Topic: Ever had a problem with Wii artifacting?

I only recently found out about this. I think my Wii may be having this problem but I'm not sure yet. I've been noticing some flashing or discolored pixels in small groups on my TV screen. It's especially noticable while playing Metroid prime trilogy and Mega man 9. I'm not exactly sure what it's supposed to look like. Some say it looks like black drips running down the screen. I am using an old TV so maybe it's just because of that. The messed up pixels are always in the same spot. I'm a little worried but so far it's not real serious.

What happened to your old Link avatar?

When I play Brawl, I notice little dots on the screen, but they only show up for a second in random places. I don't really pay attention since they aren't permanent.

Unfortunately if it gets worse or bothersome, you might have to send your Wii in.

No, I've never had this problem, and I'd never even heard of it until a few months ago when a similar thread popped up here.

I'll probably try hooking my Wii up to a different tv and see if the spots are still there. As long as it doesn't get really bad I'll probably just put up with it. If I send my Wii in it will be the third time in less than four months. I'd really rather not. Oh and about my Avatar I was just trying something new. Not sure if I wanna keep it though.

I actually had this and it got worse over time.

It started out as pixels turning weird colours on certain things in Brawl, then it came up as continuous black pixels appearing all over the Wii Menu, then it even happened in NES games, but never in Gamecube games.

It's an overheated GPU, first check that the fan in the back of your Wii is working, mine stopped, which is why I got the artifacting. Short story is, your Wii's gotta get replaced when it gets worse. So if i/when this happens, make sure Nintendo keeps your Mii and save data (especially Wi-Fi game data) when it gets sent in.

Only thing I have noticed on mine is a "separation" along the middle of the screen when using component cables in 480p. It seems like one half of the screen is a frame behind the other half of the screen for some reason. Doing tech support 101 (unplugging it and plugging it in again) fixes it and I haven't heard anyone else mention it so I don't know if its normal. Other then that very very occasionally (in other words maybe twice since 2006) my Wii will crash and need to be reset by holding the power button down.

Never had any other issues.

If I eventually have to get a new Wii they can transfer all my VC and Wiiware games to the new system right? The problem is very minor so far. I know my fan is working cause it was just replaced a couple months ago. During the time my fan was broke I was using the Wii a little bit and it would get hot and automatically shut off. I probably shouldn't have been using it at all with the fan broke. It's been repaired twice since then. This thing sure can be a pain sometimes.

Yeah they can transfer all WiiWare and VC games no problem. You might wanna give 'em a call and tell them what's coming up on your screen, and that it's been repaired twice already. They should give you a new machine, they told me they couldn't fix artifacting before when I sent mine in.

I think I have this problem. When I look at the backt the fan is not spinning.

I have pixels appearing while playing games. It looked terrible in HOTD overkill.

Is that the main fault chek?

I had this artifact problem once, but I got a replacement from Nintendo within a week. It was especially noticeable in Zack & Wiki, Rayman's Raving Rabbids en Red Steel. Especially the first two games were terrible.

For a video example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbOY5dCdUYs

Looks very ugly and in Rayman it's even worse because instead of some black spots, it looked more like a ghosting thing.

But it was great service from Nintendo to replace the console within a week. I made backups of all the savegames, Mii's and VC/WiiWare games. The games were ready for download on the new console and the only games that gave problems were Mario Kart Wii, Dr. Mario, Wii Play and Wii Sports. That probably had something to do with the Mii use.

Will they send me a new Wii before I send them my old one? That way I won't have to be without one.

Of course not, they first need to verify if it's really broken enough for a new one, or if they can repair it.

Where are you keeping your Wii? It needs to be somewhere with airflow and good ventilation. Basically make sure air can get around it and the fan isn't backed up against something. I know a few people who keep their games consoles in drawers or cupboards near the TV which isn't really good for them, especially if you use Standby for messages, or play for prolonged periods of time. Stuff'll overheat.

I was under the impression that it can't be fixed. Won't this likely require a new system? Or can they just put in a new GPU?

I don't know, that's for Nintendo to decided and what they told me. I only needed to send the console, nothing else.

I personally have never had any of those problems, but in the first 3-6 months I had my Wii console, the Wii Shop Channel would refuse to cooperate. It would take me an hour to get on the channel, and while looking at VC games (WiiWare wasn't out yet) It would always give me an error. I ignored it and it eventually started to work properly, so I didn't have to call Nintendo.

But if you really have a problem you should call Nintendo. They helped me get my DS Wi-Fi to work perfectly.

Sounds like a residual problem from before you got the fan fixed. Shame it wasn't noticeable until AFTER you got it repaired. I'd give Ninty a call and see what they say. At least it'll be under warranty, so replacing/repairing again will be free, even if annoying. Luckily I haven't had that problem yet. Yay being stuck in the cold basement! Just back up everything on an SD card. If somehow everything gets lost in the repair/replacement process, you will still be able to transfer your save files and downloaded stuff very quickly that way.

Yeah this has been quite a pain lately. I'll probably wait until after christmas and give them a call so I can get this resolved. They sure don't make em like they used to. The Wii is the first Nintendo system I've had to get repaired. Multiple times I might add. Maybe third time will be a charm as they say.

^My DS Lite fell apart too....I agree--Nintendo, what happened to hardware longevity? My NES still works...no problems either.

I sent mine away, after the phone call I didnt want to wait around. Bloody annoyed about it. I bet half the people have this problem and dont know about it.

Mega Man 9 looked dreadfull as did re4.

No wii for me at christmas.