Hacking hard disk formatting

[jochendude]

Hi,

In order to use the usb loader i have to format my harddisk.
i've read the ModMii topic and there's a screenshot with the available options.

I see that FAT32 is recommended, but it also states that :
"Cannot store files greater than 4 gig. The limit does not apply to wii games, wich can be split into parts."

Does that mean i have to split my wii games into 2 parts if they are bigger than 4gigs ?

 

[obcd]

Yes, but most wii games are smaller than 4 gig.

Most usb loaders use the wbfs file format for wii game backups. (Don't confuse with a wbfs harddisk partition)
This is actually the disk iso with all the unused data removed. A disk iso normally has a size of 4.7gig for a single layer game dvd.
The iso converted to wbfs sometimes even is smaller than 500MB, so you shouldn't worry to much about games bigger than 4.7gig.

 

[PsyBlade]

the games that are bigger are split automatically by the manager/loader
unless you count the files in a file manager you wont notice any difference
yet some ppl seem to hate this for reasons unknown

 

[jochendude]

Thanks!

 

[Bumper]

yet some ppl seem to hate this for reasons unknown

Well with some HD video files being in excess of 10 gigs gives reason enough.

 

[obcd]

I don't expect the wii to play HD video very well.

If it might be able, you could still stream the content from a network drive.

Another option is splitting the HD video into several parts and getting a cold beer from the fridge every time a part has ended...
You don't need to add commercials between 2 parts. It's optional.

 

[Bumper]

I don't expect the wii to play HD video very well.

If it might be able, you could still stream the content from a network drive.

Another option is splitting the HD video into several parts and getting a cold beer from the fridge every time a part has ended...
You don't need to add commercials between 2 parts. It's optional.

I meant reason enough not to want a fat32 formatted hard drive

 

[obcd]

My wii harddisk is dedicated to my wii.
I have others for media and backups which are ntfs formatted.
Even working like that, it's sometimes difficult to keep things ordered. The more space you have, the more space you fill without worrying..

As the wii is picky about what disks are compatible, I was glad I finally found one that worked as expected.
Don't tell me to look them up on the internet, those lists aren't always reliable.

 

[jochendude]

So if i buy an usb 2.0 and 3.0 compatible portable harddisk, there's a chance it won't work with my wii ?

 

[obcd]

Yes, the possibility exists that a harddisk doesn't work on the wii.
Known harddisk issues are automatic spindown after a period of idle. Sometimes it's possible to disable this feature.

Basically, usb 3.0 should be downwards compatible with 2.0 and even 1.1. While on a pc, it is, the wii doesn't seem to like disks with an usb 3.0 interface.

I know some people will say this isn't true. It's my personal experience.
Maybe things have changed since as cios keep on getting updates.

 

[PsyBlade]

yet some ppl seem to hate this for reasons unknown

Well with some HD video files being in excess of 10 gigs gives reason enough.

I meant they hate the fact that the wbfs files are split

I am well aware of the limits of fat and would never use it on my pc except for small special purpose partitions.
(trying to create a 5TB fat32 multi device filesystem stretched over 8 drives sounds interesting, but not in a good way)

But much wii homebrew does not support anything else (eg HBC!) and the restrictions do not really mater there.
Even if you could play HD movies on a wii, spliting a movie is not that much slower
(10s vs 3s for a 350mb file - 100mb split size)

 

[Bumper]

I meant they hate the fact that the wbfs files are split

I am well aware of the limits of fat and would never use it on my pc except for small special purpose partitions.
(trying to create a 5TB fat32 multi device filesystem stretched over 8 drives sounds interesting, but not in a good way)

But much wii homebrew does not support anything else (eg HBC!) and the restrictions do not really mater there.
Even if you could play HD movies on a wii, spliting a movie is not that much slower
(10s vs 3s for a 350mb file - 100mb split size)

Well anything wii related that needs fat32 can afaik be run from the sd card so i really don't understand the amount of posts i read advising ppl to format their usb HD's to fat32, personally i have a 2tb usb drive with a dedicated 250gb partition as wbfs for the wii, the rest of the drive is ntfs so my tv will play the hd video files from the ntfs and the wii plays the games from the wbfs.

Simples

 

[PsyBlade]

Well anything wii related that needs fat32 can afaik be run from the sd card so i really don't understand the amount of posts i read advising ppl to format their usb HD's to fat32, personally i have a 2tb usb drive with a dedicated 250gb partition as wbfs for the wii, the rest of the drive is ntfs so my tv will play the hd video files from the ntfs and the wii plays the games from the wbfs.

If you like it keep it that way. But sooner or later someone splitting a drive will experience the anger of having enough free space, only in the wrong partition.
While it does not happen often with 2tb drive I would never do it with my 250gb wii disk.

edit: what I don't get is the amount of post still advocating WBFS.
It seems to eat games for lunch.

 

[Bumper]

what I don't get is the amount of post still advocating WBFS.
It seems to eat games for lunch.

I don't understand what you mean m8, I totaly understand you love your fat32 and thats fine for you, you don't use your drive for other things, i use mine for files larger than 4gb and so do most ppl so fat32 is not my choice and i just don't understad why you want to plug a file system that is tbh pants, i don't want to split my video files.

So my first post of

QUOTEWell with some HD video files being in excess of 10 gigs gives reason enough.

is more than reason enough for me not to want fat32.

 

[PsyBlade]

I do not love fat, in fact I think it's total crap.
It's the second worst fs still in use.
My points are
- on wii(!) it has the best support of the available fs.
- WBFS is the worst fs still in use (eg delete corrupts games).

 

[Bumper]

WBFS is the worst fs still in use (eg delete corrupts games).

Well personally i have never had a problem with it but the min i do it will be gone for a total ntfs.

Best regards Sir

 

[PsyBlade]

WBFS is the worst fs still in use (eg delete corrupts games).

Well personally i have never had a problem with it but the min i do it will be gone for a total ntfs.

Do as you like but if you don't believe me try wiimms wwt (wwt check)