Revision as of 17:52, 15 March 2009

Notes:

This is a fairly straightforward method and is a compilation of the tutorials at titaniumfish and IVC Wiki.

I created this because although their tutorials are great, I was short on sleep and just wanted to get a 120GB HDD in my XBOX 360.

Hardware needed

Computer related

• Windows XP PC w/ SATA capabilities.
• A Western Digital WD1200BEVS Hard Drive.
  • Yes it has to be that model. No I don't know why aside from the ability to rewrite the firmware such that it believes it's a Hitachi 120 GB hard drive as sold by Microsoft. My guess is if you can re-write the firmware of any equally sized hard drive it should work. However working with low-level hardware programming, I know it's not easy and when things go bad, they can go pretty bad.
  • ZipZoomFly sells it (this is where I purchased mine)
  • NewEgg sells it.
• USB key or floppy (I hope you have a USB key)

Tool related

• Torx ( * ) 8 and 10 bits or screwdrivers.  It looks like an asterisk or a star.
• Philips ( + ) #1 or #2 head.  A plus head.
• Small flathead ( - )screwdriver will also work and is probably the better option versus Philips heads.  A minus head.

Software needed

• hddhackr 0.91
• hddhackr 0.91 for nForce4 chipsets
• Xplorer360 extreme2
• You will need one of the following depending on the size of your new hard drive
  • 20 GB HDD
  • 60 GB HDD
  • 120 GB HDD
• HP Flash Boot Utility
• Windows 98 Boot Files

• hddhackr 0.91 Pay no attention to this link - need to move it elsewhere on the page.

Steps

You can choose whether or not to follow certain steps. Some are there just to make your life easier or to get this process with over faster.

I have a memory unit for one reason but that one reason saved me a lot of time. My memory unit is solely for me being able to take all my settings and saved games from one place to another. The other major benefit is that I don't have to recover my gamertag whenever I visit someone.

So basically, I believe if you have a memory unit, move all your saved games or profile information over to it. Even your XBOX Live account should go on your memory unit.

Clean up

What you can afford to lose

Now that you have determined what absolutely must stay, let's go onto what we can afford to lose. This sections purpose is to make your drive lean. It will save you a lot of time if you remove items you don't need or use.

1. Clear out your cache by following this KB article from M$.
2. Remove any trial games or demos (seriously, it had better be the next Metal Gear Solid for it to stay)
3. Remove any video or game previews or expired rentals.
   

To backup items from your hard drive use a memory unit (MU).  You can find it online for less money at amazon or newegg.  Anyways, here is how to copy or move items:

What you should get a Memory Unit for

Alright, now have a memory unit inserted to move data onto.  You may want to move your XBOX Live Profile onto it.  This way you don't have to "recover" your profile, you just need to pop in your memory unit.  The other item is that there are several games which will not allow you to move their save data, once it is created.  A MU will allow for it to not be bound to the hard drive or console, but to the MU.

There are some games which will cause problems when backing up, however this is why I suggest you move all your save data onto a MU.  You can pick and prod and research, but it's just easier to move everything over (at least it was for me).

1. With the memory unit inserted, select System -> Memory -> Hard drive.
2. You can copy or move items two different ways (note some items can't be copied and must be moved).
   1. You can go into the item, hit A and then copy or move it.
   2. You can also move the entire save data for an item if you hit Y and then copy or move it.

Extract your drive

I would make a video but I think this guy does a great job. Once you have extracted your drive from the case, stop listening to him.

YouTube Guy

Now I chose to also pull out the XBOX hard drive connector from the shell. I did this because I have anti-static bags (your hard drive came in one) and you will need to move around your new drive a few times.  So, pull it out carefully.  You may have to wiggle it.

Modify hard drive

USB key

Make bootable

1. Unzip hpflash1.zip and install hpflash1.exe
2. Unzip win98boot.zip to it's own directory.
3. Go to Start -> Hewlett Packard Company -> HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
   1. Device: Ensure you have selected your USB key.
   2. File system: Choose FAT32.
   3. Format options:
      1. Check "Quick Format"
      2. Check "Create a DOS startup disk"
         1. for "using DOS system files located at" click on the button and point it to where you unzipped win98boot. e.g. c:\temp\win98boot
   4. Click "Start".

Copy needed files and applications

1. Extract 20GB_HDDSS.rar and rename it to 20gb.bin
2. Extract 60GB_HDDSS.rar and rename it to 60gb.bin
3. Extract 120GB_HDDSS.rar and rename it to 120gb.bin
4. Extract hddhackr091.rar
5. All of the above files should be copied to the root directory of your USB key.

Modify your new drive

1. Shutdown your system.
2. Attach your new drive via SATA
   • For me a USB to SATA adaptor did not work.
   • A direct SATA connection worked
   • You may need to enter BIOS and enable Legacy mode or disable AHCI and choose Compatibility.
3. Start your system and choose your USB key as a boot device.
   • You may need to enter BIOS and enable USB boot capabilities.
   • You may need to use Legacy USB mode.
4. Depending on the new hard drive size copy the file SIZEgb.bin to hddss.bin.
   • Example: I have a 120 GB drive. At the command prompt I will execute:

     • copy 120gb.bin hddss.bin

5. Now run:

   hddhackr -f

   • If prompted, enter the number for the correct drive.
6. If all went well, follow the instructions left for you by the hddhackr application and the instructions below.

Success

All on one Memory Unit

If you already have everything you need and backed up, then just place the new hard drive in the XBOX 360 hard drive casing, screw everything back in, pop it into the 360 and boot up.

You will need the serial number, you can get it from three places. My suggestion is just going through the system menu:

1. In the Xbox Dashboard. *preferred*
   • The Xbox 360 console serial number is displayed on the System Information screen of the Xbox Dashboard near the top. System Information is the last option on the list of console settings in the System section of the Xbox Dashboard.
2. Behind the USB port cover on the Xbox 360 faceplate.
   • You have to press the USB port cover down to see the serial number label. To see the serial number clearly, you may have to disconnect any attached USB devices. For more information about the location of the USB port cover, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 907578 Xbox 360 Description of the Xbox 360 console physical features
3. On the back of the Xbox 360 console
   • The Xbox 360 console serial number is displayed on the back of your Xbox 360 console, to the right and above the audio-visual (AV) port. Make sure that you remove any discs and turn off the console before you move your Xbox 360 console.

Now to format it:

1. System -> Memory -> Hard Drive - This is where your serial number comes into play.
2. Congratulations!  You are the proud new owner of a 120 GB HDD!

Congratulations!

If any of this helped you out please let me know, if it seems confusing feel free to ask questions. devnull@cimmerii.org I do look at it, just not that often.