Hacking Help formatting HD to WBFS

[mikey89]

ok First im gonna tell you everything im using.
1. Configurable USB backup loader
2. 500 GB WD external hard drive
3. Windows Vista

Whenever i try to format it using any WBFS manager, it say, "error occurred". i have Partitioned it to i think 400gb Raw and 100gb unallocated. also ive tried starting under admin. when i plug it into my wii. it make me format it then i can download games on it perfectly but when i unplugged it and plugged back in it made me format again. much appreciated it anybody can help sorry if this has already been covered in a another thread

 

[EeZeEpEe]

ok First im gonna tell you everything im using.
1. Configurable USB backup loader
2. 500 GB WD external hard drive
3. Windows Vista

Whenever i try to format it using any WBFS manager, it say, "error occurred". i have Partitioned it to i think 400gb Raw and 100gb unallocated. also ive tried starting under admin. when i plug it into my wii. it make me format it then i can download games on it perfectly but when i unplugged it and plugged back in it made me format again. much appreciated it anybody can help sorry if this has already been covered in a another thread

First you must format the drive to FAT32. Then use a WBFS manager or a USB loader to format to WBFS. Personally I prefer keeping the drive FAT32 and converting games to .wbfs files.

 

[mikey89]

I tried that doesn't work. also even it it did work i wanna use more that 32 GB. also when i format it on my wii it only formats 127 a really weird number.

 

[Elritha]

I tried that doesn't work. also even it it did work i wanna use more that 32 GB.

Well windows should allow you to format more then 32GB. Are you sure you didn't select FAT instead of FAT 32?

 

[EeZeEpEe]

I tried that doesn't work. also even it it did work i wanna use more that 32 GB.

Well windows should allow you to format more then 32GB. Are you sure you didn't select FAT instead of FAT 32?

I have over 100 GB of games on a FAT32 hard drive. Like Edhel said, make sure it's FAT32.

 

[mikey89]

No if your using anything windows vista and above it wont let you format anything over 32gb to fat 32. look it up i pretty sure im right. it a restriction to make you only use NTSC.

 

[EeZeEpEe]

No if your using anything windows vista and above it wont let you format anything over 32gb to fat 32. look it up i pretty sure im right. it a restriction to make you only use NTSC.
Okay, didn't know about that cause I'm on a Mac. So I looked it up and got the following:
QUOTEThe Windows 2000/XP installation program and filesystem creation tool imposes a limitation of 32 GB. However, both systems can read and write to FAT32 file systems of any size. This limitation is by design and according to Microsoft was imposed because many tasks on a very large FAT32 file system become slow and inefficient. This limitation can be bypassed by using third-party formatting utilities.

I don't know what windows users use but the Complete Sofmod Guide recommends EASEUS Partition Manger 3.0. Here's the WBFS for Windows part of the guide.

 

[mikey89]

Im being really careful now cause i used partion magic and it F***ed up my system and delete my D drive/backup drive. but it turn out partion magic isnt compatible with window vista. so now im trying to fix that to.

P.S. Windows is Lame i agree with your mac decision. but lacking in the fund to buy one

 

[fig2k4]

WBM can format to WBFS, even directly from NTFS.. Vista/Win7 has extra security that stops regular apps from writing to certain sectors on a drive, but I figured out how.

Just partition your drive as normal in Vista, then use WBM to format to FAT32 or WBFS from the tools menu. If there's an error formatting, unplug the drive, plug it back in and it'll work.

For anyone that's interested.. A drive must be dismounted in Vista/Win7 to format it, but the function call always fails. I found that it fails in a "pending" state because I have a handle already open. Ignoring this failure allows the drive to be formatted.

 

[OncleJulien]

i pretty sure im right. it a restriction to make you only use NTSC.

that pretty much screws almost everyone outside of north america, doesnt it?

 

[EeZeEpEe]

i pretty sure im right. it a restriction to make you only use NTSC.

that pretty much screws almost everyone outside of north america, doesnt it?

lol. I'm pretty sure he meant the format NTFS.

 

[wii knee]

You have to run the WBFS manager as Adminitrator. Whatever software you're using (i use WBFS Manager) right-click and 'run as admin'. This is true for adding your back-up games via pc to hd

 

[mikey89]

Fig: i tried your WBM clicked format drive, chose letter, error occured, unplugged it,plugged it back in. So do i click ok on the error or just leave it until it works?

Wii Knee: Already tried that said that in my first post.

Starting to really piss me off even got a friend mac and the drive didnt even show up in his computer. AHHHHHH. Thx for all the help. keep it coming

 

[fig2k4]

Any errors that I've seen during formatting were caused by the drive being in use elsewhere. So the plug out/in usually clears any open handles on the drive.

Click OK on the error, close the format dialog, then try again when the drive shows up in Windows, after plugging it back in.

If you still have problems, maybe try recreating the volume in Windows disk management. Delete the volume and create it again without formatting. Then use WBM to format the volume. It should show up even if there's no drive letter assigned by Windows.

 

[ipawii]

Has anyone ever tried the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool, used for flash drives, but may work.
Or a gui of the old command line formatting tool here.
GL

 

[maduin]

No if your using anything windows vista and above it wont let you format anything over 32gb to fat 32. look it up i pretty sure im right. it a restriction to make you only use NTSC.

format the drive to FAT32 in windows (I'm almost positive it'll let you do it greater than 32GB, have you actually tried to do it?) Then plug it into your Wii and let your USB Loader format the drive, then plug it back into your PC and find the drive with WBFS Manager, the letter should appear in your My Computer window, and use that letter in WBFS Manager.

 

[mikey89]

Ipawii: hey the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool worked thx alot. i formatted it to fat32. although it formatted my whole HD but after that all the other softwares worked. then i used EASEUS to partition it how i wanted it. Then used WBFS manager to format to WBFS.

Maduin: Im positive anything vista and over look it up. i actaully tried 34 GB didnt work. went down to 31 and it suddenly worked . the only way around it is a third party software. Like the two i stated above.

Thx for the help Everyone i truly appreciate it.

 

[fig2k4]

Windows won't let you format over 32GB. It's just another ploy by Microsoft, trying to rule the world. They want everyone to use NTFS, so they say that FAT32 isn't stable above 32GB. Most other sources say the stable max is around 2 TB.

 

[maduin]

well, then I suggest using Paragon Partition Manager to format it to FAT, then let a USB Loader format your drive. I know the earlier releases of Waninkoko's 1.1 would detect either RAW or FAT and when you plugged it into the Wii and would prompt you to format it to WBFS, I'm not sure if the newer loaders do though.