Transfer from Dolphin to Wii

[negativezero]

I know that you can use Wii NAND with Dolphin, but is it possible to do the reverse? That is, is it possible to compile the Dolphin folders into a restorable file? The scenario is the ability to take a laptop on vacation, and then somehow transfer that progress into an actual Wii on return. If not, is it possible to at least transfer saves?

[leolam]

Yes, you can. Right click on the game and select Export Wii save. You'll get a binary file that you can put on your SD card in the correct location (somewhere in private/ if I remember… if you copy a save from the Wii to the SD card, you'll get the directory structure and the appropriate location) and then you will be able to import it on the Wii.

[negativezero]

(12-17-2015, 07:37 AM)leolam Wrote: Yes, you can. Right click on the game and select Export Wii save. You'll get a binary file that you can put on your SD card in the correct location (somewhere in private/ if I remember… if you copy a save from the Wii to the SD card, you'll get the directory structure and the appropriate location) and then you will be able to import it on the Wii.

So I just move the binary files to a certain directory and it's done? Or are there further steps, and if so, what are they?

[leolam]

I don't have the specific directory in mind, but basically you can do it in 4 steps:

1. Export the save file in Dolphin
2. Copy the binary file (there's only one file per game IIRC) to the directory on the SD card
3. Insert the SD card in the Wii
4. In the Wii menu (more precisely, the data management menu), copy the save from the SD card to the Wii NAND

[leolam]

You will know what the directory is when you copy a save from the Wii to the SD card; the Wii menu software will create directories on your SD card. Try to find the one which holds the binary save file for your game (it should be somewhere in private/). It is in this directory that you'll place your Dolphin save (by replacing the save file created by the Wii with the Dolphin save).

[negativezero]

Alright, thanks!

[mbc07]

Just FYI, this method won't work for games with protected saves (I'm not totally sure but Dolphin should warn you when you try to export a copy-protected save). For those games you'll need something like Savegame Manager GX...

[leolam]

Yeah, some games don't allow you to copy their saves to the SD card or back to the Wii. In these cases you need a softmodded Wii (or a vulnerable Wii Menu version which can run homebrew apps) and Savegame Manager GX (the page says data.bin save files are not supported though, but I think it's slightly outdated)

[leolam]

Just a small update (since I have done this just now): Dolphin actually creates the directories for you in Dolphin's directory (~/.dolphin-emu on Linux).

So you would simply have to copy the contents of path-to-dolphin-emu/private/ path-to-sd-card/private/.