FAQ

General

Will this void my warranty?

Yes. Softmodding your Wii is against the TOS (Terms of Service) and will instantly void your warranty. Anyone saying that it does not void your warranty is a liar! Good luck trying to find a Wii still under warranty in the first place, though!

Is this illegal?

Having/hosting homebrew is completely legal. Piracy however is very illegal, and thus the guide cannot help you with that part.

Do I need anything special for the guide?

An SD card (and an SD card reader for your PC), and of course... a Wii

Note that SDHC cards may not work on every Wii.

Can I get banned from going online if I have Homebrew?

Nintendo's online service is no longer available. If you connect to a homebrew network, such as RiiConnect24, make sure to read their rules.

Does Nintendo know that I have Homebrew if I go online?

Nope. You can no longer connect to their servers. And even if you could, you wouldn't be detected unless you are using cheat codes during online gameplay, which you should not.

Can I download this Guide?

We don't provide a download for the guide. You could always save the web page (right click -> save as...) if you really want to.

Does this guide work on LU64+ Wiis?

Yes, it works on any Wii. except the Wii Mini.

Does this guide work on system menu X.Y ?

Currently, anything up to 4.3 is supported for all regions.

Does this work on Black Wiis ?

Yes, Black Wiis are the same as White ones, but they can never read backup discs (use USB loader instead).

Note that newer White wiis can't read backups from disc either.

How about Red ones? Or (insert color here)?

It will work for any color Wii.

I already softmodded my Wii, can I still use the guide?

Yes, following the Guide again will overwrite any previous hacks.

I have a ModChip installed will that affect anything this mod does?

Your ModChip is there solely for playing dvd backups through the disc channel. Normally, it does not interfere with any softmods.

Be sure you update it regularly though, as it may cause problems when playing backups (for example error #001).

I can't access my shop channel... it boots me back to the main menu?

The Wii Shop Channel is no longer available. Softmods do not alter this behavior.

How can I move channels?

Point to a channel and Hold A+B. To move the disc channel, you need to enable a hack in either Priiloader or StartPatch.

Can I redistribute parts of this guide at other places?

Anything on this site is Licensed under Creative Commons. You are free to redistribute the guide and make changes in it. In return, we ask you to put a simple link back to the site.

Bricks

What are bricks?

When you brick your Wii, this means that the system menu can't be used for some parts or completely. Your Wii will essentially be as useful as a brick.

What is the chance of bricking my Wii when using this guide?

If you follow all steps carefully, the chance is pretty much (but never exactly) 0.

What kind of bricks are there?

There are many kinds of bricks. The most common bricks are banner bricks (full bricks) and semi-bricks.

How do I fix bricks?

Depending on the kind of brick, a different method has to be used.

Help, I bricked my Wii !!!

The unbricking method is different for each brick. Go to the section about unbricking.

Hackmii Installer (HBC & BootMii)

What is Homebrew Channel (HBC)?

The HBC is a channel that can launch homebrew. This channel is installed so you don't have to use an exploit each time.

I already have the Homebrew Channel installed, where do I start?

Depends entirely on what you want to do. Most applications will run through the Homebrew Channel as is with no further alterations required. You simply need to download the apps from a reputable source (such as Wiibrew) and put them on your SD card or USB device. Some applications, such as backup loaders, will require you to install a custom IOS before they will properly work.

How do I update the Homebrew Channel?

If your Wii is connected to the internet, the Homebrew Channel will automatically check for updates. Otherwise, you can install the latest version through the Hackmii installer. You can run the HackMii installer like any other app through the HBC itself.

I try to start HBC, all i get is a black screen.

Re-install it with the HackMii Installer (use the same steps as the initial softmodding process)

My apps don't show up in the Homebrew Channel?

Apps need to be in a specific location on the SD card for them to show up in the Homebrew Channel. See the Homebrew Channel page for more info.

What is BootMii?

BootMii is (mainly) a brick preventative program that can be installed on your Wii. Depending on the way you install it, it can give you the best (boot2) or the worst (IOS) brick protection.

Why doesn't BootMii install as Boot2 on my Wii?

This is due to Nintendo patching the exploit used by BootMii to install itself as boot2. More info can be found on the BootMii page.

My Wiimotes don't work with BootMii?

Wii remotes are not supported by BootMii due to how it is designed. You can navigate with a GameCube controller or the buttons on the Wii console itself.

It boots up to the BootMii Menu instead of the Main Menu, how to solve this?

Rename the BootMii folder or save it elsewhere. You can also use the app BootMiiSwitch, or edit the BootMii.ini file to autoboot the system menu (same as for SNEEK).

cIOS

What is a cIOS?

A cIOS (custom IOS) is a custom piece of software that lets the Wii run unofficial content. It is used by a variety of applications, like backup loaders and WAD managers.

Do I need to install a cIOS?

If you want to use backup loaders or install unofficial channels, then yes. Otherwise, probably not. If you do need one, install the D2X cIOS.

What is a base IOS?

Every cIOS is based on an official IOS made by Nintendo. To this IOS, several patches are applied and the modified IOS is then installed on the Wii.

What is the best IOS base to use?

There is no "best" base IOS. Every IOS has its own advantages and disadvantages. This guide uses IOS56 and IOS57 as base IOSs in the cIOS Installation guide due to their high compatibility with backup games.

What are IOS249 and IOS250?

The Wii has several slots (256 to be exact) possible slots where (c)IOSs can be installed. Most of them are empty by default. Slots 249 and 250 are usually used for installing cIOSs because they do not contain anything useful on an unmodified system.

But Guide X uses other IOS bases and installs them in other slots...

We are not Guide X. If that guide uses other IOS bases and installs them in different slots, then it will probably have a reason for it.

As said above, we only give a recommendation. You are free to experiment with other base IOSs and slots. Any slot above 200 (other than 254 which is BootMii IOS) should be fine.

How do I check if my cIOSs installed correctly?

If the cIOS installer didn't give any errors and your backup loaders work (load games), then your cIOS should be installed correctly.

You can also use an application called sysCheck to check all IOSs and cIOSs that are installed on the Wii. Some USB loaders may have a similar check built-in as well.

Backup Loaders

What is a backup launcher?

A backup launcher is a program that can load backups of a game. This means you don't need to use your original disc to load the game.

What is a USB loader?

The newer generation of Backup Loaders. They are able to load games from a USB device, so that you don't even need to use discs anymore.

Is there a Backup Loader for GameCube games as well?

Yes, you can find an overview here.

Help! My Wii doesn't recognize my USB drive!

Make sure to try both USB ports on the Wii. Certain cIOS versions do not recognize both ports.

You should also make sure the cIOS is installed correctly (you can use eg. Syscheck to view all your IOSs).

If it still doesn't work, try asking for help on a support forum.

My game is giving me a black screen when I start it through a loader.

This can have many causes, so it is very hard to debug. Firstly make sure your cIOS version is up to date.

If you have multiple cIOSs installed, you can try changing the settings in your loader to make the game load with a different cIOS.

If you hear sound, but get no image, you can try changing the video mode that the game uses in the settings.

Also check the Compatibility list.

Ok, so I installed the cMIOS/DIOS-MIOS/Devolution, but where is the GameCube Backup launcher?

Use a Wii backup launcher that also supports GameCube games. All the most popular USB loaders support GameCube backups.

How do I create backups of my games?

If you use an USB loader, insert the disc in the Wii and rip the game with your loader. The procedure for doing this depends on the loader.

If you don't want to use a USB loader, you can use this guide.

What is garbage data?

Garbage data is some random data that can be found on any game disc. It is present to make every game the same size (the size of a DVD, around 4.7GB)

What is WBFS?

Wii Backup File System. An file system that was invented for USB Loaders. When USB loaders were first released, this file system was used to store games. Nowdays, this system has been replaced by WBFS files, which are placed on a regular FAT32 or NTFS drive.

What is a WBFS Manager?

A computer program that can put ISO files from your PC on a WBFS drive. Some of them can also convert games to .wbfs format to place them on a FAT32 or NTFS drive.

System menu Hacks

Help! I bricked my Wii after installing a theme!

Let's hope you read the warnings and have Preloader (Priiloader) or BootMii as boot2. Use one of these to launch the HBC and install another, working theme.

Can I combine Pre/Priiloader and Startpatch?

Yes, but they can conflict on some Wiis so I wouldn't advise it.

Priiloader doesn't see my hacks.ini file. I know its supposed to be on the root of the SD Card. Help?

You are using a SDHC SD Card. You have to use a non-sdhc sd card for this part.

You can also try using hacks_hash.ini.

I have Priiloader installed on my 4.2u Wii, I want to update IOS70 using DOP-Mii. Do i need to change priiloader's settings or anything before doing this?

No, but you'll have to reinstall priiloader afterwards to get rid of the "Corrupt System files" message.

SNEEK

What is SNEEK?

SNEEK (SD NAND/ES Emulation Kit) allows you to Emulate your NAND (Wii internal memory), so you don't need to use the real one.

Why don't my WiiMotes Sync?

A Wiimote can only be Synced to one console at a time. SNEEK acts as a totally different console, thus you will need to resync the Wiimotes using the Red buttons when changing NANDs.