I don't know if it'll help you, but I have the same problem with a Wii and a Weblack 500 Go, a crappy "multimedia box" from 2007, with a Samsung HD501LJ HDD inside (I got the thing for free). It has a power supply cable and a USB 2.0 port.
1) If the HDD is connected and turned on, UsbLoaderGX doesn't detect it during launch, and after the "
Waiting for HDD..." 20 seconds, it boots in Channel Mode ("
HDD not initialized")
2) If I unplug the USB cable during the "
Waiting for HDD..." message, and plug it back directly and turn the HDD on again, the message resets and the HDD is detected after ~10 seconds. UsbLoaderGX shows all games at start.
3) If I launch UsbLoaderGX with the HDD not connected but turned on, and I connect it during the "
Waiting for HDD" message, the HDD is not detected. (!)
As I don't want to plug/unplug the USB cable each time (best way to worn out the Wii USB port), I did that:
- I disabled "
Mount USB at launch" in ULGX settings.
- I launch ULGX with the HDD plugged in and turned on. ULGX starts in Channel Mode.
- I go to "
Hard Drive Settings" and click on the first line "
Game/Install Partition" to mount it manually. The FAT32 partition appears after ~10 seconds (it has also a NTFS partition with some games, everything load and run fine in ULGX, whatever is the partition, with "
Multiple Partitions" enabled)...
... except GC games, because Nintendont 6.499 never detects the HDD, whatever I try.
- If I launch Nintendont through ULGX, the console freezes and requires a hard reboot.
- If I launch Nintendont through the SD card, then choose USB to mount the HDD, it says "FAT 32 device can not be opened".
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The annoying part of this, is that I have to tick again the Wii games filter in the top bar menu after each launch (as ULGX starts in Channel mode each time, it seems the filters are reset to Channel and GC games only, I don't undertstand why).
I also put some apps on the HDD, to check if it is detected by the Homebrew Channel. The 3 points listed above happen exactly the same way, but with the Homebrew Channel.
When launching HBC with the HDD connected, I get a black screen. If I unplug the USB and plug it back directly, HBC interface appears and detects the HDD after ~5 seconds.
In my case, I think the Weblack enclosure is at fault here. There's maybe some sort of software layer that prevents the HDD to boot directly, or prevent homebrew apps to detect the HDD "on the fly". Luckily ULGX detects it with a manual mount, but Nintendont... doesn't.
I could try to change the enclosure for a simple one, but I'm lazy to buy it just for that (it's a 3.5" HDD moreover). And except the detection problem, Wii games load and run well.
For GC games, I use USB sticks with Nintendont through UGLX, and it works well too, so...
PS: the HDD has no power if only connected through the USB port. Plug the power supply is mandatory, another hint that the enclosure could be the culprit. (I think the Wii can power itself a external HDD through the USB port, if I'm not wrong.)
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In your case, it seems the Western Digital Easy Store 1 To, comes with some utility softwares built-in (WD Backup and stuff), so maybe the problem is the same (a software layer interfering during HDD detection).
Maybe.