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title: "BootMii Backup"
---

{% include toc title="Table of Contents" %}

You need an **SD card** to create a NAND backup using BootMii. If you do not have one, you can skip this page, although it is highly recommended to make a NAND backup if you can.

You need an **SD card** to use BootMii at all, but especially to create a NAND backup. If you do not have an SD card on hand right now, you can skip this page, but it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to return to this page later to back up your NAND.
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### Requirements

* An SD card with at least 512MB of free space

### Instructions

If you have BootMii installed as boot2 you will need to launch BootMii by restarting the console. Skip steps 1 and 2 if this is the case.
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1. Power on your console.
1. Launch the Homebrew Channel.
1. Press the HOME Button, then select "Launch BootMii".

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_HBC.png)

    If the `Launch BootMii` button does not appear in the Homebrew Channel, [re-launch the HackMii Installer](hackmii) and install BootMii.
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    If the screen stays black and the blue disc drive light is blinking, you are missing the BootMii files on your SD card. Download [this zip file](https://static.hackmii.com/bootmii_sd_files.zip) and extract it to the root of your SD card, then try again.
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1. You should see an image similar to the below now on your screen:

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_Main.png)

    Navigating BootMii is not possible using a Wii Remote. You must use the POWER and RESET buttons on your console, or a GameCube controller plugged into port 1. To navigate between options, press POWER. To select an option, press RESET.
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1. Select the Options button (the icon with the gears).

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_Gears.png)

1. Select the first button to the left.

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_Backup.png)

1. A NAND backup will start. You can watch the progress on the screen.
    + "Bad Blocks" are normal. Don't worry when you see some on a NAND backup.

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_NAND_Backup.png)

1. After this step, it will verify the backup. Ideally, all the blocks should be green after the verification process.
    + If you have factory bad blocks with uncorrectable pages, these blocks may fail to verify. As long all non-bad blocks are successfully verified, this should be fine.

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_NAND_Backup_Verify.png)

1. To exit BootMii, press the Back button (the one with the arrow) and then you can press either the Wii Menu button or the Homebrew Channel button to exit where you want to.

    ![](/images/bootmii/BootMii_Return.png)

<div id="restore-notice" class="notice" markdown="1">
Note: **restoring a NAND backup is usually a last resort**. There often better ways to unbrick your console.
Try your best to [identify your brick condition](bricks) and reverse the action that caused it in the first place.
To restore from a NAND backup on your SD card, you can follow the instructions for [RestoreMii](bootmiirecover). **Family edition Wiis (Wiis without GameCube ports) CANNOT restore NAND backups.**
</div>

As stated earlier, if you have BootMii installed as boot2, it will launch every time you start your console. If you would like to change this, you can use the app [BootMii Config Editor](https://oscwii.org/library/app/BootMiiConfigurationEditor). Or, you can edit `sd:/bootmii/bootmii.ini` manually.
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Two files will have been created on the root of your SD Card: `nand.bin` and `keys.bin`. `nand.bin` is your Wii's internal memory, while `keys.bin` are your console's keys.
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BootMii as boot2 is recommended, but only available to install on early Wiis. Otherwise, it can only be installed as an IOS.
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