Hacking USB Loader GX

[blackb0x]

When I try connecting my external hdd to the wii, it works perfectly. Usb loader gx opens normally and I can play my games without problems. But when I try to open it with my sandisk usb 3.0 256gb usb drive connected to the wii or with my external ssd, it gets stuck on "reinitializing devices" message.

Some drives may work correctly with IOS but fail when used with a cIOS. That's why it's generally recommended to avoid USB flash drives or devices that use very modern chipsets.

You do mention this...

With usb loader gx v3.0-r1272, it worked without problems with both devices.

With usb loader gx v3.0-r1272 mod7, I encountered the same "reinitializing devices" issue. But then I modified the meta.xml to bootios=58 and it worked.

But when you say it works, do you mean you're actually able to play a variety of games? For example, Animal Crossing City Folk, CoD Black Ops, and Worms Battle Islands would all be great to test, since each one uses a different cIOS.

If the games don't work, then there's not much point in trying to force the loader to run under IOS58. However, if your games do work, then update from a version that has the loaders IOS set to 58 in the settings menu. After that edit the meta.xml file so that the args section looks like this…

    <arguments>
        <arg>--ios=58</arg>
        <arg>--bootios=58</arg>
        <arg>--usbport=0</arg>
        <arg>--sdmode=0</arg>
    </arguments>

 

[Lima112]

Can you confirm this was a fresh install? I. E. Rename or erase your current gx and copy it back directly from the release zip.

If it still fails, can you share the contents of your modified meta.xml to confirm arguments are enabled? The old default meta had arguments commented out, the new meta instead requires you adjust the argument tags to enable them. Apologies as I know u said u did this, but couldn't hurt to double check.

Yes, it was a fresh install! I formatted my sd card before the testing and copied the files from the release zip to the sd card.
I removed everything from the usb stick and the ssd, keeping only some wii games for this test. They're both formatted in fat32. I tried formatting them in wbfs, but it still freezes on "reinitializing devices".

Here is the content of my modified meta.xml


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<app version="1">
<name> USB Loader GX</name>
<coder>blackb0x</coder>
<version>4.0 r1283</version>
<release_date>20250704110000</release_date>
<arguments>
<arg>--ios=58</arg>
<arg>--bootios=249</arg>
<arg>--usbport=0</arg>
<arg>--sdmode=0</arg>
</arguments>
<ahb_access />
<short_description>Load games from a USB or SD card</short_description>
<long_description>USB Loader GX allows you to install your games to a USB storage device or SD card. You can then boot your games faster, download and use cheats, or apply various patches.

Home:
https://github.com/wiidev/usbloadergx
Support:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/149922</long_description>
</app>

But when you say it works, do you mean you're actually able to play a variety of games? For example, Animal Crossing City Folk, CoD Black Ops, and Worms Battle Islands would all be great to test, since each one uses a different cIOS.

I just tested Animal Crossing City Folk with cIOS 248 [38] and CoD Black Ops with cIOS 250 [57] on usb loader gx r1272 mod7 and both worked fine! I just changed the game's IOS in settings for each game.

Code:

    <arguments>
        <arg>--ios=58</arg>
        <arg>--bootios=58</arg>
        <arg>--usbport=0</arg>
        <arg>--sdmode=0</arg>
    </arguments>

After some testing, the only way that passed through "reinitializing devices" was changing bootios to 249. I tried putting ios=58 and ios=249 and both worked, but only with bootios=249. I got into my games list in usb loader gx successfully and could load my games without problems. But then I encountered another problem: when I go back to wii menu or homebrew channel and try to open usb loader gx again, it gets stuck again on "reinitializing devices". It seems that usb loader gx changes the main.xml to ios=249 and bootios=58 automatically every time it opens. So if I want to pass through "reinitializing devices" to see my games list and play my games, I have to change bootios to 249 on the main.xml every time before opening usb loader gx.

Is there some way to lock these configurations in meta.xml to prevent them from being modified?

 

[blackb0x]

After some testing, the only way that passed through "reinitializing devices" was changing bootios to 249. I tried putting ios=58 and ios=249 and both worked, but only with bootios=249.

In that case you should set 249 for both.

But then I encountered another problem: when I go back to wii menu or homebrew channel and try to open usb loader gx again, it gets stuck again on "reinitializing devices". It seems that usb loader gx changes the main.xml to ios=249 and bootios=58 automatically every time it opens.

Make sure Loaders IOS is set to 249 in the settings menu. Then as long as you edit meta.xml and launch the loader from the Homebrew Channel it should continue to have bootios=249 set.

 

[Lima112]

In that case you should set 249 for both.

Ok!

Make sure Loaders IOS is set to 249 in the settings menu. Then as long as you edit meta.xml and launch the loader from the Homebrew Channel it should continue to have bootios=249 set.

Loaders IOS is set to 249, but when I close usb loader gx, bootios still changes automatically to 58. So if I open it again, it gets stuck on "reinitializing devices". It happens the same way when I open it from the homebrew channel or from the forwarder. I have the following forwarder installed: USB Loader GX-UNEO_Forwarder_5_1_AHBPROT.wad

I've just tested usb loader gx v3.0-r1281. It worked when I set bootios to 249 in meta.xml, and it doesn't change to 58 like v4.0-r1283. This way I can open usb loader gx r1281 without problems as many times as I want.

 

[blackb0x]

I've just tested usb loader gx v3.0-r1281. It worked when I set bootios to 249 in meta.xml, and it doesn't change to 58 like v4.0-r1283. This way I can open usb loader gx r1281 without problems as many times as I want.

My bad. This is a feature that isn't commonly used, and since I've been looking at newer code I forgot that it's something I've already fixed in passing

If none of the fixes introduced in r1282 or r1283 are relevant to your setup, then r1281 should serve you well for now.

 

[Lima112]

If none of the fixes introduced in r1282 or r1283 are relevant to your setup, then r1281 should serve you well for now.

I'll use r1281 for now then. I'm glad it worked!

Thank you for all your help! And keep up the good job, we appreciate it!

 

[AlfredoDore]

I'm having a peculiar problem with Disney Epic Mickey 2. The game is in Spanish, and while the emulator displays the language in Spanish, the Wii insists on showing it in English. My game version is PAL. If necessary, could I transfer the Spanish files to the NTSC version, just like they did with the first game and with Zelda TP, where I transferred the Spanish files from the PAL version to the NTSC version

 

[elenarguez]

I'm having a peculiar problem with Disney Epic Mickey 2. The game is in Spanish, and while the emulator displays the language in Spanish, the Wii insists on showing it in English. My game version is PAL. If necessary, could I transfer the Spanish files to the NTSC version, just like they did with the first game and with Zelda TP, where I transferred the Spanish files from the PAL version to the NTSC version

You might have the version of the game that doesn't have Spanish. I think there are two PAL versions, one without Spanish and the other with

http://redump.org/disc/52117/

 

[Lima112]

My bad. This is a feature that isn't commonly used, and since I've been looking at newer code I forgot that it's something I've already fixed in passing

If none of the fixes introduced in r1282 or r1283 are relevant to your setup, then r1281 should serve you well for now.

Just an update: after changing bootios to 249, it is possible to prevent usb loader gx from changing to 58 again by making the meta.xml file read-only.

In Windows, right-click the file, go to properties, and select the read-only option. And that's it!
Maybe this might be useful to someone else.

 

[blackb0x]

Just an update: after changing bootios to 249, it is possible to prevent usb loader gx from changing to 58 again by making the meta.xml file read-only.

I'm aware of that, but I didn't suggest it because it can cause issues when updating through the loaders built-in updater. And in addition to that, some people have reported that GameCube games freeze when they attempt to exit them, which doesn't occur when using USB Loader GX r1281.

 

[Koanex]

Hi!
A game sorter would be a nice implementation

for example
- sort for region
- sort for players 1 2 3 4
- sort for nunchucks needed

Or so on

Thanks

 

[Glomgold]

Should I update to the last version if everything is working fine for me?

 

[CaxB2000]

So I just discovered a bug. Unsure where to put it, so imma put it here.

Using a theme (like the Proto theme) causes a game (Looney Tunes: Back in Action) to not start up at all. At the default theme, it works just fine.

 

[DoctorWhosThat]

For some weird reason on Wii U via vWii, i actually can't connect to literally download anything or load games/channels to play online especially Wii No Ma?

Though outside of loader itself, i can still actually go online!?

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I am using SD mode, as i don't have a compatible USB and don't want to sacrifice my external which i once used with my Wii.

 

[CaxB2000]

So, I am having issues with getting the Neek games to go back to USB Loader GX since the ability to boot it from Priiloader has been removed.

Each and everytime I exit it, I just go to the Neek menu now. Any ways to fix it?

 

[Hiccup]

I chose not to have an open issue tracker on GitHub because most problems are caused by modified global default settings, USB drive compatibility issues, or outdated, missing, or incorrect cIOS installations.

Once I get around to creating a simple troubleshooting guide, I may also create an issue template for GitHub. However, as I mentioned the other day, I'm currently backlogged.

There are over 2,600 Wii games, and I would estimate that the loader can play about 99% of them. So once I've released the next update maybe I'll list off the few with known issues.

That's reasonable. Thanks.

 

[pantofliaras]

Hello!
In the latest version v4.0-r1283 you can no longer deselect the title sources?
The button at the bottom right cycles through: mix/wii/gamecube/nand/emunand/homebrew
Anyway to only keep wii/gc/emunand?

 

[blackb0x]

A game sorter would be a nice implementation

for example
- sort for region
- sort for players 1 2 3 4
- sort for nunchucks needed

You can already do something like this by creating custom categories, but admittedly it’s time-consuming to set up.

I guess I could eventually add more categories to the Import Categories setting.

Using a theme (like the Proto theme) causes a game (Looney Tunes: Back in Action) to not start up at all. At the default theme, it works just fine.

Custom themes can load in assets that use a large amount of memory, which can result in issues like this. However, the next loader update will consume less memory, so it might help to resolve this issue too.

For some weird reason on Wii U via vWii, i actually can't connect to literally download anything or load games/channels to play online especially Wii No Ma?

Though outside of loader itself, i can still actually go online!?

Are you using an ethernet adapter? If you are, that's the reason. You'll need to try forcing the game to use cIOS 251 (base 58), but many games won't work with it.

In the latest version v4.0-r1283 you can no longer deselect the title sources?
The button at the bottom right cycles through: mix/wii/gamecube/nand/emunand/homebrew
Anyway to only keep wii/gc/emunand?

Select the small button to the right. You'll then see a puzzle piece when using a custom selection.

 

[pantofliaras]

You can already do something like this by creating custom categories, but admittedly it’s time-consuming to set up.

I guess I could eventually add more categories to the Import Categories setting.


Custom themes can load in assets that use a large amount of memory, which can result in issues like this. However, the next loader update will consume less memory, so it might help to resolve this issue too.


Are you using an ethernet adapter? If you are, that's the reason. You'll need to try forcing the game to use cIOS 251 (base 58), but many games won't work with it.


Select the small button to the right. You'll then see a puzzle piece when using a custom selection.

I am trying to remove the Puzzle piece and the nand/emunand buttons. As shown on the picture.

The small button to the right only removes games sources (title source selector), so the categories still stay but the games are not shown.

Is there a way to enable/disable those category buttons?

 

[blackb0x]

I am trying to remove the Puzzle piece and the nand/emunand buttons. As shown on the picture.

You can't. Here's why...

The updated UI is designed to be more user friendly while also making it easier for people to troubleshoot. So for example, I now know that everyone will have the same buttons enabled and they'll always be in the same order. And unlike previous versions of the loader there won't be situations where someones games go missing because they booted the loader without their USB drive connected one time.

If you want the older behaviour then you can install an older custom theme.