gettings started backing up/ paying backed-up games

im basically trying to expand the capabilities of the wii and back up/playing my current games that i have. So far, my wii has not been modded at all and is in 4.1U firmware(im assuming that U stands for united states?).

so ive been reading and watching videos and i need help clarifying some steps and things im not sure of.

-do i need to softmod my wii to install the homebrew channel? i watched videos of it, and it doesnt seem like you need to. yet, most wii owners here still mod it, is there a reason for that?

-once i install the homebrew channel through a SD card (is an micro-sd + adapter fine?), will i need to keep my SD card inserted in the future to run the channel? i ask this because i know you can add a lot of apps to the homebrew channel and i know the internal space in the wii system is limited.

-i chose to go with USB Loader GX to run/back up my games because it seems smoother and has a nice GUI. im was planning on using WTBS Manager to format my external HDD and add .iso backups, but 'fiber32' suggested to let the wii format to WTBS. does this mean, after i format it with the wii, i go back to the computer and use WTBS Manager to add the .isos in, then plug it back into the wii and isntall them with USB Loader GX?
http://forums.afterdawn.com/t.cfm/f-154/help_usbloader_gx_black_screen-819481/

-Is it required to install cIOS?

i remember i had more questions, but i forgot in the process of writing those questions down, haha. any response would be very helpful to me thanks.

 

The Homebrew Channel is compulsory if you want to softmod your Wii. It is one of the three apps packaged in the Hackmii installer--hack that when used with Bannerbomb will detect/exploit your system.

No. The Homebrew Channel will be accessible through the main System Menu (as a channel).

You can use either WBFS Manager or the Wii at first initialization of the HDD to do the formatting. Downloaded ISOs are added to the HDD, again using WBFS Manager on your PC. Games you own can be installed onto the hard drive using USB Loader Gx itself.

Yes. Custom IOSes are what will boot your backups and ISOs on your HDD.

 

thanks! i think im all about set. just wondering, do you have any preference on which HDD i should get? i was thinking about getting this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822242007

 

To play it safe, you can take a gander on USB Compatibility List here.

 

=\ i guess ill go with the western digital 250gb one since a lot of people say it works for sure. personally i have had bad experiences with those, but because this drive is solely for backing up games on my wii and ill going to reformat it straight out, itll be fine.

-If im using USB Loader GX, do i put my backups in the HDD directory? or am i suppose to put it in a specific folder, like /backups?

-After i install a backup through usb loader, and if for some reason, need to relocate the .iso, would i need to install it again?

-im also alittle confused on what the cIOSs do. If i get rev14, what is with all of those IOS36,IOS60,IOS249, and such? what are those? do i have to run the cIOS each time before i run USB loader GX?

 

ISOs are not placed in any specified folder whatsoever.

What do you mean exactly?

You absolutely need an SD card. Although some micro-SD + adapter will work. A USB flash drive is not an option.

 

thank pryme. i edited my last post, but i guess you didnt notice, so if you can answer my last question, it would be most helpful.

about that question with

honestly, i dont really need you to answer this question, i was just asking out of curiosity and really doesnt serve as a problem. but what i mean was; lets say i put a backup in the directory of the HDD, then install the game through USB loader GX. and then i decide to organize my games and move it into a folder called /backups, would i have to reinstall all my games through USB loader GX again?

 

first of all, don't use gx. use configurable usb loader.


second, when you load games onto the drive, you will use a non standard format that windows won't recognize on it's own. you would need WBFS manager to view and extract the games from the drive to backup; they will not be deleted unless you choose to delete. you would be wasting a whole lot of space because it will be extracted to the padded 4.37gb file.

the games will always be sorted into alphabetical order.

 

whats wrong with GX? why would u suggest configurable usb loader over gx?

ah yes, i completely forgot about WBFS manager. that was a silly question to ask, haha. i forgot that the program moves all the isos for you. thanks for that.

 

configurable is updated more frequently and is more stable over gx. being able to update over the internet and having it able to boot off a fat32 partition on the hard drive (with the forwarder channel installed) is a few bonuses.

 

so i went with your suggestion to go with configurable USB Loader. i have been following this guide.
http://gwht.wikidot.com/usb-loader

now, i boot up USB loader, and immediately i get this error that says IOS222 cuold not be loaded. I thought that IOS222 was 'hermes IOS', and that it was an alternative to IOS249. Because the guide recommended i stick to IOS249, and test it out before going with hermes IOS222, i only installed IOS249. I did install IOS249 through this guide
http://gwht.wikidot.com/ios249

some reason i still get this error, i feel that this is a rookie mistake and i apologize for this, but i dont know much about IOS.

 

install hermes ios 222/223 via the guide. configurable may be throwing the error since you don't have it installed; probably to alert you to install it.

and make sure you are using the WBFS version; the FAT version will automatically search for ios 222/223.

 

well the guide said it was unnecessary, but okay ill go ahead and do it haha.

what do you mean the WBFS version? in the guide it said fat32 was fine and i did not have to format or use the WBFS manager (because i didnt need to format).

 

there are two versions of configurable: normal WBFS and the FAT version. to save headaches, use the normal version. have a partition reserved for FAT32, and leave the rest for WBFS.


http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=147638

even in the FAT support faq, it says that there is no advantages over WBFS.

 

it seems that im not getting something. i still cant get passed the 222 error. i followed the instructions to install hermes IOS222 using an SD card. I do not have any back ups on the HDD yet because i plan on using USB loader to back up my current games

this is where i think i am messing up. On the guide, it says im suppose to add "ios=222-mload" to the bottom of the config.txt.

i am going to use an HDD to store my stuff, so why would it tell me to edit the config.txt in my SD card?

Am i suppose to have my SD card for all my homebrew apps and such, and my HDD formatted to WBSF for only back ups and isos?

 

you don't have to do the config edit. i never touched mine when i switched to configurable. and where ever you store configurable usb loader (sd or hdd), edit it from the one you are using.

best is to start over with the install of configurable. delete all of the configurable usb loader files from your sd card and hdd.

-partition the hdd with a FAT32 and WBFS partition
-download the normal v48 release boot.dol from the gbatemp thread and rename it to boot.dol
-create an apps folder on the FAT32 partition and, create a usb loader folder that is labeled like one in the list:

-once done, use wad manager to install THIS forwarder
-when installed, power cycle the wii to flush the memory

if you have any type of usb loader on the sd card, delete it. the forwarder channel will search the sd card before the FAT partition.

 

if i set part of my HDD to fat32, what am i suppose to put in the SD card? because i would put all my apps and such in the fat32 drive right?

 

the only thing i have on my FAT partition is the configurable usb loader. all other installers and such are on the SD card, eventhough there is support for usb drive loading.

 

so would it still work if i put everything in the HDD and not use the SD at all?

So just to make sure, i have a fat32 drive with
-/apps folder
-homebrew apps

and in the WTBS, i just have isos and backups?

i think the problem i am having is just getting the cISO to work and making sure configuable USB loader does get that IOS222 problem.

 

you can completely eliminate the SD card and load everything on the FAT partition; HBC and most homebrew will have usb drive compatability. only thing that won't work is boot2 bootmii.

there's nothing else to cios installation. make sure you have the required ios, and the installer. that's it. install it to ios249 and it's done.

as for configurable searching for ios222 at startup, that's one thing i never encountered.