10 replies to this topic

[alan123]

Can members please post what external Hard Drive they are using especially is it is USB powered, NOT Hard Drives that have their own power supply.

Wii U users have posted around the internet that they are having problems with the Wii U not providing enough power via the USB ports to power a external Hard Drive, there is a fix by way of using a 'Y' lead, so can members please post their Hard Drive information & if it works with a single USB lead or with a 'Y' lead.

Can we please keep this thread clear & members JUST post the relevant information ?

I have a - Western Digital Elements 320GB Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive - Black http://goo.gl/givFd i do not yet know if this works but will update when my Wii U arrives on launch (UK)

[currysonic]

Seagate GoFlex, 1TB usb 3.0 to 2.0

Diagnostic: The Wii U does not recognize a USB Storage device is present and will "prepare storage device" (Or something like that) forever. Possible cause is that the HDD is not recieving enough power. It comes with a single usb 3.0 to 2.0 cable. I have ordered a usb 3.0 y-cable from amazon due to arrive in December to see it that fixes the problem and then download Trine to see if you can play games off it smoothly.

From surfing the internet it seems a usb y-cable might fix the problem for some HDDs, most likel because they need the power that is derived from 2 usb ports rather than 1.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B006C0S2JS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I will try to get back in December to report for the greater good of the community!

[Ixchel]

Well, these are what Nintendo says work. Not sure if they use a power adapter or not.


Buffalo
1 TB: HD-LB1.0TU3-US
2 TB: HD-LB2.0TU3-US
http://www.buffalote...estation-axis-2

Toshiba
1 TB: HDWC110XK3J1
2 TB: HDWC120XK3J1
http://us.toshiba.co...top/canvio-desk

Source: http://www.nintendo....usb_devices.jsp

[SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums]

Buffalo Ministation 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Disk Drive: http://www.amazon.co...53543967&sr=8-2


Hoping to use this but I'm probably gonna need a y cable too

[Sargon]

Buffalo Ministation 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Disk Drive: http://www.amazon.co...53543967&sr=8-2


Hoping to use this but I'm probably gonna need a y cable too

I don't think you will need a Y-cable for that HDD. A single USB 2.0 port should be able to provide enough power to run it.

[Plutonas]

get usb hdds with independed power cable... DO NOT buy hdds that drain power from the usb as well...

[Noonabites]

Well, despite you requesting against it, I do want to mention that my Toshiba USB 2.0/eSATA External Drive (Model PH3064U-1EXB) does work (you plug it in).

Also, I can confirm that the Toshiba Canvio HDWC110XK3J1 does work.

[Sargon]

Buffalo Ministation 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Disk Drive: http://www.amazon.co...53543967&sr=8-2


Hoping to use this but I'm probably gonna need a y cable too

I stand corrected on my earlier post. I bought and tested this HDD and 1 USB port did not supply enough power. The drive continuously turned off and on and the Wii U was not able to detect it. I don't understand why so many other devices can supply the appropriate amount of power through 1 USB port and the Wii U can't, but that is in fact what happened. I then tested it with a Y-Cable and everything seems to be ok with that. I haven't run anything off the HDD yet, but it detected and formatted ok.

[3Dude]

Ha ha ha. Nintendo is not powering the wii u's usb ports

I know this information was in a japanese nintendo direct, i assumed it would have made it into the english nd, but maybe it didnt?

Anyways, Nintendos not powering the usb ports, so they told people to use a y cable for their usb powered hard drives.

Well Nintendo, thats one way to save an extra 10-15 watts for your processors.

[alan123]

My Western Digital Elements 320GB Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive only works with a Y cable.

[currysonic]

Seagate GoFlex, 1TB usb 3.0 to 2.0

Diagnostic: The Wii U does not recognize a USB Storage device is present and will "prepare storage device" (Or something like that) forever. Possible cause is that the HDD is not recieving enough power. It comes with a single usb 3.0 to 2.0 cable. I have ordered a usb 3.0 y-cable from amazon due to arrive in December to see it that fixes the problem and then download Trine to see if you can play games off it smoothly.

From surfing the internet it seems a usb y-cable might fix the problem for some HDDs, most likel because they need the power that is derived from 2 usb ports rather than 1.

http://www.amazon.ca...ils_o00_s00_i00

I will try to get back in December to report for the greater good of the community!

I am happy to report my Seagate Goflex 1TB works flawlessly with a USB 3.0 y-cable. The Wii U didn't even pick up that a hard drive was connected until I used a usb 3.0 Y cable.

http://www.amazon.ca...54790788&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.ca...ils_o00_s00_i00

I have then downloaded and played Nintendoland for about 1 hour with no problems or slowdowns. Moved Trine 2 over and it played just as well as when it was on the consols hard drive.

For those with questions about an external hard drive please feel free to message me and ask about my experiences. Its expensive and I wish I had a real person to talk to when I took a chance and bought a hard drive.

Edited by currysonic, 06 December 2012 - 02:53 AM.