Hack a 250gb, 320gb or 500gb Sata harddrive to work in the Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 Slim

Discussion in 'Xbox 360 Guides' started by InsaneNutter, Dec 8, 2009.

  1. Ruiner13

    Ruiner13 New Member

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    There are no bin's for a 320 GB hdd, how do you, if you even can, access the entire drive, or does your box only see a 250gb drive in it?
     
  2. faxmonkey

    faxmonkey New Member

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    Sorry, i meant 250GB.
     
  3. DragontamerV2

    DragontamerV2 New Member

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    Slow Downs and install problems

    Hey thx for the guide but I seem to be getting problems. For some odd reason I can't install games on the 250GB drive. Before I was able to but the moment I started trying out Last Remnant everything went down hill. For some odd reason when I load the game through the disc it takes ages to get to the loading screen, my Brother and my GC randomly show 0 and I'm unable to install games now.

    When I swapped back to my 20GB everything was working flawlessly.

    This is what I did:

    Hacked and format the 250GB through the xbox.


    1. I was able to transfer my save files from the 20GB to the 250GB via the pc.
    2. restored partition 2.
    3. Had to redownload our gamertags which worked and had to update.
    4. Tested our games which worked with our save files except for 3.
    5. Was able to install games.
    6. After that starting doing the corrupt save file fix and transferred them.
    7. They worked but my problems started there.
    8. Couldn't install games anymore, when I put Last Remnant in, it took a very long time to load the title.
    9. GC randomly shows 0 GS while playing Armored Core and Last Remnant.

    I've tried formatting the 250GB to see if that fixed my issue but it didn't do anything. After all this I swapped back to the 20GB which has no games installed, had to redownload the GT and everything was working flawlessly. I'm thinking of undoing the hack on the HDD, format it then re-run the hack again. This time transfer saves with profiles via mem card if I can get my hands on one. Oh my console isn't flashed or anything, my brother and I own legit games and we play on LIVE a lot.

    This is a plan that I came up with but I want people's suggestions on it:

    1. undo the HDD hack, format it through windows, reapply hack
    2. Attach 20GB HDD to the xbox transfer the profiles and saves to a memory card (that I will buy:().
    3. Attach 250GB to xbox, format it then transfer the profile and saves to the 250GB.
    4. Sign into LIVE update what ever is necessary then try installing and stuff.
    Thanks in advance
     
  4. LinkCloud

    LinkCloud New Member

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    320gb+ ARE supported!

    I have personally tested up to 500gb. Just flash the large HDD with the 250gb firmware and use the below steps to recover your data. Or, just use it like a new 250gb HDD.

    1. You cannot use Xplorer360 250gb Edition for HDDs larger than 250!
    2. You must use Xplorer360 Extreme to reimage partition 2.
    3. Close out Xplorer360 and forget you even have that program!
    4. Disable UAC so you can drag and drop files to your partition 3.
    5. Use Xport 360 to rebuild partition 3. (v2.12 is what I use)
    . a. Make image of old HDD using Xport 360.
    . b. Open image file using Xport 360 so you don't corrupt your good HDD.
    . c. Drag and drop the folders/files you wish to copy to a folder that you pick.
    . d. Open your modded HDD in Xport 360.
    . e. Drag and drop the files where required on your 320gb+ hdd using Xport 360.
    6. Some parts must be copied in smaller portions to prevent Xport 360 from crashing.
    7. Don't use absolutes when dealing with computers. Just because someone doesn't know how to do something doesn't mean it can't be done.

    ~LC

    Code:
    http://us.codejunkies.com/support_downloads/Setup_XPort_360_v2_12.zip
    320GB WD BEKT BIN
    Code:
    rapidshare.com/files/363187894/UNDO.BIN
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2010
    faxmonkey likes this.
  5. slindborg

    slindborg New Member

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    Hi folks.

    My lovely mobo wont boot off a USB stick so I made a bootable CD and ran from there.
    Of course UNDO.BIN wont write so I dont get the 'Restarting the machine will set the firmware' message. Would making the name for UNDO.BIN '> :NUL' write it to nothing like it would for other DOS programs?
    OR does it really not matter and its flashed the drive properly anyway?
     
  6. Denis Belanger

    Denis Belanger New Member

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    Thank you InsaneNutter!

    Thank you InsaneNutter! Your guide was most excellent!

    I’d wanted to upgrade my messily 20GB hard drive for a while now. The other guides I’d found were only good for installing 120GB hard drives and weren’t explicit in each step like yours is. Once I read your guide, I was satisfied that I had enough info not to screw anything up. Thanks again for the great guide!

    The only problem that I encountered was with hddhackr. After running it from the command prompt, hddhackr would seemingly hang right about when it should have displayed all the drives in my system. It turned out that by disabling the Silicon Image raid controller in the BIOS, the problem was alleviated and hddhackr then worked like a charm.

    Additionally, I saved over CAN$108 by going this route. In order to upgrade to the 120GB drive from Microsoft I would have had to pay CAN$180.79 + shipping. Instead I paid CAN$72.89 for a 250GB hard drive (WD Scorpio Black BEKT, 7200RPM) at www.shoprbc.com and picked it up myself since it is nearby my work. I got double the capacity and paid less than half of the price. You just can’t go wrong with that!

    FYI: I found a nice little precision screwdriver set at Canadian Tire (Mastercraft Heavy-Duty Precision Screwdriver Set, 35-piece | Canadian Tire) and it includes Torx bits T4 to T10.
     
  7. Mitsuhide

    Mitsuhide Member

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    Hey,

    Was looking into upgrading my hard drive from my original 20gb to something higher! and after research i found out i can do it this way and for a lot cheaper!

    So i've ordered the 250gb Western Digital WD2500BEVT and will hopefully get my hands on it next week.

    I've one question though, if I bought the official MS Hard Drive transfer kit, would I be able to transfer all my data from the 20gb to the 250gb after it's been hacked?

    Or do i have to go the Xplorer360 route?
     
  8. InsaneNutter

    InsaneNutter Resident Nutter Staff Member

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    You can, however you still need Xplorer 360 to restore Partition 2 which you will need to play Xbox 1 games.
     
  9. Denis Belanger

    Denis Belanger New Member

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    Save yourself the money and follow the steps in the guide.

    Mitsuhide, save yourself the money and copy over your content as described in the guide. It's really not that much of a hassle.

    Keep in mind that some save-games don't like being moved onto another device, such as the save-games for ME2 and Viva Pinata. I used CONcept and Hash Block Calculator as described here (I copied all three links from the bottom of InsaneNutter's guide). The save-games worked like a charm, and again, it really wasn't that much of a hassle.
     
  10. Mitsuhide

    Mitsuhide Member

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    I don't have Xbox 1 games on my hard drive. Is this partition for transfering Xbox 1 games or just the ability to play Xbox 1 games onto the 360?

    I may go down that route if the migration kit isn't a viable option. My girlfriends dad has one so i was gonna borrow it off him.

    Is it possible to move the saves for the games that are a hassle to a memory unit then move it onto the hard drive?
     
  11. Nick N

    Nick N New Member

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    Thank you for this guide! Just upgraded my 20GB HDD with a WD 320 (flashed 250GB hddss.bin), worked perfect. I did have trouble transferring the content folder from the 20 to the "250", I was using a version of xplorer360 that was made for the 320GB (hex edited?). I could see the partitions and dragged and dropped the folder, but no luck, it wouldn't read it in the xbox. . No worries though, I used a 256mb memory card to move my profile, game saves, etc and redownloaded all my arcade games. Thanks again!

    Link to HDD used: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2010
  12. InsaneNutter

    InsaneNutter Resident Nutter Staff Member

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    The ability to play Xbox 1 games, either from the original disc or downloaded from live. it also stores your avatars however thise will be downloaded from Xbox Live again if you dont re-store partition 2.


    Although you have a 320gb drive, when your flash the 250gb SS only 250gb is been used so you need the 250gb Xplorer 360.

    The 320gig version will only actually worked for a jtag hacked console which can use any size drive, so could make use of the whole 320gig.
     
  13. Nick N

    Nick N New Member

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    I guess I did not realize it would work on drives larger than 250 flashed as 250. Thanks again though, enjoying the extra space!
     
  14. Mitsuhide

    Mitsuhide Member

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    One final question!

    When you say to dump the Partition 3 > Content folder, is it by right clicking on the folder and choosing the 'Extract' option or do i dump to a hddss.bin?

    I've managed to hack the hard drive! although i can't test it since i'm waiting for the 360 Hard drive case to come in the post!
     
  15. InsaneNutter

    InsaneNutter Resident Nutter Staff Member

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    I mean by right clicking and selecting extract, you might need to do a few folder at a time, Xplorer 360 would randomly crash for me but i managed to get everything off by drive my doing a few folders at a time.
     
  16. Mitsuhide

    Mitsuhide Member

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    Cool, thanks InsaneNutter.

    Xplorer 360 didn't crash on me so i backed them up fine.

    I'll just wait patiently until my Hard Drive case comes and then pop the 250gb in it and see how it goes!

    Will post my results :)
     
  17. cfb

    cfb Member

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    Great guide...its inspired me to go from my current 120GB to a 250GB so I dont have to keep deleting the downloaded demo's my 5 year old likes to make room for copying games from dvd to hard drive!

    Indeed, USB is going to be your limiting factor here. Although USB is rated for 480Mb/s, its a shared medium with some overhead. A fast USB host (and we dont know if the xbox 360 is really that fast on the USB side) can only manage a single 40MB/s transfer rate and I've rarely seen even speedy USB external drives go north of 25-27MB/s. I've tested the same drives on an internal SATA connection and gotten 75-100MB/s+, so USB is really a lot slower.

    Most any laptop size drive made in the last ~5 years will do much better than 25MB/s transfer regardless of rotation speed. The original Xbox 360 20GB drive probably wont though.

    So I'd recommend the lowest spindle speed you can get for this application. Less noise, less heat, about the same speed.

    One question for the group:

    I have an official microsoft 20GB drive from my original launch date 360. I've replaced that with an official 120GB unit that came with a transfer cable. That transfer was real straight forward.

    I just bought the recommended scorpio blue 250GB. My plan is to replace the 20GB drive with that and use the 20GB drives case, and then copy all the save data from my 120GB to the 250.

    Given that I have a computer that can take sata drives and boot from usb, and I have two 'official' drives and cases, that I'd like to preserve the 120GB drive in its case as a backup, and dont care about the 20GB drive, what is the fastest/best/easiest way for me to proceed?

    I figured I could do the tutorial to change the 20GB into the 250GB, then use the microsoft transfer cable to move everything from the 120GB to the 250GB? Is that the best route for me? At what point in the tutorial would I stop following the instructions and go to the transfer cable program?

    Or am I best off using the tutorial straight through and skipping the transfer cable and its software?

    Thanks in advance for any advice.
     
  18. InsaneNutter

    InsaneNutter Resident Nutter Staff Member

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    Useing the Microsoft transfer cable to transfer saves / dlc from the 120gig to the 250gig drive using the Xbox 360 that will probably be the fastest way as transferring saves and content with Xplorer 360 on the pc can be a very slow process.

    The bits of the tutorial you would follow are hacking the new drive with hddhackr, dumping partition 2 from the old drive and restoring partition 2 to the new drive.

    The only bit you would really ignore is backing up your saves from the old drive and copying them to the new one as you can do that with the transfer cabel and Xbox 360 software that came with it.
     
  19. theweinie

    theweinie New Member

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    Sick tutorial. Many thanks to insane nutter. Very easy to upgrade the harddrive. My only problem was the drag and drop then I read I had to shut off the UAC then I had my hdd copied over. My only problem was I couldn't restore Partion 2, but since I dont play original xbox games I dont care. Now I have a 250gb for my xbox and my kid has my 120gb for her arcade. Saved alot of money. Thanks again.
     
  20. Mitsuhide

    Mitsuhide Member

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    Just like to update everyone.

    I managed to successfully get the hard drive hacked and working! I now have 250gb of storage space and even went on Xbox Live with it.

    Great tutorial! love it.
     

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