Hacking Large files on UBS for USB Loader GX?

Vrpndt · Jan 19, 2019

I've recently modded my Wii and brought a USB to put my game backups on. However, when I tried to put one of the larger files on the USB, I found that it wouldn't let me. I tried to search google for an answer but nothing worked. The only way I could get the files onto the USB was to reformat it to NTFS (since it was originally formatted as FAT32) but when I put the USB into my Wii, none of the channels would show up in the Homebrew Launcher and when I attempted to load the channels from the USB in the menu my Wii crashed. I tried using 2 USBs (one to put the "apps" folder on and one to put the ISO on) however that didn't work either. Is there any way to up larger files on a USB formatted as FAT32 or is there a way to get the Wii to recognise a USB formatted as NTFS?

Thanks for any help!

Attila13 · Jan 19, 2019

Use WBFS Manager to format your HDD and backup/load your games with either USB Loader GX or Configurable USB Loader. Works like a charm for me.
And if you want your games as ISO as backup on PC, you can always copy your games from your HDD with WBFS manager.

Cyan · Jan 19, 2019

DON'T !
why users still recommend outdated tools and partition format?

don't use "WBFS Manager" program.
don't format your drive to WBFS format.

WBFS format is not bad, but WBFS Manager is.
this program corrupts games! don't use it. You might argue that it didn't corrupt yours, but it did, you just don't know yet!
if you still want to use WBFS partition format, at least use proper tools like Wit/wwt, Wibafu, or Wii backup Manager on Windows.
If you ever used WBFS manager, quickly run the partition over WiiBackupManager and fix the free blocs list. (there's an option to do that). it will prevent corrupting more games in the future.

If you really want to still use WBFS manager, at least always fix the free blocs before adding more games with WBFS manager. but if you fix blocs with Wiibackupmanager, just use that tool to add games too. forget about broken tools.

Second :
Split files are the way to go ! FAT32 is possible, and even recommended.
format to FAT32, then use Wii backup Manager to manage your games on your drive. the games bigger than 4GB will be split properly, and the loader will load them without issues.
Games are not always more than 4GB, a disc is 4GB, but a game can be 400MB (like New Super Mario), and only 400MB will be used on your drive, maximizing free space.

FAT32 is required for lot of homebrew and loaders. for example, Homebrew channel, gamecube games, or emulators.
WBFS will work only with wii games, and you'll lose possibility to use other homebrew

if you use NTFS or FAT32 or ext : Do not put the games on your partition manually !
always use a game manager, it will shorten and split files AND rename AND create the required folder names and filename properly for you.
doing things manually is asking for problems.

Proper way to add games using Wii backup Manager :
https://gbatemp.net/posts/7592791

The only issue with FAT32 is in case you use a Flash drive instead of a real external HDD.
flashdrives and FAT32 don't mix well.
if you use a flashdrive, then WBFS format is probably the best. but you'll be limited to wii games on it.
you can use WBFS manager to format it, then don't use that tool again. switch to proper managers.

Attila13 · Jan 19, 2019

@Cyan Thanks for the clarification. I honestly didn't knew about this, because I'm really not into Wii hacking/homebrew. I just used this as a backup manager/loader, and didn't knew about the issues, so sorry. It worked fine for me every time, and never thought that there are so many problems with it.
I'll do what you suggested ASAP and never use the WBFS Manager again.

Cyan · Jan 19, 2019

to explain things better :

WBFS manager use an old wbfs library, which had a bug.
when you add a game, it marks each sectors where the game ends as "used", so next added game doesn't overwrite a used sector.
when you delete a game, it doesn't overwrite the data, but just mark the used sectors for a game as "free" to be overwritten by another game. but there is a bug where an additional random sector used by another game is set as free !
next time you add a game, you have a chance (or bad chance) that this wrongly set as free sector is overwritten with a new game data, corrupting on of your game still used on your partition.

If the corruption happens on sensible data, you can detect it quickly (banner animation is black in the loader, the game doesn't launch, etc.)
But you might not notice one of your game is corrupted, as it's not necessarily preventing launch. it can be corrupted video, or sound file used later in a game. so, everything seems good, but some of your games might be corrupted. (or not ! it's actually random)
If you want to verify, I suggest using WiiBackupManager.
First, to fix your free bloc list (important! it might even be done automatically, check the log tab of the tool to see if it did something), second to test your games. that tool has an option to "sha1 check" games. if they turn green they are good, if they are red it means it's corrupted.
playing a corrupted game might not always crash, it depends how the game is coded and manage corrupted files : either it crashes, either it detect bad files and don't load them like no sound file is played, no background music, no texture on an object, etc.

wbfs format in itself is still fine to use. you don't need to stop using it, as long as you use proper manager. old users like you (and me) still use WBFS format, and don't really need more.
recommending it is maybe not the best, as now most users want the most of it : wii, gamecube, emuNAND, etc.
and to do that, FAT32 is the only proper format.

Vrpndt · Jan 20, 2019

Cyan said:
DON'T !
why users still recommend outdated tools and partition format?

don't use "WBFS Manager" program.
don't format your drive to WBFS format.

WBFS format is not bad, but WBFS Manager is.
this program corrupts games! don't use it. You might argue that it didn't corrupt yours, but it did, you just don't know yet!
if you still want to use WBFS partition format, at least use proper tools like Wit/wwt, Wibafu, or Wii backup Manager on Windows.
If you ever used WBFS manager, quickly run the partition over WiiBackupManager and fix the free blocs list. (there's an option to do that). it will prevent corrupting more games in the future.

If you really want to still use WBFS manager, at least always fix the free blocs before adding more games with WBFS manager. but if you fix blocs with Wiibackupmanager, just use that tool to add games too. forget about broken tools.

Second :
Split files are the way to go ! FAT32 is possible, and even recommended.
format to FAT32, then use Wii backup Manager to manage your games on your drive. the games bigger than 4GB will be split properly, and the loader will load them without issues.
Games are not always more than 4GB, a disc is 4GB, but a game can be 400MB (like New Super Mario), and only 400MB will be used on your drive, maximizing free space.

FAT32 is required for lot of homebrew and loaders. for example, Homebrew channel, gamecube games, or emulators.
WBFS will work only with wii games, and you'll lose possibility to use other homebrew

if you use NTFS or FAT32 or ext : Do not put the games on your partition manually !
always use a game manager, it will shorten and split files AND rename AND create the required folder names and filename properly for you.
doing things manually is asking for problems.

Proper way to add games using Wii backup Manager :
https://gbatemp.net/posts/7592791

The only issue with FAT32 is in case you use a Flash drive instead of a real external HDD.
flashdrives and FAT32 don't mix well.
if you use a flashdrive, then WBFS format is probably the best. but you'll be limited to wii games on it.
you can use WBFS manager to format it, then don't use that tool again. switch to proper managers.

WOW! IT WORKED! I wasn't aware that splitting was a thing because I'm not really good at the whole homebrew thing. Thanks!

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

Cyan said:
to explain things better :

WBFS manager use an old wbfs library, which had a bug.
when you add a game, it marks each sectors where the game ends as "used", so next added game doesn't overwrite a used sector.
when you delete a game, it doesn't overwrite the data, but just mark the used sectors for a game as "free" to be overwritten by another game. but there is a bug where an additional random sector used by another game is set as free !
next time you add a game, you have a chance (or bad chance) that this wrongly set as free sector is overwritten with a new game data, corrupting on of your game still used on your partition.

If the corruption happens on sensible data, you can detect it quickly (banner animation is black in the loader, the game doesn't launch, etc.)
But you might not notice one of your game is corrupted, as it's not necessarily preventing launch. it can be corrupted video, or sound file used later in a game. so, everything seems good, but some of your games might be corrupted. (or not ! it's actually random)
If you want to verify, I suggest using WiiBackupManager.
First, to fix your free bloc list (important! it might even be done automatically, check the log tab of the tool to see if it did something), second to test your games. that tool has an option to "sha1 check" games. if they turn green they are good, if they are red it means it's corrupted.
playing a corrupted game might not always crash, it depends how the game is coded and manage corrupted files : either it crashes, either it detect bad files and don't load them like no sound file is played, no background music, no texture on an object, etc.

wbfs format in itself is still fine to use. you don't need to stop using it, as long as you use proper manager. old users like you (and me) still use WBFS format, and don't really need more.
recommending it is maybe not the best, as now most users want the most of it : wii, gamecube, emuNAND, etc.
and to do that, FAT32 is the only proper format.

OK NEW PROBLEM(I swear, my luck is just horrible today!)! USB Loader GX keeps freezing on "Loading config files...". Is there any way around this?

Cyan · Jan 20, 2019

where did you put the homebrew? SD or USB ?
it looks like to me that the loader can't access the config file, which means it can't access the partition where it's located.
The most known problem is : DON'T USE FLASH DRIVE ! EVER.

it has been said hundred, if not thousand of times on this forum. Stop wanting to use flashdrive. Stop wanting to find a solution to still use it even after you have been told to stop using them. REALLY.

So, about your specific issue :
use a dedicated SD card for all your homebrew ! never put homebrew on USB.
USB device is only for ISO, WBFS and ROMs.

the console can't access USB without proper settings, and therefore it needs to read the settings from SD card (it's always available).

SD:/apps/usbloader_gx/ <--- homebrew here, with the config files.
usb:/wbfs/ <-- games here

If you don't have an SD card (what, really?), you can try using USB, but you need to learn how the console works :
- when using IOS58 (used by HBC), BOTH usb ports are accessed and read at the same time.
- when using cIOS (used by USB loaders after reloading to it), only ONE usb port is available : usb port 0.
so, I suspect you plugged your device in the wrong port (port1), and therefore after reloading the IOS to 249 (instead of 58), the console lost access to the config file.

If you didn't use the wrong USB port, then it means the Flash drive is NOT working with cIOS at all. this is a very common issue (unfortunately).

in order to see the flashdrive in FAT32 format, you need to change the setting of USBLoaderGX to force the loader to use IOS58 instead of cIOS.
if you can't boot the loader, go to usbloader_gx folder, edit the meta.xml in a text editor, remove the 2 lines marked as "comments, remove me", edit the IOS line from 250 to 58

But, seeing your flashdrive is already NOT initializing with cIOS and fat32, don't even expect to play any Wii games with it.

If you manage to get your flashdrive to work, you'll get another problem : flashdrives work only in READ mode. you can't write anything to it for too long, or it'll freeze.
for example, you can't download game's covers, you can't download cheats, you can't dump disc to USB, etc.

your solution :
. DO NOT USE FLASHDRIVE
. be sure you plugged the usb in correct USB port (port0 is at the bottom on Wii, Back-top on WiiU)
. The Wii can use ONLY ONE USB port (port0 !) do not attempt at using both USB at the same time.
. Try another flash drive, in FAT32
. set the loader's IOS to 58 in the meta.xml, and maybe even in the loader's settings (GXGlobal.cfg)
. format the flashdrive to WBFS partition format instead of FAT32 (use wbfs manager for example) then use WiibackupManager to add games to the flashdrive.
ultimately, to fix all problems : use a real external HDD.

Hacking Large files on UBS for USB Loader GX?

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