Hacking Please help with Region Bricked Wii

[jiudizzle]

I purchased a used wii from craigslist a few days ago and have come to realize that it is "region bricked" according to everything that I am reading. Everything seems to work fine except for whenever I go into settings, all that I get is a black screen with the normal background music. I see plenty of threads explaining WHAT it is, but none on how to fix it (if that is possible). Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[XFlak]

First, tell us the serial number of the Wii. Does it start with LKM? If so, it was originally Korean and was region changed (this is very important to know).

Second, tell us if the Wii is currently softmodded, and if so what softmods are in place? Homebrew Channel? Bootmii @ IOS? BootMii @ boot2? Priiloader? Any other Forwarder Channels?

Edit: You might not be able to tell what firmware the Wii is since you can't access the settings menu. But from the main system menu, do you have the SD Card button\menu in the bottom left corner of the screen? Also, can you tell us what region the Wii currently is (ie. USA\PAL\JAP\KOR)?

 

[jiudizzle]

There is an SD card menu, Serial number starts w/ LU528. Homebrew channel is installed, priloader is installed, in hbc I do have the option to install boot mii. I am not sure what region the wii is currently or what it was when purchased new.

 

[XFlak]

The serial number "LU" means your wii is of the USA region. Even wiidrives.com has this to say about LU528: "The console has model number RVL-001(USA), produced for Mexico/Canada/USA."

From the HBC, run syscheck and copy and paste the results for us to see.

You're not supposed to have the option to install bootmii from the HBC. Download the hackmii installer and save the boot.elf to SD:\apps\hackmii\boot.elf, then run it from the HBC. When it loads, install bootmii (@ boot2 if possible), then run bootmii (by pressing home in the HBC and selecting bootmii) and make a nand backup.

Instead of whatever I started writing above, lets do this the easy way shall we?

Download ModMii from my signature, run the ModMii Wizard, when asked if your Wii is a virgin, say yes even though it isn't, when asked what your current firmware is, tell it that it is "4.2", tell it that the region is "U", and tell it that your desired firmware is "4.1". Answer the remaining questions however you like. Then let it download and build you a guide. Follow the guide exactly except instead of using Bannerbomb v2 to launch the hackmii installer, just load it from the HBC like you would anything else.

Following the above instructions, you'll install\update bootmii and the HBC, make a nand backup (very important for brick protection), install the 4.1U system menu and system menu IOS (which is what should fix your problem), and reinstall priiloader (as it woulda been uninstalled when you installed the 4.1U system menu). On top of that, it will also update your cIOSs and active IOSs, and if u selected them it will also install a custom theme and extra brick protection.

Good luck!

edit: before doing what I said above, I would load "wiimod" via the homebrew channel to confirm that the region settings are currently USA

 

[JoostinOnline]

The serial number "LU" means your wii is of the USA region. Even wiidrives.com has this to say about LU528: "The console has model number RVL-001(USA), produced for Mexico/Canada/USA."

From the HBC, run syscheck and copy and paste the results for us to see.

You're not supposed to have the option to install bootmii from the HBC. Download the hackmii installer and save the boot.elf to SD:\apps\hackmii\boot.elf, then run it from the HBC. When it loads, install bootmii (@ boot2 if possible), then run bootmii (by pressing home in the HBC and selecting bootmii) and make a nand backup.

Instead of whatever I started writing above, lets do this the easy way shall we?

Download ModMii from my signature, run the ModMii Wizard, when asked if your Wii is a virgin, say yes even though it isn't, when asked what your current firmware is, tell it that it is "4.2", tell it that the region is "U", and tell it that your desired firmware is "4.1". Answer the remaining questions however you like. Then let it download and build you a guide. Follow the guide exactly except instead of using Bannerbomb v2 to launch the hackmii installer, just load it from the HBC like you would anything else.

Following the above instructions, you'll install\update bootmii and the HBC, make a nand backup (very important for brick protection), install the 4.1U system menu and system menu IOS (which is what should fix your problem), and reinstall priiloader (as it woulda been uninstalled when you installed the 4.1U system menu). On top of that, it will also update your cIOSs and active IOSs, and if u selected them it will also install a custom theme and extra brick protection.

Good luck!

I'm so proud of you! You're all grown up.

Joostin wipes a tear of from his eye.

 

[jiudizzle]

quick question xflak.... how would I run wiimod from hbc? will that be installed from running modmii and therefore then be on the sd card

 

[XFlak]

No WiiMod isn't a part of ModMii's download database, instead download it from here: http://gbatemp.net/t272321-wii-mod-v1-0

Save it to your sd card, it should look something like
SD:\apps\wiimod\boot.dol
Then it will show up in the HBC

Load wiimod via the HBC, go to region settings, but don't change anything, just tell us what you see (at least for now). If everything is saying its US then you should be able to safely continue with the ModMii instructions I gave you above. Note that I've never had to personally use wiimod's region changing features before, so if you have questions you may need to do some reading\posting in the WiiMod thread.

 

[jiudizzle]

First of all XFlak... just need to tell you that you are so far one of the most helpful people on any forum EVER!

What the system information shows is 4.1u on ios60 and system menu 449

 

[XFlak]

first of all, thank you

secondly, what does it say under the region changer settings, not system information (this would be easier if I had used this feature of wiimod before, but I'm sure it's there, it might be under "other menu" or something)

I just want to be extra certain of your current settings before u start doing stuff

 

[jiudizzle]

Under System Menu: Region : North America (U)
Under Advanced Menu: Region Changer when selected receives a stack dump

 

[XFlak]

Under System Menu: Region : North America (U)
Under Advanced Menu: Region Changer when selected receives a stack dump

before loading the region changer, try loading a patched IOS, like 236 or 249 or 250, hopefully then u'll be able to launch it without stack dumping

 

[mauifrog]

You should be USA region, installing system ios and USA system menu should be fine. You can use wii mod to install the system ios and system menu, or just run your wii thru modmii guide and install 4.1u-4.3u system menu. Modmii is your best bet, it will get you in the right spot, cios, priiloader, etc.