Q&A for How to Install Homebrew on Wii Menu 4.3

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Question

I installed all as above, but my Wii has now frozen with just a blue screen. What can I do?

Community Answer

You either did it wrong or downloaded the wrong files. Format your entire SD card and try again. If your Wii stays frozen and will not boot, it means your Wii has suffered an unrecoverable brick, which is very rare, but not impossible. If that happens, you need to replace your Wii.

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Question

Will this still work in 2016?

Community Answer

Yes. Nintendo no longer updates its Wii console, making 4.3 the most up-to-date.

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Question

If I use the homebrew channel, are there any games that I can download for free?

Community Answer

There are emulators and the like for playing old retro games, and a program known as Nintendon't that can run GameCube ISO Files.

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Question

How long does Homebrew usually take to install, and is there supposed to be a black screen while it is installing?

Community Answer

If the black screen shows white text, then yes, that's what you should see. The installation shouldn't take too long if everything was installed properly.

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Question

I'm stuck at the scam screen, any advice?

Community Answer

You have to wait it out. It usually takes one to two minutes.

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Question

How can I downgrade my Nintendo Wii version 4.3k?

Community Answer

You don't need to. Your Wii is 4.3, which is the version for this. On the letterbomb website, you need to click the 4.3K option.

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Question

When I click on the letter with the bomb inside, my Wii freezes. What can I do?

OC_VORTEKS

Community Answer

Unplug it and plug it back in. I encountered this problem when I didn't extract the .zip folder.

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Question

Can you use a USB Drive for this?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

You can't use a USB drive for softmodding, but you can use an SD card reader which is a USB drive.

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Question

The bomb does show up, and I've redone the steps over and over again. What can I do?

Community Answer

Remove everything in the SD card, and make sure you follow the steps correctly.

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Question

My Homebrew says "boot.elf not found," then it says "loading boot.dol." What do I do?

Community Answer

Try redownloading the Homebrew content zip folder from the website again. Make sure you entered the correct Mac address for your Wii. Once you insert the SD card again, just install Homebrew again or uninstall and then reinstall.

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Question

What should I do if I can't find a "bomb" message, and I followed the steps correctly?

Community Answer

Check the day before and day after and if you still can't find it, try installing it again.

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Question

Can I do this with a USB?

Community Answer

No, you can't.

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Question

Can this brick my Wii? Also, can I use the Wii remote with Wii Motion Plus?

Community Answer

Yes, it can brick your Wii. There is a HomeBrew app you can install that backs up the NAND so it is much harder to brick your Wii. And yes, you can use it with your Wii Motion Plus.

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Question

What do I do if I fail installing homebrew on my Wii?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

Don't worry! You can simply erase Homebrew channel on Settings > Data Management > Channels. Press A while the cursor shows up on a small Homebrew block and click Erase. Then start over again.

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Question

On my SD card, I don't see a file ending in ".DIR." What should I do?

Community Answer

If you can't find any files with the extension ".DIR," simply put the files on the root of your SD card.

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Question

What should I do if it is stuck on the screen, even after pressing 1?

Community Answer

Hold down the power button and try again. If the problem continues, try all the installation steps again.

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Question

Is this safe to do? Can I play Contra with Homebrew?

Community Answer

Some of the third party downloads on the internet can damage or brick the system. Use only Homebrew channel packages.

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Question

Will this work on USB instead of SD Card?

Community Answer

You can plug your SD card into a USB converter and plug it into your computer to access the data. But with regard to the Wii, SD is the only way to send downloaded data to it.

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Question

I am currently on version 3.3. Is there any advantage to keeping this version, or is it better to upgrade to 4.3 and then install the Homebrew channel?

Community Answer

Homebrew requires the latest update of the Wii, which is 4.3. You will need to upgrade.

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Question

What should I do if the option to install homebrew doesn't come up?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

That is very unlikely, but if it doesn't come up, exit the LetterBomb by pressing Exit. On the computer, format the SD card (to FAT32) and make sure all of your personal files are secure on an external hard drive. Then, copy the files again.

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Question

What's wrong if I don't see a red letter on my Messages menu?

Community Answer

Check your Wii's date and time. If they're wrong, enter the correct date and time. You should then see the red letter in today's/yesterday's/tomorrow's mail.

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Question

Is it possible to do this on SDHC?

Adrian

Top Answerer

Yes, the LetterBomb exploit will work on both SD and SDHC.

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Question

What am I doing wrong if I can't find the LOST.DIR on my SD card.

Community Answer

If you format/wipe the SD card before you copy over, it works just fine. You can skip that step.

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Question

If I am using a LAN adapter, should I type in my LAN adapter's MAC address or my console's MAC address into HackMii?

Zach

Community Answer

You should enter the MAC address of your console that you get from the Wii settings page into HackMii.

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Question

Can I eject the SD card after Homebrew is installed?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

You can, but note that if you have any installed programs on the SD card, they will be disabled.

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Question

Can I reinstall Homebrew Channel if I had it previously and formatted my system?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

If you formatted your Wii, yes. Be sure to turn off your Wi-Fi connection before doing so.

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Question

What File System do I need the card to be in?

Community Answer

FAT 32. From the PC select FAT 32. Most SD cards are already in this format, delete the SD card and start over. If you have saved Wii data on your SD card don't delete it. Open the SD card and find the folder name “private" and rename it privateold and then copy the two hack files from the red letter download private and boot.elf. After the Homebrew Channel installation remove the red letter files and change “privateold" back to private. Make a new folder with the name “apps" on the SD card. The apps folder is for Homebrew Browser.

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Question

Where can I get an SD card?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

You can buy one at Amazon or in any shops that sell technology.

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Question

If I update my Wii, will I lose access to the Homebrew channel?

Milos Tosic

Community Answer

If your Wii has a version older than 4.3 (find it in Settings), first update it to 4.3 and then close the Internet connection. Never update it to 4.4 or higher or else you'll lose access.

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Question

Where can I find a non-HC SD card with enough space to do this?

Community Answer

Check your local electronics store, such as Best Buy or Office Depot. If you can't find one there, check Amazon, eBay, or online computer retailer such as TigerDirect.

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