Hacking Wii System Update and Boot2 Question

[MidniteBlaze]

I'm not sure if this goes here or in the General Wii subforum, but feel free to move it to the correct one, please. I've been booting my legit copies of New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 from Gecko OS to avoid updating my 4.1U Wii. The problem is that it's annoying that the play history thinks I'm using the Homebrew Channel when I'm playing them, so I'd like to update my Wii (I'm also interested in buying some WiiWare and VC games).

When 4.2 came out, I didn't update because of the reports of people having their Wiis bricked because of problems with Boot2. The HackMii blog once said that BootMii's version of Boot2 had the same risk of having the console bricked, so I'm very concerned about updating. WiiBrew recommends installing BootMii and the Homebrew Channel and then updating using the official procedure, but I've also read that Nintendo's boot2 will replace BootMii's, so I don't see the point in installing BootMii (besides, there is a risk of bricking the console when boot2 is modified).

I'm looking to update without using downloaded IOSes or cIOSes, as I only use the HBC in order to play my legit GameCube and Wii imports. The only time in which I've installed a downloaded IOS is when I needed to update the Wii Shop Channel to buy Mega Man 10. I bought my Wii console during late January 2007, I'm specifying this in case bricks cause by modification of boot2 has been found to be correlated with the Wii's manufacture date.

 

[fattest]

my cousin accidentally updated her softmodded 4.2U wii to 4.3U and it didnt cause any problems. she was using an old HBC so I had to use smash stack to resoftmod it. you should be fine. make a nand dump to be safe. your boot2 should be fine for installing bootmii, i have a 2008 wii and it was capable of bootmii@boot2.

 

[Dialexio]

Actually, whenever you update any part of the Wii's software (IOS, System Menu, channels, etc.), it can still brick. The deal with the boot2 update is Nintendo didn't perform enough testing, and consequently a fatal bug can (not will) cause a brick. For the BootMii installation process, Team Twiizers wrote (and tested) their own code to keep it as safe as possible (and doesn't suffer from said bug).

If you want to play games through the Disc Channel without updating boot2, you'll need to use Priiloader. A hack exists for blocking disc updates. (If the game uses a new IOS, running the game once via Gecko will install missing IOSes.)

Alternatively, you can update boot2 with DOP-Mii. DOP-Mii uses the same, safer method of updating boot2 as the HackMii Installer does when installing BootMii.

 

[MidniteBlaze]

My question about boot2 is that if Nintendo's official update overwrites any changes that BootMii installed, what's the point of installing BootMii as boot2? I mean, I know its job is to make the console brick-free, yes, but can it be re-installed as boot2 after updating the system menu?

Actually, whenever you update any part of the Wii's software (IOS, System Menu, channels, etc.), it can still brick. The deal with the boot2 update is Nintendo didn't perform enough testing, and consequently a fatal bug can (not will) cause a brick. For the BootMii installation process, Team Twiizers wrote (and tested) their own code to keep it as safe as possible (and doesn't suffer from said bug).

If you want to play games through the Disc Channel without updating boot2, you'll need to use Priiloader. A hack exists for blocking disc updates. (If the game uses a new IOS, running the game once via Gecko will install missing IOSes.)

Alternatively, you can update boot2 with DOP-Mii. DOP-Mii uses the same, safer method of updating boot2 as the HackMii Installer does when installing BootMii.

Does the latest Wii System Menu update install boot2 more safely? I could update it using Mario Galaxy 2, since I'd like to install the least possible amount of unofficial stuff.

 

[Riley]

Does the latest Wii System Menu update install boot2 more safely? I could update it using Mario Galaxy 2, since I'd like to install the least possible amount of unofficial stuff.

DOP-Mii will install the official boot2 without a cios.

 

[fattest]

I know its job is to make the console brick-free, yes, but can it be re-installed as boot2 after updating the system menu?

Along with the System Menu 4.2 update, Nintendo released a new version of boot2 (boot2v4); there is nothing in boot2v4 that prevents BootMii from working, but it will overwrite an existing BootMii installation when it is installed.

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/BootMii#How_it_works

basically you will have to reinstall it if you do a system update

 

[MidniteBlaze]

Does the latest Wii System Menu update install boot2 more safely? I could update it using Mario Galaxy 2, since I'd like to install the least possible amount of unofficial stuff.

DOP-Mii will install the official boot2 without a cios.

Ah, I wasn't aware.

QUOTE(MidniteBlaze @ Dec 16 2010, 07:43 PM)

I know its job is to make the console brick-free, yes, but can it be re-installed as boot2 after updating the system menu?

Along with the System Menu 4.2 update, Nintendo released a new version of boot2 (boot2v4); there is nothing in boot2v4 that prevents BootMii from working, but it will overwrite an existing BootMii installation when it is installed.

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/BootMii#How_it_works

basically you will have to reinstall it if you do a system update

So let me get this straight: If I install BootMii as boot2, then update the system menu, I can install BootMii as boot2 again, right? But if I don't install BootMii as boot2, then I can't install it as boot2 after updating? Will installing BootMii make it less likely to brick with the new system menu update?

Sorry about all the questions that have already been answered, but I'm very OCD and if I brick my Wii, it'll be hard to replace.

 

[75UR15]

AFAIK there is no difference in the danger of using the Official update if you do or do not already have it (bootmii as boot2) installed. If you CAN install it as boot2 you will be able to after whether or not you installed it before. The only people (like me, sigh) who can't are those who have wiis with an updated boot1 which prevents boot2 from using bootmii (or other unauthorized code).

 

[fattest]

So let me get this straight: If I install BootMii as boot2, then update the system menu, I can install BootMii as boot2 again, right? But if I don't install BootMii as boot2, then I can't install it as boot2 after updating? Will installing BootMii make it less likely to brick with the new system menu update?

Along with the System Menu 4.2 update, Nintendo released a new version of boot2 (boot2v4); there is nothing in boot2v4 that prevents BootMii from working, but it will overwrite an existing BootMii installation when it is installed.

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/BootMii#How_it_works

 

[MidniteBlaze]

Thanks, fattest et al. As an OCD, I needed to be not 100% sure, but 200% sure. I'll install BootMii as boot2 and then proceed to install the official update through Mario Galaxy 2 now.