protomouse
Member
Yes. I strongly recommend getting a mains-powered enclosure, or a Y-cable.
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Wii U external HDD thread
- Thread starter Christberg
- Start date
Yes. I strongly recommend getting a mains-powered enclosure, or a Y-cable.
John Harker
Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
Has there been a working solution for $50 or under yet?
Same issue, want metroid, have no space. only 2 days left haha.
Same issue, want metroid, have no space. only 2 days left haha.
spindashing
Banned
Hm... Any suggestions?
I may just end up going with the enclosure that I linked and buying a Y-cable.
Edit: Reading the FAQ of that enclosure, it seems to already come with a Y-cable!
protomouse
Member
No specific suggestions, sorry. I'd say go for it.
spindashing
Banned
No worries, I've got nothing to lose and the enclosure isn't too pricey at all. Thanks, boss.
protomouse
Member
Do you live in the US? If so, take advantage of the deal via Nintendo.com and redeem your download code once storage is sufficient.
Talladega Knight
Member
I have an external hooked up to my Wii U. My question is if I can also use that same external hard drive to store other files like music, videos, documents, etc, just for backup purposes?
spindashing
Banned
As an update: This worked for my case of wanting to use a PS3's HDD as an external, now I don't have to worry about the Metroid Prime Trilogy using up all of my space anymore! It definitely came with its own Y-cable so that's good.
Pancakes R Us
Member
The problem is that it's unlikely Nintendo would use either of those. They're pretty hard up when it comes to these parts of the tech, for some reason. Wasn't there a big hoo haa about Dolby Pro Logic last time? Also, this obsession with a tiny form factor...I would love for the system to have an Ethernet port built in. It looks weird that it's so long, too, would have rather it be a little wider.
Panthalassic
Member
Got a new portable HDD because my old one is well, old. Gonna re-purpose it to Wii U HDD. I don't need anything special in terms of Y-cables, right? I was just gonna order one from amazon.
JimboJones
Member
Nah any generic y cable should be fine, I just made sure to get a fairly short one around 30cm just so I didn't have some unwieldy cable sticking out coiling around shit.
Happened to me before, might be HDD sleep mode kicking in, go to data management in system setting.
Once in data management don't click on the options, instead hold down the + button - button and DOWN on the dpad for a few seconds. An option will show up to disable or enable the HDD sleep mode, disable it. Not sure why an option like that is hidden.
ElectricKaibutsu
Member
I was using one of the one terabyte drives that Nintendo recommended, but it was a waste of space. I upgraded my wife's netbook HDD to an SSD and repurposed the old one for my Wii U. The one terabyte needed its own power, but the netbook drive works great with just a $7 external case and an (included) Y cable.
I'm being very optimistic here, but by the time the next Nintendo systems are coming out I'm hoping USB 3.1 and type C are a reasonable cost. Since Nintendo implemented USB for the Pro controller, I'm naively thinking they would be cheaper than having dedicated chargers going forward for things like the gamepad and handheld.
I am prepared to be wrong and annoyed.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
I want an external for xenoblade x
So will any external do?
So will any external do?
I recommend a 64GB Sandisk Extreme USB Flash Drive, it uses an SSD controller so won't have stuttering or data loss issues like other flash drives potentially could (working perfectly for me since last summer). No cables at all, and only a single USB port needed.
It should be a mechanical disk, not SSD. Also, you'll either need a drive with its own power plug or get a y-cable. USB drives don't get enough power with regular cables. I got a good 500GB Toshiba USB HDD from Amazon for like $50.
It should. Just keep in mind that you need one of the following with your external hard drive:
a)the hard drive needs its own power supply (so it's own power cord)
or
b) if it doesn't (and therefore will get it's power from the wii u), you need to buy a y-cable (you can find ones under $5, they aren't too pricey) since otherwise the wii u tends to freeze.
I mean as far as i can tell an external SSD should work fine with the Wii U. The problem is it's kind of a waste since it would be plugged in via a usb 2.0 port so any gains you'd get from a ssd would be negligible. Better off just to get a hard disk drive and save yourself some money.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
a y cable is not possible for me
i rather stay away from toshiba.. had a horrible experience with them and their brand
Conkerkid11
Member
I accidentally bought a mini-usb y-cable for my USB 3.0 drive.
I suck so much.
Another two day wait.
I suck so much.
Another two day wait.
my roomate had an 80gig 2.5 inch hard drive he was going to throw away. i currently have a 32GB Wii U with no hard drive, so I saved it from its fate, put it in a cheap $6 enclosure which had a Y-cable and now have an extra 80 gigs of storage. I also like that you can hook TWO drives to your Wii U now. so eventually when I outgrow that 80 gigs i can easily transfer to something bigger.
You can have 2, but not at the same time. The second one is more as a backup...at the moment.
Confirmed recently, as I did something similar. Found a 1TB on my closet, got a cheap enclosure. Now have over 900GB of data. The otber HDD was having problems anyway.
This looks great, thanks for the recommendation!
Just how does it function as a backup?
Let's say I get a new 500GB drive tomorrow to use for my Wii U
can i just hook it into the other 2 usb ports, transfer the data from the 80 gig over to it through the Wii U, then disconnect the 80gig and carry on? Or is it more complicated than that
Japanmanx3
Member
I use a 2TB Western Digital external. Loving it so far.
Just that. That's what I did. The system won't even let you go back to the main menu until there's only one HDD attached.
You can still use the internal memory at least.
Just that. That's what I did. The system won't even let you go back to the main menu until there's only one HDD attached.
You can still use the internal memory at least.
Oh okay well I think that is more than sufficient. I'm more interested in having an easy way to swap in a bigger drive than being able to use two drives at once. I think their implementation sounds very fair
Thanks for the info!
Conkerkid11
Member
So I hooked up my 1TB hard drive with the y-cable, formatted it, downloaded The Wonderful 101, and while that was downloading, I tried to queue up the Metroid Trilogy and Tropical Freeze as well, but it kept telling me there wasn't enough space on the hard drive, but it was defaulting to system memory for those games. Does anybody have any idea why this is?
I even waited for The Wonderful 101 to finish downloading, then made sure it was downloaded to the external hard drive, and it was. I'm able to access that drive in the data management screen and The Wonderful 101 boots up just fine, but I still can't download anything else to the external hard drive, because everything defaults to the console's hard drive, which has no more room on it.
Edit: Turns out the console won't let you download games anywhere but wherever the saves for those games already exist, so I had to go in and move the save files for Donkey Kong and Monster Hunter. The problem with the Metroid one though was that it was a physical copy, so the save was only available from the original Wii menu, and that didn't recognize an external hard drive, so I had to delete the save. That was probably for the better though. Starting off in the middle of Metroid Prime is a nightmare.
I even waited for The Wonderful 101 to finish downloading, then made sure it was downloaded to the external hard drive, and it was. I'm able to access that drive in the data management screen and The Wonderful 101 boots up just fine, but I still can't download anything else to the external hard drive, because everything defaults to the console's hard drive, which has no more room on it.
Edit: Turns out the console won't let you download games anywhere but wherever the saves for those games already exist, so I had to go in and move the save files for Donkey Kong and Monster Hunter. The problem with the Metroid one though was that it was a physical copy, so the save was only available from the original Wii menu, and that didn't recognize an external hard drive, so I had to delete the save. That was probably for the better though. Starting off in the middle of Metroid Prime is a nightmare.
Zimmy68
Member
Exactly what I did.
I upgraded my PS4 to 2TB from one of those slim portables.
I swapped the PS4 original 500 into the enclosure, bought a Y cable and it works perfect on the Wii U.
Just curious, I completely forgot that I have an external HD but I'm wondering whether I am able to use that since it already has data on it. Does it normally wipe data already stored on an external HD or does it require to format whatever you use?
Also apologies for the stupid question but I haven't used a Y cable before. Which type of Y cable do I need, one with two USB 2.0 ends or something else?
Also apologies for the stupid question but I haven't used a Y cable before. Which type of Y cable do I need, one with two USB 2.0 ends or something else?
ErrorMacro
Member
Any positive experiences with Seagate Expansion ?
I've seen in the OP it works using Y-Cable (which I already bought), but I'd like to be sure it works well, before buying it!
Unfortunately, powered HDD's are really damn expensive where I live, so I need to go with the cheaper alternatives.
I've seen in the OP it works using Y-Cable (which I already bought), but I'd like to be sure it works well, before buying it!
Unfortunately, powered HDD's are really damn expensive where I live, so I need to go with the cheaper alternatives.
Just bought this portable hard drive and this Y-cable and it's working perfectly so far.
As easy as just plugging it in, pressing format when the prompt comes up and moving the data in the settings menu.
As easy as just plugging it in, pressing format when the prompt comes up and moving the data in the settings menu.
Agent Unknown
Member
Do cloud based hard drives work? Someone was thinking of using one of these with his Wii U but wasn't sure if it would work so I'm asking on their behalf, thanks in advance for any info:
Seagate - Central 4TB Personal Cloud Storage External Hard Drive
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/seagate...lack/8808706.p?id=1218901227884&skuId=8808706
Seagate - Central 4TB Personal Cloud Storage External Hard Drive
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/seagate...lack/8808706.p?id=1218901227884&skuId=8808706
USB only, so this one doesn't seem to apply.
The Lamonster
Member
Is this a valid Wii U external HDD solution?
Placing the factory PS4 hard drive (2.5" 500GB 5400rpm) into this enclosure: http://amzn.com/B00JQTO8TU
Placing the factory PS4 hard drive (2.5" 500GB 5400rpm) into this enclosure: http://amzn.com/B00JQTO8TU
Should work fine, but you will likely need a Y-Cable to give it enough juice.
The Lamonster
Member
What type of Y-Cable?
Is it recommended that any external HDD used with Wii U is powered?
Nintendo's recommendation is externally powered, but most gaffers can get by with a Y-Cable to power an external drive.
Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1K1OIA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Agent Unknown
Member
I'll let them know, thanks for the info.
It should work with any drive attached via USB as the Wii U is using the standard USB interface. Does the drive work when plugged into a PC/MAC and are you using a Y-cable if it is bus powered?