Hacking The Definitive vWii Hacking Guide!

[godreborn]

Hey guys, just have this doubt: can I install DLC for Wii on the vWii? Like for example, I have my wads (dlcs) for the wii, and want to install them, is it possible? Will that brick my vWii?

it should work. the only wads u need to be careful with r the forwarders. they'll say for virtual wii or wii only usually.

btw, love the doors.

 

[Cyan]

So I followed the whole tutorial all the way till the part where I plug my HDD for the USB Loader, you see, I got an internally powered 1TB HGST TOURO mobile with a Y USB 3.0 Micro-B cable, but when I start up USB Loader, it either times out searching for an USB drive or crashes while inizialiting it, so Im not sure if the problem has to do with my drive or the way the Loader is configured.

So you just know, when I configure the USB port to port 0, it doesnt detect the drive at all.
When I set it to both ports whoever, the loader crashes at startup while setting up the HDD, I didnt see this case on the FAQ so I thought I'd ask.

try setting the "loader's IOS" to 58 in the loader's setting.
some drives require that IOS to initialize.
but some drive just don't work at all with cIOS, and you can only try another HDD (or enclosure to be more specific).

Hey guys, just have this doubt: can I install DLC for Wii on the vWii? Like for example, I have my wads (dlcs) for the wii, and want to install them, is it possible? Will that brick my vWii?

You can install DLCs. the vWii is working the same way than the Wii, it has the same folder structure, and the games and savegame and dlc are all going to their respective folders.

When I'm using USBLoaderGX the cheats won't apply to the game.

cheats don't apply to Channels (wiiware and virtual console).
it's a known bug, which can sometime be fixed by changing the "channel mode" option : boot <-> standard
it's located in the loader's setting menu.

if you talked about a wii game, then it's not normal.
maybe you selected the cheat and generated the gct file but forgot to enable Ocarina option for that game to load the gct.

 

[themyst]

Hi, I'm seeing conflicting information about running vWii games (mine are wbfs) off the SD card.

Is there some sort of workaround or loader that will work for this specific purpose? From what I can see, Wiiflow may be my best option.

 

[Cyan]

where are the conflicting information, so I could fix it?

for your information, Wiiflow and CFGLoader are both loaders compatible with launching Wii games from SD card.
only USBLoaderGX can't.
That's only for Wii disc based games (the .wbfs ones).
The gamecube and channels can be launched from SD without problem with USBLoaderGX.


If you install d2x r53 (v10-alt instead of v10), then the SD card compatibility will have issues with Wiiflow too.
r53 is NOT recommended, whatever other guides tell you. instead of installing random things by following random guides, just wonder "why" there are different revision of the same version (v10 and v10-alternative)
the alternative version is more a beta test for something users don't need, but a lot of guide think "latest = better", which is wrong.

Install r52 and you should be fine with Wii games from SD card using Wiiflow.

 

[themyst]

where are the conflicting information, so I could fix it?

for your information, Wiiflow and CFGLoader are both loaders compatible with launching Wii games from SD card.
only USBLoaderGX can't.
That's only for Wii disc based games (the .wbfs ones).
The gamecube and channels can be launched from SD without problem with USBLoaderGX.


If you install d2x r53 (v10-alt instead of v10), then the SD card compatibility will have issues with Wiiflow too.
r53 is NOT recommended, whatever other guides tell you. instead of installing random things by following random guides, just wonder "why" there are different revision of the same version (v10 and v10-alternative)
the alternative version is more a beta test for something users don't need, but a lot of guide think "latest = better", which is wrong.

Install r52 and you should be fine with Wii games from SD card using Wiiflow.

Hi, the OP shows that a HDD is the only option with nothing to speak of regarding SD card options. I had to dig through this forum and the Wii forum (which may not be relevant to vWii) to piece together that WiiFlow may be my best option.

I did install r52 (since I won't be running any USB devices in Wii mode) using Wiiflow and so far, everything works spendidly.

 

[P403N1X]

cheats don't apply to Channels (wiiware and virtual console).
it's a known bug, which can sometime be fixed by changing the "channel mode" option : boot <-> standard
it's located in the loader's setting menu.

if you talked about a wii game, then it's not normal.
maybe you selected the cheat and generated the gct file but forgot to enable Ocarina option for that game to load the gct.

Thank you for the reply, No one has really bothered to help me with this issue before.

Both options are turned on in Global and for the specific game. I've reinstalled both USBLoaderGX and the cIOS's multiple times to no avail.

I ran a System Check just to see if there was something wrong.




SysCheck HDE v2.4.0 HacksDen Edition by JoostinOnline, Double_A, R2-D2199, and Nano
...runs on vIOS58 (rev 6432).

Region: NTSC-U
System Menu 4.3U (v609)

Drive date: 06.28.2011
Homebrew Channel 1.1.2 running on IOS58

Hollywood v0x21
Console ID: 605644201
Console Type: vWii
Shop Channel Country: United States (49)
Boot2 v0
Found 97 titles.
Found 35 IOS on this console. 0 of them are stubs.

vIOS9 (rev 1290): No Patches
vIOS12 (rev 782): No Patches
vIOS13 (rev 1288): No Patches
vIOS14 (rev 1288): No Patches
vIOS15 (rev 1288): No Patches
vIOS17 (rev 1288): No Patches
vIOS21 (rev 1295): No Patches
vIOS22 (rev 1550): No Patches
vIOS28 (rev 2063): No Patches
vIOS31 (rev 3864): No Patches
vIOS33 (rev 3864): No Patches
vIOS34 (rev 3864): No Patches
vIOS35 (rev 3864): No Patches
vIOS36 (rev 3864): No Patches
vIOS37 (rev 5919): No Patches
vIOS38 (rev 4380): No Patches
vIOS41 (rev 3863): No Patches
vIOS43 (rev 3863): No Patches
vIOS45 (rev 3863): No Patches
vIOS46 (rev 3863): No Patches
vIOS48 (rev 4380): No Patches
vIOS53 (rev 5919): No Patches
vIOS55 (rev 5919): No Patches
vIOS56 (rev 5918): No Patches
vIOS57 (rev 6175): No Patches
vIOS58 (rev 6432): USB 2.0
vIOS59 (rev 9249): No Patches
vIOS62 (rev 6942): No Patches
vIOS80 (rev 7200): No Patches
vIOS236 (rev 65535): Trucha Bug, ES Identify, NAND Access
vIOS249[56] (rev 21010, Info: d2x-v10beta52-vWii): Trucha Bug, NAND Access
vIOS250[57] (rev 21010, Info: d2x-v10beta52-vWii): Trucha Bug, NAND Access
vIOS251[58] (rev 21010, Info: d2x-v10beta52-vWii): Trucha Bug, NAND Access
vIOS512 (rev 7): No Patches
vIOS513 (rev 1): No Patches
Report generated on 07/30/2017.

 

[Cyan]

you shouldn't enable Ocarina option in the global option.
not that it's bad or not working, but just that it prevent the loader from automatically searching for a cheat file at launch. I guess you didn't generate cheats for ALL your games. Just enable it for games you need it, it's more "clean".

You didn't answer about the game type.
I suppose you are trying to play a Wii disc based game, not a channel or else you'd have pick my comment about channel option.


Which game are you trying to use Ocarina with?
which cheats did you enable and generated a gct with?
enable Ocarina option only in that game setting, not global (to check if there's a bug, we never know)

 

[krueger96]

I sent my wii u to repair, it's under warranty and it seems like they're going to swap it with a refurbished unit. Of course it's going to have the latest update, meaning no haxchi for now, so i was asking myself if i should wait for a new entrypoint to install wuphax? because i have lego batman and an ultra old, still working 2 gb sd card i could use to hack my vwii. is there any benefit for using wuphax? like, it's more reliable or something? because if it's not i'd use the old method to play out of region wii games

Edit: Nevermind, they did replace it with a new one, but it came with 5.5.0, i can use the browser exploit

 

[P403N1X]

you shouldn't enable Ocarina option in the global option.
not that it's bad or not working, but just that it prevent the loader from automatically searching for a cheat file at launch. I guess you didn't generate cheats for ALL your games. Just enable it for games you need it, it's more "clean".

You didn't answer about the game type.
I suppose you are trying to play a Wii disc based game, not a channel or else you'd have pick my comment about channel option.


Which game are you trying to use Ocarina with?
which cheats did you enable and generated a gct with?
enable Ocarina option only in that game setting, not global (to check if there's a bug, we never know)

That seems to have fixed it. I did some tests with these games.

Skyward Sword (Disc and USB): Works
Twilight Princess (USB): Doesn't work (possibly due to incorrect version)
Wii Sports Resort (Disc and USB): Works
Lego Star Wars (USB): Doesn't work
Mario Kart Wii (Disc and USB): Works

Thank you so much.

Edit: Twilight Princess works now. I downloaded a different version.

I also tested Super Paper Mario and it works as well.
(Now just to get that Y-Cable so I don't have to disconnect my HDD everytime. )

 

[bashgr]

Hi.

Thanks CJB100 for this great, complete and easy to follow guide, and other thanks to all collaborators that made possible the vWii hacking.

It's very important highlight the explanations of Cyan in this post, https://gbatemp.net/threads/the-definitive-vwii-hacking-guide.425852/page-2#post-6471483 , where he explained the basics why/what we are doing. Thanks Cyan.

 

[Cyan]

thanks too.
I always try to explain things I know so I can provide my knowledge to others instead of just following a guide without understanding why doing it blindly.
If it helped anyone understand better how the console is working, that's great

Less problem and console brick if you understand what you can or can't do. less "noob" threads with ever the same question to reply too.

 

[TheCyberQuake]

I sent my wii u to repair, it's under warranty and it seems like they're going to swap it with a refurbished unit. Of course it's going to have the latest update, meaning no haxchi for now, so i was asking myself if i should wait for a new entrypoint to install wuphax? because i have lego batman and an ultra old, still working 2 gb sd card i could use to hack my vwii. is there any benefit for using wuphax? like, it's more reliable or something? because if it's not i'd use the old method to play out of region wii games

Edit: Nevermind, they did replace it with a new one, but it came with 5.5.0, i can use the browser exploit

I guess I'll answer the question anyway for those that want to know. There is no technical benefit for either method, both accomplish the exact same thing. Only real benefit is that wuphax is free and easier if you already have exploits. So if anyone wants to hack vwii on 5.5.2 without previous exploits they won't lose anything doing it the old game exploit way.

 

[xxgugu123xx]

patching IOS80 is useful only to play installed pirated WAD on the official SD menu.

there is another, safest way to play eShop games : EmuNAND.
EmuNAND is a copy of your NAND (your Wii limited 512MB memory size) to a HDD or SD card to expand the available free space to the HDD or SD size (up to few TB instead of 512MB!)

The author of this guide always said "nobody wants to play eShop games because I don't, and everybody is doing what I am doing", so there's no written emuNAND section in his guide.
I asked him few time to write one but he always refused. that's his choice.

Edit;
Now I have time to write a quick guide.

- launch USB loader GX and go to settings > user paths > EmuNAND channel folder : by default it's sd:/nand/ you have to set it to usb1:/nand/ if you want it to USB, or choose another folder. Be sure the path is not too long or it will not work. (like .. 10 letters max?)
- go to Settings > features > Dump NAND > full > if asked select "emuNAND channel folder".
- after the dump is done, you can see your NAND copy's data by doing this : go to main screen, top menu, 4th icon, select "EmuNAND Channel". it will list the channels installed on emuNAND (the same one installed on your vWii, as you just made a copy, except it's now loaded from SD or USB, instead of your console's internal memory).

- to install a wad to emuNAND :
Settings> Features > EmuNAND WAD Manager > install > select the file or folder to install


Note that there is not 100% game compatibility. (more around 80%)
Note that d2x v10 alt is not the best for emuNAND, you should pick v10 (non alt, the r52)
Note that d2x v10 r52 doesn't work with Ustealth drives, but there exist a d2x v10 r52 Ustealth compatible version.



It's exactly the same procedure, except that if you want to hack vWii using WUPHax method you will use Haxchi* instead of the browser+website URL to launch the homebrew launcher.
if you hack vWii using a Wii game disc, then nothing is different.


* I'm the one who wrote the WUPHax guide on the first post, I guess I should update it to tell users they can use Haxchi if they already have it installed instead of relying on the buggy browser exploit.

Edit:
Done !
I added v5.5.2 warning to WUPhax method
I added Haxchi method to launch the homebrew launcher
I added the installed Homebrew channel method to launch itself.

Which is the most simple way (having things on the vWii menu)? What should I do to have this? I have Done Everything up to installing gx loader, because I did not have an extra hd and just now bought one Wd external 1 tb internally powered. Last thing I did was installing the cios from the guide, and will return the process when my hd arrives. So, what exactly should I do to be able to install Virtual Consoles from Wii on my vwii, in the most simple way? I installed cbhc on my Wii U, so I have no fear to take a risky but most simple process. Thanks.

 

[Cyan]

the easiest is to have everything on vWii, but it's very limited in size (500MB) and can be risky to install pirated wad files, you can brick your vWii.
That's why users prefer using emuNAND feature, it has a brick prevention (you brick the NAND copy, not your console) and you have few GB (if not TB) of available space to install all games at the same time. plus, it's region free and you don't need to patch your system.


follow the guide I wrote that you posted just above.
it tells you what to do to make a NAND copy and install/play games from it.

of course, you'll want to play the incompatible games first (like ALL users?)...
incompatible games, such as castlevania, will require additional setup, with illegal to share files, so I can't tell what to do about it.
just play compatible games, 80% of the VC/Wiiware library is a lot to enjoy.

you can install the incompatible ones to vWii, it shouldn't take up to 500MB, and all the other games using the emuNAND feature.
Personnaly, I think emuNAND is the easiest and safest method. but lot of users don't manage to make it work, for obscure reasons ? (don't use a GPT partition, don't use Ustealth drive unless you installed r52mod)

 

[bashgr]

Which is the most simple way (having things on the vWii menu)? What should I do to have this? I have Done Everything up to installing gx loader, because I did not have an extra hd and just now bought one Wd external 1 tb internally powered. Last thing I did was installing the cios from the guide, and will return the process when my hd arrives. So, what exactly should I do to be able to install Virtual Consoles from Wii on my vwii, in the most simple way? I installed cbhc on my Wii U, so I have no fear to take a risky but most simple process. Thanks.

Beware. CBHC for Wii U isn't as Priiloader or Bootmii for Wii. There is no protection for vWii bricks.

 

[krueger96]

Very good guide, i found everything i was looking for!
The only thing it misses is the open source homebrew channel. My previous wii u had the old blue 16:9 forwader installed, and it worked fine, but with the latest version of the channel having the 16:9 fix in it, aren't the forwarders outdated by now? Before installing the open source version on my current wii u, i tried installing it on an old wii, and it worked fine. The only weird thing is that it crashed the console a couple of times when inside nintendont, but after removing the old LULZ channel with any title deleter mod (which i think needs cios to work, i'm not sure) and after deleting the configuration file to nintendont (just in case) it worked as good as the old version. So i did it again on the new wii u and the same stuff happened. I noticed that a couple of homebrews, save game manager gx being one of them, returns to system menu when you try to exit to the loader, but it doesn't crash. Other than that, it's working as good as the old version, and it's 16:9 without the need to install forwarders

 

[Cyan]

when you exit not-updated homebrew, it's not properly exiting, it's in fact reloading "LULZ" channel (or previous titleID used by HBC).
you need homebrew to update the titleID to look for the new opensource HBC channel'd ID, or update to use the proper way to return to HBC.

USBGX is still not updated to return to the new channel, it could be done.
I think using Hackmii installer is still the easiest way to install HBC (instead of using wad manager), but like you said it has the aspect ratio bug.
USBGX is fixing it automatically, you can install a forwarder but it's not the one used when exiting a homebrew, or launch a aspect ratio fixer homebrew every time you launch the original HBC.

Having the hidden LULZ forwarder is not working? it should forward to the new HBC's titleID, not to LULZ. I don't know if someone released one.

 

[krueger96]

when you exit not-updated homebrew, it's not properly exiting, it's in fact reloading "LULZ" channel (or previous titleID used by HBC).
you need homebrew to update the titleID to look for the new opensource HBC channel'd ID, or update to use the proper way to return to HBC.

USBGX is still not updated to return to the new channel, it could be done.
I think using Hackmii installer is still the easiest way to install HBC (instead of using wad manager), but like you said it has the aspect ratio bug.
USBGX is fixing it automatically, you can install a forwarder but it's not the one used when exiting a homebrew, or launch a aspect ratio fixer homebrew every time you launch the original HBC.

Having the hidden LULZ forwarder is not working? it should forward to the new HBC's titleID, not to LULZ. I don't know if someone released one.

you're right, hackmii is the best way to install hbc, in fact that's what i did, and after using it to access the hbc, i installed the open source version's wad
i never heard about a hidden forwarder, what is that? by the way it works fine for me, even if some homebrews go back to system menu instead of hbc it doesn't bother me. of course it could be annoying for others

 

[Cyan]

hidden forwarders were used when new HBC titleID was released, and old homebrew weren't active anymore.
As there were no new release, and it still tried to launch an old TitleID, we made hidden channels (Title installed, like VC/wiiware, but without a visible banners), which forwarded to the new HBC TitleID.

It could still be done, by installing a hidden LULZ channel, forwarding to the new open source HBC titleID.
it's kind of bad to have chained forwarders, and it would be wise to replace previous hidden forwarders to all redirect to the new one, instead of chaining them.

I don't know if anyone is maintaining such forwarders.


hidden channels are installed in folder 00010008 instead of 00010001


edit:
It might not work either, as they are in another folder, and the "return to" is usually hardcoded path in each homebrew. they would only look for title/00010001/LULZ instead of searching where LULZ is located.

 

[MrSillyful]

I don't have a gamepad... When I open WUPHax, and I am prompted to press A, doing so on the Wii Remote or Pro Controller does nothing. In fact, neither of them will even sync from this screen. Is a gamepad necessary for this setup?