• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Wii U external HDD thread

D

deleted

Member
Anybody tried an intenso?
I want to buy this one since its cheap, big enough and already comes with a y-connector. It should work, right?

And for those who already tried: Is it possible to use a partitioned hdd? Or will the Wii U 'claim' the whole hdd? If it's the latter, I have to buy another hdd, if its the former, I can use my Wii-hdd.

Edit: Googling found me some conflicting statements:

IGN writes this:
Drives that will be used by Wii U must be formatted by the system's Data Management system, meaning you can't use the drive with a PC without partitioning.
Click to expand...

When you connect a drive to Wii U, you will have to format that drive for the system. Unless you partition, your entire drive will be dedicated to your Wii U.
Click to expand...

google brought up this comment from gamefaqs:
Why must I sacrifice an entire 1TB when I only want 300GB for my Wii U?
Click to expand...
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
xyla said:
Anybody tried an intenso?
I want to buy this one since its cheap, big enough and already comes with a y-connector. It should work, right?

And for those who already tried: Is it possible to use a partitioned hdd? Or will the Wii U 'claim' the whole hdd? If it's the latter, I have to buy another hdd, if its the former, I can use my Wii-hdd.

Edit: Googling found me some conflicting statements:

IGN writes this:




google brought up this comment from gamefaqs:
Click to expand...


Confirmed a couple times on GAF.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=499884
 
A

animagnum

Neo Member
I just connected and formatted a 1TB Seagate Expansion Desktop Drive from Target and it seems to be working great. I transferred Zombi U over and it took about a third the time it took to move to the 80GB drive I was using previously.
 
N

neoanarch

Member
animagnum said:
I just connected and formatted a 1TB Seagate Expansion Desktop Drive from Target and it seems to be working great. I transferred Zombi U over and it took about a third the time it took to move to the 80GB drive I was using previously.
Click to expand...

Wait. What do you mean transfer over? You purchased the digital version and redownloaded?
 
X

xJavonta

Banned
LiK said:
Buy anything WD. Haven't had one fail on me. Seagate, on the other hand, is a POS.
Click to expand...

I had a WD fail on me (2.5" 5400RPM drive), but my Seagate is going strong (3.5" 7200RPM drive). It was clicking at first but when I switched to Windows 8 it went away. I'd say they're both unpredictable.
 
N

neoanarch

Member
animagnum said:
I transferred the game from my old external drive back to the Wii U, connected my new drive, and then transferred the game to the new drive.
Click to expand...

Ah ok. I jumped to conclusions and thought you transferred from one HD to another without the Wii U as an inbetween.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Going to try out an old 2.0 500gb Verbatim we've been using for the Wii. Since the Wii will see such little play time now, I guess it's okay if I actually have to swap in a disc. Wish me luck.
 
L

Like the hat?

Banned
Anyone know of any good ones on sale for black friday or whatever that will work with wii u? Preferably from Amazon. Only need like a 500gb one. The enclosure that was working fine now keeps connecting and disconnecting.
 
G

Glass Joe

Member
Like the hat? said:
Anyone know of any good ones on sale for black friday or whatever that will work with wii u? Preferably from Amazon. Only need like a 500gb one. The enclosure that was working fine now keeps connecting and disconnecting.
Click to expand...

It might be better to wait a bit, till we get more confirmation of drives that are not only recognized, but work consistently without issues. No sense getting a great deal on a HDD if you can't use it.
 
M

Mistle

Member
A few questions..

If the HDD I use for Wii U crashes, is everything on it redownloadable/replaceable? There's nothing I could lose permanently? I say this as somebody who didn't own a PS3/360 so I'm a little behind on how videogame storage works haha

Is there a noticeable difference between 5400rpm/7200rpm when used for videogames? Is there any sort of minimum speed requirements I should keep an eye out for?

Lastly, will a portable HDD with a y-connector work just as well as a HDD with an AC adaptor? Or will it work, just not as well?

Thanks!
 
A

antonz

Member
Best Buy has a decent 500GB on sale for 39.99. Its USB 3.0 so would only operate at the 2.0 for WiiU but even if it ends up not working well 500GB external for 39 bucks isn't bad. Had a 10 rz cert so got it for 29 heh
 
D

Drago

Member
antonz said:
Best Buy has a decent 500GB on sale for 39.99. Its USB 3.0 so would only operate at the 2.0 for WiiU but even if it ends up not working well 500GB external for 39 bucks isn't bad. Had a 10 rz cert so got it for 29 heh
Click to expand...
Yeah, just ordered this online before it sold out. I hope it works well! 500GB should be enough for me over the span of the system.
 
E

Erasus

Member
Mistle said:
A few questions..

1. If the HDD I use for Wii U crashes, is everything on it redownloadable/replaceable? There's nothing I could lose permanently? I say this as somebody who didn't own a PS3/360 so I'm a little behind on how videogame storage works haha

2. Is there a noticeable difference between 5400rpm/7200rpm when used for videogames? Is there any sort of minimum speed requirements I should keep an eye out for?

3. Lastly, will a portable HDD with a y-connector work just as well as a HDD with an AC adaptor? Or will it work, just not as well?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

1. On PC/Steam/PS3/360 purchases are account locked with no download limit. No idea if thats on WiiU but it should be... So no you wont lose anything

2. There have been measuers on PS3 games
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/02/7200-rpm-hdd-may-increase-your-ps3s-performance/
KZ2 load time test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH6xG5uTf3Q

So games that use the HDD a lot or eshop games should see an improvment. However when buying an external its often 5400 in small 2.5 drives and 7200 in ones that need an adapter.

3. I would get a bigger external. Needs an adapter sure but you can only use it with the WiiU anyways so you are not gonna move it. They are usually faster and you get more storage
 
A

antonz

Member
EulaCapra said:
I see these Toshiba Canvio Basic 500gb portable hard drives going on Black Friday sales for $40 across Best Buy, Office Max, and Radio Shack.

I see others are talking about this one as well but I see it's powered only by one USB and I'm not much of a techie, so help me GAF! What else would I need to make this work properly if I were to buy one?
Click to expand...

worst case might need to buy a USB Y cable if one is not enough. something like this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M0ICG2/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Welp, I have no idea which drive to get (the ones Nintendo listed are too pricey in the UK) so I'll wait and see if more affordable drives will be listed soon. I guess 32GB is fine for now.
 
T

The_Lump

Banned
Depending on money, I'll either get a 500GB Western Digital one I've had my eye on, or a 128GB SDXC and a USB adapter (that's the expensive option - bit I don't like clutter)
 
B

BlankaBR

Banned
Guys I have this Toshiba hhd and it didnt work on the wii U, do I need to het an y cable? What does it do?

I can't post the pic s***
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
So I have the choice between a Western Digital portable external 1TB (2.5" drive) and a Western Digital external 2TB(3.5" drive) for $58 each. Which would probably work best with the Wii U? I'm assuming the 3.5" drive will need a power supply but will the 1TB or can it draw power through the Wii U?
 
JimboJones

JimboJones

Member
Marty Chinn said:
So I have the choice between a Western Digital portable external 1TB (2.5" drive) and a Western Digital external 2TB(3.5" drive) for $58 each. Which would probably work best with the Wii U? I'm assuming the 3.5" drive will need a power supply but will the 1TB or can it draw power through the Wii U?
Click to expand...

I would go with a 2.5" drive(with a Y cable just in case) just because 3.5" are too bulky and having to plug them in annoy me, but thats just me.
 
M

Mistle

Member
Erasus said:
1. On PC/Steam/PS3/360 purchases are account locked with no download limit. No idea if thats on WiiU but it should be... So no you wont lose anything

2. There have been measuers on PS3 games
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/02/7200-rpm-hdd-may-increase-your-ps3s-performance/
KZ2 load time test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH6xG5uTf3Q

So games that use the HDD a lot or eshop games should see an improvment. However when buying an external its often 5400 in small 2.5 drives and 7200 in ones that need an adapter.

3. I would get a bigger external. Needs an adapter sure but you can only use it with the WiiU anyways so you are not gonna move it. They are usually faster and you get more storage
Click to expand...

That's a lot, very helpful reply!
 
D

Dreamwriter

Member
BlankaBR said:
I pluged it on the Wii u and it didnt recognize the hhd
Click to expand...

Do you hear the drive making noises when you plug it in? My drive was a portable one, when I plugged it in I could hear a repeating noise coming from it - the drive was trying to do something and failing. Turns out it didn't get enough power from the Wii U, I had to buy a powered USB hub to plug it into, that fixed it (an alternative is to find one of those y-adapter USB cables Nintendo recommends and plug it into two USB ports)

The problem is Nintendo stayed straight to the USB spec with their ports, something most computers don't do. So their USB ports don't put out as much power as most USB ports.
 
B

BlankaBR

Banned
Dreamwriter said:
Do you hear the drive making noises when you plug it in? My drive was a portable one, when I plugged it in I could hear a repeating noise coming from it - the drive was trying to do something and failing. Turns out it didn't get enough power from the Wii U, I had to buy a powered USB hub to plug it into, that fixed it (an alternative is to find one of those y-adapter USB cables Nintendo recommends and plug it into two USB ports)
Click to expand...
Thanks brother antonz gave me the heads up I will get the cable tonight since im doing some black friday shopping
 
G

Got the Shakes

Member
I have a WD My Passport 500 gb drive that is probably all of 2 years old laying around. I tried it earlier and the Wii U kept searching for it and never found it. Pretty sure it wasn't getting enough power since it works fine on my laptop still. I have a y cable coming from Amazon early next week and will report back when I try that.
 
K

Kyoufu

Member
Disguises said:
Oh wait, correction: I ordered the 1TB to move my stuff from my 2 500GB hard drives (one of them is breaking). Afterwards I plan to use my previous USB3 500GB hard drive for the Wii U. This one here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005A97A86/. Its just the same model but less capacity. I'll let you know if that one works. Less than 1 week now. :)
Click to expand...

That is self powered right? Are you planning on using a Y cable to power it via USB?
 
D

Disguises

Member
Kyoufu said:
That is self powered right? Are you planning on using a Y cable to power it via USB?
Click to expand...
Yep No and yep. If it doesn't work with the 1 USB, then I will try the Y cable that I ordered.

Edit: Sorry, I misunderstood. It's powered by the USB, not an external power supply.
 
RawkHawk2010

RawkHawk2010

Member
aeolist said:
USB3 has more pins.

You're not going to find a Y cable for that because part of the point of USB3 is that it can provide more power and you shouldn't need one. If your HDD has a separate power supply you're fine.
Click to expand...

So if I have this, there's nothing I can do?

(It has a port like that and no separate power supply. :( )
 
S

Shin Johnpv

Member
RawkHawk2010 said:
So if I have this, there's nothing I can do?

(It has a port like that and no separate power supply. :( )
Click to expand...

Read the whole thread. That poster was wrong, there are plenty of USB 3.0 Y cables out there, and I posted links to like 6 of them earlier in the thread.


*EDIT*

Could a mod or the OP update the original post with the information that USB 3.0 drives will work, and that there are USB 3.0 Y Cables out there, and include the links I gave out earlier in this thread?
 
S

stolin

Member
stolin said:
I ordered one of these for $79 (weekend deal price). Should arrive in the day or so, I'll post again when I get it hooked up. The deal price seemed worth it, should be good enough for the life of the Wii U.

Seagate Expansion 2TB 3.5IN USB3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive - Black (Part#: STBV2000100)
Click to expand...

This drive works like a charm. It's an AC Powered, USB 3.0 Drive, using the USB cable that came with it I got it last night, moved a few items to it with Data Management.

Just plug it in, power on Wii U then it says new USB Drive, Format, then it works!

Now I'm downloading Trine 2 (~2GB) and Little Inferno (~150MB). The downloads went directly to the USB Drive from eShop.
 
D

Dreamwriter

Member
Note that power is not the only thing that makes a hard drive compatible or not. The first hard drive I tried (G-Technology G-DRIVE) did not work on the Wii U even though it had plenty of power (and was just fine on my PC). The Wii U didn't automatically come up with the formatting screen on boot, and when I tried it manually it would just tell me that the USB Device could not be formatted (though it *did* know how much space was on the drive...)

So I wouldn't necessarily trust any Western Digitals or whatever unless someone else says they've tried it and it worked - Nintendo hasn't tried it, they've only tried the Toshiba Canvio and the Buffalo Drivestation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Seagate Partnering With PlayStation to Release Official External Hard Drives
Business Hardware 2
53
4K
tommib replied
PS5 Expanded SSD and external Hdd at the same time
24
6K
Hyperborean replied
NUCXI5/I7 Thin gaming PCsole releasing end of Sept 2022 (Starting at $859, RTX 3060 & 3070 options, 16GB or 32GB RAM choice, 512/1TB SSD)
44
3K
coffinbirth replied
MSI Launches console-PC, 'Creator P50 12th' in US ($1,719, RTX 3050, i7 12-core, 8GB GDDR6, Dual channel DDR4, 1TB SSD)
2
60
4K
//DEVIL// replied
A Primer on the Simple and Custom Storage Options Available for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S at Launch | Xbox Expansion Card Info | Xbox Wire
Platform
34
5K
Bernkastel replied
Top Bottom