USB Loader GX - Multiple USB Drives.

How to connect multiple HDDs at the same time on WiiU
at least one for WiiU games, and one for vWii homebrew​

Why do you need a guide to plug two HDDs?
The "two HDD at the same time" issue is usually an issue only with Nintendont+USBLoaders.
WiiU+USBLoaders were never an issue.
WiiU+Nintendont was an issue, but could be fixed by switching the USB order.
What is/was the issue is using both USBLoaders and Nintendont while having a WiiU HDD plugged at the same time without swapping manually based on which game you play(ed).


this guide is kind of obsolete now.
Since Nintendont 5.460, Nintendont is skipping incompatible USB devices.
Meaning it will NOT see the WiiU hdd at all. It's like if you have only one drive connected.


2 HDDs setup
This setup use the same HDD for Wii and Gamecube games.

So, now, the only guide you need is :
Plug your Ustealth vWii HDD to USB Port0 (the top back port)
Plug your WiiU HDD in any other USB Port.
Done !

Enjoy all your wiiU capabilities.


The different (old) guides

There are two methods (at least).

All the basis under this is that cIOS and IOS58 are mounting USB in different orders !
cIOS are mounting USB in incremental order, and only one port is enabled at a time: USB Port 0 then USB port 1 (usb libraries were never updated to check highest ports)
IOS58 is mounting USB in decremental order, and all ports are available at the same time : USB Port 3, USB Port 2, USB Port 1, USB Port 0

Information about gamecube games:
This guide let you use HDD to play Gamecube games.
This guide expect you to use an USBLoader for both Wii and Gamecube games, therefore you have to use FAT32 for gamecube games. ExFAT works with nintendont but can't be used inside USBLoaders. If you use exFAT, don't use USBLoaders and launch nintendont directly. If you use exFAT, this guide might have too many steps for you, as it let contains information to display gamecube games.

You are not forced to use Gamecube games on USB, you can use SD card for Gamecube games ! adapt the guide to your liking.


2 HDDs setup
This setup use the same HDD for Wii and Gamecube games.

hardware
Hide your vWii drive using Ustealth Windows app, or USBToggle vWii homebrew, or linux/macOS dd commands.
Connect the WiiU HDD in lower port number (in fact, Port0 only, top back on WiiU)
Connect the vWii HDD in Port 1 (bottom back on WiiU)
Connect Y-cable if your HDDs are not already externally powered to remaining USB ports, or external USB power sources. You can use a HUB connected to one of the front USB port to get additional y-cable power for 2 HDD, and keep an empty USB Port for gamecube adapter or controller's charging.

software
Install cIOS d2x v10-alternative r53 base 57
Setup the slot number you installed that IOS in your Wii USB Loader setting, do not use d2x r52 at all. set it to both loader's IOS AND game's IOS.
In USB Loader settings, if required, select the USB Port to use (example in USBLoaderGX : settings > HDD menu > port : 1)
If the loader doesn't find your game, maybe it still register the WiiU HDD as "first partition" (usb1:/). in that case, set the path to your Wii ISO games to the proper partition number (might be usb2:/wbfs/ for "second partition")
example in USBLoaderGX :

Settings > HDD Menu > install partition : click to select the partition where your Wii games are located​

result
- WiiU will not see the vWii hidden drive and will use WiiU HDD.
- Wii USBLoaders will skip the WiiU HDD (not a recognized format), and mount the first found compatible partition : Port0 (skip) > Port1 (partition 1 to 4)
- Nintendont will mount higher HDD in priority : Port1 partition 1 (that's all, only the first found FAT32 or exFAT partition)
- Other homebrew using IOS58 should work the same as nintendont.

Cons: Wii games require cIOS d2x r53 base 57 to enable Port1, which has less compatibility than r52 for Hardware and software. (emuNAND might not work, some games won't work like Just dance 2016, Wii games on SD will not work)
Pro: Easiest setup, it works with 2 HDDs, no need to unplug anymore, no need to heavily change and edit loader's settings, (should) works with ALL vWii homebrew.

Issue: if your HDD is not detected by USBLoaderGX, open the meta.xml in a text editor, delete commented lines if still present, and manually set --ios=58



3 HDDs Setup (requires additional USB HUB device) (thanks to balteck for this idea and testing)
This setup use different HDDs for Wii and gamecube games.

hardware
Hide both your vWii drives using Ustealth Windows app, or USBToggle vWii homebrew, or linux/macOS dd commands.
Connect the vWii HDD with Wii games in port 0 (top back)
Connect a USB Hub on port 1
Connect the WiiU HDD in the HUB's lower internal port number
Connect the vWii HDD with Gamecube games in the HUB's higher internal port number ! important !
Connect Y-cable if your HDDs are not already externally powered to remaining USB ports, or external USB power sources.

software
Install cIOS d2x v10 r52 base 57 (NOT v10-alternative r53)
Set the Wii USB Loader to use IOS58 inside the loader, and the slot number you installed the cIOS d2x v10 for game's IOS.
setup USBLoaders to mount multiple USB Ports
Setup USBLoader path to properly load Wii and Gamecube from their correct path (usb1:/wbfs/ usb2:/games/ etc.).
example in USBLoaderGX :

Settings > HDD Menu > install partition : click to select the partition where your Wii games are located
Settings > HDD Menu > USB Port : both
Settings > HDD Menu > List all partitions : Enabled
Settings > HDD Menu > Gamecube Main path : usb2:/games/​

result
WiiU will not see the vWii hidden drives and will use WiiU HDD connected to HUB.
Wii USBLoaders using IOS 58 is compatible with HUB. It will skip the WiiU HDD (not a recognized format), and mount the compatible partitions in this order : Port1 HUB 1 (Gamecube games) > Port 1 HUB 0 (WiiU, skip), Port0 (Wii games)
Wii games using cIOS will mount in incremental order : Port 0 (Wii games)
Nintendont will mount higher HDD in priority : Port1 HUB 1 partition 1 (that's all, only the first found FAT32 or exFAT partition)


Cons: you need a HUB, you need 3 HDDs, maybe you need lot of power supply too, but the hub will give you extra power slots for Y-cables, You need a lot of user setup and understanding how loaders are working!
Pro: it works with d2x r52 base 57, which has better hardware and software compatibility than r53 with a 2 HDD setup !

Issues: None?

Why it works fine :
cIOS mounts drives in increasing order (USB Port 0, then USB Port1), but r52 doesn't work with HUB so it will see only Port0.
IOS58 mounts drives in decreasing order (USB Port 1 hub 1, USB Port1 hub 0, USB Port 0), so :
- nintendont (and other homebrew using IOS58) will mount the first encountered HDD from the HUB with gamecube games
- USBLoader interface (using IOS58) will mount the first HDD with gamecube, skip WiiU HDD, mount the second HDD with Wii games
- USBLoader will reload to cIOS and only port 0 will work to play games on the first found HDD in port 0
- WiiU will skip the two stealth'd vWii HDDs and see only WiiU in HUB.



BONUS : 2 HDDs Setup (requires a non lazy human)
Get up and walk to your console to plug only ONE drive at a time based on the game type you want to play (WiiU or Wii/gamecube)

Cons: you need to get up from your couch
Pro: You do sports! you lose calories, you become less lazy, IT JUST WORKS !

Issue: If you don't want to get up, ask your sister, brother, family member to do it for you.


EXTRA BONUS : 1 HDD Setup (requires a non lazy human)
You can have WiiU games installed on a FAT32 partition when using a beta version of Mocha.
This way, you can store ALL your games on the same drive : WiiU, Wii, Gamecube

This is easy to setup, but requires a lot of steps each time you want to install a WiiU games.

To use this setup, you need a temporary WiiU HDD (required once).

hardware
Source HDD : any compatible drive to use as WiiU HDD. can be a small flash drive.
Target HDD : any FAT32 drive you use for vWii (and soon, WiiU too). 2TB partition max?
DO NOT HIDE your drive using Ustealth. if hidden, unhide it with Windows app, or USBToggle vWii homebrew, or linux/macOS dd commands.
Format the Target drive to a single MBR primary FAT32 partition. Important ! WiiU only mounts MBR Primary, not GPT, extended or logical partitions, and only FAT32 not exFAT.

Software requirement - working setup (installing game)
- CBHC or Haxchi OR Mocha (non beta)
- FTPiiU Everywhere (haxchi version should work with Mocha too) + Computer's FTP Client
- WUP Installer
- Game in Encrypted format
- Game in Decrypted format
- Enough space on NAND to install the game

Software requirement - deployment setup (playing games)
CBHC installed and setup to boot Mocha by default
Mocha beta located in SD:/wiiu/apps/mocha/mocha.elf
All other WiiU homebrew located on USB:/wiiu/apps/ (the USB becomes the SD ! SD is not available anymore after Mocha is loaded)

Preparing the USB
- Connect Source HDD and format it to wiiU format.
- if not using CBHC, Launch Haxchi or Mocha (non beta)
- Launch FTPiiU everywhere, and connect using a FTP Client
- Browse to USB and copy everything to computer
- On Target FAT32 partition, create a new folder on root named "usr" (if not already dumped from ftpiiU)
- Copy all extracted WiiU HDD data into the /usr/ folder

Source HDD not needed anymore.

Installing game to FAT32
annnnd no, you can't use WUP installer directly to FAT32 !
Mocha is beta, it doesn't have necessary library's function to convert WiiU file permission to FAT32.
You can't move game from internal to FAT32 using Data management menu either !

- Install encrypted game to NAND (not USB) using WUP installer of your choice !
- Copy Decrypted game to TARGET FAT32/usr/ folder (in the correct sub folder based on game's TitleID) *will add proper path later*
You can decrypt the game using one of the NUS decrypting tools, or one of the NUS downloading tool in decrypted format, or even FTPiiU Everywhere by getting the game from NAND!
- Delete the game from NAND using the settings > data management (game data not needed anymore, the ticket will remain and has marked the game as "game installed and launchable")

Cons: you need to install to NAND first, then delete the game from NAND. Some feature might not work (savegame creation? folder creation ? as Mocha FAT32 beta is missing WiiU commands interpreter)
Pro: you can use FAT32 ! only one HDD !!

Issue: You already had savegame and dlc on your NAND? you need to move them to USB too !
Note: Maybe you can do FXP (copying data from NAND to USB without going through computer), as it's the same source, maybe "copy /source /target", or even move instead of copy.
Note: if you don't launch Mocha directly from CBHC, the WiiU will ask you to format the drive ! DON'T !
Note: USB has priority over NAND. If you have a title installed on both, USB will prevail (savegame on USB, DLC on USB etc.), data on NAND will not be used/replaced/updated when playing the game from USB.

 

I will be trying the 2 hdd method out today. Finally got my second hard drive ready for wii games. Don't want to screw with unplugging and replugging the harddrives

 

Is there a list (hopefully a small one) of games that don't work when using r53? I'm planning on hacking my Wii U so I'm going to be hooking up another USB drive for installing Wii U games to. My only concern is Nintendont says having a Wii U drive hooked up could cause issues.

 

hmm, I don't think there's a known list.
It's more multiple reports from users.

What I remember (but I may be wrong) which don't work with d2x v10-alt (revision 53) :
- Some hard drives when using emuNAND. (it's either working or not at all, it's not game based, but hardware based)
- some Wii wbfs games located on SD (Kirby ... That's the only one I remember)
- Just dance 2016 ?

I'm not sure enough to give more game names.
So, it's maybe very small compared to working games.
The main issue is the emuNAND incompatibility, but not for everyone.
If you plan using r53 you'll have to test to know if it's an issue or not, but only if you know everything is correctly setup (settings in the loader set to port1, correct path, etc.)

 

@Cyan I was about to install d2x r53 and try your advice for having 2 drives (Wii U and Wii) connected at the same time until I thought of something. A little over 2 years ago (wow, has it been that long) you helped me out with an issue I was having regarding my emunand on a uStealth drive. You can refresh your memory here. So basically I worry that if I install r53 I'm going to have issues with my emunand again. Unless something has come out over the past 2 years so I can patch r53 just like I did for r52. So any thought now on how I can still have 2 drives connected and still have the ability to use uStealth and play my emunand games? Thanks.

 

someone just had the r53 issue with emuNAND, and fixed it with r52 :
https://gbatemp.net/threads/vwii-emunand-guide.438226/#post-7257453


for your question, I remember there is a version of d2x compatible with ustealth+emuNAND for r52, I don't know why it wasn't working on r53 (I should take a look).
What I remember : I think r53 doesn't use the libfat (strange, right?) or maybe there weren't any fat binary to replace in r53 folder.

I should check the cIOS files.
I'm sad without my PC and my files accessible freely when I need them. (I hope I can backup and restore all my files, but I don't know how much files I'll lose due to my fried PC from february)

 

Yes there is. That was @airline38 's mod which modified a file called fat.app in r52. But in the r53 folder there was no fat.app file to replace. (I never did try to just add the file anyways and see if it works though). Here's a link to that post too if interested. cIOSX rev21d2x: Yet Another Hot Fix!!!!

I was just thinking of something. This issue only applies if I am trying to run my emunand from a usb drive that is hidden via uStealth. So if I just move my emunand to my SD card then I shouldn't run into any problems, correct? The only reason why I had my emunand on my USB drive to begin with was because I was using a 2GB SD card and was trying to save space. But now that I followed the wiiu.guide tutorial I upgraded my SD card to 64GB as per their recommendation. So I have plenty of room. So I'll think I'll give that a shot. Move my emunand then follow your advice for installing r53 and using 2 drives.

And sorry to hear about your computer. Hopefully you can get a new one soon. I'll just throw this out there (even though I know you'll say no ) I'm sure there are plenty of people like me who are grateful for all the help you have given throughout the years and wouldn't mind donating a few bucks to help you get a new one

 

it is in the documentation:

Branch Pros Cons
d2x - Higher compatibility for nand emulation. - 1 usb port supported.
- Non plug&play usb devices, meaning that you MUST connect them before starting the game/usbloader.
d2x-alt - 2 usb ports supported.
- Fully plug&play usb devices, meaning that you can connect them when the game asks for them. - Lower compatibility for nand emulation.

https://github.com/davebaol/d2x-cios/wiki/How-to-choose-the-d2x-distribution-fitting-your-needs

It doesn't differentiate between SD/USB nor uStealth

 

But if you have your emunand on USB and your USB is hidden by uStealth emunand doesn't work. At least that's what happened to me until I used Airline38's modded fat.app file when installing r52.

But anyway, I tried copying my emunand to my SD card and it worked until I tried running a few games using neek. Then I realized that my neek was set up for uneek since my emunand was on my USB drive. So I guess I need to set up sneek since I now want to run my emunand from SD. But it's almost 11pm by me and I have to work in the morning so I'll try setting that up another day.

 

of course, stock d2x doesn't support uStealth.
But the point is, the d2x-alt core itself has lower emunand compatibility - unless a major change is made.
Neek does not use cios.

 

I'm trying to get the 3 USB HDD setup working, but I'm having some trouble..

I have 3 PORTABLE USB HDDs ie. they don't have separate power supplies.
One for Wii U
One for vWii *UStealthed*
One for NGC *UStealthed*

I've tried a few powered USB hubs and when I power on the Wii U, the system menu stays frozen on 'Please wait...' while the USB loading circle in the corner spins forever.

So to recap:

Port0: vWii HDD connected to top port on back using y-cable, powered by USB hub.
Port1: USB cable connecting to powered USB hub

7 port, powered USB Hub: lower port number has WiiU HDD connected via y-cable and powered by USB hub
next port number has NGC HDD connected via y-cable and powered by USB hub

So the USB hub is powering all 3 portable drives...

Is this the setup you have? Do you have a USB hub that you would recommend?

Do I need to swtich to externally powered, NON-portable HDDs? Ughhhhhh


*** EDIT: Did some more testing, and I think the issue relates to the fact that you can't have 2 (TWO) drives that are UStealthed... has anyone ever used UStealth on 2 drives? If not UStealth, what should I use??

 

Thank you for using my guide, and reporting issues.
I don't know any other users who tried to do it after I wrote it.


Ustealth is not limited in HDD number.

Your plugging setup seems correct.
I don't have a USB Hub myself, I wrote that guide based on another user's report saying he succesfuly connected 3 HDDs this way. and, by mount order logic of the IOS/cIOS, it does make sense it works this way.
Well, at least it "worked" this way.

Nintendont is now properly skipping the WiiU HDD if it's plugged in a higher number than the gamecube HDD.
so you only need to make sure the gamecube HDD is seen before the Wii HDD when using nintendont, you don't need to plug the WiiU HDD in a port number located between Wii and gamecube anymore.
Wii still need to be on Port0 (d2x r52 need that)
gamecube and wiiu can be plugged any order in any other ports now, you may not need the HUB anymore, except for the extra power for the Y-cable.


Did you try this :
1)
plug ONLY the HUB, and in the HUB only ONE hdd. (gamecube or wiiu)
does the console detect that drive/Boot ? (just to see if the hub is the problem or not, and if it's compatible)


2)
if not compatible, did you try to connect the hub in other USB Ports?
if still not working, I think the issue is your hub
I have no hardware suggestion I can provide, sorry. I never used one. maybe I could try to contact the user who reported it to me, if he is still visiting the forum.

3)
If your hub is compatible.
did you try to connect two drives only (not the wii hdd, just the hub + 2 HDD on it)?
did you try to connect two drives only, this time both Stealth ? (Wii + gamecube). This way you'll see if the issue is having more than one stealth'd drive. (I don't think it's the issue)
did you try to connect one drive to the hub, and one drive on the console? (let's say, gamecube on hub, wiiu on console)
Like I said, this is not a problem anymore to connect the wiiu to port 3 or 4, nintendont will skip it.

4)
the problem could be because the consoles sees 3 non partitionned HDD at the same time.
it doesn't find a partition table signature and treat them as 3 "wiiu hdd", but the console expect only 2 WiiU HDD at the same time?
If that's the problem, then the user who gave me this HUB guide would had the same issue too.



I think the new 3 HDD method should be like that :
3 HDDs Setup (NEW method) (requires additional USB power sources)
This setup use different HDDs for Wii and gamecube games.
- Wii HDD stealth, USB Port 0 for data, y-cable on an external power source (hub, USB adapter on power plug, pc, etc.)
- gamecube HDD stealth, USB Port 1 for data, y-cable on anything you want like above.
- WiiU HDD, on port 3 or 4 (front port), y-cable on anything you want like above.
USBGX loader's IOS : 58 (to list gamecube too)
USBGX game's IOS : d2x r52 base 57 (for Port0, with the best compatibility)

The HUB is not needed anymore, except to provide additional power, because I don't think you can "pump" the power from the WiiU for 3 drives simultaneously and expect to get enough.

 

Thanks for the reply Cyan!

I'm quite sure my hub is compatible, I've tried several scenarios and can confirm that the console does detect the drive when connected via the hub.

The NGC and vWii drives have been UStealthed. I've also tried USB TOGGLE with the same results.

The only way I'm able to get the system menu loaded is if I use only 2 out of the 3 drives. Here's the scenarios I've run, and I've externally powered each of the drives to eliminate any power source issues:

Any combination of 3 drives connected via hub or without hub, in all ports: System menu does not load, stays spinning on Please wait... forever

Combination of 2 drives connected via hub or without hub:
WiiU + vWii = system menu loads perfectly
WiiU + NGC = system menu loads perfectly
vWii + NGC = "Two or more USB storage devices are connected." This one is the most interesting, because if both drives are UStealth'ed, then shouldn't they both just not appear?

 

Ustealth drives are not really hidden, unseen or undetected.
they are seen as already formatted as WiiU format to prevent asking to format it while still having a partition table on sector 0 to be used by homebrew.

but what's strange is that any combination of WiiU + 1 Ustealth should result in the same detected scenario : 2 "already formated WiiU hdd detected at the same time". I wonder why you have the message only with Stealth drives, and not wiiu+stealth.

edit:
@Pacheko17 asked me how to do it, and said it worked. I'm not sure he tested the 2HDD or 3HDD setup.
I'm still trying to find the user who tested the 3HDD through HUB. (too many message to browse from)

@balteck was the user who discover the 3HDD setup over HUB
Maybe he could come here and help us.

 

Thanks again for digging up the info!

I'll continue some more testing, but I may have to resort to the 2 HDD method. Every combination I've tried, even using DIFFERENT USB hubs altogether give the same results. I can't help but think that it has something to do with 2 UStealth'ed drives connected at once, and not a hub or power supply issue.

As you mentioned in your guide for 2 HDD setup:

Cons: Wii games require cIOS d2x r53 base 57 to enable Port1, which has less compatibility than r52 for Hardware and software. (emuNAND might not work, some games won't work like Just dance 2016, Wii games on SD will not work)

How significant is this compatibility difference? Is there a list or compatibility chart that outlines what will work/won't work? In a 2 HDD setup, would Wii USB peripherals still work? Like a microphone, dance pad, etc?

Another concern I had was, by using an external power source or USB hub, is there a way that the drives turn off when the Wii U is off, and turn on when the Wii U is on?? That's one of the things I was hoping that this USB hub would achieve, but I'm not sure that's how this configuration would work. It would be less wear and tear on the drives. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

like I said, the guide I wrote is now outdated !
I wrote the guide based on an old version of nintendont, which mounted the FIRST seen drive, and crashed if it wasn't a compatible one.

Nintendont is now skipping incompatible HDD, so you don't need to plug the gamecube disc FIRST anymore.
You can use d2x r52, plug vWii on port 0, and WiiU HDD on port 1.
Nintendont will just skip Port1.

I don't know if you can use accessories with d2x r52, I think it works as USB Port 0 restriction is only for games (the WBFS library only mount USB Port 0 for backup of wii game). USB Port1 should work in games even if using r52, just be sure to plug your accessory before launching the game.


If you use an external power source, there's no way to shutdown the power at the same time than the console.
But with the 2 HDD setup, you shouldn't need the HUB or external source anymore.
I think the wiiU can provide enough power for 2 Y-cable at the same time.

 

If you are good at electronics, you can use a rely or even simple resister/transistor circuit (I will call them "the switch") to switch on/off an external power source while the switch itself is powered by a USB port from the console. Just remember don't drive a coil-based rely directly from USB, they might damage the USB port.

I don't know if ready made ones are available on the market.

 

Ah, it's truly hard to get the ultimate perfect setup here hahaha guess I got a little too ambitious...

- ALL WiiU backups
- ALL Wii backups
- ALL NGC backups
- Maximum compatibility and USB peripheral support
- USB ports available for GC controller adapter
- Automatic HDD power shut off on HDDs

All of this does not seem possible on 1 WiiU

 

Not true. I have spent many years crafting what I consider the perfect setup on the Wii and Wii U. Here is what I use. The Wii U can only see a max of 2TB. That doesn't mean that it can only use a max of a 2TB drive. You can plug in a 3TB drive or higher and it will read it but will only use the first 2TB. This is the only way you will truly hit the 2TB limit since a 2TB drive is actually less than that. But it seems like a waste of several hundred gigs of space in order to gain an extra hundred or so gigs of space for games. Plus the Wii U can only display 300 games on the Wii U home menu. So for the Wii U side of gaming I use a 2TB Western Digital My Book Essential USB Hard Drive that has it's own power supply. You can find it here (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA57Z2P08571).

For the vWii side of things I use the same kind of USB drive but bigger at 4TB. Here is a link to it (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822235169). On that I have all my Wii games, Gamecube games, WiiWare, and Virtual Console games. All are loaded through USB Loader GX with cios d2x-v10-beta52-vWii which has a modified FAT.app file from this page (https://gbatemp.net/threads/ciosx-rev21d2x-yet-another-hot-fix.277659/page-163#post-5092147) which allows WiiWare and Virtual Console games to work from a UStealth drive. I also have Nintendont set up in USB Loader GX for my Gamecube games and NEEK set up to launch those troublesome WiiWare games like Castlevania Rebirth.

In my opinion this is the perfect setup. I would like to note if you do decide to go with those drives there is a small issue I found where the drives won't load on first boot on the vWii (Wii U works perfectly). My way around this was to put the USB Loader GX in the app folder on the USB drive. Then when I would try and load up USB Loader GX using the forwarder, it would look for it but would not be able to find it because the drive wasn't working and restart. Then I would click on the forwarder again and this time around it would load. So my setup may not be 100% perfect but clicking on the forward twice instead of once to get into the Loader is ok by me. Send me a PM if you want to talk to me about this further. I'd be more than happy to help get you set up like mine.