Hacking USB Loader GX: Black screen when loading Wii games

[Ryanx]

if it's on specific location in game, and in all loaders, I'd tend to think it's an ISO corruption. even more if you ever used WBFS partition format in the past (or still do).
did you check your games integrity with wiibackupmanager's sha1 option?

if the ISO is good, it can then be a baseIOS or cIOS version problem, but that much game with the same issue is unusual.
v8 base56 is known to not work only for very few games (call of duty, just dance, sing it?)

Hi Cyan, thank you for your prompt response and once again my salute to your great contribution in this area.

Could you take another look at my original posting? I have modified my initial posting, hopefully with all the information I can provide( except the detailed systemcheck which i can post later if needed)

And yes I checked Sha-1 verification using the WBM and according to my sysheck(BTW 99% of my games are in wbfs format and 100% installed using WBM) I have all the ios installed in accordance with the latest modmii.

Is it possible that my ios(specially 249 and 250) are corrupted even if the syscheck doesn't show any errors?

Do you recommend that I reinstall my cios d2x version 8 final in 249 and 250?(like I said I didn't upgrade to version 10 following your advice in previous posts) or should I try to upgrade to version 10?( could it be possible that while wii and gxloader recognizes my hdd, it might have some difficulty in reading certain parts of my hdd?

BTW I also did bad sector check on my hdd and there was no error.

Thank you again for your help.

 

[jeannotte]

Hello,

@Ryanx

Yes, it would be nice if you had a SYSCHECK report for control.

Your external hard drive is formatting well in FAT32?

If you do not play GAMECUBE games, try to put your external hard drive in NTFS and then test.

 

[Ryanx]

Hello,

@Ryanx

Yes, it would be nice if you had a SYSCHECK report for control.

Your external hard drive is formatting well in FAT32?

If you do not play GAMECUBE games, try to put your external hard drive in NTFS and then test.

1. SysCheck HDE v2.4.0 Hacksden Edition by JoostinOnline

... runs on IOS58(rev 6176)





System Menu : 4.3

Prilloader installed

Drive Date : 12.18.2008

Homebrew Channel 1.1.2 running on IOS58



Console Type : Wii

Boot2 v4

Found 103 titles

Found 55 IOS on this console. 5 of them are stubs.


IOS3(rev 65280) : stub

IOS4(rev 65280) : stub

IOS9(rev1034):No patches

IOS10(rev768):Stub

IOS11(rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS12(rev 526): No Patches

IOS13(rev 1032): No Patches

IOS14(rev 1032): No Patches

IOS15(rev 1032): No Patches

IOS16(rev 512) : Stub

IOS17(rev 1032): No Patches

IOS20(rev 16174): Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS21(rev 1039): No Patches

IOS22 (rev1294): No Patches

IOS28 (rev1807): No Patches

IOS30 (rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS31 (rev 3608):No Patches

IOS33 (rev 3608):No Patches

IOS34 (rev 3608):No Patches

IOS35 (rev 3608):No Patches

IOS36 (rev 3608):No Patches

IOS37 (rev 5663):No Patches

IOS38 (rev 4124):No Patches

IOS40 (rev 16174): Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS41 (rev 3607): No Patches

IOS43 (rev 3607): No Patches

IOS41 (rev 3607): No Patches

IOS43 (rev 3607): No Patches

IOS45 (rev 3607): No Patches

IOS46 (rev 3607): No Patches

IOS48 (rev 4124):No Patches

IOS50 (rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS51 (rev4864): Stub

IOS52 (rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS53 (rev 5663):No Patches

IOS55 (rev 5663):No Patches

IOS56 (rev 5662):No Patches

IOS57 (rev 5919):No Patches

IOS58 (rev 6176):USB 2.0

IOS60 (rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS61 (rev 5662): No Patches

IOS62 (rev 6430):No Patches

IOS70 (rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS80 (rev 16174):Trucha Bug, NAND Access

IOS202[60] (rev 65535, Info:hermesrodries-v6): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS222[38] (rev 4, info:hermes v4): Trucha Bug, ES Identify, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS223[38+37] (rev 4, info:hermes v4): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS224[57] (rev 65535, info:hermesrodries-v6): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS236[36] (rev 65535, info: rev 3351): Trucha Bug, ES Identify, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS245[37] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS246[38] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, ES identify, NAND Access

IOS247[53] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS248[55] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS249[56] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS250[57] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS251[58] (rev 21008, info:d2x-v8final): Trucha Bug, NAND Access, USB 2.0

IOS254 (rev 65281):BootMii

BC v6

MIOS v10



2. As mentioned in my initial posting, I have 2 hdds. One(500GB hdd) with 2 partitions (2GB in FAT32 format + 480GB in wbfs format), and the other with just one 32FAT partition (75GB). It was in accordance with Cyan's advice to make full use of all potential homebrew apps and etc.

3. I don't play Gamecube games but only wii games. I did once try ntfs format on another HDD drive but gave up after the wii failing even to recognize the HDD (it could have been HDD compatibility issue since it was WD 4TB hard drive) and subject to Cyan's recommendation on forgenet to at least maintain one(first partition) in FAT 32.

Really hope I could finally get some solution here and appreciate any help Cyan (and any others) could kindly provide.

 

[Cyan]

I don't think reinstalling the cIOS will help. if it was bad, no game would work in my opinion.
usually, bad installed cIOS results in unsync wiimote (that's the only issue I noticed for 10 years).

if sha1 are good, and the sectors are good, I'd recommend trying another HDD anyway for the test.
see if another device has the same problem, so we can narrow the issue and leave out some elements.
if other hdd have the same problem, we can (could) think it's not a hdd problem and focus on another thing. see what I want to do? test everything and narrow the possibilities.

edit:
Okay, I see you already did that test.
the games are freezing at specific location, or just not launching at all?
I thought I've read that games had issues on specific location, always the same... but maybe you edited? or I mistaken with someone else (I help too much at the same time, ahaha)

What troubles me is that one game worked when using another drive. so it feels like it's related to the file system.

If it's a launch problem, instead of specific gameplay issue, there are other the general possibilities :
if you are on FAT32 : be sure the .wbfs file is not write protected
if you are on NTFS : be sure the partition's preference is not set to compressed (but no game would work)
reset the game's individual settings, or verify you didn't enabled "debug start" option. (though, it would work on other loaders)
are the game the same region than your console?


more questions:
do you hear sound, and only don't have video (black screen), or it's more like the game is not launching at all?
are you correctly using USB Port0? I guess so, but just to verify.

 

[tswntk]

@Ryanx
Its weird that your syscheck log doesn't show the region of your Wii nor the system menu region.
You didn't mention the region of the non working games. Some games just won't work out of region or require video setting tweaks.
Also check if you enabled emunand save, some games are not compatible with that.

 

[Ryanx]

I don't think reinstalling the cIOS will help. if it was bad, no game would work in my opinion.
usually, bad installed cIOS results in unsync wiimote (that's the only issue I noticed for 10 years).

if sha1 are good, and the sectors are good, I'd recommend trying another HDD anyway for the test.
see if another device has the same problem, so we can narrow the issue and leave out some elements.
if other hdd have the same problem, we can (could) think it's not a hdd problem and focus on another thing. see what I want to do? test everything and narrow the possibilities.

edit:
Okay, I see you already did that test.
the games are freezing at specific location, or just not launching at all?
I thought I've read that games had issues on specific location, always the same... but maybe you edited? or I mistaken with someone else (I help too much at the same time, ahaha)

What troubles me is that one game worked when using another drive. so it feels like it's related to the file system.

If it's a launch problem, instead of specific gameplay issue, there are other the general possibilities :
if you are on FAT32 : be sure the .wbfs file is not write protected
if you are on NTFS : be sure the partition's preference is not set to compressed (but no game would work)
reset the game's individual settings, or verify you didn't enabled "debug start" option. (though, it would work on other loaders)
are the game the same region than your console?


more questions:
do you hear sound, and only don't have video (black screen), or it's more like the game is not launching at all?
are you correctly using USB Port0? I guess so, but just to verify.

Thank you Cyan for your continuous follow up.

I will try to be brief? in answering your questions in the order they were given.

1. Error in specific location or not launching at all?
- Mostly not launching at all. Most of the games that fail, freezes with a black screen right I after I click start/launch the game. A few of the games freeze right after the Wii remote introduction screen(the screen that comes right after launching the game), and a couple of games freeze(black screen) right after launching the game with the "loading" sign showing at the bottom right corner.
- None of the failed games can proceed to the starting menu (it freezes before the initial Game menu, mostly right after launching the game)

2, HDD partitions
- 1) 500GB HDD with 2 partitions : 1st partition 2GB in 32FAT + 480GB in WBFS format. 2) Second HDD 75GB HDD in single partition with 32FAT format
- the 500GB HDD is about 99% full, and the 75GB HDD was used only to test the failed games to verify whether it could be HDD issue.(the games that has no problem in the 500GB HDD also has no errors in the 75GB HDD)
*Initially I was wondering if it could have been an issue with maxing the 500 GB hdd capacity to its full storage limit.


3. Write protection
- None of the HDD have write protection. I have no problem adding or deleting files to the HDD whether in windows or when using WBM

4. GX loader settings
- Global settings at default settings with the latest GX loader version. Tried changes in the individual game settings "after" the default global settings failed to load the game, but all in vain.
- I didn't enable debug start option(Debugger Paused Start: Off). Everything is in default option, and all changes are only done individually when a specific game fails to launch.


5. USB port
- Definately using USB Port 0.

6. Sound, no video or not launching at all?
- Like I said, mostly there is no sound, the wii remote loses connection, and the screen just freezes (with mostly black screen) and I have to reset the Wii using the power button on the console (or by unplugging)

7. Region of the Games
- I wasn't really sure this would be that relevant since there seemed to be too many failing games just to attribute the cause to region difference, but anyhow I received my Wii from a friend of mine and the System region of the Wii is Korea(NTSC). However I live in the states and most of my games are US games. Thus, the region of the games and the system doesn't match but I thought soft modded wii was region free and like I said I have 80% of the games working fine without any error.

8. Puzzling Factor
- What also puzzles me is the one game (Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent) that failed to load in one HDD(the 500GB HDD) but succeeded in the other HDD(75GB). All the other games (about 15 games or so) fail to load regardless the HDD. I am thinking about testing the games files with a 3rd HDD just to be sure but ain't that optimistic.

9. My questions
- Could it be really because of the region difference in which case there is no solution? (I tried forcing ntsc on some of the failed games but in vain. In addition both Korea and US use ntsc)
- As regards the one game that failed in one hdd (500 GB hdd which is about 99% full) but succeeded in the other, could it be due to maxing the hdd storage capcity to almost its full storage(or if wii could be having trouble reading certain / last parts of the hdd?)
-if it's not an issue with ios/cios or the hdd, could it be due to a corruption or error in the wii( nand) itself?

Thanks...

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

@Ryanx
Its weird that your syscheck log doesn't show the region of your Wii nor the system menu region.
You didn't mention the region of the non working games. Some games just won't work out of region or require video setting tweaks.
Also check if you enabled emunand save, some games are not compatible with that.

Hi Tswntk

Please refer to my response to Cyan above.

Like I said I didn"t have any SD card thus had to type the syscheck screen report manually and there could be some things left out.

Anyhow the system region is korea and most of my games' region is US.

The gx loader settings are at default and didn't enable emunand save.

 

[tswntk]

Thank you Cyan for your continuous follow up.

3. Write protection
- None of the HDD have write protection. I have no problem adding or deleting files to the HDD whether in windows or when using WBM

If the file attribute are read only, they won't work also.

Korean Wii is problematic.
Double check if it has been region changed to US or it stays as Korean.
If it stays as Korean, you should region change it but region changing is risky, not for noobs. You may be lucky if the Wii is really 2008 that you can/already have bootmii@ boot2 installed then your Wii is "brick-safe"

 

[Ryanx]

If the file attribute are read only, they won't work also.

Korean Wii is problematic.
Double check if it has been region changed to US or it stays as Korean.
If it stays as Korean, you should region change it but region changing is risky, not for noobs. You may be lucky if the Wii is really 2008 that you can/already have bootmii@ boot2 installed then your Wii is "brick-safe"

1. Read Only (Write protection)
- I double checked each file's properties in the Windows(windows 10) and none of the problematic files are read-only, and like I said I have no problem moving,copying or deleting the files both in windows or WBM.

2. Region Change
- Like I said I received this Wii from a friend, and the information I have is mostly in the syscheck. The drive date in the syscheck indicates 2008. 12.18 and syscheck indicates "Console Type : Wii, Boot2 v4, IOS254 (rev 65281):BootMii, BC v6", but I am not sure whether this means bootmii@boot2 is installed? However when I first received this wii from a friend, it already had homebrew, any my friend did mention that everything was up to the latest state/versions. I tried to double check when I first encountered problems with some of the games with Modmii("updating soft modded WII with Modmii"), just to confirm everything (IOS, cIOS) was up to date and required no further action.
- I I rechecked the syscheck and the system menu indicates 4.3k(v518) thus I believe the region hasn't been changed. However what's a little puzzling is that I already have "regionchanger" folder in my "usb:/apps/" folder and not sure whether my friend had previously installed this app before (nonetheless the system is still 4.3K and syscheck indicates no region change)

3. Risk
- You mentioned it's risky for noobs to do region changing. Can you provide a recommended link that shows how to do it? (I googled a little and found AnyRegion Changer however most of the tutorial utube videos seemed outdated and inapplicable.
- Can you tell me how to confirm I have "bootmii@boot 2 installed?" to ensure I am brick safe
- Do you think it's worth the risk?... I mean it's already using gx loader and I believe the settings are region free, and presuming that this many games are causing trouble due to regional difference in the system is,..... well I am not sure which is why I am asking ^^.

 

[tswntk]

3. Risk
- You mentioned it's risky for noobs to do region changing. Can you provide a recommended link that shows how to do it? (I googled a little and found AnyRegion Changer however most of the tutorial utube videos seemed outdated and inapplicable.
- Can you tell me how to confirm I have "bootmii@boot 2 installed?" to ensure I am brick safe
- Do you think it's worth the risk?... I mean it's already using gx loader and I believe the settings are region free, and presuming that this many games are causing trouble due to regional difference in the system is,..... well I am not sure which is why I am asking ^^.

To verify if you have bootmii@boot2, you will need an SD card. You need the bootmii files in SD and reboot your Wii, if it is installed, the bootmii menu will show up and you can backup/restore your nand. I think you can download the files from hackmii install site but @Cyan can give you more detailed info.

I don't have experience with Korean Wii but there should only be a few games that won't work out of region (even with softmod, Priiloader etc). I region changed my Jap Wii to US just for 2 games (and english system menu etc) but then 1 Jap game won't work then. 20 games not working seems a bit too much...

Another way is to use sneek/uneek emunand with clean US/EU/Jap emunand images. it is riskless but not that simple to install either. A few games won't work with softmod anyway - Tin Tin's adventure comes to mind.

Have a look at ModMii if you have not already, it has a lot of wizards/info including Region Changing but then it should not replaced in-depth researches.

 

[Cyan]

1. Error in specific location or not launching at all?
- Mostly not launching at all. Most of the games that fail, freezes with a black screen right I after I click start/launch the game. A few of the games freeze right after the Wii remote introduction screen(the screen that comes right after launching the game), and a couple of games freeze(black screen) right after launching the game with the "loading" sign showing at the bottom right corner.
- None of the failed games can proceed to the starting menu (it freezes before the initial Game menu, mostly right after launching the game)

if you see anything other than black screen after USBLoaderGX, it means the game launched!
if you see a loading of any sort, the game is already launched.
if you see a wiimote warning, the game already launched.
so, the problem is not that the game freeze at launch, it's that it freeze AFTER launch.

the loading picture or wiimote screen is not part of USBLoaderGX, nor the console's OS, therefore you are already inside the game's boot.dol running function.

*Initially I was wondering if it could have been an issue with maxing the 500 GB hdd capacity to its full storage limit.

it could be a problem if your drive has a very very high fragmentation level.
try running defrag on it.

I have no problem moving,copying or deleting the files both in windows or WBM.

the "read only" property doesn't prevent move/copy/delete of the file, it prevent edition (open/edit/save).

7. Region of the Games

NTSC-K and NTSC-J are not working with all games from other regions.
even NTSC-U are not very good with PAL games.
it seems only PAL console have better compatibility with all regions.

9. My questions
- Could it be really because of the region difference in which case there is no solution? (I tried forcing ntsc on some of the failed games but in vain. In addition both Korea and US use ntsc)
- As regards the one game that failed in one hdd (500 GB hdd which is about 99% full) but succeeded in the other, could it be due to maxing the hdd storage capcity to almost its full storage(or if wii could be having trouble reading certain / last parts of the hdd?)
-if it's not an issue with ios/cios or the hdd, could it be due to a corruption or error in the wii( nand) itself?

- yes, most likely due to korean region.
- could be fragmentation problem, even if the limit is very high and you should never hit that limit, you can try defrag.
- no.

- I I rechecked the syscheck and the system menu indicates 4.3k(v518) thus I believe the region hasn't been changed. However what's a little puzzling is that I already have "regionchanger" folder in my "usb:/apps/" folder and not sure whether my friend had previously installed this app before (nonetheless the system is still 4.3K and syscheck indicates no region change)

homebrew are not installed, they are just there on the SD, to be launched.
maybe it wasn't even a korean Wii, it was a NTSCU, and your friend launched the region changer to make it korean?

I'm also against performing region change, but it could be the only solution (other than buying a real NTSC-U console).
before doing anything, always make and keep a full NAND dump binary so you can restore it.
sometime, buying a new console is cheaper and easier!


before changing the region, like Tswntk said, it seems too much game not working. Maybe there's really a cIOS issue, try to reinstall them, just in case it helps.
try all you can before changing the region permanantly.
you can also try neek ! (temporary region to see if the problem is the region or not), but that'll be even harder to achieve just for a test. Really, the easier is to just get a good console instead of trying to make bad one working the way you want. it starts felling like people wanting to find a solution to using flashdrives when they can just stop having issue by using HDD.

 

[Ryanx]

if you see anything other than black screen after USBLoaderGX, it means the game launched!
if you see a loading of any sort, the game is already launched.
if you see a wiimote warning, the game already launched.
so, the problem is not that the game freeze at launch, it's that it freeze AFTER launch.

the loading picture or wiimote screen is not part of USBLoaderGX, nor the console's OS, therefore you are already inside the game's boot.dol running function.


it could be a problem if your drive has a very very high fragmentation level.
try running defrag on it.


the "read only" property doesn't prevent move/copy/delete of the file, it prevent edition (open/edit/save).


NTSC-K and NTSC-J are not working with all games from other regions.
even NTSC-U are not very good with PAL games.
it seems only PAL console have better compatibility with all regions.


- yes, most likely due to korean region.
- could be fragmentation problem, even if the limit is very high and you should never hit that limit, you can try defrag.
- no.


homebrew are not installed, they are just there on the SD, to be launched.
maybe it wasn't even a korean Wii, it was a NTSCU, and your friend launched the region changer to make it korean?

I'm also against performing region change, but it could be the only solution (other than buying a real NTSC-U console).
before doing anything, always make and keep a full NAND dump binary so you can restore it.
sometime, buying a new console is cheaper and easier!


before changing the region, like Tswntk said, it seems too much game not working. Maybe there's really a cIOS issue, try to reinstall them, just in case it helps.
try all you can before changing the region permanantly.
you can also try neek ! (temporary region to see if the problem is the region or not), but that'll be even harder to achieve just for a test. Really, the easier is to just get a good console instead of trying to make bad one working the way you want. it starts felling like people wanting to find a solution to using flashdrives when they can just stop having issue by using HDD.

Thanks for your help

1. Retry with a new HDD drive (FAT32 and NTSC both tried ; Bad sector tested and Defrag executed+ Drive tested : No errors)
- Exhausted with so many trials and errors (and prior to relying on the last resort : which as Cyan suggested would be to buy a new console and start the whole soft modding process all over again), I tested the problematic games with a new Seagate HDD(500GB)
- I made 2 partitions : the first partition of 2GB with 32FAT(32k cluster) and the second parition(480GB) in NTFS format
-Put the latest GX loader(r1271), Wii FLow lite(v5.1.0), CFG loader(r78.11) in the apps folder of the first partition (32FAT)
- Tested for bad sector (none) and executed defrag, even tested the HDD with Seagate's own utility program(Seagate Dashboard 2.0) and no error was found what so ever.
- The Wii and gx loader had no problem recognizing the HDD (I had to set the path for my NTSC HDD in the settings/Hard Drive Settings), however all the games that failed to load show the same errors (black screen freeze upon launching the game)


2. Loading picture or Wiimote warning : Only 2 games
- 90% of all the problematic games go into black screen freeze right after I launch/start the game, and only a couple of them proceed to the Wiimote warning or a loading picture(black screen with loading sign at the bottom)


3. Read only : None
- I rechecked all the properties of the problematic games files in the windows 10 and none of them are read-only.


4. Reinstallation of cIOS d2x version 8 final
- Upon reconfirming the same errors with a new HDD, I decided to reinstall the cIOS version 8 final. However the installer I downloaded (from https://sites.google.com/site/completesg/backup-launchers/installation) didn't include version 8 final (only version 10 Beta52 ad alt53) thus downloaded another file that Cyan recommended (provided a link in 2017 : http://www.mediafire.com/file/5ggh53tj9hhp1tr/d2x-cios-installer-3.1-v6-v7-v8-v10-wii.7z).
- However contrary to the file I downloaded from google site, the file I downloaded from Cyan's link, couldn't proceed after "loading" the installer in the homebrew because it didn't recognize my wiimote (pushed every button on the wiimote and nothing worked : BTW my wiimote is motionplus).
- Thus recopied all the files from the google site's cios installer and just added v8 folder to usb:/apps/d2x-cios-installer. However the installer didn't recognize v8 and only could install v10(beta 52 or alt53)

I could try installing v10 beta52 but could you guide me how to install v8-final again if possible? (should I use a WAD manager to install the wad file I downloaded from modmii? Given all the errors I wanted to re-install the files in the most recommended way possible)


5. Bootmii
I do have the bootmii folder in my external hdd(fat32) and can see the bootmii menu in homebrew. Do you really need an SD card? I have no use for SD cards and want to avoid buying one if not essential.

5. Region change or a new Wii?
From what I can gather from the advices so far, I am not tempted to undergo region change. And yes I also think under the cirumstances buying a new wii could be the most simple way out if I really wanted. But like I said the wii was a gift and 80% of the games run just fine. This wii modding related process started somewhat of a hobby when I got this gift but things just got frustrated when failing to find a solution to the errorneous games.

I will try reinstalling the cios d2x first upon getting a response and will decide thereafter.

Thanks.

 

[Cyan]

- However contrary to the file I downloaded from google site, the file I downloaded from Cyan's link, couldn't proceed after "loading" the installer in the homebrew because it didn't recognize my wiimote (pushed every button on the wiimote and nothing worked : BTW my wiimote is motionplus).

I don't think the installer is not compatible with motion+
no other users reported issues about losing wiimote sync with this package, and 3.1 is the latest version. On vWii, the installer is v2.2 and is compatible with motion+ so there's no reason 3.1 wouldn't be.

This is another strange issue you get here.

- Thus recopied all the files from the google site's cios installer and just added v8 folder to usb:/apps/d2x-cios-installer. However the installer didn't recognize v8 and only could install v10(beta 52 or alt53)

adding the folder is not enough, you need to also replace the ciosmap.xml file, which is the main database for the installer. it tells which files are available to install, and where/how to patch the official IOS files.

I could try installing v10 beta52 but could you guide me how to install v8-final again if possible?

could you retry my package ?
it should work and not freeze.
if it always freezes, you can try the installer from the other guide. could you tell me the version of the installer they are using? probably 2.2?
I heard 3.1 wasn't very good and could have bugs, but never encountered anyone experiencing these said bugs.
that's why vWii IOS installer is based on 2.2 to install v10.

if 2.2 is better, I might re-create these packages.
I wanted to make a single package for all version (Wii, vWii, vWii mod ustealth) but I fear people will mistake an install the wrong version on their consoles.

5. Bootmii
I do have the bootmii folder in my external hdd(fat32) and can see the bootmii menu in homebrew. Do you really need an SD card? I have no use for SD cards and want to avoid buying one if not essential.

what do you mean you have bootmii menu in homebrew?
what do you call "homebrew" ?

if you mean the option to launch bootmii inside the homebrew channel's home menu, then it's only an option to trigger the launch, and load the bootmii file on SD card.
there are two methods to load the bootmii interface :
boot2 : at console's boot, if you have a pre-2008 console, which will load the sd:/bootmii/armboot.bin and ppcboot.bin
IOS : manually, from HBC, launching the IOS254 which will load the sd:/bootmii/armboot.bin and ppcboot.bin

the path is hardcoded, and can't be used without an SD card.

did you try launching bootmii option ? bootmii looks like this :

Region change or a new Wii?

this is what I recommend :

1. cIOS reinstall, either d2x v10 r52, or v8 final.
they are almost identical, v10r52 only has a very small fix for HDD detection compared to v8.
reinstalling will ensure the IOS are properly installed. it can happen they are not, and strange behavior can be noticed such as wiimote unsync at IOS reload (you don't have wiimote when inside usbloader, or at game launch, and you have to re-sync the wiimote with red button! this is not a temporary unsync, but a permanent one).

2. Try neek
If you are willing to do more tests, and like you said hacking is more a hobby and you are curious about your issue, I think it'll be a good thing to try. for you, and for us
though, neek can be a little complicated to use as it's both software AND hardware dependent : you need specific USB devices with 512bytes/sectors and MBR partition table. so, don't use any drive bigger than 2TB, and if possible only old drives.
newer drive will likely use 4096bytes/sectors.

to do this test, I'd recommend doing it in two steps :
2A - confirm the games are not working with korean region, even without loaders
2B - make a clean usa region (or region matching your non working games), and verify they are now working, confirming it's a region issue.

3. region change
if neek confirmed it was a region issue, you can perform a full region change.
you'll have a real NTSC-U console, without buying a new one.

4. last resort, buying a new console instead of region change, but that's only if step 2 failed, and/or you don't want to perform step 3.
if step 2 works, just use that method to play that game.


for now, focus on step1.
we will see how to do step2 later.

 

[Ryanx]

I don't think the installer is not compatible with motion+
no other users reported issues about losing wiimote sync with this package, and 3.1 is the latest version. On vWii, the installer is v2.2 and is compatible with motion+ so there's no reason 3.1 wouldn't be.

This is another strange issue you get here.


adding the folder is not enough, you need to also replace the ciosmap.xml file, which is the main database for the installer. it tells which files are available to install, and where/how to patch the official IOS files.


could you retry my package ?
it should work and not freeze.
if it always freezes, you can try the installer from the other guide. could you tell me the version of the installer they are using? probably 2.2?
I heard 3.1 wasn't very good and could have bugs, but never encountered anyone experiencing these said bugs.
that's why vWii IOS installer is based on 2.2 to install v10.

if 2.2 is better, I might re-create these packages.
I wanted to make a single package for all version (Wii, vWii, vWii mod ustealth) but I fear people will mistake an install the wrong version on their consoles.


what do you mean you have bootmii menu in homebrew?
what do you call "homebrew" ?

if you mean the option to launch bootmii inside the homebrew channel's home menu, then it's only an option to trigger the launch, and load the bootmii file on SD card.
there are two methods to load the bootmii interface :
boot2 : at console's boot, if you have a pre-2008 console, which will load the sd:/bootmii/armboot.bin and ppcboot.bin
IOS : manually, from HBC, launching the IOS254 which will load the sd:/bootmii/armboot.bin and ppcboot.bin

the path is hardcoded, and can't be used without an SD card.

did you try launching bootmii option ? bootmii looks like this :

this is what I recommend :

1. cIOS reinstall, either d2x v10 r52, or v8 final.
they are almost identical, v10r52 only has a very small fix for HDD detection compared to v8.
reinstalling will ensure the IOS are properly installed. it can happen they are not, and strange behavior can be noticed such as wiimote unsync at IOS reload (you don't have wiimote when inside usbloader, or at game launch, and you have to re-sync the wiimote with red button! this is not a temporary unsync, but a permanent one).

2. Try neek
If you are willing to do more tests, and like you said hacking is more a hobby and you are curious about your issue, I think it'll be a good thing to try. for you, and for us
though, neek can be a little complicated to use as it's both software AND hardware dependent : you need specific USB devices with 512bytes/sectors and MBR partition table. so, don't use any drive bigger than 2TB, and if possible only old drives.
newer drive will likely use 4096bytes/sectors.

to do this test, I'd recommend doing it in two steps :
2A - confirm the games are not working with korean region, even without loaders
2B - make a clean usa region (or region matching your non working games), and verify they are now working, confirming it's a region issue.

3. region change
if neek confirmed it was a region issue, you can perform a full region change.
you'll have a real NTSC-U console, without buying a new one.

4. last resort, buying a new console instead of region change, but that's only if step 2 failed, and/or you don't want to perform step 3.
if step 2 works, just use that method to play that game.


for now, focus on step1.
we will see how to do step2 later.

Thank you Cyan for your continuous follow up.

I will try step 1 first as recommended and get back to you but prior to doing so, I have a couple of questions before deciding either to install the v10 using the d2x installer (from google) or v8 final using the WAD file I downloaded from Modmii ( I don't have a choice since your version still doesn't work due to wiimote unsync).


1. Retrial of your version

- I still lose wimmote sync once I load the installer with your package.
BTW the version of the cios d2x installer from "https://sites.google.com/site/completesg/backup-launchers/installation(Complete Softmod Guide)" is the same(version 3.1) as yours, but it can only install d2x v6 final and v10 52beta or 53alt : there is no v8 final. I presumed the reason of v8 final missing due to their recommendation on the site being installation of v10 52beta.

2. What did you mean by "it can happen they are not, and strange behavior can be noticed such as wiimote unsync at IOS reload (you don't have wiimote when inside usbloader, or at game launch, and you have to re-sync the wiimote with red button! this is not a temporary unsync, but a permanent one)"?
- Do you mean if I install "v10" then I could have issues like wiimote unsync ? and what do you mean by "permanent"? I hope it doesn't mean I may lose the wiimote sync forever or that the issue will always continue to occur everytime I load a game and such.
- If this is the risk with v10, I will just install the v8final using the WAD file from modmii unless you advise otherwise.

3. Bootmii
This is my mistake. I saw the Bootmii folder in my FAT32 hdd, and thought I also saw Bootmii when I launched Homebrew, but it was Hackmeinstaller in the Homebrew that I saw (and not Bootmii). I only have the Bootmii folder in HDD, and I have never personally launched or used it before (since it was never necessary before).

So should I install v10 with the installer or v8 using the WAD (I want to go with the option with the minimum risk or issues) and will definately give up installing v10 if it comes with a risk of losing the wiimote sync "permanently".

 

[Cyan]

1. if it's using installer v3.1 too, it's strange that the wiimote is losing sync with mine and not theirs.
you can install the wad generated by modmii

2. I mean that the only issue I noticed so far about badly installed cIOS is that it corrupts the "SYSCONF" file and delete the wiimote sync information for that file.
you need to reinstall the cIOS to fix the problem.
you need to be able to go to system menu to re-register the wiimotes properly (homebrew can't do it).

it has nothing to do with the cIOS v10, all version of cIOS are affected. it happens if the installation wasn't properly completed.
that's the only problem I know for "badly installed cIOS", but maybe there are more symptoms I don't know, that's why I suggested to reinstall your cIOS because maybe your problem is another symptom of badly installed cIOS I don't know.

there's no risk with v10.

3.
install whatever you want.
v10 r52 with the installer, or the wads with a manager.

 

[Ryanx]

1. if it's using installer v3.1 too, it's strange that the wiimote is losing sync with mine and not theirs.
you can install the wad generated by modmii

2. I mean that the only issue I noticed so far about badly installed cIOS is that it corrupts the "SYSCONF" file and delete the wiimote sync information for that file.
you need to reinstall the cIOS to fix the problem.
you need to be able to go to system menu to re-register the wiimotes properly (homebrew can't do it).

it has nothing to do with the cIOS v10, all version of cIOS are affected. it happens if the installation wasn't properly completed.
that's the only problem I know for "badly installed cIOS", but maybe there are more symptoms I don't know, that's why I suggested to reinstall your cIOS because maybe your problem is another symptom of badly installed cIOS I don't know.

there's no risk with v10.

3.
install whatever you want.
v10 r52 with the installer, or the wads with a manager.

So I decided to install v8 final again and had a quick question in relation to what I encountered when using YAWMM(latest version.

1. Retrial of cios d2x installer
- Hearing Cyan and thinking it was strange to lose sync after launching Cyan's package, I tried another file(version 3.1) for a test, but lost sync again after loading the installer. For some reason, the latest file I downloaded from site.google is the only one not losing sync (at least up until now) that is working. BTW the current ios shown at the bottom of the screen after loading the installer shows "current ios 56:v6176". Could it be there is an error with my ios 56(and could this be the reason that causes problems with cios 249 since56 is the base ios?)

2. Multi Mod Manager ver 13.4
- Lost wiimotesync after loading the program but I read that MMM doesn't support wiimote action plus.

3. Yet another wad manager mod.(Version:rev5e)
- I read Cyan's recommendation in the past posting about YAWMM thus downloaded latest version using modmii.
- However unlike what it says in the guide or tutorial utube videos, I get some messages that certain files are not patched as follows when I load the program, and when I proceed further that hw_ahbprot is disabled.


"• Applying wii patches
○ Patching new hash_hash_check : unpatched
• Applying Sciifii patches
○ Patching m2m_prot : not patched
○ ES_OpenTitleContent 1: not patched
○ ES_OpenTitleContent 2: not patched
• Applying vWii patches
○ all 3 files not patched"

And when I proceed the screen shows "HW_Ahbprot is disabled. Do you want to load another IOS anyways?"

I wasn't sure whether these were errors (I understand the vWii patches being not patched since I presume they are for Wiiu) and was wondering any of these errors(?)had anything to do with my problem.

 

[Cyan]

current ios 56:v6176

56?

it should be 58, or 61 if your HBC is outdated.
1. run HBC, press home button, see if it displays "IOS58" as used IOS.
2. if not, you might have to re-install HBC to use IOS58 with homebrew.

AHB protection is disabled by proper HBC install based on IOS58.
if your HBC is not properly installed, that's why you have all these issues.

though, you said "v6176" ? here is your syscheck :
IOS56 (rev 5662):No Patches
IOS57 (rev 5919):No Patches
IOS58 (rev 6176):USB 2.0

IOS56 is 5662, not 6176.
you probably mistaken 56 with 58.
if it uses IOS58, it's fine.


on Wii, the "IOS base" is not using the internal IOS, but a version downloaded from nintendo's servers, or a WAD file provided by the user on SD root.
if the cIOS is not properly installed, it can be a result of incomplete download, or bad packed wad file.
on WiiU, the installer2.2mod is using the internal IOS as base.
The base is used only at install time, and copied to destination slot, the base is not a real-time access of the base slot by the cIOS. if you delete the base slot, the cIOS based on that slot will still work.



if it can't patch the needed functions, it means you didn't properly installed/extracted/copied the cIOS installer to your SD card like a lot of people!
you probably forgot the "meta.xml" file, or probably messed the file structure !
you need to extract EVERYTHING, not just part of it (not just v8) and not just the dol, or not mix element with other installers, or not extract on the root of SD card !

1. sd/apps/d2x_installer/ <--- create this folder manually
2. extract ALL the package into that newly created folder, retaining the folder structure :

sd/apps/d2x_installer/boot.dol
sd/apps/d2x_installer/icon.png
sd/apps/d2x_installer/meta.xml <-- contains the "AHB_PROT" patch
sd/apps/d2x_installer/ciosmaps.xml <-- contains information where to find v7, v8, v10 and v10-alt
sd/apps/d2x_installer/7/ <-- contains another installer and cIOS data for v7
sd/apps/d2x_installer/8/ <-- contains another installer and cIOS data for v8 <--- DO NOT JUST EXTRACT V8 folder's content into /apps/d2x_installer/ folder. v8 MUST BE a SUB FOLDER of the installer, do not merge v8 with the installer.
sd/apps/d2x_installer/10/ <-- contains two sub-folders : v10 and v10-alt, which each contains another installer and cIOS data for v10 and v10-alt


I often have to re-explain how to extract a zip, and notice lot of hacking issues are not console or guide following problem but missing basic knowledge how to use a computer. my guide can't cover using windows/linux/mac/android. if you are on Windows, please use either winrar 5+ or 7zip instead of winzip or default win10 zip support. do not right click and select "extract here", this is not how a package is extracted! you need to know what's inside and if "here" is really meant to be where you placed the zip. open the zip, see what's inside, and grab files to their destination manually.

 

[Ryanx]

56?

it should be 58, or 61 if your HBC is outdated.
1. run HBC, press home button, see if it displays "IOS58" as used IOS.
2. if not, you might have to re-install HBC to use IOS58 with homebrew.

AHB protection is disabled by proper HBC install based on IOS58.
if your HBC is not properly installed, that's why you have all these issues.

though, you said "v6176" ? here is your syscheck :
IOS56 (rev 5662):No Patches
IOS57 (rev 5919):No Patches
IOS58 (rev 6176):USB 2.0

IOS56 is 5662, not 6176.
you probably mistaken 56 with 58.
if it uses IOS58, it's fine.


on Wii, the "IOS base" is not using the internal IOS, but a version downloaded from nintendo's servers, or a WAD file provided by the user on SD root.
if the cIOS is not properly installed, it can be a result of incomplete download, or bad packed wad file.
on WiiU, the installer2.2mod is using the internal IOS as base.
The base is used only at install time, and copied to destination slot, the base is not a real-time access of the base slot by the cIOS. if you delete the base slot, the cIOS based on that slot will still work.



if it can't patch the needed functions, it means you didn't properly installed/extracted/copied the cIOS installer to your SD card like a lot of people!
you probably forgot the "meta.xml" file, or probably messed the file structure !
you need to extract EVERYTHING, not just part of it (not just v8) and not just the dol, or not mix element with other installers, or not extract on the root of SD card !

1. sd/apps/d2x_installer/ <--- create this folder manually
2. extract ALL the package into that newly created folder, retaining the folder structure :

sd/apps/d2x_installer/boot.dol
sd/apps/d2x_installer/icon.png
sd/apps/d2x_installer/meta.xml <-- contains the "AHB_PROT" patch
sd/apps/d2x_installer/ciosmaps.xml <-- contains information where to find v7, v8, v10 and v10-alt
sd/apps/d2x_installer/7/ <-- contains another installer and cIOS data for v7
sd/apps/d2x_installer/8/ <-- contains another installer and cIOS data for v8 <--- DO NOT JUST EXTRACT V8 folder's content into /apps/d2x_installer/ folder. v8 MUST BE a SUB FOLDER of the installer, do not merge v8 with the installer.
sd/apps/d2x_installer/10/ <-- contains two sub-folders : v10 and v10-alt, which each contains another installer and cIOS data for v10 and v10-alt


I often have to re-explain how to extract a zip, and notice lot of hacking issues are not console or guide following problem but missing basic knowledge how to use a computer. my guide can't cover using windows/linux/mac/android. if you are on Windows, please use either winrar 5+ or 7zip instead of winzip or default win10 zip support. do not right click and select "extract here", this is not how a package is extracted! you need to know what's inside and if "here" is really meant to be where you placed the zip. open the zip, see what's inside, and grab files to their destination manually.

1.ios 58(6176) and homebrew
- Apologies it was my typo. As u correctly pointed out it was ios 58(6176) and not 56.
- My homebrew is 1.1.2 running on ios 58.

2. Cios d2x installer
- I deleted the "usb:/apps/d2x_installer" folder and followed your advice to the letter and made sure there are no files left out. But the same problem of losing the wiimote sync continues. BTW I rechecked just to be sure but I didn't leave out the meta.xml file or mess with the file structure in my initial attempt to install your package, but retried in accordance with your advice to the letter, just to be extra sure but the wiimote sync problem persists.
- By the way I was a little confused with your answer. Do you mean the "not patched" messages indicate that I didn't properly install the cios d2x files before or did you mean they indicate that there is an error or missing files/file system in the d2x_installer folder(installation package).
Like I said the error messages of "not patched" shows up when loading the YAWMM (and not cios d2x installer), thus if this is a problem and further if these messages indicate that I didn't install the cios d2x properly before then I will just proceed to install the v10 beta52 using the d2x installer from site.google which maintains my wiimote sync(if I can't use MMM or YAWMM) this is pretty much the only option left unless I try to find another wad manager that might work which I think is not necessay since I can just install v10 unless you think otherwise.)

So proceed on with installing the cio d2x v10?

 

[Cyan]

the "not patched" is either (like you said) not a wiiu so it's skipped, or a problem because it couldn't patch.
when it can't patch, it's usually because you miss AHB access (the AHB protection is not disabled), and this is related to missing the meta.xml file. that's why I thought you didn't extracted correctly.

sorry, I mixed your report about YAWMM and d2x installer.

It's very strange that my installer lose sync, while the one from completesg is working. I'm wondering what's different, nobody reported that issue before.

yes, you can install d2x v10 (r52, not v10-alt r53).

 

[Ryanx]

the "not patched" is either (like you said) not a wiiu so it's skipped, or a problem because it couldn't patch.
when it can't patch, it's usually because you miss AHB access (the AHB protection is not disabled), and this is related to missing the meta.xml file. that's why I thought you didn't extracted correctly.

sorry, I mixed your report about YAWMM and d2x installer.

It's very strange that my installer lose sync, while the one from completesg is working. I'm wondering what's different, nobody reported that issue before.

yes, you can install d2x v10 (r52, not v10-alt r53).

Hi,

1. Installation of cios d2x v10 beta52.
- I used the file from site.google and successfully installed version 10 beta 52 without any error messages whatsoever.
- However nothing has changed so far. The games that worked previously still works, and the games that failed (to launch) previously fail the same.

2. Wad Manager and error messages.
- Noticing it was somewhat odd that Cyan's cios d2x installer files lost wiimote sync, and the error messages that popped up when loading YAWMM, I decided to test some other widely used Wad Manger apps (out of curiosity (or maybe for the spirit of exploring a solution) and in hopes maybe the error messages could shed some light on the problem I am having) and found results as follows;

(1) MMM : Multi-Mod Manager 13.4

- Loses Wiimote sync after loading. (Already confirmed the issue is with wiimote motion plus)

(2) YAWMM: rev 25-last release/update 2015.07.29. Downloaded from the link in GBAtemp)

- Doesn't show any error messages (contrary to the other YAWMM versions), however wiimote loses sync after loading.


(3) some-yawmm-mod-v1.0 : 2017.10.16 release

- File/version recommended by Cyan in 2017 in one of the postings here.

- Error occurs as follows right after loading

“Error! (ret = -1)

Patching hash_check : not patched

Patching new_hash_check : patched

Patching ES_TitleVersionCheck : patched

Patching ES_TitleDeleteCheck : patched “


- However I can " Select source device : <USB Mass Storage Device> " and proceed further to select and install the WAD files in the WAD folder in my HDD.
* BTW Selecting USB 2.0 Mass Storage Device will trigger "Error! (ret =-1)"


(4) YAWMM_EN : rev5e-from Site.Google and also the same file downloaded with the latest ModMii)

- Error messages of "not patched" comes up after loading the program :

"• Applying standard Wii patches : 1 out of 5 in "Applying standard Wii patches" shows error
○ Patching new hash_hash_check : not patched

• Applying Sciifii patches : 3 out of 6 in "Applying Sciifii patches show errors
○ Patching m2m_prot : not patched
○ ES_OpenTitleContent 1: not patched
○ ES_OpenTitleContent 2: not patched

• Applying vWii patches : 3 out of 3 in "Applying vWii patches" show errors
○ all 3 files not patched"

- when I proceed the screen shows "HW_Ahbprot is disabled. Do you want to load another IOS anyways?"”
- I now understand that "HW_Ahbprot should be disabled (and thus not an error) and the vWii patch failures are not error (since I don't have Wiiu), but I am not sure about the other error messages. In particular the error message in the above standard will patch is a little puzzling, since when loading "some-YAWMM-mod", the error message is to the contrary(new hash check is patched vs hash check is patched).

Does this shed any light? or should i just proceed on to phase 2?

 

[Cyan]

if the protection is disabled, that's good. AHB_PROT(ection) must be disabled in order to access the IOS and function in memory to patch them.
if the protection was still active, AHB access would be disabled and you'd require to use a compatible cIOS (instead of IOS58+AHB) to patch the system's functions.

SciiFii patches are not needed (it's specifically required for Sciifii tool only)
I don't understand why you have some Wii patching errors, nor why you have ret-1
if it's using IOS58, it's the same for all region and the memory addresses should be the same, and patched the same way. Maybe korean wii are different?


I think we should proceed, you tried reinstalling the cIOS and it still fail. I doubt you's install them wrong every time. Like I said, the only real symptom of bad installation I know is wiimote sync lost by the console (not just wiimote disconnected temporarily). you didn't have that symptom, so don't worry.

So, step 2 is trying with neek.
for that, you'll need a working emuNAND as base for neek.
1
go to usbloadergx, custom path setting, emuNAND channel folder
if it's sd:/nand/ change it to sd:/nand/01/

2
settings, features menu, dump nand, full, if asked choose emunand "channel" not "save".

3
main window, top menu, 4th icon, enable "channels on emuNAND", disable everything else
you should now see the exact content than your console (mii channel, vote channel, weather, etc.), if you have any game, launch it to test if it's working.
if you don't have any game, you can install one : settings, features, wad manager, choose the wad to install. return to main window and launch it.
if it's not working, tell me which game you tried.