SDHC support in HBB (run from HBC 1.0.3)

Hi folks,

I have awaited the 1.0.3 HBC update in order to use my 8gb Play.com SDHC card. The previous bug (http://bugs.hackmii.com/index.php?do=details&task_id=35&string=sdhc&project=6&type[0]=&sev[0]=&pri[0]=&due[0]=&reported[0]=&cat[0]=&status[0]=closed&percent[0]=&opened=&dev=&closed=&duedatefrom=&duedateto=&changedfrom=&changedto=&openedfrom=&openedto=&closedfrom=&closedto=) in 1.0.2 has been fixed but I am now having problems with my card.

I have loaded the "apps" and "private" onto the SD card. When I start HBC I can see all my apps, and if I go to the Wii SD menu I can see the channels stored on the card.
If I then try to load Homebrew Browser, it says "card not inserted properly" and quits. Neither the Wii or HBC can then read the card (apps not shown in HBC) until I take it out and put it back in again, at which point the apps show up again.

I have re-formatted the card to FAT32 but still no joy. Does anyone have any suggestions?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2009 11:36AM by pinksteady.

Yes. Download the latest version of the Homebrew Browser. If you still have problems, report them to teknecal.

I'm using version 0.3.1 of Homebrew Browser which is the latest version on the website.

Can you try the SD card test below and report back to me what it says?
[www.codemii.com]

I have the exact same problem mentioned above. When I try running the application linked above I get the following error message

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Unable to initialize FAT subsystem, exiting.
Your SD card may not be placed in the Wii correctly.

My post will be longer - thing posted on its own stupidly, so I have to edit the post

EDIT: This is the same message that appears when trying to run the Homebrew browser immediately after the network is initialized.

As the pinksteady mentioned in his initial post, after any homebrew software fails to read the card, the card has to be ejected and reinserted in order for the wii to even recognize the card. Wiiware, Games, and the wii system menu access the card fine, however, all homebrew applications fail to recognize the card. I have tested with both FAT16 and FAT32 filesystems, with little result other than a slight increase in speed with FAT16. While using either format it gives this same error.

The card I am using is a Dane-Elec Class 4 4GB SDHC. The homebrew channel itself is fine, as the applications still load from my Sandisk 1GB SD card.


I am aware of one possibility which could be the cause of this, but will not be able to test that theory for 2-3 weeks when my proper card reader comes. I installed all the software onto the SDHC card through my laptop, which has a SD reader which I patched to allow it to read SDHC - Slowly, however, better than nothing. One possibility is that the card reader itself did not format the SD card properly when writing the filesystem, in such a way that it prevents the Homebrew from reading the system while still allowing the wii to read it. If pinksteady is also using a patched SD Card reader, then perhaps that is the cause. However, that being possible is unlikely, and any other possibilities would be great to hear, unless it involves buying another brand SDHC. :(

Thanks



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2009 07:36PM by Kiradien.

Good to hear I'm not the only one having this problem (even if it is only two of us so far)!

Regarding the formatting suggestion, I have formatted the SDHC card fully (ie not quick format) using my laptop's built-in SDHC card reader, so this doesn't seem to be the problem.

I don't understand the coding side of things, but maybe the original SDHC bug fixed in HBC 1.0.3 isn't completely fixed? I'll leave this for the experts to work out though, so I'll do the SD card test mentioned above and post my results.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2009 11:21AM by pinksteady.

Sort of posting to bump the topic, however... going to recap the points about this again

- The Wii reads the SD card with 0 problems.
- On inititial load, the homebrew browser reads the SD card enough to list off every application and show the image for all applications which have an image with no problem.
- Immediately after loading any application the wii stops recognizing the SD card until it is removed and reinserted. In any console based loader, such as the Homebrew Browser it displays:

Quote

Unable to initialize FAT subsystem, exiting.
Your SD card may not be placed in the Wii correctly.

- The SD card is placed in the wii properly, as the applications are displayed and listed, and the wiiware runs with no problems other than loading slower than desired for a class 4 SDHC.
- **The Homebrew Browser DOES Initialize the network.
- The SD Card has been tested with both FAT16, and FAT32 filesystems with a variety of Allocation unit sizes, formatted with both windows Vista and Ubuntu. All tests have worked within the Wii SD menu, and have had the same results in the homebrew channel.

**The Homebrew browser initializes the network before initializing the FAT subsystem? So it still reads the instruction to initialize the Network...

Most apps still run they're loading screens but fail and return to the homebrew channel before running anything past that, and always upon closing dismount the SD card... Am I missing anything? Anyone have a solution? :P

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Can you try the SD card test below and report back to me what it says?

I've got the same problem (well, similar anyway)....I ran your sd test app, and I get the exact same msg as in the HBB - "Unable to initialise FAT subsystem".....My problem is this - I updated to HBC 1.0.3, and excitedly tried my 16Gb SDHC card to see if it finally worked, which it did (it didn't work with previous HBC versions)! BUT when I tried HBB I got that error...I then get put back to HBC which still reads my card just fine. The problem is not just with HBB though - I also get it when I try to run anything that uses my SDHC card (ftpii, quake, etc). Right now, the only app that seems to see my card (aside from the Wii system menu) is the HBC. I'm happy to help out in any way to troubleshoot and debug this - let me know how I can help. (oh, I also tried the beta that was posted here, still no luck.)

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**The Homebrew browser initializes the network before initializing the FAT subsystem? So it still reads the instruction to initialize the Network...

The HBB does initialise the network first (helps compatibility with USB network devices), so it doesn't read any instructions on whether to initialise the network.

One more thing to try, can you try one of Tantrics's updated emulators and see if you can browse directories? That thread buddypepper linked to says that users can indeed run Tantric's emulators.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2009 11:10AM by teknecal.

Ok guys, lets hunt this down:

1) What HBC version are you using?
2) What IOS version is your HBC using (check main menu)
3) Unplug the power cord, boot HBC. Apps should show up. Don't lauch any app, go to the main menu and select "Reload", do apps still show up then?

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1) What HBC version are you using?

v1.0.3

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2) What IOS version is your HBC using (check main menu)

IOS61 v19.26

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3) Unplug the power cord, boot HBC. Apps should show up. Don't lauch any app, go to the main menu and select "Reload", do apps still show up then?

Works fine - they still show up...

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One more thing to try, can you try one of Tantrics's updated emulators and see if you can browse directories?

I tried FCE Ultra GX 3.04 and it works fine with my sdhc card.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2009 06:59PM by buddypepper.

Hm, well either you do not experience the problem the others are seeing or HBB does have a problem.

@teknecal: which libfat version are you using?

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dhewg
Ok guys, lets hunt this down:

1) What HBC version are you using?
2) What IOS version is your HBC using (check main menu)
3) Unplug the power cord, boot HBC. Apps should show up. Don't lauch any app, go to the main menu and select "Reload", do apps still show up then?

1) 1.0.3
2) IOS61 v19.26
3) Apps still show after reload

Just doing some more tests with apps on the SDHC card:

- The standard Wii SD Channel (although a bit slower than I remember - is this beacuse of FAT32 instead of FAT16?) lists the three channels I have saved on the card fine (mii contest, everybody votes, nintendo). These run fine off the card, so at least the card itself is compatible with the Wii.
- HBB 1.0.3 won't load (internet connects ok, then error intialising FAT subsystem)
The following Homebrew apps fail on load:
- Jump'n'bump (error = "can't open /.../ Function not implemented") - have to re-insert/reload card once it auto-quits
- MPlayerCE 0.5 (error = "SD access failed, please review you have installed to the right folder") - returns to HBC with apps still visible
- WiiRadio (nothing happens, just returns to HBC with no apps visible until re-insert)
The following apps work fine
- WiiEarth (slow, but prob. due to my internet connection)
- WiiLander (bit jerky and painful music) - but when quits no apps visible in HBC until re-insert

What I find weird is that when HBC shows no icons, I click reload and still no icons are shown. When I re-insert card and click reload, the apps show up. How does HBC know I've taken the card out and in again!?

For apps that do not load with HBC >= 1.0.2:

HBC passes the path of the loaded binary to the loaded app, and libfat in return uses that info to set the current working directory.

Example:
- you load ScummVM, lets assume that is /apps/scummvm/boot.dol on SD
- HBC then passes "/apps/scummvm/boot.dol" as argv[0] to the ScummVM
- ScummVM initialized libfat
- libfat uses the passed path to set the current working directory to /apps/scummvm

The idea is that any app can now access files on SD with relative path names. So a coder can just open("settings.ini"), which will open "/apps/scummvm/settings.ini". That is a good thing, because the user can just use a directory name she/he prefers, and the app can still find its runtime files.

Now, there're alot of libfat variations out there. Some contain bugs, some don't. Then there was a silly device rename, the wii's internal slot used to be "fat:", which got renamed to "sd:" at one point. Starting with HBC 1.0.2 we use "sd:" too, 1.0.1 and lower used "fat:".

How to fix this? Ask the authors of now failing apps to update libfat to the very latest version (an argv[0] fix went into SVN in the last days, so I recommend a current checkout). In the end it boils down that the app
- uses a broken libfat
- has hardcoded paths
- is missing error checking

Sadly, there's no other way than getting a fresh binary. Please bring up this issue to the authors, and maybe even point them to this post.

For bugs in HBC please browse [bugs.hackmii.com] , if you think you found a new bug create an issue about it. If reports are scattered all over the intertubes, we will miss bugs :)

Regards,
dhewg

nice post dhewg, now I understand...


does anyone know where is the libfat svn so I can compile it? Thanks :)

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1cefire
does anyone know where is the libfat svn so I can compile it? Thanks :)

SVN: [sourceforge.net]

Can everyone try this: [www.codemii.com]
It has the latest libogc and libfat from SVN from 2 days ago.

The new homebrew brower has the same error as the old one, sadly.

I also tried FCE Ultra GX 3.0.4, it was the only emulator I knew of linked to that persons name - Only because someone else mentioned it even - It boots into the emulator, just like any other application boots in. After it boots in, if I set the load directory to the SD Card, it is Unable to Detect SD card. Same problem everything else has basically, the only difference is, by default, this application is set to automatically detect the loading source, so it LOOKS like it is working, and goes straight for the DVD Drive.

So basically, it looks like the part of the channel loaded through the Homebrew Channel works, but every part that the channel has to open for itself doesnt. That would explain why Wii Earth works, since it only needs to be opened and never needs to read the SD card on its own, :(

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I also tried FCE Ultra GX 3.0.4...

Sounds like we've got different problems, for sure then. FCE worked for me - I'll try that beta 2 of HBB tonite and report back.

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teknecal
Can everyone try this: [www.codemii.com]
It has the latest libogc and libfat from SVN from 2 days ago.

I have replaced the boot.dol with the file you linked to (left all other files in HBB folder the same) and I still get the same error.

dhewg, thank you for your detailed description of the problem (are we sure this is definately 100% the problem?).

The following may be a little out of my depth now but...

Out of curiosity, were the coders of HBC aware that changing the name from "fat" to "sd" would break any app that wasn't coded in the right way? If so, was there any publication on forums etc to developers so they knew to update their apps? I'm sure there was, as why would someone deliberately change code that would render many apps useless without telling anyone!?

I don't suppose there is a way of HBC identfying apps that have been written using the old method, and in which case passing a different URL to the app so it still works even with the new naming convention? (I might be completely not understanding the problem at this point so I'll stop!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2009 11:07PM by pinksteady.