System Menu 4.2 seems to be bricking non-HBCed Wiis. It doesn't matter whether you've ever installed the Homebrew Channel or hacked your Wii, people who have never even heard of HBC are having these issues.

The problem appears to lie with an incredibly shoddily programmed update to boot2 of the Wii. boot2 is basically the area that "starts up" the Wii. According to the people who have developed HBC, the code for Nintendo's updated boot2 is prone to making write errors, therefore making the possibility of bricking your Wii extremely high, whether or not you have ever hacked or modified your Wii.

For this reason I've made this announcement, because it affects everyone who owns a Wii, not just people who like to fool around with modifying their hardware.

If you would like to discuss the issue on the forums, the Wii Homebrew thread is a good place to ask questions.

Note: If you have already successfully updated to System Menu 4.2, your Wii is safe. The danger is only during the updating process.

http://techforums.nintendo.com/nins/board/message?board.id=wii_tech&thread.id=29992

Hello again,

We wanted to provide a bit more information.

In reading your posts on this topic, there is a perception that 'lots and lots' of people are having problems with their Wii console after having downloaded the Wii System Menu 4.2.

At this point, the number of people who have had a problem is extremely small, and in fact, we have found we can help a good portion of people with troubleshooting to the point that there is no repair necessary. For the vast majority of Wii owners who have downloaded system menu update (SMU) 4.2 there have been no issues.

Anyone who experiences an issue with their Wii after downloading SMU 4.2 should contact Nintendo customer support, and we will work with you to address your specific concerns.

Please give us a call at your convenience at 1-800-255-3700. We are open 6 AM to 7 PM, Pacific Time, 7 days a week.



Thank you,
NOA_Tech_Jane