Hacking Basic Do's and Do NOT's of vWii modding

driverdis · Dec 18, 2012

DarkMatterCore said:
Among other things you can do with them (like experimenting with savegames, etc.). You can also use the device.cert to test certain things under SNEEK, but you'd still have to wait for the new version to be available.

However, you *should* be able to use it with an emulated NAND on a real Wii to download the channels you transferred to your vWii, as long as both consoles are from the same region.

good to know, i will be dumping mine then since i would love the ability to download channels that i transferred to my Wii U since i got a couple VC games since the move. since i have a NAND backup and bootmii/boot2, is there any way i could use it with my real NAND or will the Wii not like that? thats assuming it works at all since you mentioned it *should* work. I will give the emunand a try first then post back if it worked at all.

if not,i will stick to the UNEEK+DI emu nand i setup a while back.

DarkMatterCore · Dec 18, 2012

driverdis said:
is there any way i could use it with my real NAND or will the Wii not like that?

Not that I know of, sadly.

the_randomizer · Dec 18, 2012

What about installing the Homebrew Channel? Has that been confirmed as being safe to do? I don't want to have to insert an SD card every bloody time I want to load an app via Brawl, that will only wear the SD slot spring out faster. I need a permanent solution to emulation.

driverdis · Dec 18, 2012

Installing HBC is safe (but voids warranty causing the Wii U to possibly not get repaired if it bricks for some reason and you send it in)
here is a good reason to use HBC over Smash Stack;HBC allows using SDHC cards, which brawl cannot. with HBC and you do not need to remove the SD anymore since the system menu will not delete anything else then the brawl exploit.

Installing HBC is safe as it does not touch any of the vIOS's or the system menu. all it does is install a fakesigned channel. there is no brick risk.

the_randomizer · Dec 18, 2012

driverdis said:
Installing HBC is safe (but voids warranty causing the Wii U to possibly not get repaired if it bricks for some reason and you send it in)
here is a good reason to use HBC over Smash Stack;HBC allows using SDHC cards, which brawl cannot. with HBC and you do not need to remove the SD anymore since the system menu will not delete anything else then the brawl exploit.

Installing HBC is safe as it does not touch any of the vIOS's or the system menu. all it does is install a fakesigned channel. there is no brick risk.

Well, that's good to know. While I do want to make it more convenient to have HBC and play Wii U games, I'm still on the fence.

driverdis · Dec 19, 2012

the_randomizer said:
Well, that's good to know. While I do want to make it more convenient to have HBC and play Wii U games, I'm still on the fence.

I completely understand being on the fence on installing the homebrew channel. i am kinda wishing I waited for my Warranty to go first that way I could get the Wii U repaired if it does brick during that time from a random crash in Wii U mode (its working so far [knocks on wood])

on the other hand, its way more convenient to be able to leave a SDHC sized SD Card in the Wii U and use HBC to load stuff since most homebrew can properly use SDHC cards. Smash Bros cannot on the other hand so you are stuck using a non SDHC to run Smash Stack. even BatHaxx requires a non SDHC SD card.

officialjunk · Dec 19, 2012

driverdis said:
Installing HBC is safe (but voids warranty causing the Wii U to possibly not get repaired if it bricks for some reason and you send it in)
here is a good reason to use HBC over Smash Stack;HBC allows using SDHC cards, which brawl cannot. with HBC and you do not need to remove the SD anymore since the system menu will not delete anything else then the brawl exploit.

Installing HBC is safe as it does not touch any of the vIOS's or the system menu. all it does is install a fakesigned channel. there is no brick risk.

I wouldn't say there is no risk of bricking, but the risk is as minimal as it gets for something that writes to the NAND because TT actually cares about quality control. In general, installing a channel can brick a wii if there's a problem with the banner, even though it doesn't touch any vIOS's or the system menu. A banner issue is unlikely with HBC, but sometimes unexpected errors happen (power outage, bad blocks, etc). I recall an old hackmii article talking about how ninty's own code to check bad blocks was... crap. Wonder if this was fixed on the wii U?

driverdis · Dec 19, 2012

officialjunk said:
I wouldn't say there is no risk of bricking, but the risk is as minimal as it gets for something that writes to the NAND because TT actually cares about quality control. In general, installing a channel can brick a wii if there's a problem with the banner, even though it doesn't touch any vIOS's or the system menu. A banner issue is unlikely with HBC, but sometimes unexpected errors happen (power outage, bad blocks, etc). I recall an old hackmii article talking about how ninty's own code to check bad blocks was... crap. Wonder if this was fixed on the wii U?

Bad block errors very rarely occur still with installers, and i am guessing the Newer NAND used for the WiiMode was produced using a more reliable method that reduces the amount of bad blocks the nand. i could easily be wrong tho.
also, if your going to Install a channel, why would you do it without making sure the Wii U is connected to a reliable power source. my power rarely goes out but if it does, my Wii and Wii U are both on a AVR UPS. just incase. when i flash my jtag NAND, i connect it to the UPS first. I keep the xbox 360 off of the UPS since its a power hog vs the Wii and Wii U together are 1/3 of my falcon's power usage in watts. I also use a AVR UPS vs a Standby UPS. This solves the power outage problem.

officialjunk · Dec 19, 2012

driverdis said:
Bad block errors very rarely occur still with installers, and i am guessing the Newer NAND used for the WiiMode was produced using a more reliable method that reduces the amount of bad blocks the nand. i could easily be wrong tho.
also, if your going to Install a channel, why would you do it without making sure the Wii U is connected to a reliable power source. my power rarely goes out but if it does, my Wii and Wii U are both on a AVR UPS. just incase. when i flash my jtag NAND, i connect it to the UPS first. I keep the xbox 360 off of the UPS since its a power hog vs the Wii and Wii U together are 1/3 of my falcon's power usage in watts. I also use a AVR UPS vs a Standby UPS. This solves the power outage problem.

i think we are in agreement that there is risk of bricking when installing HBC, although it may be minimal. guesses and assumptions do not make it safer. anything writing to NAND is a risk of brick, period. it is misinformation to say there is no risk of brick when installing HBC.

driverdis · Dec 19, 2012

officialjunk said:
i think we are in agreement that there is risk of bricking when installing HBC, although it may be minimal. guesses and assumptions do not make it safer. anything writing to NAND is a risk of brick, period. it is misinformation to say there is no risk of brick when installing HBC.

your right, we are in agreement that there is a minimal risk of bricking when installing HBC. but the risk *should* be about the same as Installing a VC/WiiWare game from the eShop since it also downloads a channel and installs it to the NAND,same with moving games from NAND to SD and SD to NAND. also, i said installing HBC is safe. same as when people say walking or even driving is safe. it normally is unless something goes wrong unexpectedly, like getting hit by a drunk driver doing either of those two.
i never said there was NO risk of brick.

the_randomizer · Dec 19, 2012

driverdis said:
your right, we are in agreement that there is a minimal risk of bricking when installing HBC. but the risk *should* be about the same as Installing a VC/WiiWare game from the eShop since it also downloads a channel and installs it to the NAND,same with moving games from NAND to SD and SD to NAND. also, i said installing HBC is safe. same as when people say walking or even driving is safe. it normally is unless something goes wrong unexpectedly, like getting hit by a drunk driver doing either of those two.
i never said there was NO risk of brick.

Wouldn't the worst to come out of it be just having a bricked Wii mode (and the Wii U itself untouched)?

driverdis · Dec 19, 2012

the_randomizer said:
Wouldn't the worst to come out of it be just having a bricked Wii mode (and the Wii U itself untouched)?

yea, pretty much. thats what happened to MrVestek. his Wii U functions fine for Wii U stuff but just cannot boot into WiiMode. the real problem is that none of us are sure what a Wii U update will do if it has trouble updating WiiMode from it being bricked or even tampered with.
the next several Wii U updates could fix the brick, Update the Wii U and leave WiiMode Bricked, or Error out and not update the Wii U at all. if the update errors out, then that means that Wii U mode would be stuck on a older Firmware that would not be able to use the shop, MiiVerse, or any online stuff.

the_randomizer · Dec 19, 2012

driverdis said:
yea, pretty much. thats what happened to MrVestek. his Wii U functions fine for Wii U stuff but just cannot boot into WiiMode. the real problem is that none of us are sure what a Wii U update will do if it has trouble updating WiiMode from it being bricked or even tampered with.
the next several Wii U updates could fix the brick, Update the Wii U and leave WiiMode Bricked, or Error out and not update the Wii U at all. if the update errors out, then that means that Wii U mode would be stuck on a older Firmware that would not be able to use the shop, MiiVerse, or any online stuff.

So, for now, don't do it is what you're saying... ugh, stupid lack of inputs on my TV, that's the reason I asked, I don't like having to swap between the Wii and Wii U over and over again. How did he brick the wii mode?

driverdis · Dec 19, 2012

the_randomizer said:
So, for now, don't do it is what you're saying... ugh, stupid lack of inputs on my TV, that's the reason I asked, I don't like having to swap between the Wii and Wii U over and over again. How did he brick the wii mode?

He bricked his WiiMode using a Wii CIOS installer from a guide he read for modding the Wii(not Wii U) and it replaced vIOS80 (the System Menu) with a patched Wii IOS80. that bricked his system menu. he did not know the app would replace vIOS80 tho.
Installing the Homebrew Channel Installs the channel to the System Memory but does not modify any of the WiiMode vIOS's. thats why the brick risk for installing the Homebrew Channel is very slim. so far, nobody has bricked WiiMode by installing the homebrew channel and running emulators and homebrew games off of it.

So far, the safeness level of Installing the Homebrew channel is the same as installing it on a newer non bootmii/boot2 LU64+ Wii.

I am saying its up to you.

the_randomizer · Dec 19, 2012

driverdis said:
He bricked his WiiMode using a Wii CIOS installer from a guide he read for modding the Wii(not Wii U) and it replaced vIOS80 (the System Menu) with a patched Wii IOS80. that bricked his system menu. he did not know the app would replace vIOS80 tho.
Installing the Homebrew Channel Installs the channel to the System Memory but does not modify any of the WiiMode vIOS's. thats why the brick risk for installing the Homebrew Channel is very slim. so far, nobody has bricked WiiMode by installing the homebrew channel and running emulators and homebrew games off of it.

So far, the safeness level of Installing the Homebrew channel is the same as installing it on a newer non bootmii/boot2 LU64+ Wii.

I am saying its up to you.

My only concern now would be any issues that might come with installing system updates (speaking of which, I haven't installed the newer one yet, as my connection sucks balls).

driverdis · Dec 19, 2012

the_randomizer said:
My only concern now would be any issues that might come with installing system updates (speaking of which, I haven't installed the newer one yet, as my connection sucks balls).

the newest system update does not touch any WiiMode stuff. you can update it fine. if anything, it would make since that later system updates to the Wii U would do what they they did to the Wii. which was delete the homebrew channel and blacklist its channel ID then patch the IOS exploit used to install the HBC. and that should not affect Wii U mode at all or brick WiiMode as long as you do not go about installing custom IOS's and stuff.

damysteryman · Dec 19, 2012

Ok, first post update.
Added more info on vWii System Menu, 1-512, and 1-513,and priiloader, thanks to crediar.
Added info on System Menu themes. I have not tried modifying the vWii resource file yet, I want to, but not quite game enough yet

Added some info on HBC, since it was asked about here.
Also added a "recommended" section, containing obtaining your vWii's keys with the modified xyzzy, thanks to DarkMatterCore.
Also a bit at the end about any sort of modding vioding warranty.
Also tried darkening the yellow color on the "Potential Risks" section headline, but not sure if I can make it any darker...

MysteriousSparrow · Dec 19, 2012

Before I found this thread, I was messing around with the T bug restorer and I think I deleted iOS36.
I backed up my NAND filesystem and iOS36 is for sure missing, it also doesn't show as installed in MMM.

Would it be possible for somebody else to upload that specific ticket for iOS36 so i could NAND restore it, or is there another way?
(You can find this with ShowWiiWads.)

DarkMatterCore · Dec 20, 2012

I don't exactly know how the update proccess works in the Wii U, but I guess you could try "updating" your console. Maybe it will notice IOS36 is missing and will try to redownload and install it from NUS... But if it doesn't work that way, I guess you can just google the vWii IOS36 and reinstall it with YAWMM (assuming you're able to find its WAD, that is).

It doesn't matter if you have the ticket or not; you can even get it with NUS Downloader. The problem here is that the vWii titles stored in NUS are encrypted with a different key, so you actually need an IOS36 dump from another vWii (since it is stored unencrypted in the NAND fs).

I seriously need to get a Wii U.

MysteriousSparrow · Dec 20, 2012

Can i install the wad with YAWMM considering I don't and can't install IOS236?

Hacking Basic Do's and Do NOT's of vWii modding

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