Hacking USB Loader GX

[Cyan]

ahh, maybe, but I don't remember users reporting r53 being incompatible with WUPC.
maybe nobody tested it.

just try reinstalling with r52, it's better anyway. r53 has few problems (game compatibility, hardware compatibility, etc.)

 

[nerubii]

yes sir ! And it's working beautifully...

First I thought I had to make some changes because of the new devkitppc/libogc, but it compiled at first attempt.
Only one little problem concerns the versioning. The script that changes version.c doesn't seem to work as it should. With official USBLGX sources, it works great, but with GreyWolf fork, it always forces version to "1" instead of "1269"
I put a read-only flag on version.c to avoid this little "bug"

If anybody wants to try, first, please, keep in mind this is an unofficial build of an unofficial version of USBLoader GX
so don't bother GreyWolf or Cyan or any official dev if it crashes or doesn't work as you want.

binary : https://mega.nz/#!3cciGRSZ!vGiOJgsgzMdR1J8bv0kuoHkAlnTW0f3JtBldm5a0oeQ
sources : https://mega.nz/#!zUNS0RBK!XJgx_AzPdpK4x7J3EHGNSKg0xJP3PUobK_cl__hS8BQ

First impression : GreyWolf's fork seems lighter and more stable than the official one (official 1263 + tabmod seems a little bit picky and can crash easily), but I didn't make intensive tests.

ps : I don't want to hijack this thread, which talks only about the official builds.

thanks GreyWolf, Cyan and all great developers of USBLoader GX !

Sorry, libtremor has to be recompiled, too and I forgot to add it to the libs directory. Here you go.

EDIT: I committed the updated library to the master branch.

in case anyone interested in modding this version, here are the libraries required to build it..

1. devkitPro - should come with devkitPPC r29-1 and libogc 1.8.16; check <devkit install path>\installed.ini for the versions. if not, download them manually
2. official usb loader gx portlibs, extract only portlibs to the path you have installed devkit
3. libwupc, extract to portlibs\ppc
   
4. libtremor, as attached by GreyWolf; extract to portlibs\ppc

now, we need a specific revision from the trunk, r1269

1. install TortoiseSVN
2. Designate a directory for your workspace, right-click any whitespace in the explorer, click SVN Checkout...
   • under URL of repository: paste https://github.com/GreyWolfSC/streamline.git
   • under Revision, type 1269
3. download Badablek's version, https://mega.nz/#!zUNS0RBK!XJgx_AzPdpK4x7J3EHGNSKg0xJP3PUobK_cl__hS8BQ
4. extract to and overwrite the revision you have checked out
5. in the directory with makefile, open command prompt and execute make to test if everything compiles fine

I have reverted some of his changes and sharing it with everyone else here in case you are interested.

let me know if i have missed out anything. thanks!

*Edit* I've reuploaded the correct file which i want to share.. =P

 

[GreyWolf]

Badablek's latest mod is based on my fork at around r1264 from what I remember, not 1269. 1264 is the last commit I made that is essentially identical to USB Loader GX and it's a mistake to assume anything after that is compatible.

 

[nerubii]

Badablek's latest mod is based on my fork at around r1264 from what I remember, not 1269. 1264 is the last commit I made that is essentially identical to USB Loader GX and it's a mistake to assume anything after that is compatible.

true, but we could always check commit history or revision graph.

r1274 was the revision you committed the libtremor dated march 25th 2017.
your post on the libtremor commit is dated march 25th 2017.
the revision before 1274 is 1269.
his post is dated march 26th 2017.
his post hinted on revision 1269.
the source he shared was named 1259 though.

the confusion was probably due to "official" revision 1263..

i've tested r1269, no issues so far.

 

[GreyWolf]

The revision numbers for Streamline aren't necessarily releases. They're just a commit count to make it easier to identify what they are. The commits tagged as releases are stable, the others are just working copies. Until Cyan releases a new build your best bet is the official r1262 with the patch I posted a few pages back if you want a stable code base that's newer than the current release.

EDIT: r1269 actually has a bug that can cause the console to hang when launching some titles. The bug was introduced in the Feb 13 2017 commit and fixed in the Apr 29 2017 commit.

 

[nerubii]

The revision numbers for Streamline aren't necessarily releases. They're just a commit count to make it easier to identify what they are. The commits tagged as releases are stable, the others are just working copies. Until Cyan releases a new build your best bet is the official r1262 with the patch I posted a few pages back if you want a stable code base that's newer than the current release.

EDIT: r1269 actually has a bug that can cause the console to hang when launching some titles. The bug was introduced in the Feb 13 2017 commit and fixed in the Apr 29 2017 commit.

yes. that's right. i'm a dev as well btw. oh ya, thanks for the info on r1269. will migrate his code to revision date Apr 29 2017.

just started looking into wii homebrew, usb loader gx, source code a day or two back; as there appears to be some issues with usb loader gx, especially when loading gc or channels list. it wld lock up while loading up the list. wbfs no issues.

hdd is 4tb 4k sectors split into 2 partitions.

i no longer rmb why i had two partitions alrdy.

 

[nerubii]

alright.. sorta migrated badablek's source code to r1280. also realigned a few btns and texts.
it appears r1280 no longer has progress window.

 

[nerubii]

so anyone has experience with 4tb hdd 4k sectors and encounter issues with usb loader gx? no one?

i'm gonna share the steps i did in order to get 4k sectors on portable drives.

1. Seagate Portable 4tb HDD; as far as i know, it comes equipped with a USB3 interface at 512bytes sectors, with no "translation", regardless of the size of the hdd.
   
2. ebay dglet: he used to stock "Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex/Backup Plus Upgrade Cable USB 3.0 STAE104 BARE" that fits in the same enclosure as Seagate Portable 4tb HDD but comes equipped with a USB3 interface that translates 512 sectors of HDD into 4K sectors depending on the HDD size. so for example: HDD <= 2tb, you will get 512 sectors, >2tb and you will get 4k sectors.
   • an alternative that i know of as of now which is still according to specs, hopefully, is this. this alternative, unfortunately, will not fit in the enclosure.
   • otherwise, some expert needs to hack the firmware built in the interface to allow translation of 512 to 4k.
   • i'm gonna suspect this interface may be from the initial batches of seagate portable hdd. you can try switching the interface to a larger sized hdd, 4tb or 5tb to see if it has the sector translation i've mentioned.

So once you have both items ready, you will have to disassemble the HDD enclosure, replace the interface, then run UStealth tool or format with available tools and see your minimum possible cluster size for FAT32. you will have your ans.

hope it helps anyone here

 

[cucholix]

Can you dump a 1:1 Wii disc outputing ISO format?

 

[nerubii]

Can you dump a 1:1 Wii disc outputing ISO format?

https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Ripping_Games

 

[cucholix]

So ULGX can only dump in .wbfs? Not .iso?

 

[nerubii]

So ULGX can only dump in .wbfs? Not .iso?

if i rmb so. last i did a rip from ULGX, many years back, it was in wbfs.

but why do you need it to be ripped in iso?

 

[cucholix]

if i rmb so. last i did a rip from ULGX, many years back, it was in wbfs.

but why do you need it to be ripped in iso?

To inject into Wii VC on Wii U

 

[nerubii]

To inject into Wii VC on Wii U

oh wow! is there a thread on this?

have you tried using wii backup manager to convert wbfs to iso back?

 

[cucholix]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/wii-on-wii-u-virtual-console-injecting-games.483007/

 

[GreyWolf]

Can you dump a 1:1 Wii disc outputing ISO format?

Use CleanRip for that.

 

[nerubii]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/wii-on-wii-u-virtual-console-injecting-games.483007/

ahh i see.. i don't think i'll be doing this though.

but this looks promising for bomberman blast and mario party. fw.img from wii u smash bros to enable gamecube adapter on wii u vc? do u think possible?

from the looks of it, i don't think we need a cleanripped version of the wii game. we only need the data partition.

just tested on a wbfs converted to iso.. seems intact.

 

[Magnus87]

Maybe on distance future we'll have a simple launcher for 3 consoles, NGC/Wii/WiiU

 

[Cyan]

hmmm, launching a Wii ISO could be done from WiiU side, but not using any existing Wii USBLoader's option and features.
it could be done like Emuliine (never released, POC only), which redirects an internal /content/rom.zip file to a ROM located on SD when launching a VC title from Loadiine (it could be adapted to launch the VC Wii on internal or external WiiU HDD, and redirect only the game.iso file).

Now that some people are active in the VC Wii, if we can launch a Wii ISO from WiiU we could make a "emuliine like" homebrew to launch Wii ISO from a VC Wii host.
no idea about gamecube ISO, I haven't thought about it.

but, like I said, it would launch the official game, no special features.
and only games <4GB as it requires to be on FAT32 (Sd or Mocha FAT32 USB) or installed on internal/wiiU HDD.
it could be an option ! (imagine putting all your Wii ISO (not wbfs) to wiiU HDD using existing HDD editing tools, and the launcher would just remap the path to the correct ISO filename.

 

[cucholix]

@Cyan feel free to add my Wii U channel forwarder to ULGX to OP, if you think it's apropiated. Thead link is in my sig.