Homebrew Wii U Linux

rw-r-r_0644

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the wiiu is apparently based on a custom radeon hd 7000 series gpu. it could be possibe to try modify the opensource drivers to get opengl out of it.
The problem is that, while linux includes drivers for r7xx, they rely on pci, while the wii u card is not on a pci bus.

I just can't get linux to start at all. There could be no sd card in the console and the result would be the same.
Make sure the file is in the correct location on the sdcard. If it still doesn't work, you might have a broken sdcard slot/bad contacts.
 
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lordelan

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Followed this ever since it was on gitlab. Great to have a pre compiled fw.img now.
I flashed the IMG file from MEGA on a 4 GB usb stick and will try that out.

One question though: In the readme it's written that only the back USB ports are supported. If that is the case, how am I supposed to use
  • USB mouse
  • USB keyboard
  • USB stick with Debian
with only two ports? Does it support USB hubs?
 

lordelan

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That's what I'm getting now:
20180214_231349.jpg


My GamePad:
20180214_231326.jpg


Edit: What I did is taking the IMG file from page 2 of this thread and writing it with Win32DiskImager to a USB flash drive.
I tried a 4 GB and a 8 GB drive but get the same error every time. I always tried using the back USB ports of the Wii U, as it's written in the readme, that they are the only supported ones (if I got that right).
The kernel and the fw.img are in their right places.
What am I doing wrong?
 
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rw-r-r_0644

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That's what I'm getting now:
View attachment 114256

My GamePad:
View attachment 114257

Edit: What I did is taking the IMG file from page 2 of this thread and writing it with Win32DiskImager to a USB flash drive.
I tried a 4 GB and a 8 GB drive but get the same error every time. I always tried using the back USB ports of the Wii U, as it's written in the readme, that they are the only supported ones (if I got that right).
The kernel and the fw.img are in their right places.
What am I doing wrong?
USB hubs are supported

The problem is likely with the USB image I made, as I said it's untested. I'll try to make another one tomorrow (if you have a linux computer though, you can just format the drive as ext4 and extract the archive to the root of the drive)
 

lordelan

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USB hubs are supported

The problem is likely with the USB image I made, as I said it's untested. I'll try to make another one tomorrow (if you have a linux computer though, you can just format the drive as ext4 and extract the archive to the root of the drive)
Alright thx. I'll try to do that today.
 

lordelan

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USB hubs are supported

The problem is likely with the USB image I made, as I said it's untested. I'll try to make another one tomorrow (if you have a linux computer though, you can just format the drive as ext4 and extract the archive to the root of the drive)
I did this in a Ubuntu VM:
Be on Linux. Get a USB (512mb bare minimum) and format it with a single ext4 partition. This will be your rootfs, so make sure it's a decent quality one (speed is important)
Download this archive, we'll call it "debian.tar.xz"
Mount and cd into your new USB.
Run tar -xvpf <path/to/debian.tar.xz>. The p is important, you could skip the v.
by using that command I get
Code:
tar: Exiting with faulure status due to previous errors
Although that error appears, the drive is full of all needed folders and files (over 400 MB in total) as far as I can see.
To avoid errors I can do this with sudo but then all files on the USB flash drive are owned by root (obviously) and I think that won't work on the Wii U due to permissions then, am I right?
I'm at work right now so I can't test it but I will once I get at home.
 

lordelan

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The problem is likely with the USB image I made, as I said it's untested. I'll try to make another one tomorrow (if you have a linux computer though, you can just format the drive as ext4 and extract the archive to the root of the drive)
I tried the flash drive that I made in an Ubuntu VM as I wrote above but still am getting the same error message on the Wii U. :(
 

rw-r-r_0644

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I tried the flash drive that I made in an Ubuntu VM as I wrote above but still am getting the same error message on the Wii U. :(
You have to run tar as root (sudo tar [...]), otherwise file permissions will will be wrong, and some files won't get extracted at all, since tar cannot create files which are owned by root and have no acces to common users without having root permissions. It's normal that in a linux linufs some files are owned by root; also make sure the files are extracted to the root of the drive.
 
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lordelan

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You have to run tar as root (sudo tar [...]), otherwise file permissions will will be wrong, and some files won't get extracted at all, since tar cannot create files which are owned by root and have no acces to common users without having root permissions. It's normal that in a linux linufs some files are owned by root; also make sure the files are extracted to the root of the drive.
I was thinking that if I do that, it would belong to the "root of my VM" and won't be accessable by the "root of Wii U's Linux". But thanks, guess I'll try this again then.
If this has to be done as root you should note that here:
https://gitlab.com/linux-wiiu/linux-wiiu/blob/master/README.md
Although I'm a bit experienced in Linux it wasn't clear to me.

To be honest, I think there should be a video tutorial for this, so it would be much easier for people who aren't experienced with Linux.
If I got it working it would be exactly as written in the github readme except you would have to put "sudo " before the tar command:
Code:
sudo tar -xvpf <path/to/debian.tar.xz>
Then put in your root password and hit ENTER.

To get a quick setup, install VirtualBox, then download and follow this thread:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ubuntu-...ransistor-and-retroarch-preconfigured.489753/

It's a preconfigured Ubuntu for PegaSwitch but that doesn't matter. You would even benefit from using it if you have a Switch as well like I do. :)
 
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lordelan

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Do I type <path/to/debian.tar.xz> or path/to/debian.tar.xz?
Neither nor.

You'll end up with something like a debian-wiiu-03-02-2018.tar.xz or something like that which most likely should at /home/itsashleyftw/debianwii-u-03-02-2018.tar.xz
So in case you're using Ubuntu in a VM you will attach a flash drive, open the filebrowser, right click on it, chose "format" and format it to EXT4.
Then open a terminal and enter
Code:
cd /mnt
dir
Thanks to dir you will see what you're flash drive is called. Most likely it will be an endless digit code. Let's assume it starts with a 3, then you enter
Code:
cd 3*
to get into its folder.
Now you enter
Code:
sudo tar -xvpf /home/itsashleyftw/debianwii-u-03-02-2018.tar.xz
or whatever your exact path and file name is.
Then hit your root pw (for the PegaSwitch VM it is 1111) and wait for it. Done.

Edit: lol, ninja'd, but glad you got it to work that far.
 

ItsAshleyFTW

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Neither nor.

You'll end up with something like a debian-wiiu-03-02-2018.tar.xz or something like that which most likely should at /home/itsashleyftw/debianwii-u-03-02-2018.tar.xz
So in case you're using Ubuntu in a VM you will attach a flash drive, open the filebrowser, right click on it, chose "format" and format it to EXT4.
Then open a terminal and enter
Code:
cd /mnt
dir
Thanks to dir you will see what you're flash drive is called. Most likely it will be an endless digit code. Let's assume it starts with a 3, then you enter
Code:
cd 3*
to get into its folder.
Now you enter
Code:
sudo tar -xvpf /home/itsashleyftw/debianwii-u-03-02-2018.tar.xz
or whatever your exact path and file name is.
Then hit your root pw (for the PegaSwitch VM it is 1111) and wait for it. Done.

Edit: lol, ninja'd, but glad you got it to work that far.

Never mind; I got it.
 

ItsAshleyFTW

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