Hacking Formatting a 3TB drive for WBFS

[Deleted member 282441]

I'm trying to format my 3TB drive to WBFS (Well, part of it) but WBFS Manager 3.0 won't format a GPT drive.

How do I format? Will my Wii even recognize the partition if it's GPT?

And no, I can't convert to MBR. the option is grayed out.

 

[AbdallahTerro]

use fat32, it's compatible with everything

 

[the_randomizer]

Formatting the WBFS has no real advantages and won't work with most homebrew. Not to mention you can't recover the partition since an OS will not recognize it. FAT32 is far more stable to use and will work just fine with your backups. Windows won't recognize WBFS at all.

 

[Deleted member 282441]

Oh, okay. I'm not sure if that works, because the wii will crash when reading the whole drive.

And how am I supposed to copy games over 4GB?

 

[the_randomizer]

You want me to format the drive in fat32 and then WBFS?

No, FAT32 only. WBFS will not work with most programs on the Wii and cannot be used in Windows/Mac OS or any OS. It is far too unreliable. It's also been deprecated and is no longer supported.

 

[Deleted member 282441]

Nope, exFAT and NTFS are the only options. I guess I'll have to get another drive.

 

[the_randomizer]

Nope, exFAT and NTFS are the only options. I guess I'll have to get another drive.

You''ll need a third party program, you don't need to get a new drive. There's no reason to get another one.

 

[Deleted member 282441]

Now my wii crashes with the message "Exception (ISI) occurred!"

Woohoo. I'm getting another drive.

 

[the_randomizer]

Now my wii crashes with the message "Exception (ISI) occurred!"

Woohoo. I'm getting another drive.

Dude, did you even read what I said? The HDD must be formatted with a third-party tool into FAT32, the DSI exception has nothing to do with the drive failing or being bad or whatever. Please, if you want advice, it would be good to heed others' suggestions when they're given to you.


WBFS = Not gonna work
FAT32 = works with all USB backup programs.

I fail to see what the issue is. You asked for help, I don't know why you're assuming your HDD is failing.

 

[Deleted member 282441]

I formatted the stupid thing in Fat32 and it's still crashing.

Unless you meant the entire drive.

 

[Arras]

Some USB loaders support NTFS, so you can try that.

 

[the_randomizer]

I formatted the stupid thing in Fat32 and it's still crashing.

Unless you meant the entire drive.

That would be best. You can't use WBFS for any backup program nowadays, NTFS is another route.

 

[Deleted member 282441]

Some USB loaders support NTFS, so you can try that.

I know it supports NTFS, it's just that it will crash for some reason.

 

[somewhereovertherainbow]

First of All . The crashing could be a conflict that your HDD is 3TB . Usually Wii USB Loaders only allow 2TB as maximum.

But if its not ...
Format your USB-device the right way: (If your HDD is WBFS and have alot of games - use instead WBFS2FAT to convert the USB-device)

Important! about WBFS2FAT : I've not tried it yet. Ive a USB 1TB with 300 Wii games. And I heard wbfs2fat is a great tool but Im still scared if I got an error and lost all games. My option is to transfer all games to another USB-device. Then format my first USB using included guide , and re-add all games again . )

How to Format and Partition USB-drive to FAT32 (Gamecube compatible)
Format your USB to FAT32 with cluster size 32kb using EASEUS Partion Manager. Also make the partition active and primary and first (USB1). Create a folder 'Games' inside the partition for all Gamecube Games. Guide for EASEUS Partion Manager can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/completesg/prepare-sd-usb . A recommend formula is to put everything on USB1:/ i.e.
*USB1:\games\ - Gamecube games
*USB1:\Wii\ - Wii games
*USB1:\GxEmunand\ - Wiiware/Virtual Console (Read Step 6)
*USB1:\Retro\PSX, SNES, SEGA, NES, N64, GameBoy Advance, NeoGeo/PC Engine (RetroArch)

I Still use SD-card for anything Homebrew related (Apps and such)
.

After your Formated your USB-device .
Add your Games by downloading WiiBackupManager (download link) Its very easy .
Once Downloaded open WiiBackupManager.exe .
Press Drive 1 - In 'inactive' select your USB-drive . Press 'Files' - click 'Add - Files' and choose your game iso - Then click Transfer - to Drive 1 - that will start transfering your game from PC into the USB-device .

A more detailed guide of all this can be found @ http://www.hacksden.com/showthread.php/188-Wii-Hard-Drive-Fat32-Guide
Edit : Also be Smart and add 1-2 Games first to see if they're playable/viewable in WiiFlow , USB Loader GX or CFG Loader .

 

[Arras]

I think there might have been some issue with 2TB+ drives. Try creating a 1TB fat32 partition?

 

[tswntk]

Wii homebrew does not support Partition >2TB

Drives that are:
>2TB;
Not 512/sector;
Not MBR
NTFS formatted
are not compatible with Gamecube loading

Default Wii iso folder is USB(SD):\wbfs
Wiibackupmanger will only transfer games to \wbfs
You maybe able to set USBloaders to use other folder but will be confusing for noobs

 

[Leo Alves]

I recommend the program EaseUS Partition Master to format your drive
it always worked for me

 

[somewhereovertherainbow]

isnt that the same as manager?