Foreword: This is only a skeleton document aimed at people who are familiar with the backup scene but not the Wii.

Risks: When playing games outside your region there is a risk of ‘bricking’ your console.

Semi-Bricked:

When a console receives a firmware update from a game outside its’ region, eg a pal console is updated by a USA NTSC game. It may still possible to play games, but not all of the consoles menus or features will function correctly. It is ‘semi’ bricked, as it MAY be fixed by updating to a newer (region compatible) firmware…of course this might not be available immediately.

Fully Bricked:

Unfortunately this can not be rectified. Enjoy your plastic brick.

Protection:

It’s hardly rocket science, when a non pal game asks to perform a firmware update, simply eject the disc and reset the console – update your console with a PAL game or the net and try again. It’s still easy to be caught out, especially with kids!

Regularly connecting your wii to the web will ensure its firmware is up-to-date. Updating your console through the web is 100% safe; at present there is no evidence to suggest Nintendo are able to detect modchips while online. Some people have reported games still asking to perform a firmware update even though they have the latest firmware… best to play it safe, see below.

is tool that patches image files thereby removing the ‘update’ portion of the game image.

Use both methods for maximum safety.
* Be wary of traded ‘pal’ discs!


GAME BACKUP

Non-Original/Backup Copy:

Can be duplicated with any dvd reader/writer using a 1-to-1 method.

Original Wii Game:

Currently two methods exist, but in either case ensure the ISO image file size matches:

Wii ISO = 4.37 GB or 4699979776 bytes
Gamecube ISO = 1.35 GB or 1459978240 bytes

If your image differs from these, there IS a problem.


1. LG-DVD-rom Method.

Only certain LG drives or their rebadged brethren can properly read ORIGINAL wii games. Hence to copy an original, you must own one of the following drives:

LG-8164b
LG-8163b
LG-8162b
LG-8161b

These are all LG DVD-ROM drives and are relatively rare.

You will need to use to extract the image Use the latest version, as it is considerably faster. is required
This will take 2-4 hours depending on the game size, LG model, and RawDump Version. (If you’re using an earlier rawdump version, you may need to unscramble the Image using rawdump.)

Be sure to check the file size of the extracted ISO.
Burn the completed image with your chosen application or .


2. WiiKey Disc Dump

This method relies on the Wii’s own disc drive. A homebrew application called DVD Dump is run which allows a game to be incrementally dumped to an SD card via Game Cube memory Slot-A (with the aid of a gecko).

A gecko is simply an adapter which allows an sd card to be connected to a game cube memory slot – (rewires the contacts, nothing more).

* Due to FAT16 limitations, 2GB is largest SD memory card compatible with this process!
* Use the same SD memory card through the entire dump.

First we must properly format the SD card. Either use ,
Or
From the command prompt type:
Code:
dumptool [driveletter] –c
(obviously from the folder containing dumptool.exe)

* It is essential to properly format the card, as this can lead to bad dumps and problems later on. If you have problems, try formatting again.

Use your preferred method of running dvddump.dol; know that it is included in both wiikey 1.2 and 1.3 config discs. In the absence of a GC contoller the reset button can be used to transverse the menus.

Using a 2GB SD card, 3 dumps will be required. Once the SD card is full, you will be prompted to remove it and ‘dump’ it to a computer.
Again you can either use WiiUtilities or the command prompt. I prefer the command prompt.

A Wii game will be split into a minimum of 3 ‘chunks’ (1 per dump). Dumptool can either join these files as you download them to produce a single .iso file, or it can simply extract the chunks leaving you to join them later. I prefer dumping to individual files and joining them afterwards, as my SD reader is temperamental and can confuse DVDdump leading to errors.

Dump to a single file - discimage.iso. At the prompt type:
Code:
dumptool [driveletter] –sd
OR

To extract each chunk to individual files (with names 00.rvl 01.rvl 02.rvl…).
At the prompt type:
Code:
dumptool [driveletter] –d
Once all chunks have been dumped, we must append the files to make a single iso

At the prompt type
Code:
copy /b 00.rvl+01.rvl+02.rvl gamename.iso
Again, check the file size of the image.
Burn with your preferred application.


Burning Speed and Media

DRE or Disc Read Errors can occur for various reasons.
I’ve always been sceptical of the “only burn at 2x” statements. I believe in burning media at their rated speed, unfortunately this hasn’t held true for my wii. I have found my wii doesn’t like certain cheap media burnt at their rated speed. I have had no DREs using verbatim while burning at max speed, or the cheap media burnt at 2-4x.

If you’re still having issues, ensure your wii dvd drive is set to read at 3x, not 6x. Note, if you’re using a wiikey, each time you load the config disc the options are at their default and not what the chip is set to (this is for safety purposes - to prevent the chip from being detected).

Most chips have a wide range of media support, but as with all things what works for one person may not necessarily work for you.