The Xbox 360 slim hard drive...

[desura]

So, uh, I have a 360 w/o a hard drive.

Um, I mainly got it to play some SP xbox games, mainly halo and GOW which I can't get anywhere else. Don't care for MP. Would like to play local coop though.

Don't really care about backward compatibility either.

So basically, what's the cheapest way to get a HD? Like, can you just stick a cheap 2.5" hard drive into an enclosure from ebay? Or is there some special formatting required?

 

[smackababy]

You have to use a special HDD and it has to be flashed to a special firmware for the Xbox to recognize it.

 

[Raduque]

The 360S has a normal SATA data/power plug, so if you can find somebody selling an old 20gb drive on CL or something, you can remove it from the enclosure and install it using padding to shim it in place. Works great if you don't move the box much.

 

[RedRooster]

A used 20, 60 or even 120 should be very easy to obtain cheaply on craigslist at this point.
I remember trying to sell my 120 two years ago for $15 and had no takers.

 

[desura]

But like, you need specific hard drives, right? Like, I'm sure I read that it will only take Western Digital hard drives.

Ideally, I'd just buy an enclosure and use a hard drive I have lying around...

 

[basslover1]

You need to flash certain firmware on the HDD to do it, but yes you can use most any HDD you have lying around. There are a few limitations on that it has to be a certain brand (Western Digital IIRC) and only supports sizes that exist in OEM Xbox HDDs, IE 20gb, 60gb, 120 gb etc.

Just Google how to flash a HDD to work with the 360 you'll find what you need.

 

[RedRooster]

Way too much of a pain. It'd be easier to buy a cheap 120 and be done.
Or just use a USB flash drive if you just need any kind of storage for a game or two.

 

[smackababy]

But like, you need specific hard drives, right? Like, I'm sure I read that it will only take Western Digital hard drives.

Ideally, I'd just buy an enclosure and use a hard drive I have lying around...

You need a special WD Blue 2.5" model. You'd have to look exactly which one up. I've done it a couple times (for the 120gb and the 250gb) and it isn't very hard. You can find the firmware and a flasher online. The problem is there is a risk you can get the console banned from Xbox Live for that though. I heard of people getting banned for just that, but never a first hand story. Always a "I have a friend who got banned and he just had a flashed HDD" story.

You're better off just buying one of the old style enclosures and opening it. It has the a standard HDD in a strange enclosure and should work just fine. I'm sure you can get one for $5 or so on craigslist.

 

[snoturtle]

Never heard of anyone getting banned for having a hard drive installed

If your not going to connect to Live than it shouldn't matter

Have 2 Xbox Slims with 500gb drives that don't go on Live that work fine

 

[cmdrdredd]

You can plug an external HDD into USB can't you? Just get a cheap dock or enclosure.

 

[PCunicorn]

You can plug an external HDD into USB can't you? Just get a cheap dock or enclosure.

That's what I would do. Flashing firmware to a HDD just to play a Xbox a little bit seems like to much of a pain,

 

[Soundmanred]

I bought a 3rd party internal 250GB one from Newegg for the Xbox I got free for buying a laptop last year.
Works great.
External drives are limited to a relatively small storage amount (32GB) no matter the actual capacity.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I bought a 3rd party internal 250GB one from Newegg for the Xbox I got free for buying a laptop last year.
Works great.
External drives are limited to a relatively small storage amount (32GB) no matter the actual capacity.

Ahh ok...so you still have to buy MS' overpriced internal to get anything more than 32GB? That's pretty crappy.

 

[bearxor]

I've used a 120GB drive in my 360 for several years now and have never had a problem. I actually had a WD Blue drive that worked hanging around and didn't have an issue.

However, I really don't see the point in doing it these days. The new boxes are way quieter than my white one. And if you just need to save some games or something, 16GB is way more than enough. Don't they even come with 4GB installed now? That would be more than sufficient.

I have a couple of game I run off a 16GB flash drive I picked up at BB for $10. Works great.

 

[Tom]

Ahh ok...so you still have to buy MS' overpriced internal to get anything more than 32GB? That's pretty crappy.

Gamestop has the old style 120gb refurbished for $40. Just have to rip it out of the old style case and use some stiff foam or electrical tape to hold it in place.

Probably could get one even cheaper on sale or used.

 

[desura]

I've used a 120GB drive in my 360 for several years now and have never had a problem. I actually had a WD Blue drive that worked hanging around and didn't have an issue.

However, I really don't see the point in doing it these days. The new boxes are way quieter than my white one. And if you just need to save some games or something, 16GB is way more than enough. Don't they even come with 4GB installed now? That would be more than sufficient.

I have a couple of game I run off a 16GB flash drive I picked up at BB for $10. Works great.

Eh, but can games do disc caching on the flash drives?

 

[bearxor]

I'd imagine it would just use the internal 4GB memory for any caching. The USB Would really be for installing or saved games.

But the suggestion above to buy a 120GB drive for $40 may be your best bet. If you can find one for $30 or less or so, that's an even greater deal. Just disassemble the housing and slap the drive in to the slim 360.