Guide_Wii/_pages/en_US/dosanddonts.md

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title: "Dos and Don'ts of Wii Modding"
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{% include toc title="Table of Contents" %}

If you need help for anything regarding this tutorial, please join [the RiiConnect24 Discord server](https://discord.gg/rc24) (recommended) or [e-mail us at support@riiconnect24.net](mailto:support@riiconnect24.net).
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Here's a list of things you should and should not do once you've modded your Wii, to make sure you don't brick it.

#### List

- **DO** make sure you've installed [BootMii](bootmii) and [Priiloader](priiloader) to make sure you don't brick your Wii.
- **DO** make a backup of your Wii NAND regularly with [BootMii](bootmii), especially before doing something risky.
- **DO** install Wii Menu themes if you wish, but only use our tutorial for it carefully. ([Wii](themes) / [vWii](themes-vwii)). Other tutorials might be misleading and can cause you to brick your Wii.
- **DO NOT** install WADs of random IOS, older versions of the Wii Menu, etc. unless you know what you're doing, especially not on vWii or a Wii Mini.
- **DO NOT** use old versions of Wii homebrew. If you follow Wii modding tutorials from the Internet, be cautious about using old tutorials (likely pre-2012), especially if they have to do with things such as IOS.
- **DO NOT** modify, rename, or delete random files on your Wii NAND unless you know what you are doing.
- **DO NOT** use the homebrew app "KoreanKii" on a non-Korean Wii.
- **DO NOT** Install any IOS or Wii Menu on a Wii mini other than [d2xl cIOS](cios-mini). Doing so will brick your console if a Wi-Fi card is not soldered to it.
- **DO NOT** use any Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection replacement on your Wii except for [Wiimmfi](wiimmfi). Unfortunately, other replacement servers are vulnerable to an exploit that can brick your Wii if you use them. [RiiConnect24](riiconnect24) is safe to use as well.

If you follow these guidelines, you won't have to worry about bricking your Wii. Wii modding is safe, and bricks usually occur due to something done by the user that is on this list.

Continue to installing cIOS<br>
cIOS are used to play games with a USB Loader. It's also useful for many other homebrew apps.
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If using a regular Wii, follow [this guide](cios) to install cIOS.
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If using a Wii mini, follow [this guide](cios-mini) to install cIOS
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