How to Use an External Hard Drive on a PC to Download XBox 360 Content

Update the XBox 360

• 1

  Insert the USB flash drive in an open port on the PC.

• 2

  Download the Microsoft XBox 360 official update file (see Resources).

• 3

  Double-click on the downloaded file to open it.

• 4

  Drag the contents of the file to the USB flash drive.

• 5

  Unplug the flash drive from the PC and plug it into the console. Turn on the console and follow the onscreen instructions to update the XBox to the latest firmware version.

• 6

  Turn on the console and follow the onscreen instructions to update the XBox 360 to the latest firmware.

Configure the External Hard Drive

• 7

  Plug the external hard drive into the PC.

• 8

  Click "Start" and right-click on "Computer."

• 9

  Select "Manage" and click "Disk Management" under the "Storage" section.

• 10

  Click on the drive letter that corresponds to the external hard drive.

• 11

  Right-click on the external hard drive and select "Shrink Volume."

• 12

  Enter "16000" as the size of the new partition and click "Shrink."

• 13

  Wait for the process to complete, then right-click on the new "unallocated" block in the bottom pane and choose "New Simple Volume."

• 14

  Change the "File System" to "FAT32" and name the new volume "xbox." Click "Next," then "Finish."

Configure the External Hard Drive for the XBox 360

• 15

  Connect the external hard drive to the USB port on the console.

• 16

  Click "My Xbox," navigate to "System Settings" and choose "Memory."

• 17

  Select "USB Storage Device" and choose "Customize."

• 18

  Move the slider all the way to the right to select the maximum 16 gigabytes and click "Configure" to complete the process. The external hard drive is now ready to download the desired content from the XBox 360 console.