Guide: Region Booting with Gecko OS 1.07B

Guide: Region Booting with Gecko OS 1.07B
by e39
January 12, 2009


What is Gecko OS?
"Gecko OS (formerly Gecko Region Free) by Nuke lets you load Wii games from other regions." - WiiBrew.org (Gecko OS - WiiBrew)


Purpose:
Region-free gaming with modchips occasionally hit a snag. You may encounter titles that:

- Display skipping screens (60 Mhz NTSC vs 50Mhz PAL TV mismatch).
- Do not load in general.

This thread is not intended to discuss the installation of modchips or the Homebrew Channel. It is strickly for Region Booting with Gecko OS. Any posts asking about modchips or HBC installations will be deleted.

Also, this thread will not cover Ocarina, the game cheat functionality. For a terrific guide on how this works, please head over here. Senior Moderator Admiral Victorinox created a flawless tutorial on that functionality for Animal Crossing.

As always, never update your console with an out-of-region disc.


Notes:
- Gecko OS is not a backup loader, therefore a modchip is required.
- The Homebrew Channel is not optional.
- The 3.2 firmware is required when utilizing the rebooter functionality.


Files Needed:
Gecko OS 1.07B


Installation:
Place the Gecko folder inside the "apps" folder on your SD card. When completed, it should look something like this.

Note the file path ...
http://i39.tinypic.com/4dy08.jpg


Application Launch:

Enter the Homebrew Channel (HBC) ...
http://i39.tinypic.com/65pkaq.jpg

Select Gecko OS, then load it ...
http://i39.tinypic.com/28ls2ua.jpg

Arrive at Gecko OS ...
http://i40.tinypic.com/eajona.jpg


Continued below ...

Loading out-of-region titles, method 1:

This method is only for the 3.2 firmwares. The rebooter will not work with anything higher.

1. Launch Gecko OS and insert the out-of-region game disc into your Wii.

2. From the main menu, select "Rebooter Options" ...
http://i41.tinypic.com/1zq3i28.jpg

3. At the next screen, turn the "Region Free" option to "Yes" ...
http://i44.tinypic.com/2ih9doj.jpg

4. Exit to the main menu ...
http://i44.tinypic.com/16bisus.jpg

5. At the main menu, press B to initiate the rebooting process ...
http://i40.tinypic.com/eajona.jpg

6. Some messages will then appear ...
http://i44.tinypic.com/2yopafb.jpg

7. Finally, your system will reboot. Enter the disc channel and start the game.


Notes:
When exiting your newly launched, out-of-region title, your system will not return to the Wii operating system / dashboard. You will need to power down.

Again, do not update your console with an out of region update. This will brick your system. There are many ways to bypass disc updates, none of which will be discussed in this thread.


Continued below ...

Loading out-of-region titles, method 2:

This method will work with firmwares 3.2 or higher. Unfortunately, this is untested by myself because my system is at the 3.2. From my readings, it should work.

1. Launch Gecko OS and insert the out-of-region game disc into your Wii.

2. From the main menu, select "Config Options" ...
http://i42.tinypic.com/s1qgdj.jpg

3. This is where the magic happens ...
http://i43.tinypic.com/102mhw9.jpg

Boot Lang:
specific language on the disc. Here are some combination examples ...

Japanese System + US game = English
Japanese System + PAL game = English
US System + PAL game = Console Default or English pending PAL country
US System + Japanese game = Japanese
PAL System + US game = Console Default or English pending PAL country
PAL System + Japanese game = Japanese

Force PAL60:
This refers to the Mhz of your TV. Naturally, NTSC TV's are 60MHz. This will set a PAL 50MHz disc to an NTSC 60MHz frequency.

Japanese System + PAL game = Force PAL60, "Yes"
US System + PAL game = Force PAL60, "Yes"

Japanese System + US game = Force PAL60, "No" - Neither the console or disc are in PAL format to begin with. They're both NTSC.

Force NTSC:
This is for the PAL system to NTSC game.

PAL System + Japanese game = Force NTSC, "Yes"
PAL SYstem + US game = Force NTSC, "Yes"

PAL System + German game = Force NTSC, "No". Nether the console or disc are in the NTSC format to begin with. They're both PAL.

Force PAL50:
This refers to the Mhz of your TV. Naturally, PAL TV's are 50MHz. This will set an NTSC 60MHz disc to a PAL 50Mhz frequency.

PAL System + Japanese game = Force PAL50, "Yes"
PAL System + US game = Force PAL50, "Yes"

Japanese System + US game = Force PAL50, "No" - Neither the console or disc are in PAL format to begin with. They're both NTSC.

VIDTV Patch:
I leave this at "No". I'm not sure exactly what this does, but I've never fixed my out-of-region problems by messing with this.

Hook Type:
I leave this at "VI". I'm not sure exactly what this does, but I've never fixed my out-of-region problems by messing with this.

Ocarina On:
Leave this at "Yes". It has nothing to do with game booting. Ocarina is the game cheat engine now integrated into Gecko OS.

Make your changes and "Return To Menu" ...
http://i42.tinypic.com/vg6jqs.jpg
(no need to copy what I did here. I'm on an NTSC machine, attempting to boot a PAL title)

"Launch Game"
http://i40.tinypic.com/eajona.jpg

Some pre-loading text will now appear. There's noting to do, it's display only.
http://i43.tinypic.com/rbytfl.jpg

And away we go!
http://i42.tinypic.com/15dtm53.jpg


Notes:
When exiting your newly launched, out-of-region title, your system will not return to the Wii operating system / dashboard. You will need to power down.

Again, do not update your console with an out of region update. This will brick your system. There are many ways to bypass disc updates, none of which will be discussed in this thread.

If this guide helped you, please use the http://www.wiihacks.com/wii/buttons/post_thanks.gif button on the thread. It'll encourage me to make more of these if enough feedback is given.

Hey E39,

Being a newbie to all of the Wii stuff I have been doing a lot of reading on this post, and appreciate all the info you have just given me. I have a Korean Wii (bought in Korea) and I recently got it modded. Unfortunately, with my very limited Korean language abilities, I wasn't able to get the guy to explain what Modchip he installed.

Anyways I have burnt a few .iso files and had some pretty good results. Just today I burnt Force Unleashed and Resident Evil 4 them to DVD. The games worked fine, but the color was out of wack (black and white plus distorted) I was originally trying to load the games on Gecko Region Free, but after following your instructions I went into Gecko OS/Config Options, changed Force NTSC to Yes and everything worked fine.

Just curious if you have any reason why this might be the case. Once again my Wii if from Korea, so I assumed it was PAL. Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

thanks for the info.
I tried all steps mentioned above but still have blach/white screen with out of region games. My WII is US, the games are PAL. Installed Homebrew channel, installed the newest version of GeckoOS but somehow my TVscreen appears to be to small and I can't get colors when I load the games (PAL).
Any advice.

I got this prob as well,pal system ntsc converted discs.
On my big lcd they all worked without me going into config at all.
Now my daughter has moved it into her bedroom,so that i,ll leave it alone,but just tried to run the same games and 2 of them, M slug and H moon are B&W and got lines running through.
I,m assuming its the change of tv.


New lcd=no change to config for games to run ok (just press start in gamma)
Newish crisp box tv=Ntsc play B&W unless altered in config (press 1 after gamma startup)

I've got ntsc games that I want to play on my Pal Wii. Will this Gecko method brick my Wii? Also heard that some ntsc games automatically updates your system. Is this true? My Wii is chipped and I've already installed Starfall.

I've got a few backups that give me the black screen error. How do I know if they are out of region discs?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by skagg

New lcd=no change to config for games to run ok (just press start in gamma)
Newish crisp box tv=Ntsc play B&W unless altered in config (press 1 after gamma startup)

---

It's all in the refresh rate of the TV. If your LCD has the capability of multiple MHz frequencies, then there is no PAL / NTSC screen issues.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by babeo_5

I've got ntsc games that I want to play on my Pal Wii. Will this Gecko method brick my Wii? Also heard that some ntsc games automatically updates your system. Is this true? My Wii is chipped and I've already installed Starfall.

---

No matter the region you're in, every disc might contain an update. Rule #1, never update your console with an out-of-region disc.

Use StarFall to disable disc updates.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hawk99

I've got a few backups that give me the black screen error. How do I know if they are out of region discs?

---

Check the source you downloaded them from.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by e39

It's all in the refresh rate of the TV. If your LCD has the capability of multiple MHz frequencies, then there is no PAL / NTSC screen issues.


No matter the region you're in, every disc might contain an update. Rule #1, never update your console with an out-of-region disc.

Use StarFall to disable disc updates.


Check the source you downloaded them from.

---

sorry for the noob questions but do I use WiiUpdateManager to check the source? does WUM run from a PC? I tried it on my PC but when I inserted the backup game DVD it didn't show any files on it (like .iso)