Homebrew Channel

So you want to install the Homebrew Channel?

The Homebrew Channel lets you execute other homebrew applications stored on an SD Card. It is necessary for almost all homebrew you need to run.

What you should install first

• nothing

What you need

• SD Card (an SDHC card is also suitable if you are at firmware version 4.0 or higher)

Installation

The installation method used differs depending on your Wii's firmware version. To find your Wii's firmware version, go to the Wii's Settings Menu and look in the top right. It should be listed as something like "4.2U". In this case, 4.2 is your firmware version andd the U represents the US region. Click on the appropriate link below to open the instructions for your install:

My firmware version is 4.1 or below.

What to download

• BannerBomb. Get aad1f_v108.zip from this page.
  • If the above page is down, it is mirrored here.
• HackMii Installer v0.6 or later from this page.

Installation procedure

1. If your SD card has an sd:/private directory, rename it to something else (e.g., privateold)
2. Rename or remove sd:/boot.dol and/or sd:/boot.elf if they exist.
3. Unzip the contents of aad1f_v108.zip into the sd:/ root directory
   • Thus, you should now have a file at sd:/private/wii/title/aktn/content.bin
4. Unzip HackMii Installer and copy boot.elf to the root directory of the SD card (sd:/)
5. Press (Wii), Data Management, Channels, SD.
   • Read this step carefully. It does not mean you should go the SD card channel menu
6. A dialog should pop up saying "Load boot.elf?".
   • If not, download other BannerBomb versions from here and try again until one works.
7. Select "Yes"
8. Read the warning message and wait for the "Press 1 to continue" prompt to appear (do so)
9. Take note of what you can and can't install then push A to Continue.
   1. If any options say No apart from BootMii as boot2, then you have likely previously installed some destructive apps. We can't help you fix that
10. Select "Install the Homebrew Channel" with the D-pad and push A.
11. Answer "Yes, continue" and HBC will be installed.
12. This is also a good time to consider installing BootMii. If you do so, skip to step 10 of that installation.

My firmware version is 4.2.

What to download

• BannerBomb. Get abd6a_v200.zip from this page.
  • If the above page is down, it is mirrored here.
• HackMii Installer v0.6 or later from this page.

Installation procedure

1. If your SD card has an sd:/private directory, rename it to something else (e.g., privateold)
2. Rename or remove sd:/boot.dol and/or sd:/boot.elf if they exist.
3. Unzip the contents of abd6a_v200.zip into the sd:/ root directory
   • Thus, you should now have a file at sd:/private/wii/title/aktn/content.bin
4. Unzip HackMii Installer and copy boot.elf to the root directory of the SD card (sd:/)
5. Press the SD card icon (for the SD channels menu). Then insert the card.
   • Read this step carefully. The card should not be plugged in before starting this step.
6. A dialog should pop up saying "Load boot.elf?".
   • If not, download other BannerBomb versions from here and try again until one works.
7. Select "Yes"
8. Read the warning message and wait for the "Press 1 to continue" prompt to appear (do so)
9. Take note of what you can and can't install then push A to Continue.
   1. If any options say No apart from BootMii as boot2, then you have likely previously installed some destructive apps. We can't help you fix that
10. Select "Install the Homebrew Channel" with the D-pad and push A.
11. Answer "Yes, continue" and HBC will be installed.
12. This is also a good time to consider installing BootMii. If you do so, skip to step 10 of that installation.

After Installing

• Go to your SD Card and remove or rename sd:/private. This disable BannerBomb so you can use the SD card for other things. Rename your old private directory back to sd:/private if you had one.

Upgrading the Homebrew Channel

If your Wii is connected to the Internet, HBC will automatically apply updates. Just select yes and follow the instructions for installation from step 8. For offline installations, download the latest version of the Hackmii Installer and use the following procedure:

1. Create a subdirectory called sd:/apps/BootMiiHBCUpgrade/ on your SD card.
2. Unzip HackMii Installer and copy boot.elf to sd:/apps/BootMiiHBCUpgrade/
3. Start HBC and load the /apps/BootMiiHBCUpgrade/boot.elf application.
4. Follow installation steps from step 8 of either installation method.

Using Homebrew Channel

• You can change viewing mode to a grid pattern with the 2 button
• You can choose to load files off a FAT partition on the hard drive with the 1 button.
• Install homebrew applications into sd:/apps/appname, replacing appname with any string of characters to represent the program
• All homebrew apps will have either a .dol or .elf file. Rename this to boot.dol or boot.elf (do not change the extension) and place it in the sd:/apps/appname directory
• Optionally add the files meta.xml and icon.png into the sd:/apps/appname to get a name, info and image to show up for the program
• HBC will be located in your Wii Channels. Run it, and it will give you a list of all the applications in the sd:/apps directory
• To change the order of the apps, alter the meta.xml files and change the name field. Apps will display in alphabetical order.

FAQ

• HBC says "Not a valid Wii executable" or something similar when I choose my app. What's wrong?
  • This is likely a .elf file. Some older apps do not use the proper .elf format and HBC doesn't recognise them. You should find an updated version, or use ELF to DOL converter

What Next?

• You can install BootMii to back up your Wii in case you make a mistake
• You can install the Homebrew Browser to help find new homebrew applications.
• You can install a Region Free application to run Wii import games
• To run games from a hard drive, install IOS249 followed by USB Loader