Question about updating and IOS

[Dude]

I am currently on System Menu v3.1E
Any new games that I get I load using geckOS and allow it to install any relevant IOS that it needs, then continue to boot using GeckOS in order to play the game.  Games like COD: MWR hav installed IOS 51, etc

I have a few worries now though.

I'm not sure if I'm missing things like support for a USB Keyboard (I would like to be able to use one to chat during online play of Monster Hunter Tri, assuming that it's possible, ofcourse :p) and if any IOS will disable me being able to use rebooter.  I think it's IOS36 that needs the bug for rebooter and I want to continue being able to backup all my saves, including the saves with the no-copy flag.

Now, my questions are:

Being still on v3.1E, will I have USB keyboard support?  If not, how would I go about gaining it?
Is it necessary to update my wii and trucha patch the required IOS's to allow rebooter, etc? (possible performance gain for the wii and the new SD Icon on the Menu, etc)
Has anybody encountered any problems booting Monster Hunter Tri using GeckOS?  (I've heard the usual "scare" about people being banned due to it, but they are probably cheating online and deserve the ban)
For Wiispeak, will it just install the IOS for that if I boot a game that needs it using GeckOS?  If not, how do I get it?

And, finally, I've been looking at modifying my Wii Menu skin to make it black :D
I've been considering getting a new official black wii shell and replacing my white one, but like the idea of going that extra mile and giving the system menu the black style too :p
A quick run down on the risks and "how-to" for this would be fantastic!

I don't intend to update at all, so should be able to keep the new skin.  I also don't run backups in any way so don't need pointers for ensuring that.  Just GeckOS, rebooter, and the clean/legit apps and games and the Homebrew Channel.

Thanks in advance.

[111]

I'll try to answer some of these...

I'm pretty certain that the Rebooter function of GeckoOS will try to use IOS36* if it is present.  The 3.1 System Menu provided a version of IOS36 which has the signing and ES_Identify bugs in it.  Assuming that you never updated IOS36 from that point, it will continue to work without modification, as long as you don't update it to any other version.  You stated that you use GeckoOS to boot the game, so as long as you continue to do that, IOS36 should remain the same.  If you check IOS36, you should have v1042.  If you have a version newer than that, you will likely have to patch it (or delete it and install v1042, although this may not be recommended).  The easiest way to check would be to simply see if the Rebooter function of GeckoOS works for you.  If it does, then there is no need to change anything.

I don't know whether USB keyboard functionality would need to be programmed in the game, supported by the IOS, or both.  However, if a game would happen to need another IOS not normally used by the game, you could use the Wii Update File Extractor to download all the IOS files from the update partition of the disc to your SD card, and use the WAD Manager to install the IOS file(s) that you needed.  I'm guessing that in most cases, things like USB keyboard support would probably be in the required IOS for the game, anyway.

According to Nintendo and Wiibrew, the 3.1 System Menu added USB keyboard support, and made changes to the Internet Channel and Everybody Votes Channel.  You can read more about it at the following sites...

| Nintendo - Customer Service | Wii - Wii System Menu and Feature Updates (Click on either "October 10, 2007" under Date of Update, or "Wii Menu 3.1, Internet Channel, Everybody Votes Channel" under Features Updated.)

System Menu 3.1 - WiiBrew

If anyone is banned from Monster Hunter Tri, or games like that, it is probably due to them using codes online.  I've never heard of anyone being banned because they ran a game through GeckoOS, or any other homebrew/warez loader.  I don't even know if it is possible for them to detect that.

I don't know anything about modifying the Wii System Menu skin, so I can't help you there.  However, if possible, and if you haven't done so already, I would recommend installing BootMii as boot2, and making a NAND backup before trying anything like that.  Save the NAND backup and the keys that BootMii will generate.  Even if you can only install BootMii as an IOS, I would still recommend installing it, making a NAND backup, and saving it and the keys.  Assuming you bricked your console and didn't have BootMii as boot2, as long as you had the NAND backup and keys, it would be possible to use an Infectus mod chip to restore your Wii.  However, BootMii as boot2 would be the best, as you would be able to fix it yourself through software, and an Infectus mod chip would not be required.  If you have 3.1E, then I believe that it is very likely that your Wii is old enough for a boot2 install, although I can't say with certainty.

*I am on 3.0U, and I do not have IOS36 on my Wii console.  However, the Rebooter function of GeckoOS has always worked fine for me without it.  I believe that in my case, it uses IOS35.  I do have 4.2U on SNEEK (minus stub IOS files), but never tried patching IOS36 on it (not sure I even can right now).

[Dude]

Thanks for the full and detailed response, 111  ;D

I do have IOS36 with the bugs as I am able to use rebooter to remove the no-copy flag on saves to enable me to copy them :)
I do also have BootMii installed as Boot2.  I did this the first chance I had and keep backups before anything major or risky is done :)

I boot all my games using GeckOS, even the games that don't need it since it's kind of a habit now lol

It's safe to assume that additional game functions like accessing a USB keyboard and wiispeak will be based around accessing the specified IOS that performs it, and that if the game requests it then I can simply install any missing IOS using GeckOS?

Also, is there any proof regarding the increased performance of later System Menus?  I read about background improvements to the wii in some updates...
I'm really not going to bother risking any updates if there is no real benefits from it.  My wii appears to work just fine right now :P

I'm still curios about getting my Menu skinned to have a ablack look though, so will keep looking into that.

finally, I checked out the link regarding "Sneek"...then ended up googling more on it...
:O

111, since you have experince using this, can you give me more details on it??
This redirects ALL NAND access to an SD card?
I would be able to run a system update and update the "emulation" and gain all benefits from the update?  Even the Shop cahnnel, etc?

Sorry to ask this here :p
I'm really liking the look of "Sneek".  This, with BootMii, will solve ALL my past concerns lol  Thanks so much, 111

[111]

I'm guessing that if a game uses something like Wii Speak or a USB keyboard, then the IOS that the game requires should be able to support it.  However, if another IOS not normally used by the game is the IOS used for features like that, then you may need to use something like the aforementioned Wii Update File Extractor to extract the specific IOS file(s) needed.  After that, you would need to use some kind of WAD Installer/Manager to install the IOS file(s) onto your Wii console.  However, I'm guessing that it would be supported in the IOS used for the game.  For example, "Animal Crossing: City Folk" uses IOS38, and IOS38 is rumored to have functions used by Wii Speak, which can be used on that game.  If that's true, then installing the required IOS through the newer versions of GeckoOS should be fine.

I remember that when I updated to 3.0U from 2.2U, I noticed that my System Menu took a little longer to load, possibly due to the clock now being displayed on the System Menu.  When using 4.2U on SNEEK, it takes longer to load, but SNEEK emulation is slower than the actual NAND, so that is not a fair comparison.  Regardless, I have never heard of any increased performance with newer System Menus.  From about 3.3 on, it seems that all Nintendo has tried to do is patch any exploits to run unauthorized code on the Wii.

Yes, SNEEK redirects all the NAND calls to an SD card.  However, I have noticed some issues, such as being unable to run discs from the Disc Channel while using SNEEK (an older version could, but the older version of SNEEK would crash when I tried to install an update that a game had).  Also, when trying to update online on newer versions, it would just hang and never update (the older version would crash on this as well).  However, this could be because I don't have a good internet connection.  I had to use a WAD Manager to install everything, minus "boot2" (I never touch this, even on SNEEK) and the stub IOS files.  I don't know if those issues are on all versions of SNEEK, or if I just can't get them to work for some reason.  By the way, SNEEK would report your boot2 as "boot2v5," so at the time being, it shouldn't try to "update" the "emulated" boot2, anyway.

Another problem with it is that, other than the emulated NAND, it cannot safely write to the SD card, although reading from an SD card has been said to work.  This means that many homebrew applications will not be able to run properly on SNEEK.  However, if you have a USB thumb drive, or some way to connect an SD card to the USB ports of the Wii, the Homebrew Channel on SNEEK should be able to read the card.  This would also mean that you can't back up or place new save files on the Wii through the Data Management.  When I updated the SD card on SNEEK, the WAD Managers that I used allowed for me to access the SD card that I had connected to USB, but not all homebrew applications will allow that.

Also, running your Wii FS through an SD card on SNEEK will likely be slower than just running the Wii normally.  On mine, SNEEK takes longer to load the System Menu/Channels/etc.  Some SD cards might be better suited for SNEEK than others.  You may also need to compile SNEEK yourself, as SNEEK requires the use of Nintendo IOS files, which can only be legally distributed by Nintendo.  Therefore, a compiled version cannot be legally provided for download.

It should also be noted that I remember seeing a possible member of Team Twiizers (svpe) state that they can detect SNEEK.  If they can detect it, that means that Nintendo could as well.

[Dude]

Thanks again for your response :D

Well, looks like I'm now covered regarding the ios updates and updating in general, thanks :)

As for sneek, uneek:
I've done some research on it and, like you explained, it's got it's fair share of problems.
Such a big shame too :(  This would have been right up there next to bootmii.

I'll keep my eye on this though and keep juggling the pros and cons of it :p
Maybe after i've researched enough on it and/or watched the latest releases then I'll give it a go.

Everything has been cleared up though, 111, thanks again :)