
There are lots of things that many people assume will never happen to them, just to 'others'. You don't think you'll be the victim of a crime, or get stranded overnight when a flight gets cancelled, or perhaps get addicted to amiibo collecting. These are all problems that other people have to deal with.
I'd always blithely assumed I'd never have a hard drive die on me. In 20 or so years of using PCs, external hard drives on consoles and so on, I'd never had one fail and therefore thought nothing of it. Well, my Wii U's external hard drive has now failed, sort of, and it's reminded me of how poor data management is on the system.
Here's an assumption I'd made for nearly four years (assumptions are a bad idea, evidently) - my Wii U was automatically downloading game data to my external hard drive, but I thought it'd be doing the sensible thing and putting important stuff like save data on the internal memory, maybe using some of that 5GB it nicked with the console's day one launch update. That's the common-sense solution, anyway, as save data should be small enough to fit into the teeny-weeny 32GB of my Premium model. Of course now I've found the official support page stating that save data goes to USB storage by default - like I said, assumptions are a bad idea.

In any case, my hard drive had been acting temperamentally for a while - occasionally causing error messages - and yesterday it stopped playing ball; the Wii U couldn't find it, and all of my 'windows' were empty. Dozens (maybe even 100+ counting all the eShop copies) of games were gone, and no matter which USB port I used or how many restarts I did that data had disappeared. I looked up the error code; it wasn't mentioned at all on the European Nintendo support site, and the North American equivalent said (and I paraphrase slightly) "call us". So that was helpful. Ultimately a handful of forum posts summarised the issue as "your hard drive is doomed, sucks to be you".
I should clarify, too, that this hard drive was one of the models specifically recommended by Nintendo when the system launched, a Western Digital My Book. After looking online I found that these WD drives actually seem to have a slightly sketchy record, but ultimately it was on the list of suitable drives for Wii U back in 2012, and runs off its own power supply.
Although the Wii U formats hard drives in a peculiar and bespoke way, it was nevertheless being acknowledged when plugged into a PC, but the PC couldn't read it. I even plugged an empty 2GB USB memory stick into the Wii U to check it wasn't a problem with the console; that drive was picked up fine, formatted etc, so the logical conclusion was that, ultimately, the hard drive had failed.
I didn't sweat it at this point, because I knew I could re-download games I wanted onto a new drive, but then I looked at what is actually stored on the Wii U memory. There was practically nothing - no save data, not even update data. I put in my disc copy of Super Mario Maker, it updated and started to create a new save as if I'd never played it before. That was a disc game! It was like I'd done a factory reset-lite on the console; it was an empty husk that only had Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut on it, because that's a game that runs horribly off an external drive, but is 15GB and hogs over half of the available space. It then dawned on me that nearly four years of game data and saves were gone - I decided to find it funny, because what other choice is there?

Then I had a thought - the hard drive had sprung back to life, like a spluttering Lazarus after sitting idle for hours and hours plugged into a PC. Figuring I had nothing to lose I plugged it back into the Wii U the next morning, and there was all my content. Huzzah! Break out the bunting!
Naturally at this point I decided to transfer my save / update data to the Wii U memory. Should be easy, right? Well, no. When I look at the data that I can copy and move from the hard drive, it's all or nothing. Data for games I have on disc naturally is small-ish, only consisting of saves and updates. That's not an option for downloads, though, as you can't simply select a game and say you want to move its save data and nothing else. You move the whole game or nothing. Hundreds of gigabytes of download games - a number of retail games and loads of download-only games - won't fit on the Wii U, of course.
Here's the kicker, when you select a game in Data Management you can see a breakdown of the core game files, save data and update data; when you select save data the only option is to 'delete' - marvellous!
Now all I can do is try and move the external hard drive's contents to another before it packs it in completely; it's making strange noises when plugged into the Wii U. It's inconsistent, too. Since that initial success getting it to register and show its content like normal, it's now dead again; it's in the lap of the Gods whether it will come back.

Assuming it works again, transferring everything to a new drive (one option Nintendo does allow) means I'll need to buy another hard drive, as I don't have spares hanging around. And you know what? I'm not going to bother, as I don't feel like spending £50-60 backing up data for a system that is currently the least played out of my gaming hardware. After all, the release slate has been a bit quiet recently. My plan - unless anyone in my family suddenly has a spare hard drive going - is to simply write-off my save data and 'manage the fridge' with the system's internal memory. Just like the Wii days.
It's an absurd situation though, and shows how little attention Nintendo has paid to optimising the Wii U. After all, we can backup save data on the 3DS, which is neat; the Wii U just needs an equivalent feature, but we can safely bet it'll never happen. I can only assume this setup was a security measure back in 2012, but that doesn't make it acceptable.
My hope is that the NX, a console that'll be released in 2017, let's not forget, will use the cloud for save data backups. I play a lot of games on Steam and PS4, and they both do this. My phone does it, in fact all modern systems do it, frankly. I've written before that the Wii U's account system is antiquated, and now I appreciate how 20th Century the data storage is too. Hopefully with the introduction this year of the Nintendo Account infrastructure - and lessons learned from DeNA's experience in networks - the NX won't have any of these problems.
I love my Wii U, and have spent thousands of happy hours playing it. That said, I was cursing it out this week.
Comments 152
That would be a nightmare losing all your save data. Hopefully Nintendo have some sort of cloud based storage as a backup for NX. And they should give us a decent amount of memory to start with. 32GB's was a disgracefully small number and was Nintendo passing the expense onto the customer. It cost me €50 to buy a 250GB external self powered hard drive a few years ago and of course Nintendo being Nintendo it can't be partitioned so it has to be dedicated to the Wii U alone.
Edit: Here's a handy tip some people still may not be aware of to this day: In the System Settings go to "Data Management". Once there do not click on the on-screen buttons but instead hold down on the GamePad's D-Pad and the "+" and "-" buttons for a couple of seconds. A hidden option will show up and you can disable or re-enable the Sleep Mode on the connected HDD. I don't know why that has to be a secret.
Not that bad is it ?
I had to start Tom Clancy´s ghost recon from the beginning this weekend, it appears one of the kids deleted my save. No problems though, it´s a nice game and I didn´t even remember that I should just make it to the door in the opening sequence
It´s allready happened a few times with Ridge Racer, the reset is right on the starting screen ... considering the amount of grinding required to get through the entire game ... that option should have been not that easy to press.
The NX had better have a good amount of internal storage. Don't see why I should have to fork out for the equivalent of another console just for the sake of being able to purchase more than 10 indie titles.
Looking at you, Wii U.
I have it that the important games are on the internal drive while VC and less important games are on the external drive. The only game this strategy has been an issue for is XCX (which I still haven't started yet) due to those huge data packs.
Seriously TW, you're just finding all of this out now? I've been complaining about this bad set-up since about a year after Wii U released. I'm sure there are a few forum threads about it.
OK, sorry you had to go thru all that, that sucks, losing stuff always sucks, but not knowing data management on Wii U was a load of bunk, that you should have known, it's well known garbage. Oh well, not your fault, it all got drowned out in how great it was we got to use our own external HDD and how great that was we didn't have to pay to have 500GB internally. Nobody ever really talked about the negatives.
Quick advice - everybody has some old USB thumbdrives laying around, just gather up the biggest one you can find, copy all of that to PC, then use it in Wii U to move the games and saves you really want. Can always get a new external HDD later if need be.
Good luck.
this has me scared that my 3DS SD card may fail eventually 😨😨😨 I would DIE. hundreds and hundreds, maybe even thousands, of hours of save data lost... my god.
Sorry to hear this happened to you. I've had my drive at times not show up either but I messed with it and got it to work. It however doesn't have it's own power source. Hope it can last long enough for me.
This happened to me with my Gamecube Memory Card, I never bothered backing it up and one day all the data was corrupted, which means I lost my save data from every single game I had played for the previous 4 years. But hey, I'm still here so, life goes on...
My external drive on my Wii U is ancient, and I should probably get a new one before something like this happens. But YES for a cloud based save, yes for allowing your save data to move with you (by your ID or save to SDcard etc.. and not locked to the system).
@Grumblevolcano I moved everything off of my 32GB internal storage to make room for XCX as I knew how many hours it would get played - over 150 each by me and my 2 sons - and I wasn't going to risk anything external slowing me down. Someday maybe I'll remember to back it all up to external, my kids still play it from time to time.
It's simply ridiculous that Nintendo is so far behind the game in terms of data management and data storage. Launching a major console with 32GB (25GB or so after Day One patch) was absurd in the year 2012 and even more so now with the emphasis on the eShop.
Good read. A cloud data backup should be a must-have in this day and age.
MY was only 8 months old and it stopped working all of a sudden. All I hear is clicking sounds. I really can't lose this data.
Makes me wish Nintendo does Cloud saves with the NX
Oh, and I know this is stating the obvious, but did you try a different enclosure? HDD last longer than their enclosures, which can be had for about $15. Sometimes it's the ports that go, not the HDD itself.
http://support.wdc.com/KnowledgeBase/answer.aspx?ID=8644
"My hope is that the NX, a console that'll be released in 2017, let's not forget, will use the cloud for save data backups."
Don't hope too much, they charge 5€/year to store Pokémon, and I think a 3Tb hdd could store all of the Pokémon in the world (well if you consider one Pokémon being 8b you could store 375 000 000 000 of them). In other words cloud = you spending money.
Sad to hear, @ThomasBW84, bit also neat to know at the same time, no offense of course. As of this writing my only "external hard drive" is a small USB drive, you know, this kind:


Small in both size (which is good given it stands between my WiiU and my wall) and... well, internal size (which isn't). However, after hearing these news, my focus on getting as many digital copies of my games as possible surely came to a screeching halt.
Of course, given the above image, I will still get eShop versions of my already-owned Wii titles as they come out (given the nested menus made playing a physical Wii game a bit of a chore), but that's pretty much it. Other than that, I won't be in a hurry to get physical Wii U games anytime soon.
Useful news, Tom, I just wish your Wii U didn't have to be the sacrificial lamb needed to find out.

Now, I hate to be that guy again, but...
This was commonplace ever since the Xbox 360, which at the time was competing against the first Wii. Meanwhile, we're still dealing with Brawl's save data being impossible to backup, Pokémon save data backup being likewise disabled because "that way players could exploit the feature in the unintended way", and the list goes painfully on. My friend (whose love for gaming is as strong as mine, but from an Xbox standpoint) often remarks how Nintendo and online still have to learn how to get along, and it's time Nintendo does so! I'm growing weary of fearing to lose my save data "whenever anything goes wrong, which can happen anytime". Step it up, Ninty!
@plug313 if you have the cartridges for your 3DS games then your save data is safely there. If you did digital download then best of luck to you
It goes both ways. About 2 years ago my Wii U died and I had to send it in. I didn't get my Wii U back, but a replacement, with none of the content transferred. I lost tons of save data, even Wii save data because I had transferred it. The only thing saved was what was on my hard drive. Yes, cloud storage please.
Hey come on, being addicted to amiibos isn't all bad ... (slowly starts crying).
Jokes aside, I still have no need for external hard drives on my WiiU (well, aside from a USB stick for Xenoblade X) and looking at it, I probably never will, but thinking about how it would feel if a hard drive died on me, I am very sorry for loss. I really find it baffling that Sony and Microsoft manage to give us 1 TB of storage and Nintendo only 32 GB for the PREMIUM Edition! Honestly, I'll be mad if Nintendo doesn't give us 1 TB with NX. I'd love to pay extra for it, too!
Ever heard of backups? It's perfectly easy to do on Wii U since you can connect two external HDDs at the same time.
People who don't back up their data and lose everything deserve no sympathy from me. It's their own fault.
@AlexSora89 That was introduced in late 2011 via a system update. Still, no excuses for not being on Wii U.
@rjejr Well I'm considering maybe deleting the MK8 and HW digital downloads on my internal drive (using the discs I also own instead) and that space being enough to store the data packs. BotW would cause problems in that case though if it actually releases on Wii U that is.
@plug313 you can backup 3ds sd card data on your computer by copying and pasting your sd card on a computer.
@plug313 well, the 3DS you can back up all the files from your 32GB into a pc and keep it save, it's just copy and past, I did it.
Just use Saviine to dump your saves to an SD card, problem solved.
Though I do miss when that was inbuilt feature of the Wii. I hope it comes back for the NX, but as games become more online focused, I doubt it.
@manu0 It's true that people should backup, but the problem here is that Nintendo makes it easier to loose valuable data, when other consoles have shown better ways to handle data. Just a simple option to allow you to move only your save files would help make the process much safe.
And even if you do backup with a second drive, unless you do it regularly you're still at risk, and the process takes a long time from what I understand (I haven't done it yet, but the menu says it can take hours, expected from a drive to drive transfer)
About 2 weeks ago, I went to re-download XCX to start playing it properly. It downloaded, bit failed to install, with the error code: 105-3733.
Anyway, after Nintendo told me they had never heard of the error, and were sending it to their HQ in Germany, he told me to factory reset my console, and format my hard drive. Bearing in mind, it had over 200 games on it.
That done, I went to the e-shop, went to download a title, same thing happened. And it has been happening to virtually ALL titles that are larger than around 2gb. In the end (this afternoon), I have decided to send it back to Nintendo to have a look at it. They blamed it on me switching over to BT Infinity 2 and the Smart Hub 6, saying the Wii U is not compatible.
They have told me, it may cost £119.00 to repair, if a fault is found.
I do believe, after 30 or so years, and having my Nintendo with me in various war zones around the World, this will be the LAST Nintendo product for me.
What ever NX turns out to be, I think I will stick to PC gaming.
The Wii U is a turd of a console. It didn't even get the basics right. No wonder it sold poorly.
I'm not holding my breath for the NX. With Nintendo it's always one step forward, two steps back.
@Grumblevolcano "BotW would cause problems in that case though if it actually releases on Wii U that is."
Now that would be interesting. They'll make it a 33GB DL on Wii U so people can't fit internally, then say since they are putting it on cart for NX (whatever NX turns out to be I feel pretty confident it will be cart based) they won't make discs anymore so everything is DL only for Wii U going forward, no more discs.
I just feel like something really odd is going to happen w/ Zelda BotW, 2 years worth of delays isn't annoying enough. That Tweet the other day w/ Link cooking did give me hope for a Wii U release still, but I won't be 100% until it's dated.
The lack of any save-game management is really curious, not surprising though, just curious. It's one of those areas where Nintendo really needs to step up it's game, frankly should have stepped up it's game years ago.
It should be easy, even automatic, and it should redundant, meaning allowing you for storing saves locally on multiple devices, if you like, and obviously offering cloud-based back-up solutions as well.
There is really no argument here.
I think cloud storage would be easily possible on Wii U but Nintendo don't want to do it and are saving it to use as a selling point for NX.
@Drac_Mazoku Not being rude, this is a valid question.
WEl I think thsi serves 2 purposes.
1. If you have any Wii U save data - whether external or internal - go back it up now. Right now.
2. When NX comes out, pay attention to how data management works, and hope it isn't as screwed up as Wi U, and always back up your files.
Now, the talking point the other day about Nitneod making 3DS games, that I don't think served any purpose and I still don't know why it was written. This is a warning for both old and new hardware. Warnings are good.
Hah, this happened to me about a year ago (with both my Wii U and my 3DS coincidentally, which at the time I wasn't too cautioned with the idea that something like his could happen). Haven't even touched over half my games since due to frustration of having to restart everything from the beginning. I feel you
@Grumblevolcano
Yep, I messed up the trivia, but the point is that - no excuses.
No cloud storage and still no Cloud amiibo.... What is Nintendo's problem with clouds!?
@The_Dude_Abides
How old are you dude? 10? Because that's how you sound.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE thanks for sharing. Really appreciate it.
@HappyMaskedGuy I picked up a new 500 gb hard drive for 35 bucks. Can you direct me to a new console that's the equivalent in cost? I'll pick it up. 😜
I got the very same HDD as in the article. Listed in Nintendo's tested drives.
I got it in 2014. It failed a month ago. I lost everything. I buy EVERYTHING as digital, be it retail or eShop exclusive. So, I just had to redownload around 500GB of games back again, and lost everything I had done for these whole 2 years, which, believe me, was a lot.
Hyrule Warriors data. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate data.
Everything gone in a blink...
I wasn't as lucky to get the data back after messing around with the drive. It simply never ever responded again. It wasn't even recognized in a PC.
Whatever, replay time!
NX better not have this ancient account system... it is one of the few areas where Nintendo actually deserves all the hate it gets
Nintendo BSing once again. A reminder to backup your save data often so you won't lose it.
(I'm going to do that right now!)
The big problem with cloud storage: cost. You only get cloud storage on PS4 or Xbone if you choose to pay (a ridiculous amount of money) for PS+ or Xbox Live. Nintendo would no doubt want to keep internet services free on the NX.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE I'm not convinced NX will have cloud storage as Nintendo have been lagging behind on the technology front for many years. I see save directly to cart for physical and a Wii U type system for digital still being pretty likely.
Not sure if it was mentioned, but just copy your SD content over to your laptop, and you should be fine.
Recommendation for everyone...skip the HDD or crappy EHD and get an SSD and an enclosure for it. Yes the Wii U will have to power it, but it has no moving parts. Meaning an SSD will last a LOT LONGER than an HDD.
Yes another drawback is gb/price, but....I don't think you would need more than 256GBs for the Wii U...
Quality SSDs are only like $55-65 on newegg And enclosures are only like $5.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100011693%204025%204026%204027%20600414918&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=36
Huh don't see what the big deal is; just make a back up. I update my save data from my wiiu to my computer once every two weeks.
@Ikramali No problem.
@Martendo That's what he does. He really needs new bait....
I know multiple people who needed to get new Xbox 360s because of had drive issues. I even have lost e returning off 2 pcs over he years. It's why I print my pictures off. I don't trust tech. Laugh and enjoy replaying some of those games
I went through 4 Xbox 360's last gen before I gave up on them. The issue was very wide spread as opposed to isolated incidents like this. Is it a problem? Yes but it's an ant hill not a mountain.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360_technical_problems
Something similar just has happened here. Only on 3DS, where the system's touchscreen and controls stopped responding, being unable to even do a system trasfer if a new system is purchased - just to save the data and the games.
Distributor said to update the firmware and if that won't work, contact the shop where the system was purchased. Fantastic.
The purchased games may be as well lost if Nintendo won't somehow "transfer" ID content to a new 3DS.
This happened to me a few months back. I had to download EVERYTHING all over again; I couldn't even transfer since the first EHD just stopped working period.
It was a major pain to redownload but the one I have now is recommended by Nintendo (Brand: Toshiba) and works perfectly.
No idea how the NX will approach data management but I hope cloud management is included in some way.
Lost hundreds of GBs and HDDS on pcs and laptops over the years. Ya get over it. And that was coursework not hobbies.
the nx better launch with 1TB, 500GB aint working
This is an incredibly frustrating situation I've been through as well. On top of that when I got a new system to replace it I had to go through a nightmare situation to get my nintendo account moved over.
I love you Nintendo but get your stuff together. I don't care if you say you aren't competing with Xbox and PlayStation fact is you are competing with them for my time and money. If this stuff isn't fixed I won't be buying an NX.
This is my first time dealing with an external hard drive for any of my gaming systems and luckily I've had no problems thus far.
I love my Wii U and play it everyday. Losing game's memory aside, another thing that would make me upset is if they stopped the Nintendo Network like they did Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Playing MK8 is awesome on line so taking away this service would make the system obsolete to Mii.
@ThomasBW84
I'm pretty sure you can copy save data from external to internal on Wii U.
Go to Data Management and open the file for a game. Delete the game data but leave the save data. Then you can copy the file over to internal storage.
It's still daft that you have to delete the game first, but I'm sure this is what I tried recently out of desperation and it worked.
I lamented this design back in 2012 when I first got my Wii U: http://blog.johnpray.net/2012/12/wii-u-external-storage-proposed-solutions/
Unfortunately Nintendo hasn't improved things much since then. One thing it did improve is that data can now be copied from one external drive to another from within the Wii U settings interface — something I try to remember to do every few months to a spare external drive to avoid exactly the situation described here.
Didn't Nintendo implement cloud saves? They spoke about it. A rep even told me about it.
@faint I'm on my 7th! Do I win? Seriously though I almost didn't get a xbone behind that mess.
@GoldenGamer88 They do that because all PS4 and Xbone games install to the harddrive and the disc is more or less DRM at this point. I have 13 PS4 games and a few DLC packs and my launch PS4 is full and needs an upgrade. It is rather annoying because I will need to transfer everything and open the console to put in the new drive.
Never had a problem with how Nintendo handle the external drives, but that is because I rarely buy digital and as such my external is just used for updates a few saves.
@ziffy No, if they initially planned on doing it they dropped it like with 2nd Gamepad support and Gamecube VC.
What a timely article!!! Just last week my wife had ordered me a 1TB flash drive that came in the mail yesterday. I popped it into my Wii U and moved everything off of the current 16GB flash drive into the 1TB. Guess what happened this morning after trying to boot up Lego City Undercover? I get the error message saying USB drive failure...not only are my e-shop games gone along with all the Virtual Console and digital Wii U games gone but all of my saves are dead and gone also....very sad day indeed.
Well, at least the NX is most likely to use cloud saves.
¯(ツ)/¯
I've had no problems with my 2TB Toshiba Canvio.
@rjejr
Good idea to test the hard drive in another enclosure. In my experience, a harddrive either has failed or it hasn't. It seems odd to me to think that if I was lucky a failed harddrive would be recoverable.
Mine is still working but the Wii U doesn't seem to have been thought our properly if you ask me. I mean the gamepad wasn't the best idea either.
@faint Iv tried looking for a half decent hard drive for anything less than £80 here in the UK. Maybe it's more expensive here or something. Thanks for the sarcasm though.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE what's funny about the no sleep HDD option is turned that on a long time ago but i went to check it and I can't see the option anymore. I hold the buttons at the right place and every thing. I suppose I'm gonna do some game transferring now and get my favorites on the internal memory.
@HappyMaskedGuy took me 30 seconds on Amazon uk to find one cheaper then you mentioned that will work great. Just imagine if I spent 10 minutes.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00KWHJT7Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1474488368&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=hard+drive&dpPl=1&dpID=31Tn-h0aawL&ref=plSrch
Is this a S L O W N E W S D A Y or what?
Old fashioned outrage at old fashioned Nintendo
The first lesson here's, DIGITAL games sucks. the second is, in Nintendo, digital sucks even harder. The third and last lesson is, I don't know...digital is evil.
And I certainly hope that NX give us the option of cloud and regular save on the console.
@ThomasBW84, I feel your pain, though I honestly think the issue boils down to one key thing: Cloud saves should be standard practice at this point.
In concept, I'm alright with using an external drive — having the option to buy your own is nice, especially given their dirt-cheap prices. So I also use an external HD, but because I always play around with system settings when I get new tech, I've known since day one that you can't have a game save on the internal drive while the game itself is on the external, or vice versa. This is also counter-intuitive, extremely short-sighted, and backwards on Nintendo's part.
I'm constantly listening and looking for signs of failure, and will transfer to a new HD at the first signal. However, the simple presence of cloud saves would turn the situation of hard-drive failure into less of a catastrophe and more of an inconvenience. Re-downloading your games is time-consuming, but Ninty's account system does make that fairly easy. Losing your saves forever, though? That's inexcusable in 2016.
I should point out something that everyone seems to have forgotten, though. They're characteristically late to the party, but Nintendo has already confirmed that cloud saves are coming. I'd bet on it for NX: http://www.polygon.com/2015/10/29/9634508/new-nintendo-accounts-will-support-cloud-saves-facebook-twitter-sign
@VelvetElvis Nintendo said the Wii U would support 2 Gamepads though, I wouldn't trust the info unless it is present in the reveal.
@Grumblevolcano the Xbox one promised the ilumiroom. It happens with all companies.
i'm using a 2TB External Hard Drive from Seagate like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expansion-3-5-Inch-External-STBV2000100/dp/B00834SJS0
never had any problems (and hoping it stay that way) except that some indie games are not 100% fully optimised to work while stored on HDD since some glitches or crashes may occur while playing them, with such titles as Gunman Clive HD Collection, The Fall, and probably plenty more (i have a huge backlog so i haven't tested all the indies i have yet) but it recently happen again with a twin stick shooter, Tachyon Project, and since i put it on the internal system memory it haven't crash yet (now i'm not saying that was the problem, but i assume it was)... apparently some game can't stand the very, extremely small delay that the transfer of data from the HDD can cause...
now this is not a huge issue but since no one else mention it, i thought i would share the info... ;D
oh and yeah, i agree, its sucks that nintendo is using old technology, but clouds are costly and i like my free online experience i'm having so far, so i guess its a matter of choosing the better or worst of 2 evils, and even if the NX's data system is outdated, it would be sad and shameful, but not unexpected from them... if you ask me, they better have an awfully impressive library if they want to sell any units, cuz even old time fans like me who only had a playstation once and only nintendo console for the past 30y, are getting bored and jaded at this point...
If you think Wii U is annoying, try the 3DS. My Micro SD card died 7 months after upgrading to a New 3DS and while the data was backed up from the transfer, the last 7 months of progress was not. And while yes, I have learned to back up regularly for my 3DS, you cannot send individual files to your PC back up, which further sucks when you reach that 300 game limit and need to make space. Sure you can delete games, but there's only so much game save data a 3DS will back up.
Please sort this headache Nintendo. A cloud service, bigger internal memory, getting rid of that 300 game limit, easier back ups, most if not all of this for the NX please Nintendo! @_@
My solution is to avoid playing games that would devastate me to lose a save file. If I lose my Shovel Knight or Smash Bros files, no big deal. But if I played a game like Xenoblade then I'd be concerned.
Don't worry, I THINK Nintendo said there will be cloud saves, at least for interacting with mobile games lol...
@HappyMaskedGuy
Don't worry, instead of 8 GB and 32 GB, they'll release in 16 GB and 64 GB models.
@faint I thought the only external hard drives suitable for use with the Wii U were externally powered? I didn't know USB powered ones worked with it.
@HappyMaskedGuy
They work. You'll usually have to use a USB-Y branching cable and plug it into two USB ports on the WiiU though.
@HappyMaskedGuy they work
That is a sucky feeling to lose all your progress. I remember I had one of those Nyko 1000+ block cards on the Gamecube die on me and I had lost pretty much everything (because I thought putting all your stuff in one place was a convenient idea!)
And just this year, my WiiU was stolen, along with, the backup drive. So I've been going from scratch ever since... sigh.
@HappyMaskedGuy yup just get a y cable. I've been using mine for 3.5 years.
My Wii U Doesn't reads discs, I still have warranty but I don't live in usa or Canada :/
My main 3ds just fried from a power surge. If they are unable to repair it, apparently I lose all my saves. I'm under the impression (according to all forums) that even though my saves are on the sd card, they cannot be read from a new model, even with my nnid switched over by Nintendo. Not 100% on this, but I'm about to find out. I have thousands of hours of gaming, and thousands more in music creation programs. Luckily I've become the master of letting things go (in life) that are important, so while it stung a bit...I'll live haha.
I actually read an online thread once, where somebody backed up the sd to pc, then painstakingly deciphered each games save file (he said the files show up as a long string numbers/letters, so they're well hidden), and was helping ppl restore specific files. Don't think this would've worked with a new system, but I'll be doing that next time...just in case.
Nintendo has already said that part of what MyNintendo accounts would allow would to store save data on the cloud. Back in late 2015 they said the WiiU and 3DS would use their new account system, but as we know that is not the case, both systems still rely on NNIDs. So that leaves the NX which I imagine will use MyNintendo as its default account system. Back in 2015 they were at least talking about saves being backed up online so they must be aware of that and were planning the future already at the time.
Coming from Nintendo themselves in a Polygon article in October 2015 : "Finally, Kimishima noted that the accounts will still allow people to make friends through the accounts. Eventually, he added, the service will allow game save data to be stored in Nintendo's cloud system so that you can transfer information between Nintendo's dedicated game systems and the games they make for mobile devices."
I have never experienced with those disaster so far.
My 3DS XL still working (almost 3 years) so does wih my Wii U (already 5 months).
My games are 100% legit retail, no digital download at all except some VC and eshop exclusive in my Wii U.
I had the opposite. My WIIU hard drive flat lined, and I had all my core games and save data in the WIIU because I didn't trust the external WD drive (because it's getting old). The WD drive Alive and kicking and nintendo were kind enough to replace it all for $100 and give me another pedometer for Wii fit U. .... yay? But yeah. All my save data was gone, and any idndies or DL games on the WIIU had to be downloaded one by one...
The memory management on Wii U is really bad, because you have to transfer the whole pack and you're not allowed to move over only save data.
Also Nintendo's recommendations of external hard drives for Wii U stinks. All those self-powered drives are a pain because they're super-fragile. Better buy a Y-cable USB drive! But even that's not perfect as you can't do a back-up to another drive as it needs to be plugged in both USB slots. Keep in mind though, other USB devices like the Balance Board power cable have no room then, making Wii Fit U and all the other Balance Board games redundant (unless you go back to buying batteries for the Balance Board).
Backing up Y-cable USB drives shouldn't be a problem , but PC's don't recognize a USB drive formatted to Wii U, so no back-up for me. If it ever fails all my data for 300 Wii U games is lost.
As for the 300 game limit: That's another nightmare. Pro-Tip: Please don't buy 2TB hard drives for your Wii U! You can only save 300 games on them. My 300 WiiU games are 600GB and the other 1,4 TB will never be used! All that free space can't be used by anything else (because no partitions). Every month I have to delete a few games (and their save data can't be saved) to make room for new ones. I dont know what Nintendo was thinking. I have 1,4 TB left, but I have to delete games along with their save data. Why?
The same problem occured on Wii (it also had the 300 games limit) and I was shocked to see Wii U did the same garbage.
Nintendo never updated this issue, and I was writing to them since 2011 for this to be adressed. Please Nintendo, update this, or never release more than 300 games for your consoles!!!
I feel your pain. When I brought my Wii U home on launch day, I immediately went about transferring my Wii data over to it. After doing so, the system would crash when I played Wii games on the Wii U. I had to send it to Nintendo to be repaired and lost EVERYTHING. I'm talking about saves for Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Super Mario Galaxy, and dozens of other files. I was sick about it for quite some time. I complained a few times to Nintendo over the phone, especially because I had been told beforehand that my data should be safe. They eventually gave me a lousy $5.00 eShop credit. Stingy bastards.
@citizen_zane: Oh yes, I remember that! The Wii-to-WiiU-transfer was another memory management nightmare. It crashed and I lost hundreds of save files because of this. Not only that, you remember the LostWinds dilemma, a game that was not transferable. I lost three games. Two are still on my Wii. LostWinds still wouldn't transfer, even after they finally made an update a year or so later, ToriBash didn't transfer as well, and Yoshi's Cookie NES was completely erased and couldn't be downloaded again!
Nintendo wants me to send in the consoles, they don't want to erase LostWinds and the other two games from my Wii account and add them to my Wii U account. It would be so simple, but... uhhh...
While it sucks that that happened, don't blame it on WD. If it was Seagate, Toshiba, or Maxtor, sure. I've had a USB WD hard drive since 2011 and it still works, so, IDK.
Sounds like paying for Xbox Live and PSN is a bad idea. Yet no cloud saves or a proper account system. 2016 called it wants Nintendo to catch up 15 years.
OK. Here is my input. The backing up of save files separate from the game may not be something Nintendo wants due to hacking or scum saving. Still, it is a pain to back up the entire game. On the topic of digital games, you should always back up all your digital games. To my knowledge, the Wii U let's you do this. It takes a long time, but should be done. On my PS4 I have had a total of 3 games get "corrupted" so far and had to re-download them. Thank goodness I did have my saves backed up. This is also a common occurrence with certain PS4 games. So, no one is immune (maybe PC, or at least managing this is easier). Both PS4 & Wii U allow you to back up your games, but not Xbox. You should invest in a second hard drive and "copy" or back up your games. This should be done often, but Nintendo needs to make it where you can back up all your library in one step. Right now you have to back up each game individually. On the issues of hard drives, always read as many reviews pertinent to interaction with your product. I have the Toshiba hard drive Nintendo recommended and has been reviewed on gamefaqs & other sources as being "very compatible" with the Wii U. On a tangent and point of interest. I currently have a 2tb external. It has been a waste. Why? well Wii U has a limit on the number of icons "game files" it can display. So, you can download the game and it will show up on your hard drive, but you cannot boot into it. Instead Wii U asks you to delete any "unused software." F**k that. The total GB's to reach the limit for what can be displayed on Wii U is roughly 800GB. So, I will now buy four separate 1TB external hard drives. 2 for my maxed library; one as back up and one to hold the games I'm playing. The other two for my additional Wii U games & it's back up.
ooowww man i bet you was well gutted. I love the WiiU and the 3DS but i just want Nintendo to do what Steam, Microsoft and Sony do with the accounts being linked via cloud or online rather the console! I have had nightmares of loosing my 3DS or my WiiU blowing up
That's a horrible thing to have happen to you Tom. So even if you got it to work consistently it would take forever to move what little data the internal memory could take.
I've been lucky that a 32gb Toshiba memory stick has been more than enough to satisfy my digital library storage. Won't need any more with Wii U dying and all.
Well I know what I'll be doing today. Backing up my 3DS and WiiU Data. 😳
I found the article entertaining, and the kicker is that if an editor on this site finds the whole process frustrating, how do you think 10 year olds or soccer moms figure any of it out? 3DS has a much better overall structure, while Wii U is pretty much a pain to make data backups. Not everyone actually has a second external sitting about, handy for when a drive is dying, for shifting saves around on a home console, so why the hell can't the internal drive let you shift saves around or make backups? Simplicity, user friendliness - these are a few of my favorite things, Nintendo. Get with the times, for everyone's sake.
I had this happen to me with a 3rd party GameCube memory card back in the day. And my Sega Saturn as well when the battery died.
That's why I do not buy many games onto the hard drive unless it's a game I'll play often like Smash. Of course all those Nindies games have no other choice.
Cool story bro.
It's 2016, and you discovered that hardware fails.
Don't complain about the lack of "cloud" (yay buzzwords!) back up. You did not bother making back ups at home, if there had been cloud back ups, you probably would not have made them either.
Thomas, you have touched on a point of paranoia that has lurked in the back of my mind ever since I bought my Wii U: What happens if I lose all my save data and, therefore, hard work? It's one of the reasons why I prefer physical disks over digital downloads (plus temperamental internet); I don't want to spend hours redownloading everything.
How I cope for now is by backing up/copying my save data and VC games (most of which aren't large) onto an external USB drive. However, should my Wii U fail, I'll likely still have to send it in to try and recover everything as getting a brand new one would render that thumb drive backup useless.
I've been wanting cloud backup options for a while now. Hopefully that'll be a possibility when the NX comes around, and it will be a service that I'll willingly pay for.
@plug313 OMG, I would die if I lost my Animal Crossing: New Leaf data!
It's safe to assume that this happens to everyone. That's why I get a new HDD every now and again just to be safe. I couldn't imagine this happening to me😱
@faint Well I owe you an apology man. Genuinely thought USB external hard times were incompatible. I think I read it in Nintendo's official advice regarding the matter. Must have misread it.
Thanks for the heads up anyways
@faint @Ikramali @SmaMan Thanks for the advice guys. My mistake. I really do think that Nintendos advice on the matter could have been clearer though!
May have got a bad deal with this WD, but I promise you WD is less sketchy than Seagate is. I had 3 of 4 Seagate drives fail within 2 years. Right now I have, let me see, one, two, three, four... FOUR Western Digital drives, one of which has been plugged into my Wii since 2009, and all of them are still going strong.
No HDD is perfect. Even WD will fail. But statistically speaking it will fail significantly less than Seagate. I even saw a failure rate comparison between them. Maybe I'll have to dig that up for people to see.
I've heard HGST is best. But I've never had a WD fail me yet and their prices are right. So if it ain't broke don't fix it right? If I do ever start having issues maybe I'll try Toshiba or HGST in the future. But not Seagate. They are horrible.
@plug313
You need A9LH. Never again have to worry about losing your 3DS data off SD. In mere seconds you can extract saves to SD, copy and store elsewhere, inject back into the game or a cartridge if you desire. Me? I just copy the entire SD card contents, zip it up and archive it on my external HDD for data backups. All 200gb worth of data in one fell swoop.
I think you are giving Nintendo too much credit. I say this as someone who has owned every console they have put out, I can see the NX launching with region locks and accounts tied to hardware. I have zero faith in their ability to build any sort of online infrastructure.
I use home brew to back up ALL my save data on all my systems. I've lost several memory cards and games before so now I'm paranoid about it. Just this year I lost my Pokemon Omega Ruby save data after getting Mew. Had a backup thanks to Ninjhax. Reloaded it and everything's fine again. One of the 3 things I use homebrew for. The others being customization options (have really cool Digimon and Gundam custom themes for my 3ds) and the other is cheat codes for when I've beaten a game, so if I ever want to play it again I can just enjoy it.
Ugh. What a crappy situation. -_- Hope you were compensated somehow.
This is just yet another reason why Nintendo needs to pull the head out of their a**!!!
@GoatWrench Region lock is what Nintendo likes to do. Given the low exchange rate of yen, I think Nintendo will enforce region lock so that they can charge more for games in America.
Why did Nintendo even bother making a 32 GB system? Was it THAT much cheaper back in 2012?
Because we're gonna spend even more money on a second hard drive, and spend God knows how long making a back up, only to have outdated data in the unexpected event of a crash. No. Theres no nice way about any of this. There needs to be an update for cloud back up ASAP!
@Ryu_Niiyama
Smart. I'll have to try that
@FJOJR
One quick question about Gamecube Memory card :
If i use 3rd Party gamecube memory card 2043 blocks, is it still safe for saving ? Because i have never heard any complaints about 2043 blocks. This is the picture.
http://www.puolenkuunpelit.com/kauppa/images/generated_filenames/015368_wii_wii__gamecube_memory_card_128.jpg
I have a Seagate HDD, and it still works.
In this day and age everyone should be aware about protecting important data. Every storage medium will degrade!
When I invested in external storage for my Wii U I also made sure to back it up regularly.
Relying on assumptions like "it won't happen to me" or "I believe the system will take care of itself" is just ignorant - you must prepare plan B or make sure that it's provided by the system (such as auto backup).
I've lost data in the past, but since then I've disciplined myself to care about data protection - haven't lost any data since then.
Another reason for me to prefer physical games
I knew this already: When you have a harddrive plugged in, all new game save-files and updates go straight to the harddrive. And if you want to move the stuff from a game, you have to move all the stuff from that game.
Personally I store big files on the harddrive (with all the updates), and small files on the intern memory. Otherwise it wouldn't fit, updates take a lot of space.
@manu0 Not all of us can afford to have two external hard drives just to service one console. I certainly can't.
@jimi Well, yes it's enough if you don't buy any digital games, but how many people or going to avoid doing that? Even if you buy all your retail games on physical disc when possible, those 32GB fill up awfully fast just by buying a decent amount of e-shop only games alongside the amount taken up by system files, the retail save data and updates, and the free apps you decide to get like Youtube and Hulu.
Personally, I just use a large capacity flash drive for extra storage. Yes, I know those things will give out after overwriting too many times, which is why I use fridge management to minimize the damage. It works for now. Unfortunately, I'm still out of room and have had to temporarily delete many of the e-shop games that I buy, and due to how the save data is tied to the game data I can't switch them out with the others I have without losing those games' save data, so I can't even start playing any more of them. Although, now that I think about it I could and should just backup the flash drive to my PC to help with these issues. Eventually, I'll spring for an external hard drive for a more permanant solution.
You can back-up your save file to your internal storage if you copy the entire game to the Wii U and delete all files except the save file. I did that after finishing Xenoblade Chronicles X after 350 hours. But if you play the game again it will use the save file on the HDD, so you should only transfer games after you finished them. It's a horrible solution but the only one that works. I wish Nintendo has a cloud service for save files.
It sucks, but that's why I have two laptop drives and a powered hub and try to do monthly backups to the secondary drive and keep a separate HTML table with games and dates to keep track. The backup drive sits in a fire safe, just in case! In fact I'm overdue for a backup.
I've thought about writing a storage FAQ for this as you can only connect a second drive after you choose the copy/move option but before you actually go into the choice which show attached devices. It could be made a lot more obvious like actually prompt you to connect the device or just flat-out support multiple storage devices simultaneously.
At least you can do this with the Wii U at all. My PS3 on the other hand has no backup option beyond the cloud which requires me to pay a monthly fee to Sony and trust them with the data. Can't say I'm a big fan of that idea.
@SKTTR omg, that's terrible, i didn't know about that stupid 300 games limit, and i might very soon hit it...
also, @JaxonH i must say ur not the 1st one i heard saying seagate are terrible, but so far i was lucky enough to never have any trouble with mine... let's just hope it stay that way...
@huxxny
Some people never have an issue. And many never will. But I feel it's like playing Russian roulette.
@ThomasBW84 I feel your pain as I had this happen with the first drive I hooked up to the Wii U, and it happened right after I purchased Xenoblade Chronicles X digitally. The design Nintendo uses is silly in a world where TB of storage can be purchased cheap. And yes, I would happily pay a monthly subscription fee if that meant I wouldn't lose data.
Now, if you manage to get the drive working you can attempt what I did. Start with your largest game (XBX for me), and copy it to the internal storage. Once it completes, delete everything but the save and then migrate the next biggest item. With this method, you can slowly move the unrecoverable data off the HDD to the internal storage. Once the important stuff is moved, you can move the games you want to play over (pack your fridge so to speak). Once you find a new drive, you can then redownload the games.
You don't have to move the whole game if you want a save only, you can delete the game data and updates, and move the game without it, just the save files under the title.
@rjejr I'll look into that for sure, though getting at the drive will mean totally wrecking its current case, it's definitely an anti-tamper design.
@Darknyht Ah, yeah, could be a clever (albeit slow) workaround. I'm worried the drive won't survive the process, but definitely worth looking into.
@ThomasBW84 Anti-tamper design, huh? Man, the whole world treats us like crminals. I had a My Book that literally burned up, smoke and everything, but replacing the case was no problem. It was a full size drive though, wall powered, not one of those tiny new kind. Maybe you can MacGyver it? Must be a YouTube vid, there always is.
Here's the forum topic from 2 years ago. Don't know if it will help you any but we discussed a lot of options.
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/wii-u/bayonetta_2_demo_causing_issues_with_external_hdd
@JaxonH I wish I was savvy enough to install that ahah I have freakyhax and that was easy but when you get into hardmodding and stuff it gets too complicated I don't know how to do all that stuff and I'm afraid to brick my console
The only thing that I've been seeing, with having larger hard drives put into the systems (by the company themselves), is that then the games take up more and more space. Let me explain my theory...
During the PS2, Gamecube era, when bigger memory cards were made for the systems, the newer games took up even more space on the memory cards...hint...buy more of our memory cards!
During the Wii, PS3 and 360 era...after they made consoles with bigger hard drives, the newer games took up more space to save...Wii Ware games took up more blocks later on, which is why I was glad to see Nintendo added that wonderful (put in an SD card to move games and saves over to it).
PS4, XBONE and Wii U era...the games take up an extreme amount of space, and the PS4 and XBONE take your hard drive space (50GB if you look) and set it aside to use later for updates. The various updates on all games take even more space up.
To me, this is a way for the companies to get you to buy more of their consoles (have two to have the proper space if you want to continue to buy the games). I have a 2TB hard drive in my PS3...still not as much considering that I've bought a lot of download titles, TV and movies, but enough to be fine. I already have to do so with the PS4, as 30 retail games killed the hard drive completely...I bought the 320GB hard drive nintendo made for the Wii U (which is still good, I still have 40GB left) and I know my friends that have XBONE's are the same as PS4, where the space is lost quickly.
To say the least, if the companies put in bigger hard drives, their games take up more space or the additions take up more, so it's not always the best idea. I'd rather go out and purchase another hard drive, but of course...just like this story has stated...you have to be really careful on which one you buy...and it's expensive money that you use to pay for them.
@plug313 I'm with you...plus, as soon as you remove those screws, the warranty is lost. I did it on my PS3 and was praying the whole time that it would be fine...it was, but I still worry at times. I have to do so on the PS4 and I'll be worrying about that. Hopefully when the NX comes out, we don't have to worry about it and nintendo ends up making their own hard drive adaptor...I'd buy them if the actual game company makes them and they're big enough...space wise.
I use a a docking station with an HD pulled from an old computer. It formatted fine. The docking station has it's on power button. I turn the docking station on when I want to play something loaded to the external HD. Otherwise, I always leave it off. Also, the station has cloning features, which might be helpful if I get suspicious of having this story happen to me.
@the-madprofessor True with the cloud service, that you have to be a Plus member on Playstation to use (and if your plus account runs out, so does the saves)...but, given that Sony decided to start charging players to pay to play online, and many PC games are starting to do the same thing (buy the online expansion just to play online...just like many console games do now), I can see Nintendo wanting some of that money too.
I hope nintendo doesn't start charging like this, but if they do...it would be nice to get some free goodies from them too! The only thing I wish nintendo would do (in the form of trophies and achievements) is do this...they could use figures or even coins for this...imagine...a gold coin for a bronze trophy, 5 coins for silver, 10 for gold and the ultimate coin rush for platinum! I know nintendo doesn't feel trophies are a good thing, but it does...for some reason...get you into playing the game more than once...it does add a fun incentive to continue playing to reach that achievement!
@jimi You forget that the casual players who bought the Wii didn't migrate over to the Wii U for the most part, and for those who did that's who the 8GB system is for. I'd say 32GB is just not enough for a very large section of the Wii U userbase.
While you're correct that the Wii U management system is superior is some ways, it's still inexcusable to lump the save and game data together. Also, if we can have free save backups (well, a very limited amount of times for offline games only, another thing that needs improvement) on the 3DS, why not the Wii U as well?
That sucks, but I sincerely hope saving to the cloud is NEVER mandatory. When are people going to learn that there are actually a LARGE number of people without reliable home internet?
Cloud saving is a most for the NX.
Look on the bright side of life...doodoo..doodoo...doodoodoodoodoodoo....
You should count yourself very lucky this is the only hard drive that's ever broken down on you. I've had multiple desk and laptops fail on me over the decades, as well as a few USB sticks. IN the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and this decade as well...Gateway Computers, Toshibas, HPs and more.
But yeah...Nintendo's behind the times on many, many things.
@ArcadeLove enough with the profanity please...
@jimi 80 games, please. Just 15 or so e-shop games is enough to fill the remaining space, which plenty of Wii U gamers will have bought, and that's not even counting digital retail purchases. Just how many of those "Mario Kart 8" players bought the digital version of the game not realizing just how much space these huge retail titles take up? Besides, if Nintendo expected the hardcore purchasers to all simply use an external hard drive, why would they bother offering a premium version at all?
By very limited amount of backups on 3DS, I meant that you can only backup your save data for so many titles before you're forced to delete one of your other backups to backup something else, and that limit is reached very quickly. As I said, it's also a problem that the Wii U doesn't offer the same functionality. Sure, you can get your games back (after jumping through hoops rather than with an account-based system that's still locked to the console), but your save data is still gone. We're left with only the awkward workarounds mentioned in this article and thread, and you're still in danger of losing your progress since your last backup, whereas the 3DS method makes it very simple to backup your save data after each time you've played the game.
@jimi You said the average of 10 was on the Wii, which means the average is quite a bit higher on Wii U without so many of the casual gamers dragging down the numbers. In any case, an average of 10 still leaves a good 40% or so of the userbase who have run out of space without springing for expanded storage. That is not acceptable. This again is still a low estimate, as there are plenty of people who have bought the digital versions of some retail games for accessibility, they were sold out in stores, they were on sale or had a discount on My Nintendo, or some other reason.
No, the Basic Wii U is for the people who don't buy digital games (which I'd imagine is the minority). As you said yourself, 8 GB is more than enough for them.
No, the save backups on 3DS are placed in the internal storage. It's not just resaving them to the same SD card. As you said, that would be pointless, so Nintendo wouldn't even bother giving us that system update that enabled the feature if that's what they were doing with it. There's no reason the Wii U couldn't have adopted the same system. They just need to expand it more.
As far as I know, that is not yet a feature of the NNID. Currently, you have to contact Nintendo to replace your console, have them transfer your NNID to it, PLUS manually replace all of the digital Wii games (Wii VC and Wiiware) you've bought, naturally losing your save data. You are then forced to waste time redownloading all your Wii U digital games without any of that save data.
EDIT: By the way, it turns out that my computer can't access my Wii U flash drive without reformatting it. That sucks. Did they have to lock out PCs along with other consoles? It's not like I'd be able to actually use it with the games on a PC. Now I'll have to buy another one of the same size for backup, which is going to be costly. I managed to get the first one on sale for really cheap.
I've been backing up my save data on a USB flash drive since before I got an external hard drive, and have continued to do so periodically since then as well in order to minimise the impact of something like this.
Sorry to hear about your hard drive Tom. These same thoughts had gone through my head over the past few years as well. Since your old external drive is a spinning disk you can likely get it working again by sticking it in the freezer (in a freezer bag to prevent frost). Leave it for an hour or two and then pull it out and power it up connected to your Wii U. As a tech I've done this successfully many times when a disk stops being read or just clicks. Freezing expands the metal and helps it initiate and spin properly. Obviously don't count on this disk working from then on, but it should work for at least long enough to connect another external disc to the Wii U and start transferring your saves. Cheers.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Sleep mode actually can be more harmful than good. A spinning disc hard drive is designed to stay powered on 24/7. Stopping and starting (or jostling it around) can wear the drive out prematurely. Once I found out about disabling sleep mode I turned it off immediately. Most HDDs only use about 5 watts of power so it's not a huge drain on your power bill either.
@Nico07 The same here, I turned off sleep mode right away.
I would copy the hard drive contents to the PC/MAC hard drive, then backup in the cloud (mega has 50 gb free, based in NZ). If you ever decide you want to come back to the Wii-U, you can re-download, then copy from the PC/MAC to whatever hard drive you end up purchasing in the future for NX / other gaming hardware, then plug that into the Wii-U.
@HappyMaskedGuy NX games are supposed to be cartridge based again, they can just put the saves on the cartridge.
This almost happened to me, but admittedly I was using just a flash drive not a full external hard drive. I had my Smash data and Splatoon data on this drive. I tried moving it, the system crashes. I tried copying it, the system crashes. I try opening Splatoon or Smash, and they crash after a while. As a competitive Smash player, I couldn't go a long period without practice, so I deleted my data and just made a new save file. After all, it's just smash, and all I lost were some unlockables which I had back in less than 24 hours. But there was still the issue of Splatoon. I honestly don't even remember how I got it to work, but somehow I was able to get the data onto the console and off the flash drive, which I threw away. Only problem is now I don't have any storage left on my Wii U.
Many years ago i lost all saves in one of my Gamecube memory cards. I played some of the games later but it isn´t the same to begin all, only played a few. I have 2 memory cards, luckly the 2nd memory card is fine. I also have a copy in both memory cards in very extensive games like Tales of Symphonia.
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