Warning

Use this at your own risk. Messing with the isfs superblocks is dangerous and can brick your Wii U. Make sure to make a SLC backup before installing isfshax. If something goes wrong, you will need defuse to restore this backup. The superblock linked here was tested and confirmed working. Installing an broken superblock will brick your Wii U.
Also while ISFShax is installed standby services and with that the quick start menu won't work. (Your Wii U will hang once you turn it off till you remove power if standby services are enabled).
Also keep in mind: if you are restoring an old SLC backup, which was taken before installing ISFShax, ISFShax will remove by restoring that backup.

To protect against Nintendo pushing a boot1 update (very unlikely, but you newer know), which would brick a console with ISFShax, system updates get blocked by the wafel_isfshax_patch.ipx plugin. If you need to do a system update, you can use the v1.0 of said plugin, which doesn't contain the update block. Game updates are not affected.

Update

04.04.2024 - Add Fastboot
13.03.2024 - System updates now get blocked by the wafel_isfshax_patch.ipx plugin.
29.12.2023 - Standby Services are now supported. For that to work you need to have the latests ISFShax superblock installed and need to use the latest minute fw.img and wafel_core.ipx. Also autoboot needs to be enabled.

What is this for?

ISFShax exploits boot1 with specially crafted ISFS (the filesystem of the SLC) superblock. Once it is installed ISFShax provides similar capabilities to defuse once it is installed. Since it launches before IOSU, so it can be used to apply early patches to IOSU and can be used to fix most bricks. But it won't protect you of bricks caused by: breaking boot1, seeprom bricks or installing a broken ISFShax superblock. ISFShax also doesn't help you if you already bricked the Wii U.
Usecases are:

• Rebuilding / upgrading the MLC
• Removing 64GB MLC limit and disabling SCFM
• Brick protection (e.g. before doing region change)
• Cold booting redNAND (useful when when the eMMC is failing)
• It gives a minimal CFW, which can launch old homebrew using the homebrew launcher (not sure how usefull since we have Aroma and Tiramisu)
• Stop the Wii U from turning the Tablet on during boot (using a stroopwafel plugin)

Choosing the Exploit

There are multiple ways to launch the ISFShax installer:
If you already have Tiramisu or Aroma installed and can launch it follow the Instructions for [Tiramisu]
If the Browser still works and you can launch the browser exploit u.wiidb.de follow the Instructions for [Browser]
If you can't access the Browser, but Settings still work follow Instructions for [DNSpresso]
If you your Wii U crashes in the initial setup on Mii creation follow Instructions for [DNSpresso]
If your Wii U can't launch the browser anymore or can't connect to the internet follow the Instructions for [UDPIH]
Steps without a prefix apply to all.

Preparing the SD card

Make sure the SD card is formatted FAT32 (already the case if you are using it for Tiramisu). You can use guiformat for that.

Get the following files and put them in the root of the SD. Choose the release tagged with "Latest" for each.

1. ISFShax installer (ios.img) from https://github.com/isfshax/isfshax_installer/releases
2. ISFShax superblock.img and superblock.img.sha from https://github.com/isfshax/isfshax/releases
3. Put the stroopwafel wafel_core.ipx from https://github.com/jan-hofmeier/stroopwafel/releases in wiiu/ios_plugins
4. Put the wafel_isfshax_patch.ipx stroopwafel plugin from https://github.com/isfshax/wafel_isfshax_patch/releases in wiiu/ios_plugins
5. [Tiramisu | Browser | DNSpresso] minute fw_encrypted.img from https://github.com/jan-hofmeier/minute_minute/releases and rename to fw.img
6. [Browser | DNSpresso] fw_img_payload from https://github.com/wiiu-env/fw_img_payload/releases extract the zip and put the wiiu folder, containing the payload.elf on the SD
7. [DNSpresso] Extract the root.rpx from https://github.com/wiiu-env/PayloadFromRPX/releases and rename it to launch.rpx and place it in the root of the SD card
8. [UDPIH] minute fw.img and boot1.img from https://github.com/jan-hofmeier/minute_minute/releases
9. [UDPIH] recovery_menu from https://github.com/jan-hofmeier/recovery_menu/releases

The structure on the SD should look like this:

boot1.img (only for UDPIH)
fw.img
ios.img
recovery_menu   (only for UDPIH)
superblock.img
superblock.img.sha
wiiu
    ios_plugins
         wafel_core.ipx
         wafel_isfshax_patch.ipx

Launching into minute

This step heavily depends on the used Exploit.

Spoiler: Tiramisu

1. Hold B on the Gamepad while booting (if coldboot is enabled) or launching the H&S app
2. A black and white menu should show up asking you to choose a payload.
3. Select fw_img_loader

Spoiler: Browser

1. Open the Browser and browse to u.wiidb.de
2. Click on "HAXX"

Spoiler: DNSpresso

If you can a access the settings just follow these instructions (you already have the right files on the SD): https://gbatemp.net/threads/dnspresso-a-wii-u-dns-exploit.642123/
If you are stuck on the Mii creation in the Inital setup:

1. If you already connected your Wii U to your AP / Router, turn the AP / Router or the Wifi on it off.
2. When the setup asks you if you already have a NNID, say yes (even if you don't have one)
3. Now it tries to connect to the Internet, but will fail and ask you to take you back to the Wifi settings, follow back to thge settings.
4. Turn your Router / AP on again and give it time to start.
5. If you don't already have your Wifi configured there, connect to it now, but enter a wrong password.
6. Edit your wifi connection and configure 85.215.57.182 as Primary DNS, if you entered a wrong password before set the right one now.
7. Press (B) Back and select Connection Test.

Spoiler: UDPIH

1. Load the recovery using UDPIH: https://gbatemp.net/threads/udpih-usb-host-stack-exploit-recovery-menu.613369/ (don't replace the recovery_menu)
2. Unplug the Pico
3. select the "Load BOOT1 payload" and proceed. (If you don't have screen output: 18x eject, 1x power, 1 eject, 1 power)

Now you should see the minute main menu. If not something went wrong, make sure you have the correct fw.img file on the SD.
In minute you move the cursor with the power button and enter with the eject button (swapped compared to the recovery menu).

Note minute only outputs 1080p through HDMI, no picture on the gamepad, and nothing on the analog outputs.
Some people reported that the screen output is not working for them when minute was loaded from the recovery. If you made sure nothing else is the problem (right fw.img, TV supports 1080p HDMI), you can still follow along blindly by pressing the approriate buttons. Make sure to wait long enough between the presses, so the system has time to load. Without display output skip the first backup and go directly to Installing ISFShax.

Backup

1. Navigate to Backup and Restore
2. Dump SEEPROM & OTP
3. Dump SLC.RAW
4. Return to Main Menu

Installing ISFShax

1. Choose Boot `ios.img` (5x Power, 1x Eject)
2. Now the ISFShax installer should launch (this takes a few seconds)
3. Follow the Instructions on the screen, the buttons are the same as in minute. (3x Eject, 1x Power, 3x Eject)
4. The console should now turn off.
5. [Tiramisu | Browser | DNSpresso] replace the (encrypted) fw.img on the SD with the fw.img (NOT the encrypted one) from https://github.com/jan-hofmeier/minute_minute/releases
6. If the install was successfull the Wii U should directly start into minute once you turn it on again.

Backup ISFShax

Dump the SLC.RAW again. This will overwrite the previous SLC.RAW file on the SD. This is required if you need to restore the SLC for unbricking, without loosing ISFShax. Keep that backup in a safe place.

Booting

If you came here from the redNAND or the MLC rebuild tutorial continue with that tutorial now.

For now your Wii U needs the SD card to boot. From there it loads minute (fw.img), which then applies the required patches from SD card. (IOSU needs to be patched, so it doesn't fall over the ISFShax superblock).
To boot into the Wii U OS select Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc)

Aroma / Tiramisu

1. To install Aroma or Tiramisu put the corresponding files on the SD.
   Tiramisu: https://tiramisu.foryour.cafe/
   Aroma: https://aroma.foryour.cafe/ (You don't need to have install Tiramisu to have Aroma, also the FTPiiU plugin will become handy later)
2. Put the wafel_payloader.ipx in the ios_plugins folder https://github.com/jan-hofmeier/wafel_payloader/releases
3. Put the root.rpx from PayloadFromRPX in the wiiu folder on the SD https://github.com/wiiu-env/PayloadFromRPX/releases

Note: if you are already coldbooting Tiramisu / Aroma via the PayloadLoaderInstaller, you have to disable the coldboot in the PayloaderLoaderInstaller first. For more detailed instructions on this, see this post by ZaMaster: https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-set-up-isfshax.642258/post-10343876

Booting without SD

This step is optional but highly recommended. Now the Wii U doesn't show anything on the screen without the SD. That could lead to confusion if the SD ever gets lost or corrupts.
To make it from the internal memory we need to install the minute fw.img and the ios_plugins to the SLC. This can be accomplished using FTPiiU Everywhere, which can be launched from Tiramisu and is already part of the Aroma Package (enable Everywhere in the settings) or you can use the haxcopy homebrew https://github.com/mackieks/haxcopy/releases
Using haxcopy is recommended for most users, but if you copy a wrong plugin to the slc or need to delete one for whatever reason you still have to use FTP for that.

Spoiler: haxcopy

1. create a folder hax on the SD card (this will be copied to the slc)
2. copy the fw.img to the hax folder
3. create a subfolder ios_plugins in the hax folder
4. rename the wafel_core.ipx to 0core.ipx and copy it to the hax/ios_plugins folder
5. rename the wafel_isfshax_patch.ipx to 6isfshax.ipx and copy it to the hax/ios_plugins folder
6. if you want to coldboot aroma or tiramisu, rename the wafel_payloader.ipx to 9payldr.ipx and copy it to the hax/ios_plugins folder
7. If you need any other plugins like the wafel_unlimit.ipx, you have to rename and copy it to the hax/ios_plugins folder
8. Copy the haxcopy app to the wiiu/apps folder (like you usually install homebrew)
9. Put the SD in the Wii U and run haxcopy to copy the hax folder to the slc.

Spoiler: FTP

On Aroma you have to make sure access to system files is enabled:

1. Open the Aroma Plugin Configuration Menu using L + Down + SELECT (-) on the GamePad or Pro Controller (or B + Down + Minus (-) for WiiMotes)
2. Open the FTPiiU option, then settings and set ‘Allow access to system files’ to ‘true’ by pressing A

Uploading the files:

1. (Tiramisu only) Make sure FTPiiU Everywhere is running on the Wii U
2. Using a FTP client on the PC browse to /storage_slc/
3. If you see a scfm.img file and sys folder go into the sys folder. If you see a bunch of folders (config import logs proc rights security title tmp) just go to the next step.
4. create a subfolder hax and enter it
5. Make sure your FTP client is in binary mode (not ASCII mode)
6. upload the minute fw.img to the /storage_slc/sys/hax folder
7. create another subfolder ios_plugins in /storage_slc/sys/hax
8. enter that /storage_slc/sys/hax/ios_plugins folder
9. rename the wafel_core.ipx to 0core.ipx and upload it
10. rename the wafel_isfshax_patch.ipx to 6isfshax.ipx and upload it
11. if you want to coldboot aroma or tiramisu, rename the wafel_payloader.ipx to 9payldr.ipx and upload it
12. If you need other plugins like the wafel_unlimit.ipx, you have to rename and upload them too

Now the Wii U should autoboot if no SD card is inserted.
If a SD card is inserted the minute menu should show up (even if the SD doesn't contain a fw.img). In that menu you can select the Patch (slc) and boot IOS (slc) to load the plugins from the slc and boot (no need to have them on the SD anymore).

The Wii U will first try to load the fw.img from the SLC and if that fails it falls back to the SD.
If you installed a broken fw.img which doesn't load, you can force isfshax to load the fw.img from sd by repeatly pressing power till the menu shows up.

Warning: A factory reset will delete the hax folder. Without the fw.img on the SD the Wii U will then just have a black screen with a orange LED

Optional Autobooting with SD

To make the Wii U autoboot with an SD card inserted you need to create the file sd:/minute/minute.ini with the following content:

[boot]
autoboot=1
autoboot_timeout=3

You can adjust the timeout (in seconds) to your liking. The autoboot option specifies which entry from the minute menu will be loaded. 1 corresponds to Patch (slc) and boot IOS (slc), which loads the ios_plugins from the SLC. If you haven't installed them to the SLC or want to load them from the sd for another reason you can change that value to 3 which corresponds to Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc)

As an Alternative check out the Fastboot option below.

Optional: Fastbooting (Advanced)

To make the Wii U boot as fast as possible, without showing minute, you can now use the fw_fastboot.img. This won't work with redNAND
It is hardcoded to go straight to the first option (booting the slc, with patches from SLC). It won't display anything and ignore any autoboot configuration in the minute.ini.

1. First make sure the system can boot using the first option in minute. (see booting without SD)
2. Replace the the fw.img in the hax folder on the SLC with the fw_fastboot.img (renamed to fw.img)

In case you ever get stuck and need to load the full minute from SD you can do this:

1. Place the minute fw.img on the SD card
2. repeatedly press the power button until the minute menu shows up on the screen.

Uninstalling ISFShax

DON'T just restore an older SLC backup, as that would break SCFM!

• Make sure your Wii U doesn't depend on any patches (linke wafel_unlimit_mlc.ipx or redNAND). You can check that by booting with only the wafel_core.ipx and the wafel_isfshax_ipx plugins in the ios_plugins directory on the SD and using the Patch (sd) and boot IOS (slc) option
• Delete the /storage_slc/sys/hax folder if you set up the slc booting
• run the ISFShax installer again from minute and follow the on screen instructions to uninstall.

Credits

• @rw-r-r_0644 for finding and implementing isfshax
• @GaryOderNichts and ashquarky for their direct contributions and help
• @vgmoose for all the support and for the Wii U that replaced the one Idestroyed during early isfshax testing
• @Maschell for his help and all other contributions to the Wii U scene
• hexkyz for the warmboot boot1 exploit which made all of this possible
• @shinyquagsire23 for de_Fuse, minute and stroopwafel
• Salt Team for the original minute CFW
• dimok789, FIX94 and others for the iosuhax CFW
• fail0verflow for mini
• and all other contributors to the Wii U scene!

 

[Ysecond]

Nice!

 

[shigal777]

Thanks for the guide! Booting without SD did not work for me at first (for me there is no "sys" folder in "storage_slc"). I tried creating the path but it didn't do anything. When I put the "hax" folder directly in "storage_slc" that fixed my issue

 

[SDIO]

Thanks for the guide! Booting without SD did not work for me at first (for me there is no "sys" folder in "storage_slc"). I tried creating the path but it didn't do anything. When I put the "hax" folder directly in "storage_slc" that fixed my issue

Then your version of FTPiiU probably used the /vol/system where did you get the FTPiiU from and which Homebrew Environment are you running?

 

[emmanu888]

So this is very similar to what BootMii did for the Wii?

 

[SDIO]

So this is very similar to what BootMii did for the Wii?

Kind of. But BootMii had no real downside. With ISFShax, you loose the standby services, add a few seconds to the bootime and always run a pached firmware.
I guess a few seconds could be shaved off by not going through minute, but using a minimal fw.img loader with a prepatched fw.img, like the original ISFShax, but that would add another special case to the tutorial, which would make things more complicated and doesn't support the primary use case I intended, which is either using it to boot redNAND or use it to rebuild the MLC

 

[shigal777]

Then your version of FTPiiU probably used the /vol/system where did you get the FTPiiU from and which Homebrew Environment are you running?

I'm using the version from consolemods dot org (I'm not allowed to share links yet )
I am running Tiramisu. I previously had CBHC, I uninstalled it before getting Tiramisu and doing this.

 

[a_username_that_isnt_cool]

Kind of. But BootMii had no real downside. With ISFShax, you loose the standby services, add a few seconds to the bootime and always run a pached firmware.
I guess a few seconds could be shaved off by not going through minute, but using a minimal fw.img loader with a prepatched fw.img, like the original ISFShax, but that would add another special case to the tutorial, which would make things more complicated and doesn't support the primary use case I intended, which is either using it to boot redNAND or use it to rebuild the MLC

BootMii had an (incredibly low) chance to brick your wii

 

[SDIO]

BootMii had an (incredibly low) chance to brick your wii

same could happen with ISFShax. We did our best that it doesn't happen, but you never know. A small residual risk is always there.

 

[Barracuda]

How can I get the key for MLCRestorer?

 

[SDIO]

put the otp.bin you find on your SD in the same directory as the MLC Restorer Downloader

 

[sirjman]

Edit - I had a bad SD.

 

[nikeymikey]

What is this for exactly? Do I need it if I have a fully working Aroma setup?

 

[SDIO]

What is this for exactly? Do I need it if I have a fully working Aroma setup?

No you don't need it for Aroma.
If you don't know what you need it for, then you probably don't need it. It is mostly useful do deal with NAND problems or to install it as a brick protection if you do something risky.

For the general user the only useful thing I could Imagine is using it to patch IOSU to not turn on the gamepad on boot. But I think going through all the hassle just for that isn't worth it, if there is also PadCon

 

[XDeltaOne]

No you don't need it for Aroma.
If you don't know what you need it for, then you probably don't need it. It is mostly useful do deal with NAND problems or to install it as a brick protection if you do something risky.

For the general user the only useful thing I could Imagine is using it to patch IOSU to not turn on the gamepad on boot. But I think going through all the hassle just for that isn't worth it, if there is also PadCon

Can Aroma installed in Rednand?

 

[SDIO]

Yes, Aroma and Tiramisu work as usual (and you don't even need sigpatches, as that is already done by stroopwafel)

 

[eof07]

Hey, after installing isfshax minute_minute no longer displays on the tv. i assume its still loading as the wiiu power indicated is purple. is there a fix? if not is there any images i could use for reference to blindly navigate the menu?

 

[SDIO]

Make sure you have the right fw.img file on the SD. The one wich is NOT encrypted

 

[nikeymikey]

No you don't need it for Aroma.
If you don't know what you need it for, then you probably don't need it. It is mostly useful do deal with NAND problems or to install it as a brick protection if you do something risky.

For the general user the only useful thing I could Imagine is using it to patch IOSU to not turn on the gamepad on boot. But I think going through all the hassle just for that isn't worth it, if there is also PadCon

Ok, thanks for the info. Great work either way mate

 

[fvig2001]

I can't seem to get booting without SD to work. Like when I boot into Patch (slc) and boot IOS (slc) and use FTP app, the folder and files are already there. I replace them and when I turn it on without the card, it orange lights.