Hacking Low level brick, think I'm screwed!

[burtbetamax]

Hey all.

After having a successfully softmodded Wii for a couple years now, I made the bonehead move of trying to downgrade to 4.2 and install a bunch of cIOS after my system was accidentally updated to 4.3.

Upon rebooting I was greeted with... well... Nothing!
I have low level bricked my poor Wii, and figure it'll be better to buy a new one rather than try chipping it.

Oh well!

It happened after I did some massive install with NUSAD.

For those interested- below is the guide it gave me for all the things I did:

Spoiler

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->NUS Auto Downloader 4.1.9 Custom Guide
Generated on Thu 08/12/2010 - 19:10:02.67
Check for updates at tinyurl.com/nusauto


This Guide was generated using the following parameters:

* Wii is already modified
* Current firmware is 4.3U
* Desired firmware is 4.2U

* Download Photo Channel
* Download Internet Channel
* Download Weather Channel
* Download News Channel
* Download Mii Channel

* HackMii Installer (with IOS61)
Smash Stack and Indiana Pwns Exploits
* Download recommended cIOSs and cMIOS
* Download Yet Another Wad Manager Mod (YAWMM)
* Download Trucha Bug Restorer [TBR]
with 2x IOS15, IOS36, IOS41 and MMM for installing a patched IOS236
* Download Priiloader
* Download Extra Brick Protection



This software is not for sale. If you paid for this software or a "bundle" you have been scammed.

THIS PACKAGE COMES WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, NEITHER STATED NOR IMPLIED.
NO ONE BUT YOURSELF IS TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THIS MAY CAUSE TO YOUR NINTENDO WII CONSOLE!
USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!



IMPORTANT NOTES:

*This guide does NOT require a Wifi connection on your Wii.
*An SD card formatted to FAT(32) required (Best results are with non-SDHC cards, SDHC will only work on 4.0 or above).
*If you get errors during any of the steps reformat your SD card as FAT or FAT32
*Turn off WiiConnect24 and take out all gamecube memory cards/controllers when modding the Wii (unless instructed otherwise).
*If your Wii ever freezes, hold the power button on the Wii for 5 seconds to power it off then try again.
*Don’t ever accept a new Nintendo update without first googling to see if it’s safe. The last update (to 4.3) was released in late June 2010 and is NOT safe to accept. If you accept an official Nintendo update after modding the Wii, you may lose some or all of your modifications.
*Never uninstall a system menu or IOS
*Do not install untested wads/themes without Bootmii or Priiloader installed.
*This custom guide is great start, but Wii modding is always evolving. Check for updates online, and remember, google is your friend.
*If you have questions, a more detailed guide can be found here: <a href="http://www.completesoftmodguide.tk" target="_blank">http://www.completesoftmodguide.tk</a>




1) INSTALLING THE HOMEBREW CHANNEL (HBC) AND BOOTMII


EXPLOITS
You only need to perform ONE of the following exploits


Note: if this Wii was previously modified, and it has either the HBC, BootMii as Boot2, or a Forwarder Channel installed, you can use that instead of an exploit (as it does not require physically owning a specific game).

If using BootMii as Boot2 to install the HBC, copy the 'BootMii' folder from your previous BootMii install to the root of your SD Card (or download it using NUSAD). Then boot your wii, BootMii will load, go To the SD menu, load bootmini.elf. This will load the Hackmii Installer allowing you to reinstall the HBC.

If using a Forwarder Channel, just save the boot.elf/dol from the app you want to load (ie. SD:\apps\hackmii_installer\boot.elf or SD:\apps\MMM\boot.dol) to the location used by your SPECIFIC Forwarder Channel (ie. SD:\apps\usbloader\boot.dol). Then start the channel and the Hackmii Installer will load allowing you to reinstall the HBC. Note, if your forwarder channel only loads dol's and not elf's, launch MMM's boot.dol, then use its app launcher to load the Hackmii Installer.


SMASH STACK EXPLOIT

REQUIREMENTS: * US version of Super Smash Brothers Brawl (RSBE)
* A non-SDHC card since game doesn't support SDHC cards

Insert the Super Smash Brothers Brawl Game.

You have to delete all the custom stages you have created before running this hack (if applicable),
otherwise be prepared for annoying harmless crashes

Then insert your SD Card, start the game and go to the stage builder,
it should launch the boot.elf/dol file saved on the root of your SD card.



INDIANA PWNS EXPLOIT

REQUIREMENT: A copy of LEGO Indiana Jones

A. Load the LEGO Indiana Jones game at least once
(otherwise you won't be able to copy over the hack).

B. Backup your personal LEGO Indiana Jones save file before copying the files to your SD Card (if applicable):

a) Put your SD card in your Wii and turn it on.
b) Go into Wii Options - Data Management - Save Data - Wii
c) Find your Indiana save, click on it, click "Copy", and click Yes. Now erase the save file from the Wii.
d) Put your SD card in your computer, and copy the "private" folder from the card to a safe place. Alternatively you can temporarily rename it.

C. Copy the files from the COPY_TO_SD to the root of your SD card (if you haven’t already) and insert it into your Wii

D. Go into Wii Options - Data Management - Save Data - Wii - SD Card
then copy over the "Indiana Pwns" save that corresponds to your region.

E. Play the Lego Indiana Jones game. Load the new save file.

You will be in the Main hall, walk towards the camera,
enter the first door on the right (Indy's left) and go into the 'Courtyard'.
Walk to the end and enter the 'Art Room', you will see a podium with 2 characters on it, talk to the left one.

Hit left twice (scrolling through his items) to choose the switch option (Black silhouette with a white arrow to another black silhouette)
Hit A to launch the boot.elf/dol file saved on the root of your SD card.





This runs the Hackmii Installer (and silently/automatically installs BootMii as IOS). Use the installer to install the Homebrew Channel (HBC) and Bootmii as Boot2 if possible. If you cannot install BootMii as Boot2, you also need to 'prepare an SD Card' for BootMii (as the 'BootMii' folder is required to launch BootMii as IOS or Boot2).

Note: If you get a 'no vulnerable IOS' error message, run NUS Auto Downloader again and this time select the 'Hackmii Solutions' option instead of 'Download Wizard' and follow the new instructions before continuing this guide.

After you exit the hackmii installer, you will be taken to the HBC.
Hit the home button. In the top right corner you will see the IOS used by the HBC.

If the HBC is using an IOS other than IOS61 or your homebrew channel is upside-down, make a note of it as it applies later in the guide (you will have to reinstall the HBC).

If it is using IOS61 and your HBC is not upside-down, you can skip the Reinstall The Homebrew Channel step when you get to it.




2) MAKING A NAND BACKUP

While inside the Homebrew Channel, load BootMii by pressing home and clicking Launch Bootmii.
Press the power button on the wii 3 times to get to the last option, then press the reset button. [You can also navigate with a Gamecube controller]

Press reset to choose the first option, then follow the directions on the screen to make your NAND backup. [Bad blocks are no problem.]

Backup the Bootmii folder, NAND.bin, and keys.bin elsewhere and erase from the sd card (or rename it). You'll need these in case of emergencies, so don't lose them.
Go back to The Homebrew Channel.

Note: if Bootmii was installed as boot2, then it will show up as soon as the Wii is turned on AS LONG AS it finds the bootmii folder (mentioned above) on the root of the SD card.




3) INSTALL IOS41v3091 USING MMM's WAD MANAGER

Note: if this Wii was previously modified before updating to 4.3 it may have had a patched IOS or cIOS installed that survived the update and now you can load it to skip some steps. If this describes your Wii, move onto step #5, but instead of loading IOS15, load the cIOS or patched IOS # that survived the 4.3 update [most probably IOS250 - other common cIOS survivors include IOS202/236/224 (or IOS222/223 v5 or higher)]. However, If you get errors when skipping steps, return to this step and complete it.


Launch Multi-Manager Mod via the HBC, Go down to select "WAD Manager".

Navigate to the IOS41v3091 wad and hit A twice to install only that IOS.

Move onto the next step after successfully installing the wad, but you do NOT have to exit MMM.
Press B to get back to the MMM main menu.



4) DOWNGRADE IOS15 USING Trucha Bug Restorer (TBR)

In MMM, Select 'APP Manager' - Press A
Select TBR (Trucha Bug Restorer) - Press A
(If you already exited MMM, you can launch TBR via the HBC)

In TBR, Select IOS41 - Press A
Don't be impatient, wait, read - Press 1
Select 'Downgrade IOS15' - Press A
Choose 'Load IOS from SD card' - Press A, Press A again
Press A to start the install - Press A again
Press any button to exit

Note: If you get an error similar to the example below, or a DSI error after IOS15 downgrade (bunch of 'random' letters on screen), move onto the next step of the guide (as this step may have been successful).
If the next step fails, then return to the beginning of this step.

Error Example:
Setting the revision to 0
Error: ES_AddTitleFinish returned -1017
Error: Could not set the revision to 0
Downgrade failed
Press any button to exit...




5) INSTALL A PATCHED IOS236 USING MMM

Load MMM again via the HBC
Select 'Load another IOS' - load IOS15 -press A
Select IOS Manager- Press A
Press 1, select IOS36 -Press A (install cios)
Select IOS236 - press A
Set version # to v65535 -press A
Say YES to all 4 patches, install from SD card
When finished press B to get to the MMM Main Menu



6) INSTALL WADS

If you exited MMM, reload it via the HBC, then select 'Load another IOS' -press A
Select IOS236 - press A

Note: If this step fails with error -ret 2011 or other, you may need to retry patching IOS236. If the Wii was previously softmodded, you can try using cIOS250 (or others like 202,222,223,224,236,249)

In Multi-Manager Mod's main menu, Go down to select "WAD Manager".

Install the following WADs in the WAD folder (this list of WADs is unique to how you answered the Wizard's questions).

Be careful not to install any additional wads that may have been previously saved in this folder (they may be safe, but I cannot say for sure).

Hold + for 2 seconds to select all wads in the folder. Then Press A twice to install them all.
After the installation finishes read the install report to make sure all the files installed properly.

You're unique list of wads to install are as follows:

* IOS11v257(IOS60v6174[FS-ES-NP])
* IOS20v257(IOS60v6174[FS-ES-NP])
* IOS30v2817(IOS60v6174[FS-ES-NP])
* IOS50v5121(IOS50v4889[FS-ES-NP])
* IOS60v6401(IOS60v6174[FS-ES-NP])
* IOS70v6913(IOS70v6687[FS-ES-NP])
* System Menu 4.2U
* cIOS202[57]-v5
* cIOS223[37-38]-v4
* cIOS222[38]-v5
* cIOS224[57]-v5
* cIOS249[57]-v19
* cIOS250[37]-v19
* cMIOS-MPv0.2-v4
* Mii Channel (Region Free)
* Photo 1.1 (USA/PAL/JAP)
* Internet (USA)
* Weather (USA)
* News (USA)
* IOS15v1031
* IOS61v5661
* usbloader(s)-(emulators)-IDCL
This is a forwarder channel that will load the first file it finds from the following list:
FAT:/apps/usbloader_cfg/boot.dol
FAT:/apps_emulators/usbloader_cfg/boot.dol
FAT:/apps/usbloader/boot.dol
FAT:/apps_emulators/usbloader/boot.dol
FAT:/apps/usb-loader/boot.dol
FAT:/apps_emulators/usb-loader/boot.dol
FAT:/apps/usbloader_gx/boot.dol
FAT:/apps_emulators/usbloader_gx/boot.dol
Note: First the SD Card is checked, then your USB Hard Drive (formatted as FAT32).
You should always have at least one forwarder channel installed on your Wii,
that way, in the event of accidental update, you will be able to rehack your Wii
without relying on the Smashstack or Indiana Pwns exploits.

If any failed, make a note of which ones and retry installing them one at time.
Be sure to load IOS236 prior to wad install

Note: Whenever you install a new System Menu, Priiloader is uninstalled. So be sure to reinstall it afterwards (especially if you do not have bootmii as boot2)




7) REINSTALL THE HOMEBREW CHANNEL (if applicable)

Earlier you should have checked what IOS is used by the HBC. If the IOS used by your Homebrew Channel is IOS61 and your HBC is not upside-down, you can skip this step.

If the HBC is using an IOS other than IOS61 or your homebrew channel is upside-down, you should reinstall the HBC.

In MMM's main menu, select 'App Manager' and then select the HackMii_Installer.
Use the Hackmii Installer to fix/re-install the HBC. Once you've successfully reinstalled the HBC, you can move onto the next step of the guide.

If you already exited MMM, you can load the HackMii_Installer from the Homebrew Channel.

If the HBC is failing to load any apps (just blackscreens), instead launch the Hackmii Installer using the method described in the First Step




8) INSTALL PRIILOADER

Run the Priiloader installer from the HBC. On the main menu screen, hold B and press + to install Priiloader using IOS249.
Priiloader may ask for confirmation, say Yes (the installation should go smoothly despite the warning).

Priiloader may give the following two 'yellow' errors. These are expected and are not an issue.
loader.ini couldn't delete error -106
password.txt couldn't delete error -106

Note: If you get repeated errors, first launch MMM via the HBC, then select 'Load another IOS' and Select IOS236 (or any IOS you know is patched). Then use MMM's app launcher to start the Priiloader installer and just press + to install using the loaded IOS.

After successfully installing Priiloader, access it by powering off the wii,
then powering it back and holding reset while it's booting until you see the Priiloader menu.

You should install some system menu hacks now (by going to System Menu hacks option).

RECOMMENDED HACKS: Block Disc Updates, Block Online Updates, Replace Health Screen, Auto-Press A at Health Screen, Disable Deletion of some important channels, Region-Free Everything, remove no copy save file protection, and Move Disc Channel.

The priiloader menu is white by default, you can change it to black in the Priiloader settings if you prefer.

One of the special functions of Priiloader is that it can autoboot any app/file instead of the system menu. Some apps (like crazyIntro) can't be used without it.
For details on how to do so, visit <a href="http://www.completesoftmodguide.tk/system-hacks/priiloader" target="_blank">http://www.completesoftmodguide.tk/system-hacks/priiloader</a>




9) AFTER MODDING

Now at this point your practically done.
Now you should be downloading the latest homebrew applications and setting them up on
your SD Card (or FAT32 USB Hard Drive) so they can be launched via the HBC.

For playing your backups off a USB hard drive, run the USB-Loader Setup feature from NUS Auto Downloader's Main Menu

For downloading applications, you should:
* Download Homebrew Browser to get many popular apps, but this is an online only application (http://www.completesoftmodguide.tk/how-to-use/hbb)
* For those without internet, check out this list of Homebrew applications (wiibrew.org/wiki/List_of_all_homebrew).
Another great resource is webrewwii.blogspot.com

After getting whatever apps you want, you should get a boot.dol file and possibly a icon.png and meta.xml.
For HBC to read your SD/USB correctly, your card must be structured SD:/apps/application name/boot.dol
If you have a *.dol not named boot.dol, rename it boot.dol, otherwise it will not be recognized by the HBC.
(optional: the icon.png and meta.xml should be saved in the same place as the boot.dol)



10) SUPPORT XFLAK

IF NUS AUTO DOWNLOADER WORKED FOR YOU, PLEASE VOTE IN FAVOUR OF THE PROGRAM HERE (tinyurl.com/NusAuto)

DONATIONS CAN OPTIONALLY BE MADE VIA PAYPAL TO [email protected]

CHECK OUT MY TOP CHANNELS HERE (tinyurl.com/topchannels)

CHECK OUT MY CRAZY INTRO VIDEOS HERE (tinyurl.com/crazyintro)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

 

[muck chucker]

Did you make a NAND back up does bootmii boot and have you tried removing the sd card on start up?

 

[W hat]

Could you have Bootmii boot2 installed? If so, why didn't you?

Since this is a cautionary tale, allow me to write a list of things people new to Wiibrew should know.

Bootmii as Boot2 is a lifesaver. Use it if possible.
NEVER try to downgrade. More often than not, you'll have serious problems.
BE VERY CAREFUL when installing custom .wad files. It is possible to "banner brick" your Wii from a crappy custom banner.

 

[burtbetamax]

Did you make a NAND back up does bootmii boot and have you tried removing the sd card on start up?

Yep, made a backup.
No, bootmii doesn't boot as I couldn't install it as boot2 so can only launch it from homebrew launcher.
And yes, I've tried with and without the card in.


I'm going to try the SaveMiiFrii gamecube-controller diagnostic mode thing before I throw in the towel.

 

[giantpune]

sounds like you either forgot to install the IOS70 wad, or you didnt delete the stub IOS70 that was there from the 4.3 update before you tried to install the wad. either way, your wii is toast, but since you made a nand backup, you can fix it with a nand programmer, which should be far less than the price of a new wii.

i would also suggest to whoever made this batch of stuff for you to use, they should have the user install the IOS for the new system menu, then actually reload into that IOS so the user can verify that it works before they install a system menu that will rely on the broken IOS. It would have saved your ass on this one.

 

[bwillb]

sounds like you either forgot to install the IOS70 wad, or you didnt delete the stub IOS70 that was there from the 4.3 update before you tried to install the wad. either way, your wii is toast, but since you made a nand backup, you can fix it with a nand programmer, which should be far less than the price of a new wii.

i would also suggest to whoever made this batch of stuff for you to use, they should have the user install the IOS for the new system menu, then actually reload into that IOS so the user can verify that it works before they install a system menu that will rely on the broken IOS. It would have saved your ass on this one.

its from XFLAK's NUSAD... not sure why it wouldn't include removing STUB IOS... maybe a bug

 

[Tom191]

sounds like you either forgot to install the IOS70 wad, or you didnt delete the stub IOS70 that was there from the 4.3 update before you tried to install the wad. either way, your wii is toast, but since you made a nand backup, you can fix it with a nand programmer, which should be far less than the price of a new wii.

i would also suggest to whoever made this batch of stuff for you to use, they should have the user install the IOS for the new system menu, then actually reload into that IOS so the user can verify that it works before they install a system menu that will rely on the broken IOS. It would have saved your ass on this one.

its from XFLAK's NUSAD... not sure why it wouldn't include removing STUB IOS... maybe a bug

Are you just assuming, or do you have reason to believe it? I didn't see the OP mention aXFlaks NUDAS app.
But if your wii is FULLY bricked and you do have a nand backup, then I know aXFlak knows the person that you should send it to for repair. As him, he'll know.

 

[Slyakin]

Yeah, your Wii is pretty much done for. Fortunately for you, though, that NAND backup can be used if you send it to a programmer.

I can't remember names very well, so just ask around.

 

[burtbetamax]

While it's nice to hear that the NAND backup would save me-
I just realized that it didn't complete.

Haaah... Oh well.

I'll update this with the results of the gamecube-controller diagnostic mode thing when I do it this weekend.

 

[giantpune]

if you even got the keys.bin that go with the nand backup, somebody will be able to fix it. these are written to the SD before the nand is dumped. without at least the keys.bin, its done for.

 

[bwillb]

sounds like you either forgot to install the IOS70 wad, or you didnt delete the stub IOS70 that was there from the 4.3 update before you tried to install the wad. either way, your wii is toast, but since you made a nand backup, you can fix it with a nand programmer, which should be far less than the price of a new wii.

i would also suggest to whoever made this batch of stuff for you to use, they should have the user install the IOS for the new system menu, then actually reload into that IOS so the user can verify that it works before they install a system menu that will rely on the broken IOS. It would have saved your ass on this one.

its from XFLAK's NUSAD... not sure why it wouldn't include removing STUB IOS... maybe a bug

Are you just assuming, or do you have reason to believe it? I didn't see the OP mention aXFlaks NUDAS app.
But if your wii is FULLY bricked and you do have a nand backup, then I know aXFlak knows the person that you should send it to for repair. As him, he'll know.

well given the fact that the first line of the guide says

NUS Auto Downloader 4.1.9 Custom Guide
Generated on Thu 08/12/2010 - 19:10:02.67
Check for updates at tinyurl.com/nusauto

I'd say theres reason to believe it.