Hacking Chiip Opensource Modchip

[kle89]

Hi guys, i have a problem that i hope someone can help me out with? Before i was able to program the atmega a bunch of times with the programmer successfully. However today when i tried to flash it , i got an error saying device not recognized and for me to check the connections. I did that and double checked that the programmer was all in tact. I tried again, same deal so i tried programming with the other computers, same problem

. In the end i just stuck the chip into the wii to see if it worked. and it didn't . Did the chip die or is there a way to restore it? much help appreciated.

 

[Fatal]

Hi guys, i have a problem that i hope someone can help me out with? Before i was able to program the atmega a bunch of times with the programmer successfully. However today when i tried to flash it , i got an error saying device not recognized and for me to check the connections. I did that and double checked that the programmer was all in tact. I tried again, same deal so i tried programming with the other computers, same problem

. In the end i just stuck the chip into the wii to see if it worked. and it didn't . Did the chip die or is there a way to restore it? much help appreciated.

Did you put it in the programmer the right way?

 

[RobertsD]

Also make sure that you try to reinstall the giveo driver(or whatever it is called) and see if that works.

Also do what fatal said.

 

[TheVirus]

Thanks a lot. That really helps. One more question though.

How do you solder wires/resistors/led/capacitor to a chip? Is it the same as soldering wires to a point on the wii's dvd drive?

Since the points are bigger and precision truly doesn't matter, you can glob solder everywhere, especially when connecting the 5 resistors to the capactior. The DSub has tubes on the back end for the wires to go in. Just tin the wires and shove it in the holes and apply more solder. The pogrammer is extremely easy to make, just follow the instructions and look at the user pics. When I did it, I soldered everything to the DSub first and then connected it to the IC Socket.

So i can just heat up the lines on the socket and apply solder like normal, except its even easier because you can just stick lots of solder on there and it won't really matter, as in it's not as sensitive/easy to break as the motherboard?

Yeah, the programmer isn't heat sensitive and the points aren't close together. You can be as reckless as you want with the programmer. The one I built is ugly as shit but it works. Once you get the parts together for the programmer, you'll realize how easy it is to build.

 

[orb_nsc]

Radioshack carries all the parts needed (except the Atmel chip). You can get the Atmel chip for free from Atmel, just order a few samples. I ordered 8 a week ago and I haven't seem them yet, but my friend already built the Chiip for me.

This is brilliant! I was looking to get a couple extra Atmel chips, I never thought I could get them for free! Thanks for the tip. Incidentally, which Atmel ATMEGA chip order number did you use for the free sample form?

 

[TheVirus]

Part_Number_1 : ATMega 8 PDIP28

I have no idea if that's the right one or not. I asked my friend who ordered his and he said it's correct. The chip I have is 'ATmega8L-8PU'. I have no idea if that's what I ordered, so you're better off putting ATmega8L-8PU on the request.

 

[Takrin]

any atmega8 series should work

 

[quadomatic]

http://www.atmel.com/forms/Samples.asp?family_id=607

Thats the sample request page right? Don't you have to be a company or something to request them? Any tips?

I don't think I'd bother with samples. It's only $3-ish anyways. I'll just buy it.

 

[quadomatic]

how far away is upgrading via DVD? I'm trying to figure out whether or not I want to install the Chiip directly or to use the TSSP. I don't know if I want to use the TSSP, because that requires more soldering, and I have no experience, but at the same time, I don't want to constantly screw and unscrew the Wii.

 

[RobertsD]

There is a user on the openwii forums that is working on updating via dvd, this could then be applied to the chiip firmare. Although I personally like the Openwii firmware better then the Chiip firmware, since it basically does the same thing, in addition to it also have the the regionfree(70%).

 

[TheVirus]

Chiip should be upgraded via DVD with no additional wires. Right now, it's the best bet. The Atmega chips offer more flash storage than the PICs and I think a lot of open source modders are going to start using these chips more than the PICs.

 

[blueskies]

If you want a quick and dirty solution for now, just run the wires through the fan holes, and solder the socket outside of the wii. If you trim the wires and tape them down, nothing moves and it's out of the way, and you can update easily.

 

[Fatal]

31.03.2007, 11:56 CET

First of all:
A new Chiip version is out: Beta 6, available in the Download section.

Changes to beta 5:

  * 6x DVD speed - no more stuttering videos
   (can be switched to 2x to reduce noise using an easy trick: start a game, return to the Wii menu and start the game again)
  * Improved DVD+RW media acceptance
  * Improved fault tolerance
   (chip automatically resets if something wents wrong during the disc login - simply wait until the LED turns back on again)
  * Improved code

Beta 6 is just a "public test version" though, there will probably be a new one very soon. I expect it to not work properly for everyone, especially on D2B drives. I really need some feedback from people with D2B drives! And what I actually need most is someone with a D2B drive and a DVDTool compatible cable that would run one little DVDTool command for me. Please send an email to chiip(AT)trashmail(DOT)net if you can help!

There will be a new version with Wii and Gamecube region free soon.


Now for some important other news:
You've probably realized that there was no update for over two weeks. Not only was I really busy the last few weeks, I was also undecided if I should really continue the Chiip firmware development at all. As you see I have decided to do so, but meanwhile I've realized one thing:

The decision that Chiip shouldn't be truly, undelayed open source was a stupid one. I simply do not have the time and resources to handle something like Chiip & implement new features all alone, at least not with the same speed as a commercial project like OpenWii (which recently seems to more and more turn into being ClosedWii).

So instead of simply stopping Chiip firmware development, I want to turn Chiip into something really community-based. I simply don't want to be about the only one behind Chiip, I want to reduce my Chiip involvement and let others play a bigger part.

First of all, I will soon publish Chiip under THE free software open source license, GPL. Btw, one side effect of using the GPL license will be that commercial uses will be allowed then - so to all the modchip installation stores that kept asking me for permission to install Chiip firmware into customer consoles etc.: You will soon be allowed to do so. And without paying any fees at all! Publishing under the GPL license will happen as soon as

  * someone with a D2B drive and DVDTool cable has contacted me

and

  * a version is reported to work about as fine as Beta 5

Since being open source doesn't necessarily mean others will be able to add new interesting features (if you've had a look at the OpenWii or WiiFree source you'll know what I mean - it's all just reads/writes to cryptic memory addresses), I will publish as much background information as possible to let others really comprehend what's being done and enable them to find new features by themselves. The Chiip source has always been organized to work with DVDTool compatible cables as well, which means that you can develop using C on a normal PC running Linux/Windows - and for testing, you don't need to flash a microcontroller, you can run the code directly on your PC. Your PC only needs to be connected to your Wii with a simple parallel port cable. Once you're finished, a simple recompile should automatically produce versions that run on all supported microcontrollers.

Furthermore there will be forum soon. It's a big mistake that there is none yet.


To sum it up: Chiip now desperatly needs more people being involved, a real team behind it. So if you think you could help in any way or even take over some part of Chiip, please send me a mail!

For example, Chiip needs...

  * People who have experience with Gamecube homebrew development
  * People who have DVDTool compatible cables
  * People with coding experience who could improve/port the code etc.
  * People who have some knowledge of the DVD controller internals
  * People who will test new firmware versions on different region/different chipset/different firmware version Wiis (there will soon be a form that you can use to apply as a firmware tester)
  * People who could improve the Wiki in any way - for example by correcting spelling errors, managing certain pages like the user pics/shopping cart recommendations/pages about different microcontrollers etc.

Please, send a mail to chiip(AT)trashmail(DOT)net if you think you can help!

Looks like Cadex has re-released beta 6. He also has decided to release Chiip under GPL.

 

[quadomatic]

31.03.2007, 11:56 CET

First of all:
A new Chiip version is out: Beta 6, available in the Download section.

Changes to beta 5:

  * 6x DVD speed - no more stuttering videos
   (can be switched to 2x to reduce noise using an easy trick: start a game, return to the Wii menu and start the game again)
  * Improved DVD+RW media acceptance
  * Improved fault tolerance
   (chip automatically resets if something wents wrong during the disc login - simply wait until the LED turns back on again)
  * Improved code

Beta 6 is just a "public test version" though, there will probably be a new one very soon. I expect it to not work properly for everyone, especially on D2B drives. I really need some feedback from people with D2B drives! And what I actually need most is someone with a D2B drive and a DVDTool compatible cable that would run one little DVDTool command for me. Please send an email to chiip(AT)trashmail(DOT)net if you can help!

There will be a new version with Wii and Gamecube region free soon.


Now for some important other news:
You've probably realized that there was no update for over two weeks. Not only was I really busy the last few weeks, I was also undecided if I should really continue the Chiip firmware development at all. As you see I have decided to do so, but meanwhile I've realized one thing:

The decision that Chiip shouldn't be truly, undelayed open source was a stupid one. I simply do not have the time and resources to handle something like Chiip & implement new features all alone, at least not with the same speed as a commercial project like OpenWii (which recently seems to more and more turn into being ClosedWii).

So instead of simply stopping Chiip firmware development, I want to turn Chiip into something really community-based. I simply don't want to be about the only one behind Chiip, I want to reduce my Chiip involvement and let others play a bigger part.

First of all, I will soon publish Chiip under THE free software open source license, GPL. Btw, one side effect of using the GPL license will be that commercial uses will be allowed then - so to all the modchip installation stores that kept asking me for permission to install Chiip firmware into customer consoles etc.: You will soon be allowed to do so. And without paying any fees at all! Publishing under the GPL license will happen as soon as

  * someone with a D2B drive and DVDTool cable has contacted me

and

  * a version is reported to work about as fine as Beta 5

Since being open source doesn't necessarily mean others will be able to add new interesting features (if you've had a look at the OpenWii or WiiFree source you'll know what I mean - it's all just reads/writes to cryptic memory addresses), I will publish as much background information as possible to let others really comprehend what's being done and enable them to find new features by themselves. The Chiip source has always been organized to work with DVDTool compatible cables as well, which means that you can develop using C on a normal PC running Linux/Windows - and for testing, you don't need to flash a microcontroller, you can run the code directly on your PC. Your PC only needs to be connected to your Wii with a simple parallel port cable. Once you're finished, a simple recompile should automatically produce versions that run on all supported microcontrollers.

Furthermore there will be forum soon. It's a big mistake that there is none yet.


To sum it up: Chiip now desperatly needs more people being involved, a real team behind it. So if you think you could help in any way or even take over some part of Chiip, please send me a mail!

For example, Chiip needs...

  * People who have experience with Gamecube homebrew development
  * People who have DVDTool compatible cables
  * People with coding experience who could improve/port the code etc.
  * People who have some knowledge of the DVD controller internals
  * People who will test new firmware versions on different region/different chipset/different firmware version Wiis (there will soon be a form that you can use to apply as a firmware tester)
  * People who could improve the Wiki in any way - for example by correcting spelling errors, managing certain pages like the user pics/shopping cart recommendations/pages about different microcontrollers etc.

Please, send a mail to chiip(AT)trashmail(DOT)net if you think you can help!
Looks like Cadex has re-released beta 6. He also has decided to release Chiip under GPL.

That post made me feel warm and fuzzy inside

 

[Perplexer]

Looks like Cadex has re-released beta 6. He also has decided to release Chiip under GPL.

Long live Chiip!

 

[TheVirus]

I think when OpenWii releases their next firmware, I'll flash that. They already offer what Chiip does and they seem to be more dedicated and competent with this. I think this will be Chiip's last release.

 

[zosh]

I think when OpenWii releases their next firmware, I'll flash that. They already offer what Chiip does and they seem to be more dedicated and competent with this.
Feel free to think that. But as far as current firmwares (Chiip b6, OpenWii 2.0.1) are concerned, when comparing the functions both have, Chiip's firmware works better.

I have examined the OpenWii code and while it does its job it is neither very well structured nor well documented. Part of the reason for this might be the limited capabilities of some of the chips it is intended to run on. And it clearly has some shortcomings. I.E. they initialize the drive twice to patch it, Chiip does without the additional clicking which always made me a little uneasy.

Granted, for the time being, Cadex is the only one to work on the project. But when he's releasing it into the wild, I guess we'll see a lot of activity on the project. The Chiip hardware basis is much more powerful and convenient than all the other chips OpenWii has to support due to its legacy.

QUOTEI think this will be Chiip's last release.

I disagree. If Cadex wanted to halt development, he would have done so with beta5.

 

[TheVirus]

Well, OpenWii is open source and they're still asking for help. I doubt a lot of people are suddenly going to show up and start working on the Chiip when it comes out. I can't attest to anything for the OpenWii as I havent' flashed it, but I doubt the people on their team are going to go over and work on Chiip or, at the very least, use some of Chiip's code.

 

[mikeosoft]

whose to say that people who work on open wii wouldnt also take a shot on chiip and vice-versa. i mean we've all heard it before, the future of dvd drive chipping lies in the atmega due to its bigger storage and its wide rage of options as far as what it can do. i view the openwii vs. chiip firmware as a godsend; because now we have some hole-hearted competition which usually translates to new features.

 

[zosh]

Well, OpenWii is open source and they're still asking for help. I doubt a lot of people are suddenly going to show up and start working on the Chiip when it comes out.

Hardware and code differences aside, don't think of the two projects as rivals. With both source codes being public they are bound to become allies. Neither project can "hide" their findings and so they will influence each other.

And, on a personal sidenote: It's about damn time. The different projects (Chiip, OpenWii, WiiFree, ModCheap) have achieved so much and yet they have successfully prevented the greater common development by keeping their "secrets" locked up. (And worse, insulting the other projects.) When it comes to free and open source projects, such a behaviour is quite immature. I hope they have realized that the fame lies within their public effort, not within their secrets.