How to launch BootMii to backup NAND?

[sockscap]

I received a Wii (4.3J) recently which was already homebrew enabled. I would like to create a NAND backup before I try various applications, but I cannot figure out how to launch BootMii.

I open the homebrew channel, then press home button and launch BootMii. Then it goes to black screen and I have to press power button on Wii to shut it down.

When I received the device, it didn't have SD card. I have inserted an empty 32GB SD card in FAT32 format. I guess I need prepare the SD card with BootMii files needed. How can I do that? As it's working fine currently, I prefer not to go through the hacking steps again in case I break anything.

The other question is, I read from some tutorial that BootMii can be installed as boot2 or IOS. How can I verify if BootMii is actually installed and where is it installed?

 

[tech3475]

To check if bootmii as boot2 is installed:

I installed BootMii/boot2, but it doesn't come up when I boot my Wii. Try booting with no SD card inserted. If you see a brief set of flashes from the blue slot LED right after you hit the power button, try a different SD card. Make sure you have a directory named "bootmii" with the "armboot.bin" and "ppcboot.elf" files inside. If you do not see those flashes, BootMii/boot2 is not installed.

Source: https://bootmii.org/faq/

If it is installed you can prepare an SD card using the installer from:
https://bootmii.org/

Obviously if Bootmii isn't, use the installer to install it.

If you can't install as boot2 ensure priiloader is installed, if it already is, holding reset on boot will make it appear, although this version may be out of date. The reason is because Priiloader can potentially allow access to the HBC/Bootmii with certain kinds of semi-bricks. Just make sure never to reinstall the System Menu or alter it's iOS (80).

That said, even with boot2 Priiloader can still be useful, but of course make a bootmii backup first.

 

[XFlak]

If your hbc home menu says "launch bootmii" then you have bootmii installed as IOS

You can construct the latest bootmii files using the hackmii installer as described above, or download a set from here and extract it to your sd

http://static.hackmii.com/bootmii_sd_files.zip

With the bootmii folder saved to your sd card, you can access bootmii ios from the hbc home menu (or a number of other ways, like priiloader for example).

If bootmii is installed as boot2, it will launch at the wii's startup provided sd:/bootmii is detected. If it does not start up, it likely means the wii is not capable of installing bootmii boot2, but the only way to truly confirm is to run the hackmii installer (I. E. It's possible when it was modded last, the user chose to only install bootmii ios even if he had more options to also install it as boot2)

 

[sockscap]

Thanks for the suggestion.

When I boot with no SD card inserted, I do see a brief set of flashes from the blue slot LED right after I hit the power button. So I think BootMii was installed as boot2.

Now the question is, how can I prepare the SD card? The downloaded hackmii_installer_v1.2.zip doesn't contain "armboot.bin" and "ppcboot.elf". Should I extract boot.elf from the zip, and copy to SD card as apps/hackmii_installer/boot.elf, then try to launch it from homebrew channel? In this case, should I install it as IOS to let it prepare the SD card for me? Does it cause conflict if I do this while it's already installed as boot2?

edit: see link for bootmii_sd_files.zip just now. I will take a try.

 

[XFlak]

You can use the zip as per your edit. Alternatively the hackmii installer has an option to just prepare the sd card files, no need to reinstall bootmii ios or bootmii boot2 (but doesn't really hurt anything to reinstall, which would also create the sd/bootmii folder during the process)

 

[sockscap]

Just tried bootmii_sd_files.zip with two SD cards (32GB SDHC & 1GB SD), it still boots into Wii GUI. I don't see any BootMii menu. I will try to use hackmii installer to prepare the sd card files, and see if it makes any difference.

Post automatically merged: Dec 18, 2023

After I launch hackmii installer, on 1st page it shows "BootMii: Can be installed". In BootMii submenu, it lists the following:

Install BootMii as boot2
Install BootMii as IOS
Uninstall BootMii as IOS

Does this indicate BootMii was installed as IOS?

Well, the FAQ says "If you see a brief set of flashes from the blue slot LED right after you hit the power button", does it mean it should flash multiple times? I think I see it flashes only once.

Considering the benifit, I'd prefer to have it installed as boot2. Is it safe to do this if it's already installed as IOS? Should I "Uninstall BootMii as IOS" first?

edit: I use hackmii installer to prepare the SD card (the generated armboot.bin & ppcboot.elf are different from the download bootmii_sd_files.zip). I then press home button and launch BootMii to create the NAND backup. It completes successfully. Now I'm seeking for a safe way to install BootMii as boot2 to have best protection.

 

[XFlak]

Just select install bootmii as boot2 from within the hackmii installer

 

[sockscap]

Just select install bootmii as boot2 from within the hackmii installer

Is it safe to do this if it's already installed as IOS? Should I "Uninstall BootMii as IOS" first?

 

[tech3475]

Is it safe to do this if it's already installed as IOS? Should I "Uninstall BootMii as IOS" first?

Bootmii as iOS and boot2 can coexist so leave it.

 

[sockscap]

Thank you very much! It's all set now.

 

[Kornelia]

https://bootmii.org/

I received a Wii (4.3J) recently which was already homebrew enabled. I would like to create a NAND backup before I try various applications, but I cannot figure out how to launch BootMii.

I open the homebrew channel, then press home button and launch BootMii. Then it goes to black screen and I have to press power button on Wii to shut it down.

When I received the device, it didn't have SD card. I have inserted an empty 32GB SD card in FAT32 format. I guess I need prepare the SD card with BootMii files needed. How can I do that? As it's working fine currently, I prefer not to go through the hacking steps again in case I break anything.

The other question is, I read from some tutorial that BootMii can be installed as boot2 or IOS. How can I verify if BootMii is actually installed and where is it installed?

Try using this
https://bootmii.org/