Wii Disc Backup
From Nintendo-Scene Wiki
Important Update Beware there is some software, "Easy Backup Wizard", that claims to be able to copy Wii games, it is a Scam.
This guide will walk you through creating backups of Nintendo Wii or Nintendo Gamecube Discs. This guide is broken up into two major portions, Creating an Image from an Original Disc and Burning an Image to writable media. Note: To use a backup game, you will need a modded Wii using either the TwilightHack or a modchip. Discussion of these may be against the site's policy, so be careful.
Contents |
Ripping The Disc
Step 0: Requirements
Before you can begin ripping your Wii and GC discs you will need a few things
An Original Game Disc
Obviously you'll need an original game disc or some kind of source material. This will probably work from a backup disc as well, but that is not only unnecessary but also illegal as you're at most only allowed one backup of an original you own for archival purposes. The disc should also be clean and free from scratches. Be sure to clean or resurface the disc (using something like a disc doctor) if necessary before you begin to ensure that you won't get any errors.
A DVD drive capable of reading Wii and GC discs
Only specific drives are capable of reading Wii and GC discs, obviously in addition to the drive you will also need it installed in a PC with proper drivers. At present the only drives known to be capable of reading Wii and GC discs are the following:
- Hitachi LG GDR-8161b (IDE)
- Hitachi LG GDR-8162b (IDE)
- Hitachi LG GDR-8163b (IDE)
- Hitachi LG GDR-8164b (IDE)
- Hitachi LG GDR-H10NBLK (SATA)
- Hitachi LG GDR-8082N - USB SLIM Portable Drive
All Drives can be found at www.megaloot4u.com [1].
If you don't have any available IDE or SATA channels for a new drive, or you don't have the physical space inside your computer to add a drive or otherwise just don't want to add a new drive or replace your existing drive you can connect any of the above IDE drives through an external USB 2.0 enclosure designed for connecting 5.25in internal drives. As long as your computer supports USB 2.0 you shouldn't have any problems. Ebay seller somptingnet has a good supply of 8082n drives in slim USB enclosures available.
If you're having trouble locating these drives I highly recommend checking out newegg and if that fails, try eBay or the BST.
(IMPORTANT- Although it is mentioned at the very begining of this article, many people have complained that it was only after forking out for the correct DVD drives and creating backups that they discovered these backups ONLY WORK ON A WII WITH A MODCHIP, OR THAT HAS BEEN SOFT-MODDED WITH THE TWILIGHT HACK, so take note of this before you start spending money).
Ripping Software
Once you've got your original disc and the appropriate drive that can read the disc you will need special software to rip it. Normal DVD ripping and burning software will not work you will need software specifically designed to rip Wii and GC discs. At present the 2 main programs used for this task are Raw_Dump 2.0 (Windows) and FriiDump 0.3 (Linux, BSD & Mac).
Step1: Creating the Dump (Using RawDump 2.0, Windows)
- Now that you have all the tools you need start by inserting your original disc into the drive you'll be using to rip it.
- Launch the Raw Dump application.
- Select your drive from the drop down box (normally it will already be selected)
- Click the "Start Dump" button
This process will take roughly two and a half hours to complete for Wii discs and just under an hour to complete for Gamecube discs. Once the process is complete you will be presented with a friendly "finished" message.
It's also important to note that Raw Dump will create the image file in the same folder as the rawdump.exe file So ensure you have at least 5GB of free space for Wii discs and at least 2GB of free space for GC discs. The file will be title in the format "game name.iso"
Step2: Verifying the Dump (Windows)
Once you've dumped the game to a file you must verify it's size. All Wii game images are exactly the same size and all GC game images are exactly the same size. Check the file properties and ensure the file size is as follows:
- Wii iso size: 4.37 GB (4,699,979,776 bytes)
- Gamecube iso size: 1.35 GB (1,459,978,240 bytes)
If the .iso file is not the size listed above there was likely a problem with the dump and it must be done again. If you used an older application or alternative method for dumping the iso then move on to step 3 to unscramble the file. Otherwise move on to step 4.
To check the file size in Windows simply right click on the file and select properties
Step3: Unscrambling the Dump (optional)
If you used Raw Dump to create your image you should have a .iso file that is ready to go. If you used one of the older applications or some other method that produced a ".wii" or some file type other than a .iso you'll need to convert it to a .iso using either Rawdump 2.0 or Unscramble 0.4.
If you are unsure whether or not your file is scrambled you can run the unscramble function of either of those applications. If the file is scrambled they will unscramble it, if the file is not scrambled then they wont harm it.
Another way to check is to look at the file sizes
- If the file is 4,699,979,776 bytes, it is unscrambled.
- If the file is 4,700,012,544 bytes, it was unscrambled with unscrambler 0.4 (unscrambler adds 32,768 bytes to the file).
- If the file is 4,736,698,368 bytes, it is a raw file and must be unscrambled.
If you've already got a unscrambled .iso file you can move on to Step 4.
Step4: Preparing the Image (optional)
If the disc you're backing up is from a different region then your console then there are a few things you might want to consider doing to the image before burning:
Brick Blocker
Consider using WiiBrickBlocker to strip out any dashboard update code that might be included on the disc. Certain games such as the USA releases Paper Mario and Metal Slug attempt to update the dashboard on the Wii this can render a non-USA console useless and essentially unrepairable. The update will prompt you before it installs but if you're creating a backup of an imported game then it might be a good idea to strip out the update so you don't even have to worry about it.
Region Frii
Consider using Region Frii to convert your foreign game to the same region as your console. Most modchips can can play Wii games from other regions but many of them require disc swaps. Some importers prefer to convert the region of their disc, this is a choice you'll have to make. It's also important to note that Region Frii does not work on all games.
Burning a Backup
Step 0: Requirements
Before you can begin burning your Wii and GC backups you will need a few things
A DVD burner
Obviously you'll need a DVD burner connected to a computer The burner requirements are fairly minimal for creating backups on a Wii, it simply needs to support single layer DVD media. I would highly recommend a drive that supports DVD-R media. Most modchips can use DVD+R media with some reliability but all modchips support DVD-R media with great reliability. If you're planning on burning Gamecube backups to mini DVD media for use in Gamecube consoles I highly recommend getting a burner that supports Ritek G04 Mini media. Compatibility can be checked on the Ritek compatibility chart, in general the compatible NEC drives offer the best support.
It's important to note that the DVD drives used for ripping Wii and GC discs are not burners and are incapable of burning backups.
DVD Burning software
Most any DVD burning software will work for creating Wii and GC backups as long as the software is compatible with the iso format and compatible with your burner. Nero is the most popular software for this task. If you don't own Nero download ImgBurn it has been tested good for burning Wii backups. ImgBurn is the recommended software for burning DualLayer (aka DoubleLayer) backups.
Blank DVD Media
Wii and GC backups both require Single layer DVD media. GC games do not need to be burned to a mini DVD unless they will be played on a GC with the original unmodified case. GC backups on the Wii or on a GC with a modified case can be played on full size single layer DVD media. For more a more detailed list of media that works with the Wii see the Wii Media Compatibility Chart. For Mini DVDs to use on original GC consoles Ritek G04 Mini media is highly recommended.
Step 1: Insert Disc and Set up the Software
Burn Using Nero
Start by inserting the blank disc on in the drive, close the tray and then open up your burning software.
If using Nero simply cancel out of the wizard (if it opens) then select "Record" from the top mentu followed by the "Burn Image" option.
Once you've Selected your Image file you'll be presented with the the window below. Check "Finalize DVD" and Set your Write Speed, 2x is usually optimal.
Burning Using Alternative Software
This step is fairly straight forward. In most cases if your software is already setup to burn to your burner you can simply load the iso file and burn without problem. There are a few things to keep in mind to get higher quality burns, this is particularly important if your console has a finicky laser assembly, a problem particularly notorious among Gamecubes.
- Disable "Buffer Under-run Protection"
This is sometimes called "Burnproof" and is designed to keep you from burning bad discs when the the burner moves faster then the computer can keep up. For day to day tasks this is a good feature but for burning Game backups you're best served by disabling this feature. Some software and burners don't support this feature, in most cases if it's available it will be a simple check box that needs un-checking in the burn dialog.
- Burn at or below the rated media speed
If the media is only rated for 4x don't burn any faster than 4x, the same goes for 8x or 2x or any other speed. If your burner cannot support that speed then burn at a slower speed. Some argue that burning as slow as possible creates the best burns, this is not always the case. It has been found that some burner/firmware/media combinations actually provide slightly higher quality burns at higher speeds. There are far too many factors involved to list here so if you're interested in finding out what your optimal speed is for the media you're using on your burner do some research (CD Freaks is a good place to start). Alternatively you can use a program to test your resulting burns at different speeds against the original to find out which speed works the best for your combination. This is described in more detail in the optional verification step below.
This is completely unnecessary, though some people like to know this information.
- Finalize the disc
Sometimes the burning application will ask you if you'd like to finalize the disc or leave it open. Always finalize the disc if given the option.
Step 2: Burn
Once you've got your software setup the way you like it. Make sure you're computer isn't doing any heavy tasks like playing games, playing HD movies, running CAD or video editing software etc. Most computers can handle playing MP3s and browsing the internet while burning but if you're flying loose with no buffer underrun protection you should probably avoid any strenuous tasks that would take resources away from the burn process.
Once you're sure everything is good to go click burn and wait for the process to finish. Go eat a sandwich or something. Your burning application should give you a fairly accurate estimate as to how long the burning process will take.
Step 3: Verify (optional)
Once you're done burning you should test the game out in the console to ensure it burned properly. It's good to do this directly after you've gone through the backup process because it will still be fresh in your mind and it will be much easier to remember anything out of the ordinary that may have happened. At very least do this with the first few backups you make to make sure you're comfortable with the burning process.
If you're interested in a more in-depth verification of how good your burn came out try using either CDSpeed or KProbe to test the resulting burn quality. Keep in mind that only certain burners will support these programs so you may not be able to run them with your setup. Some DVD burning applications will have verification tools built in as well, though these are less scientific.
Storing Backups
Some people like to store backups on tape, hard drives or other nasty mediums. This will describe how to remove all the empty space from your images.
Step 1: Google knows everything
Google search for a file called WiiScrubber, most current version as of this writing is v1.21a you will also need the elusive key.bin file, which can be found in the WiiScrubber v1.21 zip file. unpack WiiScrubber and put key.bin in the same directory. You will also need 4.5 Gb of free disk space.
Step 2: Scrub-a-Dub-Dub
Start up WiiScrubber by double clicking it, yes it has a gui interface. Pick an .iso file, notice WiiScrubber will tell you the compressed size in the upper right corner. Scrubb the .iso, this will take a half hour depending on your hdd speed. Notice the .iso is the same size as when you started ?!?!?! The .iso looks the same but it is now compressible with WinZip/WinRar/7ZipPortable, whatever you fancy.
NOTE: Mr.Mario could release a Wii update that will look for scrubbed DVD's, this is possible but not probable.
