I got up today and tried to do some WiiRD hacking, but sometime between last night and today it seems that my USB Gecko ceased to function. When attempting to connect to the Gecko I simply get the message:
Reconnecting USB Gecko driver interface...
no connection possible! Please check USB Gecko connection!
Which I can also reproduce by trying to connect without the Gecko plugged in at all, so it seems to be all the way not seeing the device. I retried with two other cables (so three, total, including the original cable, the one for my cell phone, and the one from my MP3 player) and two different USB ports, all with the same results.
The LED does flicker on once upon first plugging it in, but I get no further response from it. The device has never received any rough treatment, and has mostly been left permanently plugged into a Wii, so there's unlikely to be a great deal of wear on the USB port, since I only ever plugged/unplugged on the PC end. It's a little over a year old, purchased in December 2010.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where to go from here? Is there anything I should test or look at in order to better diagnose the problem?
I don't know what this cause could be, but all I would check is to make sure that whatever program you are using has SD Cheats/Ocarina Enabled, and Debugging. The hooktype (I have only ever used VBI or OSSleepThread) should be selected and not off. I'd suggest re-installing the drivers from http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm (http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2XX.htm). Also making sure that your USB Gecko is plugged into Slot-B (the one on the left [looking at the wii standing up, from the front]).
Woo, seem to have it working again just by cleaning the USB port on the Gecko with a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol, some tweezers and a piece of cotton bud. I'm connected right now and don't seem to be having any issues. Apologies for the false alarm--I'll leave this here in case anyone else encounters the same issue.
the way you treat your Gecko is perfect.
Don´t always pull it out, otherwise it will die soon... :-\
I failed with my first one and it wasn´t detected anymore by any computer, so I had to buy another Gecko.
But I learned from my mistakes and my second Gecko now still lasts after 1 year of quite intense usage. ;D