A huge bunch of Qs for all you Wii enthusiasts out there:

[Frigo]

Ok, it's time for me to fess up: I have no clue what I'm doing. 

I bought my Wii close to 2 years ago, and in that time, I've modded it to have a black casing, soft modded it to play DVD backups, soft modded it to play wad files, emulators, and everything else under the sun. My most recent hack was to enable Gamecube emulation, which is where I think all my probems started. Ever since I did that - I used the program that modifies my cIOS, I believe - I have been unable to play backup discs from the DVD drive, which isn't really a big deal other than my pride being hurt in knowing I screwed something up down the line. So, after thinking about the DVDs not working, I started thinking about all the different changes my poor Wii has gone through - everything from the original Twilight Hack to installing the Bannerbomb hack when I accidently updated the system menu, to the most recent Gamecube support, I've realized that I've been incredibly lucky in that I haven't bricked my Wii yet. So, here's the question(s) I have for all of you.

1) Should I start over from scratch? I'm nowhere near my console right now, so I'm not even sure that there's a "master reset" of sorts to start over.
2) If I can't start over, should I remove everything that I've installed and begin again?
3) I don't even know what IOS files are installed on my system. Hell, I don't even know what an IOS file is! I've just been told to download it and install it if I want program x to work. Same with cIOS files (if there is a difference).
4) What IOS/cIOS files should I have installed to enable me to run games from my DVD drive, Gamecube backups, homebrew, and HDD support?
5) What security features (NAND backup, etc.) would you all recommend and would they be feasible with my system?

Wii Specs (from memory)
-LU63xxx system
-Wii system menu 4.1U

Any info would be really helpful in trying to sort this all out, and who knows, I may learn something in the process. 

[hypernova]

1)  It's definitely an option.  To do so, just use the format option in the System settings.  Though I can't remember if this truly erases everything, but you essentially start over fresh.  If you are on 4.1, it's extremely simple to get everything up and running again.

2)  Good luck trying to uninstall everything that YOU put on there.  The minute you uninstall something you DIDN'T put on there yourself is when you are probably going to brick it.

3&4)  I think USB Loader GX shows what cIOS you are on, but I can't remember.  I know there're other methods to find it out.  cIOS files are just custom IOS files.  They are generally 3 digits long, while important Wii system IOS files are 2 digits long.  cIOS files are just IOS files that more or less "replace" the Wii IOS files.  cIOS 249 or whatever acts as IOS 35 or 37 or one of them.  It's not too confusing a subject.  You generally want two.  The latest from waninkoko (249 as mentioned above), and Hermes cIOS 222 (or something).  I've never truly needed Hermes, but apparently it's useful in a small amount of situations.

5)  Make sure you have BootMii, and install it as boot2, and backup your NAND.  A NAND backup is crucial along with BootMii available.

The page I used to reference isn't on the web anymore.  I know Chad had a good link in another thread for FAQs on reinstalling and just general information, so use your search-fu.

[SavannahLion]

Not to jump too far off topic here.

Didn't the Wii already have Gamecube support? I haven't bothered to mod my Wii in any manner so I must be missing something.

[shateredsoul]

yeah, but he means he was installing a program that lets you play backed up gamecube games (on a harddrive probably)..  he just called it emulation

[Frigo]

yeah, but he means he was installing a program that lets you play backed up gamecube games (on a harddrive probably)..  he just called it emulation

yeah I wrote that post in a hurry. I meant Gamecube backup support.

[crashwg]

a program that lets you play backed up gamecube games (on a harddrive probably)

No such thing exists.  Does it?  I would be interested if it did.  I hate discs!

[Frigo]

Not yet. When the Wii enters GC mode, it loses USB functionality from what I've found. Reading through wiihacks.com, I've found several topics on the subject, and it's a feature actively being worked on at the moment.

[SavannahLion]

Not yet. When the Wii enters GC mode, it loses USB functionality from what I've found.

Yeah, stupidest decision ever.  Why can't the gamecube controllers plug directly into the Wiimotes?  Annoyed the hell out of me when I first got a Wii.

I can live without that feature. I found it more annoying Wii menu can't be navigated using the GCN controllers. Unless that's changed in the past few revisions, a typical Gamecube sessions consists of finding the Wii controller, finding the Wavebird, then navigating the menus with the Wii then switching to the Wavebird. At the very minimum, it would've been nice if Nintendo Devs thought to realize one inserts a GCN game and to check for, and use, a GCN controller in lieu of the Wiimote.

[Frigo]

Not yet. When the Wii enters GC mode, it loses USB functionality from what I've found.

Yeah, stupidest decision ever.  Why can't the gamecube controllers plug directly into the Wiimotes?  Annoyed the hell out of me when I first got a Wii.

I can live without that feature. I found it more annoying Wii menu can't be navigated using the GCN controllers. Unless that's changed in the past few revisions, a typical Gamecube sessions consists of finding the Wii controller, finding the Wavebird, then navigating the menus with the Wii then switching to the Wavebird. At the very minimum, it would've been nice if Nintendo Devs thought to realize one inserts a GCN game and to check for, and use, a GCN controller in lieu of the Wiimote.

Exactly; I've ran into this problem more often now that I'm actively testing GC ISOs that I've burned onto DVD. It would make so much more sense that, if the Wii detected the GC ports were in use on boot, to turn control over to the GC controllers, instead of us having to hold a GC control in one hand, a Wii remote in the other, navigate through the menus just to boot the game, put the Wii remote down, and then start using the GC remote when the Wii goes into GC mode. 

Back to my original problem:

I've posted the same request for help on the Wiihacks forum, and I've received some tremendous help in the past few days. I've found out a lot more than I previously knew about the inner workings of the Wii, and I learned what I needed to do to right my system. It's not completely perfect, but it's in a lot better shape than it was before I started this thread.

Some of the things I have done:

-Downloaded and installed SysCheck. This is a tremendous tool that tells you which IOS's are installed, and what features they have turned on for that particular IOS.

-Updated cIOS 38 r14 to cIOS 38 r17. This was a piece of cake, and seems to be more stable according to the author.

-Installed Hermes. This was the only program that didn't help. It locks up when I try to install any of the cIOS files from there. Any suggestions?

-Updated WiiGator. This resolved my playing from disc problems.

So now, all I need to worry about is getting Hermes to run, and, for some strange reason, whenever I try to dump a game from the DVD to the HDD in USB Loader GX, whether it's a backup or original disc, the unit briefly detects there's a game in the drive, then goes to a blank screen. I've let it sit anywhere from 5-15 minutes without it doing anything. Any thoughts?

[skim36]

you can try upgrading usbloader GX if you haven't already.  I've never needed hermes so I can't help you there.  As someone mentioned above, wiihacks.com is the source to get all the info you need, even if you want to go back to an unmodded wii.  There's tutorials for everything.  definitely do a nand backup with bootmii.  Good luck.