Wiihacks Linux Guide - softmodding using Linux and ext2/ext3/ext4 USB loading
Introduction
This guide is meant for Linux users who are about to softmod their Wii, or have already done so. This guide will contain handy tips & tricks, tools and a guide to ext2/ext3/ext4 USB loading. It will have a focus on Ubuntu Linux users, but all that is handled here should also work for other Linux distributions.
Softmodding using Linux
To softmod your Wii using Linux, you can just use one of the guides here on Wiihacks. However, it can be that your distribution does not support .rar and .7z files out of the box. If this is indeed the case, then you will need to install unrar and p7zip.
If you use Ubuntu, you can enter the commands below in a terminal to install. Make sure you have the Multiverse repository enabled. If you need to know how to open a terminal, or how to enable the multiverse repository, the see the spoilers below.
Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install unrar
sudo apt-get install p7zip-full
Enabling the Multiverse repository
Make sure you do not install unrar-free! I have tried using unrar-free in the past, but it does not work with the guides here. Another handy tool you can use while softmodding is the CLI tool md5sum, which is included by default in most Linux distributions.
Useful tools for Linux
Ext2/ext3/ext4 USB loading
Requirements:
- A softmodded Wii
- Waninkoko's cIOS rev18+ or Hermes cIOS v5+
- Brains (once again, no zombies allowed)
- A compatible drive
Ext2, ext3 or ext4?
It could very well be that you are wondering which version of ext you should use. Performance wise, ext4 would probably be the best choice. However, some people prefer ext3 because it is believed to be more reliable. Personally, I think both are reliable. The choice is yours though.
USB loading using ext2/3/4
Warning: In this guide, we will be repartitioning and formatting the drive. This will erase all data from the drive. Please make a back-up of files you do not wish to lose before you proceed.
Preparing the drive
Before we can begin, we will need to prepare the drive. Do no insert the drive! I will be using Gparted to do this, although you are free to use other methods. If you want to install Gparted, you can do so by opening a terminal and entering "sudo apt-get install gparted". To open Gparted, click System -> Administration -> Gparted. You may be asked to enter your password. Next, we will need to select the drive in the upper right. To see which one you need, take a look at the drive listed. After that, insert the drive,click on Gparted -> Refresh drives and look at the list again. The one which was not listed before is the drive you need to select.
After you have selected the right drive, we need to check that the partitons are not mounted. Simply select all the partitions, click with your right mouse button and click on "Unmount". After this, select all partitions and press delete (on your keyboard). Those do not wish to use an extra FAT partition should continue reading in the "Preparing the drive (no extra partition)" spoiler. Those who do wish to use an extra FAT partition, should read on in the "Preparing the drive (extra partition)" spoiler.
Preparing the drive (no extra partition)
Click on the Unallocated space with your right mouse button, and click on "New". Select ext2, ext3 or ext4 (whichever you desire) in the file system box. After this, press "Add". After this, you need to click the green check. It will ask you if you are sure that you want to apply the operations. Click "Apply".
Preparing the drive (extra partition)
Click on the Unallocated space with your right mouse button, and click on "New". Select "fat32" in the file system box. Make sure you do not make the partition too big! You need to leave room for the ext2/3/4 partition which will contain all the games. On the other hand, the FAT partition will also contain the cover art and such, so don't make it too small either. Once you have made up your mind about the size, enter it in the "New size" box. Click on the "Fee space following" box after this, and it will automatically fill in the correct number. After this, press "Add". Repeat this once more, but select ext2, ext3 or ext4 (whichever you desire) as filesystem, instead of FAT2, and of course a bigger size (just use all the remaining space). After this, you need to click the green check. It will ask you if you are sure that you want to apply the operations. Click "Apply".
Installing the USB loader
For ext2/3/4 USB loading, we will need to use
USB Loader GX 2.x. If you are using a SD card, or a FAT32 or ext2/3/4 partition for the loader, installing it is very easy. Just download it, extract it and place it on the SD card or partition. If you want to use a ext2/3/4 partition, you will need to install the latest forwarder channel. If you wish to use the channel, you will need to install it using
Wad Manager.
Copying the backups
The last thing we need to do, is create the wbfs folder on the ext2/3/4 partiton, and installing the games. To do this, we will first need to start nautilus as the root user. To do so, open a terminal and enter "gksu nautilus". You may be asked for your password. After that, simply create the wbfs folder on your drive and install the backups on it by placing them on the drive.
That's it! You can now use ext2/3/4 USB loading! Do make sure you have the correct cIOS selected to start the games!
Thanks to
Changes made to guide
- Corrected a small but important mistake
- Altered the guide, as the latest forwarder allows launching USB Loader GX from an ext partition
- Fixed minor spelling mistake
Provided link to a how to on enabling repositoriesProvided short tutorial on enabling the Multiverse repository- Added tip about md5sum
- Added ext2 to guide introduction etc
- Added short guide on opening a terminal
- Added images
- Added a thanks to section
- Added a spoiler with explanations about the commands, at the end
- Made the section on how to prepare the drive.
- Finished the guide
- Changed all occurences of 'linux' to 'Linux'.
- Changed all occurences of 'wii' to 'Wii'
- Clarified the text on how to softmod using linux
- Updated the explanations of the commands
- Added drive compatiblity to requirements with link
- Added sudo to the command for installing unrar (I had forgotten it)
- Changed instructions on refreshing the drives, as the shortcut key does not seem to work
- Fixed a lot of small errors, mistakes etc.
- Added a bit about ext2 vs ext3 vs ext4
- Fixed broken lnik that I had forgotten about
- Added an 'last updated on:' part to the guide
- Fixed another link
Explanations of the commands
- sudo -> performs a command with root rights
- apt-get update -> Updates the repositories
- apt-get install [packagename] -> Installs the given package
- gksu [program] -> Starts a non-CLI program as root
Last updated on: 02-09-2011
