XBOX One Hard Drive Replacement
How to Replace or Upgrade Your XBOX One Hard Drive
Article by Bill D
Difficulty Level - Medium
If you need to replace or upgrade your XBOX One hard drive, then start the process here.
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I will talk you through troubleshooting the issues first of all, and go through some fixes. I'll also show you how to remove the drive and replace or upgrade to a larger hard drive if necessary.
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We will be using an XBOX One Original model on this page, but the principles are the same for all models. The main difference will be with getting into the console shell to get at the drive. Stay and read this page first.
If you have an XBOX One S or X, then strip-down tutorials can be found on those specific pages -
I've also got links to equipment and hard drives on Amazon. Don't forget - If you are buying a new hard drive, it will need to be properly formatted and partitioned before use, and I'll show you how to do that too.
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So buy your hard drive first, and then follow my XBOX One Format & Partition Guide.
Estimated repair time 45 mins
Estimated cost £0-60 ($80)
Faulty Hard Drive Symptoms
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- XBOX One Blank Screen
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- XBOX One Freezing on Dashboard
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- XBOX One Error Codes
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- XBOX One Stuck On Update
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- Perform a hard drive size upgrade
Tools Needed
Troubleshooting Your XBOX One Hard Drive
If you want to replace your hard drive, to increase the size, or because you have establish it is faulty and are replacing with a new drive, the process is this:
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1. Remove your old hard drive from inside
2. Replace it with a pre-partitioned drive
3. Put the console back together, and then perform an offline OSU1 update
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If you want to replace or upgrade your hard drive, click here. Otherwise we will go through some troubleshooting steps first.
The first step is to examine your faulty XBOX One symptoms.
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Does your console turn on? If you don't have any power, then its not the hard drive, most likely your Power Supply Brick. That will need replacing. There are third party power supply bricks available from local games shops, but in my opinion, they are rubbish.
You are better off with a pre-owned original Microsoft Power Supply Brick than a new third party brick. The only issue is, finding one. You will most likely have to get one from Ebay.
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Back to the troubleshooting..
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If the XBOX One turns on, do you get a picture? Is the screen blank?
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If the screen is blank, it is very likely a software or hard drive issue. Start with the XBOX One Software Problems Page.
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If you have a picture, what's on the screen? Is it an error message? If so, again, go to the XBOX One Software Problems Page
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If you console is stuck in a loop, and fails to boot into the dashboard, then also, this is most likely your software or hard drive.
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Start with the XBOX One Software Page, and if all else fails, you will be directed back to this page to remove your hard drive.
During the lifespan of your Xbox One console, you are most likely at some point going to be dealing with a hard drive issue.
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At the very least, your XBOX One hard drive will need updating. Most of the time, these updates happen automatically, and you don't even have to think about it. But sometimes, you will encounter problems, software related issues, and also potentially hardware problems with the mechanical parts of the hard drive itself.
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You may also want to upgrade your hard drive, and increase the size to a 1TB or 2TB drive.
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PLEASE NOTE - You will NOT be able to just buy a blank SATA 2.5" hard drive and install it in to your console. The drive will have to be partitioned and prepared for installation. I provide videos for this, but if you just want to buy an XBOX One Hard Drive Partitioned and ready to install, you can buy them from my shop.
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If you want to Partition your hard drive yourself, get a hard drive from Amazon (Links Above), and then Go to our XBOX One Hard Drive Partitioning Guide page for instructions. If the links take you to out of stock drives, search for "SATA 2.5" Hard Drive", and choose your preferred drive.
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Just to recap if you're still in the troubleshooting phase -
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If you have a blank screen when you turn the console on, or if the console is asking you for an update, or if it is stuck or showing you an error code, then you need to go to my XBOX One Software Troubleshooting page, and follow the instructions there first. If none of that works, then you will be guided back to this page to consider replacing your hard drive with a new one. GO AND DO THAT FIRST.
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The video below will show you how to get into your original XBOX One, in order to take your drive out and replace with another, for either a faulty hard drive, or an upgrade to a larger hard drive.
XBOX One (Original) Hard Drive Replacement
STEP BY STEP
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1. To remove the shell, first turn the console over on to its side, and remove the side grille panel. you may need a flat head screw driver to wedge it off.
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2. Now slide out the Xbox one sync button, which sits underneath, against the edge of the faceplate.
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3. With the side grille removed, you now need to get a large flat head screwdriver and separate the 2 halves of the console shell, by wedging the driver in between the 2 halves, which are joined together at the seam. Dig the driver in carefully but very firmly, and wedge a gap between the two.
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4. Now turn the console around to the back, and you want to do the same, along several points across the length of the back of the console, and you should hear the console cover snapping open. This takes a bit of getting used to first time out, and you may have the feeling that you're going to wreck the plastic shell, but stick with it, and be firm.
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5. The top half of the shell should now separate from the console, but will have the front faceplate attached to it still with a ribbon connector - so be careful. DON'T PULL IT OFF YET.
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6. Turn the console back around to the front carefully, and locate the connector underneath the faceplate. You now need to push back the connector clip, and flip the cable over the connector, in order to remove it. It's definitely a bit tricky this step, so proceed with caution. if you ripped the cable, you're stuffed (and will have to buy a replacement faceplate)
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7. Remove the top shell and faceplate.
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8. Remove the 2 security torx T8 screws holding the bluetooth board, in the top left corner of the console. pull the board out of its plug.
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9. At the other end of the bluetooth wire at the front of the console, unclip the connector from the RF board, using a small flat head driver, using a careful flicking motion to unclip it.
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10. With a Security Torx T10 screwdriver, remove all of the 9 long black screws around the console.
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11. Unclip the sound module from the cover, and leave dangling carefully for now.
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12. You can now lift the metal console cover off, but be aware it is still connected to the motherboard underneath.
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13. Locate the plug underneath the metal cover, in the top left hand corner, and pull the connector out of the motherboard.
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14. You can now put this cover aside for now.
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15. Locate the 2 plugs that connect the hard drive to the motherboard, and pull the plugs out of the motherboard.
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16. You can now pull the hard drive and its caddy out of the console. Put the console aside for now.
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17. Remove the 4 Security Torx T10 screws from the back of the hard drive caddy.
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18. Now remove the 4 Torx T10 screws from the hard drive plate underneath.
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19. Pull the cable connector grip out from the hard drive. you now have the hard drive out of your console.
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20. You are either replacing your hard drive or upgrading to a new bigger hard drive, ie 1TB or 2TB. Make sure that your replacement hard drive has been pre-partitioned before you install it.
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If you are replacing your drive with a new one, you will need to pre-partition your hard drive first.
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Go to our XBOX One Hard Drive Partition Guide to do this.
(You will also need OSU1 file after you've put the console back together, see my XBOX One Offline Software Update page for instructions on how to do this)
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21. Put the hard drive plate back on, with the 4 T10 screws.
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22. Put the caddy back on, with the 4 T10 screws.
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23. Plug the 2 hard drive connector plugs back into the motherboard.
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24. Put the drive back into the chassis.
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25. Make sure that the drive is fitted securely back into the chassis. If not, the cover will not go on properly.
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26. Put the console metal cover back on, making sure you connect the bluetooth plug into the motherboard first, and then position the cover properly over the chassis, so that it feels snug.
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27. Put all 9 black torx T10 screws back in.
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28. Put the bluetooth board plug back in, and secure with the 2 torx T8 screws.
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29. Clip the bluetooth wire back onto the RF board.
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30. Clip the sound module back into place.
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31. You can now put the console cover back on, BUT FIRST -
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32. You need to remove the faceplate from the top half of the console cover first.
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33. Locate the faceplate clips, which are attached to the cover. Unclip them all, and with a bit of 'cajoling' the faceplate will unclip from the cover.
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34. Put the top cover back in to place. It should easily clip back on. Start from the back.
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35. Now you can put the faceplate back on. First, put the connector into the RF board at the front, and push the connector grip back into place.
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36. Now, locate the clips along your faceplate. Hook the BOTTOM of the faceplate onto the corresponding clips on the bottom of the shell, and hook on. Then you can do the same with the top of the faceplate, locating the clips along the top of the console shell. They should now clip in to place.
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37. Put the Sync Button bezel back into place.
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38. Put the side grille back on and clip down.
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39. You will now have to update your console, before you can use the hard drive. To do this, go to my XBOX One Offline Software Update page, and follow the instructions for updating using the OSU1 file.
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JOB DONE