Hacking How to get backups loading without a modchip

[WiiPower]

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First of all: You need the Homebrew Channel, if you don't have it already OPEN YOUR EYES!
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Requirements:
1 Wii
1 SD card
1 PC with sd card reading/writing device
backups

1. How to execute Wii homebrew applications like the cios_installer, Gamma loader or WAD Manger:
You need .dol files to execute applications in the HBC. If you got an app and you can't see a .dol file, make sure your file browser shows file extensions. Just go to /apps/ on your sd card and create a folder for each app, rename the .dol to boot.dol and place it into this folder. For gamma for example you should have /apps/Gamma/boot.dol on you sd card. The name of the folder doesn't matter. If you got a meta.xml and icon.png, place the files in the folder too(these files are only optional).
If you start the HBC with your sd card inserted you should see your apps and you should be able to start them, if not check the above steps and your download source.

Only execute .dol files, it's possible to run channel version for nearly everything, but with channels you always have the chance to brick your wii.

2. Get the original Gamma package
You can get it here:
http://gbatemp.net/?act=module&module=...member=WiiGator
You need both the cios_installer and the loader
READ WIIGATOR'S README, THIS SHOULD ANSWER A LOT OF QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU ASK THEM

3. Run the cios_installer
Unplug all gamecube and usb hardware before you start the installer. If you get an error, check which firmware you have, if you are at 3.4 or higher you need to downgrade in order to get backups running. If you are at 3.3 it could be possible you got some random error as there are 2 different versions of the 3.3 firmware, but in most cases you need to downgrade with this firmware too. If you are at 3.2 or lower and you get an error during cIOS installation something is wrong. If you chose online installation(this is the default) check your wifi connection (DON'T UPDATE!) and if you chose offline installion check the files on your sd card you downloaded for this.
If you don't know how to downgrade, OPEN YOUR EYES!

4. Run Gamma and have fun
You may need to remove your gamecube memory cards if you get an error in Gamma.



How it works, some basics:
Every application executed on the Wii, games are just applications too, uses a IOS as kind of firmware or operation system to handle the communication between the app and the Wii hardware. If you start a game from the disc channel, the disc channel reads the tmd from the disc and looks there which IOS the game wants. Then it loads this IOS and starts the game. If you want to run a backup without a modchip, you want the game to run with a custom IOS (cIOS), which is modified to allow reading of backups. Both Gamma and SoftChip just do this, load the backup cIOS and start the game. Standard location to install a cIOS to is IOS249, because there isn't a IOS249 from nintendo(yet) and you don't overwrite a nintendo IOS with this.
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Burning tips:
In most cases, just burn the .iso you backed up as image file in your preferred burning software. ImgBurn and Nero seem to do a great job for this. I don't want to recommend the "best" burning speed here, there are too many opposite opinions about that. Just choose one burning speed and if you get reading errors, then try another.

DVD-R:
Use 4x,8x,12x or 16x burning speed. Only use a higher speed if your burner and your media both support it.

DVD+R:
This is a little more complicated, you need to set the booktype to DVD-ROM if you use DVD+Rs. Search the net for booktype and/or bitsetting, there are lots of sites in the internet where this is explained.
Use 2.4x,4x,8x,12x or 16 burning speed. Only use a higher speed if your burner and your media both support it.

Verification can be useful, but only in one direction: If it fails, trash your DVD-R. If it succeeds, this means exactly nothing.

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If you have Gamma running, you can look around for SoftChip, channels, Gamma with 002 fix or whatever. Important: Before you install ANY channel (other than the HBC) you need to protect yourself against bricks:
Get Starfall, enable the autoboot and the recovery disc option, ALWAYS KEEP the twilight hack installed and test at least once if the autoboot works and you are able to execute the boot.dol from the root of your sd card with the twilight hack. Starfall requires 3.2 firmare, so maybe you need to down/upgrade for it. There are lots of guides about all this stuff around, just look for them.

 

[Sorox]

And why did you post this?
Edit: Im not trying to be mean. sorry if it does sound mean though.

 

[WiiPower]

And why did you post this?
Edit: Im not trying to be mean. sorry if it does sound mean though.

Because every day there are 2-3 new topics from noobs which don't know anything. That's basically not a problem, but noobs get bombed with channel versions for every s... I want to provide a source where a noob can learn how to run backups without installing channels as it's THE safe way to do it. And i hope a noob reading this will understand more than he does when he follows one of the noob guides. A noob which followed a noob guide still doesn't know anything.

 

[djdynamite123]

Too true that WiiPower should be stickied!

 

[noobwarrior7]

my guide is all channels and works fine...zero bricks with a couple thousand satisfied customers....plus if people are prepared for banner bricks they aren't dangerous at all. it's a fine (slightly more advanced) way to do it that you have suggested, but the blanket statement that wads are dangerous is faulty.

PS: I even tried ripping the power out while installing my wads on a spare wii.

results varied from still worked fine, to appeared in menu but code dump, to didnt appear in menu.....thats about it.

 

[WiiPower]

my guide is all channels and works fine...zero bricks with a couple thousand satisfied customers....plus if people are prepared for banner bricks they aren't dangerous at all. it's a fine (slightly more advanced) way to do it that you have suggested, but the blanket statement that wads are dangerous is faulty.

If a noob was clever and didn't upgrade, it would be nice if he gets the information that he only needs the cios_installer and loader as .dol, and has everything done in less than 5 minutes, without messing around with upgrading/downgrading, Starfall and channels. It just the clean, easy and secure way to do it.

You are right, channels aren't dangerous in general, but lots of guides with channels for everything imply indirectly that this is the way it has to be done, and that's not correct. I have seen too many noobs thinking they need a channel version of the loader and everything, they didn't even know how to run .dols THAT'S ABSOLUTELY STUPID!

 

[Sorox]

Now that i think about it, how come a tut for gamma hasnt been stickied yet?

 

[WiiPower]

Now that i think about it, how come a tut for gamma hasnt been stickied yet?

I think it's because of the Thread of Guides.

Hmm, i think i will stop answering noob questions which would be answered by reading this thread.

 

[medafor]

"DVD+R:
This is a little more complicated, you need to set the booktype to DVD-ROM if you use DVD+Rs. Search the net for booktype and/or bitsetting, there are lots of sites in the internet where this is explained.
Use 2.4x,4x,8x,12x or 16 burning speed. Only use a higher speed if your burner and your media both support it."

THIS IS A MYTH, I bought a 10 pck of DVD+R and burned 10 iso's with IMGBURN, all worked flawless. I have a DMS WII DRIVE.

 

[WiiPower]

"DVD+R:
This is a little more complicated, you need to set the booktype to DVD-ROM if you use DVD+Rs. Search the net for booktype and/or bitsetting, there are lots of sites in the internet where this is explained.
Use 2.4x,4x,8x,12x or 16 burning speed. Only use a higher speed if your burner and your media both support it."

THIS IS A MYTH, I bought a 10 pck of DVD+R and burned 10 iso's with IMGBURN, all worked flawless. I have a DMS WII DRIVE.

Hmm, i don't have a modchip and i burned 2 DVD+Rs without bitsetting and they did not work. ALL other DVD+Rs i burned with bitsetting worked.

Either you have a modchip, your burner does the bitsetting automatically or there are games which don't need the bitsetting for DVD+Rs.

 

[kulmair]

"DVD+R:
This is a little more complicated, you need to set the booktype to DVD-ROM if you use DVD+Rs. Search the net for booktype and/or bitsetting, there are lots of sites in the internet where this is explained.
Use 2.4x,4x,8x,12x or 16 burning speed. Only use a higher speed if your burner and your media both support it."

THIS IS A MYTH, I bought a 10 pck of DVD+R and burned 10 iso's with IMGBURN, all worked flawless. I have a DMS WII DRIVE.

Hi WiiPower,
Sorry, I opened my eyes but still need to ask you a basic question..how can I downgrade from firmware 3.4E to a lower version(3.2?). I am having problems having any cIOS installer run successfully on 3.4. I tried Wiigator, PatchMii & Waninkoko's cIOS stuff without success.
Any pointers in the right direction will be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[WiiPower]

This is the downgrade thread:
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=112945

somebody really should rename it.