Replaced Wii disk drive, reads discs but does not load games

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Nintendo Wii

Die Wii erschien in Nordamerika im November 2006 und war Nintendos erste Heimkonsole, die direkt Internetkonnektivität unterstützte. Sie ermöglichte sowohl Online-Spiele als auch den digitalen Vertrieb von Spielen und Medienanwendungen über den Wii-Shop-Kanal.

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MikeyLORR @mikeylorr

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Veröffentlicht: 9. Dez 2025

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Replaced Wii disk drive, reads discs but does not load games

I replaced the disk drive in my friend's Wii since it had a motor problem. I bought the replacement drive from ifixit and installed it with no problems. I tested it and put a disc in, it read the disk and didn't give an error, but when I try to start the game, it never loads, it's just stuck on a blank screen. I tried two different games and get the same result. Not sure what could cause this, maybe a firmware issue? Is there a way I can update the drive firmware if that's causing the issue?

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Hi!

No the drive it's firmware cannot be updated for the Wii.

Is the Wii modded? Because it does sound like it is...

What is the firmware version you are running?

It does sound more software related then hardware at the moment.

10. Dez 2025 von koppie007

@dan0 Hello, thank you for your response. The Wii is definitely unmodded, it doesn't have an SD card or any modded channels. I tried checking the firmware version, when I click Wii settings I'm stuck on a black screen with the menu music still playing... I'm not sure if it was like this before replacing the drive, but I hope there's a way to resolve it.

10. Dez 2025 von MikeyLORR

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koppie007 @dan0

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Hi!

It does sound like it's semi-bricked. When the Wii is formatted, all the custom channels are gone, but it's still active in the NAND. It will also be there, even if there is no SD card in there.

For now, can you try a game which contains the 4.3 firmware? Like the game Donkey Kong Country Returns.

You can find the list here (it's a German site..): https://forum.wii-homebrew.com/index.php...

If the update fails, then it's most likely modded or the brick is preventing it from updating.

If this is the case, you need to mod your Wii and restore the home menu completely.

Please try the above first, if you need more info, please let me know.

Please let us know how it goes!

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Hello, thank you for the info. I tried putting DKCR in the Wii, it said it needed to update. When the update finished, I was stuck on the disc channel, it kept spinning and wouldn't let me go back. I turned off the Wii and turned it back on. It didn't start up, just stuck on a black screen. Turned it off and on again, and I got into the menu. The new channels were there so I know the update worked. I tried playing DKCR and it worked, but I still can't get into Wii settings. I tried one of the games I tried before, and it works now, which is good, but I still need to be able to get into Wii settings before I give the Wii back to my friend.

10. Dez 2025 von MikeyLORR

Ahh, when the update successfully completed (sort of) it's most likely not modded. I guess the update just failed somehow causing the semi-brick. I'm afraid it's no longer possible to update as the 4.3 is the newest firmware available.

I would mod the Wii at this moment. Only install the Homebrew channel from the Hackmii menu. Do NOT install Bootmii, this one is not needed.

Make sure you follow the guide about how to do it for the 4.3 firmware version.

Get the Multi-Mod-Manager (MMM) and from there you can restore the 4.3 menu. Make sure you that you get the right one. E is for Europe. U is for USA.

I cannot explain how to do this all (sorry) but there are many guides online to follow to get this done.

10. Dez 2025 von koppie007

@dan0 Got it, thank you! I'll get started on this right away. And it's no problem, I've hacked my own Wii before so it should be easy. I'll let you know the results.

10. Dez 2025 von MikeyLORR

My pleasure! Alright, then it is easy yes :)! Please let us know how it goes!

10. Dez 2025 von koppie007

@dan0 So I was able to mod it (this was actually a lot harder than it should've been, I couldn't get the MAC address from the settings so I had to open it up and find the address on the wifi board). After installing HBC and MMM, I was able to restore the 4.3 menu, but I still inconsistently get stuck on a black screen when opening settings, opening/exiting a game, or just turning the Wii on. Maybe it's a hardware issue? It looks like everything else is working so I'm not sure

10. Dez 2025 von MikeyLORR

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Hi!

No the drive it's firmware cannot be updated for the Wii.

Is the Wii modded? Because it does sound like it is...

What is the firmware version you are running?

It does sound more software related then hardware at the moment. — koppie007
@dan0 Hello, thank you for your response. The Wii is definitely unmodded, it doesn't have an SD card or any modded channels. I tried checking the firmware version, when I click Wii settings I'm stuck on a black screen with the menu music still playing... I'm not sure if it was like this before replacing the drive, but I hope there's a way to resolve it. — MikeyLORR
Hello, thank you for the info. I tried putting DKCR in the Wii, it said it needed to update. When the update finished, I was stuck on the disc channel, it kept spinning and wouldn't let me go back. I turned off the Wii and turned it back on. It didn't start up, just stuck on a black screen. Turned it off and on again, and I got into the menu. The new channels were there so I know the update worked. I tried playing DKCR and it worked, but I still can't get into Wii settings. I tried one of the games I tried before, and it works now, which is good, but I still need to be able to get into Wii settings before I give the Wii back to my friend. — MikeyLORR
Ahh, when the update successfully completed (sort of) it's most likely not modded. I guess the update just failed somehow causing the semi-brick. I'm afraid it's no longer possible to update as the 4.3 is the newest firmware available.

I would mod the Wii at this moment. Only install the Homebrew channel from the Hackmii menu. Do NOT install Bootmii, this one is not needed.

Make sure you follow the guide about how to do it for the 4.3 firmware version.

Get the Multi-Mod-Manager (MMM) and from there you can restore the 4.3 menu. Make sure you that you get the right one. E is for Europe. U is for USA.

I cannot explain how to do this all (sorry) but there are many guides online to follow to get this done. — koppie007
@dan0 Got it, thank you! I'll get started on this right away. And it's no problem, I've hacked my own Wii before so it should be easy. I'll let you know the results. — MikeyLORR
My pleasure! Alright, then it is easy yes :)! Please let us know how it goes! — koppie007
@dan0 So I was able to mod it (this was actually a lot harder than it should've been, I couldn't get the MAC address from the settings so I had to open it up and find the address on the wifi board). After installing HBC and MMM, I was able to restore the 4.3 menu, but I still inconsistently get stuck on a black screen when opening settings, opening/exiting a game, or just turning the Wii on. Maybe it's a hardware issue? It looks like everything else is working so I'm not sure — MikeyLORR

Nintendo Wii

Replaced Wii disk drive, reads discs but does not load games

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