Toggle sidebar

Hacking USB Loader GX

  • Thread starter Thread starter blackb0x
  • Start date Start date
  • Views Views 8,062,308
  • Replies Replies 30,225
  • Likes Likes 74
CheeseBurgerwithLove said:
Is there a specific cIOS that loads game loading screens a little faster? I heard that IOS 57 does this but only on USB. Would it be the same from an SD card?
Click to expand...
There shouldn't be a noticeable speed difference with the cIOS. And in many cases messing with that can result in games not booting or functioning correctly.

The only thing that might make a difference is setting your cluster size to 64K instead of 32K, if it isn't already. But in general, Wii and GameCube games should load quickly, while EmuNAND games might just be a little slow the first time you boot them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deleted member 663203 and jeannotte
CheeseBurgerwithLove said:
Nope, when the logo appears I get these colored bars (as shown in the photo).
I have it connected via composite.

EDIT

I went back to version 3.0 1281 and it works this time so it must be some kind of bug...

For now I'll be using this version until it's fixed.
Click to expand...

I installed v4.0-r1283 this week and for some reason I am getting this exact issue. Colored bars when the game loads, I can hear the sound fine and the problem persists until I do a full shutdown, unplug my system, plug back in and turn on.
I'm on a PAL Wii connected using a HDMI adapter. PAL games, no issue.. only NTSC. Anything I can try?
 

Attachments

  • screen.jpg
    screen.jpg
    29.9 KB · Views: 24
Last edited by koko45,
koko45 said:
I installed v4.0-r1283 this week and for some reason I am getting this exact issue. Colored bars when the game loads, I can hear the sound fine and the problem persists until I do a full shutdown, unplug my system, plug back in and turn on.
I'm on a PAL Wii connected using a HDMI adapter. PAL games, no issue.. only NTSC. Anything I can try?
Click to expand...
Reset the loader to its default settings and then try booting the game. If it still doesn't work, delete apps/usbloader_gx and try using USB Loader GX r1281 instead.

Since you're only seeing this issue when launching a game, it won't be the same problem.
 
AlfredoDore said:
wouldn't it be possible to add 240/288p video mode to USB Loader GX?
Click to expand...
It's not impossible, but they're not as easily enabled as the 576i, 480i, and 480p options.

To support all possible resolutions, timings, and colour encodings correctly, the loader needs to hook into a few functions, but that's easier said than done, as there are more than a dozen SDK versions to patch against.

I might get it working one day, but it's not my focus right now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tyvar1, XFlak and AlfredoDore
blackb0x said:
Reset the loader to its default settings and then try booting the game. If it still doesn't work, delete apps/usbloader_gx and try using USB Loader GX r1281 instead.

Since you're only seeing this issue when launching a game, it won't be the same problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I reverted to 1281. Just out of interest, any hunch on what could be causing this?

Appreciate your work :)
 
koko45 said:
Thanks for the reply! I reverted to 1281. Just out of interest, any hunch on what could be causing this?

Appreciate your work :)
Click to expand...
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure, since you're the only person so far who's reported this issue when playing NTSC games.

You have a PAL console and TV, just like I do. But I can boot NTSC games without any issues using component, composite, and even an HDMI adapter :unsure:

Does the issue occur with all NTSC games for you? Also, which HDMI adapter are you using exactly? And just to confirm, you're using the official version of the loader, not one you've compiled yourself?
 
yay Blackb0X is back!!! ive been following this for years.

Can i update through the update option in the options or do i need to do it on the SD card?
 
kobeskillz said:
yay Blackb0X is back!!! ive been following this for years.

Can i update through the update option in the options or do i need to do it on the SD card?
Click to expand...
Hello,

Either from the update option in the settings or manually.

If you have a problem afterward, do it manually.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kobeskillz
Hi everyone,
I'm encountering a consistent issue with USB Loader GX when using a 128GB SD card. This problem occurs in versions r1281 and r1283, while r1271 works fine under the exact same conditions.

Here is my setup:
  • USB Loader GX version: r1281 / r1283 (issue), r1271 (no issue)
  • Game storage: External HDD (FAT32)
  • SD card: SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSDXC, formatted as FAT32 with 32KB cluster size
  • cIOS: d2x-v11-beta3
  • All settings left at default
When the 128GB SD card is inserted, certain games fail to launch (black screen). If I replace the SD card with a 64GB or smaller one (also FAT32, same brand), the same games launch without any problems.

Games that fail to launch with 128GB SD card:
  • Wii Sports
  • Wii Party
  • WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Games that still launch normally with 128GB SD card:
  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii
  • Rhythm Heaven Fever
  • Wii Sports Resort
It seems that mostly older first-party Wii games are affected. This suggests that there may be an SD card handling or memory initialization issue introduced after r1271 that interferes with certain titles.

Since r1271 does not show this problem under the same conditions, I believe something changed between r1271 and r1281 that affects SDXC compatibility.

I'm happy to provide more details or help with testing if needed.
Thank you for maintaining this great loader.
 
woooody said:
This problem occurs in versions r1281 and r1283, while r1271 works fine under the exact same conditions.
Click to expand...
What about USB Loader GX r1272 mod7? It's technically USB Loader GX r1279, but it wasn't until USB Loader GX r1280 that I taken over as the main developer and the revision was increased.

woooody said:
Since r1271 does not show this problem under the same conditions, I believe something changed between r1271 and r1281 that affects SDXC compatibility.
Click to expand...
USB Loader GX r1280 introduced support for playing games from an SD card, so I'd expect that's where the issue began for you. That said, it's strange because r1280 was released back in 2023, and nobody else has reported a problem like this where one storage device seems to interfere with the other.
 
blackb0x said:
What about USB Loader GX r1272 mod7? It's technically USB Loader GX r1279, but it wasn't until USB Loader GX r1280 that I taken over as the main developer and the revision was increased.


USB Loader GX r1280 introduced support for playing games from an SD card, so I'd expect that's where the issue began for you. That said, it's strange because r1280 was released back in 2023, and nobody else has reported a problem like this where one storage device seems to interfere with the other.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply.
USB Loader GX r1272 mod7 worked without any problems.
 
woooody said:
Thank you for your reply.
USB Loader GX r1272 mod7 worked without any problems.
Click to expand...
The other big improvement with r1280 was automatic cIOS selection, so try changing the global game IOS setting from Auto to Custom with USB Loader GX r1281 or newer.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to do this, since the loader will select the best cIOS for each game. But if the cIOS has an issue with your SD card then an IOS reload could be what's causing your issue.
 
blackb0x said:
The other big improvement with r1280 was automatic cIOS selection, so try changing the global game IOS setting from Auto to Custom with USB Loader GX r1281 or newer.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to do this, since the loader will select the best cIOS for each game. But if the cIOS has an issue with your SD card then an IOS reload could be what's causing your issue.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your kind response.

As you said, in r1283, when I set the game IOS to custom and 249, games that didn't work before worked fine.
It is very strange that the appropriate cIOS changes depending on the capacity of SD cards.

However, isn't there a possibility that setting cIOS to 249, which the loader did not select as the best cIOS, will cause problems?
 
I have updated everything according to the first post. First up: Thanks for keeping the Wii alive and kicking. This is a great release and really like it a lot.

But just a quick question: As I understand it Wiiware games are now more compatible with EmuNand, right? I just tried out Castevania ReBirth, but I still had to set up neek to boot it correctly. Is there something I have missed or is this expected behavior? Are there other titles that still need neek?
Thanks!

*EDIT* I tried Kirbys Dreamland, now with saving to EmuNand. That seems to work well, whereas I had to use the real nand for saving before. Very cool!
 
Last edited by ecto,
woooody said:
However, isn't there a possibility that setting cIOS to 249, which the loader did not select as the best cIOS, will cause problems?
Click to expand...
For some games yes, but you'd know when there's a problem as they won't boot or accessories for that game might not work correctly.

I suspect the games that aren't working for you are trying to use cIOS 248, which for some reason doesn't get along with your SD card. So your options here are somewhat limited.

Assuming you're using Windows, you could try this...

1. Backup your data from the SD card.
2. Input the following into command prompt/terminal.
Code: 
diskpart
list disk
select disk X (change X to the disk number for your SD card)
clean
convert mbr
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
assign
exit
3. Load up Wii Backup Manager, select Tools and format the SD card to FAT32 with the cluster size set to 32K.
4. Restore your data.

If that doesn't change anything, you could use WiiMod Lite's IOS manager to delete 248. And that might resolve the issue, assuming the problem lies with the cIOS slot and not the IOS reload action.


ecto said:
But just a quick question: As I understand it Wiiware games are now more compatible with EmuNand, right? I just tried out Castevania ReBirth, but I still had to set up neek to boot it correctly. Is there something I have missed or is this expected behavior? Are there other titles that still need neek?
Click to expand...
You'd need to create a new EmuNAND via the loader, if you haven't already. Since any EmuNAND created by older versions of the loader would contain a bad content.map file that prevents shared content from installing correctly.

If it is a new EmuNAND, make sure you're not enforcing a cIOS or video setting, either globally or via the game.
 
Last edited by blackb0x,
  • Like
Reactions: ecto
blackb0x said:
You'd need to create a new EmuNAND via the loader, if you haven't already. Since any EmuNAND created by older versions of the loader would contain a bad content.map file that prevents shared content from installing correctly.

If it is a new EmuNAND, make sure you're not enforcing a cIOS or video setting, either globally or via the game.
Click to expand...
Ah, ok. I'm still using my old one.
But does that mean that I have to install all games anew? Also, can the emunand savegames of all my games be transferred easily?
 
ecto said:
But does that mean that I have to install all games anew? Also, can the emunand savegames of all my games be transferred easily?
Click to expand...
Yeah, since that's the only way to get an accurate content.map file and the missing shared app dependencies.

You could back up your existing EmuNAND, then create a new one and install the exact same games. After that, copy title/000100000/, title/00010001/, title/00010002/, and title/00010004/ from your orignal EmuNAND to your new EmuNAND.
 
Last edited by blackb0x,
  • Like
Reactions: ecto
I'm trying to force a PAL game to run at 60Hz which only runs at 50Hz but the screen seems to be choppy, not displaying the entire game UI correctly and making it impossible to play. I guess there's nothing you can do about it, right? The game in question is HM Tree of Tranquility.
 

Site & Scene News

Go to forum More news

Popular threads in this forum

Hacking  Wii Preloader stuck

Hacking Emulation  What is the best way to recover my Wii Shop purchases?

Wii doesn't show image on TV after replacing DVD drive

Wii Brickers

Gaming Hardware  What can I do to increase the lifespan of my wii?

Issues with an Updated Jailbreak

Rare games N64 port

Gaming  Neo Geo VC in wrong aspect ratio on European Wii with 4:3 and 60 Hz at CRT