4.3 and beyond - Smash Stack & save file help

Hi there, n00b here.

So, I don’t install any Homebrew content, but I do use the Bannerbomb v2 exploit to copy and restore those annoying locked save files to my SD card, because my Wii burned out last year and I lost all those files upon getting it back( thank goodness I didn’t have any Pokémon stored on my Ranch at the time!). I really don’t know anything about any of this stuff, I am a very proficient computer user, but know next to nothing about the technical side of software and very little about hardware.

I’d like to update to System Menu 4.3( wow, I could swear I just heard you all wince) and any subsequent versions mainly because I want to continue to use the Wii Shop Channel and load any future Nintendo-published games( the next big one is probably gonna be Metroid: Other M I guess, right?) without having to worry about messing around with IOS thingies or directly fooling around with the internal-memory-what’s-it-called, NAND?, but I still want to be able to back up those locked files.

After looking around WiiBrew for a bit, it seems the solution I am looking for is the Smash Stack exploit. But as I said, don’t understand this stuff too well... the page about Smash Stack only mentions *.elf files, does that mean it will not load my boot.dol file I was given for this purpose? If not, where can I get a boot.elf file that will do what I want, which is basically load the Wii Menu and stuff normally but allow me to copy uncopyable files in the Data Management screens?

Thanks in advance for your help!

And, while I’m asking stuff , when they were fixing my Wii, they “upgraded” it such that I can no longer restore Photo Channel 1.0, are there any hacks out there that will let me put it back without any risk of my Wii getting bricked by a future update, or raising eyebrows if I have to send it for repairs again? (Oddly enough, the only way I know it is the same hardware and they didn’t send a refurbished one or just gut it and put in new everything is that when I transferred my Mii back from a remote it was saved on, it recognized the Wii as being its home Wii and allowed me to edit it. When they replace your Wii outright, they will transfer your Miis if you ask but you can no longer edit them.)

Keep in mind that there is no benefit to updating, and that manually updating the shop channel is not at all risky or difficult. Furthermore, no games require 4.3 yet, and by the time they do, nearly everything will probably be compatible with 4.3 anyway. In any case, there is no need to update to play a newer game, as either the system menu can be patched to remove the disc update check, or the game can simply be run through Gecko OS, without modifying anything on the wii.

However, if you are determined to update right now anyway, there is a .elf version of Loadmii, which should work with Smash Stack. Loadmii can be used to launch any other .dol or .elf. Of course, if you do this on any regular basis, it can become quite a pain.

Finally, depending on what program you use to copy the saves, it may not be compatible with 4.3. I suspect that Savegame extractor/installer will work on 4.3, but I don't know for sure. However, none of the other programs capable of copying protected save files will work on 3.4 or higher without a patched/downgraded IOS.

As for downgrading the photo channel, you will first need a trucha bugged IOS. On system menu 3.4 to 4.2, you can simply use DOP-Mii to install IOS 36 with fakesigning. On 3.3 or lower, no patches are necessary. There is currently no way to patch an IOS after updating to 4.3, unless you have taken appropriate measures prior to updating. In any case, once you have a trucha bugged IOS, DOP-Mii should be able to downgrade the photo channel.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2010 05:46AM by jbc007.

Thanks for your help, at least as much as I understand. I really don’t want to patch my system menu or do any serious hacks. The photo thing is not that important and sounds more complicated and like more work than I really care to do, but thanks for the info.

I don’t think what I’m using is Savegame Extractor/Installer, the description and directions on the wiki don’t match. Like I said, the boot.dol file was just given to me, along with instructions to launch it using Bannerbomb, so I don’t even know what it is. I wonder if anyone can identify it. I don’t know the rules around here too well, would it be bad if I created another thread to see if anyone recognizes it by description?

In any case, it’s very simple: You don’t need the disc, like you would with Savegame Extractor/Installer( in fact I was told to keep the drive empty), you just launch it using Bannerbomb( or any other exploit presumably), and basically the Wii resets. Aside from occasional freezing( only on the main Wii Menu Screen), everything is exactly the same as normal, except that when you go into Wii Options>Data Management>Save Data>Wii, you are able to copy or move the protected files from your Wii to the SD card and vice-versa just as if they were unprotected. The Copy and Move buttons are still greyed out visually, but they work like normal... when you look at the save data on the SD card, unlike Savegame Extractor/Installer, it is normal data.bin files under private\wii\title\[XXXX]\data.bin. Any idea what program I am talking about? Now that you said it, I realized what should have been obvious to me all along: I need to find out what program I am using before I can determine whether it will still work after upgrading!

The weird thing is you said “none of the other programs capable of copying protected save files will work on 3.4 or higher without a patched/downgraded IOS” but I’m using 4.2 and I don’t think it’s altering the IOS, because that would be permanent right? This does nothing permanent, as soon as you reboot the Wii after using this program, everything is back the way it was, the protected files are uncopyable again and everything. That’s why I like it, no trace of it left afterwards.

Anyway, so, since I dunno what will happen with 4.3, I guess you’re right that my best bet for now is to manually update the Shop Channel, it’s just that the wikipage for WiiSCU has the warning “Warning! This homebrew makes permanent changes to your Wii's flash memory (NAND) and should be used with caution.”. But if you’re sure it is not risky I guess I will do that for now and figure out what to do about games later( I DON’T want to patch my system menu, and going through Gecko OS every time would be a pain). So manually updating Shop with WiiSCU is safe for sure?

Hey, I just had a thought, does anyone know how I could contact whoever is testing out 4.3 to see what does and does not work? Maybe if I could talk to someone doing that they would be nice enough to check my mystery program for me and see if it is compatible with 4.3!

Again, thanks for all the help so far and yet to come!

It appears that you are using Banana Patcher or a modification of it. It will not work without a trucha bugged IOS, so you must already have one.

Using WiiSCU really is safe (definitely safer than an official update, which is considered to be safe, from a brick perspective). Just launch it, select yes to update the shop channel, no to everything else, and wait for it to finish the update (it takes quite a while). If you use WiiSCU v0.24, you must specifically tell it to install shop channel v19. Keep in mind that this will only allow you to use the shop channel; it will not remove the requirement to update to play a new game. However, by the time 4.3 appears on any games, it will probably be safe to update. Still, you will likely need to install a patched IOS to an unused slot before updating if you want to keep using Banana Patcher.

Quote
BostonWiiGuy
Hey, I just had a thought, does anyone know how I could contact whoever is testing out 4.3 to see what does and does not work? Maybe if I could talk to someone doing that they would be nice enough to check my mystery program for me and see if it is compatible with 4.3!

This is not a good idea, as it would be disturbing to the people who put so much effort into making wii homebrew possible for the rest of us. Besides, all relevant information is usually posted very quickly. If there is anything worth mentioning, Bushing will probably soon post an article on Hackmii about it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2010 07:16AM by jbc007.

I believe he's using PussieLoader.

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bg4545
I believe he's using PussieLoader.

You're right, I completely forgot about that application. Does anyone know how it manages to work without the trucha bug?

Hey, yeah, that’s the one. The filesize matches, and now that I think of it, I believe I was directed to that link to download it. Again, forum newbie so: would it be bad etiquette to post in that thread and/or PM giantpune to say thanks for creating it and ask about existing/planned 4.3 operability?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2010 01:15PM by BostonWiiGuy.