Homebrew Misc I had to reinstall game Update Data due to error 160-0103. Should I be concerned about failing eMMC?

[robinfire110]

Hi there,

This is my first post here and first real look at the Wii U modding scene, so please forgive me if I don't entirely know what I am talking about. But first, let me explain how I ended up here just for context.

I recently had some friends over and we decided to play Nintendo Land. I turned on my system, booted into the game and went to start a match of Pikmin Adventure. However, right before the game started (when the miis do their little spin), it crashed and I got the cursed 160-0103 error. I had known that launch Deluxe Edition Wii Us like mine had started to fail, so I dreaded that something like this would happen. I immediately started doing research on the error code to see what I should. I started reading that it is likely a eMMC issue and that there were some ways of fixing it (or more accurately by passing the eMMC entirely using an SD card). However, most of the posts about that issue were talking about bricked systems and not really for getting the error mid-game. Which made me wonder if something else was happening.

Before thinking on that more however, I wanted to make sure I could backup my save data, so I plugged in a spare USB drive and started moving games and saves over. However, while most of them transferred without issue, some did not and would error out if I tried. This included Nintendo Land, which made me think that it all of the games that failed to transfer may be corrupted. Additionally, most of the games that didn't transfer were some of the earliest games I had for the system (most of which I haven't played in over 5 years if that more). Regardless, I copied over what I could and looked into the fix using redNAND with ISFShax as I felt it best fit my situation based on the Ultimate Wii U Troubleshooting Guide (which did mention getting the error midgame).

I started to go through the process of installing ISFShax. I decided it would probably be best to install Aroma and get ISFShax that way (I'll touch on this in a bit, but I'm not sure if this is correct), so I started to download Aroma. During that process, I did a backup of my NAND. Since moving stuff had failed when I tried earlier, I was expecting it to fail at some point there as well but it didn't, which I found interesting.

I've written a lot, and I appreciate it if you've read this far, but this is the important bit here. While the backup was going (it took a few hours), I kept doing research on the error and possible solutions. I saw one person say that reinstalling the Update Data for a game that's not working fixed it for them. So, once the update finished, I decided to try that just too see. Low and behold, Nintendo Land works fine now. I haven't tried doing the same for the other games that weren't transferring, but I would assume it would fix it there as well.

This leads me to my set of questions since I just don't really know what the best course of action is.

1. Should I be concerned about my eMMC currently failing/failing in the future?
My hesitance in this case is due to most of the reports about the failing eMMC seem to be mostly about bricked systems, when my seems to work just fine after I reinstall the Update Data. As I mentioned, all the games that didn't transfer to the USB stick were all from ~2015 and earlier. Anything after worked. And since I haven't really played those games extensively since that time, in my mind it's possible that something happened in 2015 to cause that update data to be corrupted and I just never knew about it. Again, I am oblivious to how the Wii U actually works and this could be completely wrong, I'm just basing this on my knowledge on other computer related things. If there is some reason why this is not possible, please let me know.

2. If this specific problem is not eMMC related, should I be concerned about a eMMC related problem in the future and what should I do about it?
I saw a few posts saying that if this hasn't happened to your system yet, it will most likely not happen at all. I find that hard to believe, so I figured I should ask directly. Is it better to get ahead of it and mod the system now to make it easier later if it fails? Quite honestly, I'd rather not mod this specific Wii U if possible (I like modding stuff, but I always prefer to have at least 1 untampered console). I was always planning on getting a second Wii U and modding it, so maybe it's time to finally do that?

3. If this is a sign of a failing eMMC, what should I do about it?
This is probably my most important question. I was really lost trying to figure out what to do because, as I've mentioned a few times now, most of the posts about fixing this issue are talking about bricked systems. I couldn't really find any clear guidance for a working system that just had the problem in a game. Do I need to fully mod the system first? Will I lose all my data? If so, how can I be sure to recover it? As detailed and useful as the guides for modding and exploits are, they can be really confusing if you aren't already familiar with how Wii U modding works, the different exploits and hacks and what they do etc. I was starting to download Aroma to then download ISFShax, but I have no idea if that is correct.

In summary, I don't know what really went wrong here and if I should be concerned. If I need to do something with exploits and modding, does anyone have any insight on my specific course of action given my situation (a working system that may need to use redNAND) in terms of what guides I need to follow and if I'll be able to keep my data. I'm just a confused on what I should do, so any guidance anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading my long post and for helping out!

 

[neverendsDull]

Just do something as cautious moves:

1. Check MLC manufacturer using WiiuIdent, not saying it is 100% safe if you are Toshiba or Samsung, but definitely you need to be alerted if you are Hynix.
2. Whatever the result is, backup all your saves using Savemii WUT port. Savegames are way more important to you than this old console.
3. Backup also the otp.bin and seeprom.bin, you will need them if you turn to RedNAND.

Just keep using it till it fails, you can do RedNAND before that but as long as you have saves backup regularly I think it is OK.

 

[robinfire110]

Just do something as cautious moves:

1. Check MLC manufacturer using WiiuIdent, not saying it is 100% safe if you are Toshiba or Samsung, but definitely you need to be alerted if you are Hynix.
2. Whatever the result is, backup all your saves using Savemii WUT port. Savegames are way more important to you than this old console.
3. Backup also the otp.bin and seeprom.bin, you will need them if you turn to RedNAND.

Just keep using it till it fails, you can do RedNAND before that but as long as you have saves backup regularly I think it is OK.

Thanks for the advice! My system isn't modded yet, but I was able to check the MLC manufacturer using UDPIH and it is a Hynix MLC. I also already did a backup with the opt.bin and seeprom.bin when I was trying to install Aroma earlier.

I can't use Savemii to backup my saves since my system isn't modded yet. Though, it's looking more likely that modding my Wii U is probably a good idea so I can have the homebrew tools available to me to make sure I don't lose any data. I'll probably do that soon, but I'll take your advice and not worry about RedNAND until it becomes an issue (and keep regular backups).

Thanks again!

 

[V10lator]

the Ultimate Wii U Troubleshooting Guide

Which was the only thing you needed and it answers all your questions. So instead of cross reading a million different things lets focus on that one. Let's esp. look at the section "Failing eMMC" and there at "Confirming using logs".

Now let's answer all your questions with this, should we?

1. Should I be concerned about my eMMC currently failing

The logs will tell you this. In case it is a failing eMMC then yes, you should be concerned.

2. If this specific problem is not eMMC related, should I be concerned about a eMMC related problem in the future

No.

3. If this is a sign of a failing eMMC, what should I do about it?

Replace it before the console corrupts so far it won't boot anymore (so no easy way to install ISFShax anymore).

 

[robinfire110]

Which was the only thing you needed and it answers all your questions. So instead of cross reading a million different things lets focus on that one. Let's esp. look at the section "Failing eMMC" and there at "Confirming using logs".

Now let's answer all your questions with this, should we?

The logs will tell you this. In case it is a failing eMMC then yes, you should be concerned.


No.


Replace it before the console corrupts so far it won't boot anymore (so no easy way to install ISFShax anymore).

Thanks for the information! I completely missed the "Confirming using logs" section of the guide, that's my bad. I checked the logs using UDPIH and I did find some that confirms the eMMC issue. With that in mind, I think I'm going to go ahead and replace it using redNAND and ISFShax.
This has been really helpful is steering me in the right direction. Thank you so much!

 

[SDIO]

That really smells like a eMMC problem. You probably just got lucky that so far only game files corrupted and non of the needed system files. If you had the media error in the logs or the mmc_core errors, then it's confirmed. If you are unsure about the logs you can also upload them (the whole folder as a zip) and we can take a look. Reinstalling games in that state is a bad idea, as it could cause a brick with every write.
Just follow the redNAND guide, it tells you what to do for every state the guide is applicable. You don't need to install Aroma before. Once the redNAND is setup you can setup Aroma like described in the ISFShax guide.

Also you wouldn't have needed UDPIH, if the Settings still work...

Just keep using it till it fails, you can do RedNAND before that but as long as you have saves backup regularly I think it is OK.

If there are already signs of a failing eMMC you should at least install ISFShax, else you might not be able to install it anymore if things get worse.

 

[robinfire110]

That really smells like a eMMC problem. You probably just got lucky that so far only game files corrupted and non of the needed system files. If you had the media error in the logs or the mmc_core errors, then it's confirmed. If you are unsure about the logs you can also upload them (the whole folder as a zip) and we can take a look. Reinstalling games in that state is a bad idea, as it could cause a brick with every write.
Just follow the redNAND guide, it tells you what to do for every state the guide is applicable. You don't need to install Aroma before. Once the redNAND is setup you can setup Aroma like described in the ISFShax guide.

Also you wouldn't have needed UDPIH, if the Settings still work...


If there are already signs of a failing eMMC you should at least install ISFShax, else you might not be able to install it anymore if things get worse.

Thanks for the reply (and for writing these guides!).
I wasn't looking at the logs before I wrote this (I missed that part in the troubleshooting guide). After checking, I had both Media Errors and Data Corruption Errors, almost one for one as what's in the guide, so I'm pretty confident now that it's an eMMC issue. As you say, I think I'm just lucky that it hasn't affected system stuff yet. In that sense, I'm very happy that I just happened to try and play Nintendo Land the other day and was able to catch this.

I went ahead and ordered a Max Endurance SD card so I can do the mod and hopefully it lasts for a long while. Just a quick question about redNAND. I am a bit confused about how it will leave me data wise. From what I can tell, it will practically factory reset the system with a new install on the SD card. If that's the case, how do I get my save data from my MLC to the redNAND without copying all the MLC data (and possible corruption) or modding beforehand and using SaveMii? I'm sure there's an answer, I'm just having trouble finding it and I want to make sure I'm able to save everything.

Thank you for your help and expertise!

 

[SDIO]

After you installed ISFShax you can use save Mii to backup your safes.
But you can also use the sysmount option described in the redNAND guide, which allows you to access the sysNAND while in redNAND and then use save Mii to get the saves.
It's possible that saves got corrupted, but that's not really something you can do anything about

 

[robinfire110]

After you installed ISFShax you can use save Mii to backup your safes.
But you can also use the sysmount option described in the redNAND guide, which allows you to access the sysNAND while in redNAND and then use save Mii to get the saves.
It's possible that saves got corrupted, but that's not really something you can do anything about

Got it. That's really great to know. I'll go ahead and do all that once the SD card arrives. I'll hopefully report back soon with a newly redNAND'd Wii U.
Thank you for the help!

 

[SDIO]

Even before you get the SD, you can already start by installing ISFShax. Once you get the SD, you just have to copy over the fw.img and the ios_plugins

 

[neverendsDull]

That really smells like a eMMC problem. You probably just got lucky that so far only game files corrupted and non of the needed system files. If you had the media error in the logs or the mmc_core errors, then it's confirmed. If you are unsure about the logs you can also upload them (the whole folder as a zip) and we can take a look. Reinstalling games in that state is a bad idea, as it could cause a brick with every write.
Just follow the redNAND guide, it tells you what to do for every state the guide is applicable. You don't need to install Aroma before. Once the redNAND is setup you can setup Aroma like described in the ISFShax guide.

Also you wouldn't have needed UDPIH, if the Settings still work...


If there are already signs of a failing eMMC you should at least install ISFShax, else you might not be able to install it anymore if things get worse.

Thanks for the correction. So you mean failing emmc can prevent installing of ISFShax? Isn't it installed on SLC while most failed emmc are on MLC?

 

[V10lator]

So you mean failing emmc can prevent installing of ISFShax?

Yes. It's Not about where to install ISFShax to but how to install it (entry point). As I said earlier:

before the console corrupts so far it won't boot anymore (so no easy way to install ISFShax anymore).

In other words, what SDIO and me try to tell you is that your eMMC can and will corrupt more over time. This will sooner or later hit system files which are needed to boot. Also UDPIH relies onto the eMMC so at some point in time you won't even be able to use UDPIH anymore. You want to have ISFShax installed before that cause after that your only options will be ISFShax (catch-22 if not installed already) or de_fuse (a lot of SMD soldering work, needs a 2 GB or less SD card and so on).

In even more simple words: Nobody is able to predict when and what file or folder corrupts next on the damaged eMMC, so you want to install ISFShax ASAP on this ticking time bomb.

 

[robinfire110]

Even before you get the SD, you can already start by installing ISFShax. Once you get the SD, you just have to copy over the fw.img and the ios_plugins

Hello again.
The SD card came in and I started to go through the guide, but I did have one question.

When it comes to partitioning the card, the NTFS portion needs to be at least 8GB, but how big should the FAT32 partition be? In other words, what would you recommend as the minimum size for that partition. I saw the note earlier in the guide about having enough to download homebrew and dump games from discs, but how much space would you reasonably recommend. I have a 64GB card, is a 32/32GB split for each reasonable or is that far too much for the FAT32 side? I just don't have a reference for how much space those things take.
Thanks!

 

[SDIO]

Check what size the biggest game has that you have, use that as the size for the FAT32 partition (with a litle spare) and use the rest for MLC (the NTFS partition)

 

[robinfire110]

Check what size the biggest game has that you have, use that as the size for the FAT32 partition (with a litle spare) and use the rest for MLC (the NTFS partition)

Thanks for the advice. I got everything set up and it's working well. The trick of accessing the MLC as a USB device worked perfectly to backup my saves. Everything is working perfectly and I'm really happy to have this fixed.
Thank you for your help and for creating the guide!