Hacking WBFS vs NTFS

[jadog]

Which is better to format my Hard Drive as - WBFS or NTFS? And why?

 

[XFlak]

wbfs only saves wii games (read and write support) and cannot store anything else, and it cannot be read natively by windows

ntfs can save anything on it, but the wii will only read wii games, all other homebrew will not work (and mplayer can play videos off of it)

this last option is the best (in my opinion)... fat32, it can read and write wii games to/from the HDD (NTFS doesn't have write support), and u can also launch homebrew off of it. [So this is the only file system that can be used to play wii games without an sd card to launch the loader (unless the loader is saved as a channel on the real nand)]

 

[jadog]

Does Fat32 have a file size constraints that I need to know about? Also, I thought dumping a game with Waninkoko's Dvd Dump Tool over WiFi was currently the fastest way (takes about 3 hours). Is there a faster way using a Fat32 hard drive?

 

[XFlak]

fat32 has 4gig size constaints, but the only files that exceed that size are wii games, which can be split into 4gb parts to fit onto fat32 without any problems.

fastest way to dump a game is to use a usb loader, takes 5-10 minutes

 

[jadog]

Thanks for your help XFlak. I'm a little new to all of this so I trying to read as much as possible. So if I dump the game onto my hard drive, then it can be re-constructed into an iso on my pc, right? Should I just use USB LoaderGX or would you recommend CFG USBLoader?

 

[FenrirWolf]

I'm a fan of CFG loader, but that's just me. If you're planning on using FAT32/NTFS it's currently supported better than in GX too.

 

[dinofan01]

All i know is FAT/NTFS has been a pain in the ass for me. I've just been sticking with WBFS now.

 

[rayben]

I had a FAT partition for video until I started ripping all my DVDs to .iso. Never really found a way to split em so I went Half NTFS half WBFS.

 

[XFlak]

correct

I like cfg, but try both and decide for yourself

cheers

 

[jadog]

So if I understand correctly, FAT32 would be good except that I won't be able to convert the files back to ISO on the PC side. What about if I were to go half WBFS and half FAT32? Can I use the FAT32 to store/play emulator games from?

 

[XFlak]

dont listen to the others in this thread, as they have had trouble getting fat32 working properly, they have a bias towards sticking with what they know (whereas I have tried all of the formats)

u want 1 fat32 partition, the only downside to this is if you have any SINGLE files OTHER than wii games that are larger than 4 gigs, they can't be stored on it (at least not without splitting them into parts using winrar or hjsplit). So if your hard drive is to be used solely for the wii, fat32 is the way to go, if the drive is also used to store high def movies (for example) larger than 4 gigs, u may want to consider ntfs.

using PC programs like wii backup manager, u can easily transfer files to/from wbfs,fat32,ntfs and convert them to/from iso/wbfs/ciso. In fact this program can makes sparsed ISOs (which is the exact same as an ISO but it takes up less space). Default settings is to automatically splits files into 4gb parts if you are transfering to FAT32, and if transferring to ntfs it will transfer as a sparsed ISO (no splitted). These settings can be changed to suit your preference.

 

[jadog]

Ok, I can definitely see how a single fat32 partition could be useful. However, what else can I use it for? Like, can I store/play snes and other classic console roms on there? Also, is it possible to play VC and WiiWare games from the Fat32 format?

If not, then I could quite easily store all my other homebrew on an SD card and then use the WBFS formatted hard drive for the games.

 

[tj_cool]

Afaik, both emulators (NES, SNES roms) and Triiforce (VC/WiiWare) can read FAT32 partitions.

 

[XFlak]

basically everything wii related (including storing roms, apps, wii games, emulated nands, wads, etc.) can run off fat32. It can still be used on your pc for other things (but files larger than 4 gigs must be split)

wbfs can only read/write wii games and nothing else (no homebrew apps). It cannot be used on your pc for other things.

ntfs can only read wii games and movies (no homebrew apps, and no write support). It can still be used on your pc for other things.

 

[jadog]

Ok, then I'll probably just start with FAT32. Any reason why people don't format 10GB to FAT32 (for homebrew) and format the rest to WBFS?

 

[XFlak]

wbfs can only store wii games, fat32 stores it all

if u decide u want 11 gigs for homebrew, u cannot easily resize your wbfs partition

 

[jadog]

I understand. The only reason I would do this would be better compatibility for USB Loader GX. I like the interface better then CFG Loader...

Although I heard that if you accidentally turn off the drive during game play, the WBFS format could become corrupt. This would be less likely with FAT32 though.

 

[XFlak]

usb loader gx can run fat32 just fine

 

[jadog]

Ok, FAT32 it is!!!

Thanks for all the guidance!

 

[FullMetalEnginee]

I Have like 20 gigs on a fat32 partition and another 1.97TB pure of just NTFS..
NTFS is ideal for anything >30 gigs and works fine with all wii games... it's a pain in the ass to have a giant 1TB drive that's fat 32 and you are forced to split up huge files.

WBFS is a waste of a drive.. NTFS writing isn't needed anyway, just use a computer to dump games.