WiiU:Creating Game Save Backups

There are several reasons one would want to back up save games on a Wii U, such as using them in the Cemu emulator, using them on another console, or in case the eMMC in the original console dies.

Method 1: SaveMii

SaveMii is a preferrable method of save backups, as it can copy every save file on the console to an SD card in one step.

Requirements:

• Homebrew capable Wii U
• SD Card (This is already required with a homebrewed Wii U)
• SaveMii Application (Supports Aroma and Homebrew Launcher)
  • There are two versions of the application. The HBC version is if you are using Tiramisu, Mocha, or Haxchi.

Steps:

1. Unzip the SaveMii zip file to (Wii U SD Card)\wiiu\app\
   • If you are using the Homebrew Channel with Tiramisu, Haxchi, or Mocha, download and unzip SaveMiiModWUTPort-HBL.zip
   • If you are using Aroma, download and unzip SaveMiiModWUTPort-Aroma.zip
2. Launch the app through the Homebrew Launcher or HOME Menu.
3. You can choose to selectively backup Wii U or vWii save files for a few games at a time, or a batch backup for all save files.

Batch Backup

1. After opening SaveMii, select Batch Backup
2. You have the option to back up Wii U, vWii, or both types of save files. Select what you need.
3. After selecting the backup option, the app will start backing up your profiles and save data. It will take some time.
4. The save data backups will be located in (Wii U SD Card)\wiiu\backups\batch\(Backup Date with extra numbers)\0\(Profile) once the dump is finished.

Individual Save File Backup

1. After opening SaveMii, you will have options to manage your Wii U and vWii save files. Select the one you need.
2. Select the game you want to manage your save file for.
3. Select Backup savedata
4. You can either select an individual Wii U profile to back up from, or from all profiles.
5. Press A to start the backup.
6. If you need to restore the backup with SaveMii, go back to the same title and instead select Restore savedata. One of the save slots will show as used; that's your backed up save file.
7. Individual game save backups with SaveMii will be stored in (Wii U SD Card)\wiiu\backups\(Game Tittle ID)\0\(Profile)

Method 2: Dumpling

Requirements:

• Homebrew capable Wii U
• SD Card (This is already required with a homebrewed Wii U)
  • A FAT32 or exFAT USB storage device can also be used to back up data with Dumpling.
• Dumpling Application (Supports Aroma and Homebrew Launcher)

Steps:

1. Extract the wiiu folder from dumpling.zip to the root of your SD card
2. Open the application through the Homebrew Launcher (Tiramisu/Mocha/Haxchi) or the HOME Menu icon (Aroma).
3. Scroll down to the option of Dump only Save files of a game.
4. Select the game(s) you want to dump the save files for. With the game(s) selected, press the start button to start the dump.
5. From here, you are given a few options for the save file dumps.
   • Choose the dump destination to the SD card or FAT32/exFAT USB storage; whichever you prefer.
   • Select the corresponding Wii U profile you want to dump the save file from.
   • Do Initial Scan For Required Empty Space Allows Dumpling to scan and calculate the free space remaning on the storage you are dumping to. This option is useful with game backups, but is not useful with saves as save files are very small.
   • Merge Saves to Default Cemu User can be set to No if you already dumped and imported your original Wii U profile to Cemu.
6. Confirm you want to dump the save files.
7. Press A to start the dump. If you selected the Initial Scan option, it will also scan for how much space is remaining on the chosen storage.
8. Once it finishes, continue to the main menu and exit Dumpling.
9. From here, you can turn off the Wii U and insert the SD card into the computer.

Once finished, there will be a folder on the root of the SD card named dumpling, with multiple folders named after what they contain. Game saves will be located in the Saves folder.

Method 3: DumpsterU

If you are backing up save data used for disc games, you will need to copy or transfer the save files from the Wii U's eMMC to a USB storage device using the Data Management tool in the settings. If it's an eShop game stored on the Wii U's internal storage, you will also need to transfer the whole title to USB storage unless you use Dumpling or SaveMii.

Requirements:

• USB Storage formatted with the Wii U's file system (If you were already using a USB HDD/SSD for Wii U Games, you can use that.)
• DumpsterU
• otp.bin and seeprom.bin from a Wii U backup

Steps:

1. Plug in your Wii U's USB storage into the computer.
2. Open up DumpsterU, select the Wii U's drive, and select your console's respective otp.bin and seeprom.bin files.
3. You should see a list of every title installed on the drive. Select the one you want the save data for.
4. Select an output folder using the drop down box on the top right of the pop-up window.
5. On the left of the pop-up window, there will be a saves box for each user on the Wii U.
6. Double click the profile(s) you want the save data for.
7. The save data should now be in a folder name after the game's titleID in the output folder you selected.