Xbox One X external storage problems

[patseguin Global Moderator]

When I bought my XB1X, I connected a 3TB external Seagate drive I had and it’s worked great. Almost all my games are installed on it.

 

Now, all of a sudden, the system keeps telling me over and over again “external storage is ready” but I can’t launch any games. Does it sound like a system problem or simply an external drive problem? I do have another external I can plug in. I just hate to do it because it will take forever ro re-download all my games.

[jnelsoninjax]

37 minutes ago, patseguin said:

When I bought my XB1X, I connected a 3TB external Seagate drive I had and it’s worked great. Almost all my games are installed on it.

 

Now, all of a sudden, the system keeps telling me over and over again “external storage is ready” but I can’t launch any games. Does it sound like a system problem or simply an external drive problem? I do have another external I can plug in. I just hate to do it because it will take forever ro re-download all my games.

I know nothing about XB, but can you try plugging the external into your desktop and see if the files show up? That should at least give you an idea of where/what the issue might be. I just discovered a thread on Reddit, it's 4 years old but talks about the same issue you are having:

 

[patseguin Global Moderator]

8 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

I know nothing about XB, but can you try plugging the external into your desktop and see if the files show up? That should at least give you an idea of where/what the issue might be. I just discovered a thread on Reddit, it's 4 years old but talks about the same issue you are having:

 

I never thought of that actually. Since the XB1 is based on Windows 10, the drive should be in a format readable on a PC?

[jnelsoninjax]

2 minutes ago, patseguin said:

I never thought of that actually. Since the XB1 is based on Windows 10, the drive should be in a format readable on a PC?

That is what I was assuming based on what I have read about the Xbox system.

[patseguin Global Moderator]

4 minutes ago, jnelsoninjax said:

That is what I was assuming based on what I have read about the Xbox system.

Thanks, I’m going to try that. I found a thread in another forum with the same exact issue and no solution.

[George P Global Moderator]

I could be wrong but the Xbox One uses a tweaked version of NTFS, I don't think your Windows PC will actually see any files etc.  For security reasons etc.

[Matthew S.]

The games could be corrupt, have had that happen before on external storage for the xbox one.

[PaulATMOS]

Maybe you can find some backup software that can clone your external drive so you don’t need to download all the games again. 

[PaulATMOS]

On a side note, have you found the games to load just as fast from the external drive as they do from the internal drive?

[Tidosho]

47 minutes ago, George P said:

I could be wrong but the Xbox One uses a tweaked version of NTFS, I don't think your Windows PC will actually see any files etc.  For security reasons etc.

It WON'T work. Windows will just ask you to initialize the drive, and that stops it working again without a format. My external keeps refusing to show up occasionally, and I have to keep formatting it on my One X. My OG XbOne didn't have the issue.

 

Microsoft REALLY needs a diagnostic tool/partition tool on XB. If a drive's partition or MBR/MFT is corrupt, nothing at all happens, or shows up, even in Storage Sense. You have no other option but to connect it to a PC and wipe it, then plug back into the console, it will then recognise it and ask you what to do. Really frustrating.

[techbeck]

1 hour ago, George P said:

I could be wrong but the Xbox One uses a tweaked version of NTFS, I don't think your Windows PC will actually see any files etc.  For security reasons etc.

No, you are right.  I have an older 500gb drive I used to use that will not read on my Win10 system.   I would have to redo the drive in order for Windows to see it.

 

Anyway, I like Western Digital drives these days.  Have not used a Seagate for a while now.  I have a 1tb external SSD drive on my X1 now and it has been working great for a while now.

22 minutes ago, freqnasty said:

On a side note, have you found the games to load just as fast from the external drive as they do from the internal drive?

May be a little delay on the external, but nothing major.  I notice a better improvement using an external SSD.