So, for quite some time, I've been borrowing my sister's Wii to play my games, after my old one stopped reading discs correctly. I figure that now it's about time I start looking into replacing the disc drive myself. My main dilemma is that I still want the new disc drive to be able to play Gamecube games, and I can't really tell which models can do that. I know that after the Wii Family Edition, the Wii lost Gamecube compatibility. So does anyone know which model drive I would need?
If you're looking for a replacement console, you'll want to get an RVL-001. These are easily identified by the way the "Wii" logo is oriented on the front. If it's oriented such that "Wii" is readable while the console is standing up, it's RVL-001. If it's oriented such that 'Wii" is readable while horizontal, it's RVL-101, and doesn't support GameCube games. Note that systems with the D3-2 drive controller or later (started sometime in 2009) will not be able to read DVD-ROM or DVD-R discs. If you're looking for just a drive, look for one with a D3 or older drive controller chip. (DMS, D2A, D2B, D2C, D2C2, D2E, D3) Also, you may want to consider using an HDD backup loader instead of discs. I use USB Loader GX. You'll need to install custom IOSes in order to use backup loaders, and DIOS MIOS (Lite) for GameCube loading support.
I concur with Gerbil on USB Loader GX/DIOS MIOS. For Gamecube games, a physical memory card is recommended, but some games are compatible with "No More Memory", which is similar to PS2 virtual memory cards. I recommend DM over DML as DM supports loading from a USB drive while DML supports SD cards (and thus results in fewer games being available, as you can use a larger USB drive than SD card - I set my GF's Wii up with a 500GB drive). I will let you know - unless it's changed since I installed DM, if your Wii is connected to an SDTV via component, the DM splash screen will assume progressive scan (but will revert to interlaced after the splash screen). As an aside, running USB Loader GX with DM will mean that you'll no longer need to use the disc drive other than to rip games (either through USB Loader GX itself to WBFS files, or CleanRip to unscrubbed ISOs), so you could either download the games you own and get them on the drive that way, or if your sister is willing to let you softmod her system for the purpose, you could use it to rip your physical game discs without resorting to downloading them.
Welp, thanks for that, Gerbil! All the talk about homebrew is a bit more than I bargained for when I made the topic, though.... which I don't really mind! Just installed the Homebrew Channel today, and loaded up Project M, so knowing about more stuff can't really be a bad thing at all.
