Hacking I have a few problems and some questions

[ayojoe]

Help would be very appreciated, I have a few minor problems and questions. Info is in my sig (in order).

1. I'm not sure if I'm able to install WADs since I haven't tried, I used this guide. Later in the topic he states that the Comex's IOS35 downgrader doesn't really downgrade, it only makes the version lower so you can install that separate IOS35.wad (which I did). My question is, am I all set to go with my trucha-bugged IOS35 that I installed and am I safe to install VC/WiiWare WADs (on IOS249 right)? By the way I upgraded that CIOSv7.wad to CIOS36rev10 by running it's .dol

2. From what I've done in #1, I still can't load channels from the Gecko Channel Loader even though my IOS35 is supposedly trucha-bugged and downgraded, could someone tell me why?

3. Game disc updates. I eventually want to buy The Conduit and Punch-Out yet they have these updates. I don't want to keep having to load them in Gecko, and I don't want to install Preloader, but I don't want to lose my ability to install WADs (if I can), and maybe in the future do some game backups (as an alternative to renting, I do really buy games I like). For example, my friend had to re-downgrade his IOS35 to install WADs after he took a chance with installing NPC Mario Power Tennis Game Disc Update.

Also, I want to be able to install cMIOS for GC backups too (I repeat just to try, and then buy), yet I hear Conduit has a MIOS update on it's disc. I heard that I CAN'T install the Conduit update and then cMIOS because cMIOS is based off an older version of MIOS. Is there any workaround I could do?

4. This isn't much of a hacking question but my Mario Kart Channel cannot download MK Channel Tournament events. I recently used someone's Power Save to restore my file (since my Wii bricked from old age of flash memory) through Data Management and now I only receive the MK Mail, not the actual tournament. How do I fix this without using the Savegame Installer/Extractor method?

 

[nabster92]

As long as you have cIOS you should be able to install wads and stuff fine (USING IOS249 not on it.) with wad manager 1.4. I suppose using IOS35 would work as well since that would have the trucha bug on it as well, but just use IOS249 by convention.

As for the Gecko Channel Loader...I'm not sure what that is and what it's purpose is. I only know of GeckoOS to load games with ocarina or out of region games or to skip updates on normal games. Pretty much the only reason to get the trucha bug is to be able to use it to install a cios though which is then used for pretty much everything else.

Don't update from game discs and you won't lose anything. If you're that set on not getting preloader then use startpatch (assuming you're on 4.0) to enable the skip update check hack. As for conduit's MIOS update, again, don't update and you won't have any problems anyways.

And for MK I'm not really sure about that either, but I vaguely recall hearing they were like discontinuing support for that or something so that may just be a problem with Nintendo just not doing it anymore rather than an actual problem. Not sure on that though.

 

[ayojoe]

As long as you have cIOS you should be able to install wads and stuff fine (USING IOS249 not on it.) with wad manager 1.4. I suppose using IOS35 would work as well since that would have the trucha bug on it as well, but just use IOS249 by convention.

As for the Gecko Channel Loader...I'm not sure what that is and what it's purpose is. I only know of GeckoOS to load games with ocarina or out of region games or to skip updates on normal games. Pretty much the only reason to get the trucha bug is to be able to use it to install a cios though which is then used for pretty much everything else.

Don't update from game discs and you won't lose anything. If you're that set on not getting preloader then use startpatch (assuming you're on 4.0) to enable the skip update check hack. As for conduit's MIOS update, again, don't update and you won't have any problems anyways.

And for MK I'm not really sure about that either, but I vaguely recall hearing they were like discontinuing support for that or something so that may just be a problem with Nintendo just not doing it anymore rather than an actual problem. Not sure on that though.

Thanks for the quick response. Thanks for answering my WAD question. Gecko 1.9.1. has the ability to load channels on your Wii, that includes being able to do cheat codes with VC/WiiWare games. But for some reason I get the "Error Loading Channel List" message, even though my IOS35 is downgraded.

Is StartPatch safe? What about if I want to reverse a patch from it. Like say a game comes out that needs the update to work, can I reverse the "block updates" and is this safe/healthy for the Wii?

The MK Channel is up and running with Tournaments (newly added one today) but I can't receive them. I know it's because I used someone else's save, but I don't know how to fix it without clearing my file and getting a whole new FC. Keep in mind this save was never online nor had a locked/previous friend code.

So if someone could continue help me with problems other than #1, please refer to my first post

 

[nabster92]

Well if a game needs something else to work there are ways to get what it needs without using the update on the disc itself. At best it would need some IOS or something which can always be manually installed through a wad or something. I'm pretty sure at least preloader hacks can be removed via NANDclean, and if Startpatch doesn't have some method to remove it otherwise NANDclean should work for that as well. But if you're really that paranoid about doing that to your Wii, since your sig seems to say you have a launch Wii (although a launch Wii being LU57 is kinda weird, normally launch Wii's are like LU10 or something like mine) you should be able to install bootmii to boot2. Since you already installed HBC 1.0.3 and DVDx there's no reason for you to have skipped bootmii. Just run that hackmii installer again (can be through the HBC doesn't have to use bannerbomb again) and install bootmii to boot2 and as an IOS if you want, but boot2 is the important one. The IOS version will basically just let you also open the bootmii menu from the HBC and not just when the Wii starts.

It's safe to use as it's made by the team who originally made the HBC in the first place and they are confident enough to bring up that hackmii installer automatically for people with older HBC versions when they are prompted to update it. In fact it will only make your Wii MORE safe from anything else that could go wrong. And if you really don't want it afterwards it's uninstalled just as easily as it's installed through the hackmii installer.

Just install that and use it to make a NAND backup (needs a GC controller or the power and reset buttons on the Wii, wiimote's won't work.) With that NAND backup at that point, ANYTHING you do from then on can be completely reverted to exactly as it was at that point including completely screwing your Wii up by deleting every IOS and the system menu (not advising this though). As long as boot2 isn't touched (which pretty much won't be by anything other than the hackmii installer) you can restore that nand.bin.

Once you back that up you can edit the config.ini file in the bootmii folder on your sd card and have it autoboot to the HBC or the normal system menu either directly or after a few seconds depending on what you set for BOOTDELAY. Or you can just rename the bootmii folder to something else and it will just skip it anyways and load the system menu normally. Then renaming it back will give you access to it again.

Also note that if you ever do want to restore that nand.bin backup that you make that it will also revert any save files back to that point as well so back any progress you make in those up first before doing it if you can.

 

[ayojoe]

Yeah I plan on installing BootMii as a boot2 soon. How long does it take on average to backup the NAND, and restore the NAND? Also, could you explain more on how to make BootMii autoboot or not? My friend just takes the bootmii files off of his SD Card to make it not boot.

Could someone help with my "Error Loading Channel List" situation in Gecko Channel Loading?

 

[nabster92]

It takes about 5-10 minutes to backup and verify your nand (don't skip the verification, it will make it not work)

As for autobooting bootmii. When the files are put on your sd card during the installation, it will be in a bootmii folder and have 3 files in the folder. One of the files is called config.ini. I believe there is some application or something that is even more intuitive called like the bootmii configuration editor or something like that, but it's really not complicated to begin with. Just open that config.ini in some text editor like textpad or something and there will be 3 lines that don't start with a # sign. The ones that do are just comments that don't affect anything.

The first of the 3 uncommented lines has to do with the video mode so just set that to whatever option you need for your TV out of the ones listed in the comments. Then the next uncommented line will be AUTOBOOT=SYSMENU or something like that. If that has a # sign in front of it, delete the pound sign and it will autoboot to the system menu on startup, you can also change SYSMENU to HBC and it will autoboot to the homebrew channel instead. Then the last line should be BOOTDELAY=5 or something. That is how many seconds it will stay at the bootmii menu before autobooting to what you set it to above if you don't press anything on a GC controller or on the Wii face buttons while it's on the menu.

Mine is set to:
AUTOBOOT=HBC
BOOTDELAY=2

If you want it to directly boot to the HBC or system menu you can make bootdelay=0 or as your friend does, just take the bootmii folder off the card you use and it will skip anything involving it and just boot to the system menu.

I have mine set to 2 seconds just so that I don't have to change anything on my configuration if I ever do happen to need to use bootmii for something.

 

[ayojoe]

Ah ok, thanks for the info. Could you also clear up some confusion on why I had to use comex's dvdx installer to downgrade IOS35 and then install IOS35.wad (which is supposedly labeled as trucha-bug patched). Most people just mention about just "downgrading" and not reinstalling like I had to. My purpose was for WADs on a clean 4.0U Wii.

 

[nabster92]

Everything basically revolves around being able to install cIOS on your Wii. A while back when like 3.4 and such was the most recent firmware, in order to get the trucha bug back on your system you were able to just directly install an IOS16 that had it in it and then use a custom wad manager that ran off of IOS16 (before wad manager 1.4 obviously) to install some older cios in wad form to IOS249 (much like that ciosv7.wad you installed on yours but it was cios_fix.wad at the time) and then install a normal cios rev7 or rev8 installer or whatever it was at the time through the HBC.

Then when 4.0 came out directly installing older versions of IOS's was blocked so installing IOS16 no longer was viable. Then after some time comex came out with that tool to "downgrade" IOS35 which basically just did something to it to allow you to install an older version of it (with the trucha bug intact) while it's generally only mentioned to need to downgrade IOS35, installing the older version as well is implied as just doing that downgrade doesn't really do anything to it yet. Most any actual guide that you look at should say you need to install that version of IOS35 after downgrading it with comex's tool. Anything else with people just saying generally what you have to do is just paraphrasing that.

Even more recently however after 4.0 came out, there came along these LU64+ type Wii's which are basically Wii's bought this year. These Wii's were blocked from even downgrading IOS's and trying to do so would result in basically killing whatever you tried to downgrade. As such this comex's downgrading of IOS35 does not work on recent Wii's. Then came along something called cboot2 which is something that can be run using bootmii as an IOS which I believe basically runs a custom wad manager through MINI that uses a simple IOS that you put on your SD card with the trucha bug to install a cIOS wad(that is above rev11). This method works for LU64+ type Wii's (and any other Wii at that).

Now even MORE recently WiiPower released his Trucha Bug Restorer app which does something sorta similar to comex's IOS35 downgrader, but does it some way to downgrade IOS15 which then lets you load the app again and run off of that IOS15 to install an IOS36 with the trucha bug to IOS36 so you can even use preloader on LU64+ Wii's, after that you would run the app again and have it restore IOS15 to normal and then run the cios rev13 installer using IOS36 to install your cIOS. This app also works on LU64+ Wii's and therefore ANY Wii that is currently out at the moment on any firmware.

 

[ayojoe]

Okay, now I finally know that I am trucha-bug enabled without any confusion. I thought I did something wrong by installing the IOS35.wad but whatever. My CIOS36rev10.dol overwrote my old CIOSv7.wad (installed using IOS35) right? Just making sure.