Xbox 360 Hard Drive Question...

[SoundsGood]

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a new laptop and got a free 4GB Xbox 360, which I gave to my son.

My son tried to play Halo Reach against his friends on Xbox Live, but we discovered that a hard drive is required for this -- so I'd like to install a hard drive.

Here's the question: I would normally just order a generic Xbox hard drive on Amazon, but I read somewhere that ONLY A GENUINE MICROSOFT Xbox hard drive will allow Halo to work in Co-Op mode (or whatever it's called to play against friends on Xbox Live).

Is this true? Do I have to buy the actual Microsoft hard drive for use with Halo Reach on Xbox Live? Or can I get a generic Xbox hard drive for this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[RedRooster]

The generics should work. Your other option is to use a USB key. Then you're not dumping more money into the XBox and can re-use the key when the boy is sick of Halo.

 

[SoundsGood]

The generics should work. Your other option is to use a USB key. Then you're not dumping more money into the XBox and can re-use the key when the boy is sick of Halo.

Thanks, but a USB doesn't work -- we tried it. The co-op feature of Halo Reach (playing against friends on Xbox Live) requires an ACTUAL hard drive. Don't ask me why, but it does. It's a Microsoft thing.

That's why I want to be SURE that a generic hard drive will work before buying one. I was hoping maybe someone here has already tested it.

EDIT: I just found THIS which talks about the problem.

 

[RedRooster]

Well that stinks. Halo must be one of the very few games like that. You should get him into BF3 or MW3, save yourself some money.

 

[Slick5150]

As long as it's a good generic, meaning they properly flashed it with the Xbox firmware, you'll be fine. The Xbox doesn't know the difference between it and a real one at that point.

 

[SoundsGood]

As long as it's a good generic, meaning they properly flashed it with the Xbox firmware, you'll be fine.

Any idea how to know if it's a "good generic" before buying it? Are there any recommended generic brands?

Here's what I've been looking at on Amazon:

1. http://www.amazon.com/Black-250GB-Ha...ref=pd_cp_vg_0

2. http://www.amazon.com/320GB-HDD-Hard...ref=pd_cp_vg_1

3. http://www.amazon.com/320GB-Internal...ref=pd_cp_vg_0

 

[Slick5150]

I don't have any way of knowing for sure, but those seem to get good reviews so I'd think it's at least reasonably safe to assume that others have used them and haven't had any problem with them.

 

[SoundsGood]

I don't have any way of knowing for sure, but those seem to get good reviews so I'd think it's at least reasonably safe to assume that others have used them and haven't had any problem with them.

Yeah, I'm kinda thinkin' the same thing. What's unfortunate is that the only mention of Halo Reach in the Amazon reviews for these hard drives in a guy that says "I sure hope this works for Halo Reach co-op play!" Woulda been nice if he came back and updated his review, right?

 

[dfuze]

You could do what I did with my 360 slim when I got it. I bought a used 360 60gb hard drive made for the older version 360, cracked open the shell since they aren't compatible, and slid the legit hard drive (laptop drive) into my 360 and it worked great. I then just bought a generic 360 case to keep it in a couple weeks later.

 

[Xellos2099]

I remember buying a cheap 250 western digital drive and flash it with firmware, open my hdd case open and put it in and it work. If people are selling on amazon, the chance is that it will be packed with the correct firmware. If it doesn't work, just return it. Or u can buy one of the used 360 drive at gamestop and open it up and put it in the slim 360.

 

[SoundsGood]

Okay, thanks guys. Much appreciated...