Brewology

i'm a newb... please help. i havn't done any updates for awhile cuz i'm in fear i might lose the ability to use some stuff on the homebrew channel. please tell me what i have to do to get wii shop working again and still have homebrew operational.

I'm not 100% sure about the Wii Shop hacks as I never use the Wii shop, but I believe to get it working again you need to at least be on 3.2 or 3.3 system version. From there you can use some utilities to get the updates specific to the Wii Shop to keep your system version lower but give you what you need to use the Wii shop.

Unfortunately the only way to upgrade to just 3.2 or 3.3 is to make yourself an upgrade disc. This requires having a modchip. If you do have one, then go have a look at my starter's guide on how to make the upgrade disc.

For downloading the Wii shop updates, have a look around wiibrew.org for the utilities you need. I can't find the link now cause my work net filter blocks it.

I have system version 3.3 - I have tried updating the homebrew channel when it prompts me to (I forgot to disconnect my wavebird controller the first time and it didn't work so I tried again later with it disconnected)... thinking it will fix my problem, but the download fails. I am frustrated as hell right now. Any info u could give me?

The homebrew channel has nothing to do with anything else concerning your Wii. Nintendo has released updates for the wii shop, which are required for it to function. I believe to get the Wii shop to work your Wii's system version must be 3.4. Thats why you need to go to wiibrew.org to get JUST those wii shop updates.