1. Check what you will transfer

Turn off the console before connecting or removing USB storage. If Wii U asks to format it, stop: formatting erases its contents. This guide starts with storage already prepared and recognised. Moving another game is not a reason to reformat a drive.

Nintendo’s USB data guidance includes Wii U software, updates, add-on content and saved data. It excludes software bought in Wii Mode or transferred from a Wii. Wii U formatting also means this is not an ordinary drive to swap between computers and consoles.

2. Choose between copying and moving

• Copy: retain the source data and create another copy at the destination. This does not free source space.
• Move: transfer the data to the destination and free its original location.

If the console reports that an item already exists at the destination, do not approve replacement automatically. Identify which location holds the progress you want to keep. Cancel if uncertain, then compare the two versions before trying again.

3. Transfer the selected data

• Open System Settings → Data Management.
• Choose the option to Copy/Move/Delete Data, then select the source: system memory or USB storage.
• Select the required items, using the displayed selection mode when several items need to travel together.
• Choose Copy or Move, then confirm the destination and read any warnings.
• Let the operation finish without disconnecting storage or interrupting power.

Nintendo describes these controls in its system-memory-to-USB guide. Wording can vary by menu language. Copying may be absent on older system versions; do not select Delete as a substitute.

4. Check where subsequent progress will be saved

Expected result: transfer is complete, content appears on the chosen storage and the game loads the expected progress. Check this before deleting anything else.

After copying between system memory and USB, connected USB storage takes priority for new saves for the relevant game. Copying data into system memory does not make that copy active while the USB device remains connected. Do not treat the two versions as synchronised backups.

Note the game, transfer date and chosen storage. This simple record helps distinguish versions after a long break.

Transferring between two USB devices

Nintendo also documents transfers between two USB storage devices. Both must already be prepared for the Wii U being used. Connect them with the console off, then open Data Management after startup.

Select the source, items, action and destination. Pay particular attention to the destination name if the drives look alike. Confirm only after understanding any overwrite warning.

At the end, turn off the console before removing the drive you no longer need connected. The one kept connected becomes the location used for relevant new saves. This is a transfer procedure, not a way to make drives interchangeable across Wii U consoles.

If the transfer does not go as expected

• Storage does not appear: check connections and power with the console off. Inspect existing contents before any preparation; do not format just to try it.
• Destination space is insufficient: select fewer items or remove only identified data. Keep saves whose importance you have not established.
• Progress looks old: check the connected device and game version before copying anything over another save.
• The transfer takes a long time: duration depends on the data. Nintendo warns that an operation can exceed an hour; a slow transfer is not permission to unplug the drive.

Sources and scope

Translated from the French guide based on official documentation checked on 2026-10-15. This guide does not claim physical testing on your equipment. LODEX’s preparation and result checks are practical advice; follow any warnings shown by your device.

• Nintendo — copy or move between system memory and USB
• Nintendo — data supported on Wii U USB storage
• Nintendo — set up external storage
• Nintendo — transfer between two USB devices