The Xbox 360 is long gone, but the homebrew and hacking scene of a console is always searching for ways to revitalize and keep older consoles alive, and such is the case for a newly developed tool for the Xbox 360 that aims to make hard-drives compatible with the console.

The original OEM hard drives for the 360 are getting scarce and more rare as time goes on, and it's only a matter of time before the vast majority of the original hard drives manufactured for the system begin to fail in one way or another given the usual HDD lifespan. One such existing tool, HDDHackr, managed to successfully make third party hard drives compatible with the Xbox 360. However, this tool hasn't seen updates in more than a decade, making it fairly obsolete, more so with the number of different and modern chipsets floating around.

Thankfully, a new tool has jumped up to the task of creating another solution for modifying already existing Western Digital hard drives into Xbox 360 compatibles drives, with this new tool being called "Xbox 360 HDD Maker". This new tool for FATXplorer gets rid of the annoyances of having to create a bootable USB, mess with BIOS settings and other things, with the only real requirement to run it being a Windows PC and a USB to SATA adapter for the hard drive.

Anyone who has done any sort of tinkering with Xbox 360 knows about HDDHackr. For many years, HDDHackr was the only way to make a hard-drive compatible on retail Xbox 360s. It has been an incredibly useful tool and was so far ahead of its time. The developers should be commended for their work. Unfortunately, development on it stopped more than 10 years ago and it has grown more difficult to use due to modern chipset compatibility issues. OEM Xbox 360 hard-drives are also no longer in production. As these OEM drives start to fail, the need for a tool to make compatible drives has been growing.

FATXplorer 3.0 beta 32 has a brand-new solution, a tool named Xbox 360 HDD Maker

This tool aims to be an easier and more accesible way to the already existing HDDHackr tool from years ago, and more importantly, it tries to reinvigorate and give options to gamers with their beloved Xbox 360 system to still have their console in a functional form with more accesible modern hard drives, without the risk of having their original OEM hard drives failing to the passage of time.

Xbox 360 HDD Maker Website

 

[CoolMe]

This should have been possible/allowed officially from the start (without resorting to tools like this), just like with PS3's.. one of the things i really dislike about MS..
Good job!

 

[pustal]

Damn, all we need now is an hypervisor exploit on the latest firmware.

 

[SylverReZ]

Damn, all we need now is an hypervisor exploit on the latest firmware.

If you mean by a 'softmod', this is never going to happen. Modchips are the only way to go.

The Xbox 360 is long gone, but the homebrew and hacking scene of a console is always searching for ways to revitalize and keep older consoles alive, and such is the case for a newly developed tool for the Xbox 360 that aims to make hard-drives compatible with the console.​

This is pretty cool to know. I might try this the next time I mod an Xbox 360.

 

[MrQQ]

Yeah this has always been possible. This really isnt news but always good to have a new tool. HDD HACKER has been around for years

 

[salazarcosplay]

How big of a hard drive can you use 250GB 320GB 500GB or more?

 

[CoolMe]

How big of a hard drive can you use 250GB 320GB 500GB or more?

You can go up to 2TB.
Edit: Looks like 500GB is the limit

Q: What is the largest drive I can use?
A: With the currently available security sectors, the maximum space the retail Xbox 360 kernel will allow you to use is 465.76 GB. While you can flash and use larger drives up to 2 TB, only 465.76 GB will be utilized. It is not possible to raise this utilization limit on retail. This is an entirely different challenge and 465.76 GB will probably be the limit forever. Also note RGH and JTAG consoles do not have this limit.

 

[chrisrlink]

You can go up to 2TB.
Edit: Looks like 500GB is the limit

tbh sounds like a hv limit and not a firmware/bios limit (since rgh glitches the HV removing the limit

 

[Jayro]

You, this is huge! :o

 

[K3Nv2]

You, this is huge! :o

It's just the beginning now that the stores officially closed.

 

[raxadian]

with the only real requirement to run it being a Windows PC and a USB to SATA adapter for the hard drive.

Hopefully someone makes it work on Wine or makes a Linux version because Windows 11 is really bad.

Then again I don't have a Xbox 360.

 

[DragonMals]

If you mean by a 'softmod', this is never going to happen. Modchips are the only way to go.

What do you mean? What about this: https://sefemedical.com/threads/tony-ha...consoles-including-the-xbox-360.659336/unread

 

[SylverReZ]

What do you mean? What about this: https://sefemedical.com/threads/tony-ha...consoles-including-the-xbox-360.659336/unread

It's a similar fate to the King Kong exploit. Your console must be at least on 4548 or below before it was patched.

 

[DragonMals]

And I don't even know what version is the latest for the 360 as I don't own one.

 

[PrincessLillie]

If you mean by a 'softmod', this is never going to happen. Modchips are the only way to go.

Technically you don't even need a chip anymore. Some really smart people figured out how to get the console to glitch itself, so all you need is some soldering skills, wires and resistors, and a NAND flasher.
Or you could send it into someone with all of that already available to them...

 

[SylverReZ]

Technically you don't even need a chip anymore. Some really smart people figured out how to get the console to glitch itself, so all you need is some soldering skills, wires and resistors, and a NAND flasher.
Or you could send it into someone with all of that already available to them...

That's what I meant by a modchip (a.k.a. glitch chips). They're exactly the same thing.

 

[yoyoyo69]

This should have been possible/allowed officially from the start (without resorting to tools like this), just like with PS3's.. one of the things i really dislike about MS..
Good job!

And even worse again with Series consoles.

Microsoft have proven theor goal is to artificially inflate prices. They've blocked workarounds with updates, restricted manufacturers who can manufacture Expansion Cards, made no effort to introduce alternative methods or options.

They have now also introduced a more expensive model, the difference being 2TB storage, instead of 1TB. They've ensured they have no incentive to reduce prices at all

 

[MultiKoopa]

I don't know anything about 360 modding. Is it possible to use an SSD with one, without hacking it in a way that'll automatically get you banned from online?

 

[eyeliner]

I don't know anything about 360 modding. Is it possible to use an SSD with one, without hacking it in a way that'll automatically get you banned from online?

No

 

[thekarter104]

If you mean by a 'softmod', this is never going to happen. Modchips are the only way to go.


This is pretty cool to know. I might try this the next time I mod an Xbox 360.

Why Windows isn't as safe as Xbox 360?
Anyway interesting. Hopefully I find myself a pre modded Xbox 360 someday.