How to Modify My Xbox 360 to Allow it to Read a USB Flash Drive

A USB flash drive allows you to store saved game, music and videos for your Xbox 360.

It is a common misconception that you must modify your Xbox 360 in order to have it read a USB flash drive. Microsoft, the creators of the Xbox 360 gaming system, released an update in the spring of 2010 that allows the Xbox to read USB flash drives as external storage devices. In fact, Microsoft sells a pre-configured 8 GB flash drive specifically for the Xbox 360. The Microsoft flash drive is not the only flash drive that will work, but it is guaranteed to work and it comes with a one-month trial Xbox Live Gold membership.

Things You'll Need

• Internet connection
• USB flash drive with Windows FAT32 file system format

Instructions

1. Sign in to Xbox Live on your Xbox 360. To sign in, turn on your system with the Internet connected to the Xbox 360. Log in to your gamer ID at the menu screen and when prompted to sign in to Xbox Live, choose "Yes."

2. Click "Yes, update now" when asked whether you want to update the console software.

3. Wait until you are automatically taken back to the Xbox dashboard; at that point, the update is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not have internet on your Xbox 360, go to the link in Resources on your computer and follow the instructions provided on-screen to update the Xbox 360 console by downloading the update and transferring it to a flash drive or disc.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to Configure a USB Storage Device as an Xbox 360 Memory Unit

Resources

• Xbox: System Updates