Foolproof Wii Softmod
January 6, 2014 1:26 PM   Subscribe

I need to go from "Wii with unknown WADS/etc installed" to "Wii that launches backups off WBFS or FAT formatted USB storage"

Getting backups to launch off HD is a humungous pain in the ass. WADs that won't install. Apps that don't work. A million tutorials that all say different things. I'm at the end of my rope with this stuff. I'm not a pirate, I just want to preserve my Wii's drive laser by backing up my legit games to a hard drive and playing them off it. Not long ago I did this for my PS2 (whose drive laser was starting to go) and it was easy to do and pretty straightforward to set up. I had downloaded a package with all the tools I needed and it worked like a charm.

I did the same thing for the Wii (downloaded a package that was supposed to have everything I needed) but when I get to a specific point in the included setup guide after doing the LetterBomb exploit and installing the homebrew channel - using MMM to install 43 WADS - it chokes out and installs only 3 of them. I have tried various other WADS and utilities but so far I haven't been able to launch a game backup. Please, Wii softmod experts, help me. I need to go from "Wii with unknown WADS/etc installed" to "Wii that launches backups off WBFS or FAT formatted USB storage"
posted by signsofrain to Technology (5 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
43 WADS seems a bit excessive. I have tried several USB loaders and like Configurable USB Loader the best. Installation instructions are here.

A couple of things to note:

1) make sure you plug the usb storage into the outermost usb slot.
2) not all hard drives or hard drive enclosures are compatible with the wii. You'll have better luck with an externally powered usb drive.
posted by Otis at 8:38 AM on January 7, 2014


This is not the place for this.
posted by brevator at 7:45 PM on January 7, 2014


Posting so I can respond later, at home. I just did a "Wii-mod + external HDD" last summer. It was fairly straightforward.

The biggest hurdle you might face, as Otis said, is making sure you have a compatible HDD.

brevator, I disagree: Ask MetaFilter is absolutely the place to ask questions about confusing tech mods, which are also completely legal.
posted by Poppa Bear at 7:13 AM on January 8, 2014


MeMail me if you have any further questions; I know how weird this can be to do, and an answer posted here can only be so helpful.

When I did this, many moons ago, I used two different links, and conceptually, I fully hacked the Wii, then found a guide for adding HDD capability. Here's one of the links I used for the first part. If I recall correctly, it's also the better one.

Here's a compatibility list of HDDs for the Wii.

Here's the guide I used for adding a HDD.

However! Some genius made a PC program which walks you through modding a Wii and does a lot of the heavy lifting on the software side for you. I've not used it (I will if I ever mod a Wii again though!), but it's endorsed by the Wii modding community on Reddit which is definitely good enough for me. This is the website. I would give this a go if I'm having trouble getting everything to line up for me.
posted by Poppa Bear at 7:44 AM on January 12, 2014


Oh, and start over from scratch. Don't try to figure out the last point where you were "correct" and go from there.
posted by Poppa Bear at 6:22 AM on January 13, 2014


« Older It's experimental? Since when?   |   What's Destroying My Pants? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.