Hacking Softmodded Wii w/ Starfall ... do I need Preloader?

[Mumford67]

I modded the kids Wii early last month using the Twilight hack. At that time, I installed Starfall and activated all of its features. On Friday, I added the USB loader.

Read about Preloader while learning about the USB loader. Question is: Is there any reason I need to seriously consider installing Preloader, or should I be relatively safe using the set-up as is? For whatever its worth, I don't see any need to upgrade to 4.0 at the moment, so my intention is to stick with 3.2u for now.

In addition, I was hoping someone could clarify something for me. It is okay to play games online with the modded Wii, correct? My kids want to play Guitar Hero online, but I want to make sure they won't accidentally update the firmware or something in the process. If I understand correctly, all I need to do is disable WiiConnect24, correct? Just want to make sure before giving them free reign of the system.

Thanks in advance,

Mumford67

 

[koji2009]

You don't even need to disable wiiconnect24... those rumors started when nintendo changed their EULA to state that they could update parts of the system without prompting you... Nintendo does not have the ability to do so. There is nothing in the firmwares that allow nintendo to auto-update your wii.

You can play online, but there has been rumors of people being banned. This has almost assuredly been because of cheating in Mario Kart, but it is something to be in the know of.


As for your initial question, preloader is good to have if you install a lot of wad files. Either custom channels or virtual console/wiiware as there is always the chance of a banner brick with those.

A banner brick is when 2 channels (or wads) have the same internal TitleID. When you boot on your wii and this happens, it causes the system menu to crash. If you only have starfall, there is no easy way to recover from it. If you have preloader, you can use that to load anytitledeleter and delete the channel with the same title.


If you don't install any channels then you should more or less be fine with just starfall.

 

[Mumford67]

So is there any way to determine the TitleID of a wad before installing, so as to prevent a banner brick?

I only have a handful of channels installed, but would hate to have a problem if I installed an updated or revised media player, for example, with an already installed TitleID.

 

[Deleted User]

Nooooooooooo.

Banner brick is when the WAD has bad banner (oversized/undersized)

If two WADs have the same TitleID. The one which is installed later will overwrite the old one, that's that.

And, I recommend you to install Preloader. Starfall's outdated and you know it.

 

[koji2009]

afif: Ahh thank you I had my information wrong on that one.

 

[luser404]

You don't need preloader, but it might be helpful. It depends on what you want to do with your console. If you plan on installing pirated VC/WiiWare wads, then you should use preloader for its superior brick recovery options. If you just want to skip disc updates, starfall works fine for that.

Note that preloader breaks the rebooter in Backup Launcher Gamma. This isn't a huge deal, but I thought I'd mention it. The most important con to using preloader 0.28 is that once it is installed, formatting your wii will brick it. Make sure your kids understand not to format the Wii if you do go with preloader.

Personally I just use starfall, because skipping disc updates is the only feature I need. I don't install pirated wads, so preloader isn't worth it for me. I also use Ocarina (offline, for my nephew to play games without getting frustrated), so I need the Gamma rebooter to work.

The bottom line is that starfall and preloader can both be good options for you. Just do a little research and pick one or the other. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that you cannot have both installed at the same time.