Hardware vWii issue - SD card not recognized

[VashTS]

Hello everyone,
I think I started a thread on this a while back but I cannot find it and I started trying to figure it out again.

So...the issue at hand...it's a bit complicated but I'll do my best to explain and make sure I mention all that I've tested/done to resolve this.

The main problem - vWii mode does not read SD cards. It recognizes it but fails to read/write. All cards tested are working on PC/Wii and formatted to FAT32 default cluster size with Panasonic formatter.

When using any SD card 2GB or smaller​

• The card is recognized but says the card cannot be used, I've tried from 256MB to 2GB - all verified working on PC and formatted to FAT32 with default cluster using Panasonic formatter.

When using any SD card 4GB or larger​

• The card is recognized briefly then unrecognized and this cycles nonstop. When on the System Menu it just dings over and over - inserted -> removed -> inserted -> removed and so on. [Insert dirty joke here]

I tried cleaning the contacts of the SD card with alcohol, I tried blowing the SD slot out with compressed air. The brands vary - from Sandisk to Lexar to Kingston - microSD in an adapter, regular SD, it doesn't matter.
I tried downloading a free demo in the Wii store to the SD card, same behavior. This has to be software! I don't think its hardware as it would behave the same no matter what size SD card is in there - contacts are contacts. If it is software, I think I'm boned unless Nintendo touches vWii mode with an update. I haven't done the new 5.0.0 update yet I'm hoping this will fix it.
Any ideas?

 

[Deleted User]

There's only a couple things that could be the issue. Either the contact inside are acting funny with the unit, or there's some part of the vWii system menu that's messed up. Though if it dings over and over, that means there's a disconnect somewhere. To me it sounds like the internal contacts may be worn out or not making a good connection.

5.0 doesn't change any versions, though I would run a syscheck to see what you have installed.

 

[VashTS]

There's only a couple things that could be the issue. Either the contact inside are acting funny with the unit, or there's some part of the vWii system menu that's messed up. Though if it dings over and over, that means there's a disconnect somewhere. To me it sounds like the internal contacts may be worn out or not making a good connection.

5.0 doesn't change any versions, though I would run a syscheck to see what you have installed.

If it were the contacts then both cards should act the same, whether its 64MB or 64GB. If the metal is not making contact, it doesn't matter what capacity the card is.


I cannot run any homebrew since I do not have SD card access, thats the whole issue!

 

[The Real Jdbye]

If it were the contacts then both cards should act the same, whether its 64MB or 64GB. If the metal is not making contact, it doesn't matter what capacity the card is.


I cannot run any homebrew since I do not have SD card access, thats the whole issue!

You can send homebrew to the Wii over the network and it will run as long as it doesn't load any other files from the SD card.
Edit: You can also load homebrew from a USB HDD.

Thats assuming you already have HBC installed, though.

 

[JoostinOnline]

If you're having the same problem on multiple cards, you've almost certainly got a broken SD card reader. Remove your homebrew and send it to Nintendo.

 

[VashTS]

If you're having the same problem on multiple cards, you've almost certainly got a broken SD card reader. Remove your homebrew and send it to Nintendo.

But why would the size of the card dictate the reaction...2GB or less = recognized just not readable, 4GB or more = constantly not recognized.

 

[JoostinOnline]

But why would the size of the card dictate the reaction...2GB or less = recognized just not readable, 4GB or more = constantly not recognized.

I don't know. Broken doesn't mean entirely unresponsive.

 

[VashTS]

I don't know. Broken doesn't mean entirely unresponsive.

I see your point and thanks for the tip. These things bother me until I get a Dr. House moment. Someone is going to mention something to me and I'm going to solve this issue.