Hi, I'm RisanF. I recently saw a video featured some Super Mario Galaxy codes made by a fellow called brkirch1, which allows the player to instantly power-up Mario with stuff like Fire Flowers and Boo Mushrooms with no time limit. I had heard that the USB Gecko is the device to use for these code, and that this is the forum to ask questions about it.
Is there anything I need to know to use a USB Gecko? Things like: "Will it potentially damage my Wii software? "Do I need any coding knowledge other than plugging in numbers on a Game Shark?" I know that the USB Gecko has something to do with linking up a PC and a Wii, but that's about it. I'm pretty naive about all of this, so can any of you give me a heads up, or at least tell me where to ask my questions?
The USB Gecko is for *making* codes. If you just want to *use* codes that others have made, then you just need Gecko OS.
To run Gecko OS, you will need to softmod your Wii. This involves using an exploit like bannerbomb (hopefully you didn't update to 4.3). Then you install The Homebrew Channel, and use it to launch Gecko OS. Cheat codes are located in a text file on your SD Card.
What he said ^ except one minor fix:
Cheat codes are located in gct file on your SD Card.
You need other programs on Homebrew Channel (other than Gecko OS) to create the gct if you choose to use text files.
I think I have version 4.2. What is bannerbomb?
Bannerbomb is an exploit that allows you to run code on your Wii console. If you are 4.2 or lower, you could use Bannerbomb to boot GeckoOS directly. However, most people use Bannerbomb to install something called the Homebrew Channel. The Homebrew Channel basically does the same thing as Bannerbomb, but is much more convenient. You can read more about Bannerbomb and the Homebrew Channel at the following sites...
http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_Channel (http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_Channel)
http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Bannerbomb (http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Bannerbomb)
If you are on 4.2 or lower, I would recommend using Bannerbomb to install the Homebrew Channel. Also, do not update to 4.3, as this will delete all current versions of the Homebrew Channel.
To run cheat codes, GeckoOS is the homebrew application that you need. You can download GeckoOS from the following site...
http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Gecko_OS (http://www.wiibrew.org/wiki/Gecko_OS)