Q: What is Priiloader/Preloader?
A: Preloader is a homebrew application which places itself before the system menu and patches the system menu to remove limitations and add a few things. Since its put before the system menu, it allows you to load into the homebrew channel directly. This allows you to repair your wii if you should ever brick, once the brick isn't a full brick (deleted or corrupted System IOS or corrupted boot)

Q: Why Priiloader/Preloader, why not just use bootmii?
A: Not everyone can install bootmii as boot2. They only have the option of installing it as an IOS which isn't very reliable and can only save you from semi and banner bricks. While Preloader can not save you from full bricks too, it is more reliable than bootmii as an IOS.

Q: How do you uninstall Priiloader/Preloader?
A: You must install a new system menu using WAD Manager or cIOS Downgrader.
cIOS Downgrader needs an internet connection, if you want to do an offline uninstall with WAD Manager, download your system menu using NUSDownloader. Take a look at this tutorial to learn how to use NUSDownloader. If you're using Priiloader, run the installer and press '-' on the wiimote.




Q: Can I install Preloader on Any System Menu?
A: No, Preloader can only be installed on 3.2, 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 System Menus. Installing it on any other can cause a brick. EDIT: Priiloader v0.4 is said to work on all System Menus but there are no hacks.ini yet!




Q: If I were to brick, how would I access Priiloader/Preloader?
A: While booting your wii, hold on to reset, it should load the preloader menu. From there you can load homebrew channel and install a new system menu and/or uninstall the corrupted wad.




Q: I installed the patched IOS60 after I installed Priiloader/Preloader and now get the System files are corrupted message, What do I do?
A: Simply, go to the Preloader menu then load homebrew channel then run the Preloader installer again and re-install. The reason is beause IOS60 is patched inorder to run preloader, installing a new IOS60 removes the patch done by preloader.




Q: I set priiloader to autoboot the system menu but it still boots the Priiloader menu, why is that and what should I do about it?
A: Priiloader v0.2 rev30 broke the autoboot system menu option, so even if set, it will load Priiloader. You will need to install a different version of Priiloader.




Q: Can Preloader/Priiloader help if I get a full brick?
A: No, at this time the only thing that can give you protection from a full brick is bootmii installed as boot2.



Q: What is this hacks.ini file?
A: Simply put the hacks.ini file is a configuration file for Priiloader/Preloader. You can find the hacks for your system menu here. Find your system menu and region, copy all the text in the box below your system menu. Open up NotePad on your PC, paste the text. Save it as "hacks.ini" (with the " ") NotePad is a bit troublesome with formats.




Q: What is the difference between Priiloader and Preloader?
A: Preloader was made by crediar who eventually stopped making releases. The app was then taken up by others and named Priiloader. When preloader was set to boot HBC it looked for the HAXX ticket but homebrew was later renamed to JODI which caused problems. Priiloader looks for both HAXX and JODI Tickets.




I'm on 4.1/4.0 but I'm afraid I might automatically get updated to something newer, Can I block online updates?
A: Yes! Thanks to Dogeggs, you can now use the 'Block Online Update' hack on 4.1/4.0, check this post


Can I install newer versions of Priiloader over older ones instead of un-installing then installing?
A: Yes. Just run the new installer and install like normal.


My Wii sometimes just shows a black screen or just powers on then off but sometimes it works fine, What should I do?
A: Just un-install Priiloader and see if it makes any difference, then find the latest priiloader here and install it.



Its April 1st, When I turn on my Wii it seems I have a brick or/and Priiloader is saying 'Now Repairing, Do not turn off?' What should I do?
A: Priiloader/Preloader pretends to brick you on April 1st (April Fools). Just simply press 'A' when you're at the fake brickscreen.

Priiloader
v0.6
Fixed Title Booting on some wii's (issue 130)
Fixed the installer for HBC
Fixed the SHA1 hash production while updating
Fixed Online updating changelog
added/fixed Easter Egg (go find it!)
Added play_rec creation when launching title
made load/install binary load fat:/apps/ folder
Increased USB Support(thanks TT)
Changed the Hacks method (see SVN or hacks page)
change memory management to use mem2 instead giving priiloader a big speedboost


v0.4
Added support of all versions of the EU/US system menus(JP/KR are untested)
New entrypoint. this means :
Old forwarders should work again
Many other memory related restrictions should be gone.
Added support for more usb hard drives
Added an option to ask for a password either when entering priiloader menu or doing autoboot. (NOTE : this -CAN- lock you out of your own wii. please be very careful with this)
Added a menu to list all installed Wiiware/VC titles and start one
Added a new magic word to force system menu to be started. (the word is "Pune")
Added an option to redirect Gecko output to the screen instead of to a USBGecko(NOTE: this slows down priiloader DRASTICLY)
Fixed loads of minor bugs

v0.3b
Change and fixed IOS Stub detection. All known IOS' are detected like they should. thank you Attila
Changed Autoboot setting so it would start system menu when having just updated/installed Priiloader
Fixed Hacks.ini bug when it was made in linux (or any ini that doesn't have windows' \r\n newlines and uses \n instead)
Fixed Bootstate handling. we should now handle all known bootstates correctly("invalid" bootstate 255 included). all unknown bootstates load priiloader instead
Fixed Bug with USB drives that could crash System menu
Fixed the Wii Blue Light on wiimail issue (when standby, forgot to merge the light init code from phpgeek)
Fixed Background issues when changing colour and not saving settings
Fixed various video related bugs ( out of screen text, text on top of the other, ... )
Fixed some ES_Identify Bugs (in a hacky way) when not using system menu IOS for system menu
Reload Hacks completly when LoadHacks() is called and hacks were already loaded once
Added the checksum function from priiloader to the installer. if the checksum fails it asks the user what to do. it checks when:
Copying (installation of priiloader) the System menu app
Restoring (uninstall of priiloader) the System menu app
after Writing the Priiloader app (the checking installation part)
Added basic HBC Stub Loading. if priiloader (or a dol loaded by priiloader) crashes you can press reset to load HBC
Added possibility to boot System Menu if no wiimote is detected. after 15 seconds priiloader booted press reset to boot system menu
Added a check when loading/installing binaries to see if the SD/USB is still present or not

v0.2
Fixed bug with USBGecko
Fix some elf loading
Fixed random (with very low % to actually happen)crash when loading dol/elf caused by wiimote
Fixed Bootstate bug which made the health check pop up when resetting wii(or returning to wii settings)
Merged the old black theme with the new white one (thanks BlackPearl & Bad Uncle! ). they are changable in the settings
Stopped priiloader from reloading ios if the chosen IOS = the already loaded IOS (in most cases System menu IOS)
Added Stub IOS Detections when loading bootmii ios or IOS for System Menu. Only IOS 21 seems to be detected as stub...
Added a check on boot so some apps can reboot/launch system menu and force priiloader to show up (see magicword.zip)
Re-added USB support. USB is used if SD is not found
Added Sanity checks when installing priiloader

v0.1 (changes on top of preloader 0.30)
added autoboot Bootmii IOS
added Bootmii IOS booting option to menu
let Priiloader remount SD on a lot of occasions
try and boot the HAXX Homebrew Channel title ID if JODI isn't found
various file access bug fixes
priiloader no longer needs ES_DIVerify for system menu booting. however if a different ios is chosen to run system menu with it still needs the hack/patch
killed the DVD spin bug (crediar forgot to close the dvd drive in ios)
fixed file booting (thx phpgeek)



Preloader (no longer being updated)
.30:
added SDHC support
added a new option to the "return to" setting; "return to: autoboot"
fixed a bug where enabled autoboot overwrote the "return to preloader" setting
removed netcode, online update check, online update code.
0.29:
added a feature to load the system menu with any IOS version you want.
The installer includes an IOS patcher which when found patches IOS60 so Preloader can fully work with System Menu 4.0
Moved some text around for better visibility on 16:9 screens
fixed a bug which let the disc endlessly spin when wc24 was enabled and the Wii got turned off
fixed a bug which broke System Menu loading when the system got formatted


0.28:
rewrote the hacks parser, it's more solid now and detects syntax errors much better
added a new font
optimized the menu layout
you can now add unlimited offsets/value in one hack entry
added beta version related code
added a setting which allows to always turn you Wii off even when standby is enabled
fixed that when shutting down from the System Menu, the Wii always got powered down instead of using the set shutdown mode.
fixed a bug which prevented updating to a non beta version during beta testing
fixed a bug in the System Menu hacks scrolling code


0.27:
added a setting to stop the disc when autoboot is disabled
added a setting to return to Preloader when Wii titles are using the switch off state
added a setting to show beta updates
added a setting to disable lighting the drive slot on an error
added one message to make the online update not look frozen
errors when parsing the hacks.ini now show the line
Preloader now regards the shutdown mode (OFF/Standby)
fixed that under certain circumstances hacks from another version were applied
fixed a settings related bug


0.26:
added elf-loading (able to load white-linux!)
added an option to load Preloader or the System Menu when the return-to state is used.
made the hacks list scrollable, allowing an unlimited amount of hacks
rewrote the installer
added some interface improvements
fixed the online update
fixed returning to the System Menu, which loaded preloader instead
fixed shutting down from System Menu, which loaded preloader instead
fixed a bug in the "Install/Load File" menu that allowed users to move out of the list
fixed System Menu loading for all System Menu versions
fixed the stuck-systemmenuhack-option bug
fixed the bug that when a Nunchuk was connected the System Menu wouldn't load
fixed a bug which caused the Wii to freeze when power was pressed
fixed a bug where only the first Wiimote was powered down when the Wii got turned off

Make sure to have the hacks.ini file for your region and system menu on the root of your sd card. To get the correct one for your region go here and copy and paster the code for your system menu and region into notepad and copy into notepad and save as "hacks.ini" This file should go on the root of your sd card. Make sure to install the patched version of your system menu iOS via WAD Manager before continuing (4.0+)
4.0/4.1 Users install [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
4.2 Users install [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

1) Get A Preloader or Priiloader version of your choice, find the latest version here. Place the folder that contains the boot.dol file into the apps folder on the root of a SD Card formatted to FAT32

2) Start Homebrew Channel and Load Preloader.

3) Read the disclaimer and press 1 on the Wiimote

4)Allow it to install

1. Reboot your wii and allow the Preloader Menu to load. If it doesn't restart again and hold reset.

2. Go to Settings, using the d-pad set autoboot. Autobooting System Menu will allow it to go straight to the system menu on boot up. Setting it HBC will load Homebrew channel at boot up. Off starts the Preloader menu when you power on. The installed .dol allows you to load a dol that you installed on startup. For example, Neogamma could be loaded straight at boot up. Select Save Settings when done.

3. Next go to System Hacks which is on the Preloader main menu and enable the hacks of your choice. Skip Disc Update Checking and Region Free are recommended.

4. That should be it for setting up.

1. Download the .dol for the app of your choice and place it on the root of your sd card. Insert you sd card into the wii.

2. Load Priiloader/Preloader (hold Reset While Booting)

3. Select Load/Install .dol

4. From there you may select from the .dol files on the root of your sd card
a. To Load a .dol select and press 2.
b. To install a .dol select and press A.

You can autoboot a installed .dol on boot up.