Question Portable Wii that still feels like a wii

[NLG]

I am looking to build a portable wii that still feels like a regular wii. As in you boot it up, you get the safety warning and the home menu, and you click on a channel to load a game you've installed or to open a loader that has a Wii feel to it (like USB Loader GX or Wiiflow).

My question is, is there ANY way to accomplish this without keeping the disc drive board, and wifi? For my trim i will definitely relocate bluetooth since i want to use the wiimotes. However, it would be nice to not have to include wifi and the disc drive to access the home screen or at least access a wii-like interface (sorry but RVLoader's interface is... a bit too purely functional)

I realize this might sound like a stupid thing to want, but im gearing my portable toward the "social console" aspect of the wii - playing lots of first party wii games and such, swining wiimotes around with the homies. As such, it would be nice for the console to feel stock.

 

[randomguy]

Actually, every Wii portable can do this.When you install rvloader, you can boot in the Wii menu if you want.You just need to relocate the bluetooth module for have the warning message.For exemple, take a look at the end of the g-boy's manual.Hope it's help!

 

[NLG]

Actually, every Wii portable can do this.When you install rvloader, you can boot in the Wii menu if you want.You just need to relocate the bluetooth module for have the warning message.For exemple, take a look at the end of the g-boy's manual.Hope it's help!View attachment 37942

Oh, I dont need to relocate WiFi to get the wii menu? That would be great, bluetooth relocation Isn't too bad but wifi looks like huge pain.

Is there a way to disable auto-booting into RVLoader then? and add RVLoader to the main Wii channel menu?

 

[randomguy]

Watch this thread, it will help you much.

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-access-the-stock-wii-menu-from-rvloader.5206/

(And Yes you dont need to relocate the wifi module),

 

[NLG]

Watch this thread, it will help you much.

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/how-to-access-the-stock-wii-menu-from-rvloader.5206/

(And Yes you dont need to relocate the wifi module),

Ah, I saw that thread but still wasn't sure if the wii menu would work without wifi.

Last question, is there a WAD for adding RVLoader to the home screen, like how USBLoaderGX has a forwarder so I dont have to go through the homebrew channel? Id like for the Wii to boot into the regular home menu and then open up RVLoader manually.

Yes I know my questions might be cringe but I will primarily be using this portable with people and am trying to maintain the nostalgia as much as possible haha

 

[Stitches]

To clarify: You don't need to relocate the wifi module if you install the nowifi patch during RVLoader installation. Without the nowifi patch, the Wii will not boot if the wifi module is missing.
After installing RVLoader, you can boot into Priiloader and change the power on behaviour from running RVLoader to booting the System menu. Unfortunately RVLoader does not have a forwarder WAD, so you can only run it from the Homebrew Channel at this time.

 

[NLG]

Sweet, then for my setup I will install RVLoader with the nowifi patch (I may already have idk) and modify priiloader to boot to system menu. It'll be a bit silly to have to go through homebrew and then RVLoader, but people's reactions when I boot up my current (dogshit) portable wii and they see the "Press A to Continue" health warning for the first time in years is always priceless.

I considered trying to figure out a trim for the disc drive board and somehow connect it to the trimmed wii so I could use USB Loader but... there is a limit to my stubbornness

 

[Stitches]

Depending on how you want to build this thing, you may not need to trim the disc drive PCB. It's already pretty small once you remove the housing and desolder the motors

 

[Viilmo]

Sweet, then for my setup I will install RVLoader with the nowifi patch (I may already have idk) and modify priiloader to boot to system menu. It'll be a bit silly to have to go through homebrew and then RVLoader, but people's reactions when I boot up my current (dogshit) portable wii and they see the "Press A to Continue" health warning for the first time in years is always priceless.

I considered trying to figure out a trim for the disc drive board and somehow connect it to the trimmed wii so I could use USB Loader but... there is a limit to my stubbornness

Someone did trim the disc drive actually
Think he used a version that could communicate with the wii with just the data line, without the power cable

 

[NLG]

Oh wow, I could sworn someone out there had to have tried it before and I guess I was right! There should be a bitbuilt post about it

I wonder if that trim works with the smaller disc drive board revision? I have a rev 40 (I think) black Wii and it's drive board is smaller (as @Stitches mentioned).

All that's left is how to connect it to a trimmed Wii

 

[Stitches]

I'm not aware of anyone having done this before or any diagrams related to it, so you may have to trace your own pinout using the Wii compendium and a multimeter.

Aurelio already had a working method to patch out the disc drive calls before I joined up, and before that trims were kinda Wild Westy and kept the disc drive FFC traces intact.

 

[NLG]

Yeah the thing is, I imagine USB Loader GX also needs the WIFI module in place. Given the limited space in my portable, adding both the wifi module and the trimmed drive will be a bit annoying space wise, let alone the relocation difficulties. So for right now, using RVLoader (if I can get that WAD working) from the home screen is a good enough compromise for me. Only issue is I am not sure if ill be able to run RVLoader from the homescreen if I dont have my WiFi module. Gonna need to play around with it a bit