Wii Internal Memory Card Mod

[foobar2k]

Wii Internal Memory Card Mod

THE LATEST VERSION OF THIS GUIDE IS AVAILABLE HERE (http://www.modpulse.com/articles/wii-internal-memory-card-mod/)

This guide explains how you can mount a Gamecube memory card INSIDE your Wii, so that it does not need to be plugged in or visible from the outside. This was the next logical mod after my Internal Wavebird Receiver Mod (http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=49938) and it now means both of my Gamecube flaps stay closed 99% of the time!

You will need:

Gamecube memory card
Triwing Screwdriver
Phillips Screwdriver
Some good thin wire
Soldering Iron
Solder
Wire Cutters
Electrical Tape or similar


Guide:

Take apart your Gamecube memory card. Official cards have 2 or more triwing screws, but my 8mb unofficial one used 2 philips screws.


Once the screws are removed, carefully slide the plastic up to expose the memory card's circuit board, then remove the circuit board from the plastic moulding.
http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/memorycardt.jpg (http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/memorycard.jpg)


Cut 12 lengths of 5cm wire and strip 1mm from each end. I used multicore wire but most wire types will do as long as they are small enough.


Add a small amount of solder on to each of the large pads at the end of the memory cards. The solder should pool nicely on to each pad.


Solder a wire onto each of these pads. I personally found it best to tape the memory card board to the table to stop it from moving around while soldering.
http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/solderingt.jpg (http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/soldering.jpg)


Carefully take apart your Wii, all the way down to removing the motherboard from the base. Don’t worry about removing the Bluetooth or wireless modules. You will need access to the underside of the motherboard you it is necessary to remove the heat sink. I used the following guide to make sure I took it apart correctly: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=677908&rl=1


Now solder the other end of each of these wires to the corresponding point on the motherboard. Geepee thankfully already drew out a nice diagram for this, and I checked that it was correct using my multimeter.
http://www.geepee.net/upload/files/1/internal_ngc_memory.jpg

BEWARE: The previous diagram shown here showed the pinouts from a top down view of the motherboard, obviously you will be soldering with the motherboard face down, so adjust as necessary. Thanks again to geepee for updating the diagram with a more accurate picture. See my picture for a clearer idea.

I added a little extra solder to each pin to help my wires stick. Here's what mine looked like for reference:
http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/solderedt.jpg (http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/soldered.jpg)


Cover the back of the memory card with electrical tape, then place the memory card in the middle of the 4 heatsink screws (make sure it is in the middle so not to block the screws).


Tape the memory card in place with some more electrical tape. I also taped over my soldering on the board just to be safe.
http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/wiitapedt.jpg (http://void.printf.net/~foobar/wii/wiitaped.jpg)


Finally put your wii back together and test.


Tips + Troubleshooting

Check for solder bridges after soldering
Cover the soldered area with electrical tape to stop shorts
If you wish to use your external memory card on occasion then the simplest way to do this may be to add a switch between the +5v pin on the memory card and the motherboard. I have not personally tried this myself but I think it should work.


Please feel free to contact me with any questions and you may repost this guide where ever you like as long as I am given credit.

[babb_z]

Nice guide. I did this to mine a while back but havent gotten around to the wavebird yet.

[geepee]

lol, thanks for the credit on that picture...I never even realized I drew it wrong...woops, I'll have to change it tonight when I get home from work.

[lilskaterpunk]

Good Job on the guide:cool:

[foobar2k]

lol, thanks for the credit on that picture...I never even realized I drew it wrong...woops, I'll have to change it tonight when I get home from work.

Heh cool, I was too lazy to make one myself and your picture is essentially correct but just flipped.

[halomasta203]

Very nice guide. Thank you for the post. I might try this since I'm going to open up my Wii for the wiikey anyway.

[Happsai]

Awesome! I want to try that!
This may sound like a stupid question, but I have a wireless GC controller (it's a gamestop mini). Could a similar mod be done for the controller's receiver chip so that it's all internal and not sticking out of the wii? The wires in the receiver are red, white, blue, and yellow.

[eprom]

yep good mod, i will do this but for my sd card adapter for make backups with wiikey, intead of makind the pcb becuase i dont have gamecube memory card, i will connect the sd connector directly to the board.

thanks for the mod
thanks for the idea

[Happsai]

yep good mod, i will do this but for my sd card adapter for make backups with wiikey, intead of makind the pcb becuase i dont have gamecube memory card, i will connect the sd connector directly to the board.
Would that work? I'm a little confused.
If you did that, how would you insert/change SD cards in the adapter?

[sqweeks]

Would that work? I'm a little confused.
If you did that, how would you insert/change SD cards in the adapter?
It's called magic, duh:rolleyes:

[Sepioth]

Whats the point in doing this. To me a permanent memory card seems kinda stupid. What happens when it get full???

[jagojago]

Yea... aren't you the guy that broke your Wii doing the wavebird mod?

This is just one more thing to worry about going wrong, even if you install it correctly it could lose connection sometime in the near future causing headaches. Just plug a memory card into your wii and don't bother with this.

[geepee]

Whats the point in doing this. To me a permanent memory card seems kinda stupid. What happens when it get full???

Put a card in slot 2 and copy some save files from games you might not play anymore onto it? I played my GC quite a bit, and I think I only ever filled my memory card once.


Yea... aren't you the guy that broke your Wii doing the wavebird mod?

This is just one more thing to worry about going wrong, even if you install it correctly it could lose connection sometime in the near future causing headaches. Just plug a memory card into your wii and don't bother with this.

If soldered correctly, I highly doubt it's going anywhere.

[jagojago]

But you never know for sure.

Anyways this mod is cool if you have time to kill and don't mind opening up your wii again if it screws up.

[sir crx]

Nice guide. I did this to mine a while back but havent gotten around to the wavebird yet.

Ditto.

Nice guide though.

[krsmit0]

i did this to mine sometime ago, very happy with it. i didn't mount mine on the bottom, didn't think about that.

[Xenogears V]

Good guide, but not for noob solder!.

[foobar2k]

Yea... aren't you the guy that broke your Wii doing the wavebird mod?

This is just one more thing to worry about going wrong, even if you install it correctly it could lose connection sometime in the near future causing headaches. Just plug a memory card into your wii and don't bother with this.

Yes I broke my wii when doing the wavebird mod, but nothing to do with bad soldering or being stupid. Just applied a bit too much pressure on the dvd drive data connector (these things are not meant to be opened and closed frequently). I've got a new data connector on my drive now.

Modding is risky. If you don't want to risk it don't do it.

Also it is extremely rare that a memory card soldered and taped underneath the motherboard is going to suddenly "lose connection". Maybe if you play football with it :).


Good guide, but not for noob solder!.
Actually the soldering on this is incredibly easy. The pads and pins are enormous compared to installing a modchip.

[sir crx]

I didn't read the comments before but I just did now, and I must say its pretty ignorant.

To the people who said its pointless or stupid...its not. Ive seen 3 people including myself saying they have done this, and in those 3 people (I assume) that they honestly don't take their memory card everywhere, let alone anywhere. Personally, I don't. It sits in the wii for use whenever I need it. It sat there on the top for a while with the door open looking ugly. When I got my chip a while back I did this because it was open and I knew what to do.

To say something like this will fail or mess something up is just plain stupid. I have xbox mods way uglier than that when I was still beginning to "mod" stuff and its still running fine.

A mod is a mod. Something to make yourself happy and something meant for you - not to please other people. For the people who do mod to show it off, thats their thing. Mods can be pointless and funny looking but like i said its to please the maker not the viewer.

[eprom]

Would that work? I'm a little confused.
If you did that, how would you insert/change SD cards in the adapter?

i do not have a memory card of gamecube, to transform it in a sd adaptor, so the only thing that i have taked from this mod is connect the sd adaptor directly to the port in the wii, off course i will not leave the sd card inside the wii, i will pass the wires to outside, i have another cover of the wii and already have a hole in it, this way i do not need to make a pcb to connect in the slot of memory card.

i have a sd adaptor that can use SD and MMC card, can someone confirm if MMC will work or do i have to buy a SD card.

[foobar2k]

i do not have a memory card of gamecube, to transform it in a sd adaptor, so the only thing that i have taked from this mod is connect the sd adaptor directly to the port in the wii, off course i will not leave the sd card inside the wii, i will pass the wires to outside, i have another cover of the wii and already have a hole in it, this way i do not need to make a pcb to connect in the slot of memory card.

i have a sd adaptor that can use SD and MMC card, can someone confirm if MMC will work or do i have to buy a SD card.

My mod has nothing to do with using the memory card for homebrew purposes it is purely for using with gamecube games! Maybe I misunderstood your post?

[shadowfamicom]

great work this mod is very cool and those solder points are fucking HUGE. there like the size of Dreamcast modchip solder points. not like those freakin tiny ones on the PS2 Slim (i fried a ps2 because of those but it was worth it as i bought another and got it to work)..

[foobar2k]

Frontpage AND joystiq. What a combo.

[vaderag]

Nice mod - plan to do this in the next few days when my Modchip arrives (dont see any point opening it more than once!
Just one question...
How on earth do you get the official cards open without breaking them!?
I've removed the two screws, but it still wont budge! Am i missing something!?

[foobar2k]

Nice mod - plan to do this in the next few days when my Modchip arrives (dont see any point opening it more than once!
Just one question...
How on earth do you get the official cards open without breaking them!?
I've removed the two screws, but it still wont budge! Am i missing something!?

After the screws are removed, one side of the memory card should slide upward. Don't be afraid to put a lot of force onto it. Alternatively, try sliding a knife or screwdriver between the two sides and easing it apart.

[vaderag]

After the screws are removed, one side of the memory card should slide upward. Don't be afraid to put a lot of force onto it. Alternatively, try sliding a knife or screwdriver between the two sides and easing it apart.

I feel really stupid now...
Was dead easy when i slid it - was trying to pull it off vertically!

[vaderag]

Would telephone wire work for this? or is it not strong enough?

[foobar2k]

Telephone wire will probably work. Some telephone wire has plastic threads in with the metal cores which makes it a ***** to solder with, so watch out for this.

[vaderag]

So, i tried this and the wavebird mod today (not using telephone wire).
Neither worked, so i opened my Wii back up to check the points. Re-did, and then my Wii wouldnt boot :(
So, opened it up again, totally removed the Wavebird mod, tested, seemed to boot, so put it back together. Now, i cant boot GC games at all...

Should i just removed the mem card mod?
The wii recognised there was something there when i tried it earlier - told me that it wasnt a proper memory card or something :(

[foobar2k]

So, i tried this and the wavebird mod today (not using telephone wire).
Neither worked, so i opened my Wii back up to check the points. Re-did, and then my Wii wouldnt boot :(
So, opened it up again, totally removed the Wavebird mod, tested, seemed to boot, so put it back together. Now, i cant boot GC games at all...

Should i just removed the mem card mod?
The wii recognised there was something there when i tried it earlier - told me that it wasnt a proper memory card or something :(

Take a photo of how you have connected the card to the board. You may be connecting it incorrectly.

[vaderag]

Took a photo but cant get it off my camera at the moment. I've taken everything off and all is working again now (thank god)
I may try again in the summer if i have the grapefruits.

[thefatpigeon]

is there enough room to put in a momentoary push button always on button connecting VCC. really small in teh mem card port. if you give the button a 45 degreen angle then the internal card will always on until you put in a external one. when you do you push the button in and disabling the internal one

[foobar2k]

is there enough room to put in a momentoary push button always on button connecting VCC. really small in teh mem card port. if you give the button a 45 degreen angle then the internal card will always on until you put in a external one. when you do you push the button in and disabling the internal one

That is a REALLY good idea. Possibly a better solution would be an electrical one, which detects the presence of an external card electronically. I'll have a think about it and post my results.

[Avenger]

Diagram pic is not working, anyone able to repost?

[dipswitch]

I don't have a diagram handy but you should be able to make one from a photo of mine.
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/4216/dsc01186ju8.jpg

[thefatpigeon]

http://pollak.thomasnet.com/item/switches-momentary-switches/witches-2-position-on-off-normally-on-push-to-off-/21-541?&forward=1

i wonder if you could get this switch to fit in. obviosly you would cut off the connector and just solder it in between vcc . The switch button is low profile but the rest of the switch is large so it may take a lil it of dremalling. I want to look into doing somthign like this but switches are hard to find with out actually being there to look at it.

[frag]

I don't have a diagram handy but you should be able to make one from a photo of mine.
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/4216/dsc01186ju8.jpg

I plan on adding a switch to the internal memory card mod I'm going to be installing soon. Im using the official Nintendo 1019 block card. Which point on the PCB is the vcc where I would put in the switch? Does anyone know of a pinout diagram of the official Nintendo memory cards? I'm also adding a switch to my wiikey, a switch on the lightbar mod I did, and an internal wavebird mod also with a switch. Any info would be appreciated.

[dipswitch]

I used this pin out when I built my SD/memory card adaptor.

http://ngc.scorpei.com/guides/SD_adapter/images/pin_out.jpg

[Jademalo]

you dont really need a switch for an internal wavebird..

You can plug another controller in just fine.

You do need one for the memory card however..

[bigfoothunt1]

you dont really need a switch for an internal wavebird..

You can plug another controller in just fine.

You do need one for the memory card however..

You've got everything completely backwards. You don't need a switch on the memory card mod. You have twp MC slots to choose from.

You do need a switch for the internal wavebird mod if you ever want to use a standard GC controller. You can't have two controllers pluged in at the same port at the same time, hence the switch.

[foobar2k]

You've got everything completely backwards. You don't need a switch on the memory card mod. You have twp MC slots to choose from.

You do need a switch for the internal wavebird mod if you ever want to use a standard GC controller. You can't have two controllers pluged in at the same port at the same time, hence the switch.

Actually you can plug a wired controller just fine into a modded socket, just don't try to use them both at the same time.

[dyforlife]

Just successfully completed this mod and installed a submini lever switch in the side of the mem card slot. Unfortunately cutting the 5v doesn't seem to do a thing. Back to the drawing board. Any Ideas? I will try to post pics when I go back in for the wavebird mod or to work on this one again. Thanks for the tuts and pics on all of your mods. It's great to share ideas.

[twiggs462]

I see that most people are mounting this to mod to Slot-A - wouldn't Slot-B be a better choice... I heard somewhere about SNES9xGx is more compatible with the SRAM saves when done to Slot-B. Let me know if I am wrong.

Also has anyone figured out where to add a switch (which pin) in order to disable the card.... anyone try the sense pin.

Thanks for any info.

[redsquirrell]

but dont most GC games *require* the memory card to be in slot A? The only reason IMO you would want a mem card in port b would be for emulators.

[twiggs462]

but dont most GC games *require* the memory card to be in slot A? The only reason IMO you would want a mem card in port b would be for emulators.

I thought for GC games it didn't matter... can anyone confirm this? I use both so I want to do this right the first time. ;)

[redsquirrell]

ask around, but most games from memory required a memory card to be in slot A otherwise it wouldnt save. I always thought whats the point in slot b if you can not save to it..