Hacking USB Loader GX

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r1vver

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One more question about d2x-v11-beta1 (since we don't have separate official topic about d2x-v11-beta1):
I noticed that the files d2x-v11-beta1.7z and d2x-v11-beta1-vWii.7z have changed their posting date. It's 2023-01-15T19:22:11Z now.
Compared with the previous one, the checksums of DIPP.app, EHCI.app, ES.app, FAT.app, FFSP.app, MLOAD.app, USBS.app have changed.
Consequently, the checksum list in d2x-beta.bat has also changed.
What was in these changes?
Do those who installed it (d2x-v11-beta1) earlier need to "reinstall" it?
 

XFlak

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When I modded my system many years ago I did that on that order by following a guide, but later on newer guides started swapping 56 and 57 spots for reasons that I never found out.

Why they started recommending that? In the order I did, the only game I had issues with was Fishing Resort but it was solved changing the cios...

Info from: https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Wii_cIOS_base_Compatibility_List

Previously it was recommended to use base 56 as the default installed to slot 249, even though base 57 offered better compatibility than base 56, as it was believed to offer slightly faster loading speeds, which eventually was never proven to be true. So until recently (2018-2019) this is what was usually recommended to install to slots 249 and 250:

slot 249: base 56
slot 250: base 57
 

blackb0x

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What was in these changes?
Do those who installed it (d2x-v11-beta1) earlier need to "reinstall" it?
I realised that when I released the cIOS update I accidentally uploaded my pre-release stuff, so I corrected all of the uploads.

For Wii there will be absolutely no difference, so don't worry about it. But if you're using vWii and you care about having EmuNAND UStealth support then you might want to grab a fresh copy and reinstall the cIOS, since I can't guarantee if that feature was working in my pre-release version.

It's unfortunate, but mistakes happen. Especially when you're releasing updates for 2 different projects within an hour of each other 😅
 
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XFlak

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I realised that when I released the cIOS update I accidentally uploaded my pre-release stuff, so I corrected all of the uploads.

For Wii there will be absolutely no difference, so don't worry about it. But if you're using vWii and you care about having EmuNAND UStealth support then you might want to grab a fresh copy and reinstall the cIOS, since I can't guarantee if that feature was working in my pre-release version.

It's unfortunate, but mistakes happen. Especially when you're releasing updates for 2 different projects within an hour of each other 😅
There may be a slight different for the Wii, but only in the unlikely scenario someone is using a hard drive hidden by UStealth and also wanting emunand support for it. The only logical reason why someone would have their Wii hard drive hidden by UStealth is if they're sharing the same HDD for a Wii and a vWii
 
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rexus_pl

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Gamecube games are 4:3 only, so you don't have to force it (even if your Wii is set to 16:9) .

When lauching a Gamecube game, simply set your TV to 4:3 (you surely have a "aspect ratio" button on your remote, that allows to toggle between many aspect ratios, including 4:3)
Any option for lazy people who don't want to touch TV settings? :-P

Something like "force 16:9" in Not64 and WiiSXRX?

I know consequences of this.
 

Sypherone

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Sorry for the question. Does the d2x-v11-beta1 also includes fixes about drive compatibility? As the the d2x patch is known to have issues with a lot if drives as it uses a specific EHCI USB 2.0 protocol created by Intel, instead of the standart USB 2.0 by USB-IF Organisation in IOS 58?
 

blackb0x

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Sorry for the question. Does the d2x-v11-beta1 also includes fixes about drive compatibility? As the the d2x patch is known to have issues with a lot if drives as it uses a specific EHCI USB 2.0 protocol created by Intel, instead of the standart USB 2.0 by USB-IF Organisation in IOS 58?
Nope. It's identical to v10-beta52 when it comes to USB compatibility.

By the way, you should probably remove the cIOS with the RiiConnect24 RSA key mod from your guide since it doesn't fix the problem. Only d2x v11 will allow patched RiiConnect24 channels to download data correctly.
 
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ViTOgx

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Current release - r1281

Fixed
  • Fixed an issue that would cause USB Loader GX to crash as it boots on some systems
  • Fixed an issue that would cause some games to freeze if you turned off the deflicker filter
Improved
  • The video width patch should no longer conflict with other patches
  • Updated the Spanish translation (thanks to bjxuf)

...

Hi Blackb0x,

Great work again, custom channels do work again with this upgrade so I could upgrade from the older rev6!

As the release notes are not on all point completely clear to me, can you tell if this release should also fix the Tintin freezing issue after each chapter?

Kind regards
 

zigoraty

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I'm helping a guy who has a wii. On youtube the guys install a lot of cios/ios, it gets to be more than 30 wad files. I would like to know if this is really necessary. In addition to the d2x-cios package, base and slot 56(249) 57(250) 58(251), which cios does he really need to install on the wii?

@blackb0x, I found out that d2x-v11-beta1 fixed the freezing problem in pokemon battle revolution battles, wbfs format on vwii. I ran the test to check if it was the usb loader gx that fixed it, but it also now it works perfectly on wiiflow.
 
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RetraCarteR

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As the release notes are not on all point completely clear to me, can you tell if this release should also fix the Tintin freezing issue after each chapter?
Sadly, a fix for Tintin is unlikely to materialize in the foreseeable future. The game uses an anti-piracy program for the Wii called MetaFortress, which is specifically designed to prevent games from being played off of a USB device. It works by pinging the Wii's USB ports, and if it sees that USB 2.0 is enabled, it locks up. This isn't normally an issue since that game's IOS normally only supports USB 1.1, but nearly all cIOSes activate USB 2.0 and thus trip the anti-piracy. They pretty much have to, as otherwise, they wouldn't be able to load any games through USB at a reasonable speed.

There are a few other Wii games that use MetaFortress. Of them, Kirby's Return to Dreamland is the only one that currently works in USB Loader GX without issues, and even it wasn't working until very recently, when someone created a patch for it that disables the anti-piracy. However, creating anti-piracy patches is a painstaking endeavor that involves running the game in an emulator and examining and patching various values in memory until the anti-piracy is tricked into passing all of its checks.

In Kirby's case, nearly 1,400 memory addresses needed to be patched to satisfy MetaFortress. And memory addresses vary between regional releases of a game, meaning that this process needed to be repeated two more times to cover all three releases. Since Kirby is a popular Nintendo franchise, getting this game working has obviously been a priority for the community for a long time, but for a licensed kids' game with a much smaller fanbase... not quite so much. Creating a patch for Tintin would require someone to have both the technical skills needed to do so and the willingness to pour a lot of time and effort into it. It goes without saying that not many such people exist.

For the time being, it might be possible to bypass the MetaFortress protection by playing the game off of an SD card on a cIOS with USB 2.0 disabled, but a) loading games through SD is slower and less reliable than through USB, b) I don't know of any cIOSes that actually have USB 2.0 disabled, so you'd probably have to patch or otherwise modify an existing cIOS, and c) I'm not even 100 percent sure this would actually work, since I've heard that MetaFortress does additional anti-piracy checks beyond just the USB one.

It's always possible that something might happen out of the blue to fix this problem, or that blackb0x might be able to find a workaround, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

I'm helping a guy who has a wii. On youtube the guys install a lot of cios/ios, it gets to be more than 30 wad files. I would like to know if this is really necessary. In addition to the d2x-cios package, base and slot 56(249) 57(250) 58(251), which cios does he really need to install on the wii?
You're right: it's not necessary. Absolutely nobody should ever need that many cIOS slots. Admittedly, there do exist a few games that don't work on the latest d2x version and require old or obscure cIOS releases to work (such as many N64 Virtual Console games), but between just the four recommended d2x-v11 slots (base 38 on slot 248, base 56 on slot 249, base 57 on slot 250, and base 58 on slot 251), you should be covered in about 99 percent of all cases.
 

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Nope. It's identical to v10-beta52 when it comes to USB compatibility.

By the way, you should probably remove the cIOS with the RiiConnect24 RSA key mod from your guide since it doesn't fix the problem. Only d2x v11 will allow patched RiiConnect24 channels to download data correctly.
Doesn't v10 beta53 alt also work?
 

zigoraty

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Was the tab mod updated too? U sure? If so can someone link to it, I must've missed it
Here it is. Badablek sent the link, if you want to check it out it's on the previous page. I tested it, it's up to date and working perfectly.
 

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kobeskillz

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sorry for being so naive but how do i set this up? I add the boot.dol to my SD card?

that replaces the old loader i'm using? I have the loader on the wii menu. how can i do the same with this new version?

On the current loader i have it has a update option. Can i use that? or upload option in the in the app browser?
 

zigoraty

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sorry for being so naive but how do i set this up? I add the boot.dol to my SD card?

that replaces the old loader i'm using? I have the loader on the wii menu. how can i do the same with this new version?

On the current loader i have it has a update option. Can i use that? or upload option in the in the app browser?
You can download the official usb loader gx 1281, extract and replace the Dol in the apps folder of the usb loader gx, so the meta.xml file and icon.png will remain, and the new Dol. Just copy the folder to the SD after that.
 

kobeskillz

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You can download the official usb loader gx 1281, extract and replace the Dol in the apps folder of the usb loader gx, so the meta.xml file and icon.png will remain, and the new Dol. Just copy the folder to the SD after that.
so down load it. copy the dol on the download and replace the dol in the sd card under the apps folder?

so basically all i have to do is open my sd card and replace the existing dol under apps with the new 1281 dol?

The meta and icon stay the same in the apps folder in my sd card?
 

zigoraty

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so down load it. copy the dol on the download and replace the dol in the sd card under the apps folder?

so basically all i have to do is open my sd card and replace the existing dol under apps with the new 1281 dol?

The meta and icon stay the same in the apps folder in my sd card?
Yes.
 
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