[ # ] Mario Kart on Modded Wii – No Black Screen Freeze
/* Posted April 12th, 2008 at 1:47pm *//* Filed under Mods, Nintendo, Video Games, Wii */
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We’ve been eagerly following Mario Kart news for the past month so when discovered that the PAL version of the Mario Kart Wii ISO release came out, you can bet that we were trying to get it to play on our modded US Wiis. As always, getting a game from a different region to play on your Wii, especially a popular one like Mario Kart, is sometimes a huge headache due to modchip firmware incompatibilities and the Wii’s own firmware updates. The blank black screen freeze issue is the most commonly encountered problem, but we’ve figured out how to get it to work without any hitches.
The major issue causing the blank screen is the Wii firmware. If you’ve been able to play SSBB before, then you should have no problems playing Mario Kart Wii. There’s a region free Mario Kart ISO floating out there in cyberspace so if you can get a hold of that, you should have no problems playing the game. The key is you need the v2 firmware for 3.1. If you have the correct copy of SSBB for your region, its update should allow a burned Mario Kart Wii DVD to work fine. However, if you haven’t installed the SSBB update or haven’t played SSBB or else are still having problems getting Mario Kart to work for some reason, then you’ll need to follow the steps below to insert the correct firmware update for your Wii region into the Mario Kart ISO.
- You will need Wii Update Manager (aka WuM). Get the Windows, Linux or Mac version appropriate for your computer. We know we shouldn’t hotlink, so here’s the official source.
- The other thing you need is the proper firmware update for your Wii. For Japanese Wiis, get the 3.1J_v2 firmware. Since we have US Wiis, we downloaded the US firmware 3.1U_v2. Luckily for you, we’re providing it (a 179MB download).
- Launch WuM and set the settings appropriately for your Wii.
- After clicking OK, WuM will create a folder called “dumps” in the same directory as the executable. Copy the firmware dump of 3.1J_V2/3.1U_V2 to this folder, or else browse for it in File -> Settings.
- Use WuM to open the ISO of Mario Kart Wii.
- Click “Read Infos.”
- Click “Analyze Risk.” It will probably tell you that you need to Brick Block it because it’s from a different region.
- Under “Replace with,” select your region’s update. This will either be 3.1J_V2 or 3.1U_V2.
- Click “Replace.” Do not click “Brick Block.”
- To verify that WuM’s done it job, click “Read Infos” and “Analyze Risk” again and you should see now that the ISO is safe because the update is the same region as your Wii.
- Burn the newly updated Mario Kart ISO to DVD.
- Pop it in your Wii and allow it to update your firmware.
- After the update, load Mario Kart Wii from the channel and enjoy the game!
If you experience some problems, you might try to RegionFrii the updated ISO or cleaning your Wii lens. We didn’t have to. Or if you got it to work, it’s time to read some of our tips for winning at Mario Kart.
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Can I downgrade from 3.2U to 3.1U_v2?
Yes, first update your Wii through the Internet to the latest firmware which will be 3.2U. Then insert the modified Mario Kart ISO with 3.1U_v2 firmware and allow the game to update.
I was using 3.2U updated via internet on my NTSC wii. I followed the tutorial above and it WORKED PERFECTLY!
Some details:
- I thought i would be back to 3.1U_v2, but I’m still in 3.2U, even after the update.
- There are no duplicate channels (in fact, the is no mario kart channel at all).
- My wii is not bricked nor semi-bricked, and I can access wii settings normally.
Can this be done with the Mario kart version?
I meant Scrubbed version?
It matter if the mario kart is PAL or NTSC?
This will work on either PAL or NTSC scrubbed versions.
Thanks
i see i didnt formulated right the question what i meant is that can i use this method with a mario Kart Pal scrubbed version on a NTSC wii console…
Thanks for the response
Yes a PAL scrubbed version will work on an NTSC Wii if you go through these steps correctly.
So when i check the WUM its should says its safe to update and the green face.
Hey, I have the problem of the blank/black screen of Mario Kart with Super Mario Party 8, Super Smash Brother Brawl and Scarface (PAL). With this 3.1U_V2 update should resolve those game also (the blank screen). If i put the update in the MArio Kart iso, I dont have to update anymore with a first update?
HORRAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks adm_snacbar…..everything goes excellenttttt. Playing Mario Kart. You can imagine how i have been searching in different forums and nobody knew this you teach me. Very thanksful. With this update (3.1U_V2) can I play SSBB DVD5, Mario Party 8 and Scarface (PAL)? Because the three games I mentioned have the same problem as Mario Kart.
Glad to hear everything worked out for you. This also fixed SSBB for me too.
Adm_snackbar….
Hey SSBB DVD5 worked fine, I don’t know if is that because is a backup DVD5 but I couldn’t connect to the internet but everything else worked just great, thanks again
hi. can you help me? i have modified japan made wii console. but i dont understand japanese word. :-(
i bought mario kart game, whenever i insert the disc, there’s a japanese message appears, which i dont understand a word, i think its asking for update. should i allow? and, what will happen if the update is not compatible? will it damage my wii? thank you for your answer in advance. sincerely.
Depending on your mod chip you will have to check with the manufacturer to see if the 3.2J firmware on your game will be compatible. If it is then the update won’t harm your Wii since your game is the original and you are not mixing regions. Your only risk is whether or not the latest Wii firmware is compatible with your mod chip so that’s what you need to find out. You could alternatively try to obtain an English language ISO and follow these directions. If you do manage to brick we have an unbrick fix disc article you can refer to. As always we are not responsible for any damage you do to your Wii.
thanks adm_snackbar. i will try to check what my mod chip is 1st. get back to you soon as i have it.
More power…
by the way, i just have it modified fr store. how can i check this, he is just a freelancer. not sure if i can still contact him? can i open the wii console and check it myself? what chip am i looking for?
I have a premodded jap wii. I followed the tutorial and everything went fine. I had a green face and everything. But now I keep getting an error 001. Any clue what it is? My older games still work fine.
Linux4x:
It will be a small 1″ chip that looks out of place on your board. I’m not sure how to identify the chip but there’s only a few on the market.
nachi:
I haven’t encountered the 001 error, but are you sure the Wii isn’t semi-bricked? You can tell if you can’t access your Wii settings anymore. In that case check out our semi-brick fix disc post. Otherwise it might just be your mod chip isn’t updated to the latest firmware to handle Mario Kart.
Helloo, i’ve got a problem.
I Downloaded Iron man, and installed the update. Now with some games, like iron man and mario kart i get this black screen and this: Error#001 Unauthorized device detected.
What should i do to be able to play these games?
thanks alot, followed your instructions and the game plays well! even the 1st disk that gave me the blank screen is playable now, so the key to solve this is the 3.1v2 firmware.
like someone has mentioned before, my firmware is still stated as 3.2U. so will be there be any impact if I update the firmware to 3.3U next time?
My Wii is from the US and it’s firmware is version 3.3U. I used WUM to modify my PAL version of Mario Kart to version 3.1U_v2, but I am still getting the black screen and also I do not get the option to update. I have not played any game besides Wii Sports on my Wii. Any ideas? I can’t get any US games where I live right now either. Please help!
Hi all, with WUM to update 3.1U_v2 I managed to play Mario Kart and it solves my SSBB problem.
However, I just updated to 3.3U and now my SSBB is not working anymore though I can still play Mario Kart.
I tried burning another copy of the Mario Kart (with 3.1U_v2 firmware inside) but I could not get to the update screen anymore. Is there anyway to solve this problem?
Thanks for the help.
Hi guys!
Well it seems that im not the only one with the ssbb problem around here. I did the biggest stupidity ever and updated to v3.3U my wii firmware without knowing what this will do.. so now, as far as i know (i hope it doesnt get any worse), i wont be able to play any trucha-signed disks in my wii (d2ckey modded), so please, i know you can post a solution, and ill be in debt forever with, can i downgrade or something?? I know u know a lot of wiis, please help me!! and help the rest that are in the same condition!
Thanx in advance!
I`ve updated to 3.3U, and it worked for me as well.
It fixed 3.3U problem!
I updated my Wii to 3.3U few days ago, and I just modded it today. Got freeze screen when with backup Mario Kart.
Then I followed the steps reburned Mario Kart with U3.1V2 upgrade. The system asked me to upgrade and I clicked OK… rebooted wii, started Mario Kart and it worked!
The system is still showing version 3.3U though.
Thanks!
Hello.
A strange thing happened. SSBB works perfectly, but Mario Kart is not working. Sometimes, it works, but…the most common is a black screen saying “The game disc could not be read”. Strange, i think. SSBB still working, but Mario Kart, nothing. I copied Mario Kart again, it worked a little, and…black screen. Now, every time I start a race, the damn black screen appears. Does this steps solve this problem?
I have a PAL Wii (Firmware 3.3E) and a copy of Mario Kart. But when I try to start it, it fails. I tried it without the firmware update and with the 3.1U_v2 as well. Both don’t seem to work. What should I do? A friend of my has 3.1E and it works on his Wii.
sup man followed all your steps concisly burnt over 5 dvds and stil dont work i got a mario kart compressed iso and did all the stuff added the update but after so many attempts i jsut hav to ogive up but im thinking theyres something fishy i putted the dvd 5th one and mario came up and got 001 black screen again but during the update infromation it said the update zone does not match the iso zone also i used regionfrii still no luck ive got a 3.3u wii not sure wat chip and i accidentaly installed the update from this pal wii game mario i aint bricked i think cause i can acces wii settings internet etc.. any help?
have a uk pal wii and cant play ntsc,mario super sluggers just goes to black screen,have 3.3e! can anybody please help me
thankyou
The items we send out are often based on the information we receive from our customers. In your case you specified a D2C compatible modchip, when in fact it transpired that you had a D2E chipset.
Clearly we would not have been able to establish this initially which is why you ordered the wrong chip to start with. It may in future be worthwhile spending much more time researching what parts you actually need. This would save everyone a lot of time.
Unless you can now prove that you have retuned this item to us we will not enter into any further corrospondence with you.
Pinpoint Games
hi i have a uk pal wii with a d2ckey modchip most games work fine but a few give me the black screen problem. i have read the info on this site on how to fix this but i am not to sure if i need to use the update for japan or find a uk 1? any help would be appreciated.
I followed the directions above. When I insert the disc in, i get “unable to read disc”. please help. what can I do?
Thanks a lot. worked perfect to me with D2c AND 3.3 VERSION.
Can I use it for other freeze Black screen such on HeatSeeker etc. ?
Cheers M8.
oh man~ i’m on my 7th try with my cd and still waiting to find the working solution. i have d2ckey also with 3.3u version as well. and i have tried many ways and read a lot from everyone. and so far i get the steps is to set the region of where you are from and replace the iso with lower version at 3.1u v2 and burn it with nero at 4x.
keep you guys update while i’m still in process of getting it done as i speak
does any one have the 3.1u v2 for the download? i can’t see to find the file on the program nor the site
@Gary,
you might have already found the 3.1u v2, if not its link is also in above instruction at step 2. If you get it worked, let me know.
@Ad,
have you still able to play other backup games beside MK after downgrade the firmware to 3.1u, like SMGalaxy? I also have d2cpro9 with 3.3u with blank screen when playing MK after hitting the start button, I don’t know if going to 3.1u v2 would cause problem with other backup.
What if you dont know the ver. of your wii when you’re puttting in the settings for the WUM. Will that cause a problem?
hi, have some copied games and a d2sun chip with clip. some games work now and again…. chip is working (blue light). helps sometimes to pull out power and reboot..Any idea folks??
I haven’t mod my Wii( Japanese ver. 3.1J) and I got a freeloader however, I get to load but just see the black freeze screen.. what should I do?
Try updating it?
can anyone help me find firmware 3.1e i have searched and cann’t find it to download
hi guyz i was updating my korean wii using wii fit jap.now it just freezes on startup menu where u press “A”.please help
I have a Japanese we and which is with a mod chip, i inserted Super Mario Galaxy, and it did an´update, iget to load the game but then i get a black screen can you help me?
I followed the steps and can now start the Mario Kart w/out black screen except now after playing for 1 min a black screen says wii cannot read disc please refer to original manual. I c someonelse asked about this 2 and not a response yet. Can you tell us what went wrong and possible solutions. I have 3.3 wii firmware, wiikey2 chip
HooRay!! Problem solved. What to do… 1. follow steps provided here 2. use dvd-r to burn game onto, dvd+r’s don’t read iso’s well. 3. burn at 8x speed and play!! Thanks coderetard for the steps above!
So, now I noticed that all the previous games a burned onto dvd+r do not work on wii. It says wii is unable to read disc please refer to manual. But it does read dvd-r so you may want to keep that in mind when you burn your game.
I have followed the instructions and burned the dvd with nero (speed 8X). WII was on version 3.3 at that time. The dvd didn’t work. I burned again with speed 4X, it didn’t work. Then I updated the WII to 3.4 and burned the DVD with speed AUTOMATIC. It didn’t work as well. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
i have a wii of 3.3J will mario kart work in mine
b’coz i an indian and don’t know japanese to upgrade my wii or degrade it as everything is in japanese
You guys are the best. I have been looking for a long time and the info above help me sort the problem. I have a US WII with 3.2U version. Downloaded a PAL version of the game. Followed instructions as above including the update and the game started without any issues.
Thank you very very much.
yoo adm_snackbar,
would this work on a softmodded wii(twilight hack)????