[TUTORIAL] Configurable USB loader

Post by **TGbot** » Sat 14 Nov 2009 23:04

Image unavailable (removed by its host) External content (video or audio) hidden: it sets its own cookies. External content (video or audio) hidden: it sets its own cookies. Image unavailable (removed by its host) Image unavailable (removed by its host) - The Homebrew Channel
- IOS 249 and/or HERMES 222/223
REQUIRED MATERIALS: - an -SD-
- a USB storage device
DOWNLOAD AND INSTALLATION: the configurable USB Loader V46 HERE
it contains the dol, the forwarder for those who want to install it.
decompress the archive onto your SD card. It contains:
- the folder apps/USBLoader (USB loader in the form of boot.dol)
- the folder usb-loader (configuration folder, themes, codes, covers ...)
- the folder wad (forwarder)

Additional themes, to place in the folder usb-loader/themes HERE

A V46. Dol which uses the IOS222/223 from Hermes instead of IOS249, downloadable HERErename cfg46-fat.dol to boot.dol and place it in the folder apps/USBLoader to launch it from the forwarder, otherwise put it in a folder
apps/USBLoader222 (for example to launch it from the HBC.)
OPTION example of installing a theme: GAF theme HERE
replace the existing files with those from the theme. So you need to copy:
- the modified file apps/USBLoader/config.txt
- the file USB-Loader/config.txt
- the GAF folder into USB-Loader\themes
PREPARING THE HARD DRIVE Your Wii games must be installed on a FAT or WBFS partition on the USB storage device. Most external drives are formatted in FAT32 and don't need to be reformatted to be used with the loader.
If you use a FAT partition, you can still use the device for anything not related to the WII. If you want to format a drive in FAT you can use Gparted or any other partitioning software. or HERE
If you choose to use a FAT partition, make sure you have "partition=FAT1" in the options of "config.txt". Look at the configuration options
to help you. If you want to create a separate WBFS partition on your hard drive, USB Loader will format the partition for you at startup, but you must check first:

that your drive has a partition and that you don't mind losing the existing data on it.
that the partition you're going to use is a primary partition
If you don't know whether your drive is ready, follow the instructions for partitioning with GParted.
To plug the USB storage device into the WII, connect it to the bottom port, WII lying flat.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

Spoiler

https://gwht.wikidot.com/configurable-options

USING THE LOADER

Your drive must be connected to the USB port closest to the outer edge of the Wii, or the bottom one if it's lying flat.
Press the + button to install a game from the Wii's disc drive onto the USB drive.
Press the - button to remove games from the drive.
Use A to play or 1 to enter the options menu of an installed game.
You can download all the covers for all your installed games in the Options menu.
* Select the option to download all covers and press RIGHT.
Read README-CFG.txt in the file zip to see how to configure USB Loader Configurable to suit your needs.

UPDATING THE CONFIGURABLE USB LOADER Version v35a6 and above, this can be done online with your Wii, or you can update it manually.

- Online installation

Launch configurable USB Loader and press :wii1: two times to access the global options screen.
Select Check for updates and press RIGHT.
A selection of versions will appear Choose the one you want to install and press A to confirm.
The new version will download and install over the already installed version.
Once done, press any key to return to the USB Loader.
Quit and restart the loader to test the new version.

- Manual installation

Spoiler

- Download the new version on this page:HERE Replace, in SD: / apps / USBLoader / boot.dol, the file.Dol of the latest version (renamed if necessary).
[*]for .zip downloads, the boot.dol is located in "SDRoot/USBLoader/boot.dol" of the zip file"
[*]for .dol downloads, the downloaded dol file is the file to rename

MY GAMES DON'T WORK

the configurable USB Loader is not compatible with all games. Games that reload an IOS won't work
Some of these games may work with the alternate dol method.
if you get a type 002 error, make sure you have properly installed the latest version of the configurable USB loader as well as that of IOS 249 (rev 13 or 14)

ALTERNATE DOL METHOD

Spoiler

The alternate dol method is necessary to launch certain games.
Some WII games load an executable that can be placed anywhere in the game. This protection prevents access to the hard drive and crashes the launch of games. To be able to launch these games, you can directly launch this executable, which is necessary to launch the game. Some of these games that require this method are: Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Mortal Kombat Armageddon and the video of games requiring Wii Motion Plus (example: Wii Sports Resort)
A list of these games can be viewed HERE in the category 1 problems
What should you install first

Configurable USB Loader or another compatible USB loader

What do you need

USB storage device

Load an Alternate .dol .dols with the Configurable USB Loader v43 or higher

select the game and press 1 to access the options screen
go to the option "Alt dol [X found]"
X represents the number of alternate dols present in the game
select the alternate dol with LEFT or RIGHT
save the options with 2 or just start the game with A

Load an Alternate .dol .dols with the Configurable USB Loader v42 or lower

select the game and press 1 to access the options screen
go to "Alternative dol" and choose the disc with LEFT or RIGHT
press 2 to save the options
press A to launch the game
you'll be asked to select the alternate dol
you must select a dol that isn't the main dol
press A to start the game

What does this do

the .dol is an executable for the WII. It's the launch file of the game
some games simply launch a startup screen then another launch executable, which behaves like a protection against USB loaders
by choosing an alternate dol, the game launches directly through this executable and no longer through the startup screens. This method will work as long as the games don't yet try to launch another executable

FAQ

What is the alternate dol on SD method?
an obsolete method that loaded a dol from an SD card

TRANSFERRING FROM WBFS TO FAT

Spoiler

Games on a FAT partition are easier to handle, plus you can store other files on this drive, unlike WBFS. Transferring games with this method is faster than ripping them via the WII's drive

Download

wbfs_file v1.2 https://sharebee.com/d01f6166 or wbfs_file v1.3 https://sharebee.com/9ce66971
only if needed: dd for Windows v0.5 https://www.chrysocome.net/downloads/dd-0.5.zip

Choosing your destination
If you want to copy your games from one drive to another (that has enough space) or to another USB storage device, you can use this method. The destination when asked will be of the form X:\wbfs with X representing the drive letter.
If you want to use the same drive that is currently formatted in WBFS and the FAT32 partition isn't enough, you'll need to use a 'buffer' drive on the PC to transfer during formatting.
There are no special precautions to take to transfer to the PC; copy the games into a folder on the PC, format the drive to FAT32 (Gparted can be used but FAT32Formatis recommended), then transfer your games from the PC to X:\wbfs with X being the letter of the newly FAT32-formatted drive.
No need for any special applications to transfer to this folder.

Preparation
First, we need to find a way to address your WBFS partition. Follow the procedure to determine which string you'll need to use to refer to your WBFS partition.
The instructions depend on your OS.
Windows XP:

plug the drive into the PC. If the WBFS partition is assigned a letter, that will be the drive's path, you can go directly to the Methodology part
Go to Start then Run, type diskmgmt.msc and enter to launch the disk management console
locate the partition formatted in WBFS (detected as an unknown format partition)
right click and see if you can "change the drive letter". If this is possible, choose a letter that will be the drive's access path and go to the Methodology part
Note the disk number on the left
plug the drive into the WII (bottom port if the WII is lying flat) and launch the Configurable USB Loader
press :wii1: to go to the global options (if you have disable_options=1 or simple=1 in the options in config.txt, you'll need to enter the unlock password)
Navigate through the partitions then :wiidroite:
note the number of the partition on which the WBFS partition is
the partition name must be in the form "\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\Harddisk#\Partition#" with # representing the number noted above. Go to the Methodology part.
HardDisk# is found with diskmgmt.msc, and Partition# with Cfg Loader.
In case of failure, download dd for Windows 0.5 HERE
unzip dd-0.5.zip and copy dd.exe into a folder
Go to Start then Run, type "cmd" and Enter
use the "cd" command to change to the folder where dd.exe is located
run "dd —list" and note the name of the partition. Try to find which one is in WBFS.
The partition name can be created by adding "GLOBALROOT\" after the " \\?\ " of the listed partition name. You can go to the Methodology part

Windows Vista/Windows 7

plug the drive into the PC. If the WBFS partition is assigned a letter, that will be the drive's path, you can go directly to the Methodology part
Go to Start then type diskmgmt.msc in the search field and enter to launch the disk management console
locate the partition formatted in WBFS (detected as an unknown format partition)
right click and see if you can "change the drive letter". If this is possible, choose a letter that will be the drive's access path and go to the Methodology part
Note the disk number on the left
plug the drive into the WII (bottom port if the WII is lying flat) and launch the Configurable USB Loader
press :wii1: to go to the global options (if you have disable_options=1 or simple=1 in the options in config.txt, you'll need to enter the unlock password)
Navigate through the partitions then right
note the number of the partition on which the WBFS partition is
the partition name must be in the form "\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\Harddisk#\Partition#" with # representing the number noted above. Go to the Methodology part.
HardDisk# is found with diskmgmt.msc, and Partition# with Cfg Loader.
In case of failure, download dd for Windows 0.5 HERE
unzip dd-0.5.zip and copy dd.exe into a folder
Go to Start then type "cmd" in the Search field and Enter, wait for the suggested applications to appear
right click on cmd.exe and "run as administrator"
use the "cd" command to change to the folder where dd.exe is located
run "dd —list" and note the name of the partition. Try to find which one is in WBFS.
The partition name can be created by adding "GLOBALROOT\" after the " \\?\ " of the listed partition name. You can go to the Methodology part

Methodology
[*]Determine how to indicate the access path to the partition with the method above. The partition name will be pname from now on. Don't forget to replace it throughout the tutorial with your actual name
[*]unzip the wbfs_file zip file and copy wbfs_file_1.3/wbfs_file.exe into a folder on the PC
[*]launch the DOS console (start, run, cmd or start, search field and cmd) to go to the folder where wbfs_file.exe is located
[*]type the command "wbfs_file pname ls", which will display the list of games on the WBFS partition
[*]You're ready to copy the games from your WBFS partition into your wbfs folder

if you copy them onto a FAT partition of the drive or of another drive that will be plugged into the WII, the files must absolutely go into X:\wbfs (with X representing the drive letter)
if you copy them onto your PC, they can go anywhere

[*]run "wbfs_file pname extract_wbfs_all destination" replacing pname and destination with the correct name
[*]all the games on the drive will be converted into the destination folder. This one can be used directly on the WII if it's an external drive.
[*]If you want to directly start the configurable loader on the new FAT partition, add the line "partition=FAT1" in the "config.txt" file

FAQ
Are there restrictions when I copy my games onto a FAT partition?
you must use Hermes' IOS222/223 to play the games. That's the only restriction.

FAQ

Spoiler

can I use this loader with imports from other regions?
Yes, most work without issue, for the others, you can go to the force video mode menu
can I install my GameCube games on the USB storage device and play them?
there is no solution to install GC games on a USB storage device, only WII game backups will work
can I make a channel for this loader so I don't have to launch it every time via the HBC?
yes, you need to use a forwarder. Narolez's is the most suitable and the fastest. Otherwise, be careful with installing channels on the WII, this could be dangerous if you have neither BootMii nor preloader.
The USB loader gives me an error about the USB storage device at startup
follow the instructions: prepare your storage device
can I reduce the size of the games so they take up less space on the USB storage device?
yes but not by installing them on the install partition. Add the line "install_partitions = only_game" in the config.txt file. The install partition contains the WII update data and isn't needed by games at write time.
every second game I launch, it crashes during loading. What's going on?
This is a known bug with revision 13 of IOS 249. Do not use the "WII menu" function from the Home menu to exit a game. Instead use the Reset button or the remote's Power button to restart between each game.
how can I play Wii Sports Resort?
1. Launch the original disc to see the intro video about Wii MotionPlus.
  if your Wii Sports Resort is from a different region than your Wii or you don't want to upgrade your firmware, use Gecko OS for the first launch.
2. Once the video has been watched and the start of the game launched, you can quit and launch the game from the USB loader
3. Don't try to re-watch the intro video, or use the disc or the alternate dol
Super Smash Bros. Brawl doesn't work.
Dual layer backups don't work with rev14 of IOS 249. Use Hermes' IOS222/223 instead to install and play this game
Metroid Prime Trilogy doesn't work
You must use alternate dols to launch this game. You must also have Hermes' IOS222/223 installed to be able to launch it (dual layer bug with rev14 of IOS249).
My instruments don't work with Rock Band/Guitar Hero/and other music games.
Use Hermes' IOS222/223 for these games
I want to move my games from a WBFS partition to a FAT partition
Use the WBFS to FAT transfer method

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Post by **Jiiwah** » Sat 14 Nov 2009 23:33

Very well made tutorial, well done.

Also there was no news/tutorial about this loader even though it's very good, the 1st one able to use a fat32 partition for ISOs.

More tutorials like this one would be welcome

edit: personally I would have put it in the News section, since this loader keeps evolving and to avoid making a new news post for each update you could simply edit it. (like I do for openWiiflow)

Post by **Tgames** » Sat 14 Nov 2009 23:36

Thanks for your very detailed tutorial

Post by **david45** » Thu 20 May 2010 16:18

thanks

[TUTORIAL] Configurable USB loader