A new Wii firmware update came out a day or so ago. I thought “woo, new features!” and hastily updated my Wii.
Today I read that Datel’s Freeloader (used to legally boot imported GameCube games) no longer works. I thought I’d better check that Datel’s SD Media Launcher still starts, as SDML is pretty much required to run Quake on a Wii.
I’ve tried several times now, but the SDML disc just won’t boot. Instead I get a black screen with a generic error message instructing me to check the manual. It looks like Nintendo are really cracking down, even on legal homebrew. A sad day indeed.
So whatever you do, if you want legal homebrew on your Wii, don’t update the firmware!
Now that my Wii is useless for homebrew and Nintendo still haven’t put out a decent roster of games, the prospect of eBaying my Wii is rather appealing.
did you try the action replay method instead of SD media launcher? or is this one killed too?
my advice: get a cheap good ol’ gamecube on eBay or… seems to be the better alternative
looking forward to quake on GC/Wii…
keep on with your fantastic work!!
greetings from germany
Hello,
Unfortunately I’ve found it quite difficult to find an old enough version of Action Replay. However, I believe it is broken with the latest firmware update too.
I use an old GameCube for development because the boot (and code turnaround) times are much faster!
Vielen Dank!
Hey there! Just to let you know, you can try booting GCOS, and then try your action replay. I’ve heard stories about it working, but can’t really confirm it.
Also, look on http://www.wiinewz.com (you’re featured on there) for a utility that allows booting homebrew after the 3.0 update.
Cheers!! And great work!!
-war6763
Actually, too, there is a swap trick that should let you run the stuff that normally is blocked by the Wii…basically, it just means you have to press the ‘Start’ button on the Wii menu to Start loading the Gamecube stuff (with a disc that you can load, like a game or something), then as soon as it fades, pop out the disc and swap quick. It’s a pain, but I’ve gotten it to work with my MaxMedia Drive Pro disc. I think there is a video on YouTube that might demonstrate the timing of it.
Well, assuming it still works, I haven’t tried it in awhile, but it sounds like the kind of thing that is kind of unstoppable.
Oh yes, and you mention in your Quake wiki that the update breaks modchips, but I personally have not seen this (having one), and I don’t think anybody has had any real problems.
Don’t sell your Wii! Have faith. I’m sure there will be a solution. Someone will either find a workaround or make a new homebrew product.
Good luck.
The modchips basically just fool the DVD drive into thinking theres an official disk in there. Theres basically NO way for Nintendo to “brick” modded Wii’s as theres no direct link to the Wii itself. Theres also the factor that modchips arent illegal in some countries so they’d be in trouble if they started ruining people consoles!
Keep the faith Peter – nature finds a way
Try to use another SD card. The one tha comes with SDML is crap. It gave me an error code after the firs time i runned gcos on my cube but when I used another card It worked flawlessly.
Dont sell your Wii, it will be a shame.
I’m sure it’s not the SD card, as the error is from the Wii menu instead of after the disc loads.
I got Metroid for the Wii now so I won’t think of selling it for a long time.
prime is a gr8 game i tried to get mr.nick there to get it a while back