Safest way to copy saved games to new Wii?

With the upcoming release of the Black Wii this weekend, I think I won't be the only one asking this one. In short, what is the safest way to copy your locked saved game data from an old/shared Wii to your shiny new one?

I haven't been able to find a definitive answer for this one, but I'll take a shot at what I've been able to pull together.

Disclaimer: The below procedure is untested and written by someone who has no experience with Wii Homebrew or anything of the like. It is presented as a starting point for anyone with more experience to make suggestions. If/when I get it working I will post what I did, but that won't happen before May 9th.

Requires:
> Standard SD Card
> A way to run custom code, such as Bannerbomb or Smash Stack
> Download EITHER HackMii and Homebrew Channel (for Homebrew Channel) OR Savegame Installer and Savegame Extractor (for without Homebrew Channel).
> Discs of the Games with locked save data.

0) Perform any steps required to prepare your SD card to run custom code, including renaming the program you want to run to boot.dol or boot.elf. Make sure your game discs are not inserted into the Wii.

For Homebrew Channel:

1) On your original Wii, run your custom code execution method in order to start the HackMii installer. Use the Installer to install the Homebrew Channel.

2) When your Wii restarts, go to the Homebrew Channel and use it to download Savegame Installer.

3) Use the Homebrew Channel to run Savegame Extractor, then insert the appropriate disk for the game you want to copy saves from and hit Reset (or A on the gamecube controller), which should save your saved games to your SD card.

4) Repeat steps 1-3 on the new Wii, but instead of Savegame Extractor download and run Savegame Installer.

Without Installing Homebrew Channel:

1) Setup your SD card to load Savegame Extractor when you perform your custom code execution method.

2) Run your custom code execution method on the original Wii to start the Savegame Extractor. Insert the appropriate game disc and then hit Reset (or A on the gamecube controller).

3) Setup your SD card to load Savegame Installer when you perform your custom code execution method (do not modify the wiisaves folder).

4) Run your custom code execution method on the new Wii to start the Savegame Installer. Insert the game disc and then hit Reset (or A on the gamecube controller).

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Anything obviously wrong with the above procedures?

Specifically, does anyone have experience working with Monster Hunter Tri data in this way (in particular making sure the data still functions for online)?

Thank you for any input.

**Edit**

Here's what I've done so far on this.

1. Got a fresh SDHC card. Plugged it into my computer and downloaded Bannerbomb and HackMii Installer. The contents of the Bannerbomb zip (the entire private folder) go into the root of the SD Card. In the HackMii Installer, all you need is to find boot.elf and move it to the SD card root.

2. Boot the Wii and Insert the SD card. On the Wii Menu, select the SD Card, then select Bannerbomb. Make sure you actually want to run the software (again, for new users, I believe this voids your warranty). When you confirm you want to run it, the screen will go black and pop up with the "This is free software/you should not have paid for it" screen.

3. When you can, press 1 to continue. Install the desired applications (at least Homebrew Channel. Do your research on BootMii and DVDX to decide if you want them).

4. When you are finished and exit the installer, the Homebrew Channel will run. Hit the home button and exit unless you skipped ahead.

5. Connect your SD card to your computer again and download DOP-Mii, placing both files in the zip into the root of your SD card ("apps" and "config" folders). Then download Savegame Manager MOD, placing the contents of the zip file into the "apps" folder.

6. Insert the SD card into your Wii and return to the Home menu. Find the Homebrew Channel and start it. Select DOP-Mii and load it...

7. If you want to undo changes, make note of your Current IOS number on the bottom of the first DOP-Mii menu. Then select the second menu item (Install ISO36 w/ fakesign). Keep hitting A (apply ES_Identify, Apply NAND Permissions, Download IOS36, restore IOS15...). When it's done you will return to the first menu and your Current IOS will be 36. Now Exit.

8. It should put you back on the Homebrew Channel. Now select Savegame Manager MOD. When it asks which IOS you want to use, there is probably only one option so just hit A. Then make sure you are in Extract Mode, and select your SD card as the destination. Then select the data you want to extract. Wait for it to finish (if it breaks... sorry mine worked, go back and check that you did 7 right). You will be dumped back to the list of games. Repeat for any other data you want.

9. When you're done, hit the Home button. Your Wii will restart.

10+. (This will be filled in when I actually do it). From here, you might want to do what you can to put the original Wii back where it was. Depending on how much it's owner trusts you, you might remove everything, or do nothing as everything still works (personally I went straight from the above to Monster Hunter). As far as for the receiving Wii, the procedure is probably just the same thing, but selecting Install Mode for Savegame Manager. I'll post some details when I do it.

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Other notes >
Smash Brothers Brawl took about 30-40 seconds to extract. Just be patient.
Monster Hunter Tri was much faster.

Homebrew Browser can theoretically download Dop-Mii if you want to do that. It seems like more effort than it's worth, as you have to change repositories.

Homebrew Browser might look like it crashed after it finishes the DOS part of the application. It most likely didn't, just give it a second. It really is only a second, just be ready for it so it doesn't catch you off guard. If an exception was actually thrown it might catch it and dump it. This happened to me, nothing broke, but I didn't get a copy of the error screen.

Savegame Extractor did not work for me. When attempting to dump the save file I received a (generic?) error -1.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2010 02:34AM by NetRacer56.

It would seem to me that you know exactly what you're doing. After reading through the steps you set up, I'm pretty sure that everything is correct. Just follow through with either procedure. I would suggest using the 2nd method you made (the one without the HBC), because considering you'll be getting your new wii soon, it would be pointless to install the HBC. You may as well just wait to install it until you get your new wii.

I hope I answered your questions correctly. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! :)

This should work perfectly if the new wii has system menu 3.3 or lower. However, as this is probably not the case, you will likely need to patch an IOS on it. I recommend you use DOP-Mii to patch IOS 36 with NAND permissions (and the other patches if you want) and use Savegame Manager MOD to copy the saves.

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jbc007
This should work perfectly if the new wii has system menu 3.3 or lower. However, as this is probably not the case, you will likely need to patch an IOS on it. I recommend you use DOP-Mii to patch IOS 36 with NAND permissions (and the other patches if you want) and use Savegame Manager MOD to copy the saves.

Could you clarify a little on this?

Looks like DOP-Mii is available via homebrew channel, so this would be putting an extra step in after installing homebrew channel to download that application, then run it and select IOS 36.

Do you know if NAND permissions are needed to copy the data off the source Wii? Or could I get away with ignoring the homebrew channel there and only installing it on the new system? I'd like to leave as little a footprint as possible on the source system as it is not mine.

Also, what would happen if I tried to read/write the data without NAND permissions? Would it just fail or could it brick the Wii?

You need a patched IOS to be able to do anything with any save file unless you are the system menu. So, yes, you need the patched IOS on both Wiis.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2010 01:13PM by WikiFSX.

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2) When your Wii restarts, go to the Homebrew Channel and use it to download Savegame Installer.

This step here could use some adjusting since you can't physically do that.

The rest of the steps look good though (after patched IOS)

You don't have to install the Homebrew Channel on either wii, although there is no reson not to. If you don't want to install it, launch DOP-Mii and Savegame Manager Mod with Bannerbomb. After copying the saves, you can reinstall IOS 36 without patches (this isn't necessary, but you may as well if you will never need the patch again).

You don't need a patched IOS at all if you're using the methods in the first post. Savegame installer/extractor uses the original game disc to identify as the game and get access to the save files.