Wii Preparation

Identify the Wii’s Revision

There are several revisions of the Nintendo Wii motherboard, but for this guide, only one difference really matters: the type of processor the board uses. To build a portable Wii that runs cool and uses less power, you'll need a motherboard with the Hollywood-1 SoC (System on Chip). These are often called “4-layer Wiis” because the Hollywood-1 is always paired with a 4-layer PCB as opposed to the older revision’s 6-layer PCB.

The following motherboard revisions will always be a 4-layers:

• RVL-CPU-40
• RVL-CPU-50
• RVL-CPU-60
• RVK-CPU-01
• RVK-CPU-02

How to Find a 4-Layer Wii

• Colored Wiis (Black, Blue, or Red): Always 4-layer with Hollywood-1 or newer.
• White Wiis: Could be 4-layer or 6-layer, depending on when they were made.

To confirm the revision without opening the Wii, go to the Wii Revision Checker website and enter the Wii’s serial number.

Want to Learn More About Wii Revisions?

To learn more about all the different Wii board versions, check out the Wiki page by Rare Gaming Dump.

Software Preparation

SoftMod the Wii

Before proceeding, your Wii must be "softmodded" with the Homebrew Channel. The definitive guide for this can be found at Wii Hacks Guide. After the Homebrew Channel is installed, proceed with the instructions for Installing RVLoader.

Install RVLoader

1. Navigate to the RVLoader GitHub page on your computer.

2. Select the Releases button on the right side of the screen.

3. Select the .zip file of the latest RVLoader release.

4. Navigate to your computer’s downloads folder (Finder on MacOS, File Explorer on Windows) and double-click the .zip archive to extract it.

5. A folder will be created with the same name, without the .zip extension. Open this folder.

6. Insert the MicroSD card into your computer (use a MicroSD to USB adapter if needed). Drag the contents of the .zip folder onto the root directory of the MicroSD card.

MicroSD Formatting Notice

It is highly reccomended to format your MicroSD card not only with FAT32, but also 32k cluster size. If on Windows, GUIFormat provides a simple interface to do so.

7. Eject the drive and remove it. Then insert the MicroSD card into the MicroSD to USB adapter and plug it into one of the Wii’s back USB ports.

8. Power on the Wii and navigate to the Homebrew Channel. Select RVLoader from the list and boot it by selecting Load. A screen with the question RVLoader is not installed. Do you want to run the installer? will be presented. Press A to continue, and set the configuration to Patch out WiFi: Yes and Enable VGA: No. Press Start/Home to run the install process.

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RVLoader is now successfully installed, and the Wii is ready to be disassembled and trimmed.

Dumping Wii & GameCube Games

Critical Step

Games must be dumped before trimming the Wii, as the Xii-Boy Ultra does not have a disc drive, and games are loaded from the MicroSD card.

Full guides on dumping games can be found on Wii Hacks Guide and Dolphin's website. To access game dumping Homebrew from the RVLoader menu, use the C-Stick to navigate to the Homebrew loader section. Wii games need to be stored as .wbfs files, and GameCube games need to be stored as .iso files. Exact file placement is addressed in RVLoader Setup.

Disassemble the Wii

Follow a standard guide to disassemble the Wii and remove the motherboard. The iFixit guide is highly recommended.

• iFixit Guide: Nintendo Wii Motherboard Replacement