Adding a bigger HDD to your Xbox?

[mxrider108]

I've seen several very old guides about how to install a larger HDD into your Xbox, most of which require running an IDE cable to your motherboard. I can probably do this, but since everything is SATA nowadays I don't even have any IDE cables lying around. I have since read this can be done with nothing but software, using something called chimps or telnet? Those of you who have already done this, would you mind giving some suggestions? Thanks!

[nintendo9713]

I'm just replying because no one has but I have not heard of this. I have 8 xbox's and 6 have 250 GB IDE drives and the other 2 have 80 GB IDE drives. I have no idea how to even start to go about implementing a SATA drive.

[mxrider108]

Uh, that's not what I meant. Sorry if my wording was confusing in the last post. I meant that all I am using on my computer is SATA, so hooking up my Xbox's drive to my computer via IDE would be annoying because I don't have a cable. I'm wondering about how to set up a new drive (still with IDE in the xbox) using just software on the xbox and not having to run it to my motherboard. If that isn't possible, I could still do it via my computer if absolutely necessary (I would just need to track down an IDE cable).

[DrXThirst]

ebay ftw?

[warlord]

i've seen a fair few SATA to IDE ports on ebay in my time looking for IDE to sata converters. have a look there, their pretty cheap.

[mxrider108]

Meh, I read some more about this and found out it would probably just be easier to run the cable to my mobo and do it like everyone else. Thanks for the tips though.

[OwnZ joO]

If you're worried about not having an ide cable, just use the one from your xbox.

[kibito87]

Wait wait, so you are trying to install a larger hdd in your xbox but the hdd is a sata drive?

I've installed bigger hdd's in both softmodded and hardmodded xbox's so I know where to go for either path.

A. If you have another modded xbox, this will be a lot easier.
B. You may just want to get a IDE converter if the hdd is SATA that you are trying to install in the xbox.
C. The converter's are all over the place on the net...i'd suggest looking at the reviews to make sure it's read/write speeds are pathetic.
D. Please inform me if I got any information incorrect. I wasn't able to follow very well.

[OwnZ joO]

The way I interpreted it was that his computer uses SATA and he has an IDE drive, he just needs an IDE cable to plugin the hard drive into his computer in order to format it to FATX and lock it to his eeprom. I suggested he use the cable from his xbox if that is the case, but I'm not really sure if that's what it is either.

[mxrider108]

Yeah, I'm sorry my writing was quite confusing. I don't actually own the new HDD to put in my xbox, I'm just thinking about it right now. When the time comes, I'll buy an IDE drive. I'm in college 6 hours away from home and, although I my motherboard came with some IDE cables, they are all there. This is why I was trying to figure out another way to format the drive, but I will be able to do it the regular way when I get back home for summer break.

What's the best tutorial you guys have seen for upgrading your xbox HDD? What drives have you found work best in an xbox?

[OwnZ joO]

If the only problem is the IDE cables are at home, you have an IDE cable in your xbox. You could use that one to plugin an IDE hard drive into your computer as long as it has that capability.

[kibito87]

Yeah, I'm sorry my writing was quite confusing. I don't actually own the new HDD to put in my xbox, I'm just thinking about it right now. When the time comes, I'll buy an IDE drive. I'm in college 6 hours away from home and, although I my motherboard came with some IDE cables, they are all there. This is why I was trying to figure out another way to format the drive, but I will be able to do it the regular way when I get back home for summer break.

What's the best tutorial you guys have seen for upgrading your xbox HDD? What drives have you found work best in an xbox?

I found a tutorial on how to make some kind of linux cd that was pretty straigtht forward but I never got everything up and running.I've only dealt with upgrading hdd's in chipped boxes and another scenario being my chipped box and somebody else's softmodded box. So I know basically what you need to do and whatnot so if you have more questions or anything of the sort let me know.

Look in the Softmods/exploits section.

^^^ Those tutorials taught me everything I know. I'd definitely spend a good chunk of time reading different tutorials.

[OwnZ joO]

Basically you need XboxHDM(xbox hard drive manager), which is the linux cd that he's talking about. You need to boot your computer to that with the drive for your xbox plugged into you computer as the primary master. Then you need to format the drive as FATX(the xbox file system, thats one of the things xboxhdm does for you), then you should have the files you need to put on your xbox(the C drive and E drive stuff involving the modded dash, if you use NDure or something you might have to take some special steps to access your actual C drive instead of the image of it) on the CD and it will set up the hard drive as it should be. Then you lock it to your EEPROM. I recommend looking for a good tutorial on it, but that was just a summary of what you need to do.

[kibito87]

Basically you need XboxHDM(xbox hard drive manager), which is the linux cd that he's talking about. You need to boot your computer to that with the drive for your xbox plugged into you computer as the primary master. Then you need to format the drive as FATX(the xbox file system, thats one of the things xboxhdm does for you), then you should have the files you need to put on your xbox(the C drive and E drive stuff involving the modded dash, if you use NDure or something you might have to take some special steps to access your actual C drive instead of the image of it) on the CD and it will set up the hard drive as it should be. Then you lock it to your EEPROM. I recommend looking for a good tutorial on it, but that was just a summary of what you need to do.

^^ What he said. That pretty much sums up what I read forever ago.