Anti-cheat check, like kirby game ?), but I don't remember any problem with Mario galaxy.

Using an SD to USB adapter actually worked, so I guess it just doesn't like loading from the Wii U SD card slot. I guess that'll just have to do until I can maybe get a hold of some decent USB storage. Thanks for the help!

 

[Cyan]

Thanks for trying and reporting.
I didn't know more games didn't work on SD. I thought only the one with a protection had issues.
that's good to know to help other users.

 

[drichard]

I need some help with figuring out what is wrong while I try to install the Homebrew Launcher.

I have tried twice with the same result. I am using Return of the Jodi and everything works fine up until i press "Install the Homebrew Channel". This gives me an exception (DSI) error.

My SD card i 2GB from an O3DS (Toshiba), formatted in Windows as FAT32 with default allocation size.

Do you have any advice as to what I can try next?

Edit: I tried another SD card. The second card is a 2GB SanDisk that I grabbed from a Wii (I think that it was the same card that was used to hack the Wii a while back).

The result is the same, everything runs smoothly up to me clicking "Install Homebrew Channel". The screen switches as says "installing the Homebrew Channel" and there is a progress bar. But no progress is ever made and a second later I get the exception error.

I have basically never even started the Wii part of my WiiU before and definitely haven't installed any hacks previously.

Edit2:

Spoiler: Log

HackMii v1.2 installer starting up
PVR = 00087200
running under IOS 58 rev 0x1920
42 titles are installed
Found IOS 9: revision: 0x50a.
Found IOS 62: revision: 0x1b1e.
Found IOS 59: revision: 0x2421.
Found IOS 58: revision: 0x1920.
Found IOS 57: revision: 0x181f.
Found IOS 56: revision: 0x171e.
Found IOS 55: revision: 0x171f.
Found IOS 53: revision: 0x171f.
Found IOS 48: revision: 0x111c.
Found IOS 46: revision: 0xf17.
Found IOS 45: revision: 0xf17.
Found IOS 43: revision: 0xf17.
Found IOS 41: revision: 0xf17.
Found IOS 38: revision: 0x111c.
Found IOS 37: revision: 0x171f.
Found IOS 36: revision: 0xf18.
Found IOS 35: revision: 0xf18.
Found IOS 34: revision: 0xf18.
Found IOS 33: revision: 0xf18.
Found IOS 31: revision: 0xf18.
Found IOS 28: revision: 0x80f.
Found IOS 22: revision: 0x60e.
Found IOS 21: revision: 0x50f.
Found IOS 17: revision: 0x508.
Found IOS 15: revision: 0x508.
Found IOS 14: revision: 0x508.
Found IOS 13: revision: 0x508.
Found IOS 12: revision: 0x30e.
Found IOS 2: revision: 0x262.
Found IOS 80: revision: 0x1c20.
launching IOS 58 for the installer...

IOS launched...

IOS versions: Installer: 58, HBC: 0
starting preparations

device id: NG24306d82
Waiting for mini to load ...
Mini version: 1.3
NAND minpage: 0x200
set NAND minpage to 0x40
Calling boot2_run(1, 58)
Waiting for boot2 to load ...
Waiting for IOS ...
IOS loaded: IOS58 v25.32
IPC started (638)
boot2_parse_blocks: examining existing boot2 layout
boot2 block 0:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
boot2 block 1:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
boot2 block 2:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
boot2 block 3:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
boot2 block 4:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
boot2 block 5:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
boot2 block 6:
00000000 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000010 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000020 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000040 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
00000070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ................
parsing last generation bootmap
parse_blocks: found 0 valid blockmaps
found 0 valid blockmaps
invalid mapcount (0)
prepare_bootmii: boot2_parse_blocks failed: -1010000000
preparations done!

 

[Cyan]

could you post your "install.log" file which should have been generated on your SD card?
either the file, or the content in a spoiler tag.

 

[kyle9252]

This guide is great. the bestpart about it is that it says to dump important info fom vWii first. Love this guide, hope it has more stuff in it soon!

 

[Cyan]

@drichard : thanks for the log.
you were right, I didn't see you edit.

I don't see anything wrong from it, all checks are passed successfully. The logs ends before you choose what to install, so there's no log on the crash part (installing HBC).
I really don't know what's causing your issue, sorry

at this point, I guess the DSI/code dump screenshot could help to know where and why it crashes, but not useful for us as we don't have the sources to check what's wrong.
You'd have to see with the developers, but they probably won't update or fix it anymore.
I don't even remember where the issue page is/was hosted
edit : http://bugs.hackmii.com/ it's not working anymore.

try to re-download the hackmii installer (to be sure it not a corrupted download).
try again another SD card if you have another one.
be sure you don't have any device connected at the same time (usb)
setup/and or reset your wifi settings in wiiu side, try to boot from wiiu menu, and try to boot without going into wiiu menu (press B when powering the console).
that's all I can think right now.

 

[drichard]

It feels like I somehow magically managed to install the Homebrew Channel at last.

I watched a youtube video of the installation. The only thing that was different compared to my own procedure was that the young guy showing the steps had less files on his SD card, downloaded them from wiiubrew and hackmii and used a black wiimote with motion plus.

I formatted my SanDisk card once again using MacOS, choosing FAT and MBR. Then I followed the steps from wiiubrew and only had the private folder together with boot.elf on the root of my card. This at first did not work.

I later tested to install the Homebrew Channel with the same card in a different Wii U that I previously had decided not to hack. It worked right away.

I went back to the initial Wii U and it didn't work to install right away. I set up the wifi in the exact way as I had on the Wii U that installed the Homebrew Channel without issues (having the wifi in the same 'slot' on both consoles). I then noticed that I had different icons for YouTube on the different Wii Us even though both are on 5.5.1. I removed my DNS settings that are present for blocking updates and proceeded to update both YouTube and Netflix. I then tried again with the installation with the same card that had previously not worked in that console - and it worked.

Thanks a lot Cyan for helping along the way.

Edit: When the Homebrew Channel was installed successfully I used a wiimote with motion plus. I have no idea what actually made the difference in the successful procedure compared to the failing installations. Just want to jot it down if it might help someone else.

 

[Cyan]

The only change I see here is removing the URL filtering.
but it should have block only nintendo's server URL, nothing else. you used ninjhax DNS? or openDNS?
I don't know why it would affect HBC installation. I never checked if Hackmii installer was accessing internet (probably for install statistics, but I don't think it requires any of the filtered urls).

Well, glad it worked and you found a solution, even if still unsure what fixed it.

 

[Prodigy75]

This guide is absolutely great. I have a modded WiiU and Wii but I never got around with the vwii modding since I didn't have any of the required key game.

But this walkthrough is so clean that I probably will buy a copy, follow this guide and just transit my wii hdd over to my vwii once usb loader gx is up and running.

Once it's done I'll just reset my wii and my sell it probably to be honest it's such a pain to re-sync my padded wiimotes everytime i switch consoles...

Quick question : The only thing I really have to switch is the SD card right ? If I want to play my Wii U backups I just have my big 128 gb microsd adapted card and if I want to play my Wii, NGC backups I simply have to swap over the 4 Gb SB card that's in my Wii atm then hop on to the vWii ? I don't know if I'm making sense but I guess that's the only thing I need to do to be able to play to all my backups on the same console right ?

 

[Maha]

All WiiMotes internally are the same, the only difference is whether it has Motion+ built inside or not.

Hi people

You remember when i asked about new remotes ? i was wondering cause i read somewhere that they won't work with wii hacks !..

Well i bought 2 new remotes one wii u branded and one wii branded just in case , guess what ? Both did not work with multi mod manager was trying to install a wad... i had to use my older remote which is also official ( i bought it from a seller on eBay said it was taken from blue wii bundle ) as far as i know it is official..

I know this is not an important issue but it is strange that some official remotes will work some won't !.

 

[supermario18]

Do I need to install any of the cios's in order to play Wii games in USB Loader GX? Whenever I try to boot a Wii disc game in it, it just returns to the homebrew channel. (I'm using an 8 GB micro SD Card inside a micro SD card to full size SD card adapter inside of an SD card to usb adapter) I also get a message when USB Loader GX is starting up, saying "iOS 58 is not running. Wii disc titles won't work."
Also, when I try to install cios 249, 250, and 251, I can't because the d2x cios installer won't go to d2xv10-beta53-alt-vWii (see picture) (won't go further than d2x v6). What am I doing wrong?

 

[owek1]

This guide is absolutely great. I have a modded WiiU and Wii but I never got around with the vwii modding since I didn't have any of the required key game.

But this walkthrough is so clean that I probably will buy a copy, follow this guide and just transit my wii hdd over to my vwii once usb loader gx is up and running.

Once it's done I'll just reset my wii and my sell it probably to be honest it's such a pain to re-sync my padded wiimotes everytime i switch consoles...

Quick question : The only thing I really have to switch is the SD card right ? If I want to play my Wii U backups I just have my big 128 gb microsd adapted card and if I want to play my Wii, NGC backups I simply have to swap over the 4 Gb SB card that's in my Wii atm then hop on to the vWii ? I don't know if I'm making sense but I guess that's the only thing I need to do to be able to play to all my backups on the same console right ?

pls only use files intended for vwii not the files from your old wii..so, using the SD card that was used to setup your wii is a no-go for your vwii.. you can use your 128GB for both vwii and wiiU files..no need to swap SD cards as long as the appropriate files are located in their proper folders.. start fresh to avoid issues later on..

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

View attachment 65746 Do I need to install any of the cios's in order to play Wii games in USB Loader GX? Whenever I try to boot a Wii disc game in it, it just returns to the homebrew channel. (I'm using an 8 GB micro SD Card inside a micro SD card to full size SD card adapter inside of an SD card to usb adapter) I also get a message when USB Loader GX is starting up, saying "iOS 58 is not running. Wii disc titles won't work."
Also, when I try to install cios 249, 250, and 251, I can't because the d2x cios installer won't go to d2xv10-beta53-alt-vWii (see picture) (won't go further than d2x v6). What am I doing wrong?

are you using the original WiiMote? not the one with Motion Plus..

 

[infinete]

I hacked my VWii along time go and either the guide did not say to dump the original ios's or I have misplaced them. Is there a guide to obtaining clean VWii ios's for 249, 250 & 251?

 

[Cyan]

There's no such a thing as Clean cIOS.

cIOS are patched IOS, not part of the official nintendo's IOS.
There's nothing installed in the slot 200-250 so there's nothing to "cleanly dump".

What you can do is dump all your other clean (untouched, unpatched) vWii IOS, they could be useful in case you replace or patch your official IOS slots, either unintentionally, or for things like Riiconnect.
To do it, follow the guide by using Yet Another Blue dump mod section.

 

[supermario18]

pls only use files intended for vwii not the files from your old wii..so, using the SD card that was used to setup your wii is a no-go for your vwii.. you can use your 128GB for both vwii and wiiU files..no need to swap SD cards as long as the appropriate files are located in their proper folders.. start fresh to avoid issues later on..

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



are you using the original WiiMote? not the one with Motion Plus..

I'm using an unofficial Rock Candy wiimote. And also, what's specially happening is that whenever I try to boot Wii games in USB Loader GX, it just returns to the homebrew channel (Wii menu if I use the forwarder) Gamecube games work perfectly though.

 

[Cyan]

the reboot shouldn't be linked to the used wiimote.
it's usually rebooting if the console can't access the game.

the main reason for that is either :
- cIOS not installed [properly]
- wrong slot selected (though, on vWii there are only 3 slots 249/250/251, it's hard to get it wrong)
- HDD disconnected and not mounted back (your drive is not compatible with cIOS)
- HDD power issue (though, you said gamecube games are working, so you probably already have an Y-Cable or an external power)

 

[supermario18]

Well, I can't install the d2x cios alt vwii because d2x cios installer won't go further than d2x v6.

 

[Cyan]

then you didn't follow the guide properly and/or used+installed the wrong cIOS data pack. that's dangerous if you don't understand what you are doing. please, use the proper files. the issue could also be your extracting program (winzip? winrar? 7zip?) if you don't keep all the sub-folder layout intact, you'll miss required data.

the patched IOS (cIOS) adds Disc to USB redirection to existing official IOS.
of course, without a patched IOS, there's no way a game would work on USB as they are designed to be read from disc. as a result, the game can't be found and it resets.

 

[supermario18]

Does it require anything other than just d2x cios installer? I dumped my nand along with my iOS's.

 

[Cyan]

the installer itself was created when d2x v6 was released, so it's "bundled" inside the installer binary.
to add new d2x version to the installer, you need to add data-pack of v10 inside the installer folder.

there are "pre-made" packages with both installer and correct data pack.
please use this one or the one from the guide on the first page :
d2x installer vWii v10 + v10alt