Hacking Homebrew channel, Wad manager and Wiiware

[Grimm]

I understand that .wad files of Wiiware software can be installed from an sd card to a Wii by using the Homebrew Channel to load Wad Manager.

Supposing someone were to attempt this, as i'm sure its been done time and time again, what are the risks involved and how can they be minimized?

 

[blitzer320]

the risk only come when you are downloading the wad off the internet because someone could make a wad that could make you wii load up an atari 2600 emulator ever time you push the power button the best defence is to get bootmii and/or preloader and keep a copy of your system nand on file just in case
or to bypass all of that buy your wiiware games from nintendo if this all seems like its too risky

 

[zektor]

Good question. Download your Wiiware from reliable sources. Use "Offlinelist" and a reputable dat to check the downloaded wads. Risks could be extreme...as in bricking your console. If you have the ability to perform nand backups, do it. If you cannot install bootmii as boot2, at least get preloader in there. That is about the best you can do

 

[Grimm]

So there is a way to check if the .wad you have downloaded is safe or not?

I hate to say this, as I went ahead with the Twilight hack/HBC install on my own, but I don't really know anything about hacking Wii. How do Bootmii and Preloader work and how do I go about installing them?

 

[Szalkow]

So there is a way to check if the .wad you have downloaded is safe or not?

I hate to say this, as I went ahead with the Twilight hack/HBC install on my own, but I don't really know anything about hacking Wii. How do Bootmii and Preloader work and how do I go about installing them?

Installing HBC is an important first step, so if you got through that you're well on your way.

You can grab Bootmii's installer from bootmii.org and run it from the homebrew channel. Try to install as Boot2 if possible, IOS if you can't. I wouldn't recommend Preloader until you're comfortable with modding your Wii, but if you can only use Bootmii IOS then you should probably install it too to provide brick protection.

Once you have some form of BootMii, make a NAND backup. You can then roll back any time you mess something up. If a wad bricks something, it's usually just as effective (and quicker) to uninstall the wad using the original WAD file in the WAD manager.

There's no real way to check .wads that I know of, but if you have brick protection then the risks are nil.

 

[Grimm]

So Bootmii will allow me to make a backup of the Wii software, kind of like a system restore point on a computer? Is that saved to the SD card so I can reboot it from there or is it saved to the Wii memory like a system restore point?

You're saying that if I install a .wad that bricks a part of my Wii but I can still get to HBC then I should be able to fix it by uninstalling the bad .wad through Wad Manager, right?

 

[Szalkow]

So Bootmii will allow me to make a backup of the Wii software, kind of like a system restore point on a computer? Is that saved to the SD card so I can reboot it from there or is it saved to the Wii memory like a system restore point?

You're saying that if I install a .wad that bricks a part of my Wii but I can still get to HBC then I should be able to fix it by uninstalling the bad .wad through Wad Manager, right?

1. Yes. It's saved on the SD card and takes 515-540MB (keep that space free). If you're smart and have room on your computer, you can maintain several savestates by copying the backup to your computer and noting what that backup had (system menu, hacks, etc). Making another backup with a backup already on your card will simply overwrite it, which is fine if you're perfectly happy with your Wii but you won't have any way to go back to different save points. Also, remember that restoring backups restores everything, including savefiles, so back up regularly if you want to keep your game progress safe.

2. In general, yes. As long as it's not a WAD which goes and overwrites IOSes left and right (which, if it's a malicious bad wad, it might be). If it's a wad you don't trust, it's probably better to rollback since I've known folks who installed a wad which overwrote IOS60 and then uninstalled it, ruining their system menu and preloader. Uninstalling via Wad Manager is simply faster and more convenient if it's a wad you packed yourself that didn't work.

 

[xzxero]

it will create a file called nand.bin on your sd card. that is your backup.
treasure it with your life!

aha no but store it somewhere safe.

If you install a bad wad, you can't access your system menu and need preloaded to boot hbc or wad manager to uninstall the wad

but be careful with system menu or IOS wads as those can remove preloader and leave you with a $250 brick

 

[Grimm]

Ok, So step 1 for preventative maintenance is installing Bootmii and backing up my NAND and step 2 is installing Preloader. Where is the safest place to get both of these files and information on installing them properly?

 

[szaim]

Let me jump in here as another newbie. If you cannot install Bootmii as boot2, then you are forced to install it as an IOS and Bootmii as an IOS is pretty much useless as far as brick protection goes.