Does a hard drive need to have an external power source to be compatible with the Wii U?
The FAQ for the Wii U regarding external storage recommends that you use an external hard drive with a dedicated power source, but is the dedicated power source absolutely necessary? I want to know, because I have an extra external hard drive lying around that doesn't connect to an external power source, and I am wondering if it will work.
Best Answer
According to Nintendo support, a dedicated power source is not necessary, but recommended.
Can bus-powered hard disc drives be used with Wii U?
Some bus-powered hard disc drives draw more current than the USB 2.0 specification and might not run stably, so we cannot guarantee that such devices will run properly on Wii U without the use of a supplemental power cable called a y-cable that draws power from two USB ports. For best results, we recommend using a external storage device with its own power supply that connects to the Wii U system via the USB port on the console.
Emphasis mine.
From the above quote, it appears that although the use of a y-cable is already good enough, you might still encounter a drive requiring more power than even two USB 2.0 ports together can officially provide.
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Does an external hard drive need a power source?
Hard drives require power to operate, depending on the type of drive an HDD requires either 5v or 12v. %v can be supplied through USB while hard drives that need 12v typically require a power adapter (external drives) or direct connection to the PSU (power supply unit) for internal drives.Can Wii U power hard drive?
Nintendo recommends USB hard drives with their own external power supply, though some bus-powered hard drives still work if you purchase a USB Y-Cable. This uses the two USB ports on the back of the Wii U to power the drive. Nintendo also states that hard drives over 2 TB won't work at all.Can any hard drive work on Wii U?
The Wii U can recognize a storage device in any size, but 2TB is the maximum amount of storage capacity the Wii U can use. Any extra capacity beyond 2TB will not be accessible by the Wii U. The external hard drive has to be formatted to be used exclusively with the Wii U.How do I connect a hard drive to my Wii U?
Connect the external hard drive to the Wii U.Connect the USB cable of the external hard drive to the Wii U USB port at the front of the console or at the back. Both will work just fine.How to connect an external HDD to WiiU WITHOUT a separate power supply
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Answer 2
To clarify definitions for my answer (as this is atleast relative to how they are packaged here, in Australia), external hard drives are the bigger units that have a dedicated power source, while portable hard drives are smaller, and power from the USB connection.
Note that Nintendo only recommend an external hard drive, and do not list it as a hard requirement.
The Wii-U can support portable hard drives, however, an external is simply more efficient.
I can think of two reasons off the top of my head.
- Not requiring the Wii-U to power the hard drive is simply one less thing it is doing. This will have an arguabley insignificant impact on performance and/or reliability.
- Generally speaking, it is easier to obtain larger hard drives in external format. Larger hard drives hold more games.
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