Hacking GC Backups Not Loading from USB

Artine

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Hello all! Thank you for having me here!

As the title states, I'm having some great difficulty getting Gamecube backups to play through, well, anything. To put it simply, the issue is that whenever I try to load a Gamecube backup through USB Loader GX, it simply gives up and immediately returns the Wii to the Homebrew channel without hesitation. It only worked one time, and with USB Loader GX, and now it never does. This is the case with or without a Wii, or Gamecube, disc in the Wii. When attempting to load a backup through the DIOS-MIOS bootloader, the screen simply goes - and stays - black indefinitely, with or without a Wii or GC disc in the Wii. This also happens with WiiFlow.

DIOS-MIOS is installed - before installing it through MMM or Waninkoko's WAD Manager, USB Loader GX did not report anything about DIOS-MIOS in its settings. After installing DIOS-MIOS v2.10 (not Lite), the settings regarding it show up. Pimp My Wii reports there being no cMIOS installed whatsoever, even after installing DIOS-MIOS through it. Further, I can't play retail GC discs normally at all (screen goes black through the default 4.3u Wii System Menu), after "installing" (because it may or may not have, given what Pimp My Wii says). My IOSes are all updated otherwise, with the ones that need to be Trucha signed are apparently signed. I can play GC retail discs if I NAND flash back to my backup made with bootmii immediately after beginning my Homebrew venture.

To get Homebrew and Bootmii on my Wii, I initially followed the Complete Softmod Guide, then later tried Letterbomb after this, for whatever reason, refused to work. Still no dice.

Wii games play absolutely, 100% perfectly in USB Loader GX, and save fine too, all on the default settings. They are all GAMEID.iso backups. GC backups will not show up in USB Loader GX if they are named game.iso and stored in /games/ on my USB (which is formatted to 32k). Rather, to get them to appear, they must be in the /wbfs/ folder with my Wii backups for them to show up at all (yes, even after altering the path settings for GC games to be listed under /games/, they still don't appear unless in the same parent folder as the Wii backups). My USB Loader GX version is the r1218_mod01 build, specifically because that build supports DIOS-MIOS and loading from a USB (which, again, works perfect for Wii games, but refuses to for GC backups, despite that being what DIOS-MIOS is for).

I also have Priiloader, and Region Free Everything (tried GC-specific too) set, and d2x revision 8 installed to base 249, 250, and 251, on 56, 57, and 58 respectively. I've also tried changing individual game, and loader global, settings like forcing NTSC-U or English language, and 480p, TV patches, etc., to no avail. Nothing even tries to load GC backups, whereas the Wii backups work fine. They install and copy over to the USB with no trouble, and I have tried reformatting both my SD and my USB with fresh copies of the backups and loaders.

To recap/TL;DR:
1. Wii games work fine on my USB, in the slot closest to the side of the Wii (like it's supposed to be), and save perfectly.
2. The Wii is a Black Wii, with bootmii installed as an IOS rather than boot2 (because that was the only option).
3. GC Backups won't work at all, despite having DIOS MIOS installed.
4. I've tried different loaders to no avail, except a single time in which a GC backup could be played early on.
5. Since then, it has not worked - selecting the games pulled up a black screen, trying to 'start' them results in an immediate and indefinite black screen (unless using USB Loader GX, which immediately returns me to the HBC).
6. GC retail discs don't work with DIOS-MIOS v2.10 installed.
7. I have Wii System Menu 4.3u.
8. The GC backups are NTSC-U, like my Wii.
9. All of my IOSes appear to be updated, with the appropriate ones Trucha signed.
10. Priiloader is set to Region Free Everything. I've tried having that GC-specific as well, to no avail.
11. USB Loader GX is using the beta build r1218_mod01 specifically because of its USB support to work with DIOS-MIOS.
11. I am NOT using DIOS-MIOS Lite.
12. My USB is formatted to 32k cluster size.
13. I've tried loader-wide and game-specific settings, such as Force-NTSC, 480p, and various TV/Video patches, to no avail.
14. I've tried reformatting both my SD and USB, just in case that may be the issue. No dice.
15. I've tried re-doing everything through using Letterbomb and various guides online, some calling for specalized WADs that also did nothing.
16. I'd be more than willing to zip a complete copy of my SD for someone to look at if it would help.
17. If you need anymore information, I'd be happy to provide it.

With so much information out there that is vastly outdated and/or completely disorganized with regard to Wii Homebrew and loading GC Backups from a USB, can someone provide me with an accurate, up to date, step-by-step guide (or a link to such a guide that I may have missed), from beginning to end, to get GC backups to play from a USB (not SD)? I've been more or less pulling my hair out with the sheer number of guides that are supposed to make this work, but simply don't. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. What am I doing wrong here, and where are the most recent updates (gammas, betas, alphas, even pre-alpha) for all of these Homebrew apps we need to get things running?
 

KongsNutz

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Make sure you have the newest USB Loader GX and DMios 2.X if you have, inside UBLGX there are settings for GameCube in the main settings (Not per game) make sure you set all the Dios Mios (Not Lite) settings correctly. If you can see the games from your USB inside GX there should be no reason for them not to boot as long as everything is correct settings and latest versions.
 

Artine

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Thank you. As far as I know, and have been able to find, for USBLGX r1218_mod01 is the latest version. That is what I have been using, in addition to DIOS MIOS 2.10 (the newest I could find, coming from the Google code page). Any suggestions on the settings within USBLGX? I've tried using different settings there, too, and no dice. Good to know everything should be fine though! That means (hopefully) I'm not too far off!
 

KongsNutz

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Some other things of note since you have all latest stuff:

  • Is your USB Stick (HDD) formatted in fat32 with 32 clusters? (You can use Panasonic SD formatter for that even though it's usb)
  • Did you shrink the .iso into a smaller format? Best not to!
  • Have you tried more than 1 game?
NOTE: You must have the GC iso's in /games on your USB or they will not work.
You can change the path USB Loader GX looks for them using the main settings (Customs Paths)
 

Artine

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Good to know that I do have the most recent updates. *phew*

The USB is indeed formatted with 32kb clusters.
I have not compressed the .iso of either game (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition), and have tried both games.
 

KongsNutz

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I added a NOTE to my last post!!

Have you got your games in /games on the usb like this?

/games/Metroid Prime/game.iso

You must have the folder before the game.iso, so for example.

USB/games/Paper Mario/game.iso

Tell your USB Loader Gx to look for GC games in the USB/games folder using the custom paths option in settings.

Make sure that GC Method is set to Dios Mios in the Loader Settings category.
 

Artine

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I see the note now. As mentioned in the OP, I tried having them in the /games/ root directory on the USB. When I did that, and told USBLGX that the GC backups were there, none of the GC backups showed up. They only show up if I throw them in the /wbfs/ directory, not in /games/, even after changing the loader settings to the /games/ directory for GC backups. I thought this was weird, considering how it's mentioned everywhere that they need to be the /games/ directory.

As for the nomenclature, they are indeed labeled "game.iso" in their respective directories titled for the games themselves. e.g. USB/wbfs (because /games doesn't work)/Paper Mario GAMEID/game.iso

As for the GC method, I get the choices between MIOS, Nintendont, and Devolution. I have it set to MIOS.
 

KongsNutz

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Ah, I see well try deleting the game ID from the folder as it isn't 100% needed.

so games/Paper Mario/game.iso, tell Usb Loader GX to again look in USB/games and see what happens?
If this doesn't work I will boot mine and see what the options should be.

Also do not load GX from a forwarder, try it straight from HBC if you are not.

P.s Dios Mios will only boot games from the /games folder.

---UPDATE---

Looking at mine, make sure that you choose Main Path for your GameCube source and not Main Path SD in loader settings under gamecube.

Boot method MIOS (Default and Customs) is correct.
 

KongsNutz

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Double Post I know but whatevs (Needed to distinguish this one)

Here are my settings:

  • Games are on USB/games under their own folder, eg, usb1/games/Time Splitters 2/game.iso
USB LOADER GX SETTINGS:
  • Boot Method = Mios (Default or Custom)
  • Source = Main (Not SD Main)
  • Custom path set for Main Gamecube = usb1/games
All other options such as widescreen hack or whatever are default off.
 

Artine

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Tried removing the GAMEID from the folder names for the GC backups, and told USBLGX to again look at USB/games/, and the GC games don't show up to select and Start, but the Wii games appear fine and can be started. I have tried both with and without the forwarded channel to load USBLGX, no dice either way (so I've been loading it from HBC since then).

That's a conundrum in and of itself: if the games are in /games/, they don't show up (the folders for the games show up when setting that path, but the games themselves do not appear in the main GUI and cannot be Started), and if they are in /wbfs/ with the Wii backups, they show up fine but can't be Started because DIOS MIOS will only boot them from the /games/ folder.

Also, Main Path is set for the GC source, not SD. Thank you for checking what you have set.
 

KongsNutz

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Try clicking the little thing on the top row of USB loader GX now that all the settings are right and make sure GC Games is selected, if it is, deselect and reselect that.

It's the icon that looks like a file structure type thing.
 

Artine

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A-ha! The Loader Type menu? That seems to have been the missing piece of info I needed to getting this all to work. I never saw that mentioned anywhere before, and everything seems to work perfectly now - I can see and load the GC backups I made. Thank you!! :)
 

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