Scorbing Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I was thinking about getting an Xbox 360 but I didn't want to spend so much on it. I have a $50.00 gift certificate from CompUSA and they currently have the Xbox 360 for $199.00 ($148.00 once they apply the gift card) I know that model doesn't come with a hard drive. The question is: Can I add a hard drive to it? If so, which brand or kind? And is it something I can do myself without having to open the Xbox up? (is there a slot for it?) Thanks ahead for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/accessories/add-remove-hard-drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 http://support.xbox....move-hard-drive Thanks for that, but it doesn't tell me if I can use any hard drive or not. Does it have to be the Microsoft hard drive? Or can I purchase a hard drive and use it instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZakO Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Yes, there's a slot for it. You can either buy an official MS hard drive or flash a 2.5" Western Digital HDD using a tool such as HDDHackr. Jose_49 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Yes, you can. I have done the same to my Xbox 360 S 4GB. I added a Microsoft 360 250GB HDD. Just make sure you get the "right" hard drive (has to be compatible for Xbox 360 SLIM), as stores might sell hard drives for the older versions of the Xbox 360. Incorrect model: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-120GB-Hard-Drive/dp/B000OYKQBU Correct model: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-250GB-HardDrive-Slim-Only/dp/B002I0JDC6/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1348508564&sr=1-1&keywords=Xbox+360+250GB+Hard+drive Jose_49 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 Yes, there's a slot for it. You can either buy an official MS hard drive or flash a 2.5" Western Digital HDD using a tool such as HDDHackr. It seems their official page is gone :blush: http://i.imgbox.com/adegA9cx.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Nokes Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I also wouldn't recommend doing the modded hard drive route. It's very much frowned upon since it violates the Terms of Use. If for some reason you ever need to send the console in for service it would also invalidate any existing service contract if noted that a non-MS hare drive is inside. It would also result in the console being returned un-repaired, along with that console being flagged to deny any future repair services. Just a fair warning from someone who helped shape some of the policy documentation for this scenario... Personally I hope the PS3 route is taken for hard drives next time around. I can understand the reasons why they haven't yet, but hope they do next time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenwizard88 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I have a 4gb slim. I bought a 20gig HDD from my local game store for like $15, a case off of amazon for like $2, and have a 20gig 360 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 OK so let me get this straight. I don't have to use the Microsoft internal HD? I can just use an external USB HD and it will work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philcruicks Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 You can do it But getting the official drive separately almost always ends up being more expensive, and hacking it although possible I wouldn't recommend, as mentioned it will invalidate the warranty, and its not guaranteed to work....there is a small and specific list of compatible HDD's so make sure you get the right one, and even then depending on the Sata chipset on your motherboard it may or may not work. details here, though for some reason I can't get onto the HDDhackr website... Scorbing 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 No but what I'm saying is, the Xbox has a USB port. If I use an external USB HDD, will it work without having to hack it? In other words, will the Xbox be able to use that external HDD just like the internal Microsoft original? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instaGeorge Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Also, keep in mind the USB drives still aren't supported by some games (looking at you Dice). Some games that have expansion packs with HD content will read USB drives as flash memory not a true HDD. Reason being is that they claim the system can't read HD content over USB fast enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philcruicks Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 No but what I'm saying is, the Xbox has a USB port. If I use an external USB HDD, will it work without having to hack it? In other words, will the Xbox be able to use that external HDD just like the internal Microsoft original? Sorry never saw that message, must have already been replying...No you can't do it with External USB HDD'sWell you kinda can but the max size the xbox supports is 16GB so you'd have to partition it into lots of 16GB Fat32 drives and store stuff separately. also in answer to part of your original post yes there is a slot on the base and its very easy to open.....its just as my post said you either have to buy the official HDD one or hack one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneNutter MVC Posted September 24, 2012 MVC Share Posted September 24, 2012 Personally I would hack a western digital hard drive to use in your Xbox 360. I did it three years ago with a 250gb SATA hard drive and its been a great upgrade from my 20gb drive. At the time it was ?90 for a 120gb drive from Microsoft, i hacked a 250gb one for ?30... go do the maths! See: How to hack a 250gb or 320gb sata drive to work in the Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim I also wouldn't recommend doing the modded hard drive route. It's very much frowned upon since it violates the Terms of Use. If for some reason you ever need to send the console in for service it would also invalidate any existing service contract if noted that a non-MS hare drive is inside. It would also result in the console being returned un-repaired, along with that console being flagged to deny any future repair services. Just a fair warning from someone who helped shape some of the policy documentation for this scenario... Considering Microsoft ask you to remove the hard drive and memory units before sending the console back i fail to see how that will be an issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Nokes Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Personally I would hack a western digital hard drive to use in your Xbox 360. I did it three years ago with a 250gb SATA hard drive and its been a great upgrade from my 20gb drive. At the time it was ?90 for a 120gb drive from Microsoft, i hacked a 250gb one for ?30... go do the maths! See: How to hack a 250gb or 320gb sata drive to work in the Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim Considering Microsoft ask you to remove the hard drive and memory units before sending the console back i fail to see how that will be an issue? You would be surprised at how many people ignore that and send the drives in regardless. There are also sometimes issues where the customer is asked to ship the HDD with the console in order to perform testing on it (if it seems to be an issue related to storage). The best way to avoid an issue? Don't put yourself into a situation where an issue can occur. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I also wouldn't recommend doing the modded hard drive route. It's very much frowned upon since it violates the Terms of Use. If for some reason you ever need to send the console in for service it would also invalidate any existing service contract if noted that a non-MS hare drive is inside. It would also result in the console being returned un-repaired, along with that console being flagged to deny any future repair services. Just a fair warning from someone who helped shape some of the policy documentation for this scenario... Personally I hope the PS3 route is taken for hard drives next time around. I can understand the reasons why they haven't yet, but hope they do next time around. The "reason" was simple greed. The same thing applies to nearly EVERY accessory for the 360. Hard drives, memory cards, headsets - all have to be Microsoft's proprietary crap instead of standard hardware that you can buy anywhere. Tha Bloo Monkee and Draken 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneNutter MVC Posted September 24, 2012 MVC Share Posted September 24, 2012 You would be surprised at how many people ignore that and send the drives in regardless. There are also sometimes issues where the customer is asked to ship the HDD with the console in order to perform testing on it (if it seems to be an issue related to storage). The best way to avoid an issue? Don't put yourself into a situation where an issue can occur. :) I can believe that to be honest, however with the original poster been pretty active on a technology focused website I would imagine he is smart enough just to remove the drive if such a situation did come up. As its clear you have something to do with Microsoft i can understand why you are all official on matters like this. Personally i would not pay extra for something like a hard drive, a user created drive will work exactly the same as the Microsoft drive. I would however only purchase official controllers, but that's going off topic! ZakO 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Nokes Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 The "reason" was simple greed. The same thing applies to nearly EVERY accessory for the 360. Hard drives, memory cards, headsets - all have to be Microsoft's proprietary crap instead of standard hardware that you can buy anywhere. Actually the "reason" (since we're using air quotes for some reason) for the hard drive has to do with data integrity & security on the platform. I can't go into the detailed specifics (obviously for security purposes), but there is a reason why Microsoft has created a closed environment, and it's not about greed. As regards memory cards, you do know that you can just use any standard flash drive on the market right? As regards headsets, hmm my Ear Force Delta set would tend to disagree with you there. In fact those same flash drives (since you can use just about any drive off the shelf) can be used on any hardware that supports it. The headsets can be treated the same way. In fact I use my Ear Force Delta's on my PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Hmm sounds like I can use those items any way I wish doesn't it? Why would you make an accusation that is as easily proven incorrect as that? I mean seriously it's like you just wanted to ramble off some random MS hate and didn't bother to check whether you were even in the same universe as having a legitimate response. philcruicks 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Sorry if I was mistaken on the memory cards (I forgot that newer 360s could use flash drives instead of being limited to the older proprietary memory cards), and I should have been more clear that I was referring to being able to use standard bluetooth headsets (not wired headsets or ones that have to use extra hardware to be wireless). And sorry, but I call BS on the data integrity or security claims when it comes to why they don't allow standard hard drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted September 24, 2012 Veteran Share Posted September 24, 2012 Sorry if I was mistaken on the memory cards (I forgot that newer 360s could use flash drives instead of being limited to the older proprietary memory cards), and I should have been more clear that I was referring to being able to use standard bluetooth headsets (not wired headsets or ones that have to use extra hardware to be wireless). And sorry, but I call BS on the data integrity or security claims when it comes to why they don't allow standard hard drives. I can believe the reason is security, what I cannot look past and I believe is the same with you as well is the exorbitant amount they chose to charge, that is the greed part, at least IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Nokes Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Sorry if I was mistaken on the memory cards (I forgot that newer 360s could use flash drives instead of being limited to the older proprietary memory cards), and I should have been more clear that I was referring to being able to use standard bluetooth headsets (not wired headsets or ones that have to use extra hardware to be wireless). And sorry, but I call BS on the data integrity or security claims when it comes to why they don't allow standard hard drives. Any 360 that has been kept up to date can use flash drives. It's not just the newer models. As regards the headsets. I use (as I stated) the Ear Force Delta headset. It's Wireless and does up to 7.1 surround sound (on PC's and PS3) without use of special hardware. You have the receiver that uses an industry standard optical TOSLINK cable. From there it sends out the wireless signal straight to the headset. I will admit that for the talking aspect that it does require a cable to be plugged into the controller, or the supplied wireless puck that plugs directly into the controller. As regards bluetooth headsets...that would be due to the fact that the 360's do not have built-in bluetooth. They do have a 2.4GHz wireless communication stack, but it's not actually bluetooth although it does share some similarities. DirtyLarry, now that I can agree on to a certain extent. I do not like the pricing that has been set for the drives either. I've actually raised that complaint a few times myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose_49 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 It's very much frowned upon since it violates the Terms of Use. If for some reason you ever need to send the console in for service it would also invalidate any existing service contract if noted that a non-MS hare drive is inside. It would also result in the console being returned un-repaired, along with that console being flagged to deny any future repair services. Although MS has a way to detect the Hard Drive mod (which does not involve the 360), they won't flag it. You ship the 360 'virgin': without cables, hard drive, and discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Nokes Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Although MS has a way to detect the Hard Drive mod (which does not involve the 360), they won't flag it. You ship the 360 'virgin': without cables, hard drive, and discs. So you're telling me that you know a bit more than me about what MS does and doesn't do internally, how the flag system works, and when the flags are and are not applied? /Facepalm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted September 25, 2012 Veteran Share Posted September 25, 2012 DirtyLarry, now that I can agree on to a certain extent. I do not like the pricing that has been set for the drives either. I've actually raised that complaint a few times myself. I purposely did not purchase a 120GB for a long, long time, and when I did I got in on sale. As soon as I got my PS3 I put a 500GB drive in it for $69, which at the time was actually a pretty good deal as this is almost 5 or 6 years ago. Yet MS was charging $120 or whatever it was for the 120GB. Was a total and complete total rip off, and I get in came in a special housing, and there was whatever security in place that there was, but the pricing was still so out of whack with what the market currently was it was ridiculous. They really missed a huge opportunity there IMO. Tha Bloo Monkee 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger H. Veteran Posted September 25, 2012 Veteran Share Posted September 25, 2012 I saw the 120GB from the old white ones for like $40 I think at one of those Gamestop stores. I read you can just take those and slide it into the Xbox Slims (even without the case) since it's already formatted and Is a SATA drive so I think that's where i'll go. The same store had the 320GB Xbox Slim drive for $90. 120GB is good enough for me as i'm using my 16GB USB stick in there now and that's good too. Might even settle and get the 60GB one instead for $29.99. To the op though, as was said you can't use just any normal HDD (AND use all the storage). It has to be a MS drive (formatted MS way) or it'll only be 16GB of the storage for external drives. You can do my option above where you buy the old HDDs from the older systems and unscrew it and then slide the drive into the Xbox Slim directly to get your space that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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