MrBenchmark
Member
Using a powered hub for portable drives will save needing to take up two spots with a y cable. Ive had my setup like this since launch.
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Wii U external HDD thread
- Thread starter Christberg
- Start date
Starwolf_UK
Member
It would nice if my 500GB external & Y-cable (I triple checked it was the right one...why does mini and micro USB have to exist) shipped sometime this week...
For Wii mode use it will be the same as the Wii had so officially 32GB due to FAT32 limitations (3DS is the same but people have gotten SDXC cards of much larger to work via formatting to FAT32). The problem Wii has is older games only support <2GB FAT16 cards (e.g. Brawl) and then the Wii menu has limits on how much can be installed (200 channels visible on SD card menu and 48-unremovable channels on systme menu)
Orakio Rob
Member
I'm using two old Maxtor HDDs with 80 GB and 160 GB with USB case (external AC power). They work perfectly fine on my Wii U and also on my old Wii.
I also have a Samsung M3 500 GB (no external AC power) that worked fine on my Wii, but is unreliable on the Wii U. It kind of works, but I can't play Guitar Hero because the music gets out of sync. I' believe it will work better on the Wii U with a Y cable.
I also have a Samsung M3 500 GB (no external AC power) that worked fine on my Wii, but is unreliable on the Wii U. It kind of works, but I can't play Guitar Hero because the music gets out of sync. I' believe it will work better on the Wii U with a Y cable.
I had the 2 TB version crash on me making me lose all my saves after MK8 came out. Bought a powered one over black Friday weekend, heard there aren't any issues with powered ones and I hope its true. Haven't had a chance to use since I'm out of country atm
Hmm ... I was mainly looking for homebrew stuff like retroarch and nintendon't ... but I gues 32gb is enoght
Jimnymebob
Member
Does anyone have any recommendations/links to HDD's I can use on Amazon UK?
I don't really want to pay a lot for one, nor do I need a large one, because I get most of my games physically, and don't buy much off the eShop. Patches and DLC are taking chunks out of my Wii U's hard drive space though, and considering I have the Basic I'm currently juggling installs at the moment.
The Nintendo UK page on them is mentioning huge 1-2TB sizes for like £70+, which is pointless for me. Are there any say 120GB or so (maybe even smaller if possible, but certainly not much larger) ones that are compatible with the Wii U?
I don't really want to pay a lot for one, nor do I need a large one, because I get most of my games physically, and don't buy much off the eShop. Patches and DLC are taking chunks out of my Wii U's hard drive space though, and considering I have the Basic I'm currently juggling installs at the moment.
The Nintendo UK page on them is mentioning huge 1-2TB sizes for like £70+, which is pointless for me. Are there any say 120GB or so (maybe even smaller if possible, but certainly not much larger) ones that are compatible with the Wii U?
Nostremitus
Member
With most HDDs now you're paying more for the components that are used to make them than the storage. It makes more sense to buy a 1TB from a pricing standpoint.
Indeed. The only reason to go for a smaller size is if you are using a SSD, which for the Wii U offers little other than perhaps playing nice with a single USB port
spoonablehippo
Member
No, the Xbox One has USB 3.0 ports, which provide enough power for the USB drives without needing an external power supply.
The Wii U only has USB 2.0 ports, which don't provide enough power. So you either need a drive with its own power supply, or a Y cable which draws power from 2 x USB ports to provide enough juice!
Starwolf_UK
Member
DON'T. One persons experiences recounted it getting very warm. IIRC Tunalover used this and it broke meaning he lost of all of his saves (even the disc based games because external=default location once it exists).
FYI the power a USB port can provide is independent of it being 1.1, 2.0. or 3.0. The USB bus on the Wii U is underpowered (lol what isn't on the Wii U?), or rather the ports are of the lower power variety, it is as simple as that, hence it needs two USB ports. Some laptops have the same problem.
spoonablehippo
Member
Cheers, didn't know that!
I thought the different spec USB ports had different outputs Doh! lol
Pancakes R Us
Member
Interesting. So you can use an external SSD drive with a standard USB cable, and no power supply, which no need for a Y cable?
d00d3n
Member
Not necessarily. My 250-or-so-Gb ssd in a 2.5" chassi required a Y cable to function properly. It may be related to ssd memory size I guess, but I haven't tried with a smaller ssd.
I have a USB cable that connects to an SSD that has always ran the SSDs just fine. I haven't tried it with the Wii U yet, as I'm one of the dangerous ones using a USB stick (tiny one that blends in with the console).
Orbis Tabula
Member
So, I got a hard drive for my Wii U for Christmas, which is great, but I'm not sure it will work. It's a Western Digital MyBook, which is on the list of supported hard drives, but it's 3 TB, which isn't listed as a compatible size. Does anyone know if it would still work? If not, I would happily trade it in somewhere for a smaller one, as I know I'll never ever ever download 3 terabytes of WiiU games.
It should work, but the Wii U will only use 2TB at this time.
Orbis Tabula
Member
Fine by me. And also, as far as I've read, there's no way for me to partition this drive or anything like that? So I can't store other stuff in that extra TB?
MickeyPhree
Member
That's right.
The Wii U formats the drive to its own format and so far no one has come up with a way to create a secondary partition after Wii U formatting.
Orbis Tabula
Member
Thanks, everyone! It stinks that that 1 TB will just be unusable, but maybe someone will figure it out someday.
I just got a Basic WiiU this week, going to go for a Western Digital My Passport Ultra 500GB and a Y cable, hope that will be fine. Was looking at the 1TB ones (Samsung and WD) but even though they're only a little more expensive since I have nothing at all for the WiiU I can't really afford the extra £10 or so since I need to buy a few motes and whatnot.
Nostremitus
Member
If you have a smaller drive in your PC, you could clone it to the 3TB and install that one in your PC. Then install the one from your PC in the WD enclosure to use with your Wii U.
Pancakes R Us
Member
How's the USB stick doing for you? I'm curious to see a picture of this tiny one you mention.
Thanks.
I'm using this one now: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LLEODCK/?tag=neogaf0e-20
I've used the USB2 one in 32GB before, I've had no issues with either, though the 64GB does seem to populate the GUI a touch slower than before.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Thanks for this. Damn, it does look neat, and very discreet. I wish there was a 128GB one.
How is it when loading / running games etc.? Do you think there's a risk of damaging your console if the USB stick got fried? How long have you been using it for?
Sorry for the 101 questions.
Nintendo outright says that flash based media is not approved for the Wii U, this includes USB sticks and SSDs. They claim that the rewrites of the Wii U filesystem will wear out the flash based media too quickly and result in system errors and as a result lost saves and a need to re-download games. Thus all external medial should be HDD based (and externally powered).
That is Nintendo's position. My position is the Wii U uses flash based media inside the system and it works well enough for Nintendo to use it in the console and thus I am willing to use a flash based media as my expansion media (Note: I'm using highly rated USB stick to reduce some risk). Once I made that decision, I decided to get a 32GB stick, then a 64GB stick while I waited on future storage options from Nintendo. When I run out of space on the 64GB stick I'll have to decide what to do next, be it a larger stick, SSD, or a HDD.
Regarding the stick I used, it is low profile and blends in to the back of the console and is almost small enough to use on the front of the console and close the flap, with the flap left down it barely sticks out.
Princess Viola
Member
I guess this is the best thread for this.
I got $51.14 left of my Christmas money, so can anyone recommend me a good hard drive to use with the Wii U for around that price? (probably should be a bit less cause of tax and stuff)
I'd really like to use Amazon and I guess the drive would need to have an external power supply.
I don't really need 1TB, so a 500GB should be fine. (I've never bought an external hard drive, so I don't really know which ones are good, which are shit, especially when it comes to the Wii U)
I got $51.14 left of my Christmas money, so can anyone recommend me a good hard drive to use with the Wii U for around that price? (probably should be a bit less cause of tax and stuff)
I'd really like to use Amazon and I guess the drive would need to have an external power supply.
I don't really need 1TB, so a 500GB should be fine. (I've never bought an external hard drive, so I don't really know which ones are good, which are shit, especially when it comes to the Wii U)
dragonfart28
Banned
So my Wii U somehow stopped access to my Toshiba 2GB powered external hdd after the latest update.
Not sure if anyone else has had this problem but I won't be able to contact support in time tonight which is a total bummer.
The light is on and the games show on the quick start menu but they are not accessible to play and the drive isn't even showing up in data management.
It was working before the update.
Not sure if anyone else has had this problem but I won't be able to contact support in time tonight which is a total bummer.
The light is on and the games show on the quick start menu but they are not accessible to play and the drive isn't even showing up in data management.
It was working before the update.
ZSaberLink
Media Create Maven
So I have a 300GB Western Digital Passbook (kind of older) USB 2.0 external hard drive. I got a Y cable and the Wii U seems to recognize it's there and asks me to format it. However, it keeps saying the device could not be formatted. Any tips?
Pancakes R Us
Member
So I have my Sandisk Ultra Fit 64 GB USB stick. Do I need to format it to FAT32 before using in the Wii U or can the Wii U format it automatically?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Interceptor
Banned
If you use it please don't make a thread about your lost data later on. They are not made for a constant rewrite and are not recommended.
jediyoshi
Member
It should warn you on boot asking you to reformat.
How well do USB hubs work? What I have right now is the following:
- 2.5" HDD for vWii
- 2.5" HDD for Wii U
- Gamecube adapter
The problem I foresee is that, via a hub, the external HDD will remain on permanently. Is there a USB hub that has a relay or something along those lines? So basically the HDD only turns on when the Wii U's USB port is active?
- 2.5" HDD for vWii
- 2.5" HDD for Wii U
- Gamecube adapter
The problem I foresee is that, via a hub, the external HDD will remain on permanently. Is there a USB hub that has a relay or something along those lines? So basically the HDD only turns on when the Wii U's USB port is active?
Pancakes R Us
Member
I'll try not to, thanks for voluntarily policing the forum.
Thanks. Does the Wii U format it to FAT32 or should I do this on my computer?
smashballTaz
Member
Yep.
Ban Puncher
Member
Seagate vs Western Digital 2TB portable drives - which one is least likely to catch on fire these days?
Garou
Member
I put my Crucial m4 128GB in a USB-case and tried using only a single port. Didn't work out, the Wii U crashed when I tried to move 3 games over, destroying one of the games files in the process. So use a Y-cable.
spindashing
Banned
After buying Metroid Prime Trilogy, I'm real low on space... Looking to upgrade!
Will this Hard Drive work on my Wii U and is it recommended? It's a Seagate Expansion 500GB. I don't see myself ever going over that on Nintendo games at least.
And would this be a nice Y cable? The reviews seem to say yes.
Will this Hard Drive work on my Wii U and is it recommended? It's a Seagate Expansion 500GB. I don't see myself ever going over that on Nintendo games at least.
And would this be a nice Y cable? The reviews seem to say yes.
Ban Puncher
Member
Bought a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable Drive (figured 1TB was enough fridge space and got it for a really good price). Plugged it into the Wii U, recognised and could format but could not move data onto it. Used a USB 3.0 Y connector and everything works fine now.
Thanks for the info about the Y connectors, thread.
Thanks for the info about the Y connectors, thread.
InfiniteCombo
Banned
I second this. Thanks for that very useful info, thread.
A couple of days ago, I grabbed a spare Hitachi 250 GB hard drive I rescued from my dead laptop. I put it in a hard drive enclosure I bought a long time ago from NewEgg. Used a Y-cable to hook it up to the U. I'm not sure if this is a future-proof configuration, but boy does it work like a charm at the moment! I played about 1/2 hour of Metroid Prime with no issues whatsoever.
Zimmy68
Member
I also hit the max space with the Metroid purchase.
The thought of powering a huge, 3.5 enclosure for the few times I use my Wii U is crazy.
Looks like I will go the Y cable route.
Thanks Nintendo for cheaping out.
How much more would it cost to have some regular powered USB outlets?
The thought of powering a huge, 3.5 enclosure for the few times I use my Wii U is crazy.
Looks like I will go the Y cable route.
Thanks Nintendo for cheaping out.
How much more would it cost to have some regular powered USB outlets?
The USB ports provide the defined power output under USB 2.0, but not higher like a lot of mobile charges, ect.
Sadly USB 3.0 was too new/pricey hence the trouble being seen now.
Here is hoping that USB 3.1 and Type-C are far enough along for the next handheld/console cycle.