How to Modify Your Wii to Play Burned Games

By Marshal M. Rosenthal

Updated September 22, 2017

i Todd Warnock/Lifesize/Getty Images

The Nintendo Wii can be modified to play copies of games that have been burned onto a DVD on a computer. The modification does not require opening up the Wii and so, while it voids the warranty, can be reversed at a later time without incident. No special skills are needed, although you will have to first download a Wii softmod program on a PC and transfer it to a Secure Digital card. There are a number of Wii softmod programs, all free to use and that operate in a similar fashion for softmodding the Wii.

Download a Wii softmod program to the PC’s desktop--for example, the SoftMii program (see link in Resources). Double-click on the file once downloaded to decompress it to a folder on the desktop.

Insert the SD card into the SD card slot on the PC--if there is no SD card slot, insert the SD card into the slot on the SD card adapter and plug the SD card adapter into a USB port on the PC.

Double-click on the Wii softmod folder that is on the desktop to open its window. Double-click on the “HackMii” installer folder that is inside the window. Copy the contents of the “HackMii” folder onto the icon of the SD card that is on the desktop. Wait as a copy progress bar appears, fills in from right to left and then disappears.

Double-click on the “Bannerbomb” folder in the window. Select a folder from inside of the window that appears on the desktop. Drag the folder onto the icon of the SD card that is on the desktop. Wait as a copy progress bar appears, fills in from right to left and then disappears.

Download a Wii boot program to the PC’s desktop--for example, the BootMi program (see link in Resources). Double-click on the file once downloaded to decompress it to a folder on the desktop.

Double-click on the “BootMi” folder that is on the desktop to open its window. Double-click on the “BootMi” program to launch it. Follow the menu commands, selecting the SD card from the list of choices for “Devices” when prompted, to install the “BootMi” files and program onto the SD card.

Double-click on the SD card’s icon to open its window. Double-click on the “HackMii” folder inside of the window. Double-click on the “HackMii” program inside the folder’s window that appears to launch it. Follow the menu commands to complete an installation on the SD card.

Double-click on the “Installation” folder that is now inside of the “HackMii” folder. Double-click on the installation file that is inside of the folder to launch it. Follow the menu commands to install the files on the SD card.

Right-click on the SD card’s icon once the installation has been completed. Select “Eject” from the pop-up menu. Remove the SD card from the PC or from the SD card adapter (removing the SD card adapter from the PC afterward).

Plug the SD card into the SD card slot on the Wii. Turn on the Wii. Hold down on the "Power" button and “A” button on the remote until the service menu appears on the screen.

Select the SD card from the list of choices presented on the screen. Select “HackMii” from beneath the SD card. Press the “A” button on the remote to run the program. Select “Restart” from the confirmation window when it appears.

Go to the “Homebrew” channel on the Wii’s main screen. Select the “Homebrew” channel. Click “Start” on the new screen that appears.

Select the SD card from the list of choices presented on the screen. Select “SoftMii” from beneath the SD card. Press the “A” button on the remote to run the program. Select “Restart” from the confirmation window when it appears to reboot the Wii so it can play burned games.

Warnings

Installing the softmod program improperly can freeze the Wii and render it unusable.

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