Revision as of 18:29, 21 June 2008

Please place all support questions here, in the correct area.

Answered

Q: When I run the gc-linux package included in hbc_apps.tar.gz it stops at "Freeing unused kernel memory: 164k init", doesn't show a login prompt and USB keyboard doesn't work. What I am doing wrong?

A: You are not doing anything wrong. The gc-linux package included in hbc_apps.tar.gz (MD5: a2394731e2f65aee741100bed1cd14a0) is version 0.2, not version 0.4 as the package claims. That version doesn't support USB keyboards and only shows a login prompt when used in combination with a USB Gecko adapter. If you want to test the real gc-linux PoC version 0.4 you can grab it from www.gc-linux.org while someone takes the time to fix the hbc_apps.tar.gz package.

Q: After installing the Homebrew Channel using the twilight princess hack, will the Homebrew channel still function if I delete the twilight princess hack and reinstall my original save file?

A: Yes. Once the Homebrew Channel is installed, the twilight hack save is no longer required.

Q: Is there a way to prevent the Homebrew Channel - and the time spent using it - from being logged on the Wii message board?

A: No, nor is there any real need to.

Q: What is the Homebrew Channel all about?

A: It's a channel that lets you run Wii Homebrew in .elf or .dol format. Currently, you can load them from an SD card, a USB Gecko or via local network (WiFi or wired). Each application may have a customised icon of certain size, and various metadata which is displayed when selected, such as name, short description, long description, version, release date, and coder, stored in an XML file.

Q: What type of file format should I put into the SD?

A: Apps need to be called boot.elf or boot.dol (wii .dol only). Icons should be called icon.png, and information should be in meta.xml.

Q: I've downloaded the "XYZ" app. It's a file in .dol. or .elf format. I've stored it into the SD card, but the HomeBrew's menu does not list the new app. What I'm doing wrong? Maybe should I have to store the app in a certain folder and/or should I have to run such an installing procedure?

A: You need to create a folder in the root of the SD card called apps. Then you need to create a folder inside of that for each DOL or ELF file. Put the File in there, and rename it to either boot.elf or boot.dol(depending on the file type). You can then add an icon for each app in the same folder, with it named icon.png, and a description file name meta.xml.

Q: I've installed the homebrew channel and some applications successfully, but when I try to load an application, the homebrew channel shows a window with 'Loading XYZ' and a progress bar that stays at 0%. Why aren't my applications launching?

A: Gamecube memory cards appear to cause various issues with the homebrew channel. Restart the Wii, take your gamecube memory card(s) out of the Wii, and try loading an application again.

Q: Hi, I'm a programmer. I want to write software for the wii using your channel. How can I start? Which language, libraries, etc.

A: See getting Started with devkitppc.

Q: My cursor barely responds. It seems to only respond to rotational movements of the wiimote. What can I do to resolve this?

A: If you are using a Nyko wireless nunchuck, try using the homebrew channel without the Nyko wireless receiver attached to the bottom of the wiimote.

Q: Is it possible to sort the applications running in the Homebrew Channel?

As of beta8, the Homebrew Channel sorts your applications alphabetically by their name (i.e. the content of the <name> Element in the application's meta.xml).

Q: I keep reading about a 10 minute limit, what is this about?

A:The last version of the homebrew channel had a time limit, it would stop working after you had used it for 10 minutes. The current homebrew channel doesn't have that lmitation, so you can forget about it.

Q: After burning the HBC ISO to a DVD+RW and another time on a DVD-R, Wii responds with "Unable to read disc"? I have a modded Wii and both types of discs I am able to play downloaded game ISOs. Am I doing anything wrong?

A: Yes -- pirating games.

Q: Will the lack of UTF-8 support and inability to use windows-1252 encoding properly (http://tinyurl.com/6kl3d5 for details) be fixed in a future release?

A: TLDR. What exactly is it you want the HBC to do that it doesn't do currently? Please be specific. Bushing 14:17, 6 June 2008 (CEST)

Precis: non-7-bit characters come out wrong. XML should support UTF-8 but the channel doesn't render it right. "ç" for example, in UTF-8 is 0xC3 0xA7, renders as "Ã§", because that's what the font holds for those chars. Using encoding that matches the font makes the parser reject the XML as invalid UTF-8, so accented chars are unusable.

Yes, exactly. Here are three potential solutions: (1) support UTF-8 fully which, ideally, is what I would like (2) choose an alternate metadata format that doesn't have to go through an XML parser in the first place and is expected to be windows-1252 (3) use an XML parser that supports windows-1252 as a charset (not sure if one exists outside of Microsoft though).

I'm not finding any non-English characters that are showing up correctly using UTF-8 encoding. UTF-8 is definitely not working as advertised. ProdigySim 05:21, 7 June 2008 (CEST)

Q: Is there any chance at all that Nintendo can/will brick a Wii that has the Homebrew Channel?

A: Possible, but unlikely. It's far more likely that a future Nintendo update could *accidentally* conflict with the HBC. Keep checking on WiiBrew before installing updates and you'll likely be safe.

Q: Does this void my warranty even though it is just software and not a hardware mod?

A: Technically? Perhaps. Realistically? No

Q: Why didn't my Homebrew Channel detect the update? Connect 24 is on... And the World Icon on the Channel is white

A: You could be behind a http proxy, the channel does not currently account for that. Also, the check is only done when you start the channel, we have not yet bothered reverse engineering connect 24.

Q: If I can not update through the Homebrew Channel's auto update, can I install Homebrew Channel beta8 over beta7 via the twilight hack?

A: Sure, btw other ways of booting the installer also works. (like from the HBC itself ;) )

Q: Will the source code be released?

A: When both it and the audience is ready for that.

Q: Do you plan on making the homebrew channel wikthh DVDs and/or burnt games if possible?

A: This is not a limitation of the Homebrew Channel's programming, so the answer would be "no".

Q: Would the installer install properly if it were booted through the Homebrew Channel? ie Add it as a Channel and then boot it

A: Yes. It is also possible to transfer it to the Wii using the Wiiload method.

Q: My friend seems to have a version of Beta 7 that has a regular pointer for the cursor. My version of Beta 7 had a middle finger hand for the cursor, and this remained after doing the online update to Beta 8. Is there anything I can do to make my cursor normal as well? I really don't like the middle finger hand, the joke isn't funny anymore. (My friend still has Beta 7, as he is unable to do an online update at the moment.)

A: The reason you have the middle finger cursor is most likely because you installed the time unlimited version of the old homebrew channel. This was an unofficial and very looked down upon hack, so now you've got the finger. It is possible to fix this, you need to uninstall (not just delete, but uninstall with say, a .wad uninstaller) the channel you have now, then reinstall the homebrew channel. This will fix any lingering finger issues. Cubear 21:23, 12 June 2008 (CEST)

Q: Nintendo has just relased an update for the Wii System Software. In the relase notes, Nintendo says that modded savefiles and so on will be removed by this update. I've installed the HBC. What will I do? Is it sure to install this update?

A: It is best to wait to update, but the homebrew channel is unaffected by the update. only the twilight hack and the trucha signing bug is fixed

Q: I have downloaded the TP Hack and the homebrew channel and renamed it boot.elf and put it at the root of my sd card like it says. I turn on the wii delete the zelda file, copy the TP hack to the wii and go to the disc channel, let it load, start it, do the vision test, load the TP hack file and talk to the man, but then this comes up and it freezes. I already reformated the sd card and everything but i dont know whats wrong?

here is the error message:

FAT_ReadFile (boot.elf) failed with error -1 No elf image at adress 90100000 Dol image detected? loading binary files

A: Your SD card is probably formatted to FAT32. Reformat to FAT16 and try again

Q: I borrowed a copy of Twilight Princess and installed a .wad installer/uninstaller channel to play injected secret of mana before the non-time limited version of HBC was released. Is there a .wad version of the latest HBC install available, or a place with info on creating one using the latest version?

A: There is an unofficial wad version of the homebrew channel. The team twiizers don't support this version and you use it at your own risk. You can find it searching in google. This is an unofficial answer too, it was redacted by Danielc

Unanswered

Q: I succesfully installed the HB channel and the provided apps package too, but I cannot setup the modern style into the ScummVM. The Wii ScummVM has only the classic style built-in, so I tried to copy the "modern" style from my PC to the SD card. The Wii ScummVM now does list the new style, but even if I choose it, the interface does not change. What am I doing wrong?

A:

Q: Do you need any special software version to run HBC? Will it work with all versions? How do I find out which version I have?

A:

Q: HBC Beta 8 won't show any of my apps. I have the Internal Gecko SD mod. Is this conflicting with it? Beta 7 would show them but sometimes needed to be reloaded and SD card removed and reinserted, but I haven't been successful with HBC Beta 8?

A:

Q: Is there a Japanese translation for the Homebrew Channel planned?

A:

Q: Is there anything I can do to allow the Homebrew Channel to automatically update, assuming that I may be behind a http proxy? Or would a slow internet connection affect the update checker?

A:

Q: After installing the homebrew channel using the twilight hack, the homebrew channel works, other channels work, but none of my Wii game discs work. After clicking "start" on the game channel, the screen goes black and returns to the channel list. Deleting the Homebrew channel did not fix the issue, but formatting the Wii System Memory did fix it. Is this a bug?

A: