Hacking SoftChip Backup Loader

WiiPower

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I tried to add this as an issue, but it didn't work, i could not click the submit issue button:

IOS loading and fallback to IOS36.

I think having a fallback option for the IOS used is a good idea, but i think some things should be considered:
- With IOS36 it's not possible to run backups(at least it's not possible at the moment). This way SoftChip can only run originals, but this is not included in the goals. Adding the possibility to run originals to the goals, removing IOS36 support or ??? would be possible "solutions".
- Some people simply don't have IOS36, me included, i have 3.1E firmware. Use antoher IOS, try different IOSes, add 3.2 firmware to requirements or ???
- To use another IOS it's required to change 2 lines of code in r30, in earlier revision it was only 1 line.
 

luccax

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WiiPower said:
I tried to add this as an issue, but it didn't work, i could not click the submit issue button:

IOS loading and fallback to IOS36.

I think having a fallback option for the IOS used is a good idea, but i think some things should be considered:
- With IOS36 it's not possible to run backups(at least it's not possible at the moment). This way SoftChip can only run originals, but this is not included in the goals. Adding the possibility to run originals to the goals, removing IOS36 support or ??? would be possible "solutions".
- Some people simply don't have IOS36, me included, i have 3.1E firmware. Use antoher IOS, try different IOSes, add 3.2 firmware to requirements or ???
- To use another IOS it's required to change 2 lines of code in r30, in earlier revision it was only 1 line.
We fallback to IOS36 to show a warning, asking for cIOS at 249, and then exit. We don't run nothing with 36.

Edit: It's just a basic structure.
 

WiiPower

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With the new revision the left part of the screen is cropped, in every line the first character is outside the screen. I'm sure it has something to do with my tv doing an overscan. With older revisions everything was alright.

-------------------------------------------------

Why not load an old IOS as fallback? IOS21 or IOS30? I don't know which one would be best, but i think it should be one which is already installed on every Wii irrespective if the firmware was ever updated or not. The only purpose this IOS has is allowing to show an error message, but it should be the same for everybody, because this way the results are predictable for everybody.

The error:
printf("Error: SoftChip requires a Custom IOS with dip-module\n");
printf("installed as IOS 249. Exiting...");
is only shown if ios249 is not loader and ios36 is loaded instead. If ios249 is not loaded and any other ios is loaded(before running SoftChip) this is skipped and you get the "Press the (A) button to continue." message. This should be changed to something like if ANY IOS is loaded, show the number of the ios and tell if this is a good or a bad thing.

--------------------------------------------------

249 should be a constant, there's no need to have ios249 three times in the source code.
 

luccax

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WiiPower said:
With the new revision the left part of the screen is cropped, in every line the first character is outside the screen. I'm sure it has something to do with my tv doing an overscan. With older revisions everything was alright.

-------------------------------------------------

Why not load an old IOS as fallback? IOS21 or IOS30? I don't know which one would be best, but i think it should be one which is already installed on every Wii irrespective if the firmware was ever updated or not. The only purpose this IOS has is allowing to show an error message, but it should be the same for everybody, because this way the results are predictable for everybody.

The error:
printf("Error: SoftChip requires a Custom IOS with dip-module\n");
printf("installed as IOS 249. Exiting...");
is only shown if ios249 is not loader and ios36 is loaded instead. If ios249 is not loaded and any other ios is loaded(before running SoftChip) this is skipped and you get the "Press the (A) button to continue." message. This should be changed to something like if ANY IOS is loaded, show the number of the ios and tell if this is a good or a bad thing.

--------------------------------------------------

249 should be a constant, there's no need to have ios249 three times in the source code.
What revision? r30? r31 is out, and I'll change some video related things now, my tv also crops the first letter, I'll see what I can do. About the IOS, I'll optimize that too, wait for r32
wink.gif


Note: Basic SD Logger function was implemented in r31, you _must_ have a SD Card in the slot to make SoftChip run.
 

bantheradio

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After trying the loader, I seem to always get the error "Exception: Ioctl error". I checked the post with the errors title and reinstalled the cios listed in the thread but the loader still does not seem to work. Is there a recommended fix or suggestion on how to get this working?
 

datahoarder

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bantheradio said:
After trying the loader, I seem to always get the error "Exception: Ioctl error". I checked the post with the errors title and reinstalled the cios listed in the thread but the loader still does not seem to work. Is there a recommended fix or suggestion on how to get this working?
I'm not sure if this is your issue, but if you have r31+, I believe that you're going to need an SD card in the front of the Wii.
Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how I've interpreted it.
 

luccax

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kornychaos said:
bantheradio said:
After trying the loader, I seem to always get the error "Exception: Ioctl error". I checked the post with the errors title and reinstalled the cios listed in the thread but the loader still does not seem to work. Is there a recommended fix or suggestion on how to get this working?
I'm not sure if this is your issue, but if you have r31+, I believe that you're going to need an SD card in the front of the Wii.
Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how I've interpreted it.
r32 works without SD. We'll start checking for ioctl errors, if you can, make an issue at google code site with more info. Needs confirmation on 480p PAL fix (when booting games).
 

ClaKK

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Whoa guys, didn't think this project was so fast-moving...didn't even use to check the thread when I came around...

Great work everyone!!! I hope the alpha version comes out soon (but at this mad speed I think it won't be long!)
 

bootsector

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It's because that wiimote freezing bug is inside cIOS/DIP. Let's wait for next release from WiiGator/Waninkoko and pray!
smile.gif
 

WiiPower

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I don't know if this is important, but WiiGator's loaders always ececute "WPAD_Shutdown();" directly before the loader starts a game.
 

luccax

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WiiPower said:
I don't know if this is important, but WiiGator's loaders always ececute "WPAD_Shutdown();" directly before the loader starts a game.
I don't know if that changes something, I think it shutdowns automatically... btw, the left part of the screen is still cropped?
 

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