1. Save the game data to an SD card, transfer the resulting data.bin file to a linux computer.

2. Use the tachtig tool for the first round of data extraction. The tachtig tool is part of Segher’s suite and needs to be compiled from his git repository. After you compile the tool it will look for some wii keys in ~/.wii/ ; yes, the keys go in a folder in your home directory, not the bin path. You do NOT need to extract keys from your Wii. The pubicly available keys on the internet are fine. (note: look at jansenprice’s instructions for compiling tachtig in the resources below)

4. This will leave you with several files in a numerically named folder. The file that contains wii fit weight and balance information is RPWiifit.dat or FitPlus0.dat

3. Use the wiifitparser.py tool from the git repository on this google code site to extract the data.

The parser extracts a lot of data, but it needs to be tweaked. This is a modified wiifitparser that correctly parses weight (in pounds) and BMI. Here is my current wiifitparser.py as of April 3, 2010

4. The resulting data is xml, which is easily understood and simple to convert to csv.

Wii Fit data.bin parse

(The workflow in the screenshot is real, but i trimmed the contents of the output file so you could see the actual weight output.)

My eventual goal will be to create an online parser where people can upload data.bin files from their wii fit save and have that data file converted into a csv that can be downloaded. Right now, this is a simple log of my sources – if you have ideas or other knowledge, please share it!

The best overall start guide:

http://jansenprice.com/blog?id=9-Extracting-Data-from-Wii-Fit-Plus-Savegame-Files

Google code page with an excellent introduction:
http://code.google.com/p/wiifit/source/checkout

Segher’s tachtig tool is the initial data.bin parser:

http://git.infradead.org/?p=users/segher/wii.git;a=blob;f=tachtig.c

StackOverflow thread on parsing wii fit data.bin:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/616249/wii-fit-data-format

Oudtated but useful:

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Wii_Savegame_Parser

iphone 3G hangs on low battery screen

My wife inherited my old iPhone 3G, which has worked fine for almost two years. Recently, the phone developed a bad habit of crashing and hanging on a blinking red low battery screen. My wife states that in some cases the battery reports that it has full juice even when it is near empty.

I suspect the battery is bad and have ordered a new one from dealextreme, which should arrive in a few weeks.

In the meantime, I discovered a simple way to get out of the hung screen.

When the phone is stuck on the screen with the low battery indicator, it will shut itself off after three blinks. Start this process with the phone in the off mode (very easy)

1. Allow the phone to shut off.
2. Plug the phone into a usb powered port on the computer (I don’t believe iTunes needs to be runing(?), but this does NOT work in an AC outlet!)
3. Press and hold both the home and power button until the power cycles. In just a few moments you should see the boot logo!

This method is simple, but may require some tweaking.. please let me know what worked for you.

When you restore a Dell computer with a restore disk it may give the error:

Windows could not start becuase of a computer disk hardware configuration problem.
Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware.
Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information.

The Dell expected to find a special Dell Partition at the beginning of the hard drive, and a newly formatted drive will not have this partition.

The process for creating this partition really is simple – I’m going to give a simple overview, and then more detailed instructions. The key here is not to overthink things. The GOOD news is, if you’re starting with a blank hard drive, you have nothing to lose!

Simple Overview

(If you are familiar with booting into a live linux environment and fdisk, this should be all you need!)

1. delete the existing partition table
2. create a new dell partiton spanning the first 7 cylinders. (1-7)
3. create a second partition for windows spanning the rest of the drive. (8-default max)
4. set the first partition to type “de” (dell partition)
5. set the second partiton to type 7 (NTFS)
6. write the changes
7. exit, and install windows

Detailed process (all command line language is in italics)

1. Download an Ubuntu Desktop CD
2. Boot with the CD
3. F12 is the “one time boot menu on my computer; choose CD/DVD Drive – if this doesn’t work for you, enter BIOS and change the first boot device to the CD drive.
4. When the CD menu opens choose your language
5. Select “Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer”
6. Wait a minute while the CD loads. When it is done, you will see an ubuntu desktop.
7. Choose Applications > Accessories > Terminal
8. At the command line type: sudo bash (any linux nerd will tell you this can lead to trouble – we need to become the root user so we can modify the partition table)
9. fdisk -l (this tells fdisk to list your partitions. note the name under “Device” that you want to work with)
10. The target device will look something like “/dev/sd?”, where “?” represents a letter of the alphabet)
11. fdisk /dev/sda (instead of “/dev/sda”, use the correct name of the device listed in fdisk -l; do NOT add the number at the end of the device)
12. You are now in the fdisk utility. My instructions cannot fit every case perfectly, so you may need to improvise, but it’s easy. Type m if you need some guidance in fdisk. Protip: None of the changes you make will be written until you choose to write them. If you quit without writing, no changes (damage) will be done!
13. d (delete the existing partition table)
14. If you have multiple partitions you will be asked which one to delete. Delete them all one at a time. IF you only have one, it will automatically select it. Continue when you can type  fdisk -l and see a blank partition table.
15. Time to create the dell partition:
    Type n to create a new parition.
    Type p to make this a primary partition.
    Type 1 to make it the first partition.
    Type  1 to make the paritition start at the first cylinder.
    Type  7 to end the partition at cylinder 7.
16. Now we label the partition as a Dell partition:
    Type t to change the type of the partition.
    Type de to change the partition to type Dell.
17. Time to create the Windows partition:
    Type n to create a new parition.
    Type p to make this a primary partition.
    Type 2 to make it the second partition.
    Type  8 to make the paritition start at the first cylinder.
    Press Enter to end the partition at the last available cylinder of the hard drive.
18. Now we label the partition as a NTFS partition:
    Type t to change the type of the partition.
    Type 2 to select the second partition.
    Type 7 to change the partition to type NTFS.
19. Now all you have to do is press w to write your changes and exit. If you do not write your changes before you exit, you will probably spend a long time trying to figure out why things didn’t work.
20. I always run fdisk -l one last time before I exit the command line to make sure I did everything right!
21. Shut down the computer.
22. Reboot the computer using the Dell Rescue CD and install windows.

If you try this and it doesn’t work the first time, I suggest retrying. One common mistake is to run fdisk on /dev/sda1 (wrong) rather than /dev/sda (right!). Be sure you’re fdisking the correct volume! I have also talked to people that exit fdisk without writing the changes. If you exit without writing, it was just a dry run – nothing happened!

I am attaching some sequential screenshots – they are not complete, but they may help you understand the process if you’re having difficulty!

1. MakeItMine
2. MobileTerminal
3. OpenSSH
4. network-cmds
5. Clear All SMS
6. BossPrefs
7. Winterboard
8. xGPS
9. dTunes

There are two primary symptoms of a faulty dock connector:
1. The external speakers do not click or play music from iPod, but they do make noise when the phone rings.
2. At random times a notice comes up that says, “This accessory is not made to work with iPhone Charging is not supported with this accessory. Would you like to turn on Airplane Mode to reduce audio interference? You will not be able to make or receive calls.”

This accessory is not made to work with iPhone

The bad news is, there is definitely a problem with your dock connector. The good news is that there are 3 fixes to help you on your way.

The first fix is a simple hardware cleaning. The solution entails cleaning the docking area of your phone. I suggest using a dry soft bristled tooth brush. Some people have suggested using compressed air and vacuum tools. The key with this cleaning is to not make the problem worse by being too aggressive, and don’t use water! There may be other solvents that work, but I can’t recommend any (offer suggestions if you like). The idea here is that some kind of debris is in your dock making the iPhone think a device is trying to connect. Remove the debris and fix the device! (maybe)

THIS IS THE INTERNET. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The first fix works if debris caused the error, but not if the dock is actually faulty. My dock was faulty, but I was able to make the error go away with a trick – the trick basically disables the airplane warning inside the firmware. This fix does have risk, but I will make it as easy as possible. This fix works for firmware 2.2.1 and 3.0. If you can confirm that it works for other firmwares please let me know. At the time of this article, The 3GS phone is not jailbroken, so I can’t tell if it works there.

1. The phone must be jailbroken. This is a deal-breaker for some, but I highly recommend it. To get details on jailbreaking, check out http://blog.iphone-dev.org. This isn’t a jailbreak tutorial, so do that and come back.
2. After the phone is jailbroken, you will need to open up Cydia. There, you will be asked which kind of user you are. Choose “Developer” (it’s okay if you’re not a developer) then run the upgrades in Cydia.
3. You’ll need install a package called OpenSSH. The open ssh program allows you to get to the inner workings of your iphone from a regular computer. To find it, go to Search (in Cydia) and search for OpenSSH.
4. You’ll also need a program called wget, it’s a program that allows you to download files from the internet on the command line. Search Cydia for wget and install it.
5. A choice: If you want to do this directly on the iphone, install MobileTerminal from Cydia, otherwise you’ll need to check your wireless router to find out the ip for your iphone so you can log in with ssh (usually something like 192.168.1.##)

• If you’re going to use SSH:  If you’re using ssh you’ll need a computer with a terminal client. Mac has one built in, but for windows you’ll need to download a program called putty.
  On mac: open a terminal and type: ssh root@<iphone ip> wait awhile, accept the key, and then enter “alpine” as the password. (<iphone ip> is the ip number for your iphone, it is an ip number like 192.168.1.100)
  On a pc: open putty. In the “Host Name” line, type the ip for your iPhone and then hit “Open”. It will take several seconds. Accept the key, then use “root” as the login and “alpine” as the password.
  In Linux: same as mac. (I actually do this fix from Linux because it’s easiest, but i wanted to tailor these instructions for the masses)
• For MobileTerminal: Simply open the terminal icon on the iPhone and type: su root <enter>, then the password alpine <enter>.

6. You are in! (Aren’t you?)
7. Now all we need to do is replace the file that causes the warning screen and disables the dock when you are plugged in. Type these commands just like you see them – they will work the same for pretty much everyone (hit enter after each line):

cd /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/IAP.framework/Support/

mv iapd iapd.broken

wget http://www.huanix.com/iapd

chmod 755 iapd

chown root:wheel iapd

exit

exit

WAIT: Before you leave this site, will you consider using the paypal button at the top of this page to send a contribution? I’m not asking for much; but using paypal to contribute to web authors REALLY encourages us to keep up the work of helping to solve problems. Thank you!

There you go! You just disabled the dock warning nag. When you reboot you shouldn’t see the notice anymore. The external speakers generally work, but depending on how bad the dock is damaged it may or may not exit iPod randomly. So this isn’t a PERFECT fix, but it’s free.

IF something went wrong (?) and you have trouble using your phone, you will want to delete the “replacement” iapd and change the name of the backup to the original. I won’t give instructions here because people tend to copy random snippets of any instruction and i don’t want to confuse anyone.

A few useful notes from yyota@hotmail.com:

This iapd under OS 3.0 is not fully compatible, the process crashreporter keeps writting crash logs coming from iapd, it slows down the iphone a lot!!! It takes 50% cpu every few seconds.

To check this, synchronize your iphone with your Mac then check this folder on your computer:
/Users/xxx/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/MobileDevice/xxx’s iPhone/
It will be full of iapd crash logs!

Data recovery from a failed drive using dd_rescue over ssh:

1. Use Helix3 as a boot disk; ensure the network is connected; Make sure the bad/recovered hard drive is connected, but do not mount it in helix – it causes unnecessary disk activity. I prefer the console mode.
2. Identify the correct disk to recover. You might already know this, but use fdisk -l to be sure.
3. dd_rescue /dev/hda – | ssh huanix@192.168.1.4 ‘dd of=/media/data/test.img’
4. sometimes this hangs and i have to ctrl-z and restart. accept the RSA key and enter the user password.
5. The rescue can take a lot of time depending on how well the head transfer went, or how damaged the platters are. My worst case average is 1gb/hr
6. Now that you have the image on a safe machine, i like to make a copy of the disk image, just to be safe!
7. examine/build the partition table. I struggle here, but i eventually get it right.
8. fdisk -l to check the drive format
9. fdisk /dev/hda
10. enter expert mode (x)
11. set the sectors (s), heads (h), and cylinders (c), then return to home (r) and then write (w)
12. Calculate the offset: fdisk -lu //media/data/test.img
13. look in the “start” column, find the value and multiply it by 512 to get your offset.
14. the following mounts a fat32 partition (vfat)
15. sudo mount -t vfat -o loop,offset=32256 /media/data/test.img /media/test

Primary references:

http://www.debianadmin.com/recover-data-from-a-dead-hard-drive-using-ddrescue.html

http://www.linux-usb.org/gadget/file_storage.html

As I research this method I’m learning more about dd_rescue vs. ddrescue. I’m working to use the newer, better ddrescue… this is just for reference!

http://www.huanix.com/sync-in-linux

I am actually working on getting iTunes to work in wine: http://www.huanix.com/sync-in-linux/index.php/ITunes_8_through_modified_Wine

For the record: I am not currently working on this project. You are free to use the resources or ask questions, but I am moving on! I will be glad to share access on the wiki with anyone that wants to work on this. -hb

1. Have confidence in the future of the economy.
2. Conserve energy.

I have confidence.#1 accomplished. What Obama really means is that I should invest in the stock market and spend money, but I haven’t got money, so I’ll just “believe”.

Conserving energy is something that I’ve been slowly moving toward, but I’m suddenly ready to go full speed now that Obama has asked me to do it. Yes, I’m an Obama fanboy.

Here are the three immediate steps I’m taking:

1. I will investigate and purchase timed thermostats for my HVAC unit.
2. I will transition all of my bulbs to compact-fluorescent.
3. I will invest in an Energy Detective “TED” unit. The Energy Detective clamps on to your existing electricity framework and gives real time information about energy use. It runs about $144 for the 1001 model, and an additional ~$40 for the pc software. Anecdotal results suggest that simply watching energy usage will reduce energy use by 15-20%.

Here’s my offer: I have $60 in my “energy detective” fund. If you’ll help to contribute enough to purchase a unit, I’ll share and document the results with the kind of information that real nerds need. If you’re commercially affiliated with The Energy Detective Electricity Monitor, arrange to share a TED 1001 and software, and I’ll encourage readers of this blog (currently ~1500 hits a day) to purchase a unit through you – that is, supposing it lives up to my expectations!.

http://www.theenergydetective.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Energy_Detective

Restoring an iPhone inside VirtualBox

It was a little nerve racking for a minute, but I can confirm that it is possible to upgrade and restore iPhone firmware in a virtualbox environment. It is actually simple, the only thing I had to do was re-connect the iPhone to the VM twice during the Restore.

The screenshot shows Ubuntu 8.10 Interpid Ibex as a host, with Windows XP running in a Virtual Machine (VirtualBox) in the foreground. You can see iTunes 8 running, having just completed the firmware upgrade.

I used a custom ipsw that I got from the internet so I didn’t upgrade my baseband. I suggest you do this or something similar to maintain the OPTION to unlock your phone in the future. (I don’t expect to unlock my phone, but I want to keep the option!)

I got the modified 2.2 firmware image from tpb, you can search for it as “iPhone1,2_2.2_5G77_Custom_Restore.ipsw” – it is listed under mac applications (!?)

So, when you’re ready to try to upgrade your firmware, hover your mouse over the usb icon in the VirtualBox tray and make sure it stays connected. Check the connection by right clicking on the USB icon. When the Restore/Upgrade goes through stages it will disconnect the phone and you will need to re-connect it by re-activating the checkbox.

For the Record: I tested VirtualBox 2.0.6 myself and iPhone sync DOES work when you enter a correct /etc/fstab entry.