Can you load switch games from a HDD?

[osaka35]

okay. again. y'all play nice. Stay on topic. Final time I'll say it.

 

[mikefor20]

Is there anyway to play switch games using and external Hard Drive or other storage means? these mini sd's cant hold much .

OP. Did you try anything?

 

[TsengFayt]

i am no SX user anymore but miss USB HDD. Am using AMS and have a 400GB sd.......Like Mikefor20 said 200 gb not enough for ppl. 400 gb is a bit too small for me. ....and one thing stop to fight like little children.

I totally agree. I am not a game hoarder, but I have 400+ games on my Switch. Granted most are small indie titles that take up 1GB or less, but 10-15 AAA titles would wreck my entire 512GB storage. Having HDD access makes sense even if you don't pirate. Glad to know that you can dual boot to have access to HDD support.

 

[hippy dave]

I am not a game hoarder, but I have 400+ games on my Switch.

You're a game hoarder.

 

[FFTW]

It is really unfortunate that support hasn't been added for that in atmosphere (or at least increasing the supported firmware in SXOS). You'd think some "anonymous hackers" would have done one of the two by now. Would have loved USB loading.

Here is something......is there any way of Loading Rom Files from RetroArch, or running Video Files from USB? Or would AMS still need to implement a USB Function?

I know that this is an old post, but in case you are still curious (and for anyone checking this topic out), you can use NXMP for video playback on Atmosphere:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nxmp-nintendo-switch-media-player.601868/
Interestingly enough, the 1st version of it was released only 4 days after your post!

thanks its not Cancer but a Stemmcell transplantation to get rid of Diabetes and another illness

I Hope that the treatment helped you

 

[Purple_Heart]

It is really unfortunate that support hasn't been added for that in atmosphere (or at least increasing the supported firmware in SXOS). You'd think some "anonymous hackers" would have done one of the two by now. Would have loved USB loading.


I know that this is an old post, but in case you are still curious (and for anyone checking this topic out), you can use NXMP for video playback on Atmosphere:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nxmp-nintendo-switch-media-player.601868/
Interestingly enough, the 1st version of it was released only 4 days after your post!


I Hope that the treatment helped you

It did,

 

[Animage55]

Booting games from usb would be nice, but you could still store a bunch of games on a usb drive and just install from that via dbi or tinfoil no? Not perfect but its not like you would lose saves from games you delete and install/reinstall. Guess the main downside is the extra wear and tear on the sd

 

[mikefor20]

Just use SXOS. My current setup reccomdation if you want USB loading is to use SX for all 11.0 and prior games and Atmosphere for the rest. I am using small 8GB EmuNAND for saves and updates. I have Horizon, Atmosphere, Android, SX and L4T all on the same SD.

Before people start bitching about SXOS.. It's easy. It works. It's compatible with over 3000 games. It utilizes USB loading. (HDD,SSD,SD,Flash Drive, whatever).

A small 8GB shrunken EmuNAND is a small price to pay to use my HDD.

 

[binkinator]

Just use SXOS. My current setup reccomdation if you want USB loading is to use SX for all 11.0 and prior games and Atmosphere for the rest. I am using small 8GB EmuNAND for saves and updates. I have Horizon, Atmosphere, Android, SX and L4T all on the same SD.

Before people start bitching about SXOS.. It's easy. It works. It's compatible with over 3000 games. It utilizes USB loading. (HDD,SSD,SD,Flash Drive, whatever).

A small 8GB shrunken EmuNAND is a small price to pay to use my HDD.

And the 8GB doesn’t go to waste…it’s used for game saves so you need some amount of space to store them. Some of them get pretty big too.

 

[mikefor20]

And the 8GB doesn’t go to waste…it’s used for game saves so you need some amount of space to store them. Some of them get pretty big too.

Exactly! I may even expand it some day. Depending how many games I try.

 

[Arcanine9]

all you just showed is that sports games are overbloated with dlc. 500GB will get you over 100 games (mine did) 1TB even more. average size is 14GB and smaller. I don't care if somebody uses an HDD but don't spread around this 60GB bullshit. if you need to swap that badly use DBI.nro to extract the nsp with full update and dlc in one nsp and install another using the same method. thats how I use an external drive

I don't think he's trying to bullshit to be honest, he's just saying there are games that are pretty large, from 18-30gb, Monster Hunter Rise, Witcher, Doom, Dragon ball etc. And regardless if you think sports games like NBA are over bloated with DLC, its still a 40-60gb game. It comes down to choices and what games people want to keep installed etc. as even a 1tb card can eventually get full,

 

[mikefor20]

I don't think he's trying to bullshit to be honest, he's just saying there are games that are pretty large, from 18-30gb, Monster Hunter Rise, Witcher, Doom, Dragon ball etc. And regardless if you think sports games like NBA are over bloated with DLC, its still a 40-60gb game. It comes down to choices and what games people want to keep installed etc. as even a 1tb card can eventually get full,

Yup. Don't mind the trolls. They just get mad when people say SXOS. They pretend your SD slot is their bussiness and talk about how some pirates pirated some code or complain that it was monitized. Lame. They lie and make flase statements like, "SD cards are big enough" or "SX is dangerous." Super Lame. Then they try to get the thread closed by filling it with nonesense.

It's all ridiculous

SX is still the only way to use any USB storage device. Period. It's easy and hot swappable. And now it's even free. Let the smooth brained intrarectalcrainialitis afflicted mook troll brigade complain and tell you what to do if you like. I'm going to help the thinking people and use my Switch to the fullest. I have 5 different OS running. 6 EmuNAND on 4 SD 2 SSD and 3 HDD.. Plus lakka.. does lakka count as another OS?

 

[Hayato213]

all you just showed is that sports games are overbloated with dlc. 500GB will get you over 100 games (mine did) 1TB even more. average size is 14GB and smaller. I don't care if somebody uses an HDD but don't spread around this 60GB bullshit. if you need to swap that badly use DBI.nro to extract the nsp with full update and dlc in one nsp and install another using the same method. thats how I use an external drive

Actually not quite, I install 54 games on my non modded switch on a 1tb card, I used up like half of the card, it depends on what people install, size kinda vary there are game that are just few GB and game that can be 30-40 GB with updates.

 

[Purple_Heart]

Yup. Don't mind the trolls. They just get mad when people say SXOS. They pretend your SD slot is their bussiness and talk about how some pirates pirated some code or complain that it was monitized. Lame. They lie and make flase statements like, "SD cards are big enough" or "SX is dangerous." Super Lame. Then they try to get the thread closed by filling it with nonesense.

It's all ridiculous

SX is still the only way to use any USB storage device. Period. It's easy and hot swappable. And now it's even free. Let the smooth brained intrarectalcrainialitis afflicted mook troll brigade complain and tell you what to do if you like. I'm going to help the thinking people and use my Switch to the fullest. I have 5 different OS running. 6 EmuNAND on 4 SD 2 SSD and 3 HDD.. Plus lakka.. does lakka count as another OS?

one question....i have an sx os dongle somewhere (sadly no license cause that switch of mine doesnt read sd cards anymore) can i create a 16.0.0 emunand and downgrade it to 11.0.0 and use sx with that (have a 512gb sd card anyways so no prob..but would prefer to shrink the size)

 

[mikefor20]

!
!

one question....i have an sx os dongle somewhere (sadly no license cause that switch of mine doesnt read sd cards anymore) can i create a 16.0.0 emunand and downgrade it to 11.0.0 and use sx with that (have a 512gb sd card anyways so no prob..but would prefer to shrink the size)

Yes you can downgrade an EmuNAND. But your switch wont read SD cards.

And remember, the EmuNAND is not wasted space.the EmuNAND is used as the SysNAND and everything normally stored there, (Saves,Game updates,OS files) Will be in the EmuNAND.

 

[LogicalMadness]

@mikefor20, your well-thought-out replies are appreciated, even if OP never replied and trolls haunt your comments. I will be visiting your tut soon.

I'm confused as to why no one has made the point that mSD cards are GARBAGE, though. There's a reason phone manufacturers stopped putting ports in their devices. I absolutely HATE mSD cards and I even swapped out my internal storage w\ a preballed 256gb chip to avoid using them as much as possible. My plan WAS to 3D print a new case for my Switch and use 2.5" SSDs like mSD cards (was even thinking about using vinyl skins to make them look like mSDs). Then Xecuter went bye-bye and I thought that AMS was the only way to play new games.

How often do cards die on you @mikefor20?

With PicoFly FW out now, I'm REALLY hoping someone brings USB attached storage to the newest FW, and I can go back to my no-mSD dream (solder card to MB for boot.dat? )

 

[The Real Jdbye]

one question....i have an sx os dongle somewhere (sadly no license cause that switch of mine doesnt read sd cards anymore) can i create a 16.0.0 emunand and downgrade it to 11.0.0 and use sx with that (have a 512gb sd card anyways so no prob..but would prefer to shrink the size)

There is not a lot of point to doing this, since newer games & game updates simply won't work on 11.0. If your goal is to have more space for games on the cheap by using a USB HDD, limiting what games you can run by running old FW would really be shooting your Switch in the foot.

Also, you can use USB drives on Atmosphere, just not in the way you are thinking. Homebrew can use it as extra storage, so you can store nsps on a USB drive and title managers can install directly from it allowing you to easily & quickly switch out the games you have installed and without needing a PC to do it.
If you play in handheld mode then this arguably has the same effect as storing xci's on a USB drive; it's obviously not practical to plug a USB HDD in when you're playing handheld so even with SX OS you'd need to move xcis back and forth so that you have the games you want to play in handheld mode available.
For docked mode use, it's admittedly not as convenient as xci's on a USB HDD, but also note - USB HDDs are quite slow, so playing xcis directly off a USB HDD is likely to increase load times in games by a lot, it's far from a perfect solution either.

Considering 1 TB microSD cards exist now, and 2 TB cards are right around the corner, this obsession with running games off a USB HDD on a freaking handheld console is frankly absurd.
Yes, they are expensive, that much is true. But looking at more reasonable 512 GB cards, they can be had for only $40 on Amazon right now. Both Samsung and SanDisk cards, whichever you prefer. That is not far off from being able to compete with 2.5" HDDs on price, and it's way more practical. And speaking from experience, 512 GB is plenty of storage for Switch games.

 

[Purple_Heart]

There is not a lot of point to doing this, since newer games & game updates simply won't work on 11.0. If your goal is to have more space for games on the cheap by using a USB HDD, limiting what games you can run by running old FW would really be shooting your Switch in the foot.

Also, you can use USB drives on Atmosphere, just not in the way you are thinking. Homebrew can use it as extra storage, so you can store nsps on a USB drive and title managers can install directly from it allowing you to easily & quickly switch out the games you have installed and without needing a PC to do it.
If you play in handheld mode then this arguably has the same effect as storing xci's on a USB drive; it's obviously not practical to plug a USB HDD in when you're playing handheld so even with SX OS you'd need to move xcis back and forth so that you have the games you want to play in handheld mode available.
For docked mode use, it's admittedly not as convenient as xci's on a USB HDD, but also note - USB HDDs are quite slow, so playing xcis directly off a USB HDD is likely to increase load times in games by a lot, it's far from a perfect solution either.

Considering 1 TB microSD cards exist now, and 2 TB cards are right around the corner, this obsession with running games off a USB HDD on a freaking handheld console is frankly absurd.
Yes, they are expensive, that much is true. But looking at more reasonable 512 GB cards, they can be had for only $40 on Amazon right now. Both Samsung and SanDisk cards, whichever you prefer. That is not far off from being able to compete with 2.5" HDDs on price, and it's way more practical. And speaking from experience, 512 GB is plenty of storage for Switch games.

True, but i wont spend 300 on a Micro SD. and i have a 512GB MSD xD.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

@mikefor20, your well-thought-out replies are appreciated, even if OP never replied and trolls haunt your comments. I will be visiting your tut soon.

I'm confused as to why no one has made the point that mSD cards are GARBAGE, though. There's a reason phone manufacturers stopped putting ports in their devices. I absolutely HATE mSD cards and I even swapped out my internal storage w\ a preballed 256gb chip to avoid using them as much as possible. My plan WAS to 3D print a new case for my Switch and use 2.5" SSDs like mSD cards (was even thinking about using vinyl skins to make them look like mSDs). Then Xecuter went bye-bye and I thought that AMS was the only way to play new games.

How often do cards die on you @mikefor20?

With PicoFly FW out now, I'm REALLY hoping someone brings USB attached storage to the newest FW, and I can go back to my no-mSD dream (solder card to MB for boot.dat? )

I didn't see you mention a single reason as to why you think MicroSD cards are garbage.

Yes, there is a reason phone manufacturers stopped putting MicroSD slots - so they can upsell you on overpriced internal storage. Don't kid yourself into thinking it's about anything other than money.
A simple point to prove this - look at low priced entry level phones, and how many of them have microSD slots compared to current flagships. You'd be hard pressed to find a single current flagship that has a MicroSD slot. The manufacturer knows very well that the target audience for those products have the money to spend on overpriced internal storage, so they push it hard. On the other hand, the majority of entry level phones seem to have it, because it's an entirely different target audience that cares about getting bang for their buck, so having the option to upgrade the storage and not need to make a big upfront investment is a big deal to them.
Then you have the mid tier phones that are somewhere inbetween - where you can find products that cater to either target audience.

FWIW, in my life (and about 15 years of using them in phones), I've had 3 memory cards fail on me. The first was a Transcend card that only lasted 6 months before it corrupted irrecoverably and couldn't be used anymore. I haven't bought a Transcend card since.
The second was a SanDisk. But it was an old card that had survived many years of light use. It corrupted, but the data was recoverable.
The third was also a SanDisk, but a much newer one, this was my main MicroSD card across 2 phones, it lasted maybe 3-4 years but it saw heavy use, having numerous apps stored on & running off it, and having large amounts of data copied to it as I stored quite a lot of media (TV/movies) on it when travelling. When it did fail, it went read only. It failed gracefully, I could copy all the data off it, I just couldn't write new data to it.
From my experience (although this is not a huge sample size), it seems like modern MicroSD cards are better at failing, in that they're less likely to corrupt and instead fail gracefully and allow you to copy most, if not all the data off without problems.
Memory cards certainly don't last as long as SSDs, but none of us are putting SSDs in our phones anyways. Either way, you're dealing with a single flash chip, these have limited life span whether they're integrated in your phone or in the form of a memory card, they just don't have the advanced wear leveling that SSDs use to improve life span.
Integrated memory in a phone isn't inherently better than a MicroSD card, other than the fact that the UFS flash modern smartphones use is faster than SDXC. But you pay a huge price premium for that extra speed, and for most use cases (like recording video/taking photos, watching videos, listening to music) that extra speed is wasted - so if you have a phone with a smaller internal storage and you store your apps on the internal storage and everything else on a large MicroSD card, you aren't likely to notice any speed difference between a single large UFS storage.

 

[Hayato213]

True, but i wont spend 300 on a Micro SD. and i have a 512GB MSD xD.

If your can't even read micro SD you can't even boot SX OS then.