Hacking USB Loader GX

[bengalih]

The game itself has the hashes in it. If you right-click on the game in Dolphin and go to properties>Filesystem then right-click the game partition and select "check partition integrity".

You can also use Wiimm's ISO tools. (wit verify)

Doesn't Wii Backup Manager do the same thing? I've noticed that it has MD5 and SHA1 hashes. I always wondered where it gets those values from because it obviously isn't taking the time to hash each one (as hashing a file of that size would take at least a few minutes a piece).
So you are saying the game itself has a hash value built in that can be read to compare to the computed hash? Interesting.
I'll have to try this out using a couple methods you mention and see what I get. I strip all but the "G" partition, so not sure if that will affect the results.

 

[bengalih]

hmm - so I'm not really sure what Wii Backup Manager does. It shows an MD5 hash for every .wbfs game. It has the option to "verify" or "recalculate" these hashes. I'm not really sure what it is calculating or checking because the MD5 hash it shows is not the same if I use an external MD5 checksum program to calculate the wbfs file.

That aside, I did try the Dolphin integrity check, which provides no information other than to tell me it is good.
I also used "wit verify" (which apparently you need to use with the "-p" switch and point it directly at the .wbfs file?).
With verbosity on it tells me:

WBFSv1 #1/1 opened: w:\wbfs\Thomas & Friends - Hero of the Rails [ST4PNX]\ST4PNX.wbfs
>scan 1.0 DATA ST4PNX Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails
>info TICKET & TMD are well signed. Partition is encrypted and scrubbed.
+OK 1.0 DATA ST4PNX Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails
* WBFS #1: 1 disc verified.
​

I don't know much about how all these values are stored, but from reading the Wiims iso tools here:
http://wit.wiimm.de/wwt/cmd-verify.html#intro

It seems to indicate that indeed there are stored checksums (H4 for the whole partition) and that this verification method works well regardless of if the disk is scrubbed or not. So it would see like you can take it mostly as gospel if these return that the image is good (assuming someone didn't also somehow modify the stored values(?)).

So - it looks like my image is good.

Could it be due to my current global settings of forcing NTSC 480p and turning the video patching to "All" ?

I actually set these as my global settings in USBLGX because I needed those two things set for this particular game to play full screen without what appeared to be some type of haziness/interlacing. It didn't seem to negatively affect any other games I tried so I kept these settings globally.

Is having those set a bad idea?

Most of my searching about the error message I have found indicates that people seem to get it either:
1) If they are playing from a disc and have either a bad disk or laser.
2) If they are playing from a loader (HDD based) they get it upon loading a game.

I can't find any other posts that state this happens after x amount of time playing a game from the loader.

I had one other thought as one change I made to my console... I previously had a Wii disc (Wii Fit) inside the drive...it was just sitting there...probably because I forgot to eject it after backing it up. I recently decided to take it out because I figured I didn't need the disc/laser trying to read it everytime the Wii started. It can't be possible that a disc (any disc) is actually needed in the drive for certain games, can it? Like somehow the game does a disc access check at some random moment? I would think the cIOS redirects all of this, but just wanted to mention it.

 

[i0nzeu5]

Hi all 2 part question.
1st) Is there a way to have my Wii load directly to USB Loader GX when I turn it on?
2nd) Can I run my emulators (FCEUX, SNES9X, VBAGX, GenPlus, Wiimednafen etc etc) from the USB Loader GX interface?
If anyone could point me in the direction of answers I'd appreciate it.
Thank you!

 

[bengalih]

Hi all 2 part question.
1st) Is there a way to have my Wii load directly to USB Loader GX when I turn it on?
2nd) Can I run my emulators (FCEUX, SNES9X, VBAGX, GenPlus, Wiimednafen etc etc) from the USB Loader GX interface?
If anyone could point me in the direction of answers I'd appreciate it.
Thank you!

#1 - Yes - install the forwarder channel so you can launch it from the System Menu directly. Then, install the priiloader .dol to boot directly to the channel. Ofc this assumes you have priiloader installed first. Follow mauifrog's softmod guide on this site for the applicable parts and files.

#2 - I don't believe you can launch anything but GC games directly from the USBLGX main menu. However you can launch all homebrew from within USBLGX just like you can from Homebrew Channel. Click on the homebrew icon bottom center-right. If your homebrew doesn't show up, than configure the appropriate path in custom path settings. So - basically you can launch your emulators, but you can't browse each individual game directly from within the loader.

 

[i0nzeu5]

#1 - Yes - install the forwarder channel so you can launch it from the System Menu directly. Then, install the priiloader .dol to boot directly to the channel. Ofc this assumes you have priiloader installed first. Follow mauifrog's softmod guide on this site for the applicable parts and files.

#2 - I don't believe you can launch anything but GC games directly from the USBLGX main menu. However you can launch all homebrew from within USBLGX just like you can from Homebrew Channel. Click on the homebrew icon bottom center-right. If your homebrew doesn't show up, than configure the appropriate path in custom path settings. So - basically you can launch your emulators, but you can't browse each individual game directly from within the loader.

Thank you! I do have Priiloader installed. I will look for the USB Loader GX Channel Forwarder.

 

[i0nzeu5]

cIOS Question.

Hey all, what is the reason base 56 is usually recommended for slot 249 while base 57 is recommended for slot 250?

I think I understand that base 56 offers the fastest USB access time but base 57 offers the best compatibility (95%+) but that the speed diff btw. 56 & 57 is negligible so why not only use base 57? And if indeed you only need base 57 which slot does it work best with, 249 or 250.

Sorry if this is dumb or if I'm misunderstanding how this stuff works. I'm just curious why cIOS's are installed in both slots 249 & 250 & I'm trying to learn more.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

 

[i0nzeu5]

cIOS Question.

Hey all, what is the reason base 56 is usually recommended for slot 249 while base 57 is recommended for slot 250?

I think I understand that base 56 offers the fastest USB access time but base 57 offers the best compatibility (95%+) but that the speed diff btw. 56 & 57 is negligible so why not only use base 57? And if indeed you only need base 57 which slot does it work best with, 249 or 250.

Sorry if this is dumb or if I'm misunderstanding how this stuff works. I'm just curious why cIOS's are installed in both slots 249 & 250 & I'm trying to learn more.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Ok so am I correct in that It doesn't necessarily matter what slot a cIOS is put in (provided it's over 200) but really what matters most is
1). the version of cIOS that goes into a slot
and
2). the base in that slot

If that's the case then how do you determine
1) whether to use cIOS d2x v8 or v10 beta r52
2) whether to use base 56 or 57

Could I install v10 beta r52 in BOTH slots 249 & 250 & use base 56 for one slot & base 57 for the other?

 

[HiDanny]

Hey guys, I have a quick question.

I managed to get USB Loader GX to work on any game so far, but Zelda Skyward Sword keeps on a black screen and sends me back to the main Wii home-screen. I don't know what's causing it and I can't find any answers from google.

I'm running Rev 874 IOS 249(Rev 20) of USB loader atm.

Any ideas?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

So, I am working on a mod for Metroid Other M. Its replacing all the video files, so that they don't play, at all. As we all know the worst part of Other M is the cutscenes.

Anyho, moving on! I was wondering if there was anyway for me to have the normal and modded versions pop in usbloadergx.

Hey guys, I have a quick question.

I managed to get USB Loader GX to work on any game so far, but Zelda Skyward Sword keeps on a black screen and sends me back to the main Wii home-screen. I don't know what's causing it and I can't find any answers from google.

I'm running Rev 874 IOS 249(Rev 20) of USB loader atm.

Any ideas?

Update the CIOS 249 to the rev52, use base 57 too.

 

[smf]

I think I understand that base 56 offers the fastest USB access time but base 57 offers the best compatibility (95%+) but that the speed diff btw. 56 & 57 is negligible so why not only use base 57? And if indeed you only need base 57 which slot does it work best with, 249 or 250.

Sorry if this is dumb or if I'm misunderstanding how this stuff works. I'm just curious why cIOS's are installed in both slots 249 & 250 & I'm trying to learn more.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Whether you put base 57 in slot 249 or slot 250 doesn't make any difference to how it will work, each slot is like a directory on your hard disk. I think some software defaults to looking in slot 249 though.

Some games work with 56 and not 57, some games work with 57 and not 56. I haven't installed cios in so long that I can't remember what I did last. I know that I was using 57 as my main cios for a long time when everyone was using 56. I may or may not have hermes 222/223 as well.

 

[XC-3730C]

Here is how I installed cIOS with d2x installer:

Dx2 version: v10 beta53
Dios base: 56
Dios slot: 249
Dios revision: 65535

Dx2 version v10 beta52
Cios base:57
Cios slot: 250
Cios revision: 65535

Every WiiWare game (except for Castlevania/Contra Rebirth) results in the game going back to USB Loader GX

 

[GreyWolf]

Don't use beta53. It has problems with both emuNAND and some disc titles.

 

[XC-3730C]

Don't use beta53. It has problems with both emuNAND and some disc titles.

Do wiiware titles useIOS 250 or 249? How did you get them to boot? No matter what I do, they always boot to a black screen, or reset back to the USB GX loader...

 

[GreyWolf]

Most of them should run on d2x-v10-beta52 as IOS249[56]. All of the Konami Rebirth titles, some N64 VC, Flowerworks, Liight, Bejeweled2, and probably a few others I forget must be run in NEEK mode. They freeze running under cIOS emulated NAND.

If any except those on that list aren't running on non-v10beta53 then there may be something wrong with your WADs, your NAND dump, or your hard drive partitioning. I d2x may need MBR with FAT32 as first partition for emuNAND.

 

[XC-3730C]

I changed IOS 256 to beta52 and now WIIWare titles work. Every guide I looked at online says to use beta53 for IOS 256.

Thank you so much for the tip!

 

[GreyWolf]

The only thing beta53 has going for it is support for a HDD on either USB port and plug and play for peripherals. d2x v9 was supposed to be a big overhaul but it had issues so they split the changes into v10 beta 52 and 53.

 

[TheVexedGerman]

I'm having problems installing games from disc onto the HDD. Every time the install finishes the game is way too small with the title sometimes displaying correctly and sometimes just being black. Starting that game then results in rebooting to the menu or HBL depending on which was used to start USB Loader GX. I have tried different games and HDD with the same results, and have switched filesystems from NTFS to FAT32 with no change. Installing a downloaded game from the computer seems to work flawlessly, but I'd rather not go ROM hunting if I could just install the games I already have.

 

[GreyWolf]

Use CleanRip and rip your games to SD then copy them with Wii Backup Manager. It's the most reliable method.

 

[TheVexedGerman]

Oh boy, that rips the whole disc. This is going to take forever, but thank you anyway. Maybe I'll look for ISOs simultaneously to speed up the process.

 

[Rox598]

Hey guys, I have a quick question.

I managed to get USB Loader GX to work on any game so far, but Zelda Skyward Sword keeps on a black screen and sends me back to the main Wii home-screen. I don't know what's causing it and I can't find any answers from google.

I'm running Rev 874 IOS 249(Rev 20) of USB loader atm.

Any ideas?

i'm having the same kind of issue but the whole console locks up :S using USBLoaderGX 3.0 downloaded from the OP signature. also after following the guide for replacing the channel i have 2 channels for it now :S

a heads up i'm still learning the basics here so some terms are lost to me