Original Xbox Hard Drive Upgrade Tutorial Guide How To Install New HDD

Ready to upgrade the hard drive in your Original OG Xbox? All the steps you’ll need to take to install a SATA HDD up to 2TB are included in this video how to guide. Complete tutorial includes the parts needed to get the drive installed, the software needed, and the setup process to replace an original drive from scratch.
You will need a softmodded/TSOP flashed Xbox for this or a hardmtodded Xbox.
If you haven’t done a softmod to your Xbox Classic yet, watch this video to learn how:
• Microsoft XBOX Classic...
If you haven’t done a TSOP flash on your Xbox yet, watch this video to learn how to flash the v1.0 and v1.1 models (v1.2 - v1.5 coming soon):
• XBOX TSOP Flash Full T...
Enjoy, and please share your comments below to let me know if this helped you. Thanks!
NOTE: If you’re not sure if your hard drive is compatible, check the chart here to verify:
xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list
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Parts used in this video:
Kingwin SSD/SATA to IDE Bridge Board Adapter, Convert All SATA Devices Easily to IDE. Support 2.5 Inch, 3.5 Inch HDD, & Compatible w/ SATA I/II/III H
geni.us/xboxsatatoide (Amazon link)
CablesOnline 30-inches 40-Pin (80-Wire) Ultra ATA 2-Drive White Internal Round Cable, FI-U30R
geni.us/40pin80wirecable (Amazon link)
TruHeXEn 2019 Download:
drive.google.com/file/d/1T-v0...
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Music:
Chiptunes = WIN, available from the BandCamp website here:
chiptuneswin.bandcamp.com
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DISCLOSURE: I often review or link to products & services I regularly use and think you might find helpful. Wherever possible I use referral links, which means if you click one of the links in this video or description and make a purchase I may receive a small commission or other compensation.
I'm a big fan of Amazon, and many of my links to products/gear are links to those products on Amazon. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and related sites.
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#blainelocklair
Original Xbox Hard Drive Upgrade Tutorial Guide How To Install New HDD

[@_BELMONT_]

you sir just earned a subscription! i followed all of these steps! From tsop flashing "i went the solder route" to using HEXEN to install a new drive. thank you so much i really appreciate all the help!

[@irpankadir]

Easy to follow. I use HDD Seagate IDE 160GB and TruHexen 2020 to practice your tutorial. Thanks a bunch!

[@jerrymeza]

I had mine moded in Mexico a looooooong time ago, didnt know there was a newer update, will check it out

[@toajames1]

Did this after your last video. Thank you again!!

[@Kyder05]

Thanks man, you rescued my old xbox.

[@troutsoup]

i read about the leaky caps, and ripped that thing off. now i'm going down a huge upgrade rabbit hole :)

[@kynmasters8670]

Oh I didn't know I needed a different cable! Thanks, that helps a lot!

[@LouiesLog]

I didn't realize that either. What is the difference between the cables?

[@convicted2446]

@@LouiesLog the stock is a 40 wire cable. The new one is an 80 wire cable for more conductors i believe

[@middle_pickup]

Thanks for this tutorial. I'm preparing to do this to my 1.6 softmod system. I'm looking forward to doing this!

[@at-cj2iy]

Are you sure its a 1.6??? I thought 1.6 couldnt be softmodded only with modchips just need to know cause i know i got a 1.6

[@Gogeta007yBro]

v1.6 can be softmodded as all Xbox revisions. The only thing that cannot be done to v1.6 Xbox' is TSOPing it, as the BIOS is flashed onto a Microsoft custom chip, unlike v1.0 to v1.5 Xbox models. I've done Rocky5's softmod to my v1.6 Xbox and it works flawlessly.

[@pblchldy8082]

@@Gogeta007yBro If i have a Duox2 modchip installed do I still need to softmod to change Hard drive or can I just change harddrive straight away and install with hexen? MY unit is 1.6

[@naughtydog9843]

@@pblchldy8082 If you have a mod chip you can proceed to change hard drive and install with Hexen. Have fun!

[@pblchldy8082]

@@naughtydog9843 thank you so much for letting me know. I was tempted to buy the whole lot of accessories to switch the hd as I believe the hard drive is on its way out. Xbox keeps freezing randomly in games or sometimes in the dashboard. I have re-applied thermals in case is was gpu over heating but it didn't solve the freezing. Then I thought it could be the clock capacitor but it turns out I have a 1.6 model and the clock is healthy with no leaks. Therefore everything is turning towards the hard drive at the moment.

[@tronalddump8776]

Back in the day I used a eeprom reader on a serial port with a program called ponyprog. Had to put the 3leads onto the service ports on the board. Once hooked load up the program and get ready to hit the record because you got to power on the Xbox at the same time as you hit record. Gives you the unlock key and then you just build it all on the PC. Man I miss those days lol last time I did this was like 2010 and ya a serial port.

[@CurtisHowell]

This looks doable! Thanks!

[@NO_obs]

Thankyou for the tutorial it was a great help. If anyone is getting the error code screen instead of booting into hexen with the new drive I managed to fix it by putting the drive in my pc and formatting it to fat32. After doing this i could see the linux string and the xbox successfully booted

[@dimset7125]

Hey I tired doing this and it either won’t load up the Xbox or it gives me the errors after putting it fat32. Did you use a program to make it fat32 instead of the basic way?

[@NO_obs]

@@dimset7125 Sorry i do not remember lol. might be worth doing it from a linux distro as doing large fat32 formats in windows is messy. If you get something like ubuntu and use the bootable usb there should be the gnome software "disks" on there that lets you format large drives as fat32

[@Clixxzy_]

​​@@dimset7125 I would use rufus

[@jeanpierrepotvin1248]

Hell yeah thank you for your tuto

[@fabianologfatec]

will definitely try it on my crystal xbox

[@snappity5065]

I literally just made a school assignment about summerville and then I came home and watched this and I see summerville as the location

[@dovdar]

Works great! Thank you!

[@IA-32]

Thanks you so much!

[@wisdomwithwit]

Used your vids for the soft mod tsop and hdd hard drive upgrade. Thanks. If you get a chance check out the emustation. Same devs of Rocky 5.

[@summerleeye588]

I have a question; could I do the same thing but with rocky 5's soft mod and keep rocky5's softmod after doing the harddrive upgrade.

[@LouiesLog]

Thank you blaine

[@falloutlover5443]

If my XBox has an Aladdin chip installed, do I need to first do the softmod from the previous video, or can I skip straight to this one? Noob here! Thanks!

[@F0RmyDZ]

thank you so mush . but what about the eeprom and hdd key during swaping hard disk ?

[@OBSCURE_DECKER]

Is there a way that I can install the new hard drive (in my case it's a 2 tb hard drive) that already has a soft mod, and games on it? For instance, I have a soft modded xbox with a hard drive that has a bunch of games on it, but won't connect to my tv. If I get a new Xbox, can I install this hard drive and keep all the data on it without soft modding the new Xbox first? I have everything I need to do it hardware wise. All the cables and adapters.

[@convicted2446]

hi Blaine, i have a question: after disconnecting stock harddrive do i also disconnect the molex power splitter because i dont need to power both drives anymore?

[@KSI_Revelations]

Do you need to TSOP Flash an Xbox that would be a 1.6b revision with a MFG date of 2005 ? I noticed in the TSOP flash video you said 1.0 and1.1 only

[@Trebliw8]

Did you actually use the "CablesOnline 30-inches 40-Pin (80-Wire) Ultra ATA 2-Drive White Internal Round Cable, FI-U30R" in your video? I was trying to figure out if I actually need to buy this but it didn't seem that you you used it

[@medude5159]

Does my ssd have to be completely empty? Or can it be wiped through Hexen?

[@0Akeldama0]

how do i download games onto the hard drive from the disc? can i do it vanilla or do i need to softmod? thanks?

[@skellylmaoo]

i love the xbox

[@timothycoppinger263]

Is there a way to do this, where the menu screen will look like the normal stock menu screen?

[@HiltTilt]

You have to softmod in order for it to recognize Sata sadly. Old HDD was IDE

[@upbeat3535]

Yes you need to softmod your Xbox, replace the HDD, then install a program called Dashloader. Configure Dashloader to always launch you into the regular menu. You can make it so if you hold down a button on your control you will load into the modded dashboard too.

[@adrianmole72]

I've just found a 350gb laptop HDD - will this work ? Great videos, by the way!

[@robwri35]

It will need some modificaton as the laptop drive is 2.5inches but the hard drive caddy is 3.5 inches.

[@makedaevilmage]

i got some old ide cables lying around from old pc's. How can i tell the difference between a 40 wire and a 80 wire cable?

[@Saberbeatsvr]

Nice video man keep it up! just subbed and liked and wondered if you might be able to help me at all please? Ive connected my new 320gb sata drive (Checked it was compatible before hand and it was previously soft modded) with an 80 wire ide cable + ide to sata adaptor, burned off Truhexen (Had to find a copy as assembler seems to be gone) but when booting the console it does not boot into the disc giving me error 13? do you have any idea why this might be?

[@trademarkdental283]

Hi Blaine, I'm not super sure how to do all this. I have a modded Xbox from years ago. The power supply stopped working. I bought another working Xbox, hoping to find a or supply part to swap in. The problem is, the new power supply does not have the same connection to the mother board as the old one. So, I took the old disc drive and modded hard drive and put them into the new Xbox. I can get a disc to load. I can see that there are old saves from previous games. I just have no way to get into the different emulators. I'm such on the dash board screen with -memory -music -xbox live -settings I'm at a loss. Thankful for any help you can provide.

[@90sNick_Pinesal]

What was up with that screen that says your xbox will no longer be softmodded and you will be unable to boot from this disc again? This process removes the softmod?

[@andree1991]

My xbox is already softmodded and even ready for insignia. Can I just do this without having to solder anything on the motherboard? I been reading about Tso or whatever that's called and they mention soldering.

[@Ironman2177]

I have a soft modded xbox but do you have to do a TSOP mod to install a 2TB Hard Drive?

[@MrCRios]

Which type of hard drive did you use

[@EugeneLychany]

I have a question. I had a chipped xbox with a 2TB drive I set up specifically for that console. Now I've bought another one and I'm about to put Aladdin XT2 in there. How do I install my old drive into another console without reformatting it? Both consoles have unleash x in them.

[@sammytiel]

How do you get the data off your old drive and put it on the new one? I don't want to lose my saves.

[@nashion75]

Can you please do a tutorial on how to use xored Trainer

[@MrCRios]

I clicked on the link for that ide adapter and of course there sold out is there any other place in can get it

[@marcov1516]

Question what if I all ready have a moded xbox i got at a flea market but want to ues that to mode an other xbox 🤔

[@albertomartinez-nm4bz]

Do you have instructions if you haven't moded and have a bad hard drive

[@steveh9229]

Will the hard drive still be recognised if plugged into a windows pc so any games can be backed up

[@24579641]

Hi, i recently buy a xbox classic softmoded, but the dvd reader dont work, how i can change the hdd ?

[@dommyregs]

Hi. I have a evox chipmod. I have installed 4 years ago an hdd wd of 160 Gb and xbox media center. If I install the 4 TB hdd, does it read this?

[@dmason995]

i cant find any normal ide drives upgrades. i got a 300gb ide just sitting around does this work just without the ide to sata adapter?

[@ModGamesGameplay]

My original xbox is jtagged not softmodded so i'm assuming i shouldn't need to run that linux software disc in mine upon upgrading the hdd?

[@bullbeergaming]

I need help! I got this xbox from a friend and it does not start like it should. It shows two lines looks like a 11 in the screen corner. Is it possible that the Hard Drive is defect? If not, is there a button combination or something that i can bring the box to factory reset? Sorry for my english, hope you understand

[@TheCrispyChip]

So does this only work if you TSOP modded? I plan on doing the soft mod using a controller usb.

[@wisdomwithwit]

Did you leave the hard drive unlocked after upgrading it?

[@AaronLee-pq3xb]

What hard drive do I buy for a 2tb for the original Xbox

[@rogermarques9530]

Nice! My first hdd 2tb dont work, when i put a hdd and hexen disc, blink in the screen unleashead, unleashead... Other hdd 160 gb work fine. Thanks

[@ARCADER_RAPPER]

Hello bro I have a chipless xbox hard disk 10 gb, I bought a 250 gb ide hdd, can I use the new hard disk with this method?

[@jonahwilliams2288]

Hey Blaine im getting A boot error when i try to boot into TruHexen I formatted drive to fat32 as well

[@Mutato-]

Would a SSD be better in the sense that it doesn't have any spin down time? I have a junk 128gb SATA SSD for testing and it seems to be a tad faster and quieter.

[@Belshazzaresque]

did you try it? i'm in the same boat but researching while i wait for my capacitor tester to find out if any need replacing

[@LouiesLog]

A SSD won't make much difference

[@_BELMONT_]

your still using old ide type cables for the ssd to communicate so it bottlenecks the speed regardless of storage type

[@mateuszrespondek2364]

I have error when copying. Unabpe to execute commans. Item: Actiob: delete. Any ideas?

[@ryaneades170]

Do you have to do the T flash? Cause I'm terrible at soldering

[@naughtydog9843]

Sadly yes.

[@zig1235]

I have a soft modded xbox and the HDD just died. I have the eeprom backed up, but i'm not sure what steps or software I need to install a new drive. The xbox just boots with an error code now.

[@PSUNATION]

Do I have to do a TSOP ? I’ve tried just a hard drive exchange with Hexen discs. New to this. Getting errors 13,14 and 16

[@JeanRodo]

yup

[@kevincassar2217]

Hey Blane, I'm trying to add a new hard drive to my xbox. I have hexen burned to a disc (I know it works because I used it to TSOP flash) I'm using an 80 wire ide cable and my drive is brand new. When I load Hexen, I get stuck at the boot screen. Linus shows up under the xbox logo and my led eject light does go red. but I've never been able to get past the xbox logo. any ideas?

[@lukefig3765]

Did you ever figure this out? Same thing is happening to me.

[@chipptempest]

Possibly the hard drive. Might not be compatible

[@TheJakester8908]

The link to the cablesonline product is sold out. Are there other recommendations that you can make that would accomplish the same job?

[@Game0nMan]

You can easily find an alternative if you search for 40pin IDE cable

[@pixelsrnautded9286]

Will this work on a 1.6 that has a rocky5 soft mod only?

[@pcpanikMusik]

Is there a way to preserve / get back to the original MS Dashboard after swapping the HDD? I only want to swap the old HDD to a SSD inside my Xbox 1.6. I really would like to preserve the rest as original as possible, with all its quirks an features.

[@imjaquinoff2168]

Nope, it would just give you an error since the Xbox only works with the hard drive that was originally in it if it’s not soft modded, if you soft modded it and undo the soft mod I’m pretty sure it still wouldn’t work

[@pcpanikMusik]

@@imjaquinoff2168 Thx for your answer. Do you know, if there is a Softmod and skin, with the original look & feel and do all old games still work? The reason I‘m sticking to my Classic are the the games, that couldn‘t be played by my Xbox One S. E.g. Outlaw Golf 1, Burnout 1 & 2… I own about 30 of them.

[@hussainjassim4386]

Hi, if my Xbox DVD drive is not working will I be able to still upgrade the hdd? If so, what's the method

[@ZakNCheeze]

Hi Blaine, this is my second Xbox I’ve modded now and the first one I did was a 1.0 that I had to TSOP to 1.6 with soldering. This new one I’m trying to install an HDD into I can’t seem to get to finish? This one is already 1.6 so I don’t need to TSOP because it will brick it correct? So when I’m trying to install the new HDD if I only put in the new one it doesn’t recognize it and gives error code 13. When I put in my Sata splitter with both hard drives they work but only the old one and the new hard drive does not show up in the partition.

[@Dagoth_Ur_1]

Does your 1.6 model have the Rocky5 soft mod? Apparently this works without the need of TSOP/chips

[@dannyvandenberg3077]

This does not work with softmod only right?

[@Gabriel-oj5db]

It works for all models of Xbox original ?

[@lukefig3765]

Just hangs on the loading screen where it says Linux for me, any advice? I have an Aladdin chip.

[@skolluongo252]

Can I still softmoded if I have 1 tb inside my Xbox already

[@Marinagapito]

When I change the hhd it’s stock on Xbox Linux screen it won’t but the disc

[@keepfly5771]

Will this work on a bricked softmod?

[@benncourt]

Do I need to change the 40 pin Cable??

[@D10078]

Once the mod is done and new OS installed can rip all physical games to the drive?

[@Dikwili]

Yes

[@UmarAbid]

can we use Round Yellow 80 Wire IDE Cable 60cm PATA for IDE HDD DVD CD ROM 40 Pin?????

[@cat_nip2004]

is there no way to do it without tsop flashing

[@CoachChungus]

Will any hard drive work or no?

[@EricLDC]

Can I just use plain hdd and not sata?

[@manmangaming407]

When I put the new hard drive in and put in hexen it won't load hexen and gives me error screen

[@rogerb6378]

Error 5? I have the same problem. Can someone help? I ionly foundd this: forums.afterdawn.com/threads/xbox-error-codes-explained-go-here-first.373255/

[@teunotto1202]

Can i store and play movies from the harddrive?

[@dimset7125]

Hey I need help, when I do it with the new hard drive, it just gives me error 14. Can someone help me?

[@dannyvandenberg3077]

This really works with softmod only? It looks like you use a evo chip in it 🥺

[@sammytiel]

No, but softmodding is the easiest way to mod it.

[@ManuelrPM24]

Thanks for the video! How do I know if my Xbox is TSOP flashed? I bought it at a pawnshop recently and I don't exactly know , I know that is modded because when I turn it on it says EvoX on the corner. Any way I can Know for sure?

[@SL4Y3Rify]

Look at the points he soldered in the beginning. I thought the xbox I bought for $100 had a modchip but nope I was fooled it was top because the correct points are bridged

[@boredstudent]

I think I need to chip one of my Xbox consoles cause my hard drive gives me the error 06 and I can't access it.

[@elliotpierson8350]

You're voice sounds a lot like the 8-bit guys

[@Conner06]

Does this work with 1.6? mine is not TSOP'd

[@m3th0d84]

I'm using a 1tb drive. Followed the video instructions but it only shows 123,408.50mb free for the F drive.

[@yodead369]

Sure you didn't change the partition size to the wrong amount?

[@TylerBonenfant]

would anyone who sees this happen to know if i would have to ftp games over to the hard drive once this is done, or if i could remove it from the xbox and connect it to my computer with an adapter say and just add them over? only really have done this with my ps2 so im used to just removing the drive and adding games to it with winhiip

[@OpenSourceSlayer]

anyone have recomendations on what hardware to use

[@AndroidFanatic]

Hi, I am getting error 07, any help?

[@MsMvsS]

Say I'm using an IDE Drive, do I still need to upgrade 40 pin cable?

[@michigansoundwizard]

No. Only if using a SATA HDD.

[@AdamKGSalazar611YoungSkilleto]

What about if we get an error 13

[@snowyowl9132]

What if I don't want to upgrade but rather just replace the hard drive with the same type? Is it possible to just swap hard drives between versions 1.0-1.4?

[@erikpirazzoli1768]

Ive a softmodded Xbox but disk dosent work

[@alouisious]

U don't need TSOP. It's only if your Xbox is soft modded and wanna bypass locking. You can lock your new Sata drive with Chimp after successfully cloning it

[@UmarAbid]

Round Yellow 80 Wire IDE Cable 90cm PATA for IDE HDD DVD CD ROM 40 Pin NEW

[@johnmarston7833]

I’m getting “Your Xbox requires service. Please call Xbox Customer Support.” Error # 13

[@TheM0nkeyBomb]

Reboot

[@Thomas11J]

Guys before following this tutorial make sure that you either TSOPed or have a modchip installed on you're xbox.

[@wraithsblade9897]

Possible to upgrade to an SSD without modding the Xbox?

[@jubanumidia8460]

I got error 16, any idea ?

[@jubanumidia8460]

@@blainelocklair Hi and thanks for the response, I followed your Tuto , I replaced my 160g HDD like you did in the video, I got error 16 I reput the original HDD of my modded Xbox everything is fine

[@naughtydog9843]

@@jubanumidia8460 It seems this can happen if you don't install the new hard drive within 5 hours or so of removal. Maybe you can try to uninstall your old and reinstall the new in one go when you have enough time.