Ubuntu Wii

The current recommended way to install Ubuntu Wii is to use the Whiite Linux Installer. Thanks to Amy of 3dsbuzz for explaining how to do this.

You will need an SD card with at least 3GB usable space (typically called a 4GB card or larger), but not more than 32GB (SDXC) since the Wii cannot read it. It will be formatted in the process, so be sure to make a backup if you have anything on it worth saving. After the installation runs, you can copy all your savegames and Homebrew Channel apps, etc. back onto the card.

You will also need a USB mass storage device (a thumb drive, external hard drive, card reader with an SD card in it, etc.) separate from the SD card you will put in the front of the Wii.

You will also need a USB keyboard.

If you don't have a USB mass storage device or USB keyboard, you can always install manually (from Linux or possibly Mac).

Instructions for Whiite Linux Installer follow:

Here are the files you will need:
"whiite-linux-installer-BETA1.zip" (3.7MB):
[drive.google.com]

For NTSC on the Wii or Wii U, choose one of the following:
"ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" (585.7MB):
[drive.google.com]
or
"ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-bundle.zip" (585.7MB):
[drive.google.com]
The difference is the kernel. There are many subtle differences between the Isobel and Farter kernels that I won't get into. What you need to know is that Isobel fills the whole virtual screen that the Wii outputs. On most TVs, this means that the top and bottom of the menu bars get cut off. Try the Farter kernel first. If you find that there's a lot of black space at the top and bottom and you'd like to have that real estate available for your desktop, then you can try the Isobel kernel.

For PAL, you must use:
"ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" (585.7MB):
[drive.google.com]
(and I can't even guarantee that will work!)

When you try to download either of the bundles, you will get a message saying "Google Drive can't scan this file for viruses" because it "exceeds the maximum size that Google can scan. Would you still like to download this file?"
Click on "Download anyway". This message doesn't mean that Google found a virus, only that it won't scan a file this large. These files contain no viruses, but if you are worried about it, just scan them yourself after downloading.

Directions:
Extract "whiite-linux-installer-BETA1.zip" to the root of the memory card you will use for Ubuntu Wii.

Extract "ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" or "ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-bundle.zip" to the root of the usb mass storage device you will plug into the usb port on the Wii.

Put the card in the front slot of the Wii and plug the usb device and your usb keyboard into the usb ports on the back.

Boot your Wii, go to Homebrew Channel and run "whiite-linux Installer (B1)". It'll take about 2 hours.

When you reboot you'll have an icon for Ubuntu Wii in Homebrew Channel. This icon will boot Ubuntu Wii without Wi-Fi.

To get Wi-Fi (if you are using an original Wii in the U.S. or another place that uses NTSC), instead of using the icon, simply press <HOME> on the Wiimote from the Homebrew Channel and select "Launch BootMii".

If you are using an original PAL Wii and you wish to use Wi-Fi, you can then try the following:
Exit Ubuntu Wii if you've loaded it. Eject the SD card and put it back in your computer.
Download:
"mikep5(vfb)-zImage-2.6.32.41.mini.576i(PAL).zip" (2.5MB):
[drive.google.com]
Extract "mikep5(vfb)-zImage-2.6.32.41.mini.576i(PAL).zip" to the root of the new "boot" partition. Put the SD card back in the Wii and launch Homebrew Channel. Try pressing <HOME> on the Wiimote and selecting "Launch BootMii" from the Homebrew Channel. It should boot Ubuntu Wii in PAL with Wi-Fi. If you try this, please let me know.

If, the first time you boot, the menu bars don't come up, press the reset button on the front of the Wii once and wait 30 seconds. Then load Ubuntu Wii again. I don't know what causes this, but it seems to happen only on the first boot.

If you try to boot and the screen goes black and nothing else happens (the blue light on the front of the Wii isn't blinking), press and hold the power button on the front of the Wii until the light turns from green to amber. Then boot again like normal. This seems to happen only on rare occasions. Next time you boot, it will most likely work. Let me know if this happens more than once.

For those who want to install it manually, there are files inside "ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-bundle.zip" and "ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-bundle.zip" called "ubuntu-wii-2.1-farter-filesystem.tar.bz2" and "ubuntu-wii-2.1-isobel-filesystem.tar.bz2", respectively. Just use "sudo tar xjf".

The username is "ubuntu" and the password is "ubuntu".

---

Original post follows for archival purposes (however I've removed the old image so that people will use the new one):

Ubuntu 6.06.2 Dapper Drake on the Nintendo Wii

Watch the Youtube video so you know what you're getting into.


You will need:
* A Wii with Homebrew Channel and BootMii installed: See http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_setup for instructions.
* An SDHC memory card (>=4GB and <=32GB) that doesn't contain any data that you want to keep.
* A computer running Linux. You don't need to install Linux; you can boot from what's called a Live CD. Get Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid or later. See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD for instructions.

---

For a computer already running Linux (instructions for Windows with LiveCD will be made available soon):

1. Make 2 partitions on the SD card. Partition 1 must be FAT16 or FAT32. Partition 2 must be ext2 and must be at least 2.4GB.

To do this:

Open a terminal by pressing <CTRL>+<ALT>+T.

Install GParted, if you haven't already done so, by copying or typing the following into the terminal. Use <SHIFT>+<CTRL>+V to paste into terminal:

sudo apt-get install gparted

Plug the memory card into your computer if you haven't already done so.

Run GParted by typing or copying the following into the terminal:

gksu gparted

In the upper-right of the window that comes up, there is a dropdown. The text on it probably says "/dev/sda" followed by a size. Click on it and choose the option whose size matches the size of your memory card. Be careful to select the correct device so that you don't reformat your hard drive.

Unmount all the partitions if any are mounted: In the body of the window, right-click on each partition that has a picture of a key and select "Unmount".

Delete all partitions (not "unallocated") by right-clicking on them and selecting "Delete".

Add a FAT partition:
Right-click on "unallocated" and select "New".

If you are using this memory card only for Ubuntu: Click on "New size" and enter "16". Press <TAB>. Check that the value in "Free space following" is at least 2400. If it isn't, your memory card is too small to run Ubuntu Wii.

If you are also using this card for Wii savegames, Homebrew Channel apps, pictures, etc.: Choose a size that's appropriate to your needs. Enter the size into the "New Size" field. Press <TAB>. Check that "Free space following" is at least 2400 (3000 is better). If it is less, enter a smaller value into "New Size". Press <TAB> and check again if the value in "Free space following" is large enough. Repeat as necessary.

If the size of the partition (value in "New Size" field) is larger than 4088 (MB), set "Filesystem" to "fat32". Otherwise, set "Filesystem" to "fat16".
Set "Label" to "HBC" for Homebrew Channel.
Click the "Add" button in the lower-right.

Add an ext2 partition:
Right-click on "unallocated" and select "New".
Set "Filesystem" to "ext2".
Set "Label" to "ubuntu-wii".
Click "Add".

Click "Edit"->"Apply...". When it asks if you are sure, click "Apply".

When the window that pops up says "All operations successfully completed", close it by clicking on "Close". Close GParted by clicking on the "X" in the upper-left or upper-right corner.


2. Mount partitions:
First, check to see if your new partitions are mounted:
Type "ls /media" <ENTER> into your terminal.

If you don't see "HBC" and "ubuntu-wii" (or your names for the partitions), safely remove the memory card and plug it back in by doing the following:
From terminal, type "nautilus &" <ENTER>. A window will come up.
On the menu bar, click "Go"->"Computer".
Right-click on one of the icons for your memory card. Select "Safely Remove...".
Once the icons for your memory card have disappeared, you can physically remove the memory card.
Then plug it back in.

Enter "ls /media" again. You should see "HBC" and "ubuntu-wii" or your names for them. If you have different names, replace "/media/HBC" and "/media/ubuntu-wii" below.


3. Using the following steps, install the files onto the memory card:

Copy and paste each of the following commands into your terminal. Replace "HBC" in each line if necessary and press <ENTER>:

sudo mkdir /media/HBC/bootmii
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep1-armboot.bin -O /media/HBC/bootmii/armboot.bin

Now, figure out which version of the kernel you need based on your video mode. The choices are "480i\(PAL60\)", "576i\(PAL\)", "480p\(PAL\)", "480i\(NTSC\)", and "480p\(NTSC\)". If you're in the U.S. and you use a regular connection (red white yellow), you want "480i\(NTSC\)". If you're in the U.S. and you use a component video cable or the Wii VGA Adapter, you want "480p\(NTSC\)". I don't know how the rest of the world works.

Find your video mode shortly before "-O" on one of the following five lines. Copy that one line and paste into your terminal:

sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480i\(PAL60\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.576i\(PAL\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480p\(PAL\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480i\(NTSC\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf
sudo wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gc-linux/mikep5-zImage-2.6.32.mini.480p\(NTSC\).elf -O /media/HBC/bootmii/ppcboot.elf

Change "HBC" if you need to, then press <ENTER>.

The boot partition is now all set up.

Next, download the Ubuntu Wii archive. Copy the following into the terminal (it may take a little while for the download to complete):

wget http://ubuntuone.com/4PZHg5cRNFukGAOrmyuXwl -O ubuntu-wii.tar.bz2

Now, extract "ubuntu-wii.tar.bz2" into the root of your ext2 partition by copying or typing the following into the terminal (replace "ubuntu-wii" if you've chosen a different name):

sudo tar xjf ubuntu-wii.tar.bz2 -C /media/ubuntu-wii

This should take about half an hour or less, an hour if you're using usb 1.1.
You can check the progress by opening another terminal and typing "df -h". Find the line that ends with "/media/ubuntu-wii". Look in the third column, "Used". Shortly after that number reaches 2.2G, it will be done.
Once it's done, your memory card will be all set up for Ubuntu Wii.


4. Optional: configure the network before you boot Ubuntu Wii.
Copy or type the following into the terminal:

gksu gedit /media/ubuntu-wii/etc/network/interfaces &

If your network uses WEP for security, remove the leading "#"s from the four lines starting with the first "#auto wlan0". Replace "<ssid>" with your network name and replace "<password>" with your wireless password.

If your network uses WPA for security, remove the leading "#"s from the ten lines starting with the second "#auto wlan0". Replace "<ssid>" with your network name and replace "<password>" with your network password.

Once you are done, click on "Save". Then close the window by clicking the "X" in the upper-left or upper-right corner.


5. Safely remove the memory card and put it in the Wii by doing the following:
If you don't already have a nautilus ("File Browser") window up (you probably have 2 or 3 open now), type "nautilus &" <ENTER> into terminal. A window will come up.
On the menu bar, click "Go"->"Computer".
Right-click on one of the icons for your memory card. Select "Safely Remove...".
Once the icons for your memory card have disappeared, you can physically remove the memory card.

Put the memory card in the front slot on the Wii.


6. Boot your Wii and go into Homebrew Channel. Press <HOME> on the Wiimote and select "Launch BootMii". It will automatically log in user "ubuntu". The password is "ubuntu".

---

Known issues:
Sound is scratchy and only works with some programs, and there is no volume knob.
When using "gksu" on the command line, some errors are printed. It still performs the way it should, so I don't worry about it.
In graphics mode, certain colors get replaced by bright flourescent colors. It can be very hard to read, particularly in Terminal.
When you type or use backspace in text mode, the line to the right of the cursor changes colors.
Network seems to disconnect after a long time. You can just start it up again with "sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart". I made a menu entry under "Applications"->"Internet"->"Restart Network". Still annoying.
If you delete the "ubuntu" user account, all other accounts lose all privileges. I just discovered this and haven't had time to investigate.
On many TVs the top and bottom get cut off. Increasing the size of the bars helps.
You have to press "1" and "2" simultaneously to connect the Wiimote. xwhiite was able to connect it by simply pressing a button on the Wiimote, and it came up faster than the 1+2 thing. xwhiite's creator refers mysteriously to a "fastsync" patch for libcwiid. Please tell me if you know how to do this. Thanks.

Thank you to isobel, nuvalo, the creators of whiite and xwhiite, whoever made the wireless firmware available, elmurato, the creators of cwiid, my family, the Ubuntu community and everyone else who made this possible.

---

If you have successfully followed these instructions and ran Ubuntu Wii, please post a message here saying so.
If you have tried to follow these directions and were unsuccessful, please post a message here and I'll try to fix the guide or figure out what went wrong for you.
If anyone wants to help, please make a better guide than this. Thanks!



Edited 13 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2014 01:28AM by q885.

May I ask, why use such an old version of Ubuntu? I understand new versions from the past one or two years can't be used because they come with Unity (even though there're still the XFCE versions). But wouldn't a version from 2009 or 2010 be a better choice? Or is it a problem with the kernel versions available for use with the Wii, or the RAM usage that's very high?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2012 09:09PM by gbl08ma.

> May I ask, why use such an old version of Ubuntu? I understand new versions from
> the past one or two years can't be used because they come with Unity (even though
> there're still the XFCE versions). But wouldn't a version from 2009 or 2010 be a
> better choice? Or is it a problem with the kernel versions available for use with
> the Wii, or the RAM usage that's very high?

It's all about the RAM. You can run 8.04 Hardy and even 9.10 Karmic, but they're even slower than Dapper.

Anyone who wants to run Hardy can do so by running Update Manager and choosing Upgrade in the upper-right of the window.

Edit: I thought I had successfully run an upgrade from Dapper to Hardy using the Update Manager, but when I tried it recently, it didn't work. Here is an image of Hardy should anyone want it.

Theoretically that method should work to upgrade to Intrepid, then Jaunty, then Karmic, but you'd have to find repositories for them. I couldn't find them. If you do find them, you will need to update /etc/apt/sources.list manually.

Speaking of repositories, if you want to enable the "multiverse" repository, you have to manually edit (with sudo or gksu) /etc/apt/sources.list and add " multiverse" to the end of the lines that say "universe". Then you can type "sudo apt-get update" at the command line to update the package list. I think running Update Manager and selecting "Check" will do the same thing.

And while I'm on tangents, is there anyone out there who needs to install using a Live CD? It's a lot of work to write directions and I've just become very busy. So I don't think I'm likely to do it anytime soon. But I will make time for it if people are interested.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2012 12:30AM by q885.

It works pretty well, although, I couldn't get it to connect to my router via WPA. Whiite Linux connected pretty easily, this one doesn't seem to connect for me, though. And you can't really get new software without internet, because of dependencies.

The bottom and top of the screen were cut off, like you said they might. But I kinda got around it by placing a smaller panel below the top and bottom panel.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2012 10:27PM by Khoraski.

Thank you for trying Ubuntu Wii!
I think you are the first.
Placing small panels below the top and bottom is very clever!
You are right that there isn't much you can do with Ubuntu Wii without internet. So I will do everything I can to get yours working.

Have you tried loading the wireless driver manually by typing "sudo ifup wlan0"? Have you also tried "sudo iwconfig"? Please send me the output of these commands. Did you use "sudo /home/ubuntu/whiite-ez-wifi-config" or did you edit "/etc/network/interfaces" manually ("sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces")?
Also, are you using "mikep1-armboot.bin"? As I understand it, the armboot.bin that comes with BootMii does not allow wireless. And yet you had it on whiite... You might try copying the working "/etc/network/interfaces" from whiite onto your Ubuntu Wii.
I don't have WPA (I have WEP since the DS doesn't support WPA), so I'm not sure what technical challenges will come up. A friend of mine just got WPA, so I can try Ubuntu Wii over his house and see if I can get it configured and get back to you.
As far as I knew, wireless on Ubuntu Wii should work just like on whiite.

The first thing I would try, if you haven't already, is the whiite-ez-wifi-config.

I will get back to you once I have tried to configure WPA at my friend's house.

Okay, I tried Ubuntu Wii on my friend's network. It wouldn't connect. It said something about ioctl and an unsupported function. I'm thinking probably Dapper doesn't support WPA. I'm going to make a Hardy image and see if it works on there.

I'll get back to you.

Okay, I made a Hardy image, here. WPA works fine. The problem is that it's so slow. Now, I read online that it's possible to use WPA on Dapper. It just takes some configuring I think, and Network Manager.

So you can try the Hardy image now if you want, and I'll work on getting WPA on Dapper.

Edit: I should mention that I only tried connecting through Network Manager (there's an icon on the top bar). I didn't try running whiite-ez-wifi-config or editing /etc/network/interfaces manually. But Network Manager seemed to work fine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2012 10:16PM by q885.

Quote
q885
Okay, I made a Hardy image, here. WPA works fine. The problem is that it's so slow. Now, I read online that it's possible to use WPA on Dapper. It just takes some configuring I think, and Network Manager.

So you can try the Hardy image now if you want, and I'll work on getting WPA on Dapper.

Edit: I should mention that I only tried connecting through Network Manager (there's an icon on the top bar). I didn't try running whiite-ez-wifi-config or editing /etc/network/interfaces manually. But Network Manager seemed to work fine.

Why did you choose to create images for Dapper and Hardy, why not Edgy, Feisty, or Gutsy?

Either way, I'm going to put this on my wii as soon as I have time, thanks for all the effort!

Quote
gralco
Why did you choose to create images for Dapper and Hardy, why not Edgy, Feisty, or Gutsy?

That is a really good idea! I will test WPA support on Edgy, and if it doesn't work, try Feisty and if that doesn't work try Gutsy.

I'm surprised at myself that I didn't think of it! Hopefully WPA will work on Edgy. And hopefully the virtual memory use will still be relatively small. But I will try them each in turn.
I'm just not sure when I'll have the time. Hopefully soon. Will let you know.

Quote
q885
I'm surprised at myself that I didn't think of it! Hopefully WPA will work on Edgy.

Oh, I thought you might have chosen them because they were LTS releases.

According to this getting WPA support should be as easy as just installing network-manager-gnome.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2012 04:16AM by gralco.

alright, im a lifelong windows user here so please bear with me, im a quick learner, i am dedicated to whatever i choose to do, and i would ove to learn linux, and everything i can about the different types, the major distros, and whic is more suited for what hardware you have.
that being said i would love to start with the daunting task of creating a distro of linux that is made exclusively for the wii. i picked the wii for a few reasons.
> The extremely low power consumption
>The low thermal put out
>Already compatible with tv
>Two usb ports
>availability of the unit
>cost effectiveness.
so would anyone be able to tell me where tostart, if its even possible to completely get rid of the wiis ios and replace it with a smaller, less consuming distro like dsl or puppy, somebody told me that starting with debian would possily yield the best results because of the compatibility but i am unsure.
also i had a question, i have not actually installed your ubunt, didnt have the space to download a file n my 4 gig netbook, will do it on my desktop at home, does your ubuntu run alongside the wii ios? sharing the same ram, but only showing the ubuntu screen, or does it actully shut down the wii ios?

my goal in the long run is to make the wii a low cost mini pc that is playable on your tv, with the bluetooth controllers, wireless keyboard, and mouse. that i can also turn around and make an emulation system, id like to be able to run actual emulators. not the homebrew channel where my choices are even farther limited.

thanks, all an any help is appreciated.

also i realize how easy it would be to just get a video adapter for my pc, but i want to create something that others can build off and play with, make more stable.... and maybe eventually submit it as a full fledged distro

@keawii

Linux does not run alongside of the the wiii system menu, and if you boot using bootmii it doesn't use any of the IOS either.

Check out Easy Wii Linux its is pretty much exactly what you described for your goal. If you really want to build your own distro the best starting point is probably [fartersoft.com]

You wont be able to use Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux, because as far as I know they don't have power pc versions.

Alright I'm gonna look into it now. Thank u for the link, like I said I'm completely new to Linux, I've pure puppy before and Ubuntu which I am currently reinstalling on my netbook, and I've also tried dsl but I was trying to install to a hitachi visionplate which wouldn't boot from it's cf card if it were larger that I think 2gb and my only choeces were 32 mob and 4 gb so I never got it running and completely dropped Linux and I'm hoping I can pick it up for real this time

Also would anyone know of any small screens possibly 7" or around that would accept the Standard yellow plug? The applications of something like this in my blazer aren't quite limitless but low dollar car Pc seems pretty cool to me

Sorry I was gone so long.

I have found that WPA works on Feisty, and Feisty is still closer to Dapper in memory consumption (and therefore speed) than to Hardy, so I think it's the way to go. Network Manager doesn't seem to work, but I was able to connect to a WPA network by editing /etc/network/interfaces.

Now I just have to add wminput and xvkbd and change a few settings to make it usable with just the Wiimote. I'm also going to see if I can't fix the overscan problem while I'm at it. I will upload the new Feisty image as soon as it's ready, hopefully in the next week or so.

Thanks to everyone for your interest!

Quote
gralco
Oh, I thought you might have chosen them because they were LTS releases.

According to this getting WPA support should be as easy as just installing network-manager-gnome.

You were right that I had chosen Dapper and Hardy because they were LTS releases. I figured the repositories would be around for longer. But I'm not married to using LTS releases.

Thank you for the guide to getting WPA to work on Dapper. It is a great guide. Unfortunately, I tried everything in it with no luck. Thank you though.

Quote
q885
Thank you for the guide to getting WPA to work on Dapper. It is a great guide. Unfortunately, I tried everything in it with no luck. Thank you though.

Yeah I wasn't able to get it working either, kind of odd considering that the official documentation says that should do it. If Feisty is as stable as Dapper on the Wii then I am very excited, thanks for your efforts!

Sorry this took so long. I was holding off while I tried to find a way to get the menu bars onto the screen, but it proved more difficult than I thought. Basically, I think we have to move the menu bars. But I haven't gotten a chance to look into into it much further. So I figured I'd better just give you the basic Feisty image.

Download it here.

The swap file that's included in this one (in "var/swapfile") is ½GB (necessary for Hardy) instead of twice the memory size as in the Dapper image. I simply haven't tried Feisty with the Dapper-sized swap file to see if it won't error out. It'd probably be fine to use a much smaller swap file.
As a result, the whole image now takes up 2.8GB.

Please try this and I hope it works for you. Sorry it took so long,
q885

I would like to redo the instructions in the first post of this thread to point to the Feisty image. But before I do that, I'd like to hear from at least one person who tried the Feisty image.

gralco, Khoraski, BowserN64, or anyone else who may have tried it want to drop me a line and tell me if it worked?

Thanks,

q885



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2012 01:34AM by q885.

I will try it. Yesterday hacked my Wii and tried xwhitte. But Ubuntu is hopeful better to use.

I had no SD card bigger than 1 GB, in my break i did buy one. 4 BG :)

So to night i will try it.

didn't get my wifi working on xwhiite. I had kernel version 2.6.32 and wifi modules 2.6.27b. :(

hopeful your version work better.