Hacking Wii 3.4... upgrade or downgrade?

[Benbo777]

I have a PAL Wii, currently running 3.4 firmware with HBC installed. My ultimate goal is to be able to use my NTSC copy of super smash bros again, I used to have a freeloader disc but upgrading my Wii with mario party 9 sorta threw a wrench in that. Should I upgrade my Wii to version 4.0, or attempt to downgrade it to 3.1/2? I've looked over the tutorials and FAQs, but I can't seem to make heads or tails of them.

 

[SenorClean]

An original copy of NTSC brawl? Easy peasy...

Grab Gecko OS - run it from the homebrew channel, use it to launch the game.

or...

Use Softchip.

Actually... why can't you just run it from the disc channel? NTSC brawl works fine in my PAL wii from disc channel - You'll get duplicate news/weather chans, but other than that it'll be fine (because you're on a newer firmware version).

It's probably worthwhile installing cIOS rev10 while you're at it. It should install without too much drama in 3.4.

I don't recommend upgrading, downgrading or messing around with things such as softmii - they are more risky than its worth.

 

[Benbo777]

An original copy of NTSC brawl? Easy peasy...

Grab Gecko OS - run it from the homebrew channel, use it to launch the game.

or...

Use Softchip.

I'm using the version of Gecko that came with my HBC, when it loads theres an error message: This is not a valid Wii application. Looking into updates and softchip now.

Actually... why can't you just run it from the disc channel? NTSC brawl works fine in my PAL wii from disc channel - You'll get duplicate news/weather chans, but other than that it'll be fine (because you're on a newer firmware version).

It comes up with unable to read disc. The disc itself is in near pristine condition.

QUOTE

It's probably worthwhile installing cIOS rev10 while you're at it. It should install without too much drama in 3.4.

I don't recommend upgrading, downgrading or messing around with things such as softmii - they are more risky than its worth.

Fair enough, I didn't really want to downgrade my Wii anyway, it looks very complex. I'll try to grab cIOS rev10 though.

 

[SenorClean]

Hey - sorry, of course you can't play cross-region without a mod chip... Brain fade there! (I had my wii about a week before chipping it)

The reason gecko isn't working for you - is your HBC has updated, and as such will only launch .dol files, not .elf. Grab the latest Gecko OS and put it on your SD card.

You can get the latest Gecko OS (which will work) from here -> http://wiibrew.org/wiki/GeckoOS

Softchip binaries can be found here -> http://www.aamon.net/SoftChip/

Once you have cIOS and softchip, you'll be able to play backups without a mod chip if you tell it to use IOS249. You'll also be able to use USB loaders.

You can get cIOS installer rev10 here -> http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zdztqgmtnyn

 

[Benbo777]

Hey - sorry, of course you can't play cross-region without a mod chip... Brain fade there! (I had my wii about a week before chipping it)

The reason gecko isn't working for you - is your HBC has updated, and as such will only launch .dol files, not .elf. Grab the latest Gecko OS and put it on your SD card.

You can get the latest Gecko OS (which will work) from here -> http://wiibrew.org/wiki/GeckoOS

Softchip binaries can be found here -> http://www.aamon.net/SoftChip/

Once you have cIOS and softchip, you'll be able to play backups without a mod chip if you tell it to use IOS249. You'll also be able to use USB loaders.

You can get cIOS installer rev10 here -> http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?zdztqgmtnyn

Yup, thats the one. It works beautifully now. Much thanks!

Also, just as an aside, can one import custom WAD files with the latest 4.0 firmware?

 

[SenorClean]

So long as you have cIOS installed, yes.

I assume you just mean wad manager - it's a bit trickier to get it to play ball with Nintendo's SD menu thing.