Wii Homebrew: A step by step guide!

Before you do any of this please read my previous post, located here. If you still want to go on after reading that, then please follow further instructions. If you’ve completed these simple steps you will have the twilight hack and the homebrew channel installed, and therefor you will be ready to enter the wonderous world of Wii Homebrew. This tutorial assumes that you do not have a modchip installed.

First off, what will you need:

  • A copy of the Wii game The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  • An SD card, SDHC is not supported, so only up to 2 GB. SD card must be FAT formatted
  • Common sense
  • A Wii

We’ll begin by installing the Twilight Hack, for more info on the Twilight Hack check my first post, located here.

  • Download this file
  • Extract it’s contents to your SD card, so that the Private folder is in the root of your SD card.
  • If you have an American copy of Zelda, take your game disc, and check the inner circle for the revision number, like illustrated here, and remember what version you have. This should be either RVL-RZDE-0A-0 or RVL-RZDE-0A-2. Non USA attendees can skip this step.
  • Now download this file
  • In this archive you will find a file called “Boot.elf” place this file in the root of your SD card
  • Now, insert your SD card into your Wii and turn on your Wii.
  • Go into your Wii options and choose “Data Management”, now go to “Save Data” and click “Wii”
  • If you already have a Zelda save file present on your Wii, then please remove it before continuing
  • Now open the SD card (upper right corner) and copy over the Zelda save file for your region. PAL corresponds to Europe and Australia, NTSC-U means USA, and NTSC-J means Japan

The Wii will now copy over the Twilight Hack of your region to the Wii’s internal memory. Once it’s done doing that, you should be ready to go.

  • Insert your Zelda game disc
  • Boot your Zelda game
  • Load the savefile called “Twilight Hack”
  • Once you’re in the game, walk up to the guy in front of you and talk to him. The rest should speak for itself ;)
  • The twilight hack will run boot.elf from your SD card, this is the file we placed on there before and it should begin the installation of the homebrew channel. You will have to accept the on screen agreement, and after that it will automatically finish the installation.
  • The Wii will reboot and your homebrew channel will be installed.

Now you’re all set and ready to go! If for whatever reason boot.elf will not load correctly, reformat your SD card and follow these steps once more. If everything went fine you can remove all those files from your SD card, as they are no longer needed.
Now that you have the Homebrew channel installed, I will also give instructions to installing applications for it. I will use the “Scogger” game as an example, please follow the steps once more.

  • Take your SD card and put it in your SD reader
  • Download this file
  • Create a new folder called “apps” on the root of your SD card
  • In the “apps” folder, create a folder called “scogger”
  • You’ll find 3 files in the rar archive, a .elf file, a .png file and a .xml file, copy all of these to the Scogger folder

That’s it, put your SD card back into your Wii console, boot the homebrew channel, and behold! Scogger has been added to the menu. In case you were wondering, the boot.elf is the actualy game itself, the icon.png holds the logo that the homebrew channel will use for it, and the meta.xml holds information about the application like a short description and the author.



Around The Net:


  • Elias

    Hey Nils thanks for your Homebrew posts, I didn’t really know anything about this subject on the wii and I was very afraid of touching or modifying (not even think about Homebrew) but with this last 3 posts of yours I feel a way more confident about adding the homebrew channel.

    I will follow this step by step guide as soon as I have a SD card (this will be sometime today) and I will tell you how my installation was.

    PS. If I have some grammar mistakes please excuse me for my english, it’s my second language and I’m kind of asleep =P

  • Nils

    Thats good to hear Elias, if you have any problems/questions just ask them here and I’ll be sure to answer them, and about the grammar, we’re on the same boat ;)

  • mightyneek

    Excellent post, and about the grammar don’t sweat it guys. English is my first language and I screw up all the time. If anyone else gets hung up on that then they have bigger issues then grammar… like not getting laid.

    cheers!

  • Braxton

    Just out of curiosity, if I install the homebrew channel, and then get a new firmware update that diables it, could it brick my Wii???

    If so, could deleting the channel before getting a new firmware update save my console???

  • coorongcat

    Nice post, you should use wiibrew.org as a reference site as I get a lot of my homebrew applications from there, and its a fantastic site and easy to use. (Don’t pay me out if its there and I missed it!)

  • http://www.wiinintendo.net Nils

    Braxton, for the risk of things I advise you to look at my previous post which is a litle lower on this page, you will never need to delete the homebrew channel, nintendo will never brick your console.

  • Michael

    Now it finds my .elf file but then coding comes up saying like err:numbers more numbers
    And more and more of these lines keep coming until it says it is hanging and i have to reset it.
    Any help?

    Found Boot.elf
    err=c1000002, reply=00000900 00000000 10010004 continues a bit more.
    err=c1000002, reply=00400900 00000000 0000019e etc.

    These are the the three lines that matter. The last one repeats itself until it says failed to read boot.elf (-1)!
    No code found to load, hanging

  • http://www.wiinintendo.net Nils

    Michael,

    This is a somewhat known problem that occurs with some SD cards. In many occasions reformating your SD card fix this, don’t wory, this will not hurt your console in any way.

  • http://www.wiinintendo.net Nils

    Micheal,

    Also try to format it to FAT16, not FAT32, this has a way higher compatability

  • jeff

    hi i need help i did what you said and i got no code found to load hanging failed to read boot.elf (-1)! if you could help ty

  • Pingback: Wii Homebrew: The Homebrew Channel at closer inspection | WiiNintendo

  • http://www.wiinintendo.net Nils

    Jeff, the same goes for you, please reformat your card, preferably to fat16 as this increases compatability.

  • jeff

    i downloaded the homebrew channel i need step by step instructions on the installation process for putting the homebrew applications on the homebrew channel like lennox games,etc.

  • http://www.wiinintendo.net Nils

    Jeff, if you have yet to install the homebrew channel read http://wiinintendo.net/2008/06/29/wii-homebrew-a-step-by-step-guide/. That article also explains how to install the game called scogger. Its very easy realy, make sure you have a folder called “APPS” in the root of your sd, in that folder you create a folder for every application you want. Most applications provide a .elf a .png and a .xml file, place them all in the folder for your app and you’re done.

  • dave

    You are the shit. In a good way. I’ve looked all over for a simple guide to doing this stuff, and uv created the perfect one. uv made me a very happy wii owner

  • jT

    bricked

  • Monty

    Hi yeah I get the err=c1000002 crap aswell but I try to reformat my card using http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/sd/download/sd_formatter.html but still does same error, its only a 16mb card but I’ve been able to copy saves and stuff, help?

  • randy

    When I down load the homebrew channel from the like it is called the_homebrew_channel-beta_8.tar and inside it I get no boot.elf file for the homebrew. Can someone help

  • svart

    Hi. i have formatted my sd card like 10 times and still get the same error. cant find any boot.dol files or elf files. no code to load. hanging. bought a 2gb wii sandisk

  • Voltaire

    svart, i have the same problem. I just started running the TP hack in order to install the HBC, but it doesnt read any of boot.elf files ive put in my sd card. Then it says exactly what you wrote. Any help?

  • Mike

    ^^ i am having the same prob. ive reformatted 3 times and still doesnt work. help us pleeeeeease!!!!!

    • Crazyguy

      I know write Dude i wish i had that homebrew channel you cant imagen what you can do you can download some channel you can play ps1 games and download free Wii games on harddrive
      Yeah i like it

  • Mike

    never mind i got it!!! you have to follow the instructions in the link that NILS provided

  • Lm03

    i have a problem:i followed all the instructions and when im on the installation screen it always says “failed to read bot.elf” i followed the instructions again and it was the same. what can i do?

  • Len

    Don’t use winrar to extract boot.elf, it was giving me errors aswell. Though it works fine if you use winzip or 7zip to extract the boot.elf

  • Lm03

    i followed the istruction of the link and is still no reading!!!
    help!!!

  • Lm03

    i finally installed….but im trying to read the apps and doesnt recognize it…im not too good at english so i know what means “root of sd card” but someone help

  • km

    I was running into the “failed to read boot.elf” problem (using 0.1beta1 hack) and finally figured out the issue – the Panasonic SDFormatter was formatting the card with FAT12, not FAT16! You can use this tool to figure out if your card was formatted to FAT12 or not:
    http://www.roadkil.net/program.php?ProgramID=24
    Point it at your SD drive, and just look for “FAT12″ or “FAT16″ in the right panel (just a few lines down).
    If it was incorrectly formatted as FAT12, you can fix it in Windows XP from the Command Prompt:

    format x: /FS:FAT /Q /A:512

    where x: is your SD drive letter. Make sure you don’t mistype that drive letter!

  • http://www.wiinintendo.net Nils

    Is there anything I can help with? About the boot.elf reading errors, all I can say is try formating your sd with another tool.

  • boob

    PEOPLE,
    if your card is less than 16mb, you can only format it as fat12, not fat16 as needed !
    So, the solution is to find a bigger one, at least 32mb and format it as fat16
    Hope this helps

  • Matt

    Hi, I’ve done everything step by step but i have an issue when trying to copy hack from sd card to wii system memory. It tells me that the data has not been copied?? any ideas,

    matt

  • spike

    Just a few Q’s please for us lot that aint too technically clued up…
    1)i haven’t got zelda, and im a tight git, so can I download it as an iso onto a dvd R+ and do it that way? ive got a bulk standard dell running XP ME & use nero, but i’ve read elsewhere that certain dvd copy drives are the only ones that work?
    2)does my wii have to be online for any of this process?
    3)and just to confirm, after all is installed and working ok, it can play copied (see Q1) games without a modchip?

    To be honest i dont know what twilight hack or homebrew is or half the stuff you lot go on about.. but if it does the above, well im all for it. keep up the good work. cheers

  • kavid

    hi,I need help, When I install the homebrew ,I meet a few erro.Then I use “panasonic.jp”‘s tools to format my sd-card,but erro yet.

    How I to do?

    Found Boot.elf
    err=c1000002, reply=00000900 00000000 10010004 continues a bit more.
    err=c1000002, reply=00400900 00000000 0000019e etc.

    These are the the three lines that matter. The last one repeats itself until it says failed to read boot.elf (-1)!
    No code found to load, hanging

  • light

    I got the same error as everyone else, the “unable to read code, hanging.” and as someone pointed out earlier, it was cause my 16 MB SD card was too small (formatted only as a FAT12). Bumped to my 512 MB SD card and it worked flawlessly the first time. Everyone’s suggestions were helpful, and I hope this helps to confirm the size of the SD card does sorta matter. :)

  • kavid

    My sd card is 2G，thank u

    我的sd卡是2G的

  • kavid

    And I do all upstaires’s idea.

  • migh-t-mouze

    Im gona follow ur guide but am not sure if it will mukup my online capabilities n can nintendo trace wht ive dun? p.s cnt find a safe site to d.load the games frm? ninjunkies-4eva

  • jtmann3

    When I try to install the Homebrew Channel on a newly formatted 2gb sb card with the boot.elf and a folder called apps in the root, it fails and looks something like this:

    Starting Installation…
    User alread has 1 tickets. Deleting them.
    Deleted ticket 0
    Installing ticket…
    Adding title…
    Adding cntent ID 0000000000 (cfd 0):
    ………………………… Done (0x9bdb0 bytes)
    ES_AddContentFinish failed: -1022

    Installation Failed!

  • kavid

    Using Anytitledeleter to delete hbc’s title

  • Richard

    Hi There,
    I have system menu v354 v22 and it tells me the homebrew update has only been tested on wii system menu 290 v18. Then it tells me to proceed at my own risk :)

    I won’t do this until i find out if anyone else has installed homebrew with my version of system menu ;) I knew i shouldn’t have upgraded ;)

    Many thanks.

    Richard.

  • NickFaker

    Problem: err=c1000002

    Solution (In XP): Right click the SD Drive and click “Format…”. Change “File System” to “FAT32″ and click OK. Copy your boot.elf/boot.dol and other files back over and it should run fine.

    Hope this helps.

  • solver

    Another solution for Problem: err=c1000002
    Use formating tools in Windows XP/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management
    Format SD card using FAT system, but instead of default cluster size, select 64K, and do not select quick format. Helped me with 16MB card.

  • Andrew Nicholls
  • MACZ2021

    This is really helpful. My friend is supposed to give me his copy of Twilight Princess tomorrow, so I’ll be able to do it then; I already have the file, so that’ll save me some time.us

  • Matt

    I’m using and 8mb card. I keep getting the Err=c10000002 c2000000000001

    and all that. I’m gonna try to borrow someone else’s card, but if I can’t, do I need a 16mb one?

    I can’t format the card, if I do, it can only be.
    6.47MB
    Fat (Default), NTFS or exFAT

    Wait. I’m going to try 64kb

    Let’s see. . .

  • Matt

    k, now what is happening it the error again. I tried the .elf and the .dol

    nothing happens.

    I had it so it said “no codes found” but I can’t get anywhere from there.
    -Matt

  • jase

    Hey guys, thanks to all of your comments I was able to get the HBC up and running :) Panasonic SD formatter seems to be the problem with my failure to load the boot.dol file.

  • mr809

    I keep getting this failed to read boot.elf and boot.dol not found. Any suggestions?

  • ttdakid

    I had same problem with boot files…. rember to create a new folder named apps where you place private and homebrew files also use the long format of sd card rather than quick

  • Skids

    Many thanks for all the help. Worked like a charm

  • Vicki

    I do not get this.I follow directions but is still i get the folder but not the stuff that is suppose to be in the folder so I can but it on the card..Can someone please help me with this…

  • Digitalism

    I’m getting the same “failed to read boot.elf (-1)!
    No code found to load, hanging” error code thing. I’ve formatted and everything countless times. I’m using a 32MB SD card. Help would be appreciated.

    • Chardin22

      has to be between a 1 and 2 gb sd, i tried and 8 didnt work, tried a 1 it workd

  • geebz

    I had the failed to read error and did the
    Command Prompt Format and it worked fine after that.
    thanks for the tip.

  • http://none Ray

    for those still having trouble with the update with ‘boot.dol not found’ heres how i fixed it.
    download file from ‘http://www.sdcard.org/consumers/formatter/eula/‘
    to saftley format sd card,
    then take out and re-insert sd card,
    then put the needed files on sd card.
    then go in my computer, and right click on sd card to saftley remove’
    that fixed my issues,
    hope it helps

  • Ant

    Thanks Ray!

    Your solution fixed my problem!

  • navid

    it takes a long tim and it keeps on saying err=c10000003, reply=80400900 000000000000019e90010000

  • Juzamdjinn

    I was hacking my 3rd Wii last night and encountered the failed to load .elf file no matter what I tried. I was using a different disk this time though. I believe the “Wii Sandisk 2gb” card isn’t good to use for the hack. I formatted 10 different ways and nothing would work, so I used my “normal” Sandisk 2gb SD card and of course it worked just fine. I did however put my emulators and usb loader back on the Wii Sandisk 2gb SD card and it would load those after I performed the Twilight hack.

  • john

    Pardon my ignorance…where is SD card located? Do i have to remove the sd card in my machine? Do i need 2 sd cards? One in my wii machine and the other for twilight hack?

  • Crazyguy

    it wont work istalling it to the sd card why