Hacking PSTV - What best to use? SD2Vita or USBdrive

[Primula]

Just thought of this now since I order 2 from that "xxx" user name guy on reddit lol... that I could interchange the mircosd card instead and continue with my game on either PSTV or Vita.

Im leaning toward the SD2Vita because of that. I just want to hear what other opinions are so what is better for the pstv a usb drive or the new sd2vita.

 

[bananapi761]

The USB drive works well on PS TV. It acts as a replacement of your memory card so I think you can do more with it. Not to mention you don't need any adapters, and there is a plugin to mount it on boot. I can't say anything about the sd2vita though, I don't own it. If you would like to continue your game across different consoles, then I'd go for the sd2vita.

 

[Primula]

I have everything set up on my pstv and going to add the usbmc plugin too until I thought of the fact I could move the mem card over and not doing a lot of save backup and transfer to the pstv when I want to play on the tv or the other way when I need to be on the Vita for a bit. I then could re purpose my usb drive for something else afterward or just use it as a backup. I could also then buy a larger microsd card too then buying 2 separated one even though I have the usb on the pstv. Well still waiting on the adapters anyway soo I have time to decide

 

[ManuelKoegler]

In the case of the pstv, I'd opt for usb (I myself don't own a pstv), you won't need to buy any adapter whether it's cheap or not, which simply makes things easier. Also, it leaves your game slot free for your legit owned games, which you can then backup and install to the usb.

If you would like to continue your game across different consoles, then I'd go for the sd2vita.

This is a valid point in favor of sd2vita, since you can store both your games and saves on the same card and they're compatible with both. Something to consider provided you have both the ps vita and pstv.




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[crimsonnight]

Ah awesome! Do we know what the maximum compatible size is? Also, which drives definitely work, is there a list anywhere? Any particular types of drive I should avoid? I'd like to go with a drive that can be powered via the USB port if possible, am I safe to grab any 2.5" drive?

 

[panzerwings]

I think there is a bug in vitashell when mounting large sized USB drives on Vita TV. A have a 500gb mounted as ux0 and it shows 400 gig used while I think I have a quarter of that used. Also, I think USB hard-drives are safer on the Vita TV as I have personally killed (turned them to read-only) x2 128gb Samsung 95MB/sec cards trying to transfer files from QCMA. I wonder if QCMA or even the official Sony client just doesn't like storage over 64GB. The hard-drives so far seemed resistant to such issues - only the incorrect usage reporting.

As far as USB powered only - I have a WD 500GB in a sabrent 2.5" usb 3.0 enclosure, but it requires an external power source. I recently got a WD 1TB Element 2.5" USB 3.0 external for my Wii U and that runs all from the one USB plug. I will try plugging it into the Vita TV to see if the WD 1TB will work.

 

[Trumpasaurus]

I think there is a bug in vitashell when mounting large sized USB drives on Vita TV. A have a 500gb mounted as ux0 and it shows 400 gig used while I think I have a quarter of that used. Also, I think USB hard-drives are safer on the Vita TV as I have personally killed (turned them to read-only) x2 128gb Samsung 95MB/sec cards trying to transfer files from QCMA. I wonder if QCMA or even the official Sony client just doesn't like storage over 64GB. The hard-drives so far seemed resistant to such issues - only the incorrect usage reporting.

As far as USB powered only - I have a WD 500GB in a sabrent 2.5" usb 3.0 enclosure, but it requires an external power source. I recently got a WD 1TB Element 2.5" USB 3.0 external for my Wii U and that runs all from the one USB plug. I will try plugging it into the Vita TV to see if the WD 1TB will work.

There is a bug.
I have a 2 TB and it showed 1.81 TB used when only 400 GB was used. I ended up having to to delete a TON of stuff.

As part of troubleshooting, I wiped the drive twice and transported files to rule out that it wasn't my computers messing things up.

 

[SonsofOcelot]

I've been using USB since it became an option in Vitashell I've had no problems using it. It's also nice to be able to just plug the USB into my computer to copy things to it.

 

[crimsonnight]

I've been using USB since it became an option in Vitashell I've had no problems using it. It's also nice to be able to just plug the USB into my computer to copy things to it.

How do you get your games onto the drive using a PC, is there a guide somewhere? I'm currently trying to transfer the contents on my Vita memory cards onto the drive but as I have roughly 100GBs worth of games (and it keeps losing the connection roughly every 10 minutes) it's a bit of a nightmare!

 

[Ryccardo]

How do you get your games onto the drive using a PC, is there a guide somewhere? I'm currently trying to transfer the contents on my Vita memory cards onto the drive but as I have roughly 100GBs worth of games (and it keeps losing the connection roughly every 10 minutes) it's a bit of a nightmare!

They use a standard FAT16/32/64 filesystem, so just extract a VPK = zip to an empty folder on the drive, then select the folder in vitashell, triangle, there should be an "install folder" option

For Maidump as usual you just put the backup in the correct folder and use that app to install it

 

[crimsonnight]

They use a standard FAT16/32/64 filesystem, so just extract a VPK = zip to an empty folder on the drive, then select the folder in vitashell, triangle, there should be an "install folder" option

For Maidump as usual you just put the backup in the correct folder and use that app to install it

Thanks for the info - after 'installing a folder' can you delete the original folder?

Is there any way to copy data over from existing Vita memory cards to save me from having to find torrents for all my games?

 

[Ryccardo]

after 'installing a folder' can you delete the original folder?

The whole reason to use "install folder" instead of copying the still-compressed VPK is that the console just moves the files in the right place and adds the application to the database, instead of wasting time and needing "double the space" extracting an archive -- the folder you copied will be left empty

Is there any way to copy data over from existing Vita memory cards to save me from having to find torrents for all my games?

You can legally dump your games, you know... but you don't even need that, since you can mount a card as ux0 and a hard drive as uma0 and just copy files

 

[crimsonnight]

The whole reason to use "install folder" instead of copying the still-compressed VPK is that the console just moves the files in the right place and adds the application to the database, instead of wasting time and needing "double the space" extracting an archive -- the folder you copied will be left empty


You can legally dump your games, you know... but you don't even need that, since you can mount a card as ux0 and a hard drive as uma0 and just copy files

Great thanks, so just mirroring my 64GB card to my drive should work? I did try that first of all, but I keep getting an error after a few minutes of copying (through the Vita) - is there any way to do it via Windows?

 

[Ryccardo]

Great thanks, so just mirroring my 64GB card to my drive should work? I did try that first of all, but I keep getting an error after a few minutes of copying (through the Vita) - is there any way to do it via Windows?

You could do it via FTP, but it will most likely be worse
Or you could try the backup feature of QCMA

 

[crimsonnight]

You could do it via FTP, but it will most likely be worse
Or you could try the backup feature of QCMA

Yeah the FTP keeps cutting out roughly every 10 mins (despite disabling all the power saving settings) which is pretty weird... I currently have all my games backed up via QCMA, how to I get them installed properly on my hard drive? Thanks for your help

 

[godreborn]

a usb drive would be cheaper. I bought a 128GB usb flash drive for around $20. the equivalent micro sd (for my vita) was a little over twice that.

 

[Primula]

a usb drive would be cheaper. I bought a 128GB usb flash drive for around $20. the equivalent micro sd (for my vita) was a little over twice that.

sadly there isnt a discrete 128gb+ at a good price like the sandisk one but bigger. Finding a microsd 128gb+ at a good price is kinda harder too... samsung evo+ 128 avg sale 60sih... but the 256 is 140 =|. Granted the 256 cost that much because twice the space and slightly higher speed but still =/.. waiting for a good sale... or those website with those deal of the day. I do have a 256gb already from that Note7 thingy... >.> depending on how much space im using.... I might actually switch it for the vita now that I think about it.

Those who only have a pstv formatted at fat32 dont get higher than a 2tb i suggest but exfat is ok but that also might run into correct free space issue? Usb or not usb power hdd I would leave to other user experience about them. Prior to the first adaptor and now the sd2vita I went with the sandisk micro usb drive since it flash memory so less moving parts and wont have to worry about it hitting something otherwise I would try to get the largest hdd or ssd compatible for it. Choosing between ssd and hdd I still leave the external power to other user experience but in term of long term usage... ssd may be faster but limited read and write than the hdd where hdds can hold more at a better price but if you move it around too much "it have moving part" there a chance it can go bad. Another thing is ... can the vita even write and read that fast....

Well in the end I probably going go the SD2Vita route as it has less moving part and actually inside the system, able to transfer to pstv with ease. Good thing this thread gave me those ideas =) also look like my sd2vita currently to my destination too =D

 

[rsn8887]

256 Gb USB Sticks that work with the VitaTV are currently $40 to $50 on Amazon. And you can just plug it into your PC to copy the files over. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[3DSPoet]

I bought some 128gb Samsung FIT drives from Fry's Electronics for about $32/each that work beautifully on the PSTV. They're micro dongles, so it's just a little bump sticking out of the console instead of a long stick. I believe they make a 256gb version, as well.

 

[Spartk]

i prefer sd2vita instead of a usb key. usb has an auto-mount pugin but every time you boot the pstv you have to launch vitashell and select "mount uma: as ux0:". is there another plugin to do this automatically?