Ripping ISO's

[tpl2000]

Primarily, I'd like to know if the sole act of ripping the ISO is illegal.

If not, is there any way to do it without the use of a wii, or any specific hardware?

[AnyOldName3]

It is legal, but you need either a wii, or a rawdump compatible drive.

[DefenderX]

Or a special LG drive and the software Rawdump.

[neobrain]

Hey guys, he could also just use rawdump IF he's got one of the compatible drives.

[ExtremeDude2]

Hey guys, he could also just use rawdump IF he's got one of the compatible drives.

That's what everyone has said :p

[lamedude]

OP doesn't say where he/she is from. IANAL but its okay in the US. It is or was illegal to rip CDs (can't find if those reforms passed yet) in the UK so I wouldn't be surprised if games were too.
Jailbreaking a Wii probably violates the DMCA and I have no idea if the Library of Congress's exemption covers it. You're probably breaking some Nintendo EULA too but you shouldn't lose sleep over that.

[tpl2000]

I'm in the US, and I don't own a Wii.

[DefenderX]

So you need a special LG drive and the software Rawdump. Following LG drives are working perfectly with Rawdump:

- LG GDR-8161b
- LG GDR-8162b
- LG GDR-8163b
- LG GDR-8164b

[AnyOldName3]

It is or was illegal to rip CDs in the UK

Technically I think you need written permission, but the publishing companies will give it to you if you ask, and won't take you to court, and if somehow someone else did, you'd get retrospective permission by asking for it (unless you'd then put the mp3 copies on the internet). This is because you've paid for a licence to hear the music, but some publishers could (if they wanted) say you'd paid for a licence to own a CD with copyrighted material on it, but none actually do that. I'm 99.97% sure that you've also paid for a licence to play the game with Wii/GameCube games (but if you haven't, you'll never get caught, as it would be illegal for the police to monitor your hard drive unless it also contained child pornography or launch codes for nuclear missiles).

[Duke Nukem]

Hey guys, he could also just use rawdump IF he's got one of the compatible drives.

That's what everyone has said :p

You did get the sarcasm in his post right?

As for the OP's question:

While it's not illegal to rip your games for private use your subconscious conscience will eat you alive and images of Mario and Miyamoto crying WHYYYYY.... will forever be in your head.

Nah just kidding with you, it's perfectly alright just get one of the drives suggested.
Good luck!