Is there any way I can load backup copies of wii games on my wii without a hack or mod?

Not with firmware 3.4. You could look into downgrading, but that’s kinda risky. This article is worth a look.

You would still need a hack to load backups. The answer to your question is No. You cannot run backup games without a hack or a mod. The previous link shows you how to do a hack. It is risky and it doesn’t work with every game.

Will this work with the 3.4 firmware?

Most mods (if not all) will work with 3.4 firmware. I have experience with a mod on a older wii with the D2B (I think) motherboard. There are four different versions and if you are going to go solderless, you would actually need to open up your Wii beforehand to make sure you have the proper motherboard before you order any kits. A clip on solderless mod is meant to work with a specific motherboard.

You will still need to run a few risky procedures if you want to run WADs and 3.4 firmware. You would need to downgrade your OS and install some custom nonsense.

If I got a Wii today and felt like I needed to mod it, I would probably softmod it as oppose to open it up.

That article that aanuszek1 points to is actually pretty descent. Before you get to that point, you would need to use the twilight hack to install the homebrew channel. I’m not sure if that’s been patched in 3.4 or not.

Mine was running 3.1, and I had no trouble patching it by following the article I noted earlier.

They closed a lot more holes in 3.4. Even if you were running 3.3 or 3.2 you probably wouldn’t have had any problems.

It looks like they had to release a whole different version of the twilight hack for 3.4.

check here

Also, this looks like a pretty good list of what’s working and not working here. Check there to get more general information on softmoding.