This thread assumes you have Riivolution installed already. If you don't, you won't get ANY of this. Also HBC means the Homebrew Channel.
FAQ
1. WHY DID CTGP DELETE MY SAVE DATA?
It didn't delete anything. Your Wii or vWii uses NAND Flash Memory: a form of memory for your console. Your Mario Kart Wii save data is still there, safe and secure.
2. WHERE DID IT GO THEN?
Within your Wii/vWii's NAND chip, you will find a specific location for Mario Kart Wii.
Find your region below:
NAND:\title\00010004\524d4345 for NTSC-U
NAND:\title\00010004\524d4350 for PAL
NAND:\title\00010004\524d434a for NTSC-J.
The following files will reside in the locations bolded above↑:
banner.bin
rksys.dat
wc24dl.vff
wc24scr.vff
These files make up all of Mario Kart Wii's Data, which is 23 blocks of memory depending on your region.
To go into more detail about Mario Kart Wii's location on the NAND:
00010000 is the default location for disc-based game saves.
If the disc-based game save has a channel with it--the Mario Kart Channel in this instance;
it will go in 00010004, which combines the channel data and the disc data into one. Now for the second part of the location:
524d is the title ID that the flash memory uses to identify the save data as being from the game Mario Kart Wii.
4345 is used to identify the NTSC-U variant of Mario Kart Wii,
4350 is used to identify the PAL variant,
and 434a is used to identify the NTSC-J variant.
A list of all the categories of title folders and a lot of title IDs for games and applications can be found here: Title database - WiiBrew.
There are also tickets. These uneditable, encrypted files are stored in the same title folders for categories and have the same IDs for games and applications. These are used by Nintendo to identify which console the game save was made on, and are also a way to record your purchase of software in the Wii Shop Channel.
The location for Mario Kart Wii's ticket is similar to the location of the save file on the NAND.
Find your region below:
NAND:\ticket\00010004\524d4345.tik for NTSC-U
NAND:\ticket\00010004\524d4350.tik for PAL
NAND:\ticket\00010004\524d434a.tik for NTSC-J.
Currently there is no way to extract these tickets to the SD card (you can only modify tickets from the Wii to the Wii U using the official data transfer tool, so any purchased games from the Wii Shop Channel will not be able to go onto a new Wii).
TL;DRÂ Load up MKW through the Disc Channel and your data WILL be there. The Custom Tracks Grand Prix Revolution channel simply created a new fresh Mario Kart Wii save in the following location on your SD Card: SD:\riivolution\save. This location will have the 4 files from your NAND italicized and listed above.
3. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN TO GO ON MY SD CARD?
Inside one of the .bin files within the ctgpr folder is an XML file that points to this location and creates the blank save file, if one isn't already there. The XML code is just encrypted so nothing gamebreaking can be messed around with. The code only activates if you turn Save game on the SD Card? ON. By default it is switched ON because saving the game on the SD card has MANY advantages if used correctly and it can be turned off by yourself whenever you wish.
4. HOW DO I PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING OR STOP USING IT?
Simply change the setting mentioned above to OFF and the data from your Wii/vWii's NAND will load. However this is not a smart idea, the data on your NAND is picky and can never be recovered if you don't have a backup of it. When you have a game save on your SD card, you can do whatever you want with it. Your NAND is extremely limited with how much you can edit even with Homebrew Applications.
5. WHY SHOULD I LEAVE IT ON AND WHAT ARE THOSE ADVANTAGES YOU MENTIONED?
Saving your game on your SD card is the way you can have all of your save data even if you are miles away from your Wii at home. Just copy the correct files and then bam... yeah. You can also make as many backups of your MKW save data as you want and modify them to your heart's content.
The main reason it should be left on though is because game save data on the SD card ISN'T PICKY LIKE NAND IS. Playing on certain modes with custom tracks while running off the MKW save data on the NAND can easily result in corrupted data or errors that could make you accidently delete all of your MKW data. You take a big risk with losing EVERYTHING if you don't have a backup. It is highly recommended to play on the SD card save because it isn't as picky, so custom tracks don't affect it as much.
Also, even if it does corrupt, you can just replace it with a backup copy. You can also delete it, but the most recommended solution is to clone your NAND MKW data to your SD card again in an alternative folder. It's effectively the ultimate emergency backup when you need it. MKW save data on the NAND that isn't tampered from playing on CTs is usually clean, and sometimes MKW save data on the SD card can get kind of messed up (it's going to a lot of various locations like your Wii/Wii U and PC, and going through the effects of custom tracks on it).
6. WHY CAN'T WE USE RIIVOLUTION IF CTGP DOESN'T SUPPORT GAME SAVE CLONING YET?
An XML file was the only thing that allowed Riivolution to be supported for CTGP before 1.03. This was a flaw within Riivolution, meaning people were free to edit it and exploit its flaws. These things include doing whatever you want to the tracks, adding item boxes, loading codes, and much more. Although without XML files, CTWW would have never existed... this flaw in security was a gateway to what you see today. Game save cloning was perfectly safe and legit though. Having uneditable XML code within the .bin files of CTGP-R v1.03 prevents any of these exploits and keeps CTWW a safe place for legitimate racing.
7. IF GAME SAVE CLONING WAS PERFECTLY SAFE AND LEGIT, WHY DOESN'T 1.03'S EDITABLE XML FILES HAVE GAME SAVE CLONING ADDED?
You'll have to ask Mr. Bean or Chadderz about that. I assume they removed it because the CTGP channel already has the same setting. They probably thought it would behave the same way as it did in 1.02, however they couldn't get it to work, forgot to provide the code for cloning game saves that was in the editable XML files from CTGP-R v1.02, and released the pack.
*As of CTGP-R v1.03.0036, all downloads now come with XMLs that contain a "Copy MKW Save to SD Card?" option!
8. WHEN IS GAME SAVE CLONING SUPPORT GOING TO BE ADDED TO THE CHANNEL SO WE CAN DITCH RIIVOLUTION COMPLETELY?
You'll never be able to ditch Riivolution altogether. You're going to need an exploit or HBC so you can get to the CTGP revolution channel.
As for getting to the CTGP revolution channel and then ditching Riivolution... that is possible if you install the channel to your Wii Menu of course or use HBC to load it. If game save cloning support WAS added, then yeah, HBC or Riivolution wouldn't be needed unless you wanted to go beyond the limits of CTGP 1.03.
9. HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF?
If you have any questions about where I got this information, this is from my own background knowledge and extensive research into the subjects above.
FAQ
1. WHY DID CTGP DELETE MY SAVE DATA?
It didn't delete anything. Your Wii or vWii uses NAND Flash Memory: a form of memory for your console. Your Mario Kart Wii save data is still there, safe and secure.
2. WHERE DID IT GO THEN?
Within your Wii/vWii's NAND chip, you will find a specific location for Mario Kart Wii.
Find your region below:
NAND:\title\00010004\524d4345 for NTSC-U
NAND:\title\00010004\524d4350 for PAL
NAND:\title\00010004\524d434a for NTSC-J.
The following files will reside in the locations bolded above↑:
banner.bin
rksys.dat
wc24dl.vff
wc24scr.vff
These files make up all of Mario Kart Wii's Data, which is 23 blocks of memory depending on your region.
To go into more detail about Mario Kart Wii's location on the NAND:
00010000 is the default location for disc-based game saves.
If the disc-based game save has a channel with it--the Mario Kart Channel in this instance;
it will go in 00010004, which combines the channel data and the disc data into one. Now for the second part of the location:
524d is the title ID that the flash memory uses to identify the save data as being from the game Mario Kart Wii.
4345 is used to identify the NTSC-U variant of Mario Kart Wii,
4350 is used to identify the PAL variant,
and 434a is used to identify the NTSC-J variant.
A list of all the categories of title folders and a lot of title IDs for games and applications can be found here: Title database - WiiBrew.
There are also tickets. These uneditable, encrypted files are stored in the same title folders for categories and have the same IDs for games and applications. These are used by Nintendo to identify which console the game save was made on, and are also a way to record your purchase of software in the Wii Shop Channel.
The location for Mario Kart Wii's ticket is similar to the location of the save file on the NAND.
Find your region below:
NAND:\ticket\00010004\524d4345.tik for NTSC-U
NAND:\ticket\00010004\524d4350.tik for PAL
NAND:\ticket\00010004\524d434a.tik for NTSC-J.
Currently there is no way to extract these tickets to the SD card (you can only modify tickets from the Wii to the Wii U using the official data transfer tool, so any purchased games from the Wii Shop Channel will not be able to go onto a new Wii).
TL;DRÂ Load up MKW through the Disc Channel and your data WILL be there. The Custom Tracks Grand Prix Revolution channel simply created a new fresh Mario Kart Wii save in the following location on your SD Card: SD:\riivolution\save. This location will have the 4 files from your NAND italicized and listed above.
3. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN TO GO ON MY SD CARD?
Inside one of the .bin files within the ctgpr folder is an XML file that points to this location and creates the blank save file, if one isn't already there. The XML code is just encrypted so nothing gamebreaking can be messed around with. The code only activates if you turn Save game on the SD Card? ON. By default it is switched ON because saving the game on the SD card has MANY advantages if used correctly and it can be turned off by yourself whenever you wish.
4. HOW DO I PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING OR STOP USING IT?
Simply change the setting mentioned above to OFF and the data from your Wii/vWii's NAND will load. However this is not a smart idea, the data on your NAND is picky and can never be recovered if you don't have a backup of it. When you have a game save on your SD card, you can do whatever you want with it. Your NAND is extremely limited with how much you can edit even with Homebrew Applications.
5. WHY SHOULD I LEAVE IT ON AND WHAT ARE THOSE ADVANTAGES YOU MENTIONED?
Saving your game on your SD card is the way you can have all of your save data even if you are miles away from your Wii at home. Just copy the correct files and then bam... yeah. You can also make as many backups of your MKW save data as you want and modify them to your heart's content.
The main reason it should be left on though is because game save data on the SD card ISN'T PICKY LIKE NAND IS. Playing on certain modes with custom tracks while running off the MKW save data on the NAND can easily result in corrupted data or errors that could make you accidently delete all of your MKW data. You take a big risk with losing EVERYTHING if you don't have a backup. It is highly recommended to play on the SD card save because it isn't as picky, so custom tracks don't affect it as much.
Also, even if it does corrupt, you can just replace it with a backup copy. You can also delete it, but the most recommended solution is to clone your NAND MKW data to your SD card again in an alternative folder. It's effectively the ultimate emergency backup when you need it. MKW save data on the NAND that isn't tampered from playing on CTs is usually clean, and sometimes MKW save data on the SD card can get kind of messed up (it's going to a lot of various locations like your Wii/Wii U and PC, and going through the effects of custom tracks on it).
6. WHY CAN'T WE USE RIIVOLUTION IF CTGP DOESN'T SUPPORT GAME SAVE CLONING YET?
An XML file was the only thing that allowed Riivolution to be supported for CTGP before 1.03. This was a flaw within Riivolution, meaning people were free to edit it and exploit its flaws. These things include doing whatever you want to the tracks, adding item boxes, loading codes, and much more. Although without XML files, CTWW would have never existed... this flaw in security was a gateway to what you see today. Game save cloning was perfectly safe and legit though. Having uneditable XML code within the .bin files of CTGP-R v1.03 prevents any of these exploits and keeps CTWW a safe place for legitimate racing.
7. IF GAME SAVE CLONING WAS PERFECTLY SAFE AND LEGIT, WHY DOESN'T 1.03'S EDITABLE XML FILES HAVE GAME SAVE CLONING ADDED?
You'll have to ask Mr. Bean or Chadderz about that. I assume they removed it because the CTGP channel already has the same setting. They probably thought it would behave the same way as it did in 1.02, however they couldn't get it to work, forgot to provide the code for cloning game saves that was in the editable XML files from CTGP-R v1.02, and released the pack.
*As of CTGP-R v1.03.0036, all downloads now come with XMLs that contain a "Copy MKW Save to SD Card?" option!
8. WHEN IS GAME SAVE CLONING SUPPORT GOING TO BE ADDED TO THE CHANNEL SO WE CAN DITCH RIIVOLUTION COMPLETELY?
You'll never be able to ditch Riivolution altogether. You're going to need an exploit or HBC so you can get to the CTGP revolution channel.
As for getting to the CTGP revolution channel and then ditching Riivolution... that is possible if you install the channel to your Wii Menu of course or use HBC to load it. If game save cloning support WAS added, then yeah, HBC or Riivolution wouldn't be needed unless you wanted to go beyond the limits of CTGP 1.03.
9. HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF?
If you have any questions about where I got this information, this is from my own background knowledge and extensive research into the subjects above.