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Wiikey FAQ and Guide
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rafadawn
Senior Member
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15. December 2007 @ 08:56 |
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The WiiKey Guide
(Courtesy of Jennings whose internet site is gone)
Feel free to post comments on this so that we can revise or add any useful info.
I - What is a WiiKey?
The Wiikey is a modchip for Nintendo Wii Console. The WiiKey is applied directly to the back of the DVD drive on the Wii, and changes the string of code a Game disk sends to make the Wii think that all disks are real Wii games or Gamecube games.
It Boast these Features:
Direct boot of wii backups
Direct boot of GC backups
Direct boot of homebrew in GC mode
Supports all currently available console/drive versions
Supports D2B chipsets
Sophisticated (true) update mechanism via DVD (future proof, expect cool features to come)
Direct boot of different NTSC region Wii games/backups on US and JAP consoles
Partial support for NTSC region Wii games/backups on PAL consoles
Boots different region GC games/backups (partially without swapping)
Supports multi-disc games for BOTH Wii and Gamecube
Supports DVD-R / true DVD+R and +RW support (no bitsetting required!)
Improved readsettings for recordable media
Built-in audio fix
Supports fullsize 4GB discs for gamecube homebrew
Stealth mode
512 byte EEPROM to store configuration
Quicksolder interface - no wires required
Unique disc backup application via sdcard
Compact design, best quality components, rock solid high speed controller
Professional ESD packing
Recovery mode - Can recover from a bad flash
http://www.wiikey.cn
II - WiiKey History
The WiiKey was released to the public at around mid May 2007, after being heavily tried and tested by the Beta Testers of the RC1. Since its release, there have been no major upgrades, just many minor ones to cover the changes in the Wii games encryption. All older games still however run fine on older firmware versions. The most recent firmware release was 1.9g for the NTSC release of super Mario Galaxy. Although it was released later than other modchip patches, it was still released on the 1st of November 2007.
III - Alternatives to the WiiKey
The Wiikey is not the only modchpi in existence, and at the end of the day, they all do the same things plus or minus some different features. Other popular modchips include D2C Key, Cyclowiz and WiiD . There is a very good comparison chart on Mod ya' Wii that shows all the features of all the modchips, as well as some that are up and coming but have not been released yet.
IV - I - How to Install the WiiKey - What you will need
To install a WiiKey with the quick solder method (the most common) you will need before you start:
Triwing screwdriver
Official WiiKey .
Phillips ( size 0.0 ) Screwdriver
Soldering Iron (anything between 25W and 40W should be fine)
Solder (Small in size and pre Fluxed)
Several small pots (about 5 for putting different screws into)
A clear work surface to work on
About an hour of time
IV - II - How to Install the WiiKey - Wii Serial Number
Your Wii must also be the correct version. Older Wiis will be fine, but the newer ones have a different circuit layout to prevent modding. Check this page to see which chip your Wii has.
IV - III - How to Install the WiiKey - Taking the Wii apart
There are many guides and videos on how to disassemble all Wiis to get to the modding area. My personal favorite guide can be found here. and a close up of the install area is here there is also a good youtube video on how to take it apart as well, Please note than you do not have to do anything in this video beyond 5:55, as all you need to remove is the DVD drive, not take apart the motherboard. Make sure you put all the pieces where you will remember where they are and where they go. There is also a good guide here on Wii-FTW
IV - IV - How to Install the WiiKey - Installing the Chip
Once you have taken the wii apart, and opened up and the DVD drive removed from the main Wii by unplugging the power cable that connects them and the data ribbon between them carefully, you are ready to install the WiiKey. I would advise that a small blob of solder is applied to each to the patches that will be soldered first ( http://www.modchipfitters.com/modchip_manuals/wii/wiikey/installWiiKey.pdf ) then the wiikey placed on top and then all the contacts reheated and joined. If you have never soldered before, you may want to practice first, once you get the hang of it, its not that hard.
How to Solder guide from http://soldering.tehskeen.com/
IV - V - How to Install the WiiKey - Putting it back together
I found it useful to test my WiiKey install before putting the case back on, as it is an easy way to tell if your install has been successful. do this with a backup disk, or WiiKey update Disk. with the power and video and sensor bar cables back in, Don't forget to re-attach both the power and data cable between the DVD drive and the Wii properly. Once you are happy with your solder job and it works, follow all the steps to take the wii apart, but backwards.
V - Game regions
Every Wii game has its own region, this is so that games stay where they have been released before the release day in another country , and it also stops people importing games (USA Wii Game $40 = £20, UK Wii Game £40) it is also because of small technical problems, such as the mains electricity which is at 50Hz in the UK but at 60Hz in the USA. There are 3 main regions, PAL, US,& JAP. Playing games from different regions is fine, just as long as it does not try to update your wii before playing it for the first time. The reason peoples wiis get bricked is because they put in a new game from a different region, and it updates there wii firmware version with the newest one of a different region. This is easily avoidable by using RegionFrii which is bundled with WiiUI Which is a set of Wii game tools (look for ISO region Patcher) To prevent a different region game patching your console, use WiiBrickBlocker on the ISO
Before you continue reading this section about REGIONS, look at these two resources:
Region Patcher Compatibility List
GCOS Gamecube Compatibility List
VI - I - I - Official Games - Your Own Region - Wii
After the wiikey install, just boot a game like you do normally, and it should load in the disk channel in the wii menu like normal.
VI - I - II - Official Games - Your Own Region - Gamecube
After the wiikey install, just boot a small gamecube game like you do normally, and it should load in the disk channel in the wii menu like normal.
VI - II - I - Official Games - Other Region - Wii
Depending on what your region is, some games will work with the WiiKey, some games won't work, at the moment there is no long list of what works, and what doesn't., some PAL games work on NTSC, and vice versa. hence the "Partial support" in the WiiKey Features
VI - II - II - Official Games - Other Region - Gamecube
Same as with official wii games from another region, there is partial support without swapping. If you are completely stuck, boot a GCOS disk (created using WiiUI), and then swap after it prompts you to do so.
VII - I - I - Backup Games - Your Own Region - Wii
This is the easiest type of backup game to burn, just burn the backup ISO to a normal DVD using any ISO/DVD burner, probably best to burn at a lower speed (2.4x - 6x)
VII - I - II - Backup Games - Your Own Region - Gamecube
Create GCOS multi-game discs using WiiUI. It will let you put up to 15 backup gamecube images (ISO format) onto one bootable disk, the image this program creates should just be burnt like any other ISO file onto a DVD preferably at a low speed. You must burn the file to a DVD not a CD, as the Wii doesn't check the physical size, and it can't read CD's, only DVD's.
VII - II - I - Backup Games - Other Region - Wii
Before burning the ISO to a DVD, make sure you run RegionFrii (include with WiiUI) and change the region of the game to your region. It may be a good idea to run WiiBrickBlocker if the game is quite new, to remove the code from the game that checks for updates.
VII - II - II - Backup Games - Other Region - Gamecube
Run your game WiiUI, and burn to a DVD. Although there is partial support for Gamecube games, most should work with a GCOS boot. You must burn the file to a DVD not a CD, as the Wii doesn't check the physical size, and it can't read CD's, only DVD's.
VII - III - I - Virtual Console - Nes/Snes
Virtual Console games have not been hacked yet. However you can make your own emulators usingthe "Emulator Disk Creator" option in WiiUi and choose your console accordingly. Then burn the ISO normally. Boot the disk and choose your game from the list
VII - III - II - Virtual Console - N64
From what I have looked into online, there are a few very technical and difficult ways to run N64 Backup ROMs.
VII - III - III - Virtual Console - Sega Mega Drive
Run your game ROM through the "Emulator Disk Creator" option in WiiUi (bundled with WiiUI) and choose your console accordingly. Then burn the ISO normally. Boot the disk and choose your game from the list
VII - III - IV - Virtual Console -TurboGrafx 16
From what I have looked into online, there are a few very technical and difficult ways to run N64 Backup ROMs, anyone have any information do email me (form at the bottom)
VII - III - V - Virtual Console - NeoGeo
Run your game ROM through the "Emulator Disk Creator" option in WiiUi (bundled with WiiUI) and choose your console accordingly. Then burn the ISO normally. Boot the disk and choose your game from the list
VIII - Wii Bricking
There are not that many ways to brick your Wii, and the only way people do it is by not paying attention to obvious things. Ways to brick a Wii:
Physical Damage
Drop out of window
Throw at people
Bad Soldering
Points on PCB bridged
Short Circuiting
Firmware updating
Running a new game from another region
Malicious Code
Security Exploit in Opera Browser
Security Exploit in Downloaded game
The main cause of bricking is the firmware updating, to prevent this, always run RegionFrii (bundled with WiiUI) & BrickBlocker . You cannot brick your wii by running any game on the same region backup or original. Also the chance of running Malicious code is so slim, it is barely worth mentioning.
VIII - I - Wii Bricking - Unbricking
If you do brick your wii from a firmware upgrade mismatch, what you may be able to do is wait untill a newer game from your region comes out with your region firmware patch, and play it as normal, this is a known solution but is not confirmed as a 100% working solution
IX - Updating the WiiKey
WiiKey updates are released periodically to upgrade the WiiKey chip to allow audio fixes in some game, or graphical problems fixed, All they do is change data in the EEPROM (memory basically). To update, simply download the latest version off the WiiKey website, and then run filechop on the ISO in the RAR with your region on it (see below) then Burn your resulting ISO to a DVD (better at a lower speed than max), stick the DVD into the Wii and run the update. It will boot is thinking it is a gamecube game. Firstly it will do a test, to see if it can update the WiiKey, second attempt it will actually update, do not turn off the Wii at this point, as it may corrupt the WiiKey (Run recovery disk on wiikey website). You should hear a Homer Simpson quote if you do the update correctly.
IX - I - Updating the WiiKey - Filechop
For a wii to read a disk, it must be about 1.3gb in size (approx a GC disk) because otherwise the life span of the laser on the DVD drive of your wii will be lowered. however downlaoding 1.5gb off a server can be very tiem consuming and expensive. So the way about it is to use filechop, it increases the file size from abotu 30mb to 1.5Gb by filling the rest with garbage data that cannot be read, however the Wii will read it as it will have about 1.3gb of data on it. Here is how to use filechop
Download the Firmware version 1.3 from wiikey.cn
(its not included with 1.9g or 1.9b RAR file)
You do 100% need it to update
Extract filechop from the RAR
Put the file in e.g. C:/Wii/
Run filechop from CMD, dont just open it like any other file, it wont work
open CMD and change directory to that (type in "cd C:/Wii/" )
type in "filechop [your iso filename] 1459978240" and press enter
the [your iso filename] will be along the lines of bootdisc.pal.ISO (for Pal, will be differetn for NTSC)
Press enter and let it update, the ISO, burn the new 1.3Gb to a DVD and boot
If you get an error message in CMD, check the spelling of bootdisc, and you put the correct file name in, and put the right number in.
X - Official Resources:
1.9g beta fix
Config 1.3
1.9b Recover
XI INFORMATION ABOUT Super Mario Galaxy
Courtesy of brido84 from this thread.
Super Mario Galaxy (SMG) contains a new type of copy protection. To play the game with the exception of D2CKey you will need to update your Mod chip firmware to the latest version downloadable from their respective web sites (WiiKey 1.9g, Cyclowiz 3.6, Ect).
SMG is not region compatible, this means you will only be able to play SMG from the same region as your Wii, even with the most up to date firmware or an authentic copy of the game it will only work if its the same region as your Wii.
SMG requires an update from the disk to be installed, this makes it incompatible with Wii Brickblocker.
SMG is very picky about the media it works with, If your have DRE's try using ImgBurn at x2 or x4 and quality media (I've used Verbatim DVD-R x16 burnt with ImgBurn x4 and it's working).
Wiikey update Method (No need to go to 1.9b first)
Originally posted by penbralat:
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If you're having update "issues" read below
Step 1: Run the update that SMG requires prior to installing the
1.9g fix.
Step 2: Run the 1.9g fix (burn this image w/ ImgBurn which is free).
Step 3: You will be prompt to run the update by either using a GC
controller (press A button) or by pressing reset (I was
using a GC controller for my update.
Step 4: You will see a % bar at the bottom. Once this update
completes you MUST run the second update!!! You will see a
WARNING to not turn off your console during the second
update. Once this is done you will receive a message to
insert SMG and to restart the system.
Step 5: ENJOY the game!!
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You will need to run SMG and it will prompt you to run another system update, do it. After that your Wii will reset and you'll be able to play!
Originally posted by penbralat:
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Most people I see having issues w/ updates and/or fixes only run the first update thinking that the second one's the same thing; it's not.
* I did this on a US console w/ the NTSC (US) image.
** The 1.9g update is in .rar format. Extract the .rar file to a
specified directory. You will have 4 files: JAP, US, & PAL (I
believe). Burn the .ISO for your console's region and burn using
ImgBurn. That's it! I hope this helps.
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Your WiiKey will need to be set to region free mode, this can be done with a config disk found at the WiiKey website prior to the Wii 3.x firmware, after this you will most likly need to download and burn http://rapidshare.com/files/48731676/config1.3.zip.html
Boot up with that disc. It'll ask for a Wiikey config disc, stick in the 1.3 disc, Turn on region free, save, reboot.
Should now be able to boot up 1.3 config disc straight.
WiiKey common Problems
Q: On the initial test once it reaches 100% it says error test failed! check your connections and try again.
1)Poor connection between WiiKey and board, Test connections (multimeter), re solder possibly using long wire method.
2)You may have a clone WiiKey or Something else, Worth having a look inside your Wii if you havn't already.
XII - Legal Notes
I have nothing to do with Nintendo in any way
I have nothing to do with WiiKey in any way
Anything you do is your own responsibility
WiiUI and BrickBlocker are both Freeware Applications
You must own the backup of the game you are burning to a disk
Do not download and use games you do not own
XIII - Other
Does it matter if I run a gamecube game off a DVD?
No, the Wii only reads DVD's, the old gamecube games are written on mini DVD's
Can Nintendo catch me?
WIth the stealth function of the WiiKey, it can write but not read, therefore it is just as if it were not there as it cannot be detected, however, in the future there may be a way. for now it is safe though
Can I play safely online?
Yes, all disks have the same image on (making each disk unique would be far to expensive, look up how they make DVD's) it may seem a little funny if you play the game online in the region it hasn't yet been released for...
Is my WiiKey Genuine?
All new WiiKeys come with a Hologram. here is a good guide to tell the difference as well at ConsoleSource.com .
What is the easiest way to make a backup DVD keep case?
CD Label - www.cdcovers.cc
Box art - www.cdcovers.cc
White Keep Cases - www.ebay.co.uk www.ebay.com
Do I need a gamecube controller to run an update?
No, however having one helps, you use the control stick and the A button. If you do not have a GC controller, press the reset button once and quickly to move about (like pressing down button) and press and hold it for atelast 1 second to select that menu item
How to i open a RAR file?
Use Winrar, its free, its just like zipping a file
Where's the party?!?
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