Hacking Thinking of buying and modding a Wii U...

[KnucklesOwnsGC]

But first I had a few questions about what a modded Wii U can do. I was wondering if the Wii U is capable of,

-Playing Wii U, Wii, and GameCube games via external HD
-Playing old school emulators (nes, snes, genesis, gbc/GBA) either via external HD or SD card
-Playing video and music files via external hard drive with a homebrew media player app.

I don't see why it shouldn't be able to do any of this since my modded Wii was capable of all of the above (minus the ability to play wii u games, obviously, and gc backups could only be played on dvd-r as the wii's USB port was disabled in GameCube mode)

So my question is, can the Wii U do the things listed above? And about how difficult would it be to mod the Wii U to be able to do these things? I would hate to spend the money on the console just to brick it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated

 

[Deleted User]

1. yes (but not wii vc on USB iirc)
2. yes (retroarch)
3. yes (with wii homebrew)

also it's impossible to brick unless you get a borked CBHC installation (which is HIGHLY unlikely) or fuck with system files

 

[KnucklesOwnsGC]

Thanks for the quick response, sounds like I will be investing in a Wii U soon.

One other question; from what I read in another thread, I cannot make separate partitions on my external HD that I plan to use for Wii U backups. Does that mean that I have to have a HD dedicated specifically to Wii U games? Could I have a HD just for Wii U games, and a second one for Wii and GC games as well as other miscellaneous files like music, movies, and photos? Or would I need an exclusive HD for Wii U, Wii, GC, and other files, adding to a total of four HDs altogether?

I was hoping to only have to purchase one 4tb HD that I could split into partitions for all of these uses, is that not possible? I don't see why I couldn't be able to just use one HD split into three or four different partitions, as I was able to do that previously when I modded my Wii (One partition for Wii backups, a second partition for music/movies, etc).

 

[Kafluke]

Thanks for the quick response, sounds like I will be investing in a Wii U soon.

One other question; from what I read in another thread, I cannot make separate partitions on my external HD that I plan to use for Wii U backups. Does that mean that I have to have a HD dedicated specifically to Wii U games? Could I have a HD just for Wii U games, and a second one for Wii and GC games as well as other miscellaneous files like music, movies, and photos? Or would I need an exclusive HD for Wii U, Wii, GC, and other files, adding to a total of four HDs altogether?

I was hoping to only have to purchase one 4tb HD that I could split into partitions for all of these uses, is that not possible? I don't see why I couldn't be able to just use one HD split into three or four different partitions, as I was able to do that previously when I modded my Wii (One partition for Wii backups, a second partition for music/movies, etc).

You need two HD's and at least one (the Wii u HD) needs external power or a Y cable. Read the noob guide

 

[swabbo]

If you install Gamecube/Wii games using the WiiVC Injector script, you're able to use 1 portable HDD to store Wii U/Wii/Gamecube games on it, plus it looks nicer than using Nintendon't

 

[KnucklesOwnsGC]

Just wanted to post an update, I managed to successfully hook my Wii U up following the guide on this forum. Everything is working great and I am pretty happy with the results.

Just had a couple follow up questions. First, is it possible to play HD videos on Wii U from Sd card or external Hd? I have been playing music and movies via Wii Mc through vwii hbc and it works well for standard def videos. However, if I try to play any video that is 720 or 1080p the player starts lagging and freezing and I usually have to reset the console. I understand that the Wii was only capable of displaying 480p so I understand the limitations, but I was hoping that since my Wii U is connected to an Hd tv with an Hdmi cable that it would be sufficient to play higher quality video. Is this possible or is standard def video the only possibility?

Second, I noticed while playing Wii games on my Wii U with Hdmi and the video setting set to 1080p, the graphics appear very pixelated and choppy. Is there an option I can change to remedy this or is that just the way it's supposed to look? Minor complaint but still something worth fixing.

Finally, I recently got a copy of Zelda breath of the Wild, but when I try to run the software it tells me that a system update is necessary in order to play it. I am hesitant to do the system update as I do not wish to risk bricking it and would not want the update to interfere with or corrupt the modifications. My question is, is it safe to update or is there a patch available somewhere that I can install to make the game playable?

Any info is greatly appreciated