Using External Storage Devices with the iPad

[yof]

i wasnt promoting the Goflex Satellite bro, I was saying the drives from Western Digital are better.

Oh, no no I wasn't accusing you of anything. What I was trying to say was online storage is more of a con because it could take longer (depending on the rpm of the hard drive and read/write of the laptop compared to your internet connection) and affect many other media related internet driven tasks. Compared to plug and play and transfer which doesn't interfere that nature.

And I took the 8GB flash drive back to where I got it and exchanged it for 2 4GB drives. I tested 2 other 8GB drives and neither of them worked either. It appears the 8GB+ flash drives use too much power to work without a power converter like the iHustler. But I've tested a 2GB drive and a 4GB drive and they both worked. But like I was saying, for the majority of my files and media I use a 2TB WD MBL network drive. It works great IMO, way better than a wifi drive or the Goflex Home. For larger storage spaces I suggest these WD drives...the My Book Live or My Book Live Duo. They can hold thousands upon thousands of songs and hundreds of movies. But for media that isn't normally compatible with an iPad (files you can only use on a jailbroken device) the methods you've been describing are practical. I'm currently using a 4GB flash drive to store PSX ROMs on and 2GB flash drive to store GBA and SNES ROMs on. With the .emu emulators you can find in Cydia you can actually connect your flash drive, or SD card with a CCK and load the games right from them and play them without having to transfer them to a local location on the iPad. I've got a 16GB micro SD card with a normal SD adapter and another 4GB flash drive for any other files that can only be used on a jailbroken device, whatever they may be, in case i find use for some other file type.

I'm assuming you're talking about USB Thumbdrives. And yes true, some works and some doesn't becauses of power limitations. I looked into that iHustler and you're saying the 8GB USB Thumbdrive works in correlation with it? With a 2TB hard drive I'm sure you can hold thousands upon thousands of songs and hundreds of movies! lol . If you have a problem with media compatibility please list them so we can find a solution. That is very brilliant of you to load games right from your storage devices for a gameboy like feature. If you would like to share with others on how to do this or share this in general, I would not mind giving you credit upon your knowledge.

Off topic: On another note I did own a 2TB WD HD, it didn't do to good when it dropped it because of the prong ports that were inplanted onto the circuit board is very fragile. I opened it up and realize how poorly designed towards durability. But I admit it was my fault for allowing it to be so fragile. My friend's toddler pulled on the cord and it dropped from 2 feet and had issues with power (shorting out on and off and problems with the disk). I did take it apart and also soldered it back on, but the bootup had me throwing it into the trash. I'm sure there are other hard drives that uses the prong method for power, so I can't complain. I own a 2TB seagate now, but it's not too reliable on saving the stored storage. But the base adapters is what made me interested in them, including the base for thunderbolt extension for their older supported products.

 

[TylerThomas]

I don't have any problems with my WD drive. No loss of speed or connection at all.

Here are the two methods I use for storing ROMs externally and yet playing them on my device:

A) The direct from storage device method

B) The temporarily local method


With method A you have to have the .emu emulators for it to work (NES.emu, SNES9x EX, MD.emu, GBA.emu, GBC.emu, etc.). These can be found in Cydia by searching for "emulator".

With method B you can use any emulator and have to use this method for PSX4All and the A.D. emulators.

Method A:

1) Connect the storage device that has the ROM on it you want to play with a CCK. (make sure the iPad mounts it; you may have to disconnect and reconnect once or twice)

2) Open the emulator that plays the ROM you want to play.

3) Tap "Load Game" and go to var/mnt/mount1 and then select the ROM.

Thats it the ROM should start up and you can play it directly from your storage device. The save files will be stored in the same folder the ROM is in under the same name as the ROM.

Note: It's best to probably use the landscape orientation when using this method to help you prevent from accidentally disconnecting the storage device.

Method B:

1) Connect the storage device likewise as above.

2) Open iFile.

3) Open the storage device's directory. (The device will be listed under "Device" on the left if it mounted correctly)

4) Copy the ROM you're wanting to play (Don't cut it just copy it).

5) Paste it in the Media/ROMs/"System Title" or the Media/DCIM/"System Title" folder.

6) Open the emulator that plays it.

7) The ROM should be in the list of ROMs you can play within the emulator so pick it and enjoy playing it.

I think usually the emulator stores the save files in the same folder too. Once you're done playing the ROM just delete the ROM. Keep the save file in that folder or move it to your storage device if you want to (they don't usually take up very much space though).

These methods allow you to save the space that the ROMs would take up on your iPad and yet play them with your iPad. This is especially needed for PSX ROMs because they can take up upwards of 600MB of space. Also if you have quite a bit of older platform ROMs this is a good idea too.

 

[yof]

Very nice bravo ! What game is decent enough for the PSX roms or any suggestion along with your post? And what emulator(s) do you use? But to ask the question again, does the iHustler work with the 8GB usb drive that was limited by the iPad?

And why I brought up the speed issue with the online hard drives. I used to be a gamer and even a facebook page loading or a youtube video playing or a netflix stream with a connection of 15-20Mbps would even affect my gaming. Although not no more, I have taken in account of the cons and why specific type of people should regard.

 

[TylerThomas]

I've ordered one so I should be able to test it out sometime soon.

 

[TylerThomas]

I've also order a USB hub and an SD card connection kit.

 

[TylerThomas]

And I answered you other question but it got deleted.

 

[Gabriel1]

Please note, there will be no discussion of obtaining ROM's here, this extract from the forum rules refers....

18. ROMS for Nintendo, Playstation, and all other emulators are at best a grey area, therefore, all fall under the same category as piracy on these forums. No discussion on sourcing ROMS for emulators will be tolerated, although discussions about the emulators themselves are acceptable.

The Forum Rules in full can be found here http://www.ipadforums.net/forum-rules-help-info/2119-forum-rules-everybody-please-read.html

The Archangel

 

[TylerThomas]

Sorry about that, didn't know about that rule.

 

[Gabriel1]

Sorry about that, didn't know about that rule.

It's always a good idea to read the rules that you agreed to when you joined the forum.......that way you won't break them.

The Archangel

 

[yof]

And I answered you other question but it got deleted.

My bad to both peeps. Well when you get those products let us know !

 

[TylerThomas]

These are the PSX ROMs I have on a 4GB flash drive:
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot 2
Crash Bandicoot 3
Final Fantasy VII
Tekken 3
Cool Boarders 2001
Monster Rancher 2
Gex 3

These are the emulators I have on my iPad:
PSX4All
GBA.emu
SNES9x EX

Emulators I'd like to buy:
NES.emu
GBC.emu
MD.emu
2600.emu

These are the current storage devices I have:
1 2TB WD My Book Live
2 4GB flash drives
1 2GB flash drive
1 16GB micro SD card with SD card adapter

Storage Accessories I have or have ordered:
USB adapter (CCK)
SD card adapter (CCK)
USB Hub/Charger
iHustler power adapter

Storage devices I've used with my iPad before:
Seagate Goflex Satellite
Seagate Goflex Home

Apps that I use with my storage devices:
WD2go Pro
WD Photos
iBooks
Adobe Reader
Safari
PS Touch
Snapseed
iMovie
djay
Garage Band
Etc.

Packages that I use with my storage devices:
iFile
USB mounting toggle switch
SBSettings
Safari Download Manager
Safari Upload Enabler
PSX4All
GBA.emu
SNES9x EX

Features of WD2go:
Play movies
Play music
Play videos
Read ebooks
Read documents
View pictures
Open any file in a compatible app
Email file as attachment
Email file as link
Print
AirPlay to Apple TV
Download for offline use

Features of WD Photos:
View pictures
View as slideshow
Upload photos to drive from camera roll
Save from drive to camera roll
Email as attachment
Email as link
Print
Post to Facebook
Upload to Dropbox
AirPlay
Open in any compatible app
Download for offline use
See HD version

Files I currently store on storage devices:
Pictures
Videos
Music
Movies
Short Films
Documentaries
Documents
Ebooks
ROMs

Devices I use them with:
Sony Vaio Laptop
Sony Vaio Desktop
32GB iPad 3
8GB iPod Touch 4G
Apple TV 2

 

[TylerThomas]

Here are some screenshots of using the direct from storage device method for playing ROMs (tap the picture to see a larger view):

1) This is a picture of the interface of one of the emulators that supports this method. You see this screen when you open it afresh. This happens to be GBA.emu.



2) This is a picture of the "load game" menu. You should start out in this directory (/private/var/) when your loading a ROM with this method. You can see the "mnt" folder above "mobile".



3) This is a picture of the "mnt" folder. As you see mount 1 is showing. This means you successfully connected your storage device.



4) This is a picture of "mount 1" opened. In my case it's the contents of a 2GB flash drive that has GBA and SNES ROMs on it, along with some backup system files.



5) Since we're using GBA.emu this is a picture of the GBA ROMs folder opened. As you can see there is a list of all my GBA ROMs.


6) I picked the first game, which was Crash Bandicoot 2: N-tranced. This is a picture showing that it successfully loaded. This is in the portrait orientation mode. You can see the controls in the bottom half of the screen.



7) Finally this is a picture of the landscape orientation mode of the loaded ROM. This is the suggested orientation mode for using this method because it's less probable you will accidentally detach the storage device. (at least if your using a small sized device. I recommend using an SD card for this method.)

 

[TylerThomas]

Another great resource when using external storage devices with your iPad are a couple software programs called 123CopyDVD Gold and 123CopyDVD Platinum. With the Gold version you can copy any DVD and make a backup file of it. With Platinum you can do the same with Blurays. These programs can convert the movie to Apple H.264 format and encode them for you so you can store them on your storage device and then watch them on your iPad. You can even convert the movies to formats made specifically for the iPad and even the generation of iPad you have as well as a lot of other formats such as ones for the Apple TV, the iPhone, etc. and other android devices if you have those. The Gold version is around 50 or 60 dollars I think and I'm not sure how much the Platinum version is ($75?). But I use the gold version for now and it's been a great investment because with the local pawnshops, Best Buy's sales, and the video store in town I've been able to buy a decent amount of DVD movies for 3-4 dollars or less a piece and then convert them to Apple H.264 encoding and store them on my WD MBL and can watch them with my iPad pretty much anytime I want to. I would say I saved around 7-12 dollars per movie as opposed to buying them with iTunes (I still use iTunes when they have a good deal or whatever).

But for people who want to watch movies on their iPad and not use all the local drive space (and only being able to house a fraction of the movies they could), an external HDD and 123CopyDVD is a great combination.

 

[TylerThomas]

And as far as ROMs and emulators go, there are kind of two rules to go by...

Don't download a system BIOS file for your emulator or ROM image of a particular game and use them unless:

1) You're just trying them out and plan on buying physical copies of the systems and games that you're using if they are worth it to you after trying them and deleting and not using any BIOS file or ROM image that you've tried and are not willing to buy a physical copy of.

2) Only regularly using them as backup copies and alternate methods of playing them if you actually own physical copies of the system you're using a BIOS file for and the disk, cartridge, etc. of the game that you're using a ROM image of.

The way I understand it these are the "legal" and proper methods for using an emulator and ROM image and the only way that it's either not considered or not going to be considered piracy to use them. Because of the controversy about it and the problems with piracy that are going on, it's best to get in the habit of only using these kinds of programs and files in these ways. And the post I made just before this one was talking about making legal backup copies of DVDs that I own and have paid for for use on my iPad which as of more recent years has become officially legal to do and is not the same as piracy.

I do not anyway condone or promote the use of digital piracy. I am only suggesting people can use these kinds of programs and files, etc. in the ways that are being considered legal to do by most governments in light of the need and desire of people to watch movies and play games, etc. on their advanced computing devices, such as PCs, Macs, smartphones, iPads, etc. and only am using such things in those ways myself.

Some notes:

1) Most emulators and ROM images are of what are known as vintage or retro systems and games. These items do not sell at retail prices and can often be found for next to nothing. So practically, buying physical copies of them is not as unaffordable as you might think.

2) Look for games in vintage gaming stores, pawnshops, garage sales, etc. or online at vintage gaming sites and eBay. With these methods you ought to be able find copies of any game or system your wanting to use an emulator or ROM image of.

3) If your emulator doesn't use a system BIOS file (GBA.emu does not) and it completely emulates the system on its own then you don't need to own a physical copy of the console system. You only need a physical copy of the system if your emulator is using the BIOS file from the system (PSX4All does this).

4) You can find a nice list of emulators for your iPad by typing "emulator" in the search field in Cydia. Some of them are free, some are not. I don't think any of them are more than 6 dollars.

 

[TylerThomas]

Hey,

So I got my package today with the few small accessories I had ordered.

I received:
An SD card connection adapter
A USB hub
And the iHustler

I tested these items out to see what I could do with them.

With the SD card connection kit I could connect and mount SD cards and micro SD cards with SD card adapters up to 16GB in size.

With the USB hub I was able to connect a 4GB flash drive by itself, a 2GB flash drive by itself, and both at the same time. I tried to connect two 4GB drives at the same time and it crashed my iPad each time, so that didn't work. I also tried connecting 2 4GB drives and a 2GB drive at the same time and that didn't work either. It didn't crash my device but it wouldn't mount them.

With the iHustler I wasn't able to convert the power from a flash drive so as for my iPad to mount it. It appears the only transfer you can do with it is power, no data. However it does make it so I can charge my idevices with normally incompatible mediums.

So that's what I found out in testing these items out. Hope that helps someone looking into it.

Note: The USB hub had an input for a power supply. Since one wasn't included and I don't think I have a compatible one, I can't test it out, but with it plugged in you could possibly mount any external storage device that can connect with a USB and doesn't use it's own power.