Wiibrew Forums - Wii Linux

What exactly is BootMii (1 reply)

bzand — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 00:24:50 +0200

I would like to know exactly what BootMii is. I homebrewed my wii about a year ago and am very happy with it. Iv heard about bootmii but aren't sure what it is. I am wondering because I would like to install a linux gui from here [forum.wiibrew.org] and maybe play games off a usb drive. I don't want to replace the default wii os. I'm not sure but it sounds like bootmii replaces it. I'm just really confused.

Custom GUI (1 reply)

averysumner — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 04:22:13 +0200

I have Whiite Linux running on my wii atm and I have a very quick question, is it possible to create a gui using just the terminal?

favor to ask (no replies)

j2lapointe — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 09:20:03 +0200

Hi,

would you told me how you did the linux img, i mean what is inside. Otherwise i will be glad to have the same image file that was on your site while ago. I really like what you did and be glad to see it again as it was my first day. You can always refer me to greater but for me ubuntu its too big.

No keyboard input in Wii Linux (no replies)

Fullmetal5 — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 04:54:17 +0100

I have been trying to get linux to run on my wii.

For fun I thought I'd try to build my own kernel so I found the most up to date version of the patches used for the wii (here). I then used buildroot to create a cross compiler as well as the target system's root file system.

I gzip'd the root file system into a ramdisk and put it in the kernel, then edited arch/powerpc/boot/wii.dts to have the bootargs = "nobats root=/dev/ram0 rootwait force_keyboard_port=4 video=gcnf:60Hz tv=auto loader=ios quite"

Then I used this cross compiler in combination with the build script that came with the kernel to create the zImage.initrd

When building the kernel I changed the option 'Boot Method' (under Platform Support) to IOS method rather than mini

Finally I executed the kernel from the homebrew channel everything seemed to work and I got to a prompt asking me to login to buildroot. Only one problem, no matter which keyboard port I plugged into I can't get it to recognize my keyboard.

I tried different keyboards, tried changing the option that said force_keyboard_port but nothing could get it working.

Through other methods of testing I've confirmed that the USB ports aren't broken so I'm at a loss for whats going wrong.

Any help is appreciated, Thanks!

P.S. Hope this is the right place to post this

Easy Installation of Ubuntu Wii (no replies)

q885 — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 19:53:36 +0100

Thanks to Amy of 3dsbuzz for bringing this to my attention. The easiest way to install Ubuntu Wii is now the whiite Linux installer. The downsides are that you need a usb keyboard and that it takes about 2 hours to complete. I've put the new instructions at the beginning of the original "Ubuntu Wii" message.

Ubuntu Wii for Farter Kernel (5 replies)

q885 — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 21:22:53 +0100

I'm currently recommending that you use the "Whiite Linux Installer" to install Ubuntu Wii. I've put the new instructions at the beginning of the original "Ubuntu Wii" message. The filesystem I included there is roughly the same as this one with a few bug fixes. I've taken down the old image so that people will use the new one.

Thanks to Amy of 3dsbuzz for bringing this to my attention.

The original message follows for archival purposes:

I have made an Ubuntu (Xubuntu Feisty) image that works with the Farter kernel.

This solves the overscan problem as well as color-corruption in text mode. Hopefully it will solve the problem with PAL as well (I don't have a PAL machine to test it on).

You will need the Farter kernel here. I uploaded it myself since hotfile.com is down. This link should work.

The kernels are in a subdirectory called "ppcboot".

Here is the filesystem tar to use with the new kernel.

You also need the mikep1-armboot.bin. Gc-linux.org is still up and hopefully will continue to be, but I didn't think there was any harm in uploading it to my account at ubuntuone.com as well. It goes in "bootmii/armboot.bin".

I'm guessing that most people who are interested in this are able to figure out how to install it. If anyone's interested, I can adapt my instructions for use with this.

Virtual Keyboard not working (2 replies)

JjStAr — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 02:52:47 +0200

Hey guys,

So I downloaded EWL. I had some initial problems, but I fixed them. I load it up with Bootmii, works fine. I load the Wi-fi Configurator, and I see I need a keyboard. I open up VK and I press Return, but nothing happens. What's going on? Am I doing something wrong? The main reason I got EWL was so I can get Homebrew apps without going to the computer. I need help!

Thx in advance,

JjStAr

EDIT: Nothing works, not even WWW Browser.

"speaker-test" audio crackles using whiite (14 replies)

SmartOne — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 11:02:44 +0200

I've tried practically every combination of ALSA configurations in order to achieve smooth audio playback. Using the default configuration, audio playback is very crackly/scratchy. I use this command to test two channels using a sine wave:

speaker-test -c 2 -t sine

In an attempt to fix this, I created the ALSA configuration file: /etc/asound.conf

My goal is to play two-channel, 16-bit, and 48 kHz audio. I've tried adjusting the period time and buffer time (microseconds), period size and buffer size (frames; four bytes per frame), and the number of periods per buffer. All of this junk leaves me with less crackling, but any crackling is unacceptable. (Geexbox Wii's audio playback is also scratchy.)

1. Does smooth audio playback work using the Wii Linux audio driver?
2. Will you please help me fix this? I've spent countless days with no success. :'(

Best ALSA resources I could find:
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/FramesPeriods
http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/alsa-lib/pcm_plugins.html#pcm_plugins_dmix
http://jan.newmarch.name/LinuxSound/Sampled/Alsa/

Audio driver reference (I'm using MIKE p5, though):
https://github.com/DeltaResero/GC-Wii-Linux-Kernel-3.0.y/blob/master/sound/ppc/gcn-ai.c

Wii XBMCbuntu (1 reply)

woompa — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 15:00:35 +0200

I have not tried any of the Wii Linux distros as of yet so please forgive my ignorance on this subject. Is it possible to build a version of XBMCbuntu to work on the Wii? It would be so much cooler to have a Wii be able to run a version of XBMCbuntu on my old CRT/analog input TVs rather than buying Raspberry Pis. I realize it would likely be slow and cumbersome but nonetheless a great feature to an old console that I still love.

Xubuntu Feisty Wii (fast!) (11 replies)

q885 — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:34:42 +0100

I'm currently recommending that you use the "Whiite Linux Installer" to install Ubuntu Wii. I've put the new instructions at the beginning of the original "Ubuntu Wii" message. The filesystem I included there is roughly the same as this one but modified to work with either kernel and containing a few bug fixes. The only difference between the filesystems for Isobel and Farter is that the Isobel filesystem contains an "/etc/X11/xorg.conf". I've taken down the old image so that people will use the new one.

Thanks to Amy of 3dsbuzz for bringing this to my attention.

The original message follows for archival purposes:

Xubuntu Feisty on the Nintendo Wii

Watch the Youtube video for a short demonstration.

You will need:
* A Wii with Homebrew Channel and BootMii installed: See http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_setup for instructions.
* An SDHC memory card (>=4GB and <=32GB) that doesn't contain any data that you want to keep.
* A computer running Linux. You don't need to install Linux; you can boot from what's called a LiveCD. Get Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid or later. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD for instructions.

For a computer already running Linux (instructions for Windows with LiveCD can be made available upon request):

1. Make 2 partitions on the SD card. Partition 1 must be FAT16 or FAT32. Partition 2 must be ext2 and must be at least 2.5GB. I recommend that you make it at least 3.0GB so you have some space to work with.

To do this:

Open a terminal by pressing ++T.

Install GParted, if you haven't already done so, by copying or typing the following into the terminal. Use ++V to paste into terminal:

sudo apt-get install gparted

Plug the memory card into your computer if you haven't already done so.

Run GParted by typing or copying the following into the terminal:

gksu gparted

In the upper-right of the window that comes up, there is a dropdown. The text on it probably says "/dev/sda" followed by a size. Click on it and choose the option whose size matches the size of your memory card. Be careful to select the correct device so that you don't reformat your hard drive.

Unmount all the partitions if any are mounted: In the body of the window, right-click on each partition that has a picture of a key and select "Unmount".

Delete all partitions (not "unallocated") by right-clicking on them and selecting "Delete".

Add a FAT partition:
Right-click on "unallocated" and select "New".

If you are using this memory card only for Ubuntu: Click on "New size" and enter "16". Press . Check that the value in "Free space following" is at least 2500. If it isn't, your memory card is too small to run Xubuntu Feisty Wii.

If you are also using this card for Wii savegames, Homebrew Channel apps, pictures, etc.: Choose a size that's appropriate to your needs. Enter the size into the "New Size" field. Press . Check that "Free space following" is at least 2500 (3000 is better). If it is less, enter a smaller value into "New Size". Press and check again if the value in "Free space following" is large enough. Repeat as necessary.

If the size of the partition (value in "New Size" field) is larger than 4088 (MB), set "Filesystem" to "fat32". Otherwise, set "Filesystem" to "fat16".
Set "Label" to "HBC" for Homebrew Channel.
Click the "Add" button in the lower-right.

Add an ext2 partition:
Right-click on "unallocated" and select "New".
Set "Filesystem" to "ext2".
Set "Label" to "ubuntu-wii".
Click "Add".

Click "Edit"->"Apply...". When it asks if you are sure, click "Apply".

When the window that pops up says "All operations successfully completed", close it by clicking on "Close". Close GParted by clicking on the "X" in the upper-left or upper-right corner.

2. Mount partitions:
First, check to see if your new partitions are mounted:
Type "ls /media" into your terminal.

If you don't see "HBC" and "ubuntu-wii" (or your names for the partitions), safely remove the memory card and plug it back in by doing the following:
From terminal, type "nautilus &" . A window will come up.
On the menu bar, click "Go"->"Computer".
Right-click on one of the icons for your memory card. Select "Safely Remove...".
Once the icons for your memory card have disappeared, you can physically remove the memory card.
Then plug it back in.

Enter "ls /media" again. You should see "HBC" and "ubuntu-wii" or your names for them. If you have different names, replace "/media/HBC" and "/media/ubuntu-wii" below.

3. Using the following steps, install the files onto the memory card:

Copy and paste each of the following commands into your terminal. Replace "HBC" in each line if necessary and press :

sudo mkdir /media/HBC/bootmii
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep1-armboot.bin -O /media/HBC/bootmii/armboot.bin

Now, figure out which version of the kernel you need based on your video mode. The choices are "480i\(PAL60\)", "576i\(PAL\)", "480p\(PAL\)", "480i\(NTSC\)", and "480p\(NTSC\)". If you're in the U.S. and you use a regular connection (red white yellow), you want "480i\(NTSC\)". If you're in the U.S. and you use a component video cable or the Wii VGA Adapter, you want "480p\(NTSC\)". I don't know how the rest of the world works.

Find your video mode shortly before "-O" on one of the following five lines. Copy that one line and paste into your terminal:

sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480i\(PAL60\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.576i\(PAL\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480p\(PAL\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480i\(NTSC\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480p\(NTSC\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf

Change "HBC" if you need to, then press .

The boot partition is now all set up.

Next, download the Ubuntu Wii archive. Copy the following into the terminal (it may take a little while for the download to complete):

wget http://ubuntuone.com/0gUW38U8eztBES1ZZDWIXr -O xubuntu-feisty-wii.tar.bz2

Now, extract "xubuntu-feisty-wii.tar.bz2" into the root of your ext2 partition by copying or typing the following into the terminal (replace "ubuntu-wii" if you've chosen a different name):

sudo tar xjf xubuntu-feisty-wii.tar.bz2 -C /media/ubuntu-wii

This should take about half an hour or less, an hour if you're using usb 1.1.
You can check the progress by opening another terminal and typing "df -h". Find the line that ends with "/media/ubuntu-wii". Look in the third column, "Used". Shortly after that number reaches 2.4G, it will be done.
Once it's done, your memory card will be all set up for Ubuntu Wii.

4. Optional: configure the network before you boot Ubuntu Wii.
Copy or type the following into the terminal:

gksu gedit /media/ubuntu-wii/etc/network/interfaces &

If your network uses WEP for security, remove the leading "#"s from the four lines starting with the first "#auto wlan0". Replace "" with your network name and replace "" with your wireless password.

If your network uses WPA for security, remove the leading "#"s from the four lines starting with the second "#auto wlan0". Replace "" with your network name and replace "" with your network password.

Once you are done, click on "Save". Then close the window by clicking the "X" in the upper-left or upper-right corner.

5. Safely remove the memory card and put it in the Wii by doing the following:
If you don't already have a nautilus ("File Browser") window up (you probably have 2 or 3 open now), type "nautilus &" into terminal. A window will come up.
On the menu bar, click "Go"->"Computer".
Right-click on one of the icons for your memory card. Select "Safely Remove...".
Once the icons for your memory card have disappeared, you can physically remove the memory card.

Put the memory card in the front slot on the Wii.

6. Boot your Wii and go into Homebrew Channel. Press on the Wiimote and select "Launch BootMii". It will automatically log in user "ubuntu". The password is "ubuntu".

Thank you to Whowne, gralco, isobel, nuvalo, the creators of whiite and xwhiite, whoever made the wireless firmware available, elmurato, the creators of cwiid, my family, the Ubuntu community and everyone else who made this possible.

If you have successfully followed these instructions and ran Ubuntu Wii, please post a message here saying so.
If you have tried to follow these directions and were unsuccessful, please post a message here and I'll try to fix the guide or figure out what went wrong for you.
Thanks!

Bootmii Linux Loader Channel, BootMiiOn/OFF and Building CustomizeMii on Ubuntu. (no replies)

linus — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:12:21 +0100

BootMiiOn/Off:
This a update to and earlier project [forum.wiibrew.org] and
Here is the new updated Homebrew Channel compatible app package.

[sites.google.com]

I changed the alternate directory name to match BootMii Configuration Editor. The source is included in the app package. Assumed before first use is that you have a directory named bootmii on the root of your SD card.

Detour to Easy Wii Linux:
Awhile ago I laid out my route for booting EWL from the HBC. [forum.wiibrew.org] Building from that I wanted EWL to change the the BootMiiOn/Off icon to off(black). So in /etc/rc.local, just after the line added last time;

mv /initrd/mnt/bootmii /initrd/mnt/~bootmii

I added two more;

mv initrd/mnt/apps/bmoo/icon.png initrd/mnt/apps/bmoo/onicon.png
mv initrd/mnt/apps/bmoo/officon.png initrd/mnt/apps/bmoo/icon.png

Bootmii Linux Loader Channel:
Here is a Wii System Menu Compatible package for the channel.
[sites.google.com]
The main function of the channel is to reboot to IOS254. But if there is a /~bootmii directory it will be renamed, and if BootMiiOn/Off is installed the icon will be changed.

Watch:
[www.youtube.com]

Building CustomizeMii on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install mono-gmcs monodevelop
svn checkout [customizemii.googlecode.com] customizemii

Now run MonoDevlop and open customizemii/CustomizeMii.sln. Under the Build menu select Build All. There are a few incorrectly capitalized letter in Resources.rex that will cause the build to fail. Right click on the error icon on the lower left corner of the IDE and choose goto. Change the letters to correctly match the actual files. Run Build All again and repeat the error tracking process. Do this until no fatal errors appear. The finished binary is at customizemii/CustomizeMii/bin/debug/Customize.exe

Cinux for the wii: A gc-linux distribution made from scratch (1 reply)

linuxlalala — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:27:39 +0100

Hello everyone! This is my first post :). Anyway, I have started porting cinux, a greek linux distribution made from scratch to the wii. All I have managed to get is console with no X11 and I need alpha testers. The filesystem tarball is made with the help of buildroot, a nice tool which allows you to create filesystem tarballs from scratch, by compilling code.
If you want to download cinux for the wii, click here (alpha2) Please use with the Mikep5 kernel found here and install with the instructions found here .

If you want to take part in the development of cinux for the wii, please pm me. Alpha testers and developers needed.

Screenshoot:

gc-linux: Wifi on Debian 5.0 (11 replies)

nigelhorne — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 02:11:18 +0100

I can't get Wifi to work on my Wii. I've been following the instructions at [www.gc-linux.org] but it still doesn't work. ifconfig -a doesn't list wlan0 and I'm out of ideas. Any thoughts?

Debian Installer for Wii (no replies)

q885 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:33:20 +0200

I'm not sure if everybody's already seen this:
http://fartersoft.com/blog/2011/08/17/debian-installer-for-wii/

I haven't tried it yet but it sounds really neat.

Random wifi deauthentication (no replies)

HyperHacker — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:25:26 +0200

I have wifi working on Whiite, but every several minutes or so, it disconnects:
wlan0: deauthenticated from so:me:ma:ca:dd:re:ss (Reason: 2)

Any way to fix this, or at very least to detect it automatically so I can have a script reconnect instead of having to do it manually every time?

Accessing the Gamecube controller ports (1 reply)

HyperHacker — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 10:11:09 +0100

How do I access the Gamecube controller ports in Whiite? Is there a character device mapped to them?

XServer and JWM on Debian Squezze, problem with graphic driver (no replies)

Strece — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 19:11:59 +0200

Hey guys,

I have installed Whiite Linux with Debian Lenny on my Wii and updated it to Debian 6.0.
I edited the source.list and run a "apt-get dist-upgrade" after "apt-get update". No problems at all.

Then I wanted to install xserver and fluxbox, so I used the following instructions: [forum.wiibrew.org]
Installation was no problem, but I didn't find the xorg.conf. After some research I found out that it is better not to use the xorg.conf, because newer xservers can run good without it.

Ok I tested to start the xserver with "startx /usr/bin/jwm", get no errors but a green screen and a part of the JWM menu bar, screen size wasn't right. So I decided to use a xorg.conf, but the creation failed with the error:

Xorg: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/cube_drv.so: undefined symbol: LoaderRefSymLists

I created it manually and tried to start the xserver again, but then the same error:

/usr/bin/X: symbol lookup error: /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/cube_drv.so: undefined symbol: LoaderRefSymLists

I think the driver is outdated. Can someone help me and know how to deal with this?

Greetings, Strece

xf86-video-cube Crashes Xorg (2 replies)

Khoraski — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 23:53:14 +0200

I tried every freaking tutorial on the internet and it just won't work. .-.

If I use "Xorg -configure" to generate a .conf file, it crashes Xorg. If I use someone else's xorg.conf file, when I use "startx" I get the same errors that flash really quick on the screen and then Xorg crashes again.

When it crashes, it just clears the screen and an unblinking underscore is left at the top corner. And it just sits like that.

Update Whiite to Debian 6.0 (1 reply)

Khoraski — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 04:21:36 +0200

This originally was a post requesting for help, but since I figured it out, I'll tell people how to do it who have the same problem.
Basically, when you get Whiite 1.10 on the internet, it won't update or install new software. So this is what you have to do.

1) Update it from Lenny to Squeeze. It's actually really easy to do.
Run this command:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Change where it says "lenny" on both lines to "squeeze."
Now simply run "apt-get update".

2) If you get an error saying something like, "NO PUB_KEY {INSERT KEY}", run these commands:

gpg --recv-keys AED4B06F473041FA
gpg --armor --export AED4B06F473041FA | apt-key add -
apt-get update

As you can see, I used "AED4B06F473041FA" for my Key. If the "{INSERT KEY}" part is different, replace AED4B06F473041FA with your Key.

3) If you still can't update, run:

apt-get update -f

This should take a long time to fix everything.

4) Once done, run apt-get update and it should successfully update!

Done! Now you can install new software, like "apt-get install python" should install Python.

5) I'm adding this step in because you may still run into an error after reboot. You get the error that says something like, "nb root's path should usually contain" etc...

To fix this, run this command:

PATH="$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin"

You can also add the line to the "profile" file and it should run it on boot.

WII LINUX URGENT (4 replies)

slipknot1213 — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 02:29:07 +0200

so i installed whiite linux but how come everyone elses linux has like a gui like windows....how do i get linux so i can see it like have a start bar and bring up firefox plz help

Ubuntu Wii (39 replies)

q885 — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 19:33:28 +0100

The current recommended way to install Ubuntu Wii is to use the Whiite Linux Installer. Thanks to Amy of 3dsbuzz for explaining how to do this.

You will need an SD card with at least 3GB usable space (typically called a 4GB card or larger), but not more than 32GB (SDXC) since the Wii cannot read it. It will be formatted in the process, so be sure to make a backup if you have anything on it worth saving. After the installation runs, you can copy all your savegames and Homebrew Channel apps, etc. back onto the card.

You will also need a USB mass storage device (a thumb drive, external hard drive, card reader with an SD card in it, etc.) separate from the SD card you will put in the front of the Wii.

You will also need a USB keyboard.

If you don't have a USB mass storage device or USB keyboard, you can always install manually (from Linux or possibly Mac).

Instructions for Whiite Linux Installer follow:

Here are the files you will need:
"whiite-linux-installer-BETA1.zip" (3.7MB):
[drive.google.com]

For NTSC on the Wii or Wii U, choose one of the following:
"ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" (585.7MB):
[drive.google.com]
or
"ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-bundle.zip" (585.7MB):
[drive.google.com]
The difference is the kernel. There are many subtle differences between the Isobel and Farter kernels that I won't get into. What you need to know is that Isobel fills the whole virtual screen that the Wii outputs. On most TVs, this means that the top and bottom of the menu bars get cut off. Try the Farter kernel first. If you find that there's a lot of black space at the top and bottom and you'd like to have that real estate available for your desktop, then you can try the Isobel kernel.

For PAL, you must use:
"ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" (585.7MB):
[drive.google.com]
(and I can't even guarantee that will work!)

When you try to download either of the bundles, you will get a message saying "Google Drive can't scan this file for viruses" because it "exceeds the maximum size that Google can scan. Would you still like to download this file?"
Click on "Download anyway". This message doesn't mean that Google found a virus, only that it won't scan a file this large. These files contain no viruses, but if you are worried about it, just scan them yourself after downloading.

Directions:
Extract "whiite-linux-installer-BETA1.zip" to the root of the memory card you will use for Ubuntu Wii.

Extract "ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" or "ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-bundle.zip" to the root of the usb mass storage device you will plug into the usb port on the Wii.

Put the card in the front slot of the Wii and plug the usb device and your usb keyboard into the usb ports on the back.

Boot your Wii, go to Homebrew Channel and run "whiite-linux Installer (B1)". It'll take about 2 hours.

When you reboot you'll have an icon for Ubuntu Wii in Homebrew Channel. This icon will boot Ubuntu Wii without Wi-Fi.

To get Wi-Fi (if you are using an original Wii in the U.S. or another place that uses NTSC), instead of using the icon, simply press on the Wiimote from the Homebrew Channel and select "Launch BootMii".

If you are using an original PAL Wii and you wish to use Wi-Fi, you can then try the following:
Exit Ubuntu Wii if you've loaded it. Eject the SD card and put it back in your computer.
Download:
"mikep5(vfb)-zImage-2.6.32.41.mini.576i(PAL).zip" (2.5MB):
[drive.google.com]
Extract "mikep5(vfb)-zImage-2.6.32.41.mini.576i(PAL).zip" to the root of the new "boot" partition. Put the SD card back in the Wii and launch Homebrew Channel. Try pressing on the Wiimote and selecting "Launch BootMii" from the Homebrew Channel. It should boot Ubuntu Wii in PAL with Wi-Fi. If you try this, please let me know.

If, the first time you boot, the menu bars don't come up, press the reset button on the front of the Wii once and wait 30 seconds. Then load Ubuntu Wii again. I don't know what causes this, but it seems to happen only on the first boot.

If you try to boot and the screen goes black and nothing else happens (the blue light on the front of the Wii isn't blinking), press and hold the power button on the front of the Wii until the light turns from green to amber. Then boot again like normal. This seems to happen only on rare occasions. Next time you boot, it will most likely work. Let me know if this happens more than once.

For those who want to install it manually, there are files inside "ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" and "ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-bundle.zip" called "ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-filesystem.tar.bz2" and "ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-filesystem.tar.bz2", respectively. Just use "sudo tar xjf".

The username is "ubuntu" and the password is "ubuntu".

Original post follows for archival purposes (however I've removed the old image so that people will use the new one):

Ubuntu 6.06.2 Dapper Drake on the Nintendo Wii

Watch the Youtube video so you know what you're getting into.

You will need:
* A Wii with Homebrew Channel and BootMii installed: See http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_setup for instructions.
* An SDHC memory card (>=4GB and <=32GB) that doesn't contain any data that you want to keep.
* A computer running Linux. You don't need to install Linux; you can boot from what's called a Live CD. Get Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid or later. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD for instructions.

For a computer already running Linux (instructions for Windows with LiveCD will be made available soon):

1. Make 2 partitions on the SD card. Partition 1 must be FAT16 or FAT32. Partition 2 must be ext2 and must be at least 2.4GB.

To do this:

Open a terminal by pressing ++T.

Install GParted, if you haven't already done so, by copying or typing the following into the terminal. Use ++V to paste into terminal:

sudo apt-get install gparted

Plug the memory card into your computer if you haven't already done so.

Run GParted by typing or copying the following into the terminal:

gksu gparted

In the upper-right of the window that comes up, there is a dropdown. The text on it probably says "/dev/sda" followed by a size. Click on it and choose the option whose size matches the size of your memory card. Be careful to select the correct device so that you don't reformat your hard drive.

Unmount all the partitions if any are mounted: In the body of the window, right-click on each partition that has a picture of a key and select "Unmount".

Delete all partitions (not "unallocated") by right-clicking on them and selecting "Delete".

Add a FAT partition:
Right-click on "unallocated" and select "New".

If you are using this memory card only for Ubuntu: Click on "New size" and enter "16". Press . Check that the value in "Free space following" is at least 2400. If it isn't, your memory card is too small to run Ubuntu Wii.

If you are also using this card for Wii savegames, Homebrew Channel apps, pictures, etc.: Choose a size that's appropriate to your needs. Enter the size into the "New Size" field. Press . Check that "Free space following" is at least 2400 (3000 is better). If it is less, enter a smaller value into "New Size". Press and check again if the value in "Free space following" is large enough. Repeat as necessary.

If the size of the partition (value in "New Size" field) is larger than 4088 (MB), set "Filesystem" to "fat32". Otherwise, set "Filesystem" to "fat16".
Set "Label" to "HBC" for Homebrew Channel.
Click the "Add" button in the lower-right.

Add an ext2 partition:
Right-click on "unallocated" and select "New".
Set "Filesystem" to "ext2".
Set "Label" to "ubuntu-wii".
Click "Add".

Click "Edit"->"Apply...". When it asks if you are sure, click "Apply".

When the window that pops up says "All operations successfully completed", close it by clicking on "Close". Close GParted by clicking on the "X" in the upper-left or upper-right corner.

2. Mount partitions:
First, check to see if your new partitions are mounted:
Type "ls /media" into your terminal.

If you don't see "HBC" and "ubuntu-wii" (or your names for the partitions), safely remove the memory card and plug it back in by doing the following:
From terminal, type "nautilus &" . A window will come up.
On the menu bar, click "Go"->"Computer".
Right-click on one of the icons for your memory card. Select "Safely Remove...".
Once the icons for your memory card have disappeared, you can physically remove the memory card.
Then plug it back in.

Enter "ls /media" again. You should see "HBC" and "ubuntu-wii" or your names for them. If you have different names, replace "/media/HBC" and "/media/ubuntu-wii" below.

3. Using the following steps, install the files onto the memory card:

Copy and paste each of the following commands into your terminal. Replace "HBC" in each line if necessary and press :

sudo mkdir /media/HBC/bootmii
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep1-armboot.bin -O /media/HBC/bootmii/armboot.bin

sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480i\(PAL60\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.576i\(PAL\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480p\(PAL\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480i\(NTSC\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480p\(NTSC\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf

wget http://ubuntuone.com/4PZHg5cRNFukGAOrmyuXwl -O ubuntu-wii.tar.bz2

Now, extract "ubuntu-wii.tar.bz2" into the root of your ext2 partition by copying or typing the following into the terminal (replace "ubuntu-wii" if you've chosen a different name):

sudo tar xjf ubuntu-wii.tar.bz2 -C /media/ubuntu-wii

This should take about half an hour or less, an hour if you're using usb 1.1.
You can check the progress by opening another terminal and typing "df -h". Find the line that ends with "/media/ubuntu-wii". Look in the third column, "Used". Shortly after that number reaches 2.2G, it will be done.
Once it's done, your memory card will be all set up for Ubuntu Wii.

4. Optional: configure the network before you boot Ubuntu Wii.
Copy or type the following into the terminal:

gksu gedit /media/ubuntu-wii/etc/network/interfaces &

If your network uses WEP for security, remove the leading "#"s from the four lines starting with the first "#auto wlan0". Replace "" with your network name and replace "" with your wireless password.

If your network uses WPA for security, remove the leading "#"s from the ten lines starting with the second "#auto wlan0". Replace "" with your network name and replace "" with your network password.

Once you are done, click on "Save". Then close the window by clicking the "X" in the upper-left or upper-right corner.

5. Safely remove the memory card and put it in the Wii by doing the following:
If you don't already have a nautilus ("File Browser") window up (you probably have 2 or 3 open now), type "nautilus &" into terminal. A window will come up.
On the menu bar, click "Go"->"Computer".
Right-click on one of the icons for your memory card. Select "Safely Remove...".
Once the icons for your memory card have disappeared, you can physically remove the memory card.

Put the memory card in the front slot on the Wii.

6. Boot your Wii and go into Homebrew Channel. Press on the Wiimote and select "Launch BootMii". It will automatically log in user "ubuntu". The password is "ubuntu".

Known issues:
Sound is scratchy and only works with some programs, and there is no volume knob.
When using "gksu" on the command line, some errors are printed. It still performs the way it should, so I don't worry about it.
In graphics mode, certain colors get replaced by bright flourescent colors. It can be very hard to read, particularly in Terminal.
When you type or use backspace in text mode, the line to the right of the cursor changes colors.
Network seems to disconnect after a long time. You can just start it up again with "sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart". I made a menu entry under "Applications"->"Internet"->"Restart Network". Still annoying.
If you delete the "ubuntu" user account, all other accounts lose all privileges. I just discovered this and haven't had time to investigate.
On many TVs the top and bottom get cut off. Increasing the size of the bars helps.
You have to press "1" and "2" simultaneously to connect the Wiimote. xwhiite was able to connect it by simply pressing a button on the Wiimote, and it came up faster than the 1+2 thing. xwhiite's creator refers mysteriously to a "fastsync" patch for libcwiid. Please tell me if you know how to do this. Thanks.

Thank you to isobel, nuvalo, the creators of whiite and xwhiite, whoever made the wireless firmware available, elmurato, the creators of cwiid, my family, the Ubuntu community and everyone else who made this possible.

Wifi tool on Whiite under bootmii? (1 reply)

jacobr8893 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 04:24:06 +0200

Apparently, there is supposed to be a wifi tool called "whiite-ez-wifi-config" in the root directory when you have logged into whiite. Everytime i try to use it i get file or directory not found. Does anyone know of anyway to correct this or another way to use wifi in whiite? I want to use the wii as a linux server and without wifi there wouldn't be a point. I would be very greatful for your help as i have been googleing to no avail for an hour.

Mainline linux kernel, working on wii? (6 replies)

nouboh — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:57:46 +0100

Hello!
I'm trying to compile a newer version of the linux kernel for my wii because I'm having problems with the pegasus2 driver used by my usb to ethernet device (random kernel panics and crashes) but I only can get working the version 2.6.32 with mikep5 patches. Are not included all the patches in the mainline kernel?
I don't have any problem with my crosscompiling tools and even the wii seems to be executing kernel code, the blue led flashes, but I cannot see anything in the TV neither connect by ssh. I compiled them using my old .config and the default one (for wii) included in the kernel tree.
I tried a lot of different versions newer than 2.6.32 always with the same results, I am missing something?

Thanks!

Hosting a minecraft server on wii linux? (Possible, or not?) (4 replies)

iamjagman — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:01:05 +0200

I don't really know much of anything about wii-linux, or any of the other linux-for-wii's, but I was curious as to whether I could run a minecraft server on it. If I had to guess, I'd say the only problem would be getting Java on there (probably wrong :3 ). The only other question is if the Wii has enough ram (I think).

Linux (3 replies)

slipknot1213 — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:00:21 +0200

i have a wii on 4.3U and HBC installed and i want to know how to install linux... i need very detailed directions as im new to linux

Easy Wii Linux: Instant PC (78 replies)

linus — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 06:38:57 +0200

Easy Wii Linux: Instant PC
Turn you homebrew enabled Wii into a full featured personal computer, with the installation of only two files. No special formatting or hardware required.

Built with ease of use and the Wii's limited system resources as the bullet points. EWL begins with a Debian Squeeze core. Added to that is a selection of packages that fit the model. Finally many applications that aren't available in the Debian repository, where compiled specifically for this distribution. All of this is combined, to provide a seamlessly home computing experience, that can satisfy most needs.

Installation:

Step One: install the Linux disk image.
A zip archive(~340mb) containing the image can be found here:
[www.fileswap.com]
Decompressed the archive contains one folder named "linux", which contains one file "linuxdsk.img"(1gb). Copy this folder to the root of a FAT 16 formated SD card.

Step Two: install the executable kernel image.
Copy this file to someplace easy to find from the BootMii menu:
[sites.google.com] (~4mb)
This kernel uses the auto video detection mode. It will correctly set you video mode if loaded from the BootMii menu. If you are going to direct boot, use a kernel with your specific video mode preset from this archive:
[www.mediafire.com] (~22mb)

Usage:

1. Start the kernel from BootMii. Press the power button to move the BootMii cursor forward, and the reset button to select.
2. When you see the wallpaper, or hear the start up sound. Press 1 and 2 on the wiimote simultaneously, to connect it for use as your mouse. When connected the LEDS will stop flashing, and only the first will stay illuminated.
3. Now select the "Virtual Keyboard" from the "Utilities" menu and you are ready to go. (When using the virtual keyboard first click the "Focus" button. Then click the text box or window, to which you want your input directed.)

Plugging in a USB keyboard and or mouse will increase usability exponentially.

Setting up WiFi:

Select "Configure WiFi" from the "System" menu and answer the questions. If you are using the Virtual Keyboard. Remember for your inputs to be registered. First click the "Focus" button on the keyboard. Then click on the whiite-ez-wifi-config tool window.

Important Connectivity Information:
If you are actively using a wiimote as an input device. It may take a few moments for WiFi to connect after wiimote first syncs.

"wminput" the daemon that enables the wiimote to be used as a mouse, has a bug. If it is running and you don't have a wiimote synced WiFi may not work. If you are using a USB mouse; you can either connect a wiimote and let it sit eating batteries, or select "Kill Daemon" from "Wiimote" in the "System" menu.

Features:

Desktop:
Instead of using a resource hogging desktop environment. EWL employs Joe's Window Manager, to provide an experience most users will find familiar. JWM features a start button in the corner of the task bar at the the bottom of the screen. It also has a pager to change between one of four virtual desktops.

Internet:
Web browser/Dillo
Dillo is a web browser built around the Fast Light Toolkit. Compared to other browsers it use a small amount of system resources. This means you can surf while using several other applications. Version 3.0.1 was compiled specifically for EWL.

Email/Sylpheed
Think Outlook.

IRC/LostIRC
LostIRC is a fast and simple GUI IRC chat client.

Instant Messaging/BitlBee
BitlBee is a daemon that routes instant messaging protocols to an IRC client. Using BitlBee you can chat over almost any messaging service with LostIRC.

Torrents/bittornado
Right click a torrent file in emelFM2 file manager and select download. A download status window will automatically open. Your torrent will be downloaded to the folder containing the torrent file. Press "q" when your download is complete.

Office:
Document Editor/Leafpad
Leafpad is a very lightweight GUI editor that allows for some font selection.

Spread Sheet/fteapot
fteapot is the FLTK GUI version of Table Editor and Planner. It is lightweight and has a large list of features. Including support for Lotus 1-2-3 WK1 file format. WK1 allows file transfer including formulas between fteapot and Excel. fteapot was built specifically for EWL.

Calculator/xcalc
xclac is a full featured scientific calculator.

Graphics:
Pdf Viewer/epdfview
epdfview is an easy to use lightweight PDF viewer.

Picture Viewer/xzgv
xzgv is fast image viewer that supports most formats.

Image Editor/xpaint
xpaint supports many image formats and has a lot of features. Think the little sister of GIMP or Photoshop.

Games:
Freecell and Minesweeper.

Utilities:
Virtual Keyboard/xvkbd
Launch xvkdb and you only need your wiimote.

File Manager/emelFM2
emelFM2 is a lightweight mouse driven GUI commander style file manager. Built specifically for EWL.

Source Code Editor/Scite
Everything you could want in an editor.

Terminal/rxvt and xterm
rxvt is very lightweight and is used as the default terminal. xterm uses more resources and is included to allow proper display of whiite-ez-wifi-config.

System:
Configure WiFi/whiite-ez-wifi-config
This tool comes from debian-lenny-5.0+whiite-1.10.tar.bz2. Some small changes where made to it for EWL. Using this tool and the virtual keyboard you can configure WiFi with only a wiimote.

Wiimote:
Kill and Start the mouse emulation daemon with a click.

DVD:
mount, unmount and eject disk with a click.
Due to the experimental nature of the DVD driver. The DVD to be mounted must be inserted when EWL is booted. Also once it is unmounted, you will need to reboot before another disk can be read.

USB Drives:
Thanks to usbmount, drives using most file systems are automatically mounted on insertion at /media/usb0-7. Remember to unmount you USB drives before removing them to prevent data loss. There is a handy unmount button in the system menu.

Extendability:
Because EWL is built on Debian Squeeze, adding new applications is a snap. You have access to the entire Debian Package Repository with apt-get.

Other:
MP3 player/mpg123
Right click a mp3 file in emelFM2 file manager and select play.

System Monitor/xload
xload is swallowed by the task bar to provide a persistent display of CPU usage.

Fast Light Toolkit/FLTK
FLTK a lightweight GUI toolkit with a growing number of applications. Version 1.3 was compiled specifically for EWL

Unnecessary Information:

User: wii Password: wii
User: root Password: easy

To permanently disable the wiimote mouse daemon. Comment out the wminput line in /etc/rc.local.

To access the rest of the SD card comment out the umount lines in /etc/rc.local. SD card will be at /initrd/mnt. Leaving the RAM disk mounted to access the SD card will cost 4mb of RAM.

There are more applications installed then just the ones listed in the Features section. (Examples: SSH server, bluez, more solitaires, ntfs-3g, etc.) Check /bin, /usr/bin/, /usr/games, etc.

Thanks:
Isobel @ [www.gc-linux.org]
Farter @ [fartersoft.com]
and all open source contributers.

Screen blacked out while installing. (no replies)

prss — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:05:42 +0200

While the installer was at either flushing filesystem or creating journal, the screen turned black(although the wii was still on).
Is it safe to turn the wii off(or unplug it?) I used the stock kernel and the HBC..
Thank you.

It turns out I just needed to wiggle the USB stick and then the ¨finished¨ dialog screen popped back up.

Lib/modules folder empty.. (1 reply)

Althorn413 — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:01:37 +0200

Hi.. I'm trying to get Whiite running on my Wii, and that there is absolutely nothing in the lib/modules folder. Did I screw something up? Any help would be awesome!

Farter's new RGB Framebuffer (8 replies)

Novaheart — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 10:00:17 +0200

Farter recently figured out a way to emulate the RGB framebuffer that Linux uses from the YuY buffer that Wii uses. The link is on the GC-Linux's newsspace on the front page.
The problem is that I've been having trouble trying to get it to work because of depmod insisiting on using /lib/modules/2.6.43-isobell-wii rather then the RGB kernel's folder. And its frustrating me to no end that I can't run Wlan0.

whiite xwhiite and linux in general questions. (2 replies)

ihaxall — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:43:40 +0200

alrighty, i'm new here to the forums, but i'm not new to homebrew. i'm running 4.3 (U) smash stacked, bootmii is ios i believe, i know it doesn't boot straight into bootmii.
alrighty, well after a little bit of fussing around, (had to upgrade whiite's debian and all from 4-5 and use mike5) i have whiite working, but no wifi. now i don't know if it's because i don't have any patches or if it's because bootmii isn't in boot2. anyone care to help?