USB HDD compatibility...

I have been switching out games on an 8GB sdhc card for my kids and I, and if u know how quick kids change their minds, u know how often i am doing this daily... I do not want to use my 1TB external drive to load all our games on because i know they will somehow mess it up and irreplaceable files could be lost... so i just gutted two antique machines ive had laying around for too long... Ended up with 2 Western Digital HDD's... a 2.5" IDE 40GB WD400UE and a 3.5" IDE 40GB WD400BB...

I dont see them on any of the compatibility lists, but thats not concerning me, i see other WD IDE drives on there... I was researching/ shopping enclosures for them and realized a couple things... for the price of one enclosure, i can get a docking station that reads all known HDD types and 5 memory cards... and for a third of that price i can get an adapter that reads all HDD types... Since its still a just a USB cord going into the wii with fat32 or wbfs partitioned information going through it, im guessing the wii wouldnt have a problem reading either one...

Before i dropped the money on anything, i just wanted to make sure though... Does anyone use a dock or adapter with their wii?? i have only read of people using hdd's using enclosures...

Also is the wii using mauifrogs softmod guide able to read USB 3.0?? i hope so because the USB 3.0 docks and adapters ive seen arent that much more than 2.0...

2.5" hdd USB enclosure is a better choice. No matter IDE or sATA, 100% ok.
docking also works, but not 100% sure.
adaptor unlikely a good idea.
" Any Wii" ok with usb3 HDD. However Wii supports/runs only usb2.

yeah, even though it will be more, im probably going to get enclosures... most of the docks i saw had a warning that some western digital hdd's are not compatible

I have a slightly different question from the original poster, but I'm hesitant to start a new thread in the wrong location. I think the subject of the post still applies to my issues too. Feel free to move this, but here it goes.

I've followed Mauifrog's Softmod Any Wii guide and everything went without a hitch. I was pumped after trying to piece it together from random sources for weeks. I have a few HDD devices, but I'd really like to go with something like a 32GB flash drive for my USB drive because I like that capacity and price point. I've tried 3 so far and see different results for each. The best result is a 4gb Sandisk Cruzer Micro formatted using the Fat32 guide (I'm on a mac). I like USB Loader GX and I've been able to rip any game under 4gb to that drive and play it without any problems. Well, the only problem being that it's just 4 gigs. I got another Sandisk Cruzer with high hopes. This one is the Cruzer Glide 32GB model. I can load any of the games I ripped to the 4GB drive and USB Loader GX sees the drive every time and lets me play the games perfectly. However when I try to rip games to this drive, I get a varying percentage through (10% at most) and then get a freeze. Since most of the issues I've seen discussed in the forum involve drives not being recognized or failing to play, and both of those functions are good, I'm just confused if I have a drive that's not compatible, or not?

Should I just get a new drive that's on the compatibility list?
Is there anything I can try to make the one I've got work?

Oh and for drive #3, I tried a PNY tiny metal drive from walmart. It was recognized, ripped 100% of a large game (SSBB), then froze and has never been recognized by the Wii again, regardless of reformatting and running through Mauifrog's Softmod guide (so I know any config files were whiped off the SD card)

Thanks for any tips, sorry again if this is not the best location. Let me know if you'd like to see a SysCheck

If I were you I would go buy an external HDD that is compatible, load it up with your game backups wii/Gamecube/Roms etc and use your small USB drives elsewhere.

I hear ya. I'm probably going to go that route. I just liked the idea of keeping the Wii as low profile and minimal as possible. I also just thought it seemed strange that my USB drive would be seemingly compatible in 2 out of 3 ways. Hadn't read about anyone getting that result before.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cdlenfert

I hear ya. I'm probably going to go that route. I just liked the idea of keeping the Wii as low profile and minimal as possible. I also just thought it seemed strange that my USB drive would be seemingly compatible in 2 out of 3 ways. Hadn't read about anyone getting that result before.

---

To keep the Wii in slim looking and not showing any USB device to your kids & guests, use a 32GB microSD card.
Load about 10 games in it, wbfs format, plug into USB card reader (which is about the size of a nail) and insert whole thing into Wii rear. Nobody can see, but everybody can play. :D
How about this?

That would be great, or just a small, compatible USB flash drive. Do you have any recommendations a specific device? I saw this micro sd on gbatemp SanDisk SDSDQ-032G-A11M microSDHC Memory Card - 32GB, Class 4 but then I'd need to get a usb adapter too. I like those tiny low profile USB sticks.

i meant the usb thumb nail microSD reader (the white one); not a usb stick, not a microSD adaptor. it's a nice piece for the buttock of Wii. isn't it ? :D
Attachment 4203

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cdlenfert

That would be great, or just a small, compatible USB flash drive. Do you have any recommendations a specific device? I saw this micro sd on gbatemp SanDisk SDSDQ-032G-A11M microSDHC Memory Card - 32GB, Class 4 but then I'd need to get a usb adapter too. I like those tiny low profile USB sticks.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by billyhome

2.5" hdd USB enclosure is a better choice. No matter IDE or sATA, 100% ok.
docking also works, but not 100% sure.
adaptor unlikely a good idea.
" Any Wii" ok with usb3 HDD. However Wii supports/runs only usb2.

---

never did thank u for the quick reply, based on your rec i got the enclosure... granted, i probably would have bought it anyway based on the price... on amazon, found it for $4.92 total cost... everything else was 2.5x - 5x that cost... if i find anything near that reasonable for the other drive mentioned in OP, ill probably get that too and update the results to USB comp list...

thanks for answering the last question, but must have been spaced out when i asked... its almost irrelevant since im sure any drive thats 3.0 would be 2.0 compatible...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HulkWogan

If I were you I would go buy an external HDD that is compatible, load it up with your game backups wii/Gamecube/Roms etc and use your small USB drives elsewhere.

---

of course that option is optimal... in previous posts ive explained that im regaining most of my tech gear step by step because im recovering from a theft situation... if this was last week, i wouldve said that wasnt one of my options because there are other more essential items on the gadget list i need first...

but after reading my sunday paper... BAM... great deal... Seagate 750GB usb 3.0 for $39... unfortunately, didnt make it up there yesterday, sunday... sale is sun--wed... but anytime theres a great deal advertised, they only stock like 20 of them and sell out quick... heres hoping they have some left when i get there...

Seagate Expansion 750GB Portable Hard Drive - Bl... : Target

even if i didnt need another HDD, i think at that price i would still have to pick it up...

i found a seagate expansion 750GB hard drive on the compatibility list, but not this same model... its still a good sign that it will be though, i would think...