# Wii owners might want to wait on updating to 4.2



## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

There's some talk about it bricking consoles, including ones never hacked or modded.

http://techforums.nintendo.com/nins/board?board.id=wii_tech


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Thanks for the heads-up! I may hold off until they figure this out...


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

If you use the Homebrew Channel, make sure you update it prior to installing the 4.2 update to prevent the channel from being removed.

- Merg


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## Viper56 (Dec 28, 2008)

Thanks for the heads up!


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## afulkerson (Jan 14, 2007)

I guess I got lucky. I updated the menu to 4.2 and have not had any problems.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

afulkerson said:


> I guess I got lucky. I updated the menu to 4.2 and have not had any problems.


It certainly isn't affecting everyone, but from what I understand 4.2 updates the boot loader. If anything happens during the update, the Wii is bricked. Now this can happen, power outage at a bad time etc.) but reports are that the updater itself is buggy.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

I gotta make sure that I have automatic updates turned off. Last thing I want is a bricked Wii or for my Homebrew to disappear. I love running my games from my external harddrive. It's so much easier and faster.

- Merg


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## JimMariner (Sep 19, 2007)

I see this thread has been dead for a while, But there is no problem with HomeBrew and 4.2 now. As of this past few months. I installed it on 2 Wii's that that were updated to 4.2 following the freindly guides we can all find online. Just make sure you are using the 4.2 install files.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Well... I do want to update at some point for the Netflix support, but maybe I'll wait for the next patch.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Well... I do want to update at some point for the Netflix support, but maybe I'll wait for the next patch.


Same thing here.


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## JimMariner (Sep 19, 2007)

I am running the NetFlix app on my PS3, it ROCKs. 

I didn't realize there is a NetFlix app for the Wii's. I am still doing my continuing education on all things Wii. 
Anything else haven't found about them yet you all seem to know about


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

JimMariner said:


> I am running the NetFlix app on my PS3, it ROCKs.
> 
> I didn't realize there is a NetFlix app for the Wii's. I am still doing my continuing education on all things Wii.
> Anything else haven't found about them yet you all seem to know about


Not out yet, coming (non-HD of course.)

I hadn't updated my Wii since before my original post but did for Super Mario.


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## fyrfyter (Nov 24, 2006)

Last I heard, was Spring, but more specifically May/June (If you want to call that Spring?) Will require a disc, to get the Wii up and running. You could do that if you want to wait, or you could Try PlayOn, and have Netflix and a bunch of other stuff streamed to your Wii over WiFi. Need a decent desktop computer, and a WiFi home network. Netflix for Wii is here 
//www.netflix.com/InstantStreamingDisc?device=Wii
PlayOn is here
//www.playon.tv/playon


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## jwebb1970 (Oct 3, 2007)

I had heard possibly April for Netflix Wii. And yes, like PS3 it requires a disc. Some assume this helps the service pass thru the "exclusive" loophole Netflix has w/ Microsoft & the 360 (which is installed as a Live app).

Would not be surprised if the Netflix disc contains some Wii updates, likely for video codec changes/upgrades.

No HD, of course, and DPLII audio at best - but as long as it gives a DVD-level picture, I see this being my method for catching up w/ various TV shows that I have yet to see. If I need HD content from Netflix...well, I get that via BD rentals anyway.


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

I do not have my wii conneted to the internet.....................................


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## PatentBoy (Feb 14, 2007)

I believe the only Wii machines which were bricked were ones which have been hacked.

In any case, system 4.2 does not offer any new features and was only released in an attempt to curb the hacking and try to prevent future hacking.

If you haven't updated to 4.2, don't. At least wait for an update that offers some new features.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

PatentBoy said:


> I believe the only Wii machines which were bricked were ones which have been hacked.
> 
> In any case, system 4.2 does not offer any new features and was only released in an attempt to curb the hacking and try to prevent future hacking.
> 
> If you haven't updated to 4.2, don't. At least wait for an update that offers some new features.


Nope. Non-modified/non-hacked machines were bricked by the update. That is part of why there was such an uproar about it. And some games do require you to update to v4.2 in order to play them (i.e. Wii Sports Resort).

- Merg


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Nope. Non-modified/non-hacked machines were bricked by the update. That is part of why there was such an uproar about it. And some games do require you to update to v4.2 in order to play them (i.e. Wii Sports Resort).
> 
> - Merg


I had to update for Super Mario Wii. Other than that, Wii updates are generally useless since they can't include much in the way of new features.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> I had to update for Super Mario Wii. Other than that, Wii updates are generally useless since they can't include much in the way of new features.


Not always true. The 4.0 update is what allowed true use of the SD slot on the Wii.

- Merg


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Not always true. The 4.0 update is what allowed true use of the SD slot on the Wii.
> 
> - Merg


There have been a few things, but the Wii has the goofiest method I've ever heard of. Versions basically pile up on the system. It certainly can't get updated like the Xbox or PS3.

http://hackmii.com/2009/02/why-the-wii-will-never-get-any-better/


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## PatentBoy (Feb 14, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Nope. Non-modified/non-hacked machines were bricked by the update. That is part of why there was such an uproar about it. And some games do require you to update to v4.2 in order to play them (i.e. Wii Sports Resort).
> 
> - Merg


Weird, never heard of someone with a brick which was not a hacked system.

While some games are tied to certain updates, which are actually loaded via the game DVD itself, no games are tied to a specific system software version. For example, see this website which discloses the specific software (off of the DVD game itself) required to run the game, as well as the system software running to obtain the info.

http://www.wiihacks.com/recommended-faqs-guides-tutorials-only/24965-ios-games-use-run.html

These guys know a lot about the Wii system software. 
They also recommend not to update to system software 4.1, yet they are able to run Wii Resort.


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## PatentBoy (Feb 14, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> There have been a few things, but the Wii has the goofiest method I've ever heard of. Versions basically pile up on the system. It certainly can't get updated like the Xbox or PS3.
> 
> http://hackmii.com/2009/02/why-the-wii-will-never-get-any-better/


The Wii is setup to have, presumably, up to 256 different internal OSs (IOS) for running programs and the system software. Generally, only one system IOS is loaded and running at any one time. N has put more than one version on the Wii machines, but the additional versions are typically 'stubs' - software which will brick the Wii if run. On hacked machines, especially if you are not careful, there are situations where these stubs will be called and the Wii machined bricked. In system software 4.2, the IOS associated with system software 4.1, as well as a few other notable IOSs, were replaced with stubs. This was one of the main purposes of system 4.2 - to disrupt the hacking community.

I disagree with The Merg, I do not know of ANY instance where a clean Wii machine was bricked by the update. If someone has one, please let me know. I would like to know the circumstances of the brick and to what extent it is bricked, e.g. don't see anything at boot, or see the first screen, but then dies when trying to load the system menu.


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## PatentBoy (Feb 14, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> I had to update for Super Mario Wii. Other than that, Wii updates are generally useless since they can't include much in the way of new features.


Was not a system update, but I believe an update off the game DVD, right?


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

PatentBoy said:


> The Wii is setup to have, presumably, up to 256 different internal OSs (IOS) for running programs and the system software. Generally, only one system IOS is loaded and running at any one time. N has put more than one version on the Wii machines, but the additional versions are typically 'stubs' - software which will brick the Wii if run. On hacked machines, especially if you are not careful, there are situations where these stubs will be called and the Wii machined bricked. In system software 4.2, the IOS associated with system software 4.1, as well as a few other notable IOSs, were replaced with stubs. This was one of the main purposes of system 4.2 - to disrupt the hacking community.
> 
> I disagree with The Merg, I do not know of ANY instance where a clean Wii machine was bricked by the update. If someone has one, please let me know. I would like to know the circumstances of the brick and to what extent it is bricked, e.g. don't see anything at boot, or see the first screen, but then dies when trying to load the system menu.


Sorry, but I gotta disagree....

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/01/wii-system-update-4-2-bricking-unmodded-consoles/

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6230816.html

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Nintendo-Wii-COnsole-Update-Bricked,news-4768.html

As for not requiring the update to play a game, when I first put in Wii Sports Resort, it immediately came up with a message that I needed to update to 4.2 in order to play the game. It then used WiiConnect to download and install the update. It did not come from the DVD. In fact, I had removed the DVD from Wii already when it performed the update.

- Merg


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

As for using a hacked Wii, I am in that community. My sole purpose for doing so is to load my games onto an external harddrive to improve loading times and save me the time of swapping DVD's in and out. I have Wii channels set up for each of my games to make it easy for myself and my wife to load them. 

- Merg


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

The Merg said:


> As for using a hacked Wii, I am in that community. My sole purpose for doing so is to load my games onto an external harddrive to improve loading times and save me the time of swapping DVD's in and out. I have Wii channels set up for each of my games to make it easy for myself and my wife to load them.
> 
> - Merg


It seems some thing hacking equals doing it to pirate. I get the same thing for jailbreaking my iPod Touch. But like you, I hack my Touch to get features that I want, and Apple doesn't allow. I buy all my apps (that aren't free from the developer of course.)


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

dpeters11 said:


> There have been a few things, but the Wii has the goofiest method I've ever heard of. Versions basically pile up on the system. It certainly can't get updated like the Xbox or PS3.
> 
> http://hackmii.com/2009/02/why-the-wii-will-never-get-any-better/


I don't disagree with you there. It would be nice if they could implement updates that were usable with older games. I would love WiiSpeak to be available for my COD games, but I don't think it is going to happen.

- Merg


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

i have 4.0 on my wii i do not have my wii conneted to the internet.............


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## PatentBoy (Feb 14, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Sorry, but I gotta disagree....
> 
> http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/01/wii-system-update-4-2-bricking-unmodded-consoles/
> 
> ...


Regarding bricking of unmodded Wiis, these articles are correct. The first stating, "If *any problems arise* during installation, the bootloader becomes corrupt," but that requires a loss of power, etc. during installation. I am referring to the situation where the Wii is seemingly updated without problem. The Wii reboots to brick status&#8230;

Regarding Wii Resort, that was not the case for me. See this related post regarding super mario bros. - >http://techforums.nintendo.com/nins/board/message?board.id=gamehelp_wii&thread.id=10738

The games are not tied to system software, but may include the software or ask the user to update to the latest system software. Typically, this is for those who do not have an internet connection.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

PatentBoy said:


> Regarding bricking of unmodded Wiis, these articles are correct. The first stating, "If *any problems arise* during installation, the bootloader becomes corrupt," but that requires a loss of power, etc. during installation. I am referring to the situation where the Wii is seemingly updated without problem. The Wii reboots to brick status&#8230;


And as this article states, it does not require loss of power etc...


> "The problem appears to lie with an incredibly shoddily programmed update to boot2 of the Wii," reads this forum announcement on NeoGAF. "boot2 is basically the area that "starts up" the Wii. According to the people who have developed HBC, *the code for Nintendo's updated boot2 is prone to making write errors, therefore making the possibility of bricking your Wii extremely high, whether or not you have ever hacked or modified your Wii*."





PatentBoy said:


> Regarding Wii Resort, that was not the case for me. See this related post regarding super mario bros. - >http://techforums.nintendo.com/nins/board/message?board.id=gamehelp_wii&thread.id=10738
> 
> The games are not tied to system software, but may include the software or ask the user to update to the latest system software. Typically, this is for those who do not have an internet connection.


That might be true for Super Mario Bros., but it was not for me with Wii Sports Resort. When the loading it up the first time, it told me to update. If I said no, it returned me back to the Wii Menu. I copied the DVD to my external and tried again with the same result. I then went in through WiiConnect and performed the update. I did of course lose use of my external until I fixed HomeBrew.

- Merg


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

what is new????????????


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

i have 4.0 on my wii.......


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

james hyde said:


> what is new????????????


I posted the changes in your other thread. The synopsis really is, unless a game requires it (and it would come with it), there is absolutely no reason to go from 4.0 to 4.2.


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## LlenB2520 (Feb 10, 2010)

Yeah accidently updated, and there goes my chances at playing any homebrew games. I know messing with Nintendo code is bad, but the homebrew community has come out with some fantastic features.


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

i do not want to upgrade to 4.2!!!!!!!!!!!


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

i have 4.0 on my wii.................


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

when did 4.0 come out?????


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

james hyde said:


> when did 4.0 come out????????????????


March 25, 2009.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

LlenB2520 said:


> Yeah accidently updated, and there goes my chances at playing any homebrew games. I know messing with Nintendo code is bad, but the homebrew community has come out with some fantastic features.


There's ways that you can go back and fix it so you can get your HBC back. That's what I ended up doing.

- Merg


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## james hyde (Nov 6, 2009)

it did???


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## PTown (Aug 18, 2007)

james hyde said:


> it did???


What is wrong with you? Why so many useless questions?

Anyways, one of my co-workers Wii's bricked and it was dead stock, no modifications on the 4.2 update.
If you're worried about bricking and you have a soft-modded console do a NAND backup first.


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## jwebb1970 (Oct 3, 2007)

PTown said:


> What is wrong with you? Why so many useless questions?
> 
> Anyways, one of my co-workers Wii's bricked and it was dead stock, no modifications on the 4.2 update.
> If you're worried about bricking and you have a soft-modded console do a NAND backup first.


Not sure why this happens - esp since my Wii has run HBC (not currently) & every update so far has never done anyting beyond erasing HBC (which can easliy be re-installed afterwards).

The major thing to remember about homebrew - in _most_ cases what you do w/ it is 100% safe - but since HBC is also the gateway to online cheats & various forms of piracy - the big N is gonna try & nuke it (and perhaps take your Wii down w/ it) at every chance. And carelessness on the user end w/ HBC stuff can also lead to bricking the console. That is why the HBC option of doing a full NAND backup is a good idea - in most all cases, one can "unbrick" their Wii on their own if a NAND backup is handy.

But w/ every system update so far, the HBC crowd generally finds a new back door/workaround within 24-48 hours of any HBC killing updates.


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## PTown (Aug 18, 2007)

jwebb1970 said:


> Not sure why this happens - esp since my Wii has run HBC (not currently) & every update so far has never done anyting beyond erasing HBC (which can easliy be re-installed afterwards).
> 
> The major thing to remember about homebrew - in _most_ cases what you do w/ it is 100% safe - but since HBC is also the gateway to online cheats & various forms of piracy - the big N is gonna try & nuke it (and perhaps take your Wii down w/ it) at every chance. And carelessness on the user end w/ HBC stuff can also lead to bricking the console. That is why the HBC option of doing a full NAND backup is a good idea - in most all cases, one can "unbrick" their Wii on their own if a NAND backup is handy.
> 
> But w/ every system update so far, the HBC crowd generally finds a new back door/workaround within 24-48 hours of any HBC killing updates.


I was surprised when I did my NAND backup I only had 1 bad block, and that was the factory bad block. I figure 3-4 minutes of my time and around 500megs is a lot cheaper than replacing a console. I agree with you that carelessness leads to the majority of the problems. I try to do plenty of research first before I dive in.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

PTown said:


> What is wrong with you? Why so many useless questions?
> 
> Anyways, one of my co-workers Wii's bricked and it was dead stock, no modifications on the 4.2 update.
> If you're worried about bricking and you have a soft-modded console do a NAND backup first.


Nothing like a twitter posting technique done in a thread here, huh??? 

It's as useless here as is twitter itself.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Nothing like a twitter posting technique done in a thread here, huh???
> 
> It's as useless here as is twitter itself.


Except Twitter is not useless. I've actually been able to use it in my job as a network admin.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

dpeters11 said:


> Except Twitter is not useless. I've actually been able to use it in my job as a network admin.


Glad it works for you.....but IM already serves the same need.

Twitter is a joke. There's a reason even the phone company ads make fun of it.

Going back to topic - has anyone found anything online that "officially" indicates there is a problem with firmware version 4.2 on the Wii?

I've found no such announcement, notification, etc.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Glad it works for you.....but IM already serves the same need.
> 
> Twitter is a joke. There's a reason even the phone company ads make fun of it.
> 
> ...


Nope, I've used it to check that it's just not my Blackberries out in a particular city, others having the same issue etc. I can't do a #attfail search on IM. It's pathetic, but I've actually gotten better response from customer service reps for AT&T and T-Mobile on Twitter at times than the call center.

As for the 4.2 update, I haven't either. Last I saw they still were blaming hacked consoles which we know isn't the whole story. I finally updated my unhacked one and it worked fine though.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

The Merg said:


> As for using a hacked Wii, I am in that community. My sole purpose for doing so is to load my games onto an external harddrive to improve loading times and save me the time of swapping DVD's in and out. I have Wii channels set up for each of my games to make it easy for myself and my wife to load them.
> 
> - Merg


When you say you setup Wii channels for all your games, do you mean they show up in the boxes on the main page? One of the reasons I didn't go through with the mod was because I thought it would be too hard for the kids to figure out the interface afterwards. If I can set it up so they are on an external drive and are buttons on the main page, I'll be all over that (the kids only play 3 or 4 games, so I have lots of free spaces on the main page).


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

You have to ask yourself, is this really the right forum for this sort of discussion? Do you really want a moderator making a field call as to whether this violates this rule...



> You agree to not use the Service to:
> 
> (c) upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that
> 
> (2) consists of instructional information on illegal activities, including, but not limited to, hacking, cracking, and phreaking


Because as long as there's no call on the field, there are no infractions. As soon as there's a call on the field, well a moderator has to do something about it.

It's up to you guys.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

I vote to talk about firmware v4.2 for what it does, any issues with it, and what may be in store beyond it - oh wait - that's the thread purpose already.


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## Getteau (Dec 20, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> You have to ask yourself, is this really the right forum for this sort of discussion? Do you really want a moderator making a field call as to whether this violates this rule...
> 
> Because as long as there's no call on the field, there are no infractions. As soon as there's a call on the field, well a moderator has to do something about it.
> 
> It's up to you guys.


I just edited my post to take out the parts that I think would have violated the rules.


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## jwebb1970 (Oct 3, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> You have to ask yourself, is this really the right forum for this sort of discussion? Do you really want a moderator making a field call as to whether this violates this rule...
> 
> Because as long as there's no call on the field, there are no infractions. As soon as there's a call on the field, well a moderator has to do something about it.
> 
> It's up to you guys.


I think the mere mention of homebrew & what one could do with it is OK - it seems many Wii HB types are less about piracy/cheating than doing coolthings w/ a Wii that it normally cannot - the storage of game discs on an ext drive, for example - very cool, but also a way to pirate rented games.

I would think step by step instructions or link to such things might cross the line - besides, if someone really needs such info, they have Google.

But discussing some of the non-criminal HBC apps would be "safe", I assume.


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