A common post from newcomers often relates to having installed the Homebrew Channel, but upon launching it, finding all they see is bubbles.
If this describes you, you're in the right thread.
First off, you should (hopefully) already know that the Homebrew Channel is simply a loader of homebrew, it doesn't do an awful lot by itself. You need to download at least one homebrew app and put it on your SD card or USB drive before HBC will become truly useful.
A common choice for a first homebrew is the Homebrew Browser, found here: [
wiibrew.org] This piece of homebrew connects to the internet and allows you to download other homebrew apps and games. Go ahead and download it from that page. The file you download will be a ZIP archive. Your OS probably includes a tool for extracting ZIP archives. On Windows, you can right click and choose "Extract all".
Inside, you will find a folder called "homebrew_browser". Within this folder are a few files: the file called "boot.dol" is the actual app itself, the file called "icon.png" is the icon that will be displayed in HBC and the file called "meta.xml" contains a few details about the app (name, author, description etc.) that will be displayed in HBC. The other files are used by Homebrew Browser. Most apps you download will have boot.dol, icon.png and meta.xml, although the only essential file is boot.dol (or sometimes boot.elf, depending on the app).
Now on either an SD card or a USB drive, create a folder called "apps". Make sure this folder is not within any other folders, and also make sure the name is all in lowercase letters.
Next copy the "homebrew_browser" folder into the "apps" folder.
Connect your SD/USB device to your Wii and load HBC. If using a USB device, you may need to press 1 on the Wii Remote and change the storage device being used. You should see the Homebrew Browser appearing. Click it and choose "Load".
Enjoy.