Reddit Reddit reviews INSTEN Dual USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B USB Y Shape High Speed Cable for External Hard Drive/Seagate/Toshiba/WD/Wii-U/Note 3/Galaxy S5/HDD Enclosure (21 Inches)(A Male to Micro B) Data Sync and Charging

We found 55 Reddit comments about INSTEN Dual USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B USB Y Shape High Speed Cable for External Hard Drive/Seagate/Toshiba/WD/Wii-U/Note 3/Galaxy S5/HDD Enclosure (21 Inches)(A Male to Micro B) Data Sync and Charging. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Computer Accessories & Peripherals
Computer Cables & Interconnects
USB Cables
Electronics
Computers & Accessories
INSTEN Dual USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B USB Y Shape High Speed Cable for External Hard Drive/Seagate/Toshiba/WD/Wii-U/Note 3/Galaxy S5/HDD Enclosure (21 Inches)(A Male to Micro B) Data Sync and Charging
The 2-connector Y-design USB 3.0 A Male cable will help you to boost your device/drive effortlessly.The 2-connector Y-design USB 3.0 A male cable would help you to stabilize your device/ drive power supply with up to 5Gbps transfer rate.Connect this with your Micro-B devices such as HDDs, PCs, laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras, printers, Wii-U or other devices with low power output USB ports.Notes: device/drive must be Micro-B USB 3.0 compatible. Compact and lightweight for portability. Cable length: 21 inch.Compatible with Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Galaxy S5 Note Pro 12.2 / External Hard Drive Buffalo Imation Seagate Toshiba WD Western Digital My Passport Hitachi / HDD Enclosure / Printer / Scanner / Modem / Camera / All devices with Micro-B USB 3.0 port.
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55 Reddit comments about INSTEN Dual USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B USB Y Shape High Speed Cable for External Hard Drive/Seagate/Toshiba/WD/Wii-U/Note 3/Galaxy S5/HDD Enclosure (21 Inches)(A Male to Micro B) Data Sync and Charging:

u/annoyingone · 6 pointsr/wiiu

This is the HDD that I have been using for 9 months without issue. With this y cable. Works perfect.

u/wpnz · 6 pointsr/WiiUHacks

I have that same HDD, make sure you get a USB Y cable to help power it from 2 ports.

u/shortstack51 · 4 pointsr/wiiu

I get stuck on "Checking USB storage device..." when I try to format an HDD, even after purchasing a y cable. This has been a week-long saga getting this to work. Why is this so difficult?

I saw that the Seagate Expansion external drive was recommended by Nintendo, so I picked up a 500 gb. I saw someone else on a forum say it worked for them. However, my y-cable just came in and it's still not working. This is the y cable I bought: http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-dual-Micro-B-Cable-Black/dp/B005M0ICG2 I have a white 8 gb wii u if that matters.

I tried plugging it into my computer with 1 cable and it works fine, so it's not the drive. I made sure it wasn't partitioned out of the box. I have it plugged into the front two USB ports. What do I do? Did I waste $50? (I bought it on clearance at Target--I don't think I can return it).

Edit: Turns out I needed to use the back USB ports. Problem solved.

u/Zulithe · 3 pointsr/PS4

The old 500GB drive from your PS4 will make an excellent hard drive for your Wii U if you don't have one yet. If you follow this guide, you'll put your PS4's old drive in the enclosure of the replacement drive, so it's almost ready to go. Just get a Y-cable for it (if it's a USB 3.0 drive, use this one), and remove all the partitions from it (no need for even format it), and plug it into your Wii U, go it its settings menu to finish the setup.

u/Doiq · 3 pointsr/wiiu

I just ordered this along with a y cable:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CRZ2PRM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wanted to keep it to a terabyte or lower since the hard drive has to be dedicated to the Wii U due to Nintendo's encryption. I read reviews for both the hard drive and y cable and multiple users stated they worked well with their Wii U.

u/NegrOtaku89 · 3 pointsr/wiiu

Here you go. I've been using this one for 2 yrs with no issue. It's USB 3.0 $6.99 & Prime Eligible.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/sparksdls · 3 pointsr/ipad

Lightning provides little power - you'll need to provide external power either through a Lightning dongle supporting it or Y-cable like this -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2

u/MyHugbox · 3 pointsr/Xenoblade_Chronicles

No, flash drives aren't built for constant read-writes like other drives. It will greatly shorten the life span of the device.

Sounds like you already have an hard drive. Just look for an USB 3.0 external case for it, kinda like this 10$ case

Then a Y-cable

u/Moist-Moose · 3 pointsr/nintendo

There's no real good summary in the comments here, and I just looked into all of this since I'm in the same situation.

Nintendo recommends you use an externally powered hard drive, like this. The single USB port doesn't have enough power to use a more portable hard drive, like this, unless you have a Y-cable, like this. The Y-cable provides enough power to the hard drive for proper operation since there are two usb ports. The problem is that Y-cables can be hard to find locally, and you almost always have to order them online. Mine is taking 3 weeks to get here.

Flash drives can also be used, but Nintendo says that the constant writing and re-writing that occurs on the drive as a result of gameplay can eventually corrupt what is on the flash drive, possibly deleting data and save files. Of course, it's up to you what you do, but the general consensus is that externally powered hard drives are the most reliable way to go.

If you google "Nintendo Wii U Hard Drives" Nintendo has a whole page on it. Can't link to it since I'm at work.

u/jijipopo · 3 pointsr/wiiu

Or a Brand Flash Drive 128gb ~ $25 - $50 amazon and ebay
EDIT: For $56.99 you can get a 1TB (~960gb) HDD but you need a Y cable which is $6 more ($63 semi-total for HDD)
Have a great day!
Links:
Y-Cable, HDD
and the FlashDrive

u/TheCrazedGeek · 3 pointsr/wiiu

This is the one I have, it's worked perfectly for me for over a year: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M0ICG2/

u/marianodlt · 3 pointsr/wiiu
u/rjung · 2 pointsr/wiiu

To be honest, just about any external hard drive you get should be fine. The price difference between a 1TB and a 2TB is so small that it shouldn't be a factor.

I got one of the WD Passports and it works great. It doesn't use external power, just a USB 3.0 cable, but I got a USB Y-adaptor from Amazon and haven't had any issues.

u/GoldenShadowGS · 2 pointsr/wiiu

USB HDD enclosure $13

120GB SSD $53

USB cable required $7

I got these links from my Amazon order history. I bought them over a year ago and its still working flawlessly with my Wii U. Just connect it and forget about it. It uses both USB ports on the back to work.

u/2Little2LateTiger · 2 pointsr/wiiu

I use

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CI3BLPA/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_awdm_uvIxwb8NV3SGQ

and I got a Y cable so that the power draw isn't a issue.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M0ICG2/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_awdm_zwIxwbVZJQE8M

It's small and I love that I got this thing to death. Being able to just download a game when I want it and not worry about space has been great.

u/shr1ke · 2 pointsr/xboxone

Spinning all the time? Not a problem. Constantly starting up/hibernating? That could definitely be a problem.

The problem you may be thinking of was with older spec USB (usually on ports on the front of a PC case) and older more power-hungry 2.5" drives.

Older 2.5" external drives would come with a USB "Y" cable which would plug into 2 ports on the host machine - one to provide power and the other for power & data transfer.

Older (USB 2.0 and before) ports had a max amperage of 500mA (and some provided even less than this). USB 3.0 specs call for 900mA @ 5V which should be enough juice to power an external hard drive.

This article on a HGST Travelstar (which, incidentally, is probably the same drive OP's using) shows some important specs:

>Power requirements:
Startup (peak, max) 5.5W
Read/Write (avg) 1.8W
Low Power Idle 1.0W
Performance Idle 1.7W

So we know the power requirements of the drive. How about the USB ports? We know the USB 3.0 specs (from above: 0.9A @ 5V), so some high school calculations using I(current, amps) = P(power, watts) / V(voltage) rearranged to P=IV gives us 4.5W.

Which is more than enough to power an external 2.5" drive while spinning. For Peak power draw it's a watt less, but should be fine once started. The motherboard/port can handle that briefly.

Making it even less likely that there's not enough juice for the drive is that I don't have the issue, yet I'm using a functionally identical setup by having a HGST Touro S plugged into my Xbox One with no problems at all. That's the same drive as well.

tl;dr: it's not the ports or the drive (unless they're faulty
). Could be the enclosure. Can try a USB Y cable to check, I guess...

*Edit: Added a word and caveat for faulty port/drive.

u/erragodofmayhem · 2 pointsr/techsupport

Sounds like the drive isn't always getting enough power (USB 2 power < USB 3 power) - because compatibility issues between the 2 basically shouldn't happen unless the device has extra drivers it needs.

I haven't read you mention the size of the passport, but I see this regularly with any external drive over 1TB.

Sometimes, the issue is the USB cable itself, not passing on the power as efficiently as before. Often the drive will still seem to start up and spin, but simply doesn't get all the juice it needs to "boot up" all the way.

When a drive isn't getting enough power, a common occurrence is a soft clicking sound because the plates' headers keep alternating between "Read mode" and "idle mode".

Possible solutions:

  • Replace the USB cable. If you only have "cheap ones", try buying a higher quality name brand cable. This might give the drive enough power over USB 2

  • Ezramore made a good suggestion with the USB Y cable, which lets you plug in 2 USB's into the computer for some extra power. I would not suggest trying to make one yourself, you'll easily run into the same "lack of power" issue (unless you're just really good with wiring)

  • It could be the contacts of the enclosure not passing the power through properly (when it's on an underpowered USB 2 port) - You could consider removing the bare drive from the passport enclosure and installing it into an empty enclosure. At this point you could also consider getting an enclosure with its own PSU since it might be the drive itself trying to pull too much power
u/SmegmaChicken · 2 pointsr/WiiHacks

Given you showed what model you bought that isn't the right cable due to being a fat usb port and not a y-cable port.

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-B-External-Seagate-Toshiba-Hitachi/dp/B005M0ICG2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1537650486&sr=1-1&keywords=y+cable+usb

This is the correct one.

u/wiithewalrus · 2 pointsr/24hoursupport

Hey, looked into the product you linked to, but I have a quick question.

The one you linked has a microUSB (which I would have to stick into the hard drive). Thing is, my hard drive doesn't have a microUSB, it has an extended version, like the one here:
http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-dual-Micro-B-Cable-Black/dp/B005M0ICG2/ref=pd_cp_e_1#customerReviews

So the one I found LOOKs like a better choice, except that this one needs two USB 3 when I only have 2.0. Would it still get enough juice from my laptop?

u/Kammuller · 2 pointsr/wiiu
u/Kilvoctu · 2 pointsr/smashbros

Couldn't find information on Nintendo's site, but after reading your description, I'm guessing it's something like this for the mentioned drive?

u/StringBoi · 2 pointsr/wiiu

I bought this drive along with a USB Y Cable to power it properly. It would not work with the single USB that came with it....not enough power, the Y cable fixed that.

u/JiminyWillikerz · 2 pointsr/wiiu

You could also use a USB Y cable. That way it draws power from the second USB port as well. Just make sure it is the right one that will fit the port on your hard drive.

u/Kaderik · 1 pointr/techsupport

It actually doesn't fit. Here is a pick, the Toshiba USB cable is on the left: http://imgur.com/a/ySCO4. The black plastic "teeth" don't allow it to fit in any of the other USB ports.

A standard USB cord on the right for comparison.

I bought an Insten Dual USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B USB cable (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

The Toshiba external hard drive is getting power, but doesn't pop up as the list of devices to access on the computer.

Edit: The Insten cable doesn't have the black plastic "teeth."

u/DeLuca2400 · 1 pointr/wiiu

You need a y cable to get enough power to the hard drive [Here's a good one] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005M0ICG2/ref=pd_aw_sim_e_1?refRID=0QVWWMPQ9Y6KECFKY5EN)

u/Cyo_The_Vile · 1 pointr/Piracy

Yep. I just bought a 2TB an hour ago at Walmart and I can 100% confirm that the default cable WILL NOT WORK with the Wii U. Tried it and the Wii U won't recognize it.
I just bought this and should arrive in two days. This is the exact Y cable you need:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image

u/brandonarnold · 1 pointr/Surface

This is easily reproduced, as I tried with 2 different 3TB My Passport Ultra hard drives and 2 different 512GB Microsoft Surface Book laptops.

It would seem the Surface Book outputs less than the 650 mA power requirements of the drive, over the USB 3.0 ports.

But I've had mixed results with this assumption. I got one full backup done by going through my Satechi 10 port USB 3.0 hub. I also bought this power booster cable as per strikr's comment above. Notice that it has a Y with 2 USB Type B connectors--you have to plug both into the computer because that's how it doubles the power.

The problem is, many times it still has the same behavior. This does not completely fix the problem.

u/Tomugol · 1 pointr/WiiUHacks

Oh! You'll probably need one of these. I didn't know this and it led to 4 very frustrating and impatient days waiting for a package to arrive. You likely won't find these in stores. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/RGV_RAGE · 1 pointr/wiiu

This is the one I have

Just make sure the connector matches whatever hdd you get.

Only problem I've had was system error when downloading 1GB+ files after June update. Fixed by switching to usb ports on front of Wii U. Heard it was more widespread than just my system, and was fixed in later update. No problems since then.

u/samvest · 1 pointr/wiiu

You don't need a self powered drive but you do need a y cable
Http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005M0ICG2/

u/Genghis_Tron187 · 1 pointr/wiiu

I bought this exact drive and it seems to be working OK. I've had good luck with Toshiba drives (seems like others have different stories). You will need a Y cable though, if you only have 1 cable hooked up, it will click due to lack of power.

Here is the Y cable I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M0ICG2/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Be warned that the Y cable is coming from China, so don't expect it soon. The cable quality actually seems decent though.

u/MacheteSanta · 1 pointr/empyriongame

Get a Y cable so the drive gets power from two USB ports

MicroUSB 3.0 Y cable or the older tech MiniUSB 2.0 Y cable

u/BerserkOlaf · 1 pointr/wiiu

Yeah, specific format, you won't be able to use your HDD for anything else.

Also if your HDD has no external power supply (I don't think those still exist), you will probably need a Y cable (like this).

The problem is the Wii U USB ports don't have sufficient power for a typical HDD, so if you are using a standard cable you may encounter disc read errors, freezes and the like. The Y cable is using 2 ports to power the HDD instead of 1.

u/ewzzy · 1 pointr/WiiHacks

Well the biggest risk is that Wii might not be able to power the drive. A drive with a separate power plug is more likely to work. You can also use the a Y cable plugged into 2 USB slots.

https://www.amazon.com/Micro-B-External-Seagate-Toshiba-Hitachi/dp/B005M0ICG2/

u/Soulcloset · 1 pointr/WiiUHacks

When/if you do, keep in mind that the WiiU doesn't supply enough power from one USB port alone. You'll need a splitter cable for the HDD, something like this.

u/BrewingHeavyWeather · 1 pointr/buildapc

While 500GB can be bought, only notebook drives still have platters that small. 12TB HDDs are on the way, and 500GB is what big PC makers get, to save $1 on a new PC. 1TB has been the mainstream small size for at least 3 years, now.

If you want bus-powered USB ones, WD and Toshiba tend to be good, IME.

You can buy a drive an enclosure, but a bus-powered USB 3.0 one will usually be more convenient (if it comes with a regular USB 3.0 micro cable, you can buy cables like this to get USB 2.0 compatibility).

If a notebook-sized enclosure, get one that takes bus power from USB. Full-sized enclosures almost all have their own power bricks, since USB power would be too expensive to implement.

u/thepocketnerd · 1 pointr/WiiUHacks

Do you have it plugged into the USB ports in the back with the data plug in the bottom port? I've only ever used the Seagate model with all my consoles and they've always worked like a charm. This is the Y cable I have. (A Male to Micro B) Data Sync and Charging https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M0ICG2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_n3oNDb80WTDEN)

u/ducttapedude · 1 pointr/techsupport

If it's a portable HDD and it shuts down during heavy usage then it might be drawing too much power. You might try using one of those Y connectors: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M0ICG2

Back in the day Macs were notorious for not supplying enough power for portable hard drives because of their stupid port layout (internal USB hubs and stuff). I'm not sure if that's the case still.

Anyway on to your questions:

  1. What do you mean by portable Windows 8 installation? You mean an ISO or an actual installed-to-a-USB-drive Windows 8 installation? There's Windows To Go but that's only for Enterprise versions. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx

  2. No idea.

  3. Something is wrong with the hardware configuration. I've had this happen when the SATA mode is not set to AHCI for example, or vice versa.
u/Coreyhustle · 1 pointr/WiiHacks

Do you have a usb y cable for your hard drive? Some hard drives can’t draw enough power due to the USB power limitations on the Wii.

Insten Dual USB 3.0 Type A to... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M0ICG2?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

u/abxyz4509 · 1 pointr/wiiu

Here are some Amazon links if you want:

Y-Cable

External Hard Drive. I use the older version of this one and it has held up. The reviews for this version say it works as well.

u/illinoisadvertising · 1 pointr/gaming
u/edge000 · 1 pointr/wiiu

If you have an old laptop that you don't use anymore - you can take the hard drive out, and put it in a usb enclosure. That works like a charm. I've done this three times - once on my hacked Wii, my WiiU and my Nvidia Shield TV.

Here's a link for a Y cable to use with it.

u/TNAKK · 1 pointr/wiiu

Well I wouldn't have to use the enclosure if I just got a portable external HDD. Right? I could just use something like this and this cause I am confused what kind of Y cable to get because they are all different.

u/DonSerrot · 1 pointr/wiiu

For the particular drive I was given all I needed to do was get a different USB cable because the Wii U didn't provide enough power from a single USB port. Never had a problem with it after that.

u/resonantt · 1 pointr/wiiu

USB Sticks are generally fine I think, but if its a Harddrive it needs both power and data lines.

For reference I have one of these

but you need one of these cables.

u/mb862 · 0 pointsr/wiiu

If the hard drive can operate without external power, it'll work on the Wii U, but the read speeds will be pretty bad.

You can get a USB Y-cable like this one that uses two USB ports to supply the requisite power for better read speeds.

I currently use one with a Western Digital portable hard drive, never had any issues.