Topic: Wii died...how to prepare for repairs

[Nintendad]

Well, my Wii which I've had since 2 months after launch appears to have finally died. It still works, just won't read the discs anymore. I'm somewhat lucky as I finally just finished up 3 months of playing Zelda: Skyward Sword last night. Started playing Fishing Resort today and a couple hours in my Wii got really noisy and the game music started skipping. On top of that, it was taking 3-4 times longer to load the game screens than usual. I finally got a disc read error.


I reset the game and started playing again, within 20 minutes the exact same thing happened. Frustrated, I quit playing thinking it was the disc. Then when I came back to it, the Wii won't even read the disc. I tried putting Zelda back in and it won't read that either. So I guess I'll now have to send it to Nintendo.


I have about 5 years of info saved on here. My question is, what all can I backup to an SD card in case the unthinkable happens and I lose it all in the process of it being fixed? Any suggestions?

[BeautifulShy]

I had a similar problem but it was only for Gamecube disks. I think you can back up everything except for things that have some sort of online thing. I didn't have that problem. They just had to repair the Disk drive which doesn't have to do with the memory as far as I am aware. Here is a link to their support site about this problem.

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/ts_system.jsp?menu=error&submenu=rvl-ts-sys-unable-read-disc

Best case scenario is to back up as much as you can and to send it up to Nintedo for repairs.If you never done this before like I did when this happened to me well here is the process. Basically you fill out the form on the site I linked to with the problems and also you should also fill in your email since they can let you know where the package is when it is so you can keep track of it. If memory serves they use Fedex for this stuff. you just have to find a place nearby you to ship it out to Nintendo. Basically you fill out the stuff on the web site they send you a box with instructions. Follow them and you just send the Wii itself. No games or SD cards or memory cards or anything else in it. Find your nearest shipping place and send it up to Nintendo. Wait... Profit! It took 3 days to get mine back from when I sent it to Nintendo so they ahve good turn around time.

[Mop it up]

You can try an official Wii lens cleaning kit. With the way it gradually stopped working, it's very possible that a big ol' hunk of dirt got lodged over the lens. If it doesn't fix the problem, it's never a bad idea to have the cleaning kit. Cleaning it every so often would probably help prevent malfunctions in the future.

Failing that, you should call Nintendo about your issue as opposed to setting up a repair through the website. The price of a repair is negotiable, so if you talk about things like being a big fan or never having issues before, you might get a discount. No guarantee it'll work, but it's worth a shot. Also, if you have Super Smash Brothers Brawl and tell them that it doesn't work in your Wii, they may even fix it for free. I've heard of people doing this.

Unless there's something else wrong with your Wii, you will not lose any data from this repair. All they are going to do is replace the disc drive, so your data will be safe. If you want to be cautious, some save data can be copied to an SD card, but there's actually a lot that cannot. It isn't just limited to games with online modes, but also games with create modes, and other games are just a mystery. Miis can be stored on your Wiimotes, ten per Wiimote. Your Shop Channel account would be transferred if they sent you a replacement, so no worries there.

For me, it took a full month to get my system back, but it would seem most people get faster service. You can check the tracking/repair status daily on their website.

[BranDonk Kong]

Save yourself the trouble. Go to www.gamepartswarehouse.com and order yourself a new Wii DVD-ROM. There are two models - the old version that will play DVD-R discs, and the new version which will not. It doesn't matter which one you get, they are 100% universal, so I recommend the cheaper one - http://gamepartswarehouse.goshopper.net/i/186195/replacement-disc-drive-for-all-nintendo-wii-consoles-new-style.htm. You can order a tri-wing screwdriver for $5 if you don't have one, other than that all you need is a small (#0) Philips screwdriver, and about 15 minutes of your time. It is an incredibly simple repair, and there's no need to ship your system out.

If you are not comfortable with this, I will be happy to fix your system for you. Just send me your console and the new drive (and a few bucks for return shipping), and I will get it back to you ASAP. I've been doing console repairs for years, I have a thread in the General Chat forum showing some of the stuff I've done.

I just realized you started this thread about a week ago, so it's probably already gone. Anyway, send me a PM if you're interested.