Homebrew Does the Wii's USB ports output enough power for a Hard Disk Drive?

[HeavyMetalLoser]

I plan on eventually swapping out my laptop's stock 2.5" 300GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive for an SSD, and I was think I'd put my old HDD into a Sata to USB enclosure and use it to store Wii and Gamecube backups. My main concern is whether or not the Wii's USB ports can output enough power to run an HDD.

Also, just to be clear I'm talking about an original model Wii, NOT a Wii U.

 

[MassExplosion213]

With a Y cable that plugs into both, yes.

Sent from my Z983 using Tapatalk

 

[Ryab]

I plan on eventually swapping out my laptop's stock 2.5" 300GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive for an SSD, and I was think I'd put my old HDD into a Sata to USB enclosure and use it to store Wii and Gamecube backups. My main concern is whether or not the Wii's USB ports can output enough power to run an HDD.

Also, just to be clear I'm talking about an original model Wii, NOT a Wii U.

you will need a usb y cable to plug it into 2 ports because neither the wii or the wii u output enough from 1 port

 

[lisreal2401]

You can power it with one port - I've done this with multiple drives.

As long as it's a laptop drive.

 

[HeavyMetalLoser]

I'm currently using a pair of SanDisk Cruzer Glide thumb drives for USB storage, would a 5400 RPM HDD be any faster or slower compared to that?

 

[lisreal2401]

I'm currently using a pair of SanDisk Cruzer Glide thumb drives for USB storage, would a 5400 RPM HDD be any faster or slower compared to that?

Not particularly but that's more to do with the how much content the Wii is loading at a time more than the transfer rate. In general yes, it would be much faster and efficient.

 

[HeavyMetalLoser]

Not particularly but that's more to do with the how much content the Wii is loading at a time more than the transfer rate. In general yes, it would be much faster and efficient.

So Gamecube games wouldn't stutter during cutscenes anymore if I do this?

 

[CaptainHIT]

I've used a Western Digital Elements 500GB External HDD with a single USB cable (it's own cable) for many years without any problems. The same doesn't work on the Wii U where I needed a Y-Cable for powering up the HDD. So literally yes, the Wii will power up your HDD with a normal USB cable.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

So Gamecube games wouldn't stutter during cutscenes anymore if I do this?

Probably not. I've never noticed any stuttering with my HDD. Haven't really played a lot of GC games on it though.

 

[Mat37]

I've used a Western Digital Elements 500GB External HDD with a single USB cable (it's own cable) for many years without any problems. The same doesn't work on the Wii U where I needed a Y-Cable for powering up the HDD. So literally yes, the Wii will power up your HDD with a normal USB cable.

Exactly the same for me.

 

[HeavyMetalLoser]

Just wondering, is it worth it to use a 7200RPM HDD or an SSD, or will USB 2.0 bottleneck hard drives above a certain speed?

 

[Mat37]

Just wondering, is it worth it to use a 7200RPM HDD or an SSD, or will USB 2.0 bottleneck hard drives above a certain speed?

Using SSD for wii games is a waste of money