Wii Firmware Updates, Wii and WiiKey Resources

update:

Reburned the (brickblocked) image file at 1x and it works pretty well
(some random small audio glitches, go figure)

thanks WiiMomer!!

 

no worries. always burn 1x using imgburn onto verbatim dvd-r's. if you're runnong on wiikey, your audio glitches may be due to the config speed you've set your wii dvd drive to run at. perhaps re-run your config disk and change the setting. wiimomer

 

i have a PAL Wii running on 3.2E and modded with the original Wiikey (1.9g). My wii was not used for a period of time (10months) and recently when i tried running my backup games, all of them didnt work. The original games worked fine.

I thought i would resolve it by updating wiikey to 1.9s. When i attempted the update. this is what i got.

"Initialising Drive....ERROR!"
"Reading firmware data...done"
"stopping drive..."

Then is said,
"press A or reset to runTEST cycle"
I hit the reset button and this was the message...
"TESTING.. please wait......"

I eventually finished the process and completed the update and everything seemed normal except for the ERROR at the start. Question is, what is this "ERROR"? Did my update install correctly? i did run the config 1.4 after the update and turned on region free and all but my backups are still unusable (save for 1 game-big brain academy), that includes mario kart, SMG, lego star wars, etc and around 15 others. Does that ERROR problem have something to do with my Wiikey or drive? How can i resolve this? i have already tried burning the update disc again and got the same result.

Thanks.

 

Hey guys!

I'm new here: Still, before writing this post, I tired to catch up best I could, by my questions still were unanswered...

I'm running a WiiKey with 1.9s, my Wii currently has 3.4e on it.
I use decent Verbatim DVD-Rs, which I burn at 1x speed with ImgBurn.

Unfortunately, some games run, some don't. For example, FIFA 09 is fine, PES 09 not. Same thing for other games (No More Heroes, Mario Kart, and many more are fine; Rock Band Beatles, Guitar Hero 5 not at all). All games that don't run have been burned on the same system as the ones that run and on the same DVDs (as described above).

Those that don't run all have the same problem: They are recognized in the Wii Menu as the correct game, but when I press start, the screen goes dark, the Wiimote gets disconnected and the Wii hangs. Only way to get it back going is unplug it! :-(

My questions:

* What could be the reason for that?
* Is anyone experiencing the same problems?
* How can I fix this?
* Should I upgrade to the newest Wii-system? (Currently should be 4.2) Could that change anything? (Yerseke asked the same at the beginning of september...)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for such an interesting thread!
topN

 

You guys with games that won't run or black screen read this - link

 

IMHO (and experience), there is no reason to burn at 1x if you system is "clean", your writer and media are capable, and your I/O path is a pipeline (i.e. the HDD and the DVD writer aren't on the same cable.

I burn regularly at 4x-8x with no problem. Then again, I change out my DVD writer every year and have a dedicated HDD for the source .iso

 

Hey Smokyrain!

First of all: thanks for a quick reply! ;-)

Still — some more questions!

It seems to me that wiihacks is "specialised" on softmods. Do I really need to go through all that trouble even if I have a chip? I tried to sift through their guides and stuff, but could not really find what I was looking for; everything seems to be explained for non-chip-people. Still, if I understood everything correctly, my games seem not to work because of missing IOS (particularly the newer ones, above ios37). Do I need HBC to check out which IOSs are on my system? And is there a way of getting others without HBC? I'm thinking of upgrading to 4.2; since I have a chip, I don't have too much to loose. Or do I? That way the newest IOS should be there, shouldn't there? Maybe I could just borrow a "modern" game from a friend, make sure that a new IOS gets installed, and try again? Would that work at all? ;-)

As you can see, loads of n00b-questions. Sorry for that — Smokyrain's link seems to have me gotten even more confused…

Anyone care to help out?

Thanks,
topN

 

Well I know for me, I have a Wiikey 2 though.

I had configured at one time for it to block all updates.

Then one day my game was black.

I then went back and only allowed USA updates, as that is my console region

After that my games played fine.

 

Hey Smokyrain!

That's the help I needed!

I merely updated the system software from 3.4e to 4.2e --> everything is fine now. The "no-update policy" is primarily for softmodders, so with my WiiKey everything sorted itself out!

Thanks again,
topN

 

Well I finally updated my Wiikey to 1.9s Haha, its been a while!
Question...
I inserted update disc, got the screen with three dudes and then I hit reset to update. It did its testing update, then its wiikey update and said reset console. So I held in the Wii reset button and the Wii reseted itself. Does that mean its done? And should I use the 1.9s config disc for any reason to change something?

 

IIRC, it should have first done a test run and then the actual run. But by how you're describing it, it seems fine! ;-)

As to the config: I'd say try out whatever you need — if something doesn't work, you can still run the config-disc later! Did you have anything changed before the update (i.e., with the older version)? If so, you could check whether your changes are still valid. Otherwise you should be good to go anyway (especially since the default setup is quite "conservative").

Have fun,
topN

 

Ooops, I missed that step lol Yes it did its testing, then the real wiikey update. I edit my first comment.
I did test out the Config disc and really nothing needed to be changed as previously before, I never changed anything and it worked fine.
Everything seems to be working still...
Now its just the Wiikey seems to be outdated and the newer games have some new protection which there is a way to get around, but the games dont play. Softmod is a little more work lol I may look into a newer plug in play modchip (Wiikey Fusion or Wasabi DX)

Thanks topN for helping!

 

Certain games require different IOS's to run them or you will get a black screen.
You can update from game disc as long as its same region as your wii

If you update to 4.2 though, you won't be able to play other regions with your modchip.
If you don't care about softmodding or other regions, then it doesn't matter.

This thread explains the IOS's that games need to run, and explains how to patch the ISO images so you don't have to update your System Software.

Code:

http://www.wiihacks.com/recommended-faqs-guides-tutorials-only/24965-ios-games-use-run.html

 

Good for you!

Look, if you're having trouble playing newer games, maybe I could help — I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago (you can search my name… ;-) ). I constantly got black screens when trying out "newer" games.

What I did: Simply apply the newest system update, right through the Wii Menu. All the IOS-related posts do nothing more than that — as long as you have a Hardmod (i.e., a chip like the wiikey) and _NOT_ a softmod, you should be on the safe side. It worked for me, I can play any game since I did the update. (I too was a little afraid to update; but it was for the best!)

If you have no internet connection, you can maybe borrow an _original_ game from a friend — make sure it is as recent as possible: The newer the game, the higher the system-version it will need. Usually the update is right there on the disc! When inserting it, it should complain about an outdated version of the wii system software and ask you to update it. (Make sure it is a game _from your region_!!!)

In case you (also) have a softmod on your Wii: Disregard everything I just wrote, and ask someone who knows better. ;-)

HTH,
topN

 

Hi all,

I have my WiiKey installed about 2 years ago and everything worked well.
I didn't use my Wii for about 2 months and when I turned on yesterday, it doesn't read any of my backups but it reads the original very well without trouble.

I have updated my system to 4.2E as suggested, but the problem still remains.

Could you please let me know what should I do?
I tried to insert the WiiKey utility disk but it is saying that it is not recognised now.
I purchased a Wii Lens cleaner to clean the lens but no help as well.

Please help me. Thanks very much.

 

My kids updated the Wii to 4.2u and now the Wii Key doesn't read the back up discs. Is there any way to fix this so the Wii Key will continue to work or do I have to buy some other chip that works with the Wii's new firmware? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Okay, After being frustrated I have found my answer. The disc that was in the Wii during the update process, Call of Duty World at War, is the only back up that doesn't work. I just finished mauling another great session of Beatles RockBand. So basically the Wii Key 2 will work correctly after updating to the newest firmware 4.2U just do not have any discs inside of the Wii during the update process. I was able to go online and download some of the new songs out of the Beatles RockBand store and play them fine. I also was able to go to the Wii Shop channel and buy some older Nintendo games such as Double Dribble for me and my wife to relive the games we played as kids. I have the HomeBrew channel on my Wii, but never really knew how to use it or anything, all I do is play my back ups and let the originals sit inside their cases (wink)! If you work for Nintendo, it's affiliates or any of it's subsidiaries please disregard this message as I have no idea what I am talking about. It's my medication acting up again!

 

I have an original wiikey. I just noticed by console is semi bricked. I go to the settings and it gives me that opera error. I tried to do the twilight princess hack and it won't allow me to copy the save file over. I'm not sure which version of wii software i'm running. What should i do to get unbricked. My backup games do work. I mostly have older games.

 

Can anyone help me with the problem below, please?
Thank you very much.

 

Hey!

Well, it sounds to me as if the Chip got disconnected somehow. Did you solder it on or did you use a WiiClip? Or maybe I should start by asking — did you do the installation yourself or did somebody else install it? Have you any capability and/or knowledge to open the Wii up and check the chip?

GL,
topN

 

@topN
Thanks again man for ur help and if I have anymore questions, lll be sure to ask ya or post in the comments.
Right now I have been really busy and no time to try anything on the Wii yet... Ill let ya know how it goes though.

Cheers!