Comments on: Fix for black screen in Nintendo Wii virtual console games

By: Rodney

Rodney — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:24:16 +0000

Fix Black Screen Go to settings and set to 480p vs 480i will black screen spread the word

By: Frank

Frank — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:20:51 +0000

I’ve ran into that problem last night.

My WII was connected using RCA cable trough my cable box (PVR Scientific Atlanta 8300HD). Everything was working fine except for Virtual Console Game.

After having tried the A+Z+1 / 2 button fix, (which result in nothing), I’ve tried connecting the WII directly into my TV. That fixed the problem. It seems that the cable box was interfering with the signal of the WII.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:22:30 +0000

What worked for me when the screen was black and only audio was changing the tv screen resolution from 480i to 480p.

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:59:27 +0000

Selecting HD resolution instead of standard worked for me as well.

By: Graham

Graham — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:48:58 +0000

You need to go into the OPERATIONS MANUAL before the key combo will do anything. The Home menu is not enough. Just hold all the buttons together while pointing at a free area of the screen – holding down A+Z and alternately pressing 1 and 2 should result in ding sounds.

Setting interlace mode like this has allowed me to play Donkey Kong Country (SNES), which was previously just a black screen with audio. I have not purchased other games which people appear to be having problems with, but I’d imagine this fix would work for them too.

I’m using an HDTV capable LG computer monitor with component input. I have my (Australian, PAL) Wii set to HTDV, 16:9.

Strange that this undocumented feature is undocumented!

By: Dz

Dz — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:09:54 +0000

i was having this problem and the fix listed above did not work either. I went into the Wii settings and changed the resolution of the screen th HD and not Stadard TV, that seems to have fixed the problem

By: vanik

vanik — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:26:22 +0000

This doesn’t seem to work for me. Pressing A + 2 + Z at the same time doesn’t make any sounds at all. Do you hold them for a certain time? Is there a certain order you press them in?

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:45:27 +0000

Nancy that depends on what is happening when you try to start it. I would contact Nintendo support and ask them what to do. You can find phone numbers on your wii manuals and at nintendo.com

By: Nancy Read

Nancy Read — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:42:36 +0000

My daughter was playing with her new Wii, when it suddenly stopped. We knew there was a thunderstorm in the distance but hadn’t reach our area yet. Do you think the Wii is totally “fried” or is there a place that will repair it? Thanks for your help.