ALiAsVee
Smash Ace
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2008
- Messages
- 739
EDIT:To my knowledge the Homebrew Channel cannot be installed on Wiis update to version 3.4U; however, if you install HC and then update, it works (at least for me).
I have no idea about the European and Japanese Homebrew details, that will be answered in an update this weekend.
((Btw, i know there is a guide on this somewhere on the Brawl General Discussion, but I find it better to have a more board friendly guide with a regular poster answering your questions. Everyone knows me on the Luigi Boards, right? xD))
This is a guide to how to install Homebrew Channel on your wii using the Twilight Princess Hack. I have done this on two Wiis, works great. I noticed some NEWBIES don't know how to hack their Wiis, so i'll help those poor souls
. Lets go!
ITS NOT MY FAULT IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR WII, I'VE DONE THIS THRICE AND IT WORKS PERFECTLY, BUT I'M NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES.
^^^Annoying disclaimer so I don't get flamed ^-^.
~What the Hell are You Talking About ALiAs?~
Before I go on and tell you how to set up all this good stuff, I'm going to explain what it all is to begin with (though I think most people are gonna skip this lol). The twilight hack is an exploit in the game that allows the hacker to plug in homebrew code from an SD card. Originally, one would have to run this hack each time they wanted to put in a code, which was time consuming.
Enter Homebrew Channel. This isn't a hack in itself, but it basically makes it easier to plug in codes for the Wii without having to boot up Twilight each time. It is placed on your Wii home menu, and if it didn't say "homebrew channel" you would think its a first party app just by looks.
Well if the Homebrew Channel isn't a hack in itself what is? You run applications (apps) within an SD card on your wii. When you start up the HC (Homebrew Channel) it automatically detects any apps you can use on your wii. The popular one you guys will want is "ocarina", though i'll tell you about a better program in my guide named "Gecko OS".
Ok enough talk, lets do some hacking >:]
~Materials and Preparation~
First and foremost, make sure your Wii is updated to version 3.3U (assuming you live in America, but I know peeps like Toshi don't, so I'll get specifics later).
Done that? Good! Turn off Wii Connect 24 You don't want nintendo to try to update your wii while your doing the hack (that would be bad). 3.4U hasn't come out yet, and I don't know when it will, but when it does, DON"T UPDATE. I'll be doing a check on that day to see if Ninty is trying to nuke homebrew again (failed last time). Thats why I suggest Wii Connect is turned off.
OK, also make sure you know what region your Wii is, I'm assuming its an American Wii because most of us are from America, but rest assured, THIS HACK IS POSSIBLE ON ANY WII.
Now we are going to need an SD card. This should be no bigger than 2 gigs, because otherwise the Wii doesn't read it. Also, you'll need a peripheral or something to read the SD card off your computer. If you don't have one, you can buy a usb->SD card converter from Radioshack or something for cheap. Most Laptops have them built in though.
Remember to format your SD card to FAT or FAT16, otherwise it won't work! You do this in Windows by going to my computer, right clicking the drive with your SD card in it, and hitting "format". The default option should be "FAT" under format options, thats the one you need. For obvious reasons, make sure you back up your stuff on the SD card if you have any important data.
Next we are going to need a copy of Twilight Princess that is from the same region as the Wii you are hacking. Take note of what is written on the inside edge of disc (RVL-RZDE-0A-0 or RVL-RZDE-0A-2). You might need to hold it up to the light to see it, and you only need to do this if you are using an American copy of the game. For the record, if you bought the game when it came out, its probably RVL-RZDE-0A-0 but double check anyway.
Oh, I mentioned this earlier but you need to have a PC handy, either XP or Vista. It works in ubuntu linux for those geeks who know what i'm talking about, but I don't know if it works with Mac, because I'm too poor for one lol. It probably will work for the purposes of this guide.
~Downloads~
http://hbc.hackmii.com/download/ <-- This is the site of the team who developed Homebrew Channel and Twilight Hack, I'm not affliated with them in any way, and I'm not claiming any credit in their software.
Download the first two links (twilight hack and .ELF homebrew Channel). The other stuff is for people who use modchips (waste of time on the wii, but ok).
Extract the stuff onto your desktop or something, and leave it alone for now.
http://wiird.l0nk.org/ocarina.zip <-- Ocarina. I'll explain why we do and do not need this later.
http://www.usbgecko.com/manual.htm <--- Browse down to where you see USB GECKO DOWNLOADS WII, and click and download the first link there. This is a very useful hack program originally designed for the USB gecko, a piece of hardware to connect your computer to your wii.
~Now We Get Started~
Once you have all the gear and the downloads, its time to boot up your wii. Again, make sure you are on 3.3U and Wiiconnect 24 is off. Go to your twilight princess game save and copy that to SD card. Then, delete it off your system memory. If you bought or borrowed Twilight just for this hack, you will need to have a save game in your wii. Just play the first 5 minutes, save, and you're good. If you don't care for your Twilight data, just leave it on the Wii system memory then.
Go to your computer and remove the only folder you have on the SD Card: "Private". This is YOUR game data. For our sanity, rename it PrivateReal or something on your computer so it doesn't overwrite the Private folder in the Twilight Hack folder. Remember to change it back when you put it back on your wii though, otherwise it won't read it.
After you removed the PrivateReal folder, place the "Private" folder from the Twilight Hack into your SD card. Then, take the contents of the HC folder and put it in your SD card. Make sure you don't copy the entire folder into the SD Card, just the wiiload folder and the Boot.elf file. So you should have two folders and one file in the root of your SD card (that is, when you first open it up on your computer).
Go back to the wii menu and navigate to your SD card. You will see three game saves: USA, EUR, and ***. Pick your respected region and copy it onto your system memory, either overwriting your old twilight data or not, depending if you backed it up in the first step.
With that done, pop in Twilight Princess and start it up. When you get the game save menu, you will see two saves. Choose the first one if your game disc says RVL-RZDE-0A-0, or the second one if your game disc says RVL-RZDE-0A-2. If you didn't look because you skipped the first part of my guide...HA. Take the game out and check newb :3.
READ BEFORE SELECTING GAME DATA
When you load your game data, you will be in the middle of Odon(?) village as Link. In order to make this work, slowly push the control stick back, so Link begins to walk backwards. DO THIS SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY. I haven't screwed this part up so I don't know what happens if you do it wrong lol.
The game will hang for a second a bunch of white on black text will appear. Remember how I said the Twilight Hack allows code from the SD to run? The code in question is the Boot.Elf file (HC). Press "1" on the wii where it tells you to accept, and within a minute, you should get a confirmation message and return to the Wii menu. You should know how a blue HC!.
~Clean Up/Getting ready for apps~
Before we do any hacking, make sure you remove the twilight hack save data off your wii. ninty sometimes does updates to sniff out files like that and can brick your wii (when you can't use it anymore basically, as useful as a....brick).
After that, go on your computer and take your PrivateReal data and rename it Private again. Put if on your SD so you can put your real save data back on your wii. After that, delete everything off your SD card, you dont need it anymore.
Make a folder and name it "apps". Extract Ocarina and Gecko OS from their zipped folders and drag them both into the apps folder. For the record, any homebrew you want to run in HC has to be in this folder.
~Lets Talk Cheats~
If you have ever used Action Replay I'm sure you are aware of how cheating works in most games. Plug in a code, game reads it, and modifies itself according to the instructions you gave it. The popular homebrew app is Ocarina, which is basically Action Replay. If you put Ocarina and Gecko OS in your SD card under "apps" like I said, go to your Wii menu now and start up HC. It will automatically detect and read any apps you got on your SD card, and display them. If you are following my guide word for word, you should have Ocarina and Gecko OS listed. NOTE:In order for HC to run the apps, you can't have a memory card in Slot A of your Wii ;].
You can't do anything with these programs at the moment, but I'm just getting you familiar with the interfaces. Ocarina will take you to a black screen with some text instructions to put your game in the Wii and run it. It will then proceed to read your code list that you made, apply it, and start the game. But WAIT ALiAs, you didn't tell me to make a codelist! Well now I am...
~Making a Codelist~
Codes take two forms, .txt files and .gct files. In order to make a code list we need to make a TXT file first, basically a document containing all the codes of a game. Dig into the ocarina folder, find the "pc" folder, and open that. Inside you'll find a few documents, an .ELF, a picture, and a few other stuff. The important thing is the application: "codemgr.exe". This is the app you run from your computer to make code lists. This is also the only reason I told you to download Ocarina. The other program, Gecko OS, is superior in the amount of codes it can run and its stability. Also, it allows you to save to SD card even while running code, something Ocarina cannot do.
~CodeMgr and some Simple Codes~
Seriously, I'll get this done this weekend.
I have no idea about the European and Japanese Homebrew details, that will be answered in an update this weekend.
((Btw, i know there is a guide on this somewhere on the Brawl General Discussion, but I find it better to have a more board friendly guide with a regular poster answering your questions. Everyone knows me on the Luigi Boards, right? xD))
This is a guide to how to install Homebrew Channel on your wii using the Twilight Princess Hack. I have done this on two Wiis, works great. I noticed some NEWBIES don't know how to hack their Wiis, so i'll help those poor souls
. Lets go!ITS NOT MY FAULT IF YOU SCREW UP YOUR WII, I'VE DONE THIS THRICE AND IT WORKS PERFECTLY, BUT I'M NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES.
^^^Annoying disclaimer so I don't get flamed ^-^.
~What the Hell are You Talking About ALiAs?~
Before I go on and tell you how to set up all this good stuff, I'm going to explain what it all is to begin with (though I think most people are gonna skip this lol). The twilight hack is an exploit in the game that allows the hacker to plug in homebrew code from an SD card. Originally, one would have to run this hack each time they wanted to put in a code, which was time consuming.
Enter Homebrew Channel. This isn't a hack in itself, but it basically makes it easier to plug in codes for the Wii without having to boot up Twilight each time. It is placed on your Wii home menu, and if it didn't say "homebrew channel" you would think its a first party app just by looks.
Well if the Homebrew Channel isn't a hack in itself what is? You run applications (apps) within an SD card on your wii. When you start up the HC (Homebrew Channel) it automatically detects any apps you can use on your wii. The popular one you guys will want is "ocarina", though i'll tell you about a better program in my guide named "Gecko OS".
Ok enough talk, lets do some hacking >:]
~Materials and Preparation~
First and foremost, make sure your Wii is updated to version 3.3U (assuming you live in America, but I know peeps like Toshi don't, so I'll get specifics later).
Done that? Good! Turn off Wii Connect 24 You don't want nintendo to try to update your wii while your doing the hack (that would be bad). 3.4U hasn't come out yet, and I don't know when it will, but when it does, DON"T UPDATE. I'll be doing a check on that day to see if Ninty is trying to nuke homebrew again (failed last time). Thats why I suggest Wii Connect is turned off.
OK, also make sure you know what region your Wii is, I'm assuming its an American Wii because most of us are from America, but rest assured, THIS HACK IS POSSIBLE ON ANY WII.
Now we are going to need an SD card. This should be no bigger than 2 gigs, because otherwise the Wii doesn't read it. Also, you'll need a peripheral or something to read the SD card off your computer. If you don't have one, you can buy a usb->SD card converter from Radioshack or something for cheap. Most Laptops have them built in though.
Remember to format your SD card to FAT or FAT16, otherwise it won't work! You do this in Windows by going to my computer, right clicking the drive with your SD card in it, and hitting "format". The default option should be "FAT" under format options, thats the one you need. For obvious reasons, make sure you back up your stuff on the SD card if you have any important data.
Next we are going to need a copy of Twilight Princess that is from the same region as the Wii you are hacking. Take note of what is written on the inside edge of disc (RVL-RZDE-0A-0 or RVL-RZDE-0A-2). You might need to hold it up to the light to see it, and you only need to do this if you are using an American copy of the game. For the record, if you bought the game when it came out, its probably RVL-RZDE-0A-0 but double check anyway.
Oh, I mentioned this earlier but you need to have a PC handy, either XP or Vista. It works in ubuntu linux for those geeks who know what i'm talking about, but I don't know if it works with Mac, because I'm too poor for one lol. It probably will work for the purposes of this guide.
~Downloads~
http://hbc.hackmii.com/download/ <-- This is the site of the team who developed Homebrew Channel and Twilight Hack, I'm not affliated with them in any way, and I'm not claiming any credit in their software.
Download the first two links (twilight hack and .ELF homebrew Channel). The other stuff is for people who use modchips (waste of time on the wii, but ok).
Extract the stuff onto your desktop or something, and leave it alone for now.
http://wiird.l0nk.org/ocarina.zip <-- Ocarina. I'll explain why we do and do not need this later.
http://www.usbgecko.com/manual.htm <--- Browse down to where you see USB GECKO DOWNLOADS WII, and click and download the first link there. This is a very useful hack program originally designed for the USB gecko, a piece of hardware to connect your computer to your wii.
~Now We Get Started~
Once you have all the gear and the downloads, its time to boot up your wii. Again, make sure you are on 3.3U and Wiiconnect 24 is off. Go to your twilight princess game save and copy that to SD card. Then, delete it off your system memory. If you bought or borrowed Twilight just for this hack, you will need to have a save game in your wii. Just play the first 5 minutes, save, and you're good. If you don't care for your Twilight data, just leave it on the Wii system memory then.
Go to your computer and remove the only folder you have on the SD Card: "Private". This is YOUR game data. For our sanity, rename it PrivateReal or something on your computer so it doesn't overwrite the Private folder in the Twilight Hack folder. Remember to change it back when you put it back on your wii though, otherwise it won't read it.
After you removed the PrivateReal folder, place the "Private" folder from the Twilight Hack into your SD card. Then, take the contents of the HC folder and put it in your SD card. Make sure you don't copy the entire folder into the SD Card, just the wiiload folder and the Boot.elf file. So you should have two folders and one file in the root of your SD card (that is, when you first open it up on your computer).
Go back to the wii menu and navigate to your SD card. You will see three game saves: USA, EUR, and ***. Pick your respected region and copy it onto your system memory, either overwriting your old twilight data or not, depending if you backed it up in the first step.
With that done, pop in Twilight Princess and start it up. When you get the game save menu, you will see two saves. Choose the first one if your game disc says RVL-RZDE-0A-0, or the second one if your game disc says RVL-RZDE-0A-2. If you didn't look because you skipped the first part of my guide...HA. Take the game out and check newb :3.
READ BEFORE SELECTING GAME DATA
When you load your game data, you will be in the middle of Odon(?) village as Link. In order to make this work, slowly push the control stick back, so Link begins to walk backwards. DO THIS SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY. I haven't screwed this part up so I don't know what happens if you do it wrong lol.
The game will hang for a second a bunch of white on black text will appear. Remember how I said the Twilight Hack allows code from the SD to run? The code in question is the Boot.Elf file (HC). Press "1" on the wii where it tells you to accept, and within a minute, you should get a confirmation message and return to the Wii menu. You should know how a blue HC!.
~Clean Up/Getting ready for apps~
Before we do any hacking, make sure you remove the twilight hack save data off your wii. ninty sometimes does updates to sniff out files like that and can brick your wii (when you can't use it anymore basically, as useful as a....brick).
After that, go on your computer and take your PrivateReal data and rename it Private again. Put if on your SD so you can put your real save data back on your wii. After that, delete everything off your SD card, you dont need it anymore.
Make a folder and name it "apps". Extract Ocarina and Gecko OS from their zipped folders and drag them both into the apps folder. For the record, any homebrew you want to run in HC has to be in this folder.
~Lets Talk Cheats~
If you have ever used Action Replay I'm sure you are aware of how cheating works in most games. Plug in a code, game reads it, and modifies itself according to the instructions you gave it. The popular homebrew app is Ocarina, which is basically Action Replay. If you put Ocarina and Gecko OS in your SD card under "apps" like I said, go to your Wii menu now and start up HC. It will automatically detect and read any apps you got on your SD card, and display them. If you are following my guide word for word, you should have Ocarina and Gecko OS listed. NOTE:In order for HC to run the apps, you can't have a memory card in Slot A of your Wii ;].
You can't do anything with these programs at the moment, but I'm just getting you familiar with the interfaces. Ocarina will take you to a black screen with some text instructions to put your game in the Wii and run it. It will then proceed to read your code list that you made, apply it, and start the game. But WAIT ALiAs, you didn't tell me to make a codelist! Well now I am...
~Making a Codelist~
Codes take two forms, .txt files and .gct files. In order to make a code list we need to make a TXT file first, basically a document containing all the codes of a game. Dig into the ocarina folder, find the "pc" folder, and open that. Inside you'll find a few documents, an .ELF, a picture, and a few other stuff. The important thing is the application: "codemgr.exe". This is the app you run from your computer to make code lists. This is also the only reason I told you to download Ocarina. The other program, Gecko OS, is superior in the amount of codes it can run and its stability. Also, it allows you to save to SD card even while running code, something Ocarina cannot do.
~CodeMgr and some Simple Codes~
Seriously, I'll get this done this weekend.
Two I did something wrong.... Recently my brother deleted the twilight hack files, since I don't know exactly when he did this I don't know if that is the problem, I can verify however that things did not load after the twilight hack delete.