Best backup file system?

Discussion in 'Wii - Backup Loaders' started by aldableep3, Oct 16, 2010.

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  1. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    First I would like to just say hi since I'm new here [​IMG]

    I was just wondering what the pros and cons are of WBFS vs. FAT32 or something similar for backup use on the Wii. I backed up my Wii games on a drive with WBFS and I don't know if the drive was messed up but some games started to fail to load or would fail to load within the game itself. So I try to copy the games over to my pc, reformat the same drive with WBFS again and transfer them back to the drive.
    Long story short, I just don't trust reading and writing from WBFS on Windows. Are there any disadvantages to using FAT32 to store and load my Wii games from? Can the Wii handle FAT32 well?

    I'm going to get a new external HDD dedicated for Wii games and I would like to not have to worry about the file system once I start accumulating backups. I don't want to have 100 gigs of backups fail on me because of some unknown error copying files to/from this filesystem.

    On a related note, what do you think of this HDD? From the reviews, it works with the Wii well. I want a HDD that is USB powered (less clutter) and small.

    Thanks!
     
    #1 Oct 16, 2010
  2. gsaz

    gsaz Member

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    Pros and cons explained in the sticky at the top of this forum Backup Loading Basics
    Scroll down just a wee bit and you'll come to "Choosing a Filesystem"
     
    #2 Oct 16, 2010
  3. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    thanks! based on that, wbfs remains the best option for me.

    is there anything i need to do to keep the wbfs partition healthy? is it safe to delete games from the partition? i read in a separate thread on gbatemp that deleting a game from a wbfs partition can break other games on the partition. this makes me feel very nervous about using wbfs again, because this adds another possible cause to the list of reasons some of my games stopped loading. i also read that games can get corrupt etc. whats the most commonly used filesystem for wii loading now?
     
    #3 Oct 16, 2010
  4. gsaz

    gsaz Member

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    in all honesty i'd recommend fat32 over wbfs any day. the only 'cons' as such being the 4gb file size limit aren't really even an issue; games above that size are split automatically by most methods of ripping/adding. use configurable usb loader and wii backup manager and you won't go far wrong.
    taking another look at the thread i linked you to, maybe it needs a bit of an update, some of the advice isn't quite as current as it should be.
     
    #4 Oct 16, 2010
  5. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    hmm sounds good enough for me. usb loader gx is my favorite backup loader; would i still be able to use that with wii backup manager? is wii backup manager the program responsible for automatically splitting when transferring to the hard drive? will it automatically scrub and compress when transferring? also, isn't there a limit of 32 gb for fat32 partitions?
     
    #5 Oct 16, 2010
  6. riffdex

    riffdex Member

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    nope, limit of 4gb. i personally have been trying to figure out how i can load backups from my external hd. wbfs and fat32 aren't really options for me, i need my external hd to store files from my computer, many files above 4gb, and i don't want to split them. i was just wondering if it's really that unstable to use ntfs, or if it's not even worth it to load backups from ntfs hd? if anyone has an opinion lmk.
     
    #6 Oct 16, 2010
  7. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    i don't mean the file size limit; i was referring to the maximum size of the partition itself. microsoft imposed a limit of 32 gb for some reason, but there are other partition utilities that will format a fat32 partition larger than 32 gb. as far as i know using ntfs isn't unstable per se, just the ripping of wii games to ntfs is. if you're only going to download your backups or rip them with your computer you should be fine. you could also partition your drive with one wbfs/fat32 partition for wii games and the other ntfs partition for your files.
     
    #7 Oct 16, 2010
  8. FIX94

    FIX94 Global Moderator

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    ???
    configurable usb loader can read and write to ntfs, and it's stable!
    but if you are using a different loader or want to use your drive for other things, use fat32. the games will be splitted into 4gb parts automatically from usb loader and all backup managers without loosing speed ingame and the ripping is stable in every usb loader.
     
    #8 Oct 16, 2010
  9. riffdex

    riffdex Member

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    my mistake, i think you are right about the partition limit put in place by ms. and oh, i guess i misunderstood the part in that thread about ntfs being unstable. i never plan on using the wii to rip games anyway, i use my computer and an external dvd drive i bought. can anyone confirm for me if ntfs is stable for everything else (other than ripping games with the wii)? are there any other downsides of using ntfs? also, that's a good point about creating an extra partition with wbfs. i hadn't thought of that! i might end up doing that. of course, that's only if i cannot use ntfs stably.
     
    #9 Oct 17, 2010
  10. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    so ntfs is stable under configurable usb loader? completely stable? let's say that i'm only using the drive for my game backups and that i'm only using configurable usb loader; what file system should i use?
     
    #10 Oct 17, 2010
  11. FIX94

    FIX94 Global Moderator

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    Yes, it'S completely stable with configurable usb loader. If you only use the drive for backups and you are only using configurable usb loader, and you are using a windows OS, then use NTFS and as backup manager the latest wii backup manager.
     
    #11 Oct 17, 2010
  12. dexter222

    dexter222 GBAtemp Fan

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    WBFS file system is a footnote in Wii history. If starting fresh there is little or no reason to consider WBFS. Although NTFS is perhaps a better overall file system for windows it my not be your best choice for the wii. If you use a single FAT32 partition you can pretty much use it for what ever the wii uses a hard drive for [​IMG] You should limit the number of partitions on your hard drive to as few as possible, one being the best.

    FAT32 stands out right now as the best overall file system for the Wii
     
    #12 Oct 18, 2010
  13. gisel213

    gisel213 GBAtemp Fan

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    #13 Oct 18, 2010
  14. gsaz

    gsaz Member

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    all very lovely and all... but that helps the op with his/her real wii how?

    "...I was just wondering what the pros and cons are of WBFS vs. FAT32 or something similar for backup use on the Wii"
     
    #14 Oct 18, 2010
  15. Sao Mortel

    Sao Mortel GBAtemp Advanced Fan

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    HBC can't read NTFS. So ntfs is not an option.
    FAT32 is the way to go. What kind of files you have that are over 4 gb?
     
    #15 Oct 18, 2010
  16. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    Emulation of the wii has never really worked for me that well. I guess I haven't looked into it that much, but why bother when I have the real hardware (other than for HD)?

    Basically I have a dedicated SD card for the Wii, so where the HBC and other boot files reside doesn't matter to me. It helps keep things simple for me. Thanks to Dexter for pointing out that WBFS is seen as more of a legacy FS for the Wii now. That helps with my decision. What's the point of making backups if the backups themselves are unreliable because of the file system?

    I'm using one 250 GB external HDD that is dedicated solely for the Wii, so only one partition is necessary for me. Even so, I'm not really a noob and can partition my way around things [​IMG]

    Given all the info I'm choosing FAT32 for now. @Sao Mortel, the only files that I'm going to be storing that are larger than 4 GB are dual layered Wii games. Those are few and far between, anyway. As long as the software can properly recognize and split and play the dual layered games, then I should be good to go.
     
    #16 Oct 18, 2010
  17. Sao Mortel

    Sao Mortel GBAtemp Advanced Fan

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    AS far as im concerned splitted up dual layer games work better than not splitted....
     
    #17 Oct 18, 2010
  18. aldableep3
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    aldableep3 Member

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    Really? Why is that?
     
    #18 Oct 18, 2010
  19. chop

    chop GBAtemp Fan

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    So If I'm already on WBFS is it worth changing over to Fat32,
    I could transfer evverything on myHDD to my PC reformat then transfer back, will I benefit?
     
    #19 Oct 19, 2010
  20. Sao Mortel

    Sao Mortel GBAtemp Advanced Fan

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    Just for the fact that you can run your homebrews/emulated nand/movies etc. from the same partition is a big plus. if that not enough for you theres no need to change [​IMG]
     
    #20 Oct 19, 2010
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