Is redNAND still possible to install? I want this to be an option in case something bad happens to my Wii U NAND lik it corrupting or something

[Jediweirdo]

While my Wii U is fine, I've been scarred by many horror stories like NAND corruption... and I would love to have some kind of protection against this in case it ever starts to occur. After doing some searching, I found out about redNAND, where you can boot the entirety of the Wii U on a SD card (that really says something about how good the hardware is on the Wii U)... but the latest tutorials I've seen of anyone doing it was from late 2016-early 2017 leading me to the conclusion of the fact that it has indeed been patched. Is this true? And while I'm at it, are there any good tips I should know about future-proofing (I already have a full NAND backup as well as the 4 important files backed up to the cloud so no need to worry about that)?


For anyone who stumbled upon this thread looking to answer the same question I did, here's the TL;DR:

1. Using CBHC + Mocha instead of using IOS hacks AND using a NAND backup checker in order to make sure that you aren't missing any critical files will minimize the chances of the redNAND bricking. (guide for that can be found here)

2. For NAND extraction, try using the NAND extractor found here for the SLC, SLCCMPT, and OPT as well as something called wfs-extractor for your MLC and SEEPROM files

3. Depending on how bad NAND corruption is, you might be able to do the switch to redNAND before the corruption gets too bad. But if you use IOS hacks, good luck with that

4. Unless you're really paranoid (like me), redNAND really isn't that good of a deal to switch to because you can't use the vWii. Maybe in emergency situations, but it might just be better to stay in sysNAND for now

 

[PalindromicBreadLoaf]

It is completely possible to do so currently, but not really recommended. vWii doesn't work, and everything will be slightly slower to load. Really, as long as you are mildly safe with your WiiU, you'll be fine. However, if you want to do it, it's not hard at all to install. Here's a good guide for it:
https://github.com/FlimFlam69/WiiUTutorial/wiki/4:-Installing-redNAND-with-Mocha-CFW

 

[Jediweirdo]

Good to know-- if I ever run into any trouble with my Wii U, I'll be sure to use it. Also just out of curiosity, if you converted Wii titles into VC titles, would it still work on redNAND?

 

[PalindromicBreadLoaf]

No, I don't believe so, as those still boot into vWii mode before starting.

 

[Jediweirdo]

Ohhhh, I see. My dumb butt didn't read the instructions clearly and thought that you could still use the vWii in that matter. Thanks for all the help!

 

[godreborn]

there are several reports of people's rednands becoming corrupted, possibly due to the fact that the original nand dumper is missing parts, so the entire nand isn't dumped. mlc is fine, but slc and slcmpt are not. I don't know if that's the reason the vwii doesn't work or it's just the nature of this iosu hack.

 

[Jediweirdo]

... That's good to know. I'll be sure to try this NAND checker/Partial NAND dump fixer thing before I do anything. After that, it's up to the IOSU hack gods to help me

 

[godreborn]

I don't know if you can get nand fixer to work, because rednand is seen as unallocated memory.

 

[Jediweirdo]

Really? I just saw that it could make redNAND flashable and thought it would be OK, but now that I'm looking more into it, it could just be implying that you could flash redNAND to the actual NAND while your hardmodding. At least I'll be able to use the NAND checker so I can make sure it wasn't a problem from my end. I'm not really planning on actually doing redNAND anyway, and I just wanted to make sure I had a backup plan in case my sysNAND decided to make the jump off the bridge into corruptionland (because god knows I don't have the soldering skills needed to actually hardmod).

 

[godreborn]

I have an idea. if you get cbhc, you might be able to load rednand via mocha. I don't know if it's still unallocated or not with mocha, but in case the real nand gets corrupted, it may be a safety net. it's unlikely to happen though. real nand is really the best option.

 

[godreborn]

btw, you can dump the rednand from the sd card with sdio. then, you could theoretically use nand fixer, but I don't know how you'd get it back to unallocated memory, which is a problem.

 

[Jediweirdo]

Yeah, I'm aware that the sysNAND is the best option; I just wanted to have a backup in case I need to reflash the NAND with the non-existent soldering tools/skills I own. But it is good to know that I can just use CBHC + Mocha instead of the riskier IOSU hacks option. Thanks for the help, and holy jeebus I see you everywhere

 

[PalindromicBreadLoaf]

If you just want the backup, it's much more recommended to use WiiUNANDDumper to dump the entire NAND, as it'll be much more complete, as opposed to RedNAND's minimalistic approach.

 

[godreborn]

just tested it. nandfixer works with rednand (just need the otp.bin as well):

 

[godreborn]

yeah, the rednand dumper doesn't dump the otp.bin or seeprom.bin, so you'd have to get them with other dump, so might as well use that one anyway.

 

[Jediweirdo]

Holy mother of-- that was fast!

it's much more recommended to use WiiUNANDDumper to dump the entire NAND

Yeah, I used that when I originally homebrewed my Wii U. Got the MLC dumps too!

nandfixer works with rednand (just need the otp.bin as well):

the rednand dumper doesn't dump the otp.bin or seeprom.bin, so you'd have to get them with other dump, so might as well use that one anyway.

Good to know; I'll be sure to stay clear of that one, and it's good to know that the NAND fixer does indeed work. Also, teach me the ways or being able to set up and test stuff in like under a minute. That was super quick!

 

[godreborn]

decrypting the nand should only take seconds, extracting everything I mean. you need wfs-extract for the mlc, don't think the nand dumper works with it.

 

[Jediweirdo]

Noted. So if I also want to use the MLC dumps, I'll need to use wfs-extract. Also which NAND dumper are you talking about? The minimalist redNAND NAND dumper or the one I used to dump my NAND 2 centuries ago?

 

[Jediweirdo]

I just saw the title and how it had a spelling mistake. I'm going to have OCD everytime I look at it lol

 

[godreborn]

oh, I meant the nand extractor app.