Hacking USB Loader GX

[CoolMe]

@sockscap verify the hash of the game in WiiBackupManager, to make sure it's the wbfs file is not corrupt.
If it isn't, check what version is, if it's the PAL/ or NTSC etc.
Next, depending on what video cables you're using, for example using composite to run NTSC games (even if forced) on a PAL Wii might not work, also depends on the tv you have (if it's HD, then it's fine), and vice versa.
Now in your case, since you have a Japanese Wii and in the case of trying an NTSC-U Wii game, it should work. so if the wbfs file isn't corrupt, then the problem could be from the drive you're using to load the game, usb flash drives are known for compatibility issues, so we need more details regarding your setup.

 

[sockscap]

Yes, that's I mean.

What language is your Wii set to? Try changing it to English in the language options of the loader and try again.

Maybe the game doesn't want to load because your Wii is Japanese and therefore the game tries to find the Japanese language which is not found as a language within the game files.

Right. I set Game Language to English, then it works (no need to change video settings). Thanks!

One more question, is there any guide or doc about the settings in USB Loader GX? Many of them are unclear to me.

 

[Deleted member 663203]

Right. I set Game Language to English, then it works (no need to change video settings). Thanks!

One more question, is there any guide or doc about the settings in USB Loader GX? Many of them are unclear to me.

I don't know but any questions you have will be kindly answered here.

 

[Kirby6417]

Yeah I’ve never seen a guide. I just learned what the settings do by hunting these forums for a long time. I got pretty good at using the search function, but most of my luck was just going to Google and typing whatever setting I wanted to know about and adding “gbatemp” to the search and finding a post from 3-10 years ago. Most answers were from cyan who is a legend.

 

[sockscap]

Good idea. I've found most of the answers using your method. Thanks for sharing.

However, I cannot find the descriptions of the following options under Loader settings. Anyone knows what it is?

- Quick Boot: enable it to speed up game launch?
- Channel Launcher: What's the difference between the two options?

 

[Kirby6417]

Hm. I’ve never looked into those. Might do some testing this week so I’ll let you know if I find anything out.

 

[XFlak]

Good idea. I've found most of the answers using your method. Thanks for sharing.

However, I cannot find the descriptions of the following options under Loader settings. Anyone knows what it is?

- Quick Boot: enable it to speed up game launch?
- Channel Launcher: What's the difference between the two options?

I could be mistaken but iirc quick boot is mainly for titles on an emunand, and when enabled it loads less/minimal resources from the emunand to speed up boot times. When it works u may save a few seconds loading, and when it doesn't you will have to disable quick boot on a per title basis. It wouldn't surprise me if eventually an "Auto" mode gets introduced for this as well, that would be awesome

 

[sockscap]

I could be mistaken but iirc quick boot is mainly for titles on an emunand, and when enabled it loads less/minimal resources from the emunand to speed up boot times. When it works u may save a few seconds loading, and when it doesn't you will have to disable quick boot on a per title basis. It wouldn't surprise me if eventually an "Auto" mode gets introduced for this as well, that would be awesome

Thanks XFlak! You are so knowledgable and always explain the technical details so clearly!

 

[leejaclane]

I'm not trying to be pushy or demanding, but I thought there was supposed to be an update coming? I was hoping to get an estimate on how long it will be before the update is released, as I wanted to loan my Wii U to someone for them to play Wii games on it and I had been holding off on it until the update was ready because it was supposed to fix some issues. If it's going to be another month or more, I might as well just loan it to them now and then update USB Loader GX later when the update is released. I'm sorry if I seem impatient or ungrateful, that's not my intention at all.

I think I'll just plan to loan it to them and maybe lock the games that I know have issues.

 

[grandosegood]

I'm not trying to be pushy or demanding, but I thought there was supposed to be an update coming? I was hoping to get an estimate on how long it will be before the update is released, as I wanted to loan my Wii U to someone for them to play Wii games on it and I had been holding off on it until the update was ready because it was supposed to fix some issues. If it's going to be another month or more, I might as well just loan it to them now and then update USB Loader GX later when the update is released. I'm sorry if I seem impatient or ungrateful, that's not my intention at all.

I think I'll just plan to loan it to them and maybe lock the games that I know have issues.

Hey there, have you considered virtual console injections? It will give them potential gamepad usage too

 

[XFlak]

So I dusted off my WiiU and updated my vWii softmods (last time it was touched was 2018). I acted a bit rashly and updated everything before even confirming if things were working in their previous state. I've updated d2x cIOS to v11-beta1-vWii (base 56,57,58 to slots 249-251 as recommended). My HDD for vWii is the same HDD I use for Wii so it already had GX updated to blackb0x's latest version and working properly on the Wii, just never tested on the vWii. Unfortunately now my HDD is not recognized by GX.

Here are some other things to note:
-This is the same HDD that was working on my vWii previously, it still works on my Wii, and I know 100% it is formatted properly
-HDD is detected by HBC, and can be used to launch GX
-I use a Y-cable on vWii for extra power to the HDD (standard cable works fine on Wii though with same HDD), y-cable still works today and can power another HDD just fine (formatted for use in WiiU mode though, not vWii), so for these reasons I don't think the issue is likely to be HDD or cable related
-I reinstalled d2x v10 beta52 which made no difference, I've since reverted to d2x v11 beta1
-I tried installing base 57 to slot 249 as was previously recommended years ago, made no difference, since reverted back to base 56 in slot 249
-I tried adjusting the meta.xml ios and bootios arguments, but I'm just guessing at what to change (I did remove the comment lines)

    <!-- remove this line to enable arguments
    <arguments>
        <arg>--ios=249</arg>
        <arg>--bootios=58</arg>
        <arg>--usbport=0</arg>
        <arg>--mountusb=1</arg>
        <arg>--sdmode=0</arg>
    </arguments>
    remove this line to enable arguments -->

So basically all I updated was GX and cIOS and now the HDD isn't detected anymore. Any ideas anyone? I'm really not a vWii expert so any help would be appreciated. Thx!

edit: solved, see below

 

[ber71]

Don't ask me why, but in order to share my usb, i had to enable the 'read all partitions' flag.

 

[morning_glory]

So I dusted off my WiiU and updated my vWii softmods (last time it was touched was 2018). I acted a bit rashly and updated everything before even confirming if things were working in their previous state. I've updated d2x cIOS to v11-beta1-vWii (base 56,57,58 to slots 249-251 as recommended). My HDD for vWii is the same HDD I use for Wii so it already had GX updated to blackb0x's latest version and working properly on the Wii, just never tested on the vWii. Unfortunately now my HDD is not recognized by GX.

Here are some other things to note:
-This is the same HDD that was working on my vWii previously, it still works on my Wii, and I know 100% it is formatted properly
-HDD is detected by HBC, and can be used to launch GX
-I use a Y-cable on vWii for extra power to the HDD (standard cable works fine on Wii though with same HDD), y-cable still works today and can power another HDD just fine (formatted for use in WiiU mode though, not vWii), so for these reasons I don't think the issue is likely to be HDD or cable related
-I reinstalled d2x v10 beta52 which made no difference, I've since reverted to d2x v11 beta1
-I tried installing base 57 to slot 249 as was previously recommended years ago, made no difference, since reverted back to base 56 in slot 249
-I tried adjusting the meta.xml ios and bootios arguments, but I'm just guessing at what to change (I did remove the comment lines)

<!-- remove this line to enable arguments
<arguments>
<arg>--ios=249</arg>
<arg>--bootios=58</arg>
<arg>--usbport=0</arg>
<arg>--mountusb=1</arg>
<arg>--sdmode=0</arg>
</arguments>
remove this line to enable arguments -->

So basically all I updated was GX and cIOS and now the HDD isn't detected anymore. Any ideas anyone? I'm really not a vWii expert so any help would be appreciated. Thx!

Have you tried earlier version/s of GX ?

 

[XFlak]

Have you tried earlier version/s of GX ?

I haven't, I suppose this would be a good idea, lol. I did try the latest versions of cfg and Wiiflow and none of them worked either. I'll try older versions when I get a chance and circle back, thanks.

edit: I tried GX rev1271, no difference

edit2: SOLVED! Such a dumb issue. I swapped the usb ports used by the 2 ends of the Y cable, I'm pretty sure I had the data cable in port0 (the 1 nearest the edge) - is this the intended data port for vWii the same as it is for Wii? I swapped it so the data line is now in port1 and addition power line is in port0. Either this or I got the y-cable ends mixed up, I am assuming the thicker end is data+power and the thinner one is additional power only.

 

[jeannotte]

I swapped the usb ports used by the 2 ends of the Y cable, I'm pretty sure I had the data cable in port0 (the 1 nearest the edge) - is this the intended data port for vWii the same as it is for Wii? I swapped it so the data line is now in port1 and addition power line is in port0.

the USB port, closest to the edge is that of the second power supply
.

 

[XFlak]

the USB port, closest to the edge is that of the second power supply
.



View attachment 413711

that explains it, I thought the usb port nearest the edge was the primary one, my bad. It differs from the Wii in this way, I totally forgot

 

[morning_glory]

that explains it, I thought the usb port nearest the edge was the primary one, my bad. It differs from the Wii in this way, I totally forgot

Just don't go forgetting the things you're good at

 

[steval_beaning]

If you're playing the game from an SD card then that's likely why it's freezing. And that issue will be addressed in my next release.

Can I ask if there's any updates on this? I'm also having trouble getting the game to run from the SD card I store my games on.

 

[morning_glory]

Can I ask if there's any updates on this?

I thought it was resolved (?). I haven't been keeping up with it. I'm still living in BC
But, don't discount the fact that not all games will be trouble free. You did state "game" (not plural). Try other games (if you have any). Also, try other loader/s.

 

[Error52]

Will there's be compatibility improvements to EmuNAND with the next update? Juggling between the NAND and EmuNAND just for a few games is a bit of a pain.