• Replacing and flashing hdd xbox 360. HDD firmware for XBOX360. Q:What to do if the PC does not see the hard drive

    Some time after purchasing an Xbox 360, some players experience with insufficient memory on the console. The question is especially relevant for owners of consoles flashed with Freeboot, because they can run games directly from the hard drive.

    But those whose Xbox 360 is not flashed experience similar difficulties no less often, since digital copies of games, content from DVDs that require installation, demo versions of games, etc. take up a lot of space.

    New games weigh more and more, and the memory of the console in the basic configuration is strictly limited. Therefore, it is worth considering options increasing memory for storing games and all kinds of content.

    Xbox 360 firmware

    There are many options for how you can increase memory capacity on Xbox 360. Let's look at the main methods.

    1.Make a hard drive for Xbox 360 with your own hands

    You can find detailed instructions on the Internet on how to using a PC, you can create a HDD, suitable for Xbox 360.

    The hard drive must have the same SATA connector as on the Xbox 360. HDDs that used on laptops. They are suitable not only in characteristics, but also in size, fitting almost perfectly into the tray on the console.

    This method is suitable for more experienced users who understand the issue of hard drive firmware. It is worth noting that behind all the complexity of this process lies tangible result.

    You can flash a hard drive for Xbox 360 using programs hddhackr 1.30. It successfully copes with the firmware of most versions of HDDs for Western Digital laptops.


    The firmware is required for the set-top box to accept a third-party drive as the original one, since if you install it without certain manipulations, it won't interact with him.

    2. Install the original hard drive

    If you don’t want to waste time and effort on flashing the disc for Xbox 360, you can buy original internal storage. You can install a hard drive on your Xbox 360 in less than a minute.

    The user will need to open the HDD tray, which is located under the plug on the side, if the set-top box is installed in a horizontal position.

    On Xbox 360 Slim and E the reference point will be rubber pad on the edge. It is needed so that the console, installed vertically, is more stable. On the Xbox 360 Fat, the hard drive is located under the cover with the inscription HDD.

    Then you just need to insert or replace the hard drive on your Xbox 360 with a new one.

    3. Use an external hard drive

    External hard drive for Xbox 360 is practically nothing no different from internal by functionality. The only difference is quite obvious: the external drive is connected to the corresponding connector from the outside, while the internal drive is inserted into a special tray.

    4. Connect a USB flash drive

    You can increase your memory using an ordinary flash drive. Obviously, this type of additional memory will be noticeably inferior to installing a hard drive, but it also has some advantages. Firstly, to copy data from a computer directly to the HDD, you will have to remove it and connect it to the PC, which will require a special SATA-USB adapter or SATA cable.

    Regularly removing the hard drive and connecting it to the motherboard if there is no adapter is simply inconvenient. But copy to a small flash drive and quickly transfer data, quite easily.

    External storage devices (flash drives, external hard drives, etc.) can be as large as from 1GB to 2TB.

    The lower the bandwidth of the flash drive, the slower the Xbox 360 system will work and, accordingly, the slower games will load. That's why better to use HDD.

    A flash drive can be used to store profiles, game saves and small additional content, even on non-stitched consoles.

    Which hard drive is suitable for Xbox 360

    If the user does not want to buy an original hard drive, but rather use, say, an HDD for a laptop, then it is better to go with the company Western Digital, which we already know.

    Based on existing experience, we can say that best fit models:

    • WD Scorpio Series BEVS/BEAS
    • WD Scorpio Blue Series BEVS/BEVT/BPVT
    • WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT/BJKT
    • WD VelociRaptor Series
    • WD AV-25 Series BUDT
    • WD Series BMVS

    Most often, 320GB hard drives are installed, but you can install a “terabyte”. Before purchasing, it is better to consult with specialists or experienced users. Tell them the model and brand of the hard drive you are going to buy, and check whether you can use the maximum possible amount of memory. Sometimes, even after flashing the HDD, the set-top box does not see that same 1TB, and only uses its memory by half, or even less.

    After purchasing, carefully study the firmware instructions that are posted on the Internet.

    With a standard “native” hard drive, everything is much simpler. You can buy it in any store with consoles or computer equipment.

    The maximum capacity of the official version of the drive is 500GB, which is not very much, but acceptable for normal tasks.

    Both options can also be found and ordered online.

    Produced in our workshops Xbox 360 firmware. You can confidently trust the many years of experience of our specialists. Call and make an appointment!

    If you don’t have the funds or desire to buy a HDD yet, but a regular flash drive is enough for gaming needs, you need to carefully consider its choice. Better once buy a good flash drive, which will last a very long time than spending a little less every month on a new one.

    Combination

    Let's say the user does not want to change the hard drive to a new one, but only wants add console memory. He can simply connect an external hard drive and use it along with the internal one. The same can be said about a flash drive.

    All drives are the same work well in pairs, complementing each other.

    In order not to spend about 5-6 thousand rubles. hard drive for Xbox 360, you can purchase a regular 2.5″ hard drive (for laptops). Don’t rush to run for the first disc you come across, only companies are suitable W.D., namely such series as:

    • WD Scorpio Series BEVS/BEAS
    • WD Scorpio Blue Series BEVS/BEVT/BPVT
    • WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT/BJKT
    • WD VelociRaptor Series
    • WD AV-25 Series BUDT
    • WD Series BMVS

    The volume of the purchased disk can currently be no more than 320GB, this is a limitation of the firmware of the set-top box itself, but if you have a larger disk, don’t worry, it can also be flashed to 320GB and used.

    And so, personally, I only had drives from other manufacturers lying around, so I purchased a 2.5″ WD Scorpio Blue WD3200BPVT hard drive from Citylink, with a discount it cost me 1100 rubles..
    Now we need to reflash it to the Xbox disk... we need:

    • Straight arms and a working brain
    • Archive with firmware and all software ()
    • Computer with SATA connectors
    • An empty flash drive, memory card or floppy disk

    Stage 1. Preparation for firmware.
    We need to boot under MS-DOS, for this we need to create a bootable USB flash drive.
    To do this, insert a flash drive (note that all data will be lost, I did this at one in the morning, tired after work and shopping... there were several flash drives in the laptop, I formatted the working one with a bunch of necessary information and projects) from the downloaded archive you need to run from the folder " Creating a bootable USB flash drive» program « Bootable USB Drive Creator Tool"with administrator rights (right mouse button on the program, Run as administrator).


    We select the desired flash drive, and it is best at this moment to pull out everything except the desired one and put it into use.
    We set the file system FAT32, or FAT, which is not important for us.
    Check the box " Quick formatting" And " Create boot device«.
    Click on the button with three dots (Browse), select a folder from the archive “ Creating a bootable USB flash drive\USB Drive Boot Files\MS-DOS «.
    Click "Let's go!"


    They ask us if we really want to delete everything on the flash drive, we answer “Yes.”


    When finished, a window with summary information appears, after that we close everything, the bootable flash drive itself has been created.


    Now we also need to write the program from the “hddhackr.exe” archive and the firmware file to the flash drive. I chose 320GB - this is a file in the Firmware folder, “HDDSS320.BIN”. The archive also contains firmware for 20, 60, 120 and 250GB.

    As a result, we end up with approximately the following set of files on the flash drive.

    Stage 2. Disk firmware.
    We turn off the computer, remove the power and SATA cable from the main hard drive, and connect it to our test subject.
    (Personally, I couldn’t do this at home; my old computer wouldn’t start from a flash drive, and I couldn’t see the disk in the hddhackr laptop; I was only able to flash it on a work desktop computer).
    Boot from a flash drive (this function is not supported on all older computers).


    We see the MS-DOS command line in front of us...
    Enter the name of the program required for firmware, hddhackr and press ENTER.

    The HDDHACKR v1.30 program opens in front of us; if everything is done correctly and your computer supports all the necessary functions, you will see a list of connected hard drives.
    Select the required disk, in my case it is disk number 4. Enter the number and press ENTER.


    You will be asked to make a backup (D), create partition 0/2/3 (C), flash the hard drive (F), restore the firmware (R). We select “F”, press ENTER.

    After selecting F, we are prompted to enter the name of the firmware that will be loaded into the hard drive, in my case it was “HDDSS320.BIN” and press ENTER.

    Then we are asked to make a backup copy of the hard drive firmware, here you have free will, I entered “UNDO.BIN” by default and once again ENTER.


    We are asked if we really want to change the firmware, of course we answer yes, “Y” and ENTER.

    And finally, we see this on the screen and after that we can turn everything off and remove it from the computer.

    Stage 3. Installing the disc in the Xbox 360 Slim.
    After successfully flashing the disk, all we have to do is insert it into the console and finish everything we started so that we can finally play without problems.
    Here several options appear, you can install a hard drive in a box purchased anywhere, on Chinese sites and everyone knows eBay, there are a lot of them and for pennies, I also ordered it, but for now I inserted the disk using another option, directly, without a box with a small collective farm.
    In both options, you need to open the cover of the hard drive compartment; it is located at the bottom (if the console is standing), or on the right side (if it is facing you and on special legs).

    There you will see a button to open the hatch.

    We move it aside and pull it out.

    We see connectors for connecting a disk.

    Insert the disc as shown in the photo until it stops.

    To prevent the hard drive from vibrating and to last longer, I placed foam around the edges. DO NOT PUT A LOT OF SOMETHING IN THERE, THE DISK WILL HEAT WHEN OPERATING AND YOU HAVE A CHANCE OF MELTING THE CONTEXT!!!

    Then we close everything back, connect and turn on the console. We will need the Console Serial Number, if you don’t know it, it is in “System Settings - Console Settings - System Information”.
    We go into the memory settings, we see that something seems to have changed, but not completely. The disk needs to be formatted.
    Select our disk, press format on the “Y” joystick.

    Select format and press “A”





    Upon completion, we will see that the hard drive now shows the capacity.

    That's all, now you can relax and play.

    1. Alexey |

      I did everything according to the instructions, but the console does not see the hard drive, I can’t understand what the problem is, please help

      Answer
    2. Timoon |

      Thank you! I flashed the WD3200BPVT according to the instructions. The disk was detected (I flashed it twice in a row for this, after the first box I didn’t see the disk).

      Answer
    3. feroz |

      Hi all. Tell me what the problem is... I flashed the disk according to the instructions, it became called hitachi, but the set-top box does not see it. I'm trying to flash it again, but after starting hddhackr it says that there are no suitable disks...

      Answer
    4. Qwest |

      I did everything according to the instructions of the hard WD Blue WD3200BPVT, the console does not see, I try to flash it a second time, it says that the firmware is already installed and should work on the console, the xprd is working, I transferred the firmware from the backup back, the computer sees the hard drive. What could be the matter?

      Answer
    5. victor |

      I did it scientifically, on the command line I wrote that you can use it on the console, but the console doesn’t see it!!! What am I doing wrong?? Tell me!!!

      Answer
    6. Sergey |

      Thanks for the article. The firmware took 5 minutes.

      Answer
    7. Andrey |

      Hello everyone, my box doesn’t see the hard drive, I don’t even know why, although I’ve never connected it to a computer, by the way, my mother is gigabyte, and here’s my friend, when his box didn’t see the hard drive, he just reflashed it and that’s it! And he has a seagate, just like his By the way, I tried to flash everything according to the instructions, but I have one problem! Is Undo.bin already on the screw or does it need to be thrown onto a flash drive somehow? In short, I want to reflash it and by the way, the manufacturer is not important for Freeboot and the volume even if it will see a 2TB box That's it! By the way, I also have Freeboot

      Answer
    8. Vetal |

    Despite its rather advanced age by gaming standards, the Xbox 360 console is valued by gamers from all over the world to this day. The 360 ​​platform remains relevant thanks to a huge library of games, including not only cross-platform products, but also those exclusively developed only for Xbox. However, for many users, the main factor remains the rather high price tag even for old games, not to mention popular new products. And, as often happens, technical specialists came to the aid of players and managed to teach the console to interact with games obtained from unofficial sources.

    What is Freeboot

    In its factory version, the game console allows you to run games only from licensed discs, regardless of the size of the built-in storage: 250 GB hard drives for the Xbox 360 can accommodate several installed games, but without a disc you won’t be able to launch any of them, and even during operation Disk access consoles are always present.

    This limitation is removed by installing special Freeboot firmware. Unlike smartphones, intervention in the bowels of the console is not only software, but also hardware in nature, which not everyone can do at home: installing the firmware will require a special chip, a NAND memory programmer, a tool, as well as certain skills. Therefore, most players trust this procedure to specialized workshops.

    In any case, after the upgrade, the console acquires a number of additional advantages that allow you not only to significantly expand its functionality, but also to save a considerable amount of money on the purchase of licensed games. Additionally, you can now directly download Xbox 360 games to your hard drive without using the device's optical drive. But since not all players have enough built-in memory, many of them replace the internal drive or use an external one.

    Hard drive replacement for Xbox 360

    Each owner of a firmware console determines the need to replace or add a HDD for himself. Most often they are purchased for the Xbox 360 Slim, which is not equipped with a hard drive. But there are also plenty of players for whom, for one reason or another, using external media is not suitable.

    Unlike owners of a factory device, owners of the Xbox 360 Freeboot can choose a hard drive without being limited to anything other than the form factor: the Xbox 360 uses 2.5-inch SATA drives as the main type of memory. Therefore, you can choose any of them with a capacity of up to 2 terabytes (this is the maximum volume supported by the firmware).

    Features of the replacement process

    However, before proceeding directly with the replacement, it would not hurt to save the current profile data. To do this you need:

    1. Prepare a USB drive (a regular flash drive with a capacity of 4 - 8 GB is quite enough).
    2. Insert it into the console port, and then format it to FAT 32 using FreeStyleDash (Freeboot firmware control shell).
    3. Save profile data (including settings, avatars and game saves).

    After successfully saving the data, you can begin replacing the hard drive. For Xbox 360 of all generations, this feature is provided initially, and the device does not need to be disassembled. The procedure is suitable for any version of the Xbox 360 released after 2010, since only the types of latches differ. You need to do the following:

    1. Disconnect the power supply, then place it horizontally on a flat surface.
    2. Find the hard drive compartment cover and open it using the latch.
    3. Remove the original HDD (if there is one inside) by pulling the special sticker.
    4. Carefully push the new disk into the groove until it clicks, then close the lid.
    5. If the HDMI cable was disconnected, plug it back in and only then apply power.

    Please note that for a new hard drive to function, it must first be formatted to the Freebot-supported FAT32 file system. The latest current firmware allows you to do this using both a computer and standard console tools.

    Using an external hard drive

    As you know, Microsoft engineers set a maximum volume limit of 16 GB when using a hard drive. For the Xbox 360 Freeboot version, this limitation is no longer relevant: now the console will see the full capacity of the connected drive. Of course, it must also be formatted with the FAT 32 file system.

    Features of using Freeboot

    It is necessary to understand that all manipulations with the game console that are not documented in official sources lead to loss of warranty. In addition, the owner of a reflashed console will not be able to take advantage of the Xbox Live service: such modding will sooner or later be noticed by the control system, after which the account will be blocked. That is why the ability to connect to Microsoft servers is disabled in new firmware versions. But at the same time, no one prohibits playing on unofficial servers, and given the popularity of the Xbox firmware, there are plenty of gamers on such servers.

    The hard drive in the Xbox 360 is used to store games, music, player profiles, etc. but not all xbox configurations have it. And many simply do not have enough space on the built-in hard console. But that's not a problem! After all, in this article, you will learn how to make a hard drive from an ordinary computer one.

    It would seem that the easiest way is to go to the store and buy an original hard drive for your favorite box, but that’s not the case! It is not that cheap (about 3,000 rubles) and finding it can be problematic. Therefore, craftsmen figured out how to make an HDD for an Xbox 360 out of a regular 2.5″ HDD for a laptop.

    Part 1. Selecting and purchasing a hard drive.

    The company's discs are suitable for Xbox Western Digital following models:

    WD Scorpio Series BEVS/BEAS

    WD Scorpio Blue Series BEVS/BEVT/BPVT

    WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT/BJKT

    WD VelociRaptor Series

    WD AV-25 Series BUDT

    WD Series BMVS

    I managed to buy 250GB WD Scorpio Blue (WD2500BEVT) now it costs about 1200 rubles. It looks like this:

    Part 2. Preparing for firmware.

    The firmware is installed via MS-DOS, so you will need to prepare a bootable flash drive or floppy disk according to this instruction, only step 0. DOS USB BOOT.

    Once the flash drive is ready, you need to upload the following files from the archive (download link below): hddhackr.exe and hddss.bin corresponding to the size of your hard drive.

    Part 3. Firmware.

    Many people ask: why flash it? And it is necessary to flash it so that the box thinks that the installed hard drive is original.

    And so, let's go. Turn off the computer, open the case and connect the disk that needs to be flashed to the SATA port. In this case, it is advisable to disable other hard drives and disk drives.

    We insert the previously prepared flash drive into the USB port, turn on the computer and go to the BIOS. There we set the computer to boot from a flash drive and at the same time see if our hard drive is detected.

    If it is still not detected in the BIOS, then simply move the hard drive to another SATA port.

    If you have decided, then save the settings and exit the BIOS. The computer reboots and we see the MS-DOS command line on the monitor. write “hddhackr” in it, after which the program will request the file UNDO.BIN, just enter UNDO.BIN

    You should see a list of your computer's hard drives. Let's look at the number of the screw being stitched. Enter this number and press enter.

    Now the program asks us whether to flash or restore? To flash the firmware, press F and enter.

    Now we are asked about the seriousness of our intentions and we press Y and enter.

    We also answer Y to the proposal to create sectors.

    Now we wait a bit, turn off the PC, and disconnect the hard drive. He's ready!

    Part 4. Installation.

    Xbox 360 slim

    It's easiest to install a hard drive in a slim one. You can even do without a hard drive enclosure! First, let's open the hard drive hatch, which is located at the bottom of the case.

    If you do not have a hard drive case, then simply insert it into the shaft. Don't be afraid to break it, insert it until it clicks.

    If there is a case, then install the hard drive into the case. And then to boxing.

    Xbox 360 phat

    Everything is more difficult with a fat woman! Installing a hard drive without a case requires soldering:

    Solder the SATA cable and power (instead of molex you will have two wires with SATA power)

    Part 5. Restoring the hard drive.

    In order to restore the hard drive we have flashed to its factory state (after that it will not work on the box) you need to:

    1) Find the UNDO.BIN file on your media from which the firmware was installed (if you haven’t found it, there are several in the archive)

    2) Prepare a flash drive or other media for flashing the firmware (the process is described above) and drop the UNDO.BIN file for your hard drive model onto it.

    3) Let’s start flashing the firmware (the process is described above) and after the step when we entered the number of the screw to be flashed, press the “R” button

    4) The program will request the file UNDO.BIN, you just need to write UNDO.BIN

    5) That's it, turn it off, disconnect it.

    Part 6. Question, answer.

    Q: Will the console be banned for flashing the hard drive firmware?

    A: Of course not, because you won’t be banned for using a non-original joystick or cable.

    Q: What should I do if the PC does not see the hard drive?

    A: Change the sata port, if that doesn’t help, then change the PC

    Q: Is it possible to flash hard drives that are not on the list?

    Q: Is the maximum hard drive capacity 250GB or is there more?

    A: Not yet, but maybe soon.

    Q: I flashed the hard drive, but I have 221GB, not 250GB

    A: The fact is that HDD manufacturers believe that 1GB is 1000MB, but the box believes that 1GB is 1024MB. And besides, a certain part of the memory is spent on the system.

    Part 6. Firmware program.

    Directory program that will help with firmware.

    HDD firmware for XBOX360

    You can easily make a hard drive for the XBOX360 yourself from a 2.5’ laptop hard drive from Western Digital, which is installed in most laptops.
    Suitable hard drives of the following series:

    — WD Scorpio Series BEVS/BEAS
    — WD Scorpio Blue Series BEVS/BEVT/BPVT
    — WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT/BJKT
    - WD VelociRaptor Series
    —WD AV-25 Series BUDT
    - WD Series BMVS

    I bought myself a WD3200BEVT.

    If the hard drive capacity is more than 320 GB. then the XBOX360 will only see 320 GB, because at the moment there is no firmware for more than 320 GB. (and we will flash the firmware for 320 GB.).

    In order for XBOX to think that this is its own, an Xbox screw, our hard drive needs to be flashed. This must be done from under DOS.

    If you do not have a bootable USB flash drive or floppy disk with DOS, then you need to create it according to the instructions.

    Unpack the archive and copy the file with the bin extension to our bootable flash drive/floppy disk (in my case HDDSS320.bin)

    Now turn off the PC, connect the target hard drive and, just in case, disconnect the others so as not to accidentally spoil it.

    2) Turn on the PC, boot from our flash drive/floppy disk and see the MS-DOS command line.
    3) Enter hddhackr (as in the picture) and press ENTER

    4) The program will ask you to enter the name of the file for backup, enter undo.bin, ATTENTION it is necessary to make a backup, if you do not have the UNDO.BIN file, then this hard drive will never work with the PC.
    5) If all actions were performed correctly, you will see a list of hard drives that the program found.

    6) In this case, the HDD is number 5
    Enter the desired number and press ENTER. If your hard drive is not in the list, try connecting it to a different SATA port. You can also tweak the SATA settings in the BIOS; if all else fails, you need to do this on another PC, or use an external PCI-SATA controller.
    7) After we have selected the screw, the program will offer to flash the hard drive or make a backup copy of the firmware, be sure to make a backup copy, then flash it (press F), enter the name of the firmware file that we selected and wrote to a flash drive/floppy disk, for example hddss320.bin
    8) The program will write that this disc is not for XBOX, click YES.

    9) The program offers to create partitions, also click YES.

    10) DONE, turn off the PC, insert the hard drive into the XBOX directly as is, or buy this box for the HDD, I bought it on eBay for a few dollars.

    11) On XBOX, format the new disk before use.

    ATTENTION!!! If you do not save the UNDO.BIN file in a safe place, you will never be able to use your HDD on your PC again.

    Read more: