[Howto] Extract ROM from a Virtual Console Game

[Axxer]

WORKS ON WINDOWS ONLY!!!

ONLY CONFIRMED TO WORK WITH N64 GAMES RIGHT NOW!!! (I only have 2 N64 games and 1 SNES game, and I don't know what to do on the last step for SNES games; if someone knows what to do with the final file please comment!)

This will take you step-by-step to help you extract the ROM from a Virtual Console game in your NAND backup (if you need to dump that still go here). I haven't tested this that much yet, so comment if a game works / doesn't work.

1. Download the ZIP archive here and extract all of the files to whatever folder you like.

[/size]

2. Launch ShowMiiWads.exe and accept the disclaimer (you really won't be doing any of that stuff anyway).



3. Click on Tools > Create Common-Key and type in what it tells you to.



4. Click on Options > Change NAND Backup Path and, well, choose your backup path (if you are using your NAND backup with Dolphin it is under User\Wii).



5. Click on View > ShowMiiNand to see a list of all installed IOSes and Channels in your NAND backup.



6. Right-click the game you want to use (for me it is Paper Mario for the N64) and select Pack Wad. Choose a folder and select OK. I just used the folder I extracted all of the files to from step 1 (the default option).



7. Now click View > ShowMiiWads. Select File > Open Folder and choose the folder that you put the wad in from the previous step.

8. Right-click the game and select Extract > To Folder and choose a folder. I, once again, just put it in the folder from step 1 (the default option). The first couple of times I did this it worked fine, but the last couple of times it kept "Not Responding" and wouldn't quit. I found that the wad was still extracted though, so if it is try to continue but understand you may have to come back to this step to try again.



9. Click on Tools > Unpack U8 Archive. This is where it gets tricky. Under the folder from the previous step there should be a folder named after your game. For N64 games and SNES games, you want to select "00000005.app", but it depends on what system the game is for. Generally, choose the largest .app file.



10. The previous step should have made a folder called 00000005_app_OUT or something similar if you extracted a different .app file. Open that folder.

11. The largest file in this folder is the one you want. The name of the file and its extension changes depending on the game. Sometimes it is a .rom file with a random file name, sometimes a .n64 with a random file name, sometimes just "rom" with no extension, and who knows what else it could be.



If it is a .rom file, I haven't yet figured out how to play those in an emulator. I got one of these when extracting Super Mario RPG, but I couldn't get ZSNES to accept the thing because of its stupid checksum tests.

You might be done at this step, but some newer games have a "romc" file with no extension. This is the ROM, but it is compressed, so if this is what you have continue to the next step.

12. IF YOUR FILE IS CALLED "romc" you still have one last step. Some newer games have a "romc" file with no extension. This is the ROM, but it is compressed, so if this is what you have you need to run a command line tool to decompress it. Click on the Windows icon and type "cmd" and select the only available option. In the command line type:
cd C:/path_to_the_folder_you_extracted_to_in_step_1/
romc d C:/path_to_the_file/romc C:/path_to_where_you_want_the_rom/name_of_game.n64

Replace italics with what it says and the extension at the end of the second line with whatever the extension is for your emulator.

That's it! You should now have a working ROM (maybe).

Games confirmed to work:

Paper Mario (N64) - works in Dolphin as well

Games confirmed not to work:

Majora's Mask (N64) - works in Dolphin as well (though sporadically)
Super Smash Bros. (N64) - works in Dolphin as well

Games I don't know what to do with once I get the .rom file:

Super Mario RPG (SNES), and any other SNES games for that matter. - works in Dolphin, but you can't save

Please reply if this worked/didn't work for your game so I can add it to the list!

TODO:
- clean up if someone points out something wrong
- NEED MORE GAMES LISTED

Edit History:
- 9/8/2012: Added "Super Smash Bros. (N64) to the list of games that don't work
- 7/30/2012: Made the formatting nicer, will add pictures hopefully by the end of the day.
- 7/30/2012: Added pictures (they are very large unfortunately because I couldn't add them all to Dolphin's attachment list)

[DefenderX]

Nice guide

[ExtremeDude2]

(07-15-2012, 06:53 PM)DefenderX Wrote: Nice guide

This ^^

[Axxer]

Sorry for reviving an old thread, I left any and all technology for 2 weeks so I was unable to edit the original guide in a more prompt manner...

Well anyway, I just did some basic formatting changes (as well as deleted a block of text no one wanted to read anyway), but I'll hopefully have pictures up very, very soon.

[Axxer]

Added pictures, so this guide should be pretty much be done unless some people report games they got to work/not work or they found a way to deal with the SNES games and such

[Axxer]

I added on another game for the "doesn't work" list (Super Smash Bros., what a bummer). If people could please try this with any virtual console games you have it would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Axxer]

I have an idea that the issue with the SNES games is the header; I think that the .rom file format that Nintendo uses for their SNES games is different than either the .smc or the .sfc format as far as the header goes; this would then cause issues with loading the game because the header might end in a different place byte-wise than it would in .smc or .sfc, and would also cause the MD5 checksum errors I get with SNES9X and the inability to convert the files to .sfc using the snespurify program.

[Axxer]

I really don't know what to do about the situation. I finally got Majora's Mask to play in Dolphin (albeit very slowly so it was very painful), but the U8 Tools unpacking or romc decompression must not be entirely accurate because it can't seem to get the right format for the emulator, while other games do. I checked out the checksums for the GC version of Majora's Mask and the Wii VC version and they are different, so that either confirms that (a) the two ROMs simply aren't the same or (b) the decompression tools don't work properly (most likely romc since U8 Tools got the folder architecture right and everything).

The SNES problems might result out of two different things: (1) headers and (2) audio changes. From what I have been able to read online, the audio in the SNES ROMs that the Wii uses were actually altered in order to work properly (for some reason this couldn't just be emulated, it actually had to be rewritten).

[Halfshadow]

I have Windows 7 but doesn't work at all, the ShowMiiWads.exe show me an error message:



Translated says:

"The file version not is compatible with the Windows version executed. Check the computer's system information and verify if is necessary the x86 version (32 bit) or x64 (64 bit) of the tool, then contact the the software publisher."

What is the problem? My Windows 7 is x86 (32 bit).

[Butterhands]

Hello, I've extracted my N64 rom from the WAD, I've hacked it and now I would restore it into the WAD to play the hacked game with the WII, how I should do, can you tell me please?