Hack My Wii

The WiiMux-WiiLi Situation

2007-02-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

WiiLi has been standing as the primary source of information regarding the link between the Nintendo Wii and the GNU/Linux operating system. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of results. I am a channel operator on #wiili on the Freenode IRC channel and have watched weeks of nothing more than GlovePIE confusion and questions about an actual release from anticipated supporters. Hernick (author of WMD, python Wiimote linux driver) and myself spoke with Tuxido (founder of WiiLi) about delegating access to the server to allow for a few necessary changes.

Trac -- For their ticketing system and a cleaner WiKI
Subversion -- (Will get into that in a moment)
Ability to perform general maintenance (Tuxido was often gone for weeks at a time and critical changes have need to be performed)

We spoke to him on the phone via 3way and although he seemed like a great guy, he was very reluctant to distribute any amounts of power to our users. Hernick and I decided to produce WiiMux, an actual product. WiiMux is a distribution of software, libraries, and drivers all bundled into a Linux LiveCD that will allow interoperability between the Wiimote and the PC. (These are the preliminary steps before being able to produce an actual distribution for the Wii). We gained many supporters including those who administrate the forums and IRC channel for WiiLi. We were NOT intending to break away from WiiLi, in fact the name was originally "WiiLi WiiMux". Although Tuxido had nothing to say initially, he still slacked on giving out access to anyone. One time, he read logs where I (Triforce) had made some comments on his handling of the WiiLi project and he banned me from WiiLi.org. Afterwards banning some of WiiLi's top contributers for their simple aggravation with him. It has become almost a dictatorship, where we must sit back and wonder where our donation money has gone, where our leader has gone, and where his sense of judgement has gone! He is trying to declare WiiMux a rival group when all we are doing is producing something that WiiLi is not caring about! We run WiiMux differently, for instance, we delegate power freely, those with merit WILL receive the access they desire. We have meetings, utilizing Jabber VoIP and Gobby collabrative text editing sessions. We get our community involved! It seems as if WiiLi is slowly going to diminish itself to nothing more than an information hub with a database of Windows GlovePIE scripts, but we will move on. I have extended my hand in peace to Tuxido many times! It seems that he has lost his sense of judgement. We all have one common and unifying goal in this community and that is Linux on the Wii! He is banning top contributers and people with potential and great ideas! If you want to come be a part of us, come forward and send any of us an e-mail, reply to this post, join the IRC channel (irc.freenode.net and #wiimux), or meet us on Jabber (triforce.wiimux@gmail.com). Lets do something people, lets produce an actual product!

What is WiiMux?
http://wiimux.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6

How can I join?
http://www.wiimux.org/forums
irc.freenode.net - #wiimux
triforce.wiimux@gmail.com
Reply to this post.

Thank you.
-Triforce-

NDS Video Conversion Script for Linux

2007-01-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

I have written a simple script utilizing FFMPEG and DPGCONV in order to convert video files (includes FLV flash files) to the DPG format for playback on the Nintendo DS (using a flash cartridge).

Downloads:
DPG Conversion Script ALPHA (Linux)

TriforceHacks.com Coming Soon...

2007-01-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Starting tonight the domain triforcehacks.com will forward to this blog. It will be the home of my new website dedicated to console modification, hacking, and reverse engineering as well as a continuation of this blog. Stay tuned for more information.

Commodore 64 Emulator for DS

2006-12-26T23:40:00.000-08:00

FrodoDS is an amazing emulator for the DS, plays my Maniac Mansion and Boulderdash flawlessly, it requires you fetch a few utilities together to compile and inject your roms. I simply bundled everything needed together and made a ZIP file with all you need.

Downloads:
FrodoDS Complete

[UPDATE #1 This is just the first of many emulators I am bundling together for the utlimate DS Emu pack based off my experience with them all using the M3 Lite Professional, which I assume will be the same for most flash carts unless there are specific builds. I also am considering bundling all together with a neat frontend to handle all your injections and what not, been a while since I fired up that Visual Basic 6 Pro but if anybody else wants to go ahead and help me out, contact me at wii@nathanix.com. Thank you!]

Gamecube/Wii Disc ISO Unscrambler

2006-12-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

Chilean engineering student Victor Muñoz has released a Wii ISO Unscrambler.

Using the below tool, we are able to decrypt and unscramble raw Wii ISO images, although there is no method at the moment to dump them. Nevertheless, a great step in the homebrew movement. Hopefully, the ISO structure will be deciphered in enough time to really take advantage of this amazing system. Enjoi!

Downloads:
GC/Wii Unscrambler

My Post-Christmas DS Search!

2006-12-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately a few weeks ago I had my DS Lite stolen from me (Yeah, high school students can be cruel and deserving of a slow and painful death). So, after receiving my Christmas money decided to purchase a new DS Lite. I search high and low around Central New Jersey in search for that pearl white box of heaven.

Stores I Searched:

Best Buy (2)
Target (1)
Gamestop (5)
Walmart (2)
EBGames (2)
Planet-X (1)
Sears (1)
FYE (2)
Sam Goody (1)

Okay, that was simply so you can see the dedication I committed to finding this darn thing! So after all of that, I decided to pull over and have a drink (non-alchoholic, still 17 .. damn), much to my surprise sitting on a shelf behind the counter of the customer service area in a Shoprite, a brand new pearl white DS Lite. I was shocked but quickly shuffled the $130 onto the counter and ended my four and a half hour search for this beautiful console. Que Loco!

Secret of Monkey Island: DS

2006-12-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well, the subject may be a little misleading as it isn't an actual release of the classic DOS adventure game. Although, you can play it on your DS with the correct hardware using ScummVM DS. The problem is that The Secret of Monkey Island clocks in around ~34mb while the limit on ScummVM DS is 30mb, so I (according to the tutorial) converted the audio files to the specified format and combined it all together into one need ~19mb package readily playable. My test ran perfect.

My Setup:
Nintendo DS Lite
M3 Lite Professional w/ 512mb SanDisk Micro SD
ScummVM v0.9.1 beta6: Get it here
Secret of Monkey Island: Here <--My patched up version.

Thats all, enjoy!

[Update #1: If I am violating any laws by distributing the above game, please notify me at wii@nathanix.com and I will make sure to remove the file as soon as possible.]

Internet Channel Released

2006-12-22T00:21:00.000-08:00

Wii Browser has been released...in fact, I am posting from my Wii right now!

Wiimote Firmware Dump

2006-12-20T16:09:00.000-08:00

SparkFun has dumped the EEPROM of the Wiimote.

Downloads:
Wiimote Firmware

(Will write more later..)

General Updates: Wii Sensor Bar Hack / Wiimote Drivers

2006-12-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, since people have been building Wii sensor bars using candles and remote controls, it is obvious that the Wii sensor bar is nothing more than a Infrared LED array.

I used two small 213 hole PC Boards and soldered a AA battery holder to the end of it. Connected the positive wire to a 47K Ohm 1/4Watt Carbon Film Resistor and then ran a parallel circuit to two High-Output Infrared LEDs. I made two of these and just as I thought, served as a sufficient wireless substitute for the Wii sensor bar. So using some solder, 2 resistors, 2 AA batteries, some 22gauge hookup wire, and four high-output IR Leds, you can fire up your HD Projector your getting for Christmas and not have to worry about those pesky wires. Very cheap solution, under $20 for all the parts which are readily available at Radioshack. I will post up a parts list with links later on when I am not so damn lazy.

Until then, check out the newest Wiimote drivers :) Half-Life 2 with Wiimote = Goodness!
Linux Driver (Python Script)
Windows Driver (GlovePIE)
Mac OS X Driver (DarwiinRemote)

Also, I know many of you may not be willing to do this, but if anybody can send me their raw virtual console games (not save files). Please contact me at hackmywii@nathanix.com.

I am still trying to figure out the encryption. If you are not willing to send the file, if you can send me the Hex dumps, I would appreciate that as well.

Video on the Wii - General Update

2006-12-13T19:36:00.000-08:00

It is possible to watch your video files now via the Photo Channel on the Wii. Using a program called "Wii Video 9" which will convert almost any format to MJPEG. Which is viewable via the Photo Channel. You must have an SD Card to do this. Simply connect your SD card to the computer and place the converted video in the root of it, put the SD card in your Wii, go to Photo Channel and there it is.

Downloads:
Wii Video 9

Upcoming Projects

2006-11-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

I plan on building and releasing a tutorial for building a Wii sensor bar with more IR Leds than the original, battery powered or 5V USB powered, and with a wireless on/off switch. I am simply looking around and trying to formulate a good plan to make it work properly.

In the mean time, check out this site:

Wii Save
A database of Wii save files. (I personally only tested the Red Steel, and it works perfect!)

Thats all right now, I will probably post up some more stuff as the night goes on but no promises.

HOW-TO: Wii Shop Browser Hack With Keyboard Support

2006-11-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

As we all know, it was a great disappointment on November 19th when we unpacked our brand-new Nintendo Wii's and found that the Internet Channel was not yet available for our use. As we wait for the actual Opera 9 based browser to be available, the Wii hacking community has already formulated several hacks using the the Wii Shop Channel to preview a very bare and minimal version of the much anticipated Wii Browser.

Requirements
Hardware
Wireless Router(802.11 a/b/g) or Nintendo WiFi USB Dongle
PC running Windows 2000/XP
Nintendo Wii Console (Duh!)

Software
Simple DNS Plus (Get it here)
Apache HTTP Server 2.2.3 (Get it here)
PHP 5.2.0 (Get it here)
Wii Browser Files (Get it here)

Tutorial
1. Install Apache HTTP Server 2.2.3. When you come to the screen where it lists 3 text boxes asking for two domains and an email address. Input 127.0.0.1 into the first two text boxes and admin@127.0.0.1 for the email.

2. Install PHP. When it asks for the server type that it will be used on, select "Apache 2.2.x". When it asks for the location of the Apache 2.2.x conf directory, browse to "C:/Program Files/Apache Software Foundation/Apache 2.2/conf" and select OK. After installation, if a pop-up comes up asking if you would like the installer to configure your configuration files, select Yes.

3. After you have installed Apache and PHP there should be a system tray icon. Right click this icon and select "Open Apache Monitor". Then click the "Restart" tab on the right of it and make sure that no errors pop up.

4. Now its time to install Simple DNS Plus. This is a simple installation (no pun intended). After Simple DNS Plus has installed, open it from the system tray and go to Tools --> Edit DNS Records. In the new window, go to Tools --> Quick Domain Wizard. In the Domain Name box enter "oss.shop.wii.com" and in the "Web server IP" box enter your PC's IP address. (To find your IP address, you can go to Start --> Run and from there type cmd, a command prompt box will pop up, enter in ipconfig. Your IP address will be listed, most likely in a 192.168.x.x form). Delete anything in any other fields and press OK.

*Optional* On the Simply DNS Plus main screen you may want to go to Tools --> Options and click on the DNS tab so it unfolds and select "Requests" and then mark the circle next to "All Local IP addresses" and then on the "Recursion" tab mark the circle next to "Perform DNS Recursion" and "For Everyone". Then click OK.

5. Now open WiiBrowse.zip (Wii Browser Files) and unzip them to C:/Program Files/Apache Software Foundation/Apache 2.2/htdocs.

6. Now once again go to the system tray and open the Apache Monitor and select Restart.

7. Boot up your Nintendo Wii and go to Wii Options --> Wii Settings --> Go To The Second Page of Options and Click On "Internet". Now go to Connection Settings and select your main Internet Connection. Click on "Change Settings". Flip through the pages until you get to "Auto-Obtain DNS" and select "No" then click on Advanced Settings. Enter in your PC's IP address into the "Primary DNS" box. (The same IP you entered in Simply DNS Plus, the 192.168.x.x). Now save, it will perform a test connection.

8. If the connection is successful, go back to the main Wii menu and Select the Wii Shop channel. You should see a white page that says "Wii Shop Channel" and then you have successfully bypassed the actual Shop page and made a connection to the internet.

*Optional* Ghostless has made a gateway to Google you can use that features a back/forward button. Simply do the following.

Browse to C:/Program Files/Apache Software Foundation/Apache 2.2/htdocs and open up CheckRegistered.html in a text editor or HTML editor and find the line that says:
top.location = '/proxy/index.php?q=google.com&hl=0011100001';
and simply replace it with
top.location = '/proxy/index.php?q=http://1337.lastunicorn.info/wii/&hl=0011100001';
now save and restart your Apache server.

THANK YOU TO MASTERSPY7 FROM THE FEELTHISSITE.COM WII FORUMS. THANK YOU TO GHOSTLESS FOR THE PORTAL PAGE. THANK YOU FOR ANYBODY DESERVING OF CREDIT FOR THIS DISCOVERY. CONTACT ME FOR CREDIT AT WII@NATHANIX.COM.