Newb Questions about HBC and BootMii

I'm totally new to the homebrew scene and had a few questions about advantages/disadvantages of installing certian things and what is affected by those installs.

My system is updated to System Menu 4.1.

I installed the HBC with the hackmii installer and it worked fine, from there I was abe to install the HBB and able to install a couple of apps to my SD card. My questions with this are, when I installed the HBC, did I updated/modify/replace any IOS? Is there any chance of bricking a Wii by using the hackmii installer or running a system updated later?

During the install of HBC, it said that I could install BootMii. What exactly does BootMii do and would it be beneficial for me to install it and backup my NAND (which I read you can do). I understand that this would give me a backup incase something went wrong, but if I only do what I said above and then install some emulators (which is all I really plan on doing), do I have any reason to worry that my Wii may become bricked? Does BootMii take over the boot process or does it boot normally unless you hold a button down or something? I'm just wondering why I would want to install it or if I need to install it and how it affects the Wii (what it overwrites, does it change the boot process, how do you use it to recover from a brick, etc...)

I've read about installing VC and WiiWare content, but it seems you must overwrite/patch/install IOSs and that it can be dangerous and that is infact what causes you to brick your Wii. I plan on staying away from this for that reason, but just for education, would it be as simple as dropping a wad-manger app onto the HBC and that would allow you install/uninstall, or would you really need to install/patch IOSs and such in order to load that sort of thing?

I have looked for answers to these questions but only seem to find half answers, and a lot of informaiton is outdated and not relevant to System Menu 4.x. That's why I'm asking.....thanks for all the info!

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icednewb
Is there any chance of bricking a Wii by using the hackmii installer or running a system updated later?

No.

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What exactly does BootMii do and would it be beneficial for me to install it and backup my NAND (which I read you can do). I understand that this would give me a backup incase something went wrong

That is exactly what it does, and it would be very beneficial.

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but if I only do what I said above and then install some emulators (which is all I really plan on doing), do I have any reason to worry that my Wii may become bricked?

No.

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Does BootMii take over the boot process or does it boot normally unless you hold a button down or something?

Yes, if you install it as boot2 it takes over the boot process. This is what gives you such great brick protection. The Wii will boot normally if your SD card isn't inserted, otherwise BootMii will be loaded.

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I'm just wondering why I would want to install it or if I need to install it and how it affects the Wii (what it overwrites, does it change the boot process, how do you use it to recover from a brick, etc...)

You do not need to install it, but it would be a very good idea if you did. BootMii overwrites boot2, which is what loads the System Menu, so therefore it does change the boot process (instead of boot0>boot1>boot2>System Menu it's boot0>boot1>BootMii>[System Menu OR Homebrew Channel OR MINI Application]). To recover from a brick, you simply restore your previous NAND backup and your Wii will return to the state it was in at the time of the backup.

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I've read about installing VC and WiiWare content, but it seems you must overwrite/patch/install IOSs and that it can be dangerous and that is infact what causes you to brick your Wii. I plan on staying away from this for that reason, but just for education, would it be as simple as dropping a wad-manger app onto the HBC and that would allow you install/uninstall, or would you really need to install/patch IOSs and such in order to load that sort of thing?

This is dangerous, illegal, and unsupported here. WADs and IOS modifying do often cause bricks. You will benefit from avoiding such piracy.

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I've read about installing VC and WiiWare content

Illegal and will definitely brick your wii.

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you must overwrite/patch/install IOSs

Unneeded for any legal purposes.

GREAT! That's what I was hoping to hear. As long as I avoid WADs and stick to homebrew and emulators I'm legal and in no danger. Thanks for all the information guys. I read that some people tried to make their own WADs, but I think I'll just stay away from them all.

No problem and the tools used for making personal WADS are illegal as well

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TopGun96

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I've read about installing VC and WiiWare content

Illegal and will definitely brick your wii.

it will not definitely brick your Wii (there is still a chance..), but it is illegal and unsupported here.

Also, AFAIK, tools for creating your own WADs are legal, just not supported here.

Misinformation isn't necessary..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2009 08:38AM by bg4545.

Sorry... I forgot that Wadder 3.0 is supposedly legal... Is this better? "The installation of WADs and other illegal software is unsupported here"

once again sorry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2009 10:54PM by TopGun96.

Keyword: Supposedly

Yes, it is.