How to easily backup your Xbox 360 hard drive

Not sure if any of you are as paranoid as me about data loss but, in the 15 years I've worked in IT, I've seen enough hard drives fail for no reason that I keep as many backups as I can! Anyway I've recently backup up both my Xbox 360 and PS3 drives and found it wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be...so I thought I'd share this guide.

This is an excerpt from my blog, if interested please read the full article here and leave comments.

EDIT : If you want a PS3 Backup procedure click here

What you'll need:

• 1 x PC or Laptop, any OS or capacity is fine
• 1 x Microsoft migration cable (free from MS if you own an Elite or you can purchase from http://https://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/nxe/kb.aspx?id=976183&lcid=1033&category=hardware)

This is aneasy backup but cannot be done from the system itself.

1. Download Xport 360 (http://uk.codejunkies.com/support/article.aspx?article_id=272)
2. Install Xport 360
3. Plug your Xbox hard drive into your PC using the data migration cable
4. Start Xport 360
   
   NOTE : IF you're on a Windows Vista or 7 PC you'll need to right click the shortcut and select "Run as administrator"
5. Click HDD/MC > Backup to Image
6. Ensure the "Device to backup" shows your Xbox 360 Hard Disk Drive
7. Click Browse and select a destination location/file (I put mine on a second partition on my external hard drive to keep it simple).
8. Select Backup the entire disk
9. Click Copy

Once complete you will have a bin file on your external hard drive. You can't view individual sections of your hard disk backup however, if the drive fails you can now restore the data to a new drive.

Not 100% sure but I would guess that it a restore would simply create a 20gb partition on the 60gb drive as it's just pure imaging software. Your best bet would be to go to the website and post a question

http://uk.codejunkies.com/support/

Your best bet for performing the upgrade would be to grab a copy of the Data Migration disc. MS give it out for free or you can get them on eBay. They work with any transfer to a larger Xbox. You just use the cable, plug the drive into your Xbox, pop in the disc and away you go.

The above procedure is more for data loss/recovery rather than transfer.

Hi - will this work on a Mac?

I use a program called Connect360 so that my Xbox can see my media files on my Mac

Hi - will this work on a Mac?

I use a program called Connect360 so that my Xbox can see my media files on my Mac

craigkelleigh

Unfortunately Xport 360 is a PC only solution but you could always try running something like WineHQ or Parallels (my pick) as these will allow you torun Windows apps on your Mac OS.

Connect360 shares the media (videos, music, etc.) from your Mac so your X360 can play them right? Same as me using TVersity with the iTunes plugin on my PC. Let's my PS3 and X360 see the PC as a media serverand stream stuff. If so the Connect360 isn't going to help you backup data on your Xbox as it's not that kind of application.

Arh - I see.....

yes - that's exactly what Connect360 does....

Thanks for your replay