Hacking USB Loader GX

[Cyan]

Blackscreen for wii games is often a wrong usb port. verify you didn't plug the device in the wrong port.
On Wii, you need to plug it on bottom port, on vWii on Back-top port.

it could be you have a wrong cIOS version/base too.


But you said you also have black screen for nintendont ? it looks more like the device is not compatible, or video mode really messed up.
be sure the video mode is set to "disc default" in USBLoaderGX settings.

is nintendont working fine when launched from HBC ?

 

[rafaelsb]

Whats up guys, im having a problem with Nintendont settings on USBGX, the skip IPL and Deflicker options doesnt work, changing global settings or per game dontsnt change anything. Am i doing something wrong? im using latest USBGX

 

[Cyan]

SkipIPL not working is a known bug on r1268.
it's fixed in the 1269beta (or 1268mod), get it from my signature and replace boot.dol (don't bother with the 2 other files).

Deflicker option not working is not normal. maybe it's a reaction to the same bug. Please let me know if Deflicker is still not working with 1268mod

 

[kathy]

Blackscreen for wii games is often a wrong usb port. verify you didn't plug the device in the wrong port.
On Wii, you need to plug it on bottom port, on vWii on Back-top port.

It's in the correct port.

it could be you have a wrong cIOS version/base too.

I don't know how to tell. SysCheck froze halfway through at the "testing vulnerabilities" part and never gave me any results after over an hour.
On this same Wii, I was able to use USBLoader fine years ago. When first attempting to use it again, I changed nothing besides the video output (HDMI as I no longer have a compatible screen). My apps were the same version and I'm even using the same flash drive (Sandisk Cruzer Glide 32GB).

But you said you also have black screen for nintendont ? it looks more like the device is not compatible, or video mode really messed up.
be sure the video mode is set to "disc default" in USBLoaderGX settings.

I have video settings set to default. Not only does the screen go black, but there is no sound and the controllers are disconnected.

is nintendont working fine when launched from HBC ?

Nintendont works fine through HBC. USBLoader is the problem that's giving me issues.

 

[Cyan]

I'm even using the same flash drive

flash drive don't work anymore.
it worked on old cIOS, or with WBFS format, but it doesn't work anymore with updated cIOS and FAT32.
reverting to old cIOS could be a solution, but some games and features will not work.
formatting to WBFS is another solution, but it will work only for wii games.
or you could use a HDD instead of flash drive, and everything will work.


nintendont works with the flash drive because it doesn't use cIOS to read FAT32.

 

[kathy]

I haven't done anything to my cIOS after first setting everything up.
Formatting the drive to WBFS makes Wii games start up fine. I still want to be able to access Gamecube games through USBLoader, though. I don't know what I'm doing differently now that would cause it to fail when it worked just fine years ago with the same setup.

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

@kathy Have you considered running GameCube ISOs off an SD card? As far as I can tell, that would work with your setup. But I'd probably go with Cyan's suggestion and run it all off a USB hard disk.

Oh, @Cyan , speaking of updating things, I've noticed that I'm short one or two cIOS modules on my own setup (CoD: World at War and similar titles won't boot). I remember there was a tool that would check if your modded setup was complete, and apply missing hacks. What was that tool? I can't remember offhand...

 

[cvskid]

flash drive don't work anymore.
it worked on old cIOS, or with WBFS format, but it doesn't work anymore with updated cIOS and FAT32.
reverting to old cIOS could be a solution, but some games and features will not work.
formatting to WBFS is another solution, but it will work only for wii games.
or you could use a HDD instead of flash drive, and everything will work.


nintendont works with the flash drive because it doesn't use cIOS to read FAT32.

What's the difference between using a flash drive or hdd when using them to put wbfs games on them since they are both storage devices?

EDIT

Sorry. I mean would a flash drive work like it did before if its formatted to ntfs and has wbfs wii games? Was wondering before i updated usbloader gx to the one in your signature.

 

[Cyan]

Maybe NTFS works better, I don't know.
I know Flash with FAT32 has issues, especially in write mode. it can even corrupt the partition, like when exiting a game from nintendont and it creates the savegame, it if freeze you can have issues
NTFS is maybe the solution, but that will not allow gamecube games, and not all homebrew are compatible.

I've noticed that I'm short one or two cIOS modules on my own setup (CoD: World at War and similar titles won't boot). I remember there was a tool that would check if your modded setup was complete, and apply missing hacks. What was that tool? I can't remember offhand...

the tool is syscheck (from my signature).
but, remember that having a cIOS installed on your console is not enough to fix a game compatibility. you need to specifically tell the game to use ONE specific slot number, for call of duty you need a slot where you installed a cIOS based on IOS57. (usually slot250)

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

the tool is syscheck (from my signature).
but, remember that having a cIOS installed on your console is not enough to fix a game compatibility. you need to specifically tell the game to use ONE specific slot number, for call of duty you need a slot where you installed a cIOS based on IOS57. (usually slot250)

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[SieKensou]

@Cyan I don't know why, but in options, I deactivated the stars on the game banners, but when I start USB Loader GX the next day, they appear again... do you know why this setting is not saved correctly or what can be changing it?

 

[Cyan]

maybe the setting is not saved, maybe I messed up the setting save function
I don't think I tried to hide them since I added that option.
Hiding yes, but I don't think I tried to save/exit/reload to see if it properly saved it.

the stars layout are saved properly ?
It should be part of the style "none, this, that, etc."
if it can save the style, it should also save "none".

static const char * BannerFavIconText[BANNER_FAVICON_MAX_CHOICE] =
{
	trNOOP( "OFF" ),
	trNOOP( "Round" ),
	trNOOP( "/\\/\\" ),
	trNOOP( "Two Lines" ),
	trNOOP( "One Line A" ),
	trNOOP( "One Line B" )
};

Do you use SD card? maybe you have settings on SD, and another setting on USB ? or different settings on different partitions and if the hdd has issues to init, the other setting file is used. (sounds unexpected, so it's probably not that).
be sure to use SD card, it's always better.

 

[SieKensou]

I use a HDD and there is not SD card inserted on the Wii... but I found what is happening. I have an old version of USB Loader GX installed on the Wii as a channel and I use the new version on the HDD through the Homebrew Channel. I activate the option to come back to USB Loader GX instead to go to the Wii menu when I exit a game and for some reason it loads that old version instead the one of the HDD and since the old version doesn't have that options, it save its own configuration and that option (and others that wasn't in that old version as I noticed) come back to its default value... Can I do something without deleting the old version I have as channel or should I remove the channel?

 

[XFlak]

I finally took the plunge and tried usb loader gx today. Latest version running on my vwii gave me the same cover download problem described here despite having a working internet connection. Anyway, I switched over to my old wii (w bootmii installed as boot2) and installed the latest 5.1 UNEO forwarder and launched it and everything worked. Same CIOS (base 57) used on both consoles (d2x v8 final on the wii and d2x beta whatever equivalent on vwii - this is not the issue). Anyways, I don't really care because I got my covers already I just changed the custom paths to use the same locations as cfg usb loader and avoided re-downloading a ton of redundant images, but gx was able to download the remaining missing ones (or most of them) so the issue was definitely only impacting the vwii.

So into the more important issue, I then enabled wiimmfi and launched Mario Kart and SSBB and couldn't get either to connect despite having a working internet connection.

And another weird issue, my HDD has 27GB free according to windows, but both USB loader gx and cfg USB loader are showing 1.2GB free. When I first saw 1.2GB free I launched wiixplorer and deleted a big PS3 game I had saved to the HDD (at least 4GB because I know it contained at least 1 split file). I wonder if it botched the deletion somehow and that could be the difference between windows vs homebrew reported free space? This is the same 1TB compatible FAT32 HDD I've been using forever, uneek working on it so I compatibility shouldn't be an issue (even got gx listing emunand titles which was cool). I want to reclaim more free space so I can try installing my GC games for nintendont.

Also, when I hit 2 I get an error saying it can't find or open wiitb.xml, ideas? Some of my emunand titles are listed only by the title ID and I'm hoping I can get the full titles listed instead (even though it's just impacting a handful of my games).

Lastly, where are the configs files for gx saved? I want to copy the ones I manually updated on my HDD to my SD (I wasn't using an SD card for any of the above).

Thanks in advance probably to @Cyan who will likely be one oft eh first to respond, lol. But no big rush on this, but was hoping to get wiimfii and nintendont a try... eventually

 

[JacobM]

Hi XFlak! Thank you for everything you have done in making Wii homebrew what it is today...

Latest version running on my vwii gave me the same cover download problem described here despite having a working internet connection. Anyway, I switched over to my old wii (w bootmii installed as boot2) and installed the latest 5.1 UNEO forwarder and launched it and everything worked. Same CIOS (base 57) used on both consoles (d2x v8 final on the wii and d2x beta whatever equivalent on vwii - this is not the issue). Anyways, I don't really care because I got my covers already I just changed the custom paths to use the same locations as cfg usb loader and avoided re-downloading a ton of redundant images, but gx was able to download the remaining missing ones (or most of them) so the issue was definitely only impacting the vwii.

So into the more important issue, I then enabled wiimmfi and launched Mario Kart and SSBB and couldn't get either to connect despite having a working internet connection.

Lastly, where are the configs files for gx saved? I want to copy the ones I manually updated on my HDD to my SD (I wasn't using an SD card for any of the above).

Also, when I hit 2 I get an error saying it can't find or open wiitb.xml, ideas? Some of my emunand titles are listed only by the title ID and I'm hoping I can get the full titles listed instead (even though it's just impacting a handful of my games).

I've used ULGX on vWii and Wii fairly regularly, but I have not come across these issues. I've been sitting on the latest "beta" though which is available in Cyan's signature (http://www.mediafire.com/file/5i4uu0brrf906co/USBLoaderGX+r1269_mod04.7z#). Did you happen to give that one a go? If you had a very old version of ULGX on your system in the past, it may be worthwhile to backup the existing global settings files located in the USB Loader GX apps folder (SD or USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/*.cfg) and allow the latest version to generate a new file.

And just to confirm, the internet connection is working/tested from within vWii or from the Wii U menu. Some internet connections may not carry over during the system reboot into vWii. Double check the Wii U internet settings to ensure that the connection is compatible with Wii and Wii U as seen below.

wiitb.xml should resolve once your internet connection issue is solved... go to USBGX Settings ->Update -> Update WiiTDB.xml. Alternatively, you can get it from the top of https://www.gametdb.com/Wii/downloads. File goes in SD or USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/wiitdb.xml

And another weird issue, my HDD has 27GB free according to windows, but both USB loader gx and cfg USB loader are showing 1.2GB free. When I first saw 1.2GB free I launched wiixplorer and deleted a big PS3 game I had saved to the HDD (at least 4GB because I know it contained at least 1 split file). I wonder if it botched the deletion somehow and that could be the difference between windows vs homebrew reported free space? This is the same 1TB compatible FAT32 HDD I've been using forever, uneek working on it so I compatibility shouldn't be an issue (even got gx listing emunand titles which was cool). I want to reclaim more free space so I can try installing my GC games for nintendont.

Any possibility you have accessed the drive from a linux or mac based OS. Possibly have some trash that was never fully deleted? I've noticed a few instances where Windows was unable/unaware of these pending delete files causing seemingly unrecoverable space issues.

 

[Cyan]

thanks Jacob for helping

Sorry that you have a connection issue. you are sure other vWii apps are working fine with internet? is your HBC showing the internet logo? is it only an error with covers, or with other things too ?
the loader access internet for theses reasons:
- check if there's a new internal update (I forgot to update past 1262), right after network is initialized. You can set auto-init in settings>features menu, but if you have init issue you better keep it disabled or it might hang/freeze the loader for memory leaks.
- download covers and custom gamecube banners (you need 1268mod4 for custom banner, the URL has changed)
- download wiitdb.xml from Gametdb.com
- download cheatcodes from geckocodes.org


Personnaly, my setup is like this :
Wifi
WPA2-PSK (AES) (I think AES is needed for switch?)
manual fixed local IP address
Manual DNS (8888, 8844)
Proxy (my computer's IP)
MTU 1492 (for safety, I always used that even if 1500 should work with my current connection type. sometime ADSL is 1492)

to block WiiU updates, I use my computer as proxy. It's always offline except when I launch CCProxy.
but the vWii homebrew don't use the proxy information at all (probably a bug, but it's great for me), and they can connect to internet using the defined network setup.
I can initialize the network, and download covers and cheats without problem.
When you setup the WiiU network setting, there's a warning message telling you some security mode will not work with vWii, be sure you are not using that particular one.

Also, when I hit 2 I get an error saying it can't find or open wiitb.xml, ideas?

To use wiitdb.xml, you need to download it, then enable it.
- settings > update > wiitdb.xml. it will download the file to /apps/usbloader_gx/ folder. I tried to put it in a subfolder but some users had issues.... I reverted it back to root of usbloadergx.
- settings > features > use gametdb : enabled.
Using wiitdb will rename all the games using proper titles, set each game's parental control level properly, set each game's category automatically, display full game box cover when pressing 2. you can click on the cover to turn it in 3D.

Lastly, where are the configs files for gx saved?

(SD or USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/*.cfg)

If you have a very old usbloaderGX setup, the config is also here :
sd:/ or usb:/ config/GXGlobal.cfg

SD has priority over USB if found.
if you have sd:/config/GXGlobal.cfg and USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/GXGlobal.cfg, then SD settings will be used.
be sure you check that you don't have that old file location. Maybe I should force users to drop that old (1.x) location.
there are a lot of old things I want to drop, like old nintendont revision alpha, 1.x, etc. no need to keep all those detection in the sources.

 

[XFlak]

Thanks guys I'll try those suggestion and circle back as soon as I get a chance. I definitely have old gx configs files in the configs folder, I'll clear it out just in case,but can you tell me which location is preferred among these 2 options?
USB:/config/GXGlobal.cfg and USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/GXGlobal.cfg

Any suggestions on why the wii is reporting less free space than windows? I think the explanation JacobM gave makes sense if windows is reporting less free space, not more.

And lastly, any idea why I can't get wiimmfi to work? Is having the option enabled and launching SSBB and trying to connect to "Nintendo servers" (or whatever the acronym is) the appropriate steps to test this out? Does this only work on certain games?

Thanks again guys, it's not often I'm on the receiving end of support convos on gbatemp so I'm half expecting the likes of @DeadlyFoez to come and call me a noob for needing help, lol

Edit: I do have a very small suggestion for future usb loader gx updates. When using the list view I can point the wii mote to the floor and still highlight the game I want to launch, but when I press A nothing happens (in cfg usb loader this would bring up the launch menu, and hitting A again would launch it), in GX I have to aim the wii mote and select the game again (and on a small TV sometimes it takes a couple tries), then aim again and select start. I find these extra steps tedious.

Also, is there a way to flip box art over and view the back of a game's cover jacket?

 

[GreyWolf]

@XFlak Try going to the hard drive settings and selecting the last option to sync FAT32 FS info.

 

[XFlak]

I tried that even though I wasn't 100% sure what it did, and it made no difference. It's almost like wiixplorer deleted the folder and windows picked up on the free space but not other wii homebrew

 

[Cyan]

Thanks guys I'll try those suggestion and circle back as soon as I get a chance. I definitely have old gx configs files in the configs folder, I'll clear it out just in case,but can you tell me which location is preferred among these 2 options?
USB:/config/GXGlobal.cfg and USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/GXGlobal.cfg

USB:/apps/usbloader_gx/GXGlobal.cfg
This is the new default location, keeping everything in the loader's subfolder.
only cheatcodes are stored in path outside of the loader, as they can be shared with other homebrew and are not used by USBLoaderGX only.

Any suggestions on why the wii is reporting less free space than windows? I think the explanation JacobM gave makes sense if windows is reporting less free space, not more.

No Idea.
Someone else reported size issue, but it was very big differences, I thought it could be sector size, or 64bit issue with partition bigger than 2TB, but your issue doesn't fit this description.
I'll have to investigate and debug how the size is calculated.

The FAT32 sync is used to fix a very old libFAT bug, specifically when using Wiixplorer (or other homebrew using old libs) to delete a file it was deleted and one FAT (file allocation table) was updated, but FAT32 has 2 FAT copy and the second one was wrong. as a result, the drive was slower to mount and list found files.
new lib has been released to fix that issue, wiixplorer uses it.
if you still use old homebrew version, the sync option fix that free space/used blocs map to synchronize both FAT copy.
I'm not sure why FAT32 has 2 File tables as it can't be used to recover a partition corruption because they are always synced to keep good performance.

And lastly, any idea why I can't get wiimmfi to work? Is having the option enabled and launching SSBB and trying to connect to "Nintendo servers" (or whatever the acronym is) the appropriate steps to test this out? Does this only work on certain games?

You fixed your network issue ? you are sure the vWii can connect? you have issues only while inside USBLoaderGX, not in games?

The Wiimmfi option in USBLoaderGX is a generic patch. It replaces only the "nintendo.com" url to "wiimmfi.de", and replace https to http to stop encrypting the transmitted data.
it works fine with most (all?) games, but some games like Mario Kart have additional possible patches by using an external ISO patcher which makes the encounter easier (removes the regional limitation for example).
As there's no more official nintendo server, I suggest you patch your ISO and disable the wiifmii option in the loader for that game, you'll have better compatibility and few text with references to wiimfii directly in the game.

Thanks again guys, it's not often I'm on the receiving end of support convos on gbatemp

No problems.
it's nice to test that loader and report issues, at least we can see where new users have difficulties to make it work.

Edit: I do have a very small suggestion for future usb loader gx updates. When using the list view I can point the wii mote to the floor and still highlight the game I want to launch, but when I press A nothing happens (in cfg usb loader this would bring up the launch menu, and hitting A again would launch it), in GX I have to aim the wii mote and select the game again (and on a small TV sometimes it takes a couple tries), then aim again and select start. I find these extra steps tedious.

Maybe it's a feature? when the pointer is outside of the screen maybe it's preventing the user to do any action? I'll have to check.
You can use the nunchuk to move the cursor (like if it was IR pointing), then I'm sure the A would work.
You can use the wiimote's d-pad UP/DOWN to also move the cursor (not like the IR pointing, this time it's selecting the next/previous item in the menu), and you can also use A.

So, the loader allows non IR pointing usage, but there's maybe a Deadzone between no IR pointing and first controller's input ?
I can verify that too, but don't expect it done soon. I don't know when I'll work on it.

Also, is there a way to flip box art over and view the back of a game's cover jacket?

press 2 on a game, it will open the Game info window. Click on the box cover and you'll get a full 3D you can rotate/zoom/move around. It works better with a nunchuk than gamecube or classic controller.
not all games have the full 3D cover available on gametdb. the one without the full cover you can't rotate the game box.