Hardware WII U Storage without external power? (SSD VS sd card with adapter)

[cyberant]

I've looked at some of the threads about this and the sticky guide in the tutorials section, but I'm still deliberating over what I should use. I would still like to avoid using an external power, if it's practical enough.

I understand how annoying the WII U is with it being designed for hard drives (less or no protection against writing to the same area), putting save data in the same location as their games, and having under-powered USB ports.

I've tried using an external hard drives with a Y cable. It seemed to work at first but then I got disconnection errors during gameplay. (I disabled the hard drive sleep mode and any automatic power off in the options)

I am considering one of the following:

1) An SD card with a USB adapter - Is it as bad as using a USB flash drives? Is it likely fail early?
2) An external SSD drive.
3) An Internal SSD with enclosure/adapter

I cases #2 and #3, can it work with a single USB cable or even with a Y cable?

I've seen a Youtube video about connecting internal SSD with a USB adapter that doesn't use an external power: link
There's also a video about placing the SSD internally, and it seems like it is also only powered by a single port (even though it's soldered): link

 

[Misandry]

What kind of Y cable are you using?
I used to have the same exact problem until I switched from usb 2.0 to usb 3.0 cables.
I still need to connect the cable to both usb ports on the back of the console, but at least now I can finally play my games without fear of losing my progress to a random HDD disconnection.

The ports on the Wii U are 2.0, but 3.0 is backwards compatible and apparently it is capable of carrying slightly more current.
This is the cable I'm using

 

[piete]

1) An SD card with a USB adapter - Is it as bad as using a USB flash drives? Is it likely fail early?
2) An external SSD drive.
3) An Internal SSD with enclosure/adapter

I cases #2 and #3, can it work with a single USB cable or even with a Y cable?

I've seen a Youtube video about connecting internal SSD with a USB adapter that doesn't use an external power: link
There's also a video about placing the SSD internally, and it seems like it is also only powered by a single port (even though it's soldered): link

As you saw in the video, SSD should work without a Y cable. I have a Y cable that is really sensitive, if it is hanging in the air, it gives disconnection error with the HDD in enclosure. I tried the HDD without the Y cable and the Wii U didn't even recognize it, so I decided to try an SSD in the casing without the Y cable and so far it has worked fine, I did this a few days ago so I can't give any long-term results but so far so good...

 

[JayMathis]

If you do have problems buy another y-cable. I've had one for about 2 years now and it has never once disconnected.

 

[Alexander1970]

I've looked at some of the threads about this and the sticky guide in the tutorials section, but I'm still deliberating over what I should use. I would still like to avoid using an external power, if it's practical enough.

I understand how annoying the WII U is with it being designed for hard drives (less or no protection against writing to the same area), putting save data in the same location as their games, and having under-powered USB ports.

I've tried using an external hard drives with a Y cable. It seemed to work at first but then I got disconnection errors during gameplay. (I disabled the hard drive sleep mode and any automatic power off in the options)

I am considering one of the following:

1) An SD card with a USB adapter - Is it as bad as using a USB flash drives? Is it likely fail early?
2) An external SSD drive.
3) An Internal SSD with enclosure/adapter

I cases #2 and #3, can it work with a single USB cable or even with a Y cable?

I've seen a Youtube video about connecting internal SSD with a USB adapter that doesn't use an external power: link
There's also a video about placing the SSD internally, and it seems like it is also only powered by a single port (even though it's soldered): link

Hello.

I use this Enclosure:
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00OJ3UJ2S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

with this SSD:
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07VCCZZL7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As you can see it works without Y-Cable.



The only Thing please: Do NOT place the HDD ON TOP of your Wii U.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/wii-u-wifi-suddenly-cant-connect-to-router.376888/page-2#post-8933649

Thank you.

 

[V10lator]

Some notes to the replies given by others:

• There are some hard drives which will need more juice than what two Wii U USB ports can give. A Y-cable won't help here.
• You can connect a Y-cable to the Wii U and a wall charger for extra juice (but do this for testing only, not all the time).
• You can hardware-mod the Wii U to remove the 500mA port limit (I've done this and don't need a Y-cable anmore).
• There's no difference between "an external SSD drive" and "an Internal SSD with enclosure/adapter". In fact external/internal SSDs don't exist: There are just SSDs.
• SSDs need less juice than HDDs but always make sure the SSD + the SATA to USB adapter won't need more than 500mA together, else you'll need a Y-cable again.

//EDIT:

There's also a video about placing the SSD internally, and it seems like it is also only powered by a single port (even though it's soldered): link

You're right but that dude isn't smart. He could have used the unlimited 5v rail... Look at this picture:

The big red dot is the unlimited 5v rail. The smaller dots are the USB VCC. So if you connect all red dots your USB ports are unlimited. The big red dot is also what the guy in the video should have been used for VCC.

//EDIT²: Forgot to say that neither the idea of hardware modding the USB ports nor the image are by me. They are from https://circuit-board.de/forum/inde...D-für-Wii-U-gesucht/?postID=786122#post786122

 

[izy]

Pretty sure when he means internalnwith enclose henmeans a 3.5 inch drive that is powered

 

[V10lator]

Pretty sure when he means internalnwith enclose henmeans a 3.5 inch drive that is powered

So 3.5 inch SSDs exists? Link me one please... [EDIT] Also this whole thread is about not needing extra power, so how did you come to your conclusion? [/EDIT]

This is going off topic, sry... But again: There's no difference between external SSD and internal SSD with enclosure. Open a "external SSD" and you'll see it's nothing more than a enclusure with a 2.5 inch ("internal") SSD inside...

 

[izy]

Real question though

Why does it have to be an ssd, you still going to have the usb bottleneck and the storage reduction

 

[V10lator]

Why does it have to be an ssd

Why don't you read the OP?

I would still like to avoid using an external power, if it's practical enough.

I've tried using an external hard drives with a Y cable. It seemed to work at first but then I got disconnection errors during gameplay

BTW, to @cyberant

less or no protection against writing to the same area

That's a none-issue with good SDs/SSDs. Just don't buy the cheapest product on the market. For more infos:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory_controller#Flash_Translation_Layer_(FTL)_and_Mapping ("the physical location of an LBA might dynamically change frequently" ... Sorry for the bad wiki article)

 

[izy]

Why don't you read the OP?

Why dont you he only wants to avoid external power if its practical enough.

Which it is if he makes the usb rail power increase.

That still doesnt answer the question of why he wants an ssd.

Ssds actually have a higher average power draw in use than a 2.5hdd
The initial spin up takes more though. Even then its minimal and like I said the usb bottleneck makes ssd pointless, unless he doesnt want moving parts which makes no since as it's a home console.

Heres some numbers, a samsung 860 evo is rated for 3w during use
A 4tb seagate 2.5 is rated for 2W, 6w during spinup
A WD ssd is rated for 2.7w average on use

A 4tb seagate external 3.5inch hdd was rated for 4.1w in 2018

The ssds just idle at a lower rate.

As soon as he unlocks the power of his usb rail which is the main cause of his problems ssd becomes pointless.

 

[V10lator]

Ssds actually have a higher average power draw in use than a 2.5hdd
The initial spin up takes more though.

Average power draw is meaningless. All the Wii U cares about are the peaks. Also with an SSD I would recommend enabling power saving as there is no spin-up time while on a HDD the spin-up gets annoying so I recommend disabling power-save. That will make a HDD consume more power than a SSD but it's off-topic...

Even then its minimal and like I said the usb bottleneck makes ssd pointless

A HDD won't max out the USB bus as it can't push data while seeking. Seeking times are (almost) none existant on SSDs, so it will be faster.

As soon as he unlocks the power of his usb rail which is the main cause of his problems ssd becomes pointless.

We don't know if he has the skills to do that. Now lets stop this useless discussion and wait for the thread starter to reply, okay?

//EDIT: Just one more thing: There are HDDs which consume more power on writing than on spin-up. The OP and me have such HDDs: They spin-up fine but when you do heavy writing operations the Wii U will tell you to not disconnect a USB drive while its running.

 

[izy]

Also the other point if he is going to go for all this hassle for an external (which should work without Y cables in first place in most cases but strangely doesnt work with)

If hes onlyngoing for a small storage like 256gb. Why doesnt he just go for an sd card and call it a night

 

[Koldur]

Why dont you he only wants to avoid external power if its practical enough.

Which it is if he makes the usb rail power increase.

That still doesnt answer the question of why he wants an ssd.

Ssds actually have a higher average power draw in use than a 2.5hdd
The initial spin up takes more though. Even then its minimal and like I said the usb bottleneck makes ssd pointless, unless he doesnt want moving parts which makes no since as it's a home console.

Heres some numbers, a samsung 860 evo is rated for 3w during use
A 4tb seagate 2.5 is rated for 2W, 6w during spinup
A WD ssd is rated for 2.7w average on use

A 4tb seagate external 3.5inch hdd was rated for 4.1w in 2018

The ssds just idle at a lower rate.

As soon as he unlocks the power of his usb rail which is the main cause of his problems ssd becomes pointless.

Do you have a link to how to do this mod? I should be able to do this easily.

 

[V10lator]

Do you have a link to how to do this mod?

The big red dot is the unlimited 5v rail. The smaller dots are the USB VCC. So if you connect all red dots your USB ports are unlimited.

https://circuit-board.de/forum/index.php/Thread/27902-SSD-für-Wii-U-gesucht/?postID=786122#post786122

 

[huma_dawii]

I imagine the speed doesn't increase... but i would definitely would love to free up one USB port to connect something else

 

[Youser]

If hes onlyngoing for a small storage like 256gb. Why doesnt he just go for an sd card and call it a night

was hoping someone would mention the sd card.

So it’s fine to use an sd card to load games off of?

thanks

 

[izy]

was hoping someone would mention the sd card.

So it’s fine to use an sd card to load games off of?

thanks

I mean it's been done before but it was cheaper to use a hdd and ycable

Currently it really depends on what he wants.

A 256gb micro sd and adapter is cheaper than a 256gb ssd.
But for that price he could get a 500gb or maybe a 1tb portable drive.

Like I said before a proper Y cable or rail fix will sort his problems.

I read that thread that mentioned soldering some members mentioned they has problems with their ssds registering with console.

Blame Nintendo's bad design. My generic wii never had this issue with single port usb powered drives

 

[taz26]

Some notes to the replies given by others:

• There are some hard drives which will need more juice than what two Wii U USB ports can give. A Y-cable won't help here.
• You can connect a Y-cable to the Wii U and a wall charger for extra juice (but do this for testing only, not all the time).
• You can hardware-mod the Wii U to remove the 500mA port limit (I've done this and don't need a Y-cable anmore).
• There's no difference between "an external SSD drive" and "an Internal SSD with enclosure/adapter". In fact external/internal SSDs don't exist: There are just SSDs.
• SSDs need less juice than HDDs but always make sure the SSD + the SATA to USB adapter won't need more than 500mA together, else you'll need a Y-cable again.

//EDIT:

You're right but that dude isn't smart. He could have used the unlimited 5v rail... Look at this picture:

The big red dot is the unlimited 5v rail. The smaller dots are the USB VCC. So if you connect all red dots your USB ports are unlimited. The big red dot is also what the guy in the video should have been used for VCC.

//EDIT²: Forgot to say that neither the idea of hardware modding the USB ports nor the image are by me. They are from https://circuit-board.de/forum/index.php/Thread/27902-SSD-für-Wii-U-gesucht/?postID=786122#post786122

I wanted to do the "unlimited" 5v mod, but it is not the same on my wiiu revision: c656 is missing on mine.


I've soldered the two 5v+ pin on the other side. Works fine without Y usb cable now.

 

[V10lator]

I wanted to do the "unlimited" 5v mod, but it is not the same on my wiiu revision: c656 is missing on mine.

It's missing on most units (it wasn't in mine, too) but that doesn't matter. Let me translate from that german website:

Die positive Seite von C656 (der grosse schwarze Kondensator [ist ggf. nicht bestückt] - nein das ist KEINE Diode!) ist die 5V Rail der Konsole.

The positive side of C656 (the big black capacitor [might not be not in place] - no this IS NOT a diode!) is the 5V rail of the unit.

I've soldered the two 5v+ pin on the other side. Works fine without Y usb cable now.
View attachment 204871

Glad you found some other solution.