How to Transfer Data to a New Xbox 360 Hard Drive

If you’ve just bought a new Xbox 360, but don’t want to lose all of your data from your old Xbox 360, a great option is to transfer the data. A lot of people don’t know that this can be done, but it can, and quite easily too.

Follow along with these simple steps, and soon you will have a brand new Xbox 360, loaded with exactly what you want. You can transfer pretty much everything you can think of. games, music, videos, gamer tags, and even achievements that you’ve earned in games. You will no longer have to restart games that you have already made progress in.

Step One

Purchase the Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Cable.

You can more than likely find the cable at your local game store. However, if you can’t, you can always buy online from various places, such as the Microsoft store. You can use this cable to transfer data between any 2 Xbox 360 console hard drives, even Xbox 360 S.

You have to have this cable to transfer data, no other cable is guaranteed to transfer all of your data correctly.

Step Two

Make sure the console that you are transferring data from has the most recent system update.

You can easily update your console by just connecting to Xbox Live. When you connect – which can be done through the settings – you should be prompted to update your console, and select Yes.

Step Three

Make sure that both consoles are turned off.

Step Four

Remove the hard drive from your old Xbox 360.

To remove the hard drive from an original Xbox 360, locate the hard drive located on the top of the console, press the release button, and take the hard drive off.

To remove the hard drive from an Xbox 360 S or E, find the hard drive cover release, located on the right side of the console, towards the back. Remove the cover and then pull the tab to remove the hard drive.

Step Five

Connect the cable to the old hard drive you just removed.

Step Six

Plug the other end of the transfer cable into the new Xbox 360, via a USB port.

Step Seven

Turn on the new Xbox console that you are transferring data to.

Step Eight

Make sure you have the latest system update. If you do, a message should automatically pop up. If no message pops up, go to your settings and make sure your console is up to date.

Step Nine

Select Yes, Transfer to Console on the message that pops up

Step Ten

Lastly, select Start to begin the transfer.

It is important to remember that the more data you transfer, the longer it will take. It can take upwards of several hours if you are transferring a lot, so transfer the data when you have plenty of time.

How to Transfer Data to a New Xbox 360 Hard Drive Using a USB Storage Device

If you do not plan on transferring a lot of data, using a USB storage device might be your best option. It is best to use a USB storage device only when you are transferring 32 GB of data or less. However, they can be used to transfer up to 2 TB of content, it just depends on how much storage room your USB storage device has.

Step One

Plug in your storage device.

Step Two

Go to Settings.

Step Three

Select System.

Step Four

Select the Storage option.

Step Five

Select the storage device that you want to transfer data.

Step Six

Select the type of data that you want to transfer.

You can choose from Games & Apps, Gamer Profiles, Demos, Videos, Themes, Gamer Pictures, Avatar Items, System Items, and Music.

Step Seven

Once you select the type of content, select the specific content that you want to transfer.

Step Eight

Select Copy or Move

Step Nine

Select the storage device that you just plugged in from the list that pops up.

Step Ten

Plug the USB storage device into your new Xbox 360 console.

Step Eleven

Go to Settings.

Step Twelve

Select the System option.

Step Thirteen

Select Storage

Step Fourteen

Highlight the device that you just plugged in, do not select it

Step Fifteen

Press Y.

Step Sixteen

Select Transfer Content from the Device Options menu that pops up

Step Seventeen

Select the destination storage device.

Step Eighteen

Select the content that you want to transfer.

Step Nineteen

Select the Start option to begin the transfer.

Now you know everything you need to know to be able to transfer data from one Xbox 360 console to a new one. It can look a little daunting at first, especially when there are almost 20 steps, but it is a simple process. I just broke it down into very simple, easy-to-follow steps. Following these steps, you will be able to play your games on a brand-new console without having to lose all of your game progress.

These are the easiest ways to transfer data, however, if you have an easier way, feel free to use it. I have not had any success with any other methods though.

I was so happy when I learned I could transfer content from one console to another. I did not want to lose all of my achievements and upgrades in some of my games, but I did not know of a way to get all of them to my new console. At first, I was a little confused too. But once I did it one time I did not need to do it again.

Some Things to Remember

1. If you are using a USB storage device, you can only transfer as much data as your device can hold. For example, if you have a 64 GB USB flash drive, you can only transfer 64 GB worth of content.
2. With either method, you use, the more content you transfer, the longer it will take. It will take much longer to transfer 8 TB of content than it would transfer 32 GB, or even 64 GB of content.
3. If you attempt to transfer data using a cable other than the Microsoft Transfer Cable, it may not transfer completely, or at all. Cables made by other manufacturers are not licensed, supported, or guaranteed to work by Microsoft.
4. If you transfer data to an entirely new device, and not just a new hard drive, you will need to transfer the content license as well. If you do not perform a content license transfer, your games will not be playable offline. To transfer the content license
5. Sign in to your Xbox Live account
6. Select Settings
7. Next, choose the Account option
8. Go to Your Billing Options
9. Select the License Transfer Option
10. Follow the on-screen prompts

If you do not want to, or cannot afford to, purchase the Microsoft Transfer Cable, you could always transfer your content in smaller batches on a USB flash drive.

If you choose to do this, it may prove to be tedious, and once you copy the data to the new console, you will have to wipe out the flash drive before you load more content into it from the other console.