Can't use external hard drive on Xbox 360

Hello,

Thanks for the support message.

To ensure that the drive is compatible with your Xbox 360 console, please check with the devices manufacturer.

Are you receiving any errors or is your 360 simply not recognizing the device?

Below are a couple of troubleshooting steps to try:

If the USB device is compatible with Xbox 360, troubleshoot the USB connection:

1. Restart the Xbox 360 console.
2. Disconnect the device from the USB port, and then turn off the console. After 5 to 10 seconds, turn the console back on. After the console has restarted, reconnect the device to the USB port.
3. Turn off the console, remove the power cord from the power outlet, reconnect the power cord, and then turn on the console again.
4. Disconnect any unnecessary devices from the console.
5. Determine whether the USB device requires a separate power supply. If it does, attach the power supply.
6. Connect the USB device to a different USB port on the console. If the device works in another USB port, the Xbox 360 console may need service.
   
   

For more info: Xbox 360 Hard Drive | Fix Xbox 360 Hard Drive Problems
Troubleshoot USB Devices

Should you have any other concerns, feel free to post back.

Cheers!

I've tried restarting the Xbox and checking the other UDB Devices I had plugged in. Theres no error message when plugging it into the Xbox, it just doesn't show up in my Storage Devices menu. The device itself is a Hitachi HDD.

Format your drive to its default settings, and try to get the 360 to format it instead. The 360 uses a specific cluster size. Anything with the wrong size, and the drive won't show up. Windows usually uses its own 'optimized' settings, which the Xbox doesn't like. Also, larger drives take longer to mount to your Xbox, so you'll have to wait on the storage device screen for a few seconds (up to 15 seconds in some cases). iirc, the cluster size is 512, so set it to that when you format it, if the Xbox still doesn't detect it.

Is it possible to change the cluster size of a hard drive? I'm not too familiar with this stuff.

Idealy, just format regularly to your hard drive's default settings, and then plug it into your 360, and let that do the work.

media.askvg.com/.../Rufus_Bootable_USB_Creator.png

Generic format utility here. Windows has one, and it looks very similar. Like I said...try the simple way first. If that doesn't work, Google how to do that. But the picture is pretty self explanatory :P