I just ordered a new Wii, NTSC, along with a Wasabi Zero Solderless modchip that I'm going to install myself when everything arrives monday. Obviously I'm concerned about the saftey of my Wii, I've been reading through various threads on this forum and the posters here seem pretty helpful. I read through the sticky as well but still have a couple questions and concerns.
1) I understand one of the dangers is playing games from a different region than you Wii, and it wanting to install the wrong firmware which will brick the Wii. Is the firmware update actually on those discs, or does it simply want to connect to the internet to download them?
2) If it wants to connect to the Internet, and my Wii is not connected to the internet, are out of region games that wish to update my firmware still a bricking danger?
3) It seems the majority of the games available for download via torrents are PAL, I've read there are a few programs to patch the .iso's to help prevent out of region games from bricking. Exactly what programs will I need to take a downloaded .iso and make it where it is ready to play on my modded Wii?
4) Is it safe to do firmware updates via the Wii's options to ensure I am getting the correct region's firmware even with a modchip installed?
5) The website I bought this modchip from claims that installing it does not void my Wii's warranty. I found that hard to believe but is it true? I thought opening the Wii alone voided the warranty. In the event my Wii bricks, does Nintendo know if I've opened the Wii? Since the modchip is removable and solderless they won't know I modded it will they?
If there is any other beginner information not listed in the sticky or in the questions I asked that you'd feel would be helpful, please mention it. Thank you for taking the time to answer any of my questions.
3) Simply not true. If you cant find NTSC versions of the games then you arnet looking in the right place
4) Totally safe. In fact, ALL of the wii's online functions are perfectly safe with modchips and backup games.
5) While opening a console and installing a modchip should void the warranty, nintendo will still service and repair modded consoles. They do take the modchip out when they do repairs but send it back along with the repaired console in its own, separate bag.
With all that cleared up let me say that I hope you checked the wii and made sure it was not one of the new D2Nothing drives. These new drives lack the drivechip that the wiiclip attaches over so any wiiclipped modchip is useless on them.
Yes I realized it was kind of dumb now to have bought the modchip when my Wii isn't even here yet. I'm not sure I'll be able to use it. In the event the Wii has the epoxy and I can't mod it myself, rather than go through the hassle of buying a premodded drive or having a professional do it, how does soft modding work? A lot of people on this forum seem to think it's the way to go.
Does soft modding allow you to play all back up games, including games from different regions?
What are the drawbacks to softmodding if there are any?
And by softmodding, do they mean that twilight hack thing which requires a legit version of Twilight Princess?
I may just return the modchip if it turns out soft modding is better.
Softmodding allows you to play ALMOST all games from all regions. There are a few that still wont work but its a very short list.
Drawbacks to softmodding are choppy cutscenes, slower loading, and the knowledge that the next update from nintendo may block your backup loader.
Yes, softmodding an unmodded wii requires a legit copy of zelda twilight princess. If you have a modchip installed you can use a backup copy of the game.
Modchips are always better than the softmodding method, I would only softmod if I had a console that couldnt be modded otherwise or the owner of the console was really paranoid about opening it up (as I've seen occasionally in the past)
I guess I'll open the Wii, if there is epoxy I'll have to go with soft modding, if there isn't I'll install the modchip I ordered. I have a couple questions about soft modding.
Do the dangers of bricking the Wii still exist with games from other regions like with the modchip?
If so, do I prevent this from happening the same way I would with the .iso patching software?
Also about the games that already have firmware updates on them, do they automatically update or do you at least have an option whether or not you wish to update the firmware included on the game disk?
Both the backup loader and some modchips can block updates from a disk. With the backup loader this is automatic but generally the option needs to be turned on with a modchip. I dont know if the wasabi supports this feature or not.
And games thus far always ask before installing a firmware update. They also give a warning that it could brick the console if you have an 'unlicensed hardware modification' but that's just there to scare you.
