Play Wii Games from a USB Drive or Thumb Drive
Playing games from a USB hard drive or thumb drive is advantageous because the games are all in one place, they load much faster, they can't be damaged as easily, and they are more convenient. This tutorial is for the Wii, not the Wii U. This entire process should take about 20-30 minutes, if it goes smoothly.
Contents
Steps
Preparation
- Check your Wii's system version:
- Go to the "System Settings" and look at the top right.
- If it's not Ver. 4.3U, update your Wii. The image shows a Wii that needs to be updated.
- Format your SD Card as FAT32 (this will delete all the data, so back it up.)
- Format your USB hard drive or thumb drive in the same way, again as FAT32.
- Then, create a folder called "wbfs" (lowercase) on the thumb drive.
- Find your Wii's MAC address:
- Go to the "System Settings" page 2.
- Select "Internet."
- Write down the MAC address, you'll need it in a minute.
Getting The Homebrew Channel
- Go to http://please.hackmii.com
- Select version 4.3U
- Enter the MAC address you just wrote down
- Leave the HackMii checkbox alone
- Complete a CAPTCHA and 'cut the red [or blue] wire.'
- Extract Files to the root of the SD card (usually F:/ or E:/), so the card contents look like the image.
- Add and Locate the Letterbomb Exploit:
- Turn the Wii off.
- Insert the SD card into the Wii.
- Turn the Wii on.
- Click the envelope on the lower right corner of the menu to open the messages.
- Open the red bomb message (it may be on a previous page of messages; press (-) until you see it).
- Wait until you see "Press (1) to continue. " Press (1).
- Press (A) to continue on the next screen (make sure that The Homebrew Channel can be installed).
- Press up on the D-pad three times, until "Install The Homebrew Channel" is selected. Press (A).
- Press up and select "Yes, continue" and press (A).
- Wait for it to install, then press (A) to "Continue."
- Press down until "Exit" is selected, and press (A).
- The Homebrew Channel should now open.
- Take the SD card out of the Wii and insert in into the computer.
- Format the SD card again; you need it for the next step.
Getting The Wii Ready
The Trucha Bug must be enabled for the Wii to do this. Follow these steps exactly to enable it; they are the hardest.
- The Wii must be connected to the Internet for these steps!
- Download the following self-extracting file and extract it to the root of the SD card by opening it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3k3BjZD2YfiQjFRaWpWUGJqV2c/edit?usp=sharing
- The card should now contain three folders: "apps", "config", and "wad".
- Open the Trucha Bug channels:
- Turn off the Wii.
- Insert the SD card back into the Wii.
- Turn on the Wii.
- Launch the Homebrew Channel from the main screen.
- There should be three options now. (NOT four, despite the image. One of those is no longer necessary.) If the screen you see has three small buttons in a row, press (2) so that there are three large buttons in three rows, like the image.
- Select and "Load" "DOP-Mii".
- Press (A) to continue.
- You should see a screen like this. Highlight the second choice ("Install IOS36 (v3351) w/FakeSign") and press (A).
- Press (A) again to continue to the next screen.
- Press (A) for "Yes".
- Press (B) for "No" on the "FakeSign (Trucha)" option.
- Press (A) for "Yes" on the other two options.
- Ensure that "Download from NUS" is selected, and press (A) again.
- If something goes wrong here, it's a problem with your internet connection, or you pressed (A) on the FakeSign choice. Go back to the menu and repeat these steps after checking the internet.
- Press any key to return to the menu.
- Press (⌂) (Home) button to exit to Homebrew.
- Select and "Load" "d2x cIOS Installer."
- Press any button to continue
- Press down until the ">" character on the left is next to the "Select cIOS slot".
- Press left and/or right to change the number to 249.
- Press (A).
- Press (A) on the next screen (in the table, 249 should be blinking).
- Wait for it to finish.
- Once more, problems here indicate problems with the internet connection.
- The number 249 should be highlighted green. Press (B).
- Repeat the previous step, replacing 249 with 250.
Preparing and Using USB Loader GX
Now that the Wii is ready, you just need to get the loader (channel that runs your games) set up!
- Plug the thumb drive or hard drive into the USB port closest to the edge of the Wii. (in red)
- Select and "Load" "USB Loader GX" from the Homebrew channel.
- Rip a game from a disc to the drive:
- Insert a disc (you can start with Wii Sports; it's easy and will fit on even small drives).
- Select "Install."
- Select "OK."
- Wait for it to finish. It will freeze at 0%; just continue to wait, it takes a while.
- Select "OK."
- Repeat with other games, if you can fit them.
- Now you have a game without a cover, which isn't very good-looking or usable. To load covers for all your games that are currently loaded, press (1).
- Check all of the boxes.
- Select "OK."
- Wait for it to finish.
- Now, test your game. Select the game and press the spinning disc. It should load just like a normal game, but faster. If it doesn't load, something went wrong.
- Continue to explore the features in USB Loader GX. It has many, but I can't go over them in one tutorial. Also, Homebrew has some nice features as well, if you want to add some apps.
- (Optional) You can clean up the SD card by deleting the extra apps in the "apps" folder (shown in the image).
- One last thing: Wii Backup Manager is a helpful tool if you want to manage your games on the computer as well as the Wii, or if you want to add files from the computer to the drive.
Warnings
- Do not shut off the Wii unless instructed.
- Follow all instructions carefully.
- There is an extremely small possibility of bricking your Wii; mostly if you don't follow the above two warnings.
- Although this is a common method for pirating Wii games by downloading them from the internet and then installing them on to your USB drive with Wii Backup Manager, this should be used only for backup. Pirating software is illegal in most countries.
- Doing this voids your warranty.
Things You'll Need
- 512+ MB SD (not SDHC or MicroSD) card
- Wii, with a working internet connection
- 4GB+ USB hard drive or thumb drive (bigger is better: games range from 300 MB - 6 GB)
- Wii Sports game disc (this is optimal because it has been tested, has a small file size, and comes with the Wii; however you may use a different disc as long as you have a larger drive)
- Computer (laptop is best; you want it close to the Wii for convenience while working)
- A way to connect the SD card to your computer (laptops often have a port, or a camera will work)
