OpenRCE: Blog

BootMii beta 2

Wed, 27 May 2009 23:17:36 -0500

Edit: Please see the new FAQ up at bootmii.org.

Two weeks after beta 1 we bring you the first bugfix release: beta 2. Next to the usual metric ton of minor fixes and cleanups, here are the changes worth mentioning:

BootMii beta 2 (v0.9):

SD card performance has been improved, decreasing the boot and the NAND backup / restore time

backupmii accepts fragmented SD cards now, reformatting is not performed anymore. Old NAND dumps are still compatible.

Introduced the INI variable “BOOTDELAY” to set the timeout for the auto boot feature

The Homebrew Channel v1.0.3:

SDHC cards are working again

SD performance has been increased again (regression was introduced in v1.0.2)

HBC works on all system menu versions now

Fixed rare hangs when exiting HBC

DVDX:

Switched back to IOS < 37. While the SDHC problem for apps using DVDX has been fixed in libogc, there were also problems with USB keyboards under higher IOS versions

Installer v0.2:

Installer now works on newer Wiis with boot2v4 (instead of rebooting at “Press 1″)

Fixed reading of boot1/2 on Wiis with bad ECC data in that area

BootMii as boot2 and IOS can now be uninstalled

Grab the new installer here. Don’t forget to read the README before running the installer.

Please link to this post instead of mirroring the binary, thanks.

Enjoy.

Twilight Hack source code

Tue, 26 May 2009 09:38:20 -0500

Without further ado… here.

Have fun! Any and all comments welcome.

MINI source code

Fri, 15 May 2009 13:34:37 -0500

Just a brief note to fulfill our promise about the MINI source code:

It’s available in a git repository now. Please note that everything in this repository (i.e. the full source code and the build utils) is licensed under the GNU GPL 2. This essentially means that you will also have to license all your changes under the same license. Binary only releases are not possible.

You will need to compile a new toolchain in order to be able to compile mini. Please take a look at the bootmii-utils repository and run the ‘buildit’ script. Make sure to create the WIIDEV environment variable which will point to the target directory for this new toolchain before doing this.

Install and launch BootMii (either as boot2 or as IOS) and copy mini to your SD card as /bootmii/armboot.bin in order to run it. This may break the PowerPC GUI (aka “ceiling cat”) though. You can also compile and use the “bootmii” gecko uploader if you own a USB Gecko. Source code for the PowerPC part is not included yet but we will add an example PowerPC project during the next few days.

Please send patches to info@bootmii.org or contact anyone of us in IRC (#wiidev, #bootmii or #hackmii on EFNet). It would be great if we could manage this all in one repository instead of having thousands of forks with different features.

BootMii beta 1

Wed, 13 May 2009 10:09:37 -0500

We are proud to present HackMii Installer v0.1. This is one executable that can install the Homebrew Channel and DVDX on any Wii, with any System Menu version. It can be used with Comex’s BannerBomb on System Menu 4.0, or on our Twilight Hack on earlier versions, or through the Homebrew Channel or any other method to run homebrew software on your Wii.

For many people, that will be enough. For the intrepid or foolish, HackMii Installer v0.1 can install BootMii Beta 1 on your Wii, either in front of boot2 or as an IOS. We have put a lot of hard work into this software and believe it to be safe, but we have only tested it on 10 Wiis. We have written it so that it does extensive sanity checking before installing; as a result, the first beta will probably refuse to install on some Wiis (instead of running the risk of a broken install).

Ideally, we would find another 50-100 beta testers and have them test it out before releasing it to the world at large. Realistically, that doesn’t work; it’d land on gbafail in less time than it took us to compile it. Besides, we’re not trying to make this a release for “the kool kids”; we want the people out there who can help us test and improve it to try it so we can make it universally compatible and safe.

So, we’ll do it like this. We think BootMii is safe to install, but we can’t promise there are no bugs in the installer. Once you do get it installed, many features are incomplete and most users won’t even know why they bothered to risk their console. For those who like to tinker, you’ll find an easy-to-use NAND backup/restore suite, a way to autoboot the HBC, and eventually a way to run arbitrary ARM or PPC code. You will also find bugs — none of which should harm your Wii, but they might be frustrating. Help us fix them.

To be perfectly clear — anyone can use this to install the Homebrew Channel and DVDX on their Wii. Most people can safely install BootMii/IOS on their Wii, but it’s not very useful. Many people can install BootMii/boot2, but an unforeseen bug could harm your Wii.

Please do not install BootMii unless you have been following our blog for a while and know what IOS is, what boot1 and boot2 are, etc. If you’re curious, you can try anyway, but if you can’t figure out how to work this thing you should probably wait for a future beta. We really don’t want to see epic threads with “tips” on installing — this thing is supposed to be self-explanatory, and if it won’t install for you, that’s a bug we need to fix.

Known issues:

BootMii may refuse to install on some Wiis. We ran into various errors in our sanity checks on about half of the consoles we tried; we have fixed all of those bugs, but there are probably more. The installer will write out an “installer.log” to SD; please email that log to beta_logs@bootmii.org so that we can add support for your Wii in the next beta.

We wrote MINI (our low-level replacement for IOS) from scratch; the SD code has some compatibility issues. Most cards (SD and SDHC) work; some will not be recognized at all when you try to boot from them (you’ll know this by the fact that your drive slot will flash). If this happens and you have a USBGecko, please capture the output and email it to the address above.

We intend to eventually release source code for MINI and a sample PowerPC project than uses it, but those releases are not ready yet. This is a binary only release; your patience is appreciated.

The installer is available for download from http://bootmii.org. Please report bugs at http://bugs.hackmii.com. You can discuss this release in a moderated forum on http://forum.wiibrew.org, but we will only permit posts that we deem to be constructive in our efforts to improve our code.

Thanks go out to Nuke for donating the USBGeckos we used for development, and Stan64 for donating a few to our testers.

FAQs: (will be updated periodically)

Q: What’s this useful for?

A: It’s a beta to make sure our technology works on as many Wiis as possible. Some people will find useful things to do with it — and that’s great! — but if you can’t think of any, please don’t bug us about it.

Q: Why do I get an error about “boot1 prevents installation as boot2″?

Q: How do I uninstall?

Q: Which version should I install, boot2 or IOS?

A: read README

Q: Why won’t my wiimote sync in the BootMii menu?

A: Due to architectural limitations, we can’t access the WiiMote. Use a GC controller or the Power/Reset buttons. See also http://bugs.hackmii.com/index.php?do=details&task_id=21

Q: Why do I have all of these bad blocks in my NAND?

A: The NAND Flash chips used in the Wii come with up to 80 bad blocks from the factory. This is normal.

Q: What’s HBC v1.0.2, and why doesn’t it support SDHC?

A: The only changes are a “launch BootMii/IOS” button, and it uses a new IOS. The latter breaks SHDC compatibility; we’re working on it.

Q: Why does my Wii reboot in the middle of the installer?

A: Looks like an incompatibility with very new Wiis — bug tracker

Q: How long should NAND backup take? What do I do if it hangs?

A: Less than 5 minutes, and it’s ok to power off it it hangs during backup — but that backup will be unusable.

Updates

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:20:12 -0500

Just a brief note, since I haven’t written in a while –

Yes, Marcan has shifted his attention to things non-Wii related. I can hardly blame him; the only reason any of us do what we do is because we find it fun, so when it stops being fun — what’s the point? He’s still around, if you know where to look, and I hope that once we release BootMii, we’ll see some neat projects emerge from it.

Yes, BootMii is still alive; I still can’t promise a release date, but most of the code has been written and we’re now to the point of testing it out and adding some polish. It’s been installed on about 12 Wiis so far and nobody’s been bricked; I hope that we can release a “public beta” within the next couple of weeks. (In this case, “public beta” will mean “we’ve tested this out quite a bit and are fairly confident that you won’t regret trying it, but not everything is finished and we can’t make too many promises). I would expect those of you who have older Wiis (i.e. those who have a vulnerable boot1) to have an easier time installing it, but we intend to eventually add support for as many of your Wiis as possible.

Anyway, here’s a sneak peek at what it will look like: