OK guys – The guide you have all been waiting for is here! A full-complete guide to get HomeBrew Channel and backup launchers working all in one!

PLEASE READ THE WHOLE GUIDE AND MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND IT BEFORE YOU PROCEED!!!!

We don’t want any poorly Nintendo Wii’s out there, do we?

This will work on Wii’s with System Menu 4.2 Virgin and Updated. It will work for 4.2e, 4.2u and 4.2j, however 4.2k has not been checked as of yet.

cIOScorp users will come across a problem when using this HOW TO, I am working on a version for you guys as we speak ;)

As some of you may now, Nintendo have started producing a new DVD drive chipset that will not play games burnt to DVDR (plus or minus!), if your Wii came with sys menu 4.0 on it then the chances are it could be one.

The chipset is known as a D3-2 and the only way of telling if your Wii is fitted with one is to open her up, but as this will invalidate your warranty you are better off trying to load DVDRs and if you just keep getting errors then it is a good indication that you have one. The USB loader will still work though so just follow the guide as normal.

Warning – You guys who are running a system menu lower then 4.2 please dont use this guide as it could cause problems. I have just got my hands on an older Wii and will be making a HOW TO for you very soon :)

So, that’s the boring part of out the way, lets get down to the nitty gritty!

PART 1: The installation of HomeBrew Channel (HBC)

In this part we will install HBC, which is used to run apps from the system menu, using the bannerbomb exploit. Along the way, DVDx will be installed, this allows the lens to recognize burned DVDs (not play backups, just see they are there). In the end we will install Bootmii, which is a very useful app as we will see next.

You will need an SD card (1GB should do it) formatted to FAT32.

Step 1) Download this pack and unrar the contents in the root of your SD card. In the root of the SD card should be:
root:\apps
root:\private
root:\wad
IOS38-64-v3610.wad
IOS70-64-v6687 [Patched][FreeTheBug].wad
boot.elf
Hacks.ini

Step 2) Place the card in the SD slot of your Wii and navigate to the SD card icon, bottom left, writes SD and has the same shape, can’t really miss it. Once you have done this, a warning screen about scams should appear, press ok, screen will go black. A disclaimer shall appear, press one to continue.

Step 3) Now three lines should appear: Homebrew channel, which can be installed, DVDx, also can be installed, Bootmii, which possibly will give you an error. Install Homebrew Channel, DVDX. On bootmii option, select “prepare SD card”. After it finishes, install it as boot2 (if possible) or as an IOS if not.

Warning: Bootmii at most cases will give you an error, so it cannot be installed as a boot2. For most of you will be installed as an ios. That is fine.

Step 4) Once you have installed all of the above, any app can be copied over to the apps folder on your SD card and be run by HBC! This has a load of functions: Media players, Emulators, Useful apps and Homebrew games! browse them all here, but take care with the ones you don’t really understand, as it is very is to brick your Wii if you don’t know what you are doing!

PART 2: Making a NAND Backup

Making a NAND backup with Bootmii is highly recommended, it will recover your Wii from 99.9% of bricks.
Use the same SD card you used to install Bootmii and make sure there is at least 530mb free on it.
Bootmii is very fussy about what SD cards it uses, so avoid generic ones and try and use a Sandisk or similar.

Step 1) Put the SD card into the Wii, if you installed Bootmii as boot2 then it will load, if it is installed as an IOS go to the Homebrew Channel, press ‘home’ on your wiimote and select ‘Launch Bootmii’.

Step 2) Use the power/reset/eject buttons to navigate the Bootmii menu (Power = Right, Eject = Left, Reset = Select) and select the icon with the gears on it. If those buttons don’t work then you will have to buy a Gamecube controller.

Step 3) Now select the icon with a green arrow pointing from the chip to the SD card and follow the on screen instructions.

In about 10 minutes you will have a NAND backup, it is normal to have up to 80 bad blocks so don’t worry if you get some.

Step 4) Put the SD card into PC and copy the NAND backup somewhere safe, you can now delete it from your card. If you installed Bootmii as boot2 then also copy the Bootmii folder to your PC and either delete or rename it, otherwise it will load every time you switch your Wii on.

If ever you get bricked then copy the bootmii folder and NAND backup onto your card, do steps 1) & 2) again, using Preloader (we will come onto that!) to get to HBC if necessary, then select the icon with the arrow going from the SD card to the chip.

PART 3: The removal of ios249

Nintendo did this update knowing that we use ios249 to install our cIOS for use with our backups. What did they do? they invented an empty ios (“stub”) and place it in slot 249, to try and stop us. Here is what we do to get around it. We will uninstall ios249 stub, and then install our own cios38rev14 in slot 249:

Step 1) Download this pack.

Step 2) Format the SD card with FAT32, place the contents of it onto the SD card root. Only files in SD root should be:
root:\Wad\
root:\bootmii\
root:\startup.elf
root:\boot.dol
root:\00000001\ < -(if available)

Step 3) Place the SD card in the Wii, start HBC and press home at the main HBC screen. (If your wii boots to BootMii, just go to Step 5)

Step 4) Select BootMii and wait.

Step 5) WADmanager should start. (On ios select, select ios36)

Step 6) Select SD card and press A to continue.

Step 7) Select ios249 from WAD folder and press A

Step 8) change the action to “uninstall wad”, press A let the uninstall run and then you are done!

PART 3: Installing our custom IOS – cIOS38rev14
Step 1)Download this pack.

Step 2) Format the SD card with FAT32, place the contents of the file above onto the SD card. It should only contain the following files:
root:\ios38-64-v3610.wad
root:\bootmii\
root:\startup.elf
root:\boot.dol
root:\00000001\ < -(if available)

Step 3) Place the SD card in the Wii, start HBC and press home at the main HBC screen. (If your Wii boots to BootMii, just go to Step 5)

Step 4) Select BootMii and wait.

Step 5) cIOS38rev14 installer should run and give you some options.

Step 6) At the beginning you should see IOS249 highlighted. Keep pressing left on the wiimote until you see “Do not reload IOS” at the IOS select screen, press A. If this fails try again using 249, 250, 222, 223, 36, 37. Making sure you restart your wii after each attempt.

Step 7) If you have internet connection, select “Network install”, else select “SD card”, Press A.

Step 8) Proceed with the installation, and you are done.

You should have ios249rev14 installed, which will allow you to run any Backup loader or USB loader!

PART 4: Setting up the backup launchers

Now we are worked up and ready to run our backups! REMEMBER: Use Verbatim DVD-r burned at 2x or 4x to minimise errors. Also be sure to scrub the update and region free your backups, so all of them play on 4.2, and non try to update you! This is necessary for now, because preloader for 4.2 has not been released yet. Once it is, this will no longer be compulsory. But for now, be safe!

Step 1) Format your SD card to FAT32.

Step 2) Remember the first pack I gave you? Place the “apps” and “wad” folder of that in the root of the SD card.

Step 3) Place the SD in Wii and boot up, go to HBC.

Step 4)
- For DVD launching, go to NeoGamma r7 (if you get a black screen on this one, you have not done Step 2 or 3. Try running them again)

If you get errors 1101, 1048 or 1053 AND you are certain the media you are using are the correct ones (DVD-r Veratim at 4x) you most probably have the new D3-2 drive that does not read backups, and you should use a USB device.

- For USB launching, go to USB loader GX

Step 5) Install wads (Take extra care when carrying out this part. You’re not PriiLoader safe yet. Definitely do not uninstall ANY IOS LOWER THAN 200! These are system files and you will brick your Wii!)

To install wads, select wadmanager, and choose ios249 and SD card on the options (should be default).
-If you want Neogamma as a channel , install Neogammar8.wad
-If you want USB loader GX as a channel, install USBLoaderGXr850.wad (this will install the full channel, but you can install the forwarder instead, USB Loader GX-UNEO_Forwarder.wad, which can be directly updated by placing updated version in the SD card, yet you will need the SD card constantly inside the Wii slot to launch it. Install whichever sounds more useful to you).

Note that your HDD needs to be formatted as WBFS with WBFS Manager.

Step 6) You can now install ios202, ios222, ios223. From HBC, run cios222 installer and select ios249 to use. At the next screen, choose the following, one at a time:
-ios202, for usb – using ios38 (needed for USB2.0 support with Media Players)
-ios222, for uloader – using ios38 (needed for USB support of instruments and other game accessories)
-ios223 mainly for GH5 – using ios38 merged with 37 (same as above)

Mind that you will need an internet connection for this! You can also install the IOS’ using any other combination you like, But those are recommended for now, until a games needs otherwise. If a game does not run with USB loader, try changing the ios it uses through settings menu to one of the above.

The following are really optional and not needed to play backups. Also mind that incorrect use of them might brick your Wii so use with caution!!

Step 7) This will install a hacked ios70 on the Wii. Please read below very carefully, as you may brick your wii if you don’t follow the instructions accurately. A hacked ios70 is needed for 2 reasons:
a) Allows WiiWare and VC games to run through SD card.
b) Allows installation of PriiLoader, which is the only brick protection you can get if you don’t have Bootmii/boot2. It is totally recommended to install PriiLoader.

Here is how you install ios70:
-Start wadmanager from HBC
-Accept the agreement and with default settings (ios249 & SD card) press A to browse the SD card.
-Find IOS70-64-v6687 [Patched][FreeTheBug].wad and press A
-Make sure you install and NEVER EVER uninstall the ios70! If you uninstall ios70 or any IOS lower than 200, your Wii will suffer a slow and painful DEATH!
-Once you are 10000% sure it says INSTALL, press A to install the file.
-Once it’s done, press Home to return to HBC.
-Now you can breath.

Step 8) Installation of PriiLoader. After you install ios70patched, you are able to install PriiLoader.
-Find the only app in HBC that does not have an icon, it will say apps\priiloader\boot.dol, and load it.
-Read the instructions, and hold down B, and press + to use ios249
-Once it is done, reset your Wii and it will take you to Priiloader menu
-From there, go to Hacks and check the ones you want. Block disc update and Region free ones are recommended. you can check what the others do here
-After you are done, go to the Settings and change autoboot to System menu.
-Reset the Wii. You are done!

If you ever banner brick your Wii (God forbid) you can access PriiLoader menu by holding down reset button while booting the Wii, then access HBC to undo the brick (yeah I know it rocks). After that you can install all the WiiWare/VC/channel wads you wish, without bricking fear.

Note: I have not programmed or been part of any of these programs, credits all go to them! Team twiizers,bootmii and hackmii guys, comex for his bannerbomb, and all the others that created the various apps for the wii! I merely gathered them in a single guide

Credit to WiiHacks for the guide.