How to Make Your Xbox 360 run old Xbox Games

The Microsoft Xbox 360 game console offers backwards compatibility that allows players to run a selection of original Xbox games. Microsoft discontinued Xbox Live gaming support for original Xbox games and suspended further development needed to add more games to the official compatibility list. Running old Xbox games on your Xbox 360 game console may require additional preparation and hardware accessories, depending upon your current system configuration.

Things You'll Need

• Xbox 360 console with internal or accessory hard drive
• Xbox Live connectivity or USB thumb drive with FAT32 file system
• Compatible Xbox game title

Instructions

Determine Compatibility

1. Navigate to the Microsoft Support website and examine the list of compatible Xbox games for the Xbox 360 game console (See Resources). You will only be able to play the original Xbox titles listed on the compatibility page.

2. Turn on your Xbox 360 game console and insert the compatible game disc into the loading slot. Navigate to "My Games" and load the game title if the game does not load automatically.

3. Allow the console to download the appropriate update software needed to add backwards compatibility for the original Xbox titles, if applicable. The console must be connected to the Xbox Live service in order to complete the automatic update process. If the game fails to load and the console is not connected to Xbox Live, proceed to the next section for manual updating instructions.

Update Console Manually

1. Download and save the latest Xbox 360 update from Microsoft to your computer. Double-click on the compressed ZIP file to extract the required update files into a separate folder.

2. Connect the USB thumb drive to an available USB port on the computer. When the AutoPlay dialog window appears, choose the "Open folders to view files" option.

3. Copy each update file extracted from the ZIP file to the USB thumb drive. Be sure to copy the update files to the root directory of the thumb drive. After the file transfer completes, right click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon, located on the lower right system tray and choose the "Eject" option.

4. Remove the USB thumb drive from the computer and turn off the game console.

5. Insert the USB thumb drive into an available USB port on the game console. Turn on the game console, follow the installation prompts and allow the system to update.

6. Run the compatible game title, using the same methods outlined in the first section.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to write the CD from directly from the default.xex file. Most CD burners will try to place the file in folders, and it must not be. If it is in folders the Xbox 360 console will not recognize the update.

• Do not turn off the Xbox 360 console until the update has completed installation.

References

• CNET: How To Play Xbox Games On The New Xbox 360
• Xbox Support: Find, Download, And Play Games
• Xbox Support: Update your Xbox 360 Console Software

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Microsoft Support: List Of Original Xbox Games Playable On Xbox 360
• Xbox: Xbox 360 Game Console USB Update Download