Hacking Can't load wiiware and vc game in USB loader GX

[Shuli]

I'm new to all this Wii hacking so please bear with me. I tried searching but there is just way too much old info and variations out there, I just can't figure it out.
I successfully installed USB loader gx and can load Wii games just fine.
I also installed priiload and set it to boot straight into USB loader gx and returns to it when leaving games.

In usblgx, I dumped the nand to emunand and used the emunand wad manager to install some wiiware and vc games on to it but when I try to launch them it just restarts USB loader gx(I guess because the Wii reboots and priiloader sends it straight to usblgx).
I read all about neek and from i understand(correct me if I'm wrong), I don't really need it (at least not for wiiware games).
What am I missing here?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Maf123]

I'm new to all this Wii hacking so please bear with me. I tried searching but there is just way too much old info and variations out there, I just can't figure it out.
I successfully installed USB loader gx and can load Wii games just fine.
I also installed priiload and set it to boot straight into USB loader gx and returns to it when leaving games.

In usblgx, I dumped the nand to emunand and used the emunand wad manager to install some wiiware and vc games on to it but when I try to launch them it just restarts USB loader gx(I guess because the Wii reboots and priiloader sends it straight to usblgx).
I read all about neek and from i understand(correct me if I'm wrong), I don't really need it (at least not for wiiware games).
What am I missing here?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

i myself am using an 'wad manager' to install the wiiware and vc games. they will be installed as channels so you have to open them from the main wii menu. just look up wad manager wii, its an app same as usb loader gx, put your wad game files which you want to install on the sd card and then use wad manager to install them

 

[Shuli]

i myself am using an 'wad manager' to install the wiiware and vc games. they will be installed as channels so you have to open them from the main wii menu. just look up wad manager wii, its an app same as usb loader gx, put your wad game files which you want to install on the sd card and then use wad manager to install them

Im looking to launch vc games from USB loader gx.
I have made some progress since I posted. I managed to get wiiware games working by installing cios to slot 250 but vc games still give me black screen. I even tried installing them directly to the Wii menu but I still get black screen when launching from Wii menu.

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

Im looking to launch vc games from USB loader gx.
I have made some progress since I posted. I managed to get wiiware games working by installing cios to slot 250 but vc games still give me black screen. I even tried installing them directly to the Wii menu but I still get black screen when launching from Wii menu.

Sounds like you have an incomplete mod. I'd recommend reinstalling with ModMii. Afterwards you should be able to see them in USBLGX if you have NAND titles turned on.

 

[Shuli]

Sounds like you have an incomplete mod. I'd recommend reinstalling with ModMii. Afterwards you should be able to see them in USBLGX if you have NAND titles turned on.

Before I try this, can this by any chance be a problem with my 1080p LED TV.
I have now gotten N64 games working (I don't know for sure because I don't currently have classic controller but I do get a screen asking me to connect one so I assume it is working). NES games are still giving me black screen. I also tried imstalling the wad to the realnanad and launching from the system menu and im still getting black screen. Someone on reddit said my TV may not support the 240p output.

 

[Maf123]

Before I try this, can this by any chance be a problem with my 1080p LED TV.
I have now gotten N64 games working (I don't know for sure because I don't currently have classic controller but I do get a screen asking me to connect one so I assume it is working). NES games are still giving me black screen. I also tried imstalling the wad to the realnanad and launching from the system menu and im still getting black screen. Someone on reddit said my TV may not support the 240p output.

what kind of cios do you have installed? can you post a syscheck file?

 

[Cyan]

the consoles reboots when it can't find the game to load.
if the game cannot be find/read, it's either :

- wrong or missing cIOS (please, post a syscheck, follow the guide in my signature),
- HDD not formatted to FAT32
- HDD not formatted to MBR (emuNAND does NOT work with GPT)
- HDD is hidden with UStealth (you need a special cIOS version to use emuNAND with hidden drives)

and please give the IOS setting in the loader (Game's IOS is 249 by default, Loader's IOS can be either 249 or 58)
If you use d2x v10 r53, that's your problem. r53 is beta, has some bugs with emuNAND. use v8 final (on Wii) or v10 r52 on vWii.


Note that WiiWare and VC are exactly the same things : channels installed on emuNAND.
If you get black screen with any channels, it's because you need Neek ! (yes, the one you think you don't need), OR because the channel is bad. Seeing the game doesn't work on your original NAND, I guess the issue is your channel (bad wad file), not your setting.

 

[Shuli]

the consoles reboots when it can't find the game to load.
if the game cannot be find/read, it's either :

- wrong or missing cIOS (please, post a syscheck, follow the guide in my signature),
- HDD not formatted to FAT32
- HDD not formatted to MBR (emuNAND does NOT work with GPT)
- HDD is hidden with UStealth (you need a special cIOS version to use emuNAND with hidden drives)

and please give the IOS setting in the loader (Game's IOS is 249 by default, Loader's IOS can be either 249 or 58)
If you use d2x v10 r53, that's your problem. r53 is beta, has some bugs with emuNAND. use v8 final (on Wii) or v10 r52 on vWii.


Note that WiiWare and VC are exactly the same things : channels installed on emuNAND.
If you get black screen with any channels, it's because you need Neek ! (yes, the one you think you don't need), OR because the channel is bad. Seeing the game doesn't work on your original NAND, I guess the issue is your channel (bad wad file), not your setting.

I actually figured this out. It was actually quite stupid. The vc wads I was installing were ntsc and my Wii is actually pal. Installed pal wads and they load just fine. Wierd thing is, ntsc wiiware games loaded fine, I only had this problem with vc games.

Thanks so much for your enormous contribution to the community! Your posts over the years have been super helpful on this fun project.
My kids and I are grateful

 

[Cyan]

Glad you found your problem and already fixed it.
Usually, other regions are working fine, but sometime not all video mode are included in the game. Additionally, USBLoaderGX has a bug with channel's patching (video mode, aspect ratio, etc.)

if you ever want to play some N64 VC, you'll need neek.
There are some WiiWare which are not working with the standard cIOS emuNAND mode and you'll need Neek too.
there's a non exhaustive list here : http://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Wii_cIOS_EmuNAND_Compatibility_List

 

[Shuli]

Glad you found your problem and already fixed it.
Usually, other regions are working fine, but sometime not all video mode are included in the game. Additionally, USBLoaderGX has a bug with channel's patching (video mode, aspect ratio, etc.)

if you ever want to play some N64 VC, you'll need neek.
There are some WiiWare which are not working with the standard cIOS emuNAND mode and you'll need Neek too.
there's a non exhaustive list here :

Ok, so i started neek install using your guide from here:
driver-san-francisco-hangs-on-load-screen
(sorry for the not posting a link, i couldnt post it with a real link. put the line above in google, it will be the first result)
i go through the modmii procedure and i get a copy_to_sdcard folder but i'm not getting a copy_to_usb folder.
what did i do wrong?

EDIT: nevermind, i missed step in the modmii process.

 

[Cyan]

that guide is good, just remember to update modmii first
But I guess you did it, or you've got errors while downloading files.

the "copy to usb" is only generated if you plan to put the emuNAND folder on USB, in the contrary only files on SD will be needed.

 

[Shuli]

that guide is good, just remember to update modmii first
But I guess you did it, or you've got errors while downloading files.

the "copy to usb" is only generated if you plan to put the emuNAND folder on USB, in the contrary only files on SD will be needed.

Hi Cyan,
Im stuck trying to get neek to work.
Im trying to get it working with my current nand dump (the one i made with USBLoaderGX). this dump is located at USB:\nand
I do the Modmii process, copied the files it created to SD and USB respectively, go to settings=>features=>boot neek system menu, but all i get is black screen. i tried leaving it for 15 min but nothing.
I also tried starting neek with nswitch from homebrew, it says "Mounting USB........failed!..........and freezes at "Reloading bootmii IOS".
In case you're wondering, my hard drive is single primary FAT32 MBR partition.

 

[Cyan]

default path to NAND is "sd:/NAND/"
you need to edit the default path to point to USB in Settings > custom path > EmuNAND Channel.
you did that, right?

Maybe you misplaced a file, or forgot to copy one of them, or generated the wrong version of neek, or ... I don't know without a crystal ball, but there's certainly a step done wrong. if I know what is the problem, I'll be able to update the guide to make it easier.
could you give all your installed files paths? or take screenshots of your USB (neek and bootmii SD card's files are not needed at all if you use USBGX)


Using nswitch will fail at "reloading bootmii IOS" if you don't have bootmii installed as IOS (sounds logical, no?).
be sure you have it installed or just don't use nswitch or install bootmii IOS. note that Nswitch needs the SD files.

 

[GreyWolf]

neek2o r96 doesn't work right with "/nand/" at least from SD. It has to be in "/nands/<something>/".

 

[Shuli]

default path to NAND is "sd:/NAND/"
you need to edit the default path to point to USB in Settings > custom path > EmuNAND Channel.
you did that, right?

yes, this is set correctly. i have wiiware and vc games working with this emunand.
btw most guides i saw said to put the dump in USB:/nands/nand1/ i.e. two folders under root. does it matter that mine is one folder down?

Maybe you misplaced a file, or forgot to copy one of them, or generated the wrong version of neek, or ... I don't know without a crystal ball, but there's certainly a step done wrong. if I know what is the problem, I'll be able to update the guide to make it easier.
could you give all your installed files paths? or take screenshots of your USB (neek and bootmii SD card's files are not needed at all if you use USBGX)

i did the processs twice already so i dont think im missing any files but i will check again. i will also send you screenshots of folders when i get home.

Using nswitch will fail at "reloading bootmii IOS" if you don't have bootmii installed as IOS (sounds logical, no?).
be sure you have it installed or just don't use nswitch or install bootmii IOS. note that Nswitch needs the SD files.

I dont remember ever installing bootmii so its entirley possible i dont have it installed. but either way i shouldnt need it if im launching neek from USBLGX, right?

BTW, i have priiloader installed and set to boot straight into USBLGX. could this setup cause problems booting into neek?

 

[GreyWolf]

Move it to "/nands/" and it should work with both cIOS emuNAND and neek2o.

I just use "/nands/0/" to make sure the path is short.

 

[Cyan]

1)
it shouldn't matter if you use /nand/ or only one folder as long as you launch it from USBLoaderGX. the loader generates a nand config file with the path in that file.
if you launch neek for the first time with nswitch, it might be a problem as it expect a subfolder (like Greywolf said). So, maybe there is a bad generated config file ?

Maybe the loader incorrectly generated that config file. (I'm not 100% confident in my way of coding to generate that file)
look in sneek folder, or in emuNAND's folder and delete the bin files. (I forgot the filename, but it should be obvious, something like nandconfig.bin)

edit: and move the path to nands/subfolder/ that way you'll have less possible cause to your issue.

2) okay, just try previous idea and delete any existing config file first.

3) you are right, you don't need bootmii to launch neek if you use USBLoaderGX, though having bootmii is not a bad thing. it could be used to backup/restore NAND (even though it's rarely needed to restore it, but at least having a backup is a good idea).

4) having priiloader to boot directly into USBGX can create issues based on the way you launch it :
which dol did you install in priiloader's launch menu ?
USBGX boot.dol : very bad idea ! don't do that.
USBLoaderGX forwarder : semi bad idea. A lot of people are doing it that way, the fault for not having any other solutions for a long time.
USBLoaderGX channel launcher : this is the way you should to it. (thanks to greywolf for that dol!)

1. install the forwarder on your sys NAND
2. install the forwarder launcher in priiloader.



5)
I'm wondering if I should I change the default /nand/ to /nands/nand1/ ? it wouldn't hurt people not using neek, and would help the others.

 

[GreyWolf]

It's a bug in the SD code for neek2o. It doesn't recognize anything outside of the /nands/ folder and tries to use the card's root directory instead. That ends up with it trying create a new NAND filesystem and failing because most of the required files aren't found.

As far as I recall it does work from USB but I could be mistaken.

 

[Shuli]

finally figured it out. It was my hard drive.
As a last resort I decided to try a 64gb SanDisk diskonkey I had lying around. Neek booted almost instantly!
I also managed to get it working using my sdcard (stupid I didn't try that sooner). I'm actually thinking of keeping it on sd. Aside from the obvious limitation of the capacity of the sdcard, are there any other down sides to to having it on sdcard?

 

[GreyWolf]

finally figured it out. It was my hard drive.
As a last resort I decided to try a 64gb SanDisk diskonkey I had lying around. Neek booted almost instantly!
I also managed to get it working using my sdcard (stupid I didn't try that sooner). I'm actually thinking of keeping it on sd. Aside from the obvious limitation of the capacity of the sdcard, are there any other down sides to to having it on sdcard?

No disadvantages, really. In fact it can be better if you want your console to always boot into NEEK mode. It doesn't have to wait for a HDD to be ready.