Member Avatar for UrbanKhoja

hi guys,
have a friend who's xbox 360 has a broken hard drive, is it just for storage, therefore i can stick a computer / laptop drive in there (blank) or does it boot from that drive or store its drivers there? :confused:

darren

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Quick, practical summary for and others who replied: the Xbox 360 hard drive holds user data — saved games, profiles, downloaded content, installed-game files and some system cache — but it is not the console’s primary boot medium in the way a PC boots from a hard disk. The official way to move that data is the hard-drive transfer process Microsoft ships with larger drives: follow the transfer-disc + transfer-cable procedure and don’t attach the new drive until the transfer is done. (See the Xbox 360 120GB hard drive manual for the exact steps.)
(Xbox 360 120GB manual)

A few compatibility and risk notes that fill gaps left in the thread: the Microsoft HDD enclosure contains a standard 2.5" SATA laptop drive but it uses a proprietary connector/format and the drive layout/firmware is specific to Xbox 360 use — so physically fitting a laptop drive is only part of the story. Opening or re-flashing drives has worked for hobbyists, but it voids warranties and can run afoul of Xbox Live policies; Microsoft has blocked unauthorized storage methods in the past. If avoiding hassle and risk is the goal, use official replacement drives or the supported transfer/USB options.
(iFixit teardown & notes) (Microsoft warning about unauthorized devices)

If the immediate need is to recover saves or move a profile, two straightforward approaches:

  1. Use the official transfer disc + cable (do the one-time migration as instructed in the manual).
  2. If you only need saves/profiles and the console has the 2010 update, configure a USB stick for Xbox storage (System → Storage → configure a USB device) and copy saves over; that avoids opening anything.
    (See the manual and the Xbox USB-storage announcement for details.)
    (Xbox 360 120GB manual) (USB storage announcement)

If recovery or deeper work is needed: test the drive on a PC (SATA or an external enclosure) to see whether it’s physically dead, and note that Xbox volumes use the FATX format — standard Windows tools won’t read them without community tools (FATXplorer, xbox-winfsp, etc.). Those tools can help extract saves before attempting any risky hardware hacks.

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Member Avatar for Dani

It is just for storage. However, I am not so sure you can stick a computer drive in there. Pretty doubtful of that, actually. Instead, there are two options ... buy a replacement XBOX360 hdd for roughly $100 for buy an XBOX360 memory card for roughly $30. Prices are from what I remember, off the top of my head.

Member Avatar for John A

It is just for storage. However, I am not so sure you can stick a computer drive in there. Pretty doubtful of that, actually. Instead, there are two options ... buy a replacement XBOX360 hdd for roughly $100 for buy an XBOX360 memory card for roughly $30. Prices are from what I remember, off the top of my head.

Yes, but the memory cards hold way less than the hard drives, so hard drives are a much better deal....
Found this:
http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000420073571/

Member Avatar for Dani

I'm not that much of a hacker.

Member Avatar for John A

I'm not that much of a hacker.

Neither am I, just pointing out that there's always a way. :cheesy:

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

Isn't that called 'innovation' ?

Member Avatar for UrbanKhoja

cheers guys, now surely with that adaptor i could get a sata hard disk and use that, or have i completely missed the point?

Member Avatar for John A

cheers guys, now surely with that adaptor i could get a sata hard disk and use that, or have i completely missed the point?

Yes, from what I can tell in that article, you can do that.

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