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[Guide] Getting Started with Homebrew

Z

Zero

~
Wii - Getting Started With Homebrew​

[FIELDSET="Preface"]This guide will run through how to open your wii to execute unsigned code (homebrew). In this guide we will be using the Twilight Hack to install the Homebrew Channel to easily launch homebrew apps from a dedicated channel on the System Menu. Be aware that this process does make a persistant change and there is a *slight* chance that things may go wrong, and you may brick. However, Team Twiizers have taken the upmost care to prevent this scenario. Niether MforMature or Team Twiizers accept any responsibility in the event you damage your Wii[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Materials"]
  • Nintendo Wii (any firmware)
  • A Copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  • A SD Card (even SDHC!)
  • The Twilight Hack (available from hackmii)
  • The Homebrew Channel (available from hackmii)
[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Process"]1. Download a copy of the Twilight Hack that corresponds to the region of your Zelda disc. Most of the time, you should be able to guess what region is mostly applicable

2. Extract the hack onto your SD card. This belongs in the folder /private/wii/title/ (EG: X:\private\wii\title\rzpd\ for windows).

2. Download the Homebrew Channel (HBC) installer from the link above. You will need an unarchiving program such as 7-Zip to extract from the .tar.gz archive (*nix users: .tar.gz unarchiving is most likely natively supported by your system already)

3. Place the HBC .dol in the root of your SD card. Ensure that it is named 'boot.dol'.

4. Insert the SD card and Twilight Princess disc into your wii and turn it on. Using the System Menu, navigate to Wii Settings, then point to the Save Data button. Select the Wii button from there.

5. Delete(1) your existing TP save. Switch to the SD Card, and then copy over the twilight hack onto your Wii.

6. Return to the System Menu. Point to the Disc channel to start up TP.

7. Once the game loads, select the available gamesave. You will then be presented with a screen showing link in one of the beginning stages of the game. Speak to the man or walk backwards to initiate the hack

8. The HBC installer will now begin. Simply follow the onscreen prompts to begin the installation. When you reboot your Wii console, you will notice a new channel. This is the homebrew channel and can be used to launch further homebrew.[/FIELDSET]


[FIELDSET="Extras"]Now with your shiny new HBC, you can launch homebrew conveniently without needing the twilight hack. Homebrew apps are stored on the SD card.

[FIELDSET="Adding Apps"]1. Download a piece of homebrew. Most likely, you will recieve:
  • A .dol or .elf (the app itself) (The new HBC beta 9 prefers .dol, and some old .elf will not work)
  • A meta.xml (a descriptor file for the HBC)
  • An icon.png (a thumbnail for the HBC)

2. Place the boot.dol(2), meta.xml and icon.png into a dedicated folder on your SD card in the folder /apps/ (EG: X:\Apps\homebrew\)

3. Place the SD Card into the Wii and boot up the HBC. The app will now appear as an entry. Clicking on it will show a description pane where you may choose to launch the application.[/FIELDSET][/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="FAQs"]Q: Do I really need the HBC to run homebrew?
A: Technically, no. The boot.elf used by the twilight hack can contain any code, but the HBC was designed to streamline the process

Q: Do I need icon.png/meta.xml in the HBC?
A: No, these are simply used as iads to make launching from the HBC easier. Most homebrew already comes packaged with these files.

Q: What happens?
A: The twilight hack facilitates a 'stack smash' where to launch unsigned code. What actually happens is the name of your horse is made ridiculously long with launcher code so that when the game reads the name, the launcher code ends up in the stack, which is then executed.

Q: Hey! ELFs don't work anymore!
A: The new HBC adopted the standardised format for ELFs, so the old ELFs that weren't made correctly won't work anymore. You may have to convert them to DOL for them to work.
[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Kudos"]
  • Team Twiizers, for their Twilight Hack and their Homebrew Channel software
  • WiiBrew, for providing a definitive resource for all things related to Wii hackery, and for their guide from which this is derived.
[/FIELDSET]

[FIELDSET="Footnotes"]
  • (1) : You may wish to back up your existing game save and restore it later on.
  • (2) : You may have to rename the .elf or .dol to boot.elf or boot.dol respectively.
[/FIELDSET]

Feel free to post any troubles you may have along the way, and also any additions that can be made to this guide.
 
M

matt

New Member
How would I get all of this off of my Wii and return it to normal, exactly the way it was before?

I'm a bit skiddish about Wii hacking, because if you screw it up, there is no pandora as with the PSP.
 
Seth

Seth

MD Party Room
Format (Erase) Wii System Memory

This option is used to delete ALL Channels and ALL save data that have been added to the Wii console and will wipe the system memory clean, as it was when purchased new. Please note that if you also have a Wii Shop Account, that data should be deleted first (click here for instructions).

To delete ALL Channels and save data
1. Access the Wii System Settings screen (how to).
2. Click on the left blue arrow twice to reach the Wii System Settings 3 menu options.
3. Select "Format Wii System Memory."

4. If Parental Controls are set, enter the PIN.
5. If you are sure you want to erase the Wii console's system memory, select "Format."
Click to expand...
...
 
Z

Zero

~
Currently, the most common method of bricking is screwing around with your region settings (like installing an update from another region). What happens is you end up with an Opera error screen (most of the menu is rendered in HTML) because the Wii tries to find the HTML files but fails because it is set to the wrong region.

Team Twiizers are already working on some recovery methods, like SaveMii and BootMii. SaveMii is a device that allows you to run an update (and hopefully recover). BootMii is a hack for the Wii booting sequence (BOOT2) that allows code to be run from the SD card without any hinderences (no Nintendo code).

Everything you need to know is on WiiBrew, anyways.

I wonder if we can get a dedicated Wii forum for homebrew, rather than tossing them in the Homebrew lobby.
 
M

matt

New Member
Thanks for the info. A Wii forum would be nice, I agree.

@Vanden: Thanks, but is there a way I could return my Wii to completely normal without losing my channels or data and just gets rid of all homebrew stuff?
 
Seth

Seth

MD Party Room
Just remove the homebrew channel like any other channel in your wii settings..
 
Seth

Seth

MD Party Room
Hey guy know Homebrew Channel just added SDHC support for cards larger than 2GB. and the new firmware has been hacked so everyone can now hack there wii..
 
M

matt

New Member
Well, I just installed the Homebrew Channel today with ease. Thank you for this guide! Time to go find some homebrew.

Also, step 3 needs to be changed. In the latest version, the file comes as 'boot.dol'. There is no renaming required.
 
N

niko86

New Member
The reason its a dol file as opposed to elf is because of an incompatibility in the new homebrew channel beta 9 because the latest version of DevKitpro isn't creating elf files to standard. Next version they say they most likely will go back to elf files if devkitpro gets sorted.

Maybe make step 3 show you can use both elf's and dol files types.
 
P

Proxin

New Member
Do you need to constantly have the SD card in, or can you copy the homebrew from it to the Wii once you have the HBC?
 
P

Proxin

New Member
Understood.
And is homebrew on Wii just as legal as on PSP?

Edit: Who cares? I've got it working. Thanks for your help and the guide, it's very detailed :)
Where do you recommend I look for more Wii homebrew?
 
Seth

Seth

MD Party Room
Proxin said:
Do you need to constantly have the SD card in, or can you copy the homebrew from it to the Wii once you have the HBC?
Click to expand...

You guys might wanna start useing the Homebrew Browser...

http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_Browser

It liek the wii shop channel and it saves to the wii not the sd card..
 
Seth

Seth

MD Party Room
Opps my mistake I thought I read that it doesnt save to the sd card...

...
 
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