Topic: Wii u system update but not enough storage

Son has had a wii u for about 2 months, I bought him some new games for Xmas (mario maker being one).

It's saying it needs a system update, but there isn't enough storage. Iv deleted everything off it but still not working.

Any ideas what I need to do? Or do I need an external hard drive?

@Kim2590: It would be helpful knowing what Wii U model (8GB or 32GB), also whether by system update you're literally talking about console updates (of which there hasn't been one since August) or software updates (individual games have updates for example Super Mario Maker had one a few days ago).

It says

"There is not enough free space in the consoles system memory.

To install the update pleAse free up at least 171mb by going to data management system settings."

It's an 8mb.

Iv deleted everything off it lol

@Kim2590: Ok, so 1 final thing before I can suggest advice is again related to what type of update is coming up with this message. What did you do to activate the update, was it by starting up a game or some other situation?

This is very strange. There should be sufficient space for a system update even on a 8GB system, if there are no games downloaded on the system...

It came up when I put the Mario makers game in

Only game on it is the pre loaded smash bros x

@Kim2590: As you say about preloaded Smash Bros, that means it was a 32GB system and that preload is the cause. The game (~17.2GB) and updates (~2.2GB) for Smash combined is near 20GB so if you add in actual system updates (Wii U firmware) you pretty much don't have space for anything that requires updates. Given that I really doubt you'd want to delete Smash Bros (you can redownload but it takes a very long time), I'd recommend getting an external hard drive as soon as possible.

What sort of external would you recommend

@Kim2590: Having a look through this thread will help with external hard drives:
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/wii-u/nintendolife_approve...

Hello Kim. You'll need a hard drive that uses an external power source (that is, a hard drive that needs to be plugged into a socket). Do not use a portable hard drive or one that has existing data on it. You'll need a fresh hard drive. Western Digital and Seagate brands are fine (I use Seagate for my Wii U).

Sorry to be butting in - I was just interested in the above... @sillygostly, is a fresh HD necessary then? I was thinking of using a HD from my old PC; are you suggesting I can expect problems with it, even if wiped clean? Thanks.

Just plug any USB 3.0 or faster USB 2.0 memory stick and you should be good. My 32GB stick works great. I recommend 64GB if you have one. No needs for hard drive if you don't mean to buy tons of games from eShop

You will be fine with a decent flash drive....