I think your problem is that your drive is USB powered. The Wii U doesn't put out enough power on the USB port to properly allow an external drive to operate. Nintendo is recommending a drive that is externally powered. If you drive has the option of plugging in a separate power supply that will probably take care of the issue. Your other option is to look into getting a Y-USB cable that will provide more power from the Wii U console to your external drive.
Let us know how it turns out.
When you stop playing is when you start getting old
This is news to me. All the hard drives I bought are USB-powered. Damnit Nintendo!!! Y U NO HAVE INTERNAL HARD DRIVE?! Ugh, it'd be so much easier. Luckily I don't have a Wii U yet. Guess I'll hold out until they smarten up and make a model with an Internal hard drive.
Just make sure you know whether your USB ext. HDD is USB 2.0 or 3.0, and buy one of these cables to match it. I use the first one that I linked, so I can confirm it works.
Qwest
3DS Friend Code: 4253-3737-8064 | Nintendo Network ID: Children
I know there's a small 500 GB Toshiba HDD out there that will work with just one USB cable, but the Y cable you found and the Y cables that SCAR linked should also work just fine
I have a USB CD drive and that came with a Y cable and it works with my external HDD just fine, so I think most, if not all, should work
This is news to me. All the hard drives I bought are USB-powered. Damnit Nintendo!!! Y U NO HAVE INTERNAL HARD DRIVE?! Ugh, it'd be so much easier. Luckily I don't have a Wii U yet. Guess I'll hold out until they smarten up and make a model with an Internal hard drive.
First, where the heck were you when the Wii U first came out? There were several articles on proper hard drives for the Wii U.
Second, you're going to be waiting for a while considering that would jack up the cost of the system right now.
Current games: Everything on Switch
Switch Friend Code: SW-5075-7879-0008 | My Nintendo: LzWinky | Nintendo Network ID: LzWinky
I think it's totally fair to not include a bigger HDD. 8 or 32GB is more than enough for disc game saves.
I also noticed that much of the people that complain about HDD space are also the ones that basically have no intention of buying any digital versions of games besides indie or small DLC games. Kind of ironic...
The Wii U basically costs the exact same as a PS4, except Sony is selling at a $50 loss or so at first glance(maybe more). You can't expect Nintendo to follow the exact same path as Sony or Microsoft.
By the time you have a sufficient amount of HDD memory(250GB+), you have that extra 32GB, anyway.
External HDDs are like 2 aisles over at Best Buy. If you get a y-cable, you're most likely going to have to order it online. I looked when I needed one, but I just ordered one along with the ext. HDD so they arrived fairly close.
Only the most dedicated of PC stores would ever think of having these cables. They're required on basically every computer with USB 2.0 drives, even with 2.0 drives.
Qwest
3DS Friend Code: 4253-3737-8064 | Nintendo Network ID: Children
Only requires one USB port and no AC adapter...plenty of memory to work with, pretty cheap, and small. This one seems like a winner to me..I might actually get it myself!
You can get it on Amazon, between 320 GB and 2 TB, from about $60 to $130 (USD)
@PloXyZeRO
That's the harddrive I bought, except it's the 2TB version. I paid $110 in comparison to $69(as stated in the video) for 4× more memory.
I agree that it's very good. It has the ramp loading and shock sensor inside. It's quiet, and loads faster than an A/C powered HDD.
The only dowside is the y-cable, but it exceeds every other area in performance.
Qwest
3DS Friend Code: 4253-3737-8064 | Nintendo Network ID: Children
Googled my problem and this came up. Having the same issue as the o.p. BUT:
The HDD is externally powered.
Had allegedly been used once for backing up computer files.
Haven't been prompted for anything on startup of Wii U.
When we were checking to see what was on it beforehand (on a computer), it would register in devices but in "Libraries" or when choosing "Open to view files", it comes up as a disc or Virtual CD, only showing "SmartWare" and saying "0 of 442mb available".
Don't know what's wrong or how to fix it :/
The harddrive is:
WD My Book Essential
USB 2.0
2 TB
Googled my problem and this came up. Having the same issue as the o.p. BUT:
The HDD is externally powered.
Had allegedly been used once for backing up computer files.
Haven't been prompted for anything on startup of Wii U.
When we were checking to see what was on it beforehand (on a computer), it would register in devices but in "Libraries" or when choosing "Open to view files", it comes up as a disc or Virtual CD, only showing "SmartWare" and saying "0 of 442mb available".
Don't know what's wrong or how to fix it :/
The harddrive is:
WD My Book Essential
USB 2.0
2 TB
Does say it has a drive lock...
WD has a tendency to partition the drive so that they can stick their shovelware crap on the segregated partition. What I recommend (assuming you have Windows) is connect the drive to your computer, then go into "Computer Management" and format both partitions back into one single partition, NTFS format or whatever you desire (shouldn't matter because it's going to get formatted again by the Wii U anyways).
Also, keep in mind, you're not going to be prompted for anything on the Wii U. You have to go into settings and find Data Management, and there you will find the option to format the hard drive. Once it is formatted, you can then start using it for data storage.
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
I think it's totally fair to not include a bigger HDD. 8 or 32GB is more than enough for disc game saves.
I also noticed that much of the people that complain about HDD space are also the ones that basically have no intention of buying any digital versions of games besides indie or small DLC games. Kind of ironic...
The Wii U basically costs the exact same as a PS4, except Sony is selling at a $50 loss or so at first glance(maybe more). You can't expect Nintendo to follow the exact same path as Sony or Microsoft.
By the time you have a sufficient amount of HDD memory(250GB+), you have that extra 32GB, anyway.
External HDDs are like 2 aisles over at Best Buy. If you get a y-cable, you're most likely going to have to order it online. I looked when I needed one, but I just ordered one along with the ext. HDD so they arrived fairly close.
Only the most dedicated of PC stores would ever think of having these cables. They're required on basically every computer with USB 2.0 drives, even with 2.0 drives.
Truth is, and this is from someone who actually owns all the consoles and has first-hand experience with how fast the hard drives fill up, truth is that 32gb on Wii U lasts just as long buying games DIGITALLY as the 500gb of PS4/X1 lasts buying games PHYSICALLY.
32gb doesn't sound like a lot, BUT, when games only average a few gigs, and physical discs require no mandatory installation and very seldom come with large updates (if any at all), you'd be surprised how far you can make that 32gb stretch. My Wii U still has 3gb of space left, and I own approximately 40 physical games and over 80 virtual console and indie games. My PS4, however, already filled up within the first 9 months and I had to upgrade to 2 TB. 500gb SEEMS like a lot, but when games are 50 GB each and even physical discs require the installation, not to mention you really only get about 420 gigs out of that 500 in the first place, your hard drive is maxing out before you even own 10 games for the system, and that's regardless of whether you by physical or not, and that's before you account for indie games and updates.
The fact my Wii U and that little 32gb is still not full after two years and over 120 games, while my PS4 filled up in less than a year and 10 games on my shelf, is a testament to just how little people understand about hard drive space in current gen consoles. Fact of the matter is you're going to need a hard drive no matter what platform you buy, but you will get the most mileage out of the Wii U hard drive than any other current gen console.
All have sinned and fall short of Gods glory. Wages of sin is death. Romans
God so loved the world He sent His only Son- whoever believes on Him has eternal life. Unless you believe, you will die in your sins. Whoever believes, rivers of living water flow within them. John
@JaxonH
Not really. I have an Xbox One with like 4 retail and like 10 indies games, and I can download at least 3 more retail games. It really depends on what games you download, because saying the Xbox One fills up faster with 500GB compared to 32GB with Wii U is completely fabricated, and I would know, because I have both.
Anyone who buys discs for their Wii U will basically never run out space, which Xbox One is unable to do, but if we're talking ext HDDs, then Wii U is pretty much on the same page.
Qwest
3DS Friend Code: 4253-3737-8064 | Nintendo Network ID: Children
I'm not uneducated on the matter. And though I somewhat agree with you, it's all related. And I know how the external drives work...or SHOULD work, that is. After clicking the "Format USB Storage Device" in System Settings, I hit next until it pulls up "Checking USB storage device..." with the loading rotation, and there it stays.
Googled my problem and this came up. Having the same issue as the o.p. BUT:
The HDD is externally powered.
Had allegedly been used once for backing up computer files.
Haven't been prompted for anything on startup of Wii U.
When we were checking to see what was on it beforehand (on a computer), it would register in devices but in "Libraries" or when choosing "Open to view files", it comes up as a disc or Virtual CD, only showing "SmartWare" and saying "0 of 442mb available".
Don't know what's wrong or how to fix it :/
The harddrive is:
WD My Book Essential
USB 2.0
2 TB
Does say it has a drive lock...
If it didn't show up properly on the PC (only displaying 442mb available) then it isn't formatted correctly and the Wii U can't use it. Attach it to a PC and reformat it. If it still won't/doesn't reformat properly then view it in disk management (Run prompt, diskmgmt.msc) and reformat it from there.
Once it is running properly it should only take seconds for the Wii U to set it up.
Googled my problem and this came up. Having the same issue as the o.p. BUT:
The HDD is externally powered.
Had allegedly been used once for backing up computer files.
Haven't been prompted for anything on startup of Wii U.
When we were checking to see what was on it beforehand (on a computer), it would register in devices but in "Libraries" or when choosing "Open to view files", it comes up as a disc or Virtual CD, only showing "SmartWare" and saying "0 of 442mb available".
Don't know what's wrong or how to fix it :/
The harddrive is:
WD My Book Essential
USB 2.0
2 TB
Does say it has a drive lock...
WD has a tendency to partition the drive so that they can stick their shovelware crap on the segregated partition. What I recommend (assuming you have Windows) is connect the drive to your computer, then go into "Computer Management" and format both partitions back into one single partition, NTFS format or whatever you desire (shouldn't matter because it's going to get formatted again by the Wii U anyways).
Also, keep in mind, you're not going to be prompted for anything on the Wii U. You have to go into settings and find Data Management, and there you will find the option to format the hard drive. Once it is formatted, you can then start using it for data storage.
I'll add to the chorus. You have to be careful with some of these desktop drives as they're "helpfully" configured with software to act as a NAS or backup drive without user intervention, so you really do need to ensure it isn't partitioned and any storage management software the manufacturer may have installed is gone before trying to use it with the Wii U.
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