Hardware Wii U CAT-R Reader - Help Needed

[raikaMayoXD]

So recently I picked up a CAT-R Reader with no GamePad, one empty CAT-R disc and an allegedly broken disc drive. It only contains SysConfigTool, Account Manager, Homebrew Launcher, FFLUtility and Non-Playable Demo. All five have SDK versions lower than the current version of the Cafe SDK.

It seems to already have the Homebrew Launcher installed although it seems severely out of date and the Browser, eManual and Fun Overlay options in it do nothing (see those pictures for reference)

FFLUtility and a Non-Playable Demo do not function, the former displaying a disc read error in Japanese on boot even without a disc inside and the latter just not booting at all.

It is apparently running on 5.5.0-J as well.

I would like to ask four questions:
1: How would I dump its NAND?
2: How would I install the Wii U Menu?
3: (optional) How would I install the Kiosk Menu?
4: How would I get the two non working applications working?

Thanks in advance if you can help me answer any of those questions.

 

[raikaMayoXD]

More pictures

 

[GerbilSoft]

It looks like whoever previously owned this CAT-R Reader ran the 2.13.01 DDI flasher, which completely wipes MLC. You most likely won't find any leftover titles, unfortunately.

1: You can use the Wii U NAND dumper via browser exploit, once you have a Wii U menu installed. Note that you might need to set the system mode to Production in System Config Tool in order for NAND dumper to load.

2: To install the Wii U Menu, you need to obtain the appropriate DDI, flash it to an SD card (using `dd` or similar tool), then boot it on the console. To run a DDI flash, put the SD card in the console, then press Power+Eject. The power light will turn yellow, and a crappy console UI will show up; once it finds the DDI, it'll reboot into the DDI and start the flash procedure. There are three Wii U Menu DDIs available: JPN, USA, EUR. Any will work on any CAT-R Reader, since the region code is changeable; however, installing the Wii U Menu will effectively make it a "region-locked" Wii U, at least until a different menu is installed or the system is wiped with the base SDK. (I cannot provide the DDI files here for obvious reasons.)

3: The easiest way to install Kiosk Menu is to use a kiosk disc. These are actually CAT-R discs. If the drive is broken, then the second-easiest way to install Kiosk Menu is to obtain a kiosk disc image, extract the packages from the disc, then install them using System Config Tool. (Make sure you set the startup title back to SCT or Wii U Menu; otherwise, you'll be locked into Kiosk Menu, unless you have a USB serial cable and the system is in Development Mode. If not, you'll have to reinstall the base SDK using a DDI flash.) I will note that CAT-R discs *are* readable by standard BD-ROM drives, so if you have a kiosk disc and a Blu-ray drive, you can extract the packages using your PC.

4: I'm not sure what FFLUtility is (something related to Miis; may require the Wii U Menu to be installed), and "Non-Playable Demo" is likely a video title that doesn't have an actual executable, and requires the Kiosk Menu to be used.

 

[raikaMayoXD]

It looks like whoever previously owned this CAT-R Reader ran the 2.13.01 DDI flasher, which completely wipes MLC. You most likely won't find any leftover titles, unfortunately.

1: You can use the Wii U NAND dumper via browser exploit, once you have a Wii U menu installed. Note that you might need to set the system mode to Production in System Config Tool in order for NAND dumper to load.

2: To install the Wii U Menu, you need to obtain the appropriate DDI, flash it to an SD card (using `dd` or similar tool), then boot it on the console. To run a DDI flash, put the SD card in the console, then press Power+Eject. The power light will turn yellow, and a crappy console UI will show up; once it finds the DDI, it'll reboot into the DDI and start the flash procedure. There are three Wii U Menu DDIs available: JPN, USA, EUR. Any will work on any CAT-R Reader, since the region code is changeable; however, installing the Wii U Menu will effectively make it a "region-locked" Wii U, at least until a different menu is installed or the system is wiped with the base SDK. (I cannot provide the DDI files here for obvious reasons.)

3: The easiest way to install Kiosk Menu is to use a kiosk disc. These are actually CAT-R discs. If the drive is broken, then the second-easiest way to install Kiosk Menu is to obtain a kiosk disc image, extract the packages from the disc, then install them using System Config Tool. (Make sure you set the startup title back to SCT or Wii U Menu; otherwise, you'll be locked into Kiosk Menu, unless you have a USB serial cable and the system is in Development Mode. If not, you'll have to reinstall the base SDK using a DDI flash.) I will note that CAT-R discs *are* readable by standard BD-ROM drives, so if you have a kiosk disc and a Blu-ray drive, you can extract the packages using your PC.

4: I'm not sure what FFLUtility is (something related to Miis; may require the Wii U Menu to be installed), and "Non-Playable Demo" is likely a video title that doesn't have an actual executable, and requires the Kiosk Menu to be used.

Oh hey! You're the guy who wrote the Kiosk dumping page, aren't you?

I read your page. It has been a while since I posted this and I have managed to get the Kiosk Menu running + figured out what the applications do.

Would it be okay for me to DM you about the DDI files? I know you said you can't link them directly but you had them on your site and I'd like a hand with them if you don't mind.

Thanks.