Hacking FAT32 vs NTFS vs WBFS

[DwightSchrute]

I've read some other topics on this, but I still can't make up my mind.

Currently I only have 4 Wii games backed up. They are in .wbfs format (I have the .iso's for some of them) and they are on a WBFS formatted drive.

I have a 1TB hard drive that I want to use for backing up Wii games. I use about 300GB of the HDD to back up files from my computer. None or very few of the files from my computer are >4GB so in that respect FAT32 shouldn't be a problem and if I do end up having some files >4GB then I should be able to split them with Winrar or something similar.

I want to put as much as I can on my HDD, but I have an SD card and it's no problem for me to run HB or USB loader or anything else from my SD card, so I don' mind too much if I can't load them from my HDD but it would be a plus.

I also really like the ability to rip Wii games to my HDD using USB loader and I've heard tha NTFS doesn't support this.

Overall it's looking like I'm going to be using FAT32, but I know there are disadvantages. People say that you should use NTFS if you store computer stuff on your HDD, which I do, but like I said, very few if any files are >4GB, so if that's the only advantage NTFS has over FAT32 in terms of computer storage, then I don't care, but I feel like there are downsides that I'm missing.

 

[Bladexdsl]

fat32 is the way to go you can use it on the wii and your computer at the same time.
wbfs has to have it's own partition and you cant read it from your computer plus sometimes it has stability issues and will corrupt the drive than you need to format.
ntfs never used it and thats bs about you can only use ntfs on a drive if you use the comp too i do it and i'm running win7 you just need to partition the drive. i even made a tutorial on how to do it. i have my drive split into 3 partitions 1 for wii games (fat32) 1 for comp backups and storage (ntfs) and 1 for wii psx and n64 games (fat32)

fat32 is my pick

 

[DwightSchrute]

What's the advantage of having 2 fat32 partitions? Is it just for organizational purposes on the computer? Or does it affect how things are displayed on the Wii as well?

 

[cerebr_al]

Whether you have one or two fat partitions is a matter of personal preference. Aint going to make any difference for your loader if you have one fat partition as it will only read from the game directory and ignore everything else. If you want to have an entirely separate space just for your games and one for all the other stuff, then have two partitions.

 

[DwightSchrute]

Cool, thanks. Is there a simple tutorial on how to create two partitions anywhere? I'm sure it's not that complicated, but I've only ever been able to find tutorials on how to format your HDD to a single format.

 

[shortz1994]

if your harddrive is plugged in to computer right click your windows menu, go to disk management, an you'll be able to make your partitions there. or you can use modmii an get the fat32 format tool from it.( can't remember the name off the top of my head.).; i used it on my 500gb hard drive no problems.

 

[ToddofWar420]

I got a 1Tb Toshiba hdd but its all formatted to wbfs with About 128 Wii iso's on it. Is there anyway I can make another partition without it reformating the whole thing, or am I screwed until I find a way to back up my Wii games first?

 

[cerebr_al]

@Toddof War420 - Nah, you're screwed..

Seriously, get rid of the WBFS formatting, there is no longer any valid reason to keep it.

 

[ToddofWar420]

Dang, I was afraid of that answer.. Thanks cerebr_al

 

[PsyBlade]

I got a 1Tb Toshiba hdd but its all formatted to wbfs with About 128 Wii iso's on it. Is there anyway I can make another partition without it reformating the whole thing, or am I screwed until I find a way to back up my Wii games first?

resizing wbfs is curently not implemented in any tool

but you could convert the whole partition to fat32
fat32 can then be resized to create more partitions if that is still wanted

I
V

 

[Cyan]

I got a 1Tb Toshiba hdd but its all formatted to wbfs with About 128 Wii iso's on it. Is there anyway I can make another partition without it reformating the whole thing, or am I screwed until I find a way to back up my Wii games first?

@Toddof War420 - Nah, you're screwed..

No, he is not.

Use WFBS2FAT program to convert your WBFS partition to a FAT32 Partition without loosing any of your games.
Then you can resize/cut the partition with your computer and add another partition to it.

edit:
Ah, beaten by Psyblade

Look into his signature to find the program.

 

[Etheboss]

I've read some other topics on this, but I still can't make up my mind.

Currently I only have 4 Wii games backed up. They are in .wbfs format (I have the .iso's for some of them) and they are on a WBFS formatted drive.

Uhh, contradiction? .wbfs is a FILE format...

 

[shortz1994]

go with fat32 ditch the WBFS format on the hard drive. that format has always had problems. back your .wbfs games/iso's to your computer.(just in case). this way if some thing does go wrong you don't have to spend a lot of time redumping. i have yet to have any problems with my hd it's been fat32 for over a year. an still works like the day i got.
@etheboss. how is that a contradiction? some of his games are .wbfs format. (just like 90% of the users on this forum).. an his harddrive is WBFS format.

 

[wii knee]

I think he's saying that he has the iso files, too, but he's not being clear that they are stored, elsewhere.
Sounded like he was saying the .iso files are on the wbfs formatted disk

 

[Etheboss]

go with fat32 ditch the WBFS format on the hard drive. that format has always had problems. back your .wbfs games/iso's to your computer.(just in case). this way if some thing does go wrong you don't have to spend a lot of time redumping. i have yet to have any problems with my hd it's been fat32 for over a year. an still works like the day i got.
@etheboss. how is that a contradiction? some of his games are .wbfs format. (just like 90% of the users on this forum).. an his harddrive is WBFS format.

Its WBFS file format on NTFS/FAT hdd OR a WBFS formatted HDD, it can't be both.

@wii knee: you are probably right...maybe i am nitpicking a bit, but i just want it to be clear.

 

[ToddofWar420]

@PsyBlade & @[member='Cyan']: Thank You Guys!!! Your both are awesome!! I tried the wbfs2fat and it worked in a matter of maybe a minute and I still have all my games and Wiiflow still works. (which I was pretty worried about)
But now I would like to know if there is anyway to where I can set the Wii game saves to save on the hdd instead of using the Wii's memory? Anything would help out, Thanks.

 

[shortz1994]

well my apologizes then, i never messed with wbfs hd's. did a lot of research before i did my hd. didn't know how the games were stored on a wbfs hd.
but still op should just go ahead an format the hd to fat32. that way he shouldn't have anymore issues with the hd.

 

[Etheboss]

a few usb loaders have an option now that allows you to save on a hdd, i know GX and wiiflow / wiiflow-mod have it...the USB loader automatically creates a basic emunand on hdd (or SD) to save too... I don't know exactly how its called, someting in the line of Partial emunand/saving...

 

[infinete]

Quick question. If I were to use wbfs2fat, what would happen to any games that I have on my HDD which are larger than 4GB in size? Would the program still work? and would it split the games for me?
Edit: Spell check

 

[highsteve]

Yes, yes.