Hi,

In looking around at some of the methods that other people are using  to back up  Wii Games, it basically boils down to a choice of  two : 1 . Using a Wii Modchip  or 2; using a combination of Homebrew Channel, an SD Card, a DVD-R Burner and Imgburn – to get their Wii Console to stage where it can play games from copied disks.

Each of these methods can be  made to work but they both struck me as being too fiddly for the average user and not necessarily all that cheap either. Let’s look at both in turn:

Wii Mod Chips

A Wii mod chip (modification chip) is basically a small piece of electronic kit that once installed can be used to modify or disable built-in restrictions that you’ll find in Wii consoles. A Wii Mod chip works by basically overriding the system’s protective hardware or software. Specifically, once a mod chip has been installed a Wii user will be able to play backups or  copies of their Wii games, play imported games, use unlicensed homebrew applications and games  as well as play all region DVD Movies.

The problem with using a Wii modchip is that its installation  requires a fair degree of technical expertise . The mod chip needs to be connected to the circuitry of your Wii’s motherboard – which involves soldering – so unless your skilled up in this area, I’d suggest not attempting to do it yourself.

There’s also the fact that Nintendo aren’t sitting on your hands when it comes to this matter. They’re taking a numer of steps to combat the use of Mod chips – by doing things such as changing the DVD Drives that come with new Wii consoles to render the old Mod chips obsolete as well as taking measures such as putting epoxy glue over the security chip on the motherboard so that it can’t be easily replaced. Of course, as Nintendo makes these changes, the hacking community also adapts so now you’ll find things such as Wii Drive Chips – which connect directly to the console’s optical drive motherboard and not the main motherboard; and take control of the optical drive’s firmware by patching it though a series of debug command, ultimately altering the firmware so that it take commands from standard DVD media. Complicated stuff and unless you really know your way around electronics, not recommended to be done by yourself.

There are various shops around that will mod your Wii for  you and you’d be looking at paying at least $100 to get this type work done. You will however be able to back up your Wii  games onto discs thereafter, and play those same Wii games from the copied discs.

Using Homebrew Channel + DVD-R Burner + SD Card + ImgBurn

This method (once successfully implemented) will allow you to make backup copies of your Wii games without having to install a modchip.

It requires the following:

1. Homebrew Channel – a free homebrew application loader that allows you to run official software on a Wii Console.

2. A DVD-R  Burner  (If you don’t already have one of these they can usually be bought online for about $40)

3. Some DVD-R discs. These usually retail for about $2 each so if you were buying a pack of 20 (if for instance you were looking to back up 20 games) then you’s be up for $40.

4. an SD Card (flash memory card) and:

5. ImgBurn – free software that allows the recording of many CD/DVD images onto recordable media.

To cut a long story short, there are several steps involved in putting this method into practice and it requires a fair degree of computing and technical proficiency. Unless you’re really  confident in steering your way around this terrain, there’s a lot that can go wrong. To my mind – it’s the preserve of people who really like fiddling around with technical solutions and outwitting the man (in this case, Nintendo)

Copying Wii Games? There has to be a better way. ]]> http://backupwii.net/back-up-wii-some-current-methods/feed 29 http://backupwii.net/backup-wii-games-why-do-it http://backupwii.net/backup-wii-games-why-do-it#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:31:08 +0000 tony http://backupwii.net/?p=14 I guess the first question that should be answered before we start looking at the “how?” is the “why?” i.e. why is it important to back up our Wii  games?
I’m a little older than a lot of the other gamers that I know  so for me money is not so big an issue; but I know that this certainly wasn’t the case when I was younger and nor is it the case with most young people I know  who are heavily into gaming.
So let’s start with the facts. It’s probably not too big a stretch to say that when people talk about their favourite gaming platform these days that Nintendo Wii would come near the top of the pack. Wii Games are some of the hottest sellers in the market with no sign of their popularity abating. But these games can be expensive. When you’re paying up to $50 for a new Wii game you certainly don’t want to be in a position where it breaks and then you’re forced to shell out another $50  just to replace it – particularly if you’re a teenager and don’t have ready access to that type of cash.
On top of this, Wii game disks are fragile. They are nothing more than DVD disks which can scratch or break easily. Dropping a  disk onto a hard surface will quite often do enough damage so that it becomes unplayable. I know – I’ve done this! Playing games regularly can also result in minor damage to the surface of the disks which is caused by the playing mechanism. Through repeated and frequent use (and don’t we all play Wii a lot?!), these minor blemishes can accumulate and end up damaging the disk permanently.
To reduce the risk of paying extra should any of this happen – your best bet is to make a copy of the Wii games that you already have. And it should be pointed out that you have a legal right to do this. There’s no issue in respect to making backup copies of Wii games that you’ve already purchased. The problem of course lies in which is the best way to do this? It’s not possible to burn Wii games in the same way that you would a music CD as video game discs have “copyright protection” which precludes the copying of their content. Your computer will simply not recognise the disk.
What is needed therefore is a way to bypass the copy protection encryption that is found on the majority of Wii game discs.

Tony.