PowerSmell
Member
Has anybody tried comparing the same game running off of a disc vs running off a HDD?
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Wii U external HDD thread
- Thread starter Christberg
- Start date
That's the one I use. Needs Y cable.
I use this one, 1tb and doesn't need y cables. It works on just the one USB port:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008PABFX8/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008PABFX8/
UltimateIke
Member
Since I wanted to be able to plug a LAN adapter into the back too, I only plugged the black USB connector from the Y cable into the Wii U. The red USB connector (meant for extra power) is plugged into a USB extension cable going into my old cell phone's charge adapter.
And it works fine. It powers the hard drive on when it's first plugged in, but the hard drive goes on and off with the Wii U after the system is first turned on.
A much more elegant solution is just buying a separately powered drive, but I'm not buying another HDD when I already had one that would work with stuff I had lying around!
ChosenPredator
Banned
so quick question this Y cable thing is manditory for all these HDD? I might as well wait for nintendo to come out with something if it's not an absurd price.
Christberg
Member
Only if it doesn't have standalone power. If it doesn't you're looking at a crap shoots to whether it'll work or not.
TheMagician
Member
edit
Spiderduff
Member
I bought this one from Newegg during black friday for like $80:
Seagate Expansion 2TB USB 3.0 Black Desktop Hard Drive STBV2000100
Works great. USB worked fine. Love it.
Seagate Expansion 2TB USB 3.0 Black Desktop Hard Drive STBV2000100
Works great. USB worked fine. Love it.
Just to be sure , you cant install your retail wii games to the HD to minimize disc noise and make loading times better , correct?
Only if you buy it digital ?
Thats kinda freaking stupid
Indeed, you can't install games on the HDD.
Mithos
Gold Member
I wonder if you will be able to choose where gameupdates/dlc is primary located, internal flash or hdd....
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Currently downloads go to the external storage whenever one is available.
abstract alien
Member
Does it normal take a while for the Wii U to format an HDD? The drive is about 500gb, and it's been "checking usb storage device" for the last 15 minutes. Also, was it determined if we could partition?
Wii U formatted my external HDD in less than 10 seconds.
Albino_Samurai
Member
Bought a 1 TB USB 3.0 WD Elements portable HD and the Wii U wouldn't recognize it.
Then hooked up my 4 year old WD Elements 1 TB HD with external powersuply and all systems are go!
Might sound crazy, but to me it looks like Fifa 13 has some improved performance now that i have moved the game to the USB drive instead of the internal 32GB....
Now downloading Darksiders 2 on to it, so hold on to your buts....
Then hooked up my 4 year old WD Elements 1 TB HD with external powersuply and all systems are go!
Might sound crazy, but to me it looks like Fifa 13 has some improved performance now that i have moved the game to the USB drive instead of the internal 32GB....
Now downloading Darksiders 2 on to it, so hold on to your buts....
abstract alien
Member
Oh damn. Not sure what is going on then.
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Yes, the format is ultra fast - apparently it does not try to check for bad blocks or anything else which would otherwise traverse the entire space.
UltimateIke
Member
What kind of hard drive are you using? Is it USB powered, or does it have a separate power supply? Did the Wii U ever say it found a drive? Did it actually ask you to format it, or is the "checking USB storage device" the first message you've gotten?
abstract alien
Member
It's an older western digital, usb powered drive. It gave the open to format the drive, so I assume it sees it. Funny thing is that the drive is making some sort of ticking noise when plugged into the Wii U and is stuck on the checking sub storage screen when I select to format it. I thought the drive was messed up, but once I plug it into my computer, it works fine.
Not sure what the deal is :-(
Edit: actually, it sounds like the drive is attempting to spin, then it stops. That's is what is making the "tick" noise.
UltimateIke
Member
That is EXACTLY what my Western Digital did! Ticking noise and all! It means it isn't getting enough power and the Wii U isn't recognizing it. You'll have to get a USB Y cable so you can plug the drive into two USB ports at the same time.
abstract alien
Member
Damn, I don't want to plug it in the front! I guess at least I know the drive is ok. Thanks for you input, it's great appreciated.
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
The ticking sound most likely comes from the heads parking once the drive decides it's shutting down due to power loss. Then the drive senses the power again (as it was not an actual power loss but a drop in the amperage) and goes 'hey, I've just been powered on!' and the cycle repeats.
Shin Johnpv
Member
Why would you have to plug it in the front, the back has 2 USB ports.
abstract alien
Member
Yeah, I had a moment last night lol
I think someone found a way to partition the external Hardrive:
http://gbatemp.net/threads/can-you-make-a-wii-u-partition.337805/page-3
Edit: I think not, the Hdd has to be also connected to your computer at the same time (I think)
KDH @ GBATemp said:
http://gbatemp.net/threads/can-you-make-a-wii-u-partition.337805/page-3
Edit: I think not, the Hdd has to be also connected to your computer at the same time (I think)
Hmm, this is nice. Is it reliable? Any more like it?
I can only compare sonic to my ps3 disc version but it loads tons faster on wii u from the hard drive than it does from the blu ray on ps3. But that is to be expected.
In PC world this is called quick format. It skips zeroing all space and scanning for bad sectors, a very time consuming operations.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
I actually bought Mario, zombie, batman and nintendo land retail, then traded them in for digital only. Bman was slower with some hitches bit I have a usb 3 drive without a y cable, so I Will give an update next week.
Two times while trying to download Assassin's Creed III it stops sometime during it and says that the USB storage device has been removed when it hasn't. I'm using the 1 GB Toshiba drive listed on Nintendo's website. It's power cable is connected properly, as is the USB connector. I'm trying it in a different USB port because I really can't think of anything else to try. I transferred a previously purchased ZombiU from the internal to the external drive and it works just fine, but this is bothering me.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
I like your take on this. My main concern has always been power draw and wall outlet used, as the socket bar near my home system seems to have been taken up.Since I wanted to be able to plug a LAN adapter into the back too, I only plugged the black USB connector from the Y cable into the Wii U. The red USB connector (meant for extra power) is plugged into a USB extension cable going into my old cell phone's charge adapter.
++
And it works fine. It powers the hard drive on when it's first plugged in, but the hard drive goes on and off with the Wii U after the system is first turned on.
A much more elegant solution is just buying a separately powered drive, but I'm not buying another HDD when I already had one that would work with stuff I had lying around!
I'm about to purchse an external HDD. Any more us-powered drives out there like the Samsung that do not require Y-cables and is pretty reliable?
Wait, so it's powered entirely via 1 USB socket?
I've found one of the Buffalo miniStations right now and thought if this might do the trick as well.
Not entirely, but since it has a mains plug it can do all the stuff it needs via the one socket.
I know for some you need a Y cable.
abstract alien
Member
Is there a specific reason as to why so little power is pushed through the usb? Seems like a deliberate move, considering a ton of devices less powerful have no trouble at all with it.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
Probably a silly question, but can I use both the 32GB on the Wii U and a 64GB flashdrive to download games on, or can you only download all your stuff to one area? Like, can I have Mario, ZombiU, Sonic, Ninja Gaiden on my Wii U memory and Assassins Creed, Batman and Pikmin 3 on my flashdrive?
Christberg
Member
You can split them but it's a PITA because there's no way to change where the software goes at download. So you have to suck it down, install it then move it from system settings (goes to USB storage automatically once installed)
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
I have a USB 3.0 that works 'most' of the time. But it must time out or something. I ended up losing some saves. You're is USB 2.0 and should be okay but you may want to preferentially plug it in, if you have a plug anyway. Again, mine probably is wonky because it's USB 3. But this console has been simultaneously a revelation (off tv play) and a disaster (not able to draw enough power for a USB 3.0 drive).
I have a USB 3.0 that is powered by one socket. If I play NSMB (digital) for too long, it will cut off. Then, if I try and move the files from the HD to the internal memory, it will fail and simultaneously delete my save file. Not that big of a deal and I should have listened. I plugged it in and it worked, so I thought I was in the clear.
To avoid confusion, Nintendo should sell a HDD. They can still let the hardcore buy and plug in whatever they want but I fear the casual or 'busy' gamer w/o enough time to research it. Sell a HDD and make it dummy proof. For the people like us, we can still plug in our spare HDD with an enclosure and we are likely to tolerate these types of missteps.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
Thanks
You think it has something to do with the fact it's USB 3.0 and not 2.0? I'm starting to believe 3.0 has a higher power draw.
Edit: I bought the Buffalo miniStation. Let's hope it works.
Edit2: Canceled and now thinking of getting Toshiba Cavio. They seem to be cheper, but then again, those require 2 USB ports.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Definitely is due to USB 3.0. After watching myself lose saves and Nintendo not guaranteeing USB 2.0 drives from working, I'm just off. I got all the way into level 3 on NSMB U and lost it all. You should probably ignore my earlier concerns. The launch has been simultaneously amazing and off, for me. Some amazing experiences and some really big head scratchers. But now that I think about it, i should have known. I was just being cheap. I'm flying on all cylinders now that I have a Y-cable.
So, now that I have a Y cable, there doesn't seem to be much difference in NSMB U, BMan and ZombieU. Haven't played Nintendoland. I know it's a decent game but my son plays it the most and I have minimal interest in it with the other 3. I'll come around to it but since it's minigames, no matter how great, I don't turn it on.
I did notice a couple of hitches on Batman. It seemed like the HDD would hand. Most are less than a second. It's been during gameplay and cutscenes. It's almost like when your DVD changes layers. Very momentary and I've only seen it happen about 5 times. Just completed the main story line and have a bunch of other side missions to complete. About 45% complete. Now, to give you my baseline: I saw the GT stream where they shitted on B:AC and gave up about 15 minutes into. I have not had as much difficulty with it. Or, I don't care about framerate things like that. I don't give a shit about 1080p, AA or whatever other letter combination you can come up with. I appreciate that Batman looks amazing, compared to RE4 but no amount of great textures can reduce my love for a great game that plays well. I'm sure the images that we end up seeing in 10 years will be amazing but this generation seems like we are getting closer to theoretical limit. It's not 'toy story' but it looks clean, the draw distance is great and textures make a close approximation to real life, in my mind.
So, what bothers others does not bother me. The few hitches that seem to come from the HDD are a minor inconvenience to me. I'm not smart enough to figure if that is all HDDs or just mine. It's a USB 3.0 with a Y cable. Seems to function well. I would love to hear from others about their HDD experience. I wonder if Nintendo is the source, since they limited the power draw for the USB ports or is it the combination of too many variables in non-standard HDDs along with hardware and/or software limitations.
For me, having a 2.5 yo kid who can remove the disks, a dead NSMB Wii disk (even though every one seems to bad-mouth it), I already decided to go digital only and hope my kids don't kill my HDD.
Well, I ordered both the miniStation and the Cavio, figuring my laptop could use some storage expansion as well. I'll test out the miniStation and see if it runs stable considering it's only USB 2.0. If not, I'll just let the Cavio handle my WiiU storgae needs, and let my miniStation be my laptop HDD.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
Most likely needs a Y cable.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
Sweet. I actually have one in my box of cables. Well, in one of my box of cables.
What's with us guys and cables!
ToastyBanana
Member
Any updates? Been curious to see how hdd loading fairs against disc for a while but no one has any definitive info. I plugged in and formatted a spare 500gb drive on launch and so far all I have is a piddley FIFA 13 demo on it.
edit: Oops, should have kept reading thread heh..
abstract alien
Member
Got the Y cable and everything works flawlessly now. Thanks gaf.
I still don't understand why the Wii U ports put out so little power.
I still don't understand why the Wii U ports put out so little power.