Hacking The Ultimate Wii Hacking Guide (2013)

[AwesomeMarioFan]

Hello,

I was working for a while on a huge Wii Hacking Guide (Since August), so I am proud to present it today. This covers just about everything possible with Wii hacking, please leave a comment below if you like it, thanks!

Google Docs Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Besx3laP1kfqhHH7IdsdrIPmHlkPQUMZ8JuQXRts3p8/

PDF Download (My Site): http://awesomemariofan.com/files/projects/Ultimate2013-WiiHackingGuide.pdf

Note: This guide is by no means complete, and I may make updates to it frequently, so I recommend using the Google Docs version, since updates will first be seen there.

If anyone would like to help update/maintain this guide, comment, message, or email me at [email protected] your Google account name and I will add you on the edit list.

Thanks and Enjoy,

~ AwesomeMarioFan

 

[AwesomeMarioFan]

Sorry I have made the document public, I will take requests for editing though.

 

[rooskie54]

Some things are good, others not so much. You mention that newer model wiis can't play DVD-R backups, but mention nothing about them not being able to play DVDs in WiiMC either. You also recommend formatting hard drives to WBFS which isn't the best idea. FAT32 is the best file system to use for your USB drives since they can hold: Wii Games, Gamecube Games, Homebrew Applications, Resources for Homebrew (such as roms), ... NTFS would be a better choice than WBFS even as WBFS has some interesting bugs regarding game corruption.

I'd still recommend ModMii over this. ModMii gets all the files for you and tells you how to use the ones you specifically chose. A standard guide can't really compete with that.

 

[AwesomeMarioFan]

I agree with your point, and actually use ModMii myself.
I have just made this guide for anyone who wants to do it manually and understand things a bit more.

As for the parts you bring up about it, I can work on that.

 

[stigmata1823]

i also use modmii but when using just now its not downloading parts past number 12??

 

[AwesomeMarioFan]

I also have mirror links which I created for some files since their hosting is scarce.

 

[AwesomeMarioFan]

If there are any suggestions please let me know!

 

[Sicklyboy]

Note: DVDx is now included with the latest version of the HackMii installer, the
standalone installer is no longer needed but is still distributed via the Homebrew
Browser in two versions.

No, it isn't. DVDx is deprecated and isn't included or supported at all now. DVDx has been succeeded by ahbprot.

You pretty much shouldn't suggest disk burning as a backup method at all now considering how many Wiis do NOT support it and how much of an extra strain it puts on the laser, leading to premature hardware failures. Game backups can be played more easily and quicker from the SD card (which you need for homebrew), a flash drive (which is cheaper than or the same price as single use DVD-Rs (and some games require DL DVD-R which are more expensive), or an external hard drive (higher up front cost, immensely more convenient in the long run) on ALL systems (except the Wii Mini)

As for your letterbomb guide - what happens if the user isn't on SM 4.3x? According to you they're stuck dead in the water. Your guide makes no mention of needing to be on SM 4.3x for it to work, and not every user wants to update their system either.

I have my own distaste for WiiMC/the idea of a Wii as a media center when cheaper and more capable devices are available, but that's neither here nor there. However, my point of still using it to load backup disks/dvds stands.

WBFS drive - really? Really?? WBFS is pretty much irrelevant now that FAT32 AND NTFS support is available.

Priiloader (aka Preloader)

No, no, no, no, NO. Priiloader IS NOT Preloader, it is not "aka Preloader". Preloader is Preloader, and old and deprecated. Priiloader is Priiloader and is the current SM patcher that should be used.

Frankly I'm surprised you managed to not distribute any illegal code in that guide. That caught me off guard.

Your guide misses a lot of holes, some misinformation (nitpicking or not, misinformation is misinformation), and outdated or deprecated software references.

Edit - also your guide links to a hacks.ini to play Gamecube backups...
-First off, Priiloader moved from hacks.ini to hacks_hash.ini, and my memory is foggy on if it completely dropped support for hacks.ini - I believe it did. In this case, your file won't work, unless it's another oversight on your part and you did mean hacks_hash.ini (renaming a hacks.ini to hacks_hash.ini won't work, the file structure is different)
-Second, in your PDF the link is a line of text, not a hotlink.
-Third, your download for the file is private and requires a decryption key, so I can't download it even if I wanted to.

Edit2 - Also, Priiloader isn't really brick protection. It's the closest you can get on a system with a non-vulnerable boot2, but it's not really brick protection. If your SM or your SM IOS get hosed, you're sitting on a nice, glossy white paperweight. BootMii@boot2 is the only true brick protection (or being skilled with an infectus/progskeet). Though, this is really just nitpicking.

Edit3 - also, funnily, you've got what I assume to be your SSL private and public keys stored for the whole world to see in /files/awesomemariofan.crt and /files/awesomemariofan.key. Probably don't want those there. Also some other private and public keys (ca.key/.crt and server.key/.crt) in the same directory. And in /files/wii/applications/ you're distributing the HBC in .wad form (in a rar file) which they clearly request on their site that you not do.

 

[AwesomeMarioFan]

You pretty much shouldn't suggest disk burning as a backup method at all now considering how many Wiis do NOT support it and how much of an extra strain it puts on the laser, leading to premature hardware failures. Game backups can be played more easily and quicker from the SD card (which you need for homebrew), a flash drive (which is cheaper than or the same price as single use DVD-Rs (and some games require DL DVD-R which are more expensive), or an external hard drive (higher up front cost, immensely more convenient in the long run) on ALL systems (except the Wii Mini)

I use disk burning as my main source of backing up games, and I haven't had issues with it after three years.

As for your letterbomb guide - what happens if the user isn't on SM 4.3x? According to you they're stuck dead in the water. Your guide makes no mention of needing to be on SM 4.3x for it to work, and not every user wants to update their system either.

There's no reason why they shouldn't update, they get all of the new Wii menu features, and also the Homebrew Channel. I will however update this to include more exploits, thanks for the suggestion.

WBFS drive - really? Really?? WBFS is pretty much irrelevant now that FAT32 AND NTFS support is available.

Agreed, I actually use NTFS myself, maybe I will update that a bit more.

No, no, no, no, NO. Priiloader IS NOT Preloader, it is not "aka Preloader". Preloader is Preloader, and old and deprecated. Priiloader is Priiloader and is the current SM patcher that should be used.

Yes, I don't see an issue with what was written in the guide however, since people may know one of the names but not the other.

Frankly I'm surprised you managed to not distribute any illegal code in that guide. That caught me off guard.

Good, because it's clearly stated that there will be no illegal code in the guide. Way to miss the first page.

Your guide misses a lot of holes, some misinformation (nitpicking or not, misinformation is misinformation), and outdated or deprecated software references.

If you would like to, I can add you to the Google edit list and we can both update it. I have been modding my Wii for around 3 years now, and I simply tried to list as much information as I could in the guide. It's not possible to list everything though.

-First off, Priiloader moved from hacks.ini to hacks_hash.ini, and my memory is foggy on if it completely dropped support for hacks.ini - I believe it did. In this case, your file won't work, unless it's another oversight on your part and you did mean hacks_hash.ini (renaming a hacks.ini to hacks_hash.ini won't work, the file structure is different)

The version of Priiloader linked in the guide was a modded version which supported the old hacks.ini, since the codes weren't ported over.

-Second, in your PDF the link is a line of text, not a hotlink.

Tell Google, that's what I used to generate the PDF, (I recommended the other link anyway, much more usable).

-Third, your download for the file is private and requires a decryption key, so I can't download it even if I wanted to.

I will take a look at this, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Edit2 - Also, Priiloader isn't really brick protection. It's the closest you can get on a system with a non-vulnerable boot2, but it's not really brick protection. If your SM or your SM IOS get hosed, you're sitting on a nice, glossy white paperweight. BootMii@boot2 is the only true brick protection (or being skilled with an infectus/progskeet). Though, this is really just nitpicking.

Agreed, I myself only use BootMii as Boot2 since it is the best option and my Wii supports it. I have Priiloader installed as well to handle system menu hacks (Like moving the disc channel), etc.

Edit3 - also, funnily, you've got what I assume to be your SSL private and public keys stored for the whole world to see in /files/awesomemariofan.crt and /files/awesomemariofan.key. Probably don't want those there. Also some other private and public keys (ca.key/.crt and server.key/.crt) in the same directory. And in /files/wii/applications/ you're distributing the HBC in .wad form (in a rar file) which they clearly request on their site that you not do.

Funny you mention that, first off, the .p12 file is encrypted with a password I only know, and they are used for the VPN running on that VPS. Also, I thought I regenerated those files from scratch anyway, so that would essentially render them useless.