
- HOW TO FORMAT FLASH DRIVE FOR XBOX 360 INSTALL
- HOW TO FORMAT FLASH DRIVE FOR XBOX 360 UPDATE
- HOW TO FORMAT FLASH DRIVE FOR XBOX 360 UPGRADE
Xbox 360 simply hides its files on the drive, mostly in 1GB chunks, but with other config and system info reserved in smaller files. Curiously though, if you use a drive larger than 16GB, the 360 gives you the option of allocating the entire 16GB onto the drive: it just hoovers up its 512MB overhead from the remaining space. However, in the preferred 16GB device configuration, you're still left with 14.4GB of actual, usable space - that's clearly a step-up from the 12GB found on the original "20GB" 360 HDD. A minimum of 512MB is reserved for "system operations": this cuts heavily into 2GB and 4GB flash drives in particular. Just plug in your USB flash device, go to the memory area of the dashboard, and from there you can either set-up the drive automatically or else configure how much space you'd like to make available to the Xbox 360. This isn't exactly recommended (at all), but it does serve to illustrate that the implementation in terms of device accessibility hasn't been deliberately nerfed: so long as the device exceeds Microsoft's own (extremely low) performance test threshold, it's show time.
HOW TO FORMAT FLASH DRIVE FOR XBOX 360 INSTALL
We were even able to connect cameras directly to the Xbox 360, format their internal SD cards and then use them to install Halo 3. Any kind of USB mass storage device can be attached. It's interesting to note that the USB storage option appears to have no limitations whatsoever. Quite why Microsoft has chosen to do this remains unknown, but once again it may tie into the Datel lawsuit. While we hesitate to mention it, we've also had a few emails suggesting that the new update, once transferred onto a CD or flash drive, also restores the "install to hard disk" functionality removed from Xbox 360s banned from Live at the tail-end of last year. And you can do it for just £25, possibly cheaper.
HOW TO FORMAT FLASH DRIVE FOR XBOX 360 UPGRADE
However, looking at it from a wholly positive perspective, the new upgrade offers a number of compelling advantages: you can carry around your profile, save games, DLC and even game installs on a key-sized drive.Įven more impressively, you can bag yourself more storage space, faster access speeds and swifter loading times for your Xbox 360 Core or Arcade than the original 20GB HDD bundled with the launch 360 deluxe packs. Others reckon it's a cunning scheme to circumvent a lawsuit from unofficial peripheral maker Datel, which used to offer its own MicroSD based solution before injunction-wielding heavies waded in. Some say that it's too little, too late, citing the fact that there is a hard-set 16GB limit on device support, meaning that even if you buy a 500GB external drive, you can still only use a fraction of it. With the new update, virtually any reasonably sized device can be used for all storage functionality the 360 offers.

The age of the official Microsoft "MU" is finally over.

HOW TO FORMAT FLASH DRIVE FOR XBOX 360 UPDATE
This week's system update for the Xbox 360 saw the addition of support for USB drives on the console, allowing players - for the first time, officially - to use their own flash devices for extra storage.
