Hacking USB Loader GX

[kot7k]

You previously said you'd tried changing the cIOS for the homebrew channel. So I'm just telling you that it wouldn't make a difference as of r1280.

If you press the home button and select to return to the homebrew channel then is the USB option inaccessible?

Yeah, if i access it through home button in usb loader gx it loads usb apps.

 

[ChibiMofo]

I just want to thank @blackb0x for all of his hard work on our behalf. Between @BrandNewman fan translations and the improvements to USB Loader GX, wii are getting things I would not have thought possible two years ago when I assumed the wiiscene was dead!

 

[Sypherone]

@ChibiMofo Ya, he put a lot of work in it. Thats why already donated him some really worth kof-fi .

 

[zigoraty]

One more novelty, after installing d2x-v11-beta1 on the Vwii, I don't know if it has a direct relationship but surprisingly now pokémon battle revolution works perfectly through usb loader gx. I tested it through USB and SD and it worked perfectly on both, and the best now it works in the shrunk wbfs format which is only about 1 GB. From my tests and research on the internet to make it work on the Wii U, this game only worked well if it was injected full iso, or loaded through a loader using wbfs with full iso size (4.37 GB) thus becoming a wbfs and wbfs1, I was using it that way through wiiflow because in the usb loader gx the game wouldn't even open.

 

[GDX]

@blackb0x Thanks for your work!

it's been a while since i last updated my wii

I have a question,
do you think you can create a fix or workaround for The Adventures of TiNTiN game crashing after the plane cutscene?
it's the only unplayabble game in my library .

On the dolphin emulator there is a fix but I don't know if you can do something about it for USB Loader GX
https://bugs.dolphin-emu.org/issues/10361

 

[r1vver]

Somehow I also just caught the "could not create path usb8:/apps/usbloader_gx/..." error when working with single alone SD card.
But in my case my 4GB SDHC card have exactly only one partition (without any hidden ones), MBR, FAT32, 32k and all that (rechecked).
It's Wii, cIOS d2x-v11-beta1 and USB Loader GX v3.0-r1281.
Some sort of mystic.

Update: Tho nevermind. in the same mystical way it began to work.

 

[V800]

@blackb0x Thanks for your work!

it's been a while since i last updated my wii

I have a question,
do you think you can create a fix or workaround for The Adventures of TiNTiN game crashing after the plane cutscene?
it's the only unplayabble game in my library .

On the dolphin emulator there is a fix but I don't know if you can do something about it for USB Loader GX
https://bugs.dolphin-emu.org/issues/10361

Have you tried using neek2o? I think it was Xflak who said Tintin was playable by using it.

 

[GDX]

Have you tried using neek2o? I think it was Xflak who said Tintin was playable by using it.

Yes with neek2o it works but i mean run it from usb loader GX without emunand.

 

[blackb0x]

IOS80 appears as "no patches", It's normal ?

I believe it is.

But being a larger sd, the Panasonic software do the format in ExFat, so I decided, just for curiosity, to go with the EaseUS software.

And... surprise

32MB on one first partition were giving me quite a huge headache So I deleted all, formated again, minimum SD files with two games and...

I'm glad you figured out the problem. But it should be less of an issue in the future as I will improve how it handles multiple partitions

Yeah, if i access it through home button in usb loader gx it loads usb apps.

Okay. I guess your system is a little picky, but I think I know how to work around the problem. I'll send you a private message.

I just want to thank @blackb0x for all of his hard work on our behalf. Between @BrandNewman fan translations and the improvements to USB Loader GX, wii are getting things I would not have thought possible two years ago when I assumed the wiiscene was dead!

Thank you for the kind words

One more novelty, after installing d2x-v11-beta1 on the Vwii, I don't know if it has a direct relationship but surprisingly now pokémon battle revolution works perfectly through usb loader gx.

Did you test it with r1281 prior to the cIOS update? Since I'd expect automatic cIOS selection and automatic language selection to be what boosts compatibility and gets games to easily boot.

do you think you can create a fix or workaround for The Adventures of TiNTiN game crashing after the plane cutscene?
it's the only unplayabble game in my library .

I know that one's problematic due to it using MetaFortress, but I'll take another look before my next release.

Somehow I also just caught the "could not create path usb8:/apps/usbloader_gx/..." error when working with single alone SD card.
But in my case my 4GB SDHC card have exactly only one partition (without any hidden ones), MBR, FAT32, 32k and all that (rechecked).

I assume you've already deleted the usbloader_gx directory and started over. So are you launching the loader from the HBC or a forwarder other than UNEO?

 

[r1vver]

I assume you've already deleted the usbloader_gx directory and started over. So are you launching the loader from the HBC or a forwarder other than UNEO?

I tried both from HBC and through a forwarder (I don’t know which one, ModMii installed it for me once).
The problems disappeared completely when I formatted the card using SD Card Formatter 5.0.2 (from sdcard.org).
Prior to this (when there were problems) the card was formatted with GUIFormat.
Basically, I'm not going to use the Wii without a USB-HDD, it was just a trial run for a quick check. So it doesn't really bother me.

btw, that's what SD Card Formatter 5.0.2 did that GUIFormat didn't:
(i.e. completely opposite to this)

 

[zigoraty]

Did you test it with r1281 prior to the cIOS update? Since I'd expect automatic cIOS selection and automatic language selection to be what boosts compatibility and gets games to easily boot.

Yes, I had tried it on r1281 with d2x-v10-beta52 and also later with d2x-v11-beta1. I used the same unshrinked wbfs that I use on wiiflow and it didn't work, the game banner was black and the game wouldn't start. Today I deleted the cache files from the usb loader folder and downloaded the game again even though it worked fine on wiiflow. I downloaded wbfs shrinked to check if the loader would load. This time the banner appeared and the game loaded, and as a bonus it doesn't freeze before starting the battles as always happens with this shrinked game on the wii u. I don't know if it was the usb loader gx r1281 or d2x-v11-beta1 that fixed the problem with this game on the wii u.

I saved 3GB, my storage is limited I use a 64GB pendrive so I was happy . Thank you very much for your work!

 

[Hiitech]

Lately I've been playing Opoona, a Wii RPG. I bought the game back in the day and did a backup iso to play on USB Loader GX for convenience. I don't want to burn the Wii U lens out more than the necessary.

Here is the issue. Opoona has a 4:3 aspect ratio, but when I load it in USB Loader GX the image is stretched to fill the screen and the aspect ratio goes to waste. My system settings are in 16:9 so at first I thought it was the Wii U fault, but lately I tried to run the game using the disc channel and the game shows fine. The Wii U add two bars to the side of the screen so the aspect ratio is perfectly preserved.

So I wonder if there is some way to get the same aspect ratio the disc channel achieves on Usb Loader GX. I've tried some of the loader options but I am not having any results.

I should note that I'm using the last version of the app (v3.0-r1281).

 

[RetraCarteR]

Lately I've been playing Opoona, a Wii RPG. I bought the game back in the day and did a backup iso to play on USB Loader GX for convenience. I don't want to burn the Wii U lens out more than the necessary.

Here is the issue. Opoona has a 4:3 aspect ratio, but when I load it in USB Loader GX the image is stretched to fill the screen and the aspect ratio goes to waste. My system settings are in 16:9 so at first I thought it was the Wii U fault, but lately I tried to run the game using the disc channel and the game shows fine. The Wii U add two bars to the side of the screen so the aspect ratio is perfectly preserved.

So I wonder if there is some way to get the same aspect ratio the disc channel achieves on Usb Loader GX. I've tried some of the loader options but I am not having any results.

I should note that I'm using the last version of the app (v3.0-r1281).

Try setting "Aspect Ratio" to "Force 4:3" and "Dol Video Patch" to "All". If that doesn't work, set "Video Width" to "Framebuffer". If that doesn't work, go to "Features" in the global settings menu and set "Wii U Widescreen" to "Off". I don't have a Wii U myself, so I can't test it out, but I'm willing to bet that at least one of those three solutions will work.

 

[Magnus87]

@blackb0x You are amazing! Thank you very much for keeping USBLoader GX alive, seeing an update in 2023 fills me with joy!

 

[zigoraty]

I found that what caused the problem with some games the first time I tested the r1281 was changing the game window mode to display the discs instead of the banner, so some games freeze when trying to exit. I also noticed that when I load SD mode and go back to USB, if I load an emunand wiiware game, when I exit I'm thrown to the Wii U menu. I'm using emunand on SD and the games work fine, but via USB(Ustealth) when trying load some emunand game, it doesn't load and goes to homebrew. Lastly, I noticed that the displayed SD storage is bugged.

 

[blackb0x]

@zigoraty I'll see if I can replicate the issues later on my Wii, but it does seem odd that you're the only person reporting these issues.

Lastly, I noticed that the displayed SD storage is bugged.

What seems wrong with the SD storage info? Since both myself and my testers have never seen it display incorrect information.

 

[OldGnashburg]

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)

Previous release - r1280

New

• Added the ability to play Wii games from SD cards
• Added automatic cIOS selection for games (cIOS changes are recommended)
• Added automatic language selection for when a Wii game doesn't support your systems language (requires wiitdb.xml)
• Added basic CISO support for Nintendont
• Added an option to render games at their framebuffer widths
• Added an option to hide or show your game count
• Added an option to remember your last played game
• Added patches that make Kirby's Return to Dreamland playable (SUKE01, SUKP01 and SUKJ01)
• Added cover action options for the list view (download covers or view information)
• Added the ability to navigate USB Loader GX via guitars
• Added the ability to scroll through the channel grid view
• Added support for multiple instances with separate config files (this is mainly a developer feature)
• Added support for Devolution's progressive patching and regional emulated memory cards (thanks to xperia64)

Fixed

• Fixed an issue that made Excite Truck unplayable
• Fixed an issue that made Driver: San Francisco freeze after you'd complete the tutorial
• Fixed an issue that prevented other homebrew from accessing your USB storage device
• Fixed an issue that prevented USB Loader GX from launching custom channel forwarders correctly
• Fixed an issue that prevented homebrew from returning you back to USB Loader GX when you'd exit
• Fixed an issue that prevented Devolution from loading games from an SD card (thanks to xperia64)
• Fixed an issue that would cause the amount of free space to not be displayed correctly
• Fixed an issue that would cause game ID's to be displayed for EmuNAND titles

Improved

• Drastically improved caching (huge thanks to Oddx for this)
• Improved the accuracy of the region information that's displayed in the list view
• Improved cover downloading (it refreshes less and it should download more covers)
• Improved the quality of the built-in audio files
• The DVD drive should now stop spinning after you've installed a game
• Nintendont's PAL50 patch can now be applied to any video mode
• Game ID's can now be viewed from the info screen (press 2 when the cursor is over a game)
• Some EmuNAND and WAD settings were cleaned up
• USB Loader GX can be compiled with devkitPPC r41
• The development environment was overhauled (Visual Studio Code support, Codespaces support etc.)
• Some translations were updated (thanks to bjxuf, DDinghoya & Bamsemesteren)
• Other miscellaneous corrections and improvements

Source: https://github.com/wiidev/usbloadergx
Donate: https://ko-fi.com/blackb0x
Download: https://github.com/wiidev/usbloadergx/releases

Along with this USB Loader GX update I've also released d2x v11 beta1, which fixes a RiiConnect24 compatibility problem and it also adds EmuNAND UStealth support. I've attached installers for both Wii and vWii to this post.

Special thanks to everyone who's tested debug builds, sent me pull requests at GitHub and patches here at GBAtemp.

Spoiler: History

Seventh release:

• Fixed boot issues for some people
• Fixed an issue that would cause some homebrew to fail to return to the loader
• Fixed an issue that prevented WiiWare and VC games from being patched correctly
• Fixed an issue that would cause the date and time to be wrong for some people
• Fixed an issue that would cause some Wiimotes to connect as player 2 instead of player 1
• Added deflicker filter options (the safe option is recommended)
• Added Portuguese and Russian synopsis support
• Added an option to reset all game settings
• Restored the option to update Nintendont from the features screen
• Corrected analog stick ranges and made the cursor speed much more consistent
• Corrected some translations (update your languages)
• Improved how banners are displayed on Korean Wii systems
• The loaders homebrew browser will now only search for boot.dol and boot.elf files
• The custom server option will now only be displayed when necessary
• The cheats URL can now be edited via the config file
• Updated the build tools and some libraries
• Miscellaneous corrections and improvements

Sixth release:

• Updated the Wiimmfi patch thanks to Leseratte10
• Fixed a crash that occurs when using some third party classic controllers
• Fixed an issue that would cause a few games to freeze
• Fixed parental controls not working when header caching is enabled
• Fixed PAL to NTSC video mode patching
• Fixed background music selection
• Fixed game size detection when exporting to a list
• Fixed zip file extraction after updating to devkitPPC r38

Fifth release:

• Fixed NTFS partition size detection
• Fixed a crash that would occur when removing a game from an NTFS partition
• Fixed a crash that would occur when networking is enabled and you're using proxy settings
• Fixed a few issues with game header caching
• Fixed an IOS reloading and patching issue for some devices
• Restores compatibility with older versions of Nintendont (pre-BBA)
• Miscellaneous corrections and improvements

Fourth release:

• Automatically patch error 23400 for CoD (Black Ops, Reflex, MW3) and Rock Band (3, The Beatles)
• Automatically patch the Mario Kart Wii remote code execution vulnerability
• Removed BenFi as a private server option because the server went offline
• Added an option to set a custom private server address directly from the loader
• Added HTTP(S) proxy support and improved how connection timeouts are handled
• Added game header caching thanks to Oddx & geoGolem (disabled by default)
• Changed the URL for cheats because geckocodes shutdown
• Other general fixes

Third release:

• Added AltWFC and BenFi as private server options
• Added the ability to edit the cover and banner URLs
• Added the builds Git commit ID to the boot screen
• Fixed Japanese descriptions not being displayed correctly
• Fixed an issue that would cause the storage details to not be shown
• Updated the networking code to achieve faster downloads
• Updated WiinnerTag to RiiTag
• Updated the meta.xml information
• Updated Portuguese and Korean translations thanks to Codemastershock & DDinghoya
• Removed some unnecessary files
• Removed an extra forward slash from the language path

Second release:

• Added Nintendont BBA emulation and net profile options
• Restored compatibility with WiiGSC and older forwarders
• Fixed GPT partition size detection (provided by Cyan)
• Correctly filter the games list after downloading covers so that Wii games don't go missing
• Disconnect Wiimotes before calling WPAD_Shutdown
• Changed "Game Cube" to "GameCube" (update your languages)
• Enabled the 480p enhancement by default

First release:

• Fixes cheat downloads from geckocodes.org
• Fixes a minor memory leak
• All downloads now use HTTPS
• Optimised all images
• Removed some old redundant code

Please send me a private message if you need to report a problem.

Replace all files when upgrading.

Holy crap! I've been peeking my head into the Wii/Wii U scenes updating my setups that I haven't really touched in 5 years and running some pretty ancient stuff. It's really nice to see the scene still active and doing awesome work adding cool features, fixing longstanding bugs and improving QoL. Thanks for this.

 

[zigoraty]

@zigoraty I'll see if I can replicate the issues later on my Wii, but it does seem odd that you're the only person reporting these issues.


What seems wrong with the SD storage info? Since both myself and my testers have never seen it display incorrect information.

But everything is working very well, I just decided to report these details. I took a picture from SD storage, maybe I didn't explain well.

 

[blackb0x]

I took a picture from SD storage

How much space is actually free if you check via a PC?

 

[zigoraty]

Quanto espaço é realmente livre se você verificar por meio de um PC?

11 GB grátis.

Edit: For some reason now it's displaying correctly again.