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The Wii Disassembled 160

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the inside-on-the-outside dept.
mrmcgeeber writes "There are two ways to take apart the Wii. The first, as demonstrated by Popular Science, involves breaking the Wii open due to a lack of tools. The second method is a more formal Wii disassembly guide, which is provided by InformIT.com. Either way, you can see some detailed pictures of the internals of the Wii and how the parts are laid out. The InformIT.com version also includes an eight minute teardown video."
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The Wii Disassembled More

The Wii Disassembled

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  • Wii alive! (Score:5, Funny)

    by BadAnalogyGuy ( 945258 ) <BadAnalogyGuy@gmail.com> on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @07:38AM (#16928552)
    No disassemble! No disassemble!

  • Forgot another method of Disassembly (Score:5, Informative)

    by LiquidCoooled ( 634315 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @07:41AM (#16928574) Homepage Journal
    smashmywii.com [smashmywii.com]!

    Its full of craptastic goodness.

    • Re:Forgot another method of Disassembly (Score:5, Funny)

      by gEvil (beta) ( 945888 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @08:11AM (#16928760)
      Hey, keep your BDSM fetish sites to yourself!
    • It doesn't play DVDs... it doesn't double up as a cooking machine... it doesn't withstand a sledgehammer... what's next?
    • Whats really cool about that is the completly different audience reception.

      On Smashmyps3.com video the people in line were horrified, they almost cried. The people in the Wii line were excited and said "Thats awesome!"

      • I meant to say the people in the Wii line were excited about the smashing of the Wii. They might have been excited about smashing a PS3 as well. Who knows! :)

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by HappySqurriel ( 1010623 )
        On Smashmyps3.com video the people in line were horrified, they almost cried. The people in the Wii line were excited and said "Thats awesome!"

        Thats because very few people who were buying a Wii were planning on spending this month's rent on a get rich quick scheme; also, as I noticed on Sunday, most of the people who didn't get a Wii were pretty optimistic about getting one before Christmas so there isn't the panic that the PS3 had about it.
        • Though I did notice a HUGE (19 closing in the next 30 minutes).
          number of Wii (system)'s on ebay. Personally I'm hoping these dummies get stuck with extras and start selling them at loss!!!!

        • In that case, the people in the PS3 line should have been more enthusiastic about seeing one smashed -- it increases the value of all the others (assuming they managed to get one)!

  • I have my wii coming on december the 8th (UK)

    have been waiting for this so i can work out how to Mod my console, looks to be nice and simple

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jaruzel ( 804522 )
      How likely is this to be? I'm not a Nintendo-owner, however I do have a modded xbox - would the modding of the Wii be in the same vein ?

      -Jar.
  • It's made in Canada!
    • Them are fightin words, I say, I say sir, put up yer dukes!

      I'm sure your comment makes a lot of sense right after we figure out that most processors are designed outside of the USA. And the ones that are done in town are by import engineers.

      Tom
    • It's made in Canada!

      Of course ... Canadian chips have better cooling.

    • I doubt it. IBM doesn't operate a fab in Canada.

      In all likelihood, the chip is being fabricated at IBM's facility in East Fishkill, New York, and is only being packaged at their Bromont, Quebec packaging facility.

      Disclaimer: IAAC (I am a Canadian)

  • I would be more interesed to see a controller opened. Does it really have a video camera inside ? can we get the specs / reference of it ?

  • Grr - triwing screws (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Alioth ( 221270 ) <no@spam> on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @08:39AM (#16928954) Journal
    I hate the way some companies use oddball screws to try and stop people taking the device apart. It doesn't work - those who really want to take it apart will find the tool or improvise, and it merely annoys them. Those who don't want to take it apart wouldn't even if you used screws that could be undone with the tip of a steak knife.

    It's like a wall-wart I have at home - I want to get the case off it to salvage the transformer for other projects, yet they use these nasty 'interrupted flathead' screws (two slots opposite each other on the screw head) which now means I have to buy or make a special tool *just* for this one device. Grrr. Eventually the tool will become common (just like Torx bits have become common, that was the last shenanigan they tried to stop people from taking something apart) and they will change to another infuriatingly uncommon screw type.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Tainek ( 912325 )
      but it does work, it wont prevent anyone who really wants to get in, but it does stop 90% of the casual population from opening it up just to have a look, me and my brother would have opened our gamebodys when we were younger if they had standard screws, im glad we didnt

      (of course my DS is custom now, i know better)

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by jonwil ( 467024 )
      Part of it is to make it harder for kids to disassemble it (being that it doesnt use screws that can be opened with stuff kids are likely to find around the house). Remember that the Wii (and also the Wall-Wart mentioned in the parent post) are quite likely to be in environments where kids are around.
      Also, it may be the case that in order to get the various certifications (that CE mark or whatever it is) you need to make it so it cant be easily diassembled (I have no idea)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Alioth ( 221270 )
        Being hard to get into has nothing to do with CE marks - all our PCs are CE marked and they are designed to be EASY to get into - all our PCs here can be almost completely stripped without any tools. Even the power supplies can be totally disassembled with a normal Phillips screwdriver.

      • Re:Grr - triwing screws (Score:4, Informative)

        by Schraegstrichpunkt ( 931443 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @09:29AM (#16929384) Homepage
        Also, it may be the case that in order to get the various certifications (that CE mark or whatever it is) you need to make it so it cant be easily diassembled (I have no idea)

        That's doubtful; That's what the separate power brick is for.

        I think the rule is that anything that has more than 60 Volts RMS going into it has to be certified. Electronics companies avoid having to re-certify their entire devices every time they make a change by using separate, generic power adaptors.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jessta ( 666101 )
      The fact that it has annoyed you is proof that it's working.
      If it's annoying enough to open up your wii then less people will try.
      If it was easy then every man and his dog would attempt to 'fix' their wii.
      • Why would Nintendo not want this? A home "fix" voids the warranty, meaning another possible sale for Nintendo....

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
          because nintendo would rather do the in-warrantee fixing themselves the first time and have a happy customer than have to refuse warrantee service to a bunch of people who wanted to look inside and broke something.

    • Re:Grr - triwing screws (Score:5, Interesting)

      by eltonito ( 910528 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @09:41AM (#16929536)

      In case you really were interested- Torx bits weren't designed to keep end users from accessing the internals, they were designed to make assembly more efficient. Flathead and Phillips screws require the operator to line the bit up with the slots, the Torx design lines up much more quickly and is less likely to pop out of the socket once it is engaged. Supposedly torx improve production times.

      At least, this is what was explained to me by the Craftsmen rep when I complained about having to buy a crapload of torx bits to work on my car, which seemingly has nothing but torx.

      • Re:Grr - triwing screws (Score:4, Informative)

        by Animaether ( 411575 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @12:02PM (#16931726) Journal
        You are also less likely to kill
        - the screw head
        - the screw driver

        while being able to apply a great amount of force, or a set amount of force with factory tools.

        For more info, see:
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_10664 [wikipedia.org]

        Btw - see related topics on the Wiki.. there are a LOT of screw heads out there.

        There is one common property to them, though - if you have a good quality flat screw driver, you can open all but the dotted ones (Spanner Head in the wiki, and a crazy 3-dotted one I encountered once in a greek microwave >_ we ended up drilling those out and replacing them with philips heads on a repair. ha.)

    • Re:Grr - triwing screws (Score:4, Informative)

      by muffen ( 321442 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @09:53AM (#16929660)
      I hate the way some companies use oddball screws to try and stop people taking the device apart. It doesn't work - those who really want to take it apart will find the tool or improvise, and it merely annoys them. Those who don't want to take it apart wouldn't even if you used screws that could be undone with the tip of a steak knife.
      ... like the xbox360, where you can "make" your own tool by cutting some hard plastic, delays the opening-the-xbox360-process by an entire 5 minutes, and requires one additional tool, scissors.

      I completely agree, the only thing this does is stops "kids" from opening the console, which really has no effect in the end. I guess what they are worried about is people hacking the console, which will happen sooner or later one way or another, and the people hacking it couldn't care less about the screws or even if they have to break the plastic.

      With the internet, it takes just one person to show how its done, and thousands will follow. For the xbox360, there is a company selling the special tool you need, I think the going rate is around $10.
      • Strangely enough there may be some legal precedent as well. I'd bet if it came with normal screws you could argue in court that like a computer it was end-user serviceable and that you aren't voiding your warranty by taking it apart.
    • Just get yourself a Security Bit Set (search google) and those silly screws won't cause you any more problems.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
      i got a set of security bits off overstock that has everything but the 5 lobed TORX-Plus which i can even get a set of those but i don't want to spend $100 just to cause trouble when the 6 lobed TORX security bits are far more common
  • I haven't seen a hardware design this well thought of since the gamecube, everything is nice and tightly packed, and not generating heat so much that the compactness kills it. one thing I find interesting is the neatnesss of the board, not that many visible traces. accustomed to so many lines that the mind gets boggled and yet the mobo looks so clean, even though there's so much attached. are they just hiding them or did they come up with something to reduce complexity?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by jrmiller84 ( 927224 )
      I'm not an electronical engineer but I do believe that traces are layered. Typical PCB's in production hardware like computer motherboards have I think at least 3 layers. Although this is all up to the complexity of the hardware as well as who designed it. I know they can have less and I dont see why they couldn't have more layers. Some of the more intricate traces may be hidden. Either that or Nintendo has received hardware specifications from aliens ;)

      • Multi-layer PCBs (Score:3, Informative)

        by PeterBrett ( 780946 )

        Typical PCB's in production hardware like computer motherboards have I think at least 3 layers.

        PCBs tend to have multiple layers, typically multiples of two. Often they are made by starting off with a sheet of PCB with copper on both sides, which is etched. Another layer of resin is added to each side, followed by copper plating of both sides, which is then itself etched. Wash, rinse, repeat (literally).

        PC motherboards most certainly have multiple layers, often twelve to sixteen. This is so that the

  • Links for all consoles (Score:5, Informative)

    by alexhs ( 877055 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @08:55AM (#16929074) Homepage Journal
    Where are the "related stories" ?

    And for those who don't have time, motherboards photos :
    • XBox 360 [anandtech.com] (sorry not directly the JPEG, seems they rely on referer tag. Motherboard pic to the bottom of the page)
    • PS3 [qj.net]
    • Wii [informit.com]
    • Dude, it looks like you know a bit too much about where to find game console disassembly pics. Wanna talk about it?
  • He refers to it as a DVD drive, is this correct or has he got mixed up?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by BenjyD ( 316700 )
      It is a DVD drive, it just doesn't play DVD movies because the Wii software/firmware support isn't there.

    • Re:DVD drive? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Akaihiryuu ( 786040 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @12:22PM (#16932218)
      They called it a DVD drive because it is a DVD drive. It's pretty much the same thing as the DVD-ROM in your computer. Just putting a DVD drive in your computer isn't going to give you the ability to play DVD movies, you'd have to have some sort of DVD player software. You can read the files off of the disk, but if you don't have an MPEG2 decoder, they're just going to be files. I personally don't see the need to have the Wii be able to play DVD movies. It's a game console...if I really want to play DVD movies, the local grocery store has progressive scan DVD players for $28, and these will be better for movies than any game console. It's not like it is when the PS2 first came out, when DVD players were still relatively expensive (and thus having DVD playback on the PS2 was helpful).

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by C0rinthian ( 770164 )
        Doesn't this give N an opportunity to save money on the systems shipped, since they have to pay a lisence for the decoding capabilities? This way, they can sell the DVD software seperately via the marketplace, and only have to cover the lisence for those who actually plan to watch DVD's on the system.

        The original Xbox was like this as well, requiring an additional purchase to unlock DVD playback.

      • I personally don't see the need to have the Wii be able to play DVD movies. It's a game console...if I really want to play DVD movies, the local grocery store has progressive scan DVD players for $28, and these will be better for movies than any game console.

        Maybe you don't see the need, but many people don't have any more S-video or component inputs left on their television for that seperate DVD player. Playing DVD movies through your Wii will allow you to use its high-quality video cable.

        Of course, if

        • This is easily solved with a decent audio/video amplifier ($200 for a good one, you can get better of course but $200 these days will get you something that can do Dolby Digital EX and Pro Logic II). These cost a fraction of the cost of a good TV, and less than any game console. In my case, even that's not enough...I have to have 2 switch boxes too (1 for video/s-video, one for component). If you want to forego the amp, you can get decent video/S-video switch boxes for around $30 and decent component one
  • A circuit board and an optical drive. Wop de do.

  • Curious (Score:1)

    by whoop ( 194 )
    Does the classic controller work with Gamecube games? Or do you need both a classic and a Gamecube controller for the various Virtual Console and Gamecube games?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by DDLKermit007 ( 911046 )
      GC games require the GC controller as far as I know. Virtual Console games however all work with the Classic controller plus the GC controller and depending on the game the Wiimote can be used (mainly NES and some Genesis games). Back to Zelda!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Maul ( 83993 )
      I haven't bought anything from the store yet, but I browsed it.

      From what it looks like, when you look at the information from the store, it tells you what controllers will work with that game. Most of the NES games look as if they support the Classic Controller, the GCN controller, and the Remote.

  • I really should just create an account... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Here's a comprehensive video from EETimes (c/o Semiconductor Insights):

    http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jht ml;jsessionid=W3LH3HBXTZ2ESQSNDLSCKHA?articleID=19 4500278 [eetimes.com]

    They take apart the controller too.

  • Oops (Score:5, Funny)

    by kilo_foxtrot84 ( 1016017 ) on Tuesday November 21, 2006 @10:17AM (#16929914)
    Uh... does anybody have a link to the reassembly page?
  • If you ask me this is the best way:
    http://fuvoo.com/FuvooPermaLink.aspx?PostID=93 [fuvoo.com]
  • You can't judge a book by it's cover, or in this case, internals. But the PS3 certainly looks a lot more impressive inside than the Wii.

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