Warning

This tutorial is only for advanced users and has a serious risk of bricking the console. Make sure you read it completely before executing any step and that you understand every step and its implications.

While not strictly required, it is still recommended to install ISFShax, before soldering NAND-AID. In case something goes wrong, this then gives more options to troubleshoot the problem.

What is this for?

If you are encountering Error Code 160-0103 "There is a Problem with the system memory" or your Wii U is freezing at bootup it is likely that the eMMC Chip is failing.
This tutorial goes into fixing this Error 160-0103, by cloning your MLC to a SD card and fixing corruptions while doing so. This can become useful if the MLC (eMMC) chip is hardware damaged.

Please note: There are other possible causes for the 160-0103 error (like a CBHC brick).
Also we found other ways to fix this problem. To find the the procedure which is right for you follow the Ultimate Wii U Troubleshooting Guide
In short the other options are:

• Reinstalling the system on a clean SD card. It works without dumping the MLC and spares you the manual process of fixing all the errors by hand and gives you a 100% clean system: https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-upgrading-rebuilding-wii-u-internal-memory-mlc.636309/ (You need to install ISFShax first, before you solder NAND-AID! Also you'll loose all data)
• Using the front SD slot as a replacment, so you don't even have to solder: https://gbatemp.net/threads/fixing-...-soldering-using-rednand-with-isfshax.642268/

NOTE: In case you can't boot the recovery menu anymore, there is the option of dumping the eMMC using a Cardreader connected to the big pads on the NAND-AID. Else you can use defuse to rebuild a completely fresh MLC instead, so head over to https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-upgrading-rebuilding-wii-u-internal-memory-mlc.636309/

NOTE²: In case you get a purple LED but no screen output you might still be able to use the recovery menu blindly. TODO: Give exact steps for this.

Prerequisites

Use this fork of the recovery menu.
Use this fork of wupclient.

Before beginning use the recovery menu to dump the syslogs, then search all the .log files for MEDIA ERROR and DATA CORRUPTION.

Only errors concerning the dev:mlc01 are relevant. Here the example for such an error:

10:48:16:325: FSA: ### MEDIA ERROR ###, dev:mlc01, err:-2228230, cmd:11, path:(null)

Errors concerning the optical disc drive (dev:odd01) can be ignored. Here is such an example, that can be ignored:

10:48:16:325: FSA: ### MEDIA ERROR ###, dev:odd01, err:-2228230, cmd:11, path:(null)

A media error on mlc01 means the eMMC itself noticed it can no longer retrieve the data error free and indicates a failure of the eMMC.

In case you find a MEDIA ERROR show us the log file, please, so we can add it to https://hackmd.io/d12Fq9g-QlCjN2HJp7Yvew. It's fine to DM the log to @SDIO, @Lazr1026 or me in case you're concerned about the serial number.

In case you find DATA CORRUPTION only this might or might not be a damaged eMMC. It's recommended to show us the logs, too, so we can analyze them more deep. DATA CORRUPTION means the file system of the Wii U detected that a file is corrupted. That could be caused by either a bad eMMC chip or if a write got interrupted (e. g. power loss during save)

Required Knowledge

WARNING: Before you begin, doing anything to mlc/emmc, you need to understand a few core concepts. Make sure to read carfully and be aware of the implications, or you can seriously mess things up, loosing all data. If that happens you need defuse as descibed here.

The Wii U has not just one internal storage, but it has 3:

• SLCCMPT: Holds all the vWii stuff, the system, the saves, the WiiWare tiles, we don't care for it in this tutorial.
• MLC: Is where all your userdata goes, like games, saves, your accounts and it also hold the system applications. It's also called eMMC and what this tutorial is about.
• SLC: Holds the second stage bootloader (boot1), the core Operating Systems (IOSU and CafeOS), the tickets for the installed titles (eShop and system apps), and some config files. Besides that it holds a file "scfm.img".
  This file is used as a block level write cache for the MLC. This means part of the MLC state resides in this file. They need always to be treated as one, if you restore one, you need also to restore the other. If they don't match, because you restored an older version of the mlc for example, the filesystem on top of them will become inconsistent and there will be no way of fixing that. You would either have to restore an older backup of both the SLC and the MLC or you would need to format the MLC. Both are things we try to avoid here.

You always have to carry the current state of the MLC forward.

What you can do: Read the dying eMMC to an Image, then clone it to a SD card and then use the SD card in place of the eMMC, without turning the console on in between.
You could then also read back the state of the current state of the SD card and flash it back to the eMMC and then run off the eMMC again. But only if you don't turn on the Wii U between the read and the swap.

What you can not do: Read the eMMC to an image, then use the console and then replace the eMMC by an SD card with that older image. Because then the SD won't have the current state.
You also can't flash an Image to the SD, use it for a while and then flash the image back a second time.

Where to get a NAND-AID from?

It's always a good idea to ask if someone near you has one. They might be willing to sell it for cheap.
Else here are some available for 3 € : https://gbatemp.net/threads/637225/

If that doesn't work for you you can also go to some PCB manufacturer like https://jlcpcb.com and let them do the printing. This is around $30 for 5 PCBs, so you could resell 4 to other users. The gerber file is available here and the important options are a thickness of 0.6 mm and castellated holes.

Dumping old MLC

Now that you confirmed it's really a hardware damaged MLC it's time to replace and fix it:

1. Use the recovery menu to dump OTP + SEEPROM.
   
   
2. Dump MLC + SLC from within the recovery menu. Turn your Wii U off by pulling the power cable and don't turn it back on until you replaced the eMMC with the SD card.
   
   
   
   Note: Errors while dumping SLC are harmless and I would be surprised if you get no errors on MLC as it's hardware damages after all.
   
   
3. Merge the dump on the PC, for Windows use copy /b mlc.bin.part01 + mlc.bin.part02 + (...) + mlc.bin.part15 mlc.bin. For linux or mac os x use cat mlc.bin.part* > mlc.bin
4. Write the MLC dump onto a SD card with the same size of your MLC. So for a 8 GB unit use a 8 GB card and for a 32 GB console use a 32GB card (64GB won't work). 8 GB units can also use 16GB cards, but only 8GB will be usable.
   We currently recommend SanDisk Max Endurance cards for this but other cards have been used, too. Choice is yours.
   On Windows you can use Win32DiskImager or Etcher to write the mlc.bin to the SD card.
   On Linux you can use: dd if=mlc.bin of=/dev/XXX bs=1M status=progress Replace XXX with the name of the block device if the sdcard. You can use lsblk to figure out the name. Also make sure the sd card isn't mounted. Optionally to improve the performance, you can try to run blkdiscard -f first (before the dd) on the SD and then add the conv=sparse option to the dd command.

Soldering NAND-AID

1. Cut the CLK line (R26) - using a scalpel or an x-acto knife - to disable the eMMC.
   
   
   
   
2. Install the NAND-AID and insert the SD. For soldering the NAND-AID it's recommend to first solder the big GND VIA. Since v3.0 you'll see a uncovered VIA on the Wii Us motherboard through this GND hole. This VIA is GND, too, so it doesn't matter if you short with it. Also since v3.0 there's a GND arm right nex to the hole in case you want to solder an alternative GND connection instead.
   
   The board will suck lots of the heat away, so you need some patience and really need to make sure the solder properly flows. Check that the connections really holds, before you move on to the rest. To make soldering easier, you should first tin the GND pad on the board, so it has fresh solder and preheating the board also helps.
   
   After GND solder the data connections to the pads/resistors on the board.
   
   Add the wire for 3V3. Then add the SD slot and after that the capacitor. Also short the DSB pads, which shorts the eMMC CLK to GND. If you ever want to access the eMMC again, you need to open the DSB jumper again.
   
   
   
   
   
   NOTE: On some old board revisions there's a capacitor in the way. It's save to just remove it.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   NOTE²: In case you're kind of a patchwork person you can also use a microSD to SD adapter and a capacitor instead of the NAND-AID. How to do this is out of scope of this tutorial through, so you are a bit on your own. See this post for more details: https://gbatemp.net/threads/using-n...0103-system-memory-error.636361/post-10213230
   
   
   
   
   
   
   TODO: Show adapter installed into a Wii U.

Repairing the corruption

1. Boot to the recovery menu again, then start the network and wupserver.
   
   
   
   TODO: Add how to add network config to the SD card
   
   
2. Run MLC Checker from recovery and inspect your mlcchecker.txt log.
   • For corrupted files inside of /vol/storage_mlc01/usr/title/ use wupservers delete_title() option, so for example delete_title("/vol/storage_mlc01/usr/title/00050000/1010ED00").
   • For corrupted files inside of /vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/ use the Install WUP option to reinstall the corresponding system title. It's recommended to do this as a last step. Also some titles might not interrupt the boot, so you could even reinstall them with NUSspli as a very last step.
   • For corrupted folders: These can't be deleted but we have to move them. Even if moved, these still crash a factory reset (so don't do one) The only way to get rid of them is a reformat (see https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-upgrading-rebuilding-wii-u-internal-memory-mlc.636309/ ) TODO: Add how to move them while keeping quotas in mind. In case these folders where in /vol/storage_mlc01/sys/ the corresponding title needs to get reinstalled afterwards.
   • For corrupted files at other subfolders in /vol/storage_mlc01/usr/ it should be save to delete the files (with wupclients w.rm()], so for example w.rm("/vol/storage_mlc01/usr/save/00050000/1010ed00/user/80000002/userdata.dat"). This might damage savefiles and stuff through, so always make sure that you know what you're deleting and how to fix the result then (for example by deleting the games save from data management). In case you are unsure ask before doing something stupid!
   • For other corrupted files in /vol/storage_mlc01/sys/ ask us what to do!
   Lastly run flush_mlc() in wupclient.
   
   
3. Run the MLC Checker again to see if you missed anything.

Your Wii U should now work normally again.

Bonus: Work around factory reset crash loop

There are some rare cases where users tried a factory reset while having corrupted folders. This results in a crash loop.

To break out of this loop you first have to install NAND-AID and fix the corruptions as told above. After that use wupclients delete_title() function to remove all titles from /vol/storage_mlc01/usr/title/. Lastly select Set Initial Launch from the recovery menu and then select 0 - Initial Setup.

See also

https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-i-fixed-160-0103-system-memory-error.626448/
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058305084/my-wii-u-it-met-with-a-terrible-fate
https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-upgrading-rebuilding-wii-u-internal-memory-mlc.636309/

Thanks

@SDIO For figuring anything out, doing all of the hard puzzling and coding night and day to make this possible
@GaryOderNichts For the recovery menu
@Nandster For the pictures as well as for documenting the whole process over at boards.ie
@Voultar For the NAND-AID PCB design
@skawo For providing an earlier Tutorial, we take some passages from

 

[SDIO]

And what do you plan to do? Upgrade to 64gb and just reinstall or try to fix the old one?

Reinstalling is probably less trouble depending on the corruption. Can you show the list?

Also it would be advisable to install ISFShax either way to have that as a backup way in. But that requires booting again, so you would need to do a new backup after installing isfshax

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

Planning for first trying to restore AS-IS and fix the corruption on the 32gb card, and if that fails doing a full reinstall on the 64gb card.

What would be the purpose of installing ISFShax? Having a way to work on a different fix if the installation of the NAND-AID fails?

Extraction log is attached.

 

[SDIO]

That doesn't look too bad. Do broken directories, no broken tickets, no broken saves. Should be trivial to fix, by just reinstalling the broken titles.

I see you use Linux, that also makes some things easier.

If you have a 64gb SD card at hand (I assume you have, since you did the backup, you can write your backup to a redNAND and try to fix it there. If that works you can then just dd it back to the 32gb max endurance card once that arrives.

As you did the MLC backup with the recovery, we can even use it, if you boot the console again, we then just have to delete scfm.img.

First step would be to install isfshax, then we are safe and have lots of options

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

I see you use Linux, that also makes some things easier.

Not Linux, but macOS. Shouldn't be much different than Linux, worst case I can use Linux.

If you have a 64gb SD card at hand (I assume you have, since you did the backup, you can write your backup to a redNAND and try to fix it there. If that works you can then just dd it back to the 32gb max endurance card once that arrives.

After installing ISFShax, I assume I would still have to create a new dump of the MLC for redNAND so that the SLC cache is in sync?

I'm looking at https://gbatemp.net/threads/fixing-...-soldering-using-rednand-with-isfshax.642268/ and the procedure is about starting fresh with redNAND.

To use my MLC dump, is it just a matter of dd-ing the newest MLC dump to the NTFS "type" partition created on the SD card, then ensuring that ISFShax uses it immediately with the configuration in "minute/rednand.ini" on the FAT32 filesystem of the SD card?

At this point, should the scfm be disabled in "minute/rednand.ini"?

As you did the MLC backup with the recovery, we can even use it, if you boot the console again, we then just have to delete scfm.img.

First step would be to install isfshax, then we are safe and have lots of options

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of deleting scfm.img. As I understand it's the block level cache in front of the MLC stored in the SLC. If deleted, can a previous backup of the MLC be used, or the MLC would have to be rebuilt from scratch?

 

[SDIO]

The Image done with the recovery was read through the scfm, so it is in itself consistent and has the latest data from scfm. So we can run that image on the redNAND with SCFM disabled.
When you den later write the image / redNAND back to the sysmlc you need to delete the scfm.img because it might have stale data. It will be recreated as the MLC gets used.

You need to make sure that the MLC / NTFS partition has exactly 60948480 sectors.

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

Perfect! I think I have enough information now to proceed and fix the corruption while waiting for the hardware.

Thanks again and happy New Year!

Post automatically merged: Jan 1, 2024

[EDIT] Just to be sure, when launching on the redNAND (Patch (sd) and Boot redNAND), the "Boot to the recovery menu again, then start the network and wupserver." step to fix the corruption will also see the MLC from redNAND?

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

Allright, with macOS I was able to partition the SD card using diskutil. It doesn't support NTFS, but supports exFAT that shares the NTFS partition type:

diskutil partitiondisk disk4 2 MBR FAT32 ISFSHAX 64090112S exfat "%noformat%" 60948480S

- Copied the files for loading minute and the redNAND configuration into the FAT32 partition.
- dd-ed the MLC img obtained from recovery_menu into the second empty partition
- md5 checksum of the MLC partition and the original dump file to ensure the content matches.

Put the card into the SD card reader, "Patch (sd) and Boot redNAND" menu option and it loaded right away into the Wii U menu, obviously throwing errors with the corrupted titles.

Then continued with the steps from the tutorial above to re-install the system titles with "Install WUP", deleted the broken user titles with "wupserver" and re-downloaded them from the eShop. Confirmed the errors were not happening anymore when loading/using the titles.

Finally ran the "MLC Checker" from the recovery_menu which returned 0 error.

Currently dd-ing the redNAND MLC partition from the SD card back into a backup file on my computer.

I guess my next step is now to wait for the NAND-AID and high endurance SD card and install them! And delete the scfm.img using the minute menu option (I saw an option for it) before booting again from the new "onboard" MLC memory.

 

[SDIO]

You can use the console in the meantime with the redNAND. That doesn't hurt. When you installed the NAND-AID, you should be able to just use "restore redNAND" to write the redNAND MLC to the SD in the NAND-AID. And then delete scfm.img.

Also you could just have used NUSpli to reinstall the broken system Titles and the normal Data Management in the Settings to delete the broken user titles.

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

That’s what I thought about using the console. My son will be happy.

Oh! I didn’t see that option, that’s great. I will have the fixed backup anyway in case I need it.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[MrBildo]

Thanks for the work you guys put into this. I was able to mod in a NAND-AID this weekend on a Wii U that was gifted to me. Only issues I ran into were my own mistakes. After successfully fixing the NAND issue I performed a factory reset and now it's my own.

 

[SDIO]

Always nice to see how what we put out here actually helps people reviving their consoles

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

Received the NAND-AID yesterday and I was able to install it tonight. Doesn't boot though...

After installing the new MicroSD card, I booted in the minute menu and in the Backup and Recovery sub menu I deleted the scfm.img file. Then when trying to boot with the "Path (sd) and ios (slc)" menu item. I get stuck on the log of the last screenshot.

I tried booting again using the rednand SD card I have and it worked. Loaded the recovery_menu with udpih through that route and the System Information menu shows a NAND chip of Unknown manufacturer. It showed the Hynix information previously.

Using the Check MLC menu item from the recovery_menu seems to scan through files, but I don't know if that would be on the rednand or on the on-board SD card.

SD card is a Samsung Endurance Pro 32GB.

I tested all connections and they appeared to be done properly tested through the different resistances next to the attachment points. The CLK line is correctly cut on the board.

What should I validate next?

Thanks!

 

[SDIO]

You need to restore the redNAND to the SD card.

 

[V10lator]

the System Information menu shows a NAND chip of Unknown manufacturer

That's normal: It simply doesn't have your SD card model in its database. Your second image shows that the card got detected correctly through. For example a quick google search shows that manufacturer ID 0x1b is indeed Samsung. NAND size is 32 GB... All the values match your SD card.

So it's probably a software issue, do what SDIO told.

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

You need to restore the redNAND to the SD card.

I already prepared the microSD with a dump of the rednand partition using dd beforehand and double checked the MD5 matched before inserting it in the NAND-AID.

I will try a restore from the minute menu.

 

[SDIO]

Did you make sure to dd it to the raw device directly and not to the partition? (mmcblk0 and not mmcblk0p1 for example)

If it was written correctly, you shouldn't see any partition

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

Did you make sure to dd it to the raw device directly and not to the partition? (mmcblk0 and not mmcblk0p1 for example)

If it was written correctly, you shouldn't see any partition

That’s what I did. dd to /dev/disk4. macOS then tels me that the SD card is unredeable when I try to insert it again and shows no partition. Hopefully it doesn’t write anything when I click on the Ignore button.

I then re-dd-ed back to a second file and compared md5 to validate the content.

wii-u-recovery % sudo dd if=wii-u-mlc-2024-01-01-fixed.img of=/dev/disk4 bs=4M count=7440 status=progress    
  31205621760 bytes (31 GB, 29 GiB) transferred 3571.431s, 8738 kB/s  
7440+0 records in
7440+0 records out
31205621760 bytes transferred in 3571.473011 secs (8737465 bytes/sec)

wii-u-recovery % sudo dd if=/dev/disk4  of=mlc-32gb-sd-validation-dump  bs=512  count=60948480 status=progress
  31195857408 bytes (31 GB, 29 GiB) transferred 1129.980s, 28 MB/s
60948480+0 records in
60948480+0 records out
31205621760 bytes transferred in 1130.350190 secs (27607039 bytes/sec)

wii-u-recovery % md5 wii-u-mlc-2024-01-01-fixed.img
MD5 (wii-u-mlc-2024-01-01-fixed.img) = 23b8ac68501114e755e3941a107d778f
wii-u-recovery % md5 mlc-32gb-sd-validation-dump
MD5 (mlc-32gb-sd-validation-dump-2) = 23b8ac68501114e755e3941a107d778f

[EDIT] I just tried the "Restore redNAND MLC" option in the minute Backup and Restore menu and it gives the following:

Restoring redNAND...
Restoring MLC...
MLC: First blocks do not match!
MLC: Aborting restore.
Failed to restore MLC (-3)!
Press POWER/Q to exit.

Post automatically merged: Jan 17, 2024

Okay. I looked at the code of the "Restore redNAND MLC" function. It compares the first 512 blocks (512 bytes) of the redNAND with the first 512 blocks of the MLC and it fails if they differ.

Dumped the same set of sectors from my currently working redNAND microSD and compared it with those from my previous dump and for some reason they differ. I'll make a completely new dump and write it again on my target microSD.

 

[SDIO]

Try writing zeros to the first MB of the nand aid SD and then try again

Post automatically merged: Jan 17, 2024

Or even better, if your laptop supports it trim/discard the whole nandaid SD. On Linux you would use blkdiscard

 

[W1ldCh1ld]

Try writing zeros to the first MB of the nand aid SD and then try again

Post automatically merged: Jan 17, 2024

Or even better, if your laptop supports it trim/discard the whole nandaid SD. On Linux you would use blkdiscard

I did a full dump of my redNAND partition and rewrote it to the target microSD. It has just booted now!

I’ll reassemble a bit the casing and run the full MLC check.

Post automatically merged: Jan 17, 2024

MLC check succeeded! Thanks a lot @SDIO and @V10lator for the very detailed information and support that helped me save another Wii U!

 

[Hanrua23]

I did the NAND-AID Repair. I am attempting to fix the errors that come back from the MLC Check. These are the errors that it finds:
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/code/frd.rpx;-0003001B
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/code/title.fst;-0003001B
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/content/Common/Package/Frd.pack;-0003001B
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/content/Common/Package/Frd2.pack;-0003001B
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/content/UsEnglish/Message/AllMessage.szs;-0003001B
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/content/UsFrench/Message/AllMessage.szs;-0003001B
ReadFile;/vol/storage_mlc01/sys/title/00050030/1001510a/meta/bootLogoTex.tga;-0003001B
OpenDir;/vol/storage_mlc01/usr/boss/00050000/10144f00/user/common;-0003001B
OpenDir;/vol/storage_mlc01/usr/save/00050000/10144f00/user/80000001;-0003001B
OpenDir;/vol/storage_mlc01/usr/save/00050000/10144f00/user/common;-0003001B

I am posting because I didn't want to screw something up while removing these/replacing them. I understand that one of these is a save file for Super Smash Bros Wii U and the other is the Friends List. What do I do with them? I honestly don't care about the save files for games.