How to Copy Wii Saves With USB Flash Drives

The Nintendo Wii stores its game data in its internal memory, which is different from some other Nintendo products that store data on the game cartridge. To copy your Wii save data to a flash drive, you have to first put it onto an SD or SDHC card. With your save files on a flash drive, you can easily transfer them to other devices, and you're able to save space in the Wii's internal memory.

Copy Data to the SD Card

Step 1

Turn on the Wii.

Step 2

Insert the SD card into the SD card slot on the Wii. The SD card slot is below the disk drive on the console; pull open the cover over the slot.

Step 3

Select the "Wii Settings" icon from the main Wii Menu.

Step 4

Select "Data Management," "Save Data," "Wii" then the "Wii" tab. The Wii tab displays the data on your Wii. (The SD Card tab displays the data on the SD card.)

Step 5

Select the game data you wish to transfer. This brings up a menu. You can transfer data from multiple games, but you have to do them one at a time.

Step 6

Select "Copy" from the menu, then select "Yes" when the Wii asks "Copy to the SD Card?"

Step 7

Wait a moment for the data to copy. When you see the message "The data has been copied," the process is over. You can copy additional game data if you want, then remove the SD card when you're done copying data.

Copy Data to the Flash Drive

Step 1

Insert your flash drive into a USB port on your computer. If your computer doesn't bring up the contents of the drive automatically, access it by clicking the "Start" menu, then "Computer," then the flash drive you see displayed in the "Computer" window.

Step 2

Insert the SD card into an SD card port on your computer. If your computer doesn't bring up the contents of the card automatically, access it by clicking the "Start" menu, then "Computer," then the SD card you see displayed in the "Computer" window.

Step 3

Locate the game data on the SD card. The data is all in a folder named "private." You could navigate down through the folder and copy individual files and folders, but you really should work with the entire "private" folder since everything in it is already set up correctly for the Wii.

Step 4

Right-click the "private" folder and select "Copy."

Step 5

Go to the flash drive window you opened and click the "Edit" menu at the top, then select "Paste." This copies the game data to your USB flash drive.

Tip

• If you want to use an SDHC card, the Wii must be updated to at least Wii Menu 4.0.

References

• Nintendo Wii Support: Copy Data to an SD Card

About the Author

A self-professed nerd who can't get enough of geeky gadgets, technology blogs and product reviews, Matt Skaggs began writing professionally in 2010. His work has appeared on various websites. In 2008 Skaggs graduated from Bob Jones University with a Bachelor of Arts in humanities.

Photo Credits

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