Despite its pretty solid age by gaming standards, the Xbox 360 console is appreciated by gamers from around the world to this day. The 360 platform can be kept up to date by a huge library of games, including not only cross-platform products, but also exclusively developed only for Xbox. However, for many users, the main factor remains a rather high price tag, even for old games, not to mention popular news. And, as this often happens, technical specialists came to the aid of the players, who were able to teach the console how to interact with games obtained from unofficial sources.
What is Freeboot?
In its factory version, the game console allows you to run games only from licensed discs, regardless of the size of the built-in drive: the hard drives for the Xbox 360 250 GB contain several installed games, but without a disc, you won’t be able to launch any of them disk access consoles are constantly present.
This restriction is removed by installing the special Freeboot firmware. Unlike smartphones, intervention in the bowels of the console is not only software, but also hardware in nature, which not everyone can do at home: to install the firmware, you will need a special chip, a NAND-memory programmer, a tool, as well as certain skills. Therefore, most players trust this procedure with specialized workshops.
In any case, after the upgrade, the console acquires a number of additional advantages, allowing not only to significantly expand its functionality, but also to save a considerable amount of money on the purchase of licensed games. In addition, it now becomes possible to directly download Xbox 360 games to your hard drive without using the device’s optical drive. But since not all players have enough internal memory, many of them replace the internal drive or use an external one.
Xbox 360 Hard Drive Replacement
The need to replace or add HDDs each of the owners of the flashed console determines for itself. Most often they are purchased for the Xbox 360 Slim, not equipped with a hard disk. But players who for one reason or another use an external media is not suitable, is also enough.
Unlike owners of the factory device, owners of the Xbox 360 Freeboot can choose a hard disk, not limited to anything other than the form factor: the Xbox 360 uses 2.5-inch SATA drives as the main type of memory. Therefore, you can choose any of them with a capacity of up to 2 terabytes (this is the maximum amount supported by the firmware).
Features of the replacement process
However, before proceeding directly to the replacement, it will not hurt to save the data of the current profile. To do this, you need:
- Prepare a USB-drive (a regular 4 - 8 GB flash drive is enough).
- Insert it into the console port, and then format it in FAT 32 using FreeStyleDash (the control shell of the Freeboot firmware).
- Save profile data (including settings, avatars and save games).
After successfully saving the data, you can begin to replace the hard drive. For Xbox 360 of all generations, this feature is provided initially, and the device does not need to disassemble. The procedure is suitable for any version of the Xbox 360 released after 2010, since only the types of clips are different. You need to do the following:
- Disconnect the set-top box, then place it horizontally on a flat surface.
- Find the hard drive bay cover and open it with the latch.
- To remove, pulling on a special sticker, the original HDD (if available inside).
- Carefully push the new disk into the groove until it clicks, then close the cover.
- If the HDMI cable was disconnected, reconnect it, and only then apply power.
Please note that for a new hard disk to function, it must first be formatted with the FAT32 file system supported by Freebot. The latest current firmware allows you to do this using both a computer and standard console tools.
Using an external hard drive
As you know, Microsoft engineers set a limit on the maximum capacity of 16 GB when using a hard drive. For the Xbox 360 Freeboot version, this restriction is no longer relevant: now the console will see the full amount of the connected drive. Of course, it must also be formatted in the FAT 32 file system.
Features of using Freeboot
It must be understood that all manipulations with the game console that are not documented in official sources will void the warranty. In addition, the owner of the reflashed console will not be able to take advantage of the Xbox Live service: such a modding control system will be noticed sooner or later, after which the account will be blocked. That is why the ability to connect to Microsoft servers is disabled in new firmware versions. But at the same time, no one forbids playing on unofficial servers, and given the popularity of Xbox firmware, there are enough gamers on such servers.