Building my own Xbox Series S/X Expansion Card | TBTEK
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- In this video we have a go at making a DIY Xbox Expansion Card using a CFexpress adapter and a Western Digital CH SN530 SSD to finally get an answer for whether it actually works and if it's still necessary to buy the official cards from Seagate and WD or not.
TBTEK is an IT Support, Repair & Upgrade Service. We offer a wide array of IT orientated services including Phone/Computer Repairs & Upgrades, Computer Servicing, Backup Solutions, Wi-Fi Improvement & More.
Visit our website, socials or email us at contact@tbtek.co.uk to enquire.
00:00 Intro
01:17 Tools Required
02:46 Steps
03:20 Format SSD
07:48 Testing the Adapter
08:40 What I've Learned
11:20 Outro
Website: www.tbtek.co.uk/
Facebook: / tbtek.uk
Instagram: / tbtek.uk 
Наука
According to other tutorials I've seen, an important step is missing, after format with Windows, the usb adapter must be connected to the xbox as if it were a conventional usb, the xbox will detect the usb device and ask to format it as if it were an external hard drive (choose for games) so you basically let the xbox do the required partitions, after that you need to assembly the expansion card adapter, so when you insert the card the xbox will recognize it as a valid expansion card.
Hi, thanks for watching!
This was one of the things I tried. It does get detected and allows you to choose Apps & Games but the error still appears when you transfer it into the expansion adapter and plug it in.
The SSD works perfectly up until it's used via the expansion slot.
@@tbtekukany thoughts on finding out if you could clone the original version adapter from Xbox to your new ssd and try that out it might trick system into thinking that you are using the original version if you could clone the official version
wrong-ish... theres a windows program for formatting xbox drives. you need to do it with the main drive if you ever have to replace it. drives are all seagate and must match or wont work from my experience of fixing xboxes.
ruclips.net/video/UJAz03fgMJA/видео.html
@@ItsJokerZz what program is this? Cus im currently going threw this
Hey Tom thanks for the video! Keep up the good work. 👍🏻
When the first pictures of these memory cards came out, I noted that they looked suspiciously just like CFexpress cards but received nothing but negative responses to that suggestion.
As far as I can tell, that's exactly what they are; they use the exact same pinout and interface as a CFexpress card, although possibly at a faster/newer PCIe generation than were available in that standard at the time. The only difference is as you note here, Microsoft is very strict about locking the cards to only whitelist a very small number of SSDs to be supported, and they further probably have restrictions on the exact contents of the SSD to allow it to detect and operate correctly.
There's no reason Microsoft couldn't allow you to plug in any old CFexpress card of the correct size into this slot (as long as it was fast enough) and install games to that, but then they'd make a lot less money selling these overpriced expansion cards that are just a glorified bog-standard NVMe SSD in a fancy case.
Hi, thanks for watching!
I completely agree!
Lmao, look at all this bullshit crapstation fantards make up just to feel better about their inferior platform
You are so honest and sincere in your review; also your instructions are clearly given so there is no confusion, and so for now it seems we just have to find a way to get enough dollars to buy the original cards from western digital or Seagate...tnx a lot all the same; Tony from Nigeria
Thanks for watching and I'm glad it's been helpful!
@@tbtekuk The reason people get them working is this, take out the SSD from inside the Xbox then backup the SSD on to a new SSD put the new SSD in to the Xbox and use the original SSD for said expansion card it is quite easy to do, job done say no more.
@@GMitchell2012 Hi, thanks for watching!
Where did you hear/read that? I'd like to know!
@@tbtekukthe video is on RUclips bro🙏 I wish I can send you the link but yes there is a way cloning the original drive but like I said it can brick the ssd or stops being detected after awhile…
I have this adapter, i've been using it for maybe at least 3 years now, and still works, I haven't had the opportuinity to try it on another Xbox but I have some technicallities to share that maybe are important and not well mentioned in many videos.
At first I could'nt make it to work no matter what I did, then I realized that I stripped the screw that holds the whole contraption and Whenever I inserted the disk there was no way the pins made contact with the board... I used some metalic tape to create layers to increase the height of the pins for them to make contact with socket and it worked....
I also tried to format the disk using standard tools and it did not work until I used disk genius, it's kinda suspicious but it's a very weird software because I even tried it on a work laptop which had a lock to block USB write permissions and the Windows Disk management Tool did not work, due to that... but disk genius worked regardless...
I have to make emphasis on the build quality because I managed to strip the screw in mine because it was not flush the more I tried to tighten it, the aluminum has very visible round marks from the milling process and generally the adapter is not that great....
I can´t know for sure since I have no access to another xbox but maybe the error is due to poor physical pin contact or something....
At the end of the day the physical connector is a CF express slot that is very common in cammeras and microsoft's implementation is very ingenius and that's why it needs specifically the CH-SN530, because it is the same SSD that comes as the internal storage of early batches of the consoles, this particular SSD is normally a PCIe Gen 3x4 drive but it has some specific configuration in the controller that makes it work in PCIe gen 4x2 that's why it can do PCIe gen 4 on the Xbox but at no real speed advantage over a Gen 3x4 drive, and that's because it splits the 4 standard PCIe gen 4 lanes that the Xbox's SoC has between the internal drive and the external expansion card, that's why is not something that needs to be patched... since this adapter only is a PCIe to CF express converter but with the specific wiring for the xbox. The only real requirement is that the SSD's controller chip can make that trick for getting PCIe gen 4x2, since Now we have a Western Digital variant of the oficial card, is possible that they only have to source that controller chip.... even more recent batches of the console have other SSDs just branded as "Solid state drive" or something generic as their internal drives... but now the CH-SN530 is not as common as when I got it drawing the prices very close to the official ones... when I got mine I got everything (adapter and 1TB SSD) for around 100 bucks total which was a steal at that time....
My theory with that error trying the card between xboxes is that in the process of pulling and inserting the adapter the aluminum cracked and affected the contact points in the card.... but I have no way to prove it on my side....
There are other caveats that are probably less important but here they are:
Making an expansion card with this method effectively gives you a card with like 800GB available for data of a 1TB drive because apparently some storage is used for the Quick resume feature.... which is something that is less obvious in the oficiall cards since they probably have memory chips that account for that space.... This would also explain why the official ones are expensive because they have special controllers and special memory chips....
I don't know about the official ones but this adapter gets quite toasty and it is possible that is due to the poor contact it makes to the board and the oficial ones might have better tolerances for the console which actually has a chunk of some thermal compound around the connector for the expansion card....
I have retrieved the drive to use it as a usb drive on the computer and reformatted it again for the xbox and it still works to this day but remember that I put tape on my adapter for it to make proper contact with the console pins...
I have also heard that the 512 GB variants of the CH-SN530 did not work for this method but I have no intention to buy any other drive to test that theory and I actually blame the build quality of the adapter for getting these spotty results all the time....
It's still very undocumented and I actually knew about the PCIe Gen 4x2 trick because someone at digital foundry makes that speculation on some teardown video they made for the series S (I cannot remember which one)
On aliexpres some sellers have a "Reletech" branded expansion card which seems unnoficial because is long as a 2280 drive and I think that one makes use of an SSD with that controller and the same type of adapter and it gets pretty good reviews. I mention it because Reletch also has a PCIe Gen 4 drive that is very cheap that works on PS5, It does not pass the PS5 M.2 initial test but I had a crucial P5 plus that also didn't.... I have that 2TB drive on my PS5 and it has worked fine, I had never had a crash but I use a beefy ElecGear cooler on it.... but that's just an extra piece on info...
I took a big risk with these kinds of things but with a little bit of tinkering I would say they are worth it but is not for everyone since you risk your electronics that you acquired with hard earned money....
Hi, thanks for watching!
I might try raising the pins slightly, although it does feel like it goes in solidly and makes a good connection.
ruclips.net/video/UJAz03fgMJA/видео.html
I had to smile when i saw the reader 1st time ^^
Hi, thanks for watching!
I initially thought there was a screw hole for a 2230 SSD but later realised the smallest it can secure is a 2242 SSD 😭😂
Luckily it doesn't cause any issues!
I bought one and a drive off ebay, plunked it in and it detected it right away and formatted it for games. Works fine.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Would be interesting to know what the drive looks like in PC software.
I wonder if a file system might help? Ie a folder on the root of the ssd named memory or system memory or something like the internal memory would show up as. Either that or that hidden partition that the coder found cloned to to the new drive.
I’ve sold these on eBay and mine still work to this day that I test with. It’s very possible it’s an adapter issue. To make these work had to mount it on a windows machine, use disk part to change to GPT, and format as NTFS sector size 4096. I have the most success with the cablecc brand adapters.I occasionally get the error, but it’s not common.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Have you made one up from scratch recently? Say in the last month or so?
When I researched the error there was no reports of it until around 3-4 months ago. Then all of a sudden there seemed to be quite a few which is what led me to believe something has changed behind the scenes (update).
The ones I've seen on eBay are using the exact same adapter as me and others who had the error tried different adaptors with the same results.
I’ve made one in the last few weeks, I can’t speak to the WD drive as I used the XA1 instead I’ve pulled from dead series s consoles. So I suppose it may be an issue with the western digital drives, but I’d have to get one to see.
@@AlexanderHall2540 Ah ok,
As I mentioned in the video, it may be something to do with the fact some of the drives, like the one you mention, originated from a Series console and they possibly need to match the same one that's in your particular console. But this isn't insinuated in the formatting instructions for the adapter, in fact they even mention not needing to format a new one.
In one of TheCod3rs videos he discovered that there is a small partition on the xbox drives that have a motherboard hand shake key. It is possible that Microsoft has implemented something like this in the external ssds to prevent this type of solution. It would be nice to have this option but leave it to a multi trillion dollar corporation to put measures in place to prevent a cheaper alternative and force you to buy a "company" approved product for a price of half the console you are using it in.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Yes to replace the internal SSD on an Xbox Series console, you have to be able to clone the 1GB partition from the original drive to the new one first. This means if the original SSD is completely dead, then so is the console... really bad design!
And it wouldn't matter if they were priced similarly to equivalent SSDs on the market but they are practically double the price and can't be used with any other system. Quite a monopoly and very anti-consumer. Sony handled the situation much better and Microsoft should have taken a page from their book!
@@tbtekuk that partition is for the xbox a key to allow pairing the hw to the hw xbox mqin board to the main drive its to do with the pcie4 controller inside the xbox expansion card and the mainboard the drive plugs into will have a pcie4 controller on it
@@tbtekuk Two mentions:
1) The "really bad design!" should be "really bad intentional design!".
2) "Sony handled the situation much better" ONLY for the additional/M2 SSD. For the internal/mainboard one(that really matters the most) Sony had done a more (intentional) disgusting job than MS by soldering the SSD chips on the motherboard, so changing them is extremely difficult - finding the necessary chip, de-solder the bad ones and solder the new ones.
@@ryutenmen Hi, thanks for watching!
Despite the PS5 SSD being soldered on, it doesn't require a security partition which actually makes it more repairable than an Xbox Series console.
Best of both worlds would be Sony's non-security partition scenario and Microsoft's PCIe interface.
@@tbtekuk yeah, that's true - soldered SSD in PS5 doesn't have a security partition but the fact that replacing the internal SSD is harder on PS5 (require very good soldering skills and tools AND have the chips that can only be aquired from another PS5 from which you dont know how used it was as all SSD wear and eventually die) makes the Xbox Series better in this regard as is much easier to clone the security partition.
Now I don't understand pretty much any of how the official cards work but, would it not be possible for someone to clone an official expansion card then upload the cloned files online for other people to clone onto thier own build expansion cards? Wouldn't that fix all the partition issues?
I've gotten that error from my official Seagate 1TB expansion card, primarily after using it on my nephew's Series S, then on mine again - unplugging and plugging it back in and restarting the console sorted it, but have yet to have the same success with my 4 TB HDD that stayed at home...
you should get the actual xbox compatible one and copy the same format settings?
I know the CH SN530 is the only Drive guaranteed compatible, but now there is a SN770M which is a 2230 Drive which should fit the adapter and has the same Gen 4 compatibility but I wonder if the firmware has updated due to the release of the WD Black drives that are external too
Hi, thanks for watching!
As you can see from the video, even the CH SN530 doesn't work. So it's not worth spending any money trying to get others to work!
Já tentou usar o software indicado pelo fabricante ??? 🤔🤔🤔
But can you load from this ? Or is it just storage?
Is there a 4TB SSD that I could use for this?
I did this same process with my xbox 360 back in the day. I took an old laptop harddrive purchased a generic sled and i had to go through a similar process but there us an app that mqtched the firmware and put a code in it that my 360 recognized. I got an official expansion card for my series x but i would assume this is a similar process as well. That maybe whqt youre missing
Hi, thanks for watching!
The Xbox 360 not only looks for some specific firmware but also the drive itself has to be one of the compatible Western Digital Blue drives, otherwise it won't be detected.
Luckily a lot of laptops used these drives so it was fairly easy to find a compatible drive, I remember successfully upgrading to a 500GB HDD and thinking it was loads of space!
Did you use the m2 reader plugged into the series x and format on the series x a following time.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Yes this was the second method I tried, same result.. from the research I've done it shouldn't require any fiddling around at all. It should have been detected with a single NTFS partition present but it wasn't.
Should also just be able to clean the drive and pop it straight in, although it's detected that way I get the error immediately.
The thought process I have to get this working.
Is to clone a Series card, then expand the partition to the size needed.
I was able to do the same thing with a One X to swap the original drive with an SSD.
Hi, thanks for watching!
The previous generation Xbox consoles weren't fussy at about the hardware. I am still able to provide internal SSD upgrades for those.
The new Series consoles are extremely strict with what drives can be used and if the security partition is missing, outdated, or from a different unit, the console won't even boot!
@@tbtekuk
Thanks for the info.
Thats the internal drive though.
I was under the impression that the Seagate cards, where just an NVME in an enclosure. Exactly the same as this device.
So I was thinking of buying a 512GB card at some point. Stripping that back, cloaning it and changing the partition size of the drive.
Don`t get me wrong, i`m litrally just throwing out idea`s. And I wouldn`t put money on it working. But I haven`t seen anyone try to do it. Even in failure.
@@johnnysheen9615 Ah I see. The official cards are actual CFexpress cards, when you open them up they are just a single piece with the memory chips and controller soldered on directly.
If I end up getting an official card at some point then I will also buy a CFexpress to USB adapter and try to take an image of it and then restore it to my CH SN530 to see if that will work.
But there could be issues since the interface is ultimately different and may read/write differently, who knows😅
Worked for me by formatting as media drive first
Hi, thanks for watching!
This is something I never thought to try! I will try next time I get a minute. Thanks!
Yo, so I've got both an XSS and an XSX, but I only use the XSX. The other one's just sitting there, collecting dust. I was wondering if I could use the internal SSD from the XSS for doing this task. What do you think?
You could definitely try. The SSD in your XSS will be one of the supported ones
I actually got this to work. It only saved me $20 for a 1tb. The name used was used but I don’t think it’ll cause issues. Hopefully by the a a new console or cheaper storage.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Did you follow the steps in the video or do something different?
Did you try to follow the exact procedures that the seller listed on his Ad? He did name a specific program to be used to format the Drive. Maybe it makes a difference
Hi, thanks for watching!
Using a different program won't yield different results. They mention Disk Genius in the instructions because it's more user friendly than Windows Disk Management. If you ask any capable program to write an MBR partition table and format with an NTFS volume it'll write the exact same data as all the others would.
@@tbtekuk I would try the different software. I remember the days of the 360 and putting different drives from official. you absolutely had to use special software and not the windows disk management. I believe it was due to meta data in the partion creation that was unique.
Clone a genuine working expansion card (even if its 512GB) to the card you have, You need the partition structure on the card, then expand the Game storage area to full available size. Do NOT play with any other partition on the cloned card.
Hi, thanks for watching!
This is a good idea, it would require an official card as well as a CFexpress to USB adapter both of which I don't currently have.
If someone does have both, they are welcome to contact me!
Have you done this or is it a theory?
See i absolutely love the way xbox desined these its like a futuristic chip you slot into something for more storage unlike Sony where its just a m.2 drive nothing special like this a storage adapter
The internal ssd has a security key built in to it by Microsoft, I wonder if you cloned your internal one to the external one if it would work?
Hi, thanks for watching!
Although there is a slim chance that could work, it's not something I can currently test and it would also make it unviable for the majority of players 😭
have you tried installing the correct firmware onto the ssd?
The 'correct' firmware is unknown and I couldn't get hold of any when I searched.
How tf did you do that at 8:40 I’ve never seen a video give haptic feedback
I bet you the model: WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD is the exact one you’ll find in the WD_BLACK C50.
In description: “Western Digital’s nCache™ 4.0 Technology and Microsoft’s DirectStorage Support. Enabling you to bring and play your large game library wherever you are while allowing you to immerse yourself with blazingly quick game installations and level loads. For extra peace of mind, use the Western Digital Dashboard (Windows® only) software to keep your drive tuned up.”
Then you look at the price point.
So maybe worth giving it a shot.
What about installing that replacement m.2 internally rather than use the expansion port. This will tell you if the m2 drive is the issue or not
Hi, thanks for watching!
The SSD itself is all good. Tested it after on other machines and with CrystalDisk. In fact the power-on hours were only 1 when I first got it.
Why did you format it NTFS? The included instructions say to create a partition not to format it.
Hi, thanks for watching!
When you create any partition you have to format it with a filesystem (exFAT, FAT32, NTFS etc.). If you don't want to partition the drive you can simply initialize the disk with an MBR or GPT partition table and leave the drive unformatted, with unallocated space. This was one of the many things I tried.
I chose NTFS originally because the instructions didn't stipulate which filesystem to use but in the end none of them worked anyway.
@@tbtekuk In the gui yes you need to format it but if you use diskpart or other utilities you can create an unformated partition.
How old is your series X? I have been using the ch sn530 for 2 years on a series s i bought in 2021 with no issues, recently bought a series x manufactured in august 2023 and nothing pops up like if i didn't insert it. Performed all suggested steps online and nothing but on the series s keeps working everytime just fine. Borrowed a wd c50 from a friend and that one worked instantly. It's like they did something on the board of recent units but who knows.
My Series X is a Feb 23 model.
As I mentioned in the video I did see a comment somewhere where someone had one that originally worked on a Series S, they plugged the exact same unit into a Series X and from that point on it never worked again, even back in the original Series S.
Which is why I concluded it's most likely update related.
This might sound silly but why can't you just plug the SSD directly into the xbox, why do you need the adapter?
there is not a m.2 connector accesable on the xbox. its using a CF express connector on the rear of the console. The adapter converts the CF express of the console to m.2 connector of the SSD.
I cant find the cf version of the sn530 anywhere only the pc one 🤔🥺😓😢😭
There were quite a few available on eBay when I bought mine
hello my friend does the cost is worth it.ive check ali and the price for 1tb is around 180. TIA.
Hi, thanks for watching!
As the video explains it doesn't seem to work even when using the exact drive they instruct.
So if you want extra storage just buy one of the official expansion cards.
It would be nice to hack the firmware the SN740 for 2 tb costs the same as an official 1 tb and I would like to have it on internal sdd
Thanks for watching!
And yes that'd be ideal! £250+ for essentially a 2TB SSD in the current financial market is far too much.
@@tbtekuk £250+ is a steal.
OSU1 update?
512 only good for like 3 games. Can we put 2TB or 4TB?
Hi, thanks for watching!
The drive used in the video is 1TB but I have read elsewhere that the 512GB ones are supposed to work as well. No reports of any larger capacity drives working unfortunately.
Perhaps someone will figure out a way to Emulate the the official seagate cards, to trick the console into using any nvme SSD
Nah. I tried this and gave up. Eventually buying the Seagate Official 1Tb version.
I’m so close to caving in and buying one, but it’s just so expensive and I just can’t justify it
@f4tj4bb42 WD Black do a cheaper one. Trust me get one and you'll feel better. More reliable than this crap
Hang tough. Its outrageous and the only hope for better is if it doesn't sell well enough
@f4tj4bb42 There is a cheaper version by WD Black and it's just as reliable as the Seagate one
Format the drive to MBR not initialised. Then insert into Xbox. Sorted
Since the expansion cards are made by Seagate, maybe thats the type of ssc you need to use???? The drive probably has an encoded ID that xbox looks for.
Hi, thanks for watching!
It's possible, but it doesn't explain why some are able to get these to work. I will continue to try things when I get time!
Western Digital also makes them now.
@@tbtekuk maybe MS had changed their OS to reject unknown SSD's in expansion slot meanwhile
You drive is missing the PCIE4 CONTROLLER CHIPSET its a seagate specail design its not just an nvme its an nvme with a pcie4 chip for higher speed data processing
Hi, thanks for watching!
I'm not sure what you mean. The hardware used is exactly as instructed by the adapter manufacturer. It's a Gen 4x2 drive.
@@tbtekuk maybe something to do with a specific controller on the adapter itself? I've got a friend looking into the possibility of using a used official expansion card with different SSDs to see if the same issue happens. Maybe then we'll get to the bottom of the issue.
@@tbtekuk NVME DRIVES do not have PCIE4 controller on the nvme drive seagate added a pcie4 controller to their nvme drive for xbox the pcie4 controller allow a larger bandwidth for data transfer it states it on the description of the xbox hdd card seagate added this to their card others didnt
Missing 2 steps, after format with windows, connect the usb enclosure to the xbox to format for games, after that, connect the enclosure back to the pc, go to Create and format hard disk partitions and you need to change absolutely the partition to GPT ( don't format it!). Assembly the expansion card adapter and insert it to the xbox slot and Bang!
Hi, thanks for watching!
I did try taking it back to the PC after and tried various methods, makes no difference.
When you choose 'Format for Games' on the console, it will immediately convert the partition table to GPT anyway.
great video, i suspect they may use this in future to be able to inject code into the Xbox OS for modding when NextGen consoles are announced
I doubt it, if there's one thing Microsoft knows it's how to make software. Xbox One is the only console i know that's unhackable even after all this time
When i check for prices I see like 187 euro for the 1TB ssd, the original xbox expansion 1tb I can get for 167 euro..... Also saw SN530 for less but as said you need specifically CH SN530.... But like you said, it doesnt work anyway so buy the original
I got a ssd off ebay for £39 and works fine in my xbox series x
Mine worked for 1 year and after the January update it stopped being recognized. Definitely Microsoft killed third party cards.
I did exactly what you used on your video.
i feel like microsoft installs a custom firmware on the ssd to make them work with the xbox thats not right sony and xbox should allow any ssd to work
You need to take the official seagate expansion and clone it to the new drive should work then
Hi, thanks for watching!
If I get one this is the first thing I'll be trying!
to get these to work you need to power down your xbox completely before plugging the expansion card in. Full power down, not sleep mode.
Hi, thanks for watching!
This is one of the many things I tried. Makes no difference unfortunately the error appears the moment I sign in.
@@tbtekuktry formatting it in ntfs/mbr then put it on a mvme m.2 to usb 3 adapter and plug it into the consoles usb3 port and have the console format the drive as a usb drive, then put it back into the expansion card adapter and because it’s already formatted and registered it will not need the Xbox update :)
@@Blu3ManiC I have tried every format/partition map possible. Result is always the same.
@@tbtekuk but you tried putting it in the consoles usb3? If you did then your usb3 adapter is probably the fault here
@@Blu3ManiC As I said in the video, I've tried all...
Everything is working as it should, it's just the Xbox rejecting the makeshift card.
good video pal, I hate how Microsoft has used propriatary components this generation. Especially when Sony gives you an easy option to upgrade storage
Hi, thanks for watching!
Yes it's not ideal, especially when the official cards are priced much higher than an equivalent performing drive. I fear that this will be adopted by other businesses going forward too.
Sounds just like what Apple do. Its all about money and control. Its also why I would never buy anything Apple make anymore and not remotely interested in the next gen series s/x. Would prefer playstation only because Sony are not as controlling. So much for the so called environmentally friendly, save the planet type mentality of these money obsessed companies. Nothing environmentally friendly about travelling around to get things fixed that you used to be able to do at home with a bit of know how. Ultimately I hope it will be the downfall of these companies.
Hello, I have an internal SSD from a Series x. Can I somehow use this as external storage?
What was the total price for these components?
Hi, thanks for watching!
I was able to get both the adapter and SSD for £75 total, which is around £60-£70 cheaper than the official 1TB cards.
It's a shame it doesn't work... but I will continue to try any new ideas when I have time!
Probably isn't worth the headache. Yes the official storage cards are expensive relative to normal SSDs but guaranteed to work. If this adapter worked with much larger capacities I could see it though.@@tbtekuk
Someone needs to make a m.2 memory card.. so basically the format of the memory card to m.2 and clone a hard disc key to match the motherboard and get 8tb logged as a memory storage device.
ruclips.net/video/JDn4k1DxNV8/видео.htmlsi=JzgLCi0NNrHXw7BC
Not sure if this will get taken down but it’s the video of the internal he has another video of the series x… I recommend you to read the comment section. He explains it perfectly in his comments what can go wrong and why it’s not really worth it to do the internal upgrade… but am hoping it helps you understand or find away to expand the external without having to buy the original…
Thanks I will take a look!
Looks like Microsoft learned from the previous console and locked out upgradability almost completely.
Ive tried and ive tried and ive tried i can't get no ssd drive to work no.... rolling stones
realy sucks that xbox decided to go back to proprietary memory cards when we have been using expandable storage for over a decade
I've seen people claiming its working for them, they format it on MBR format on windows, but i think your adapter is a bad one, you should try with a real CFexpress nvme adapter, not saying the one from seagate, just a real CFexpress adapter.
Since I uploaded the uploaded the video ive done some further research and it looks like another factor could be the firmware version of the drive. Something you'd never know until after you've purchased it. Ive also seen comments of people who had working ones and all they did was plug them into a different console and the error appeared, even when they put it back in the original console.
There's just too many factors to manage and navigate, it's not worth risking the investment. Better to just buy the official ones even though the price is inflated.
The only why to make this work is to make a clone of the original card once cloned and applied to the new ssd it will work with no issue. Enjoy ☺️
I heard that you have to use it as an external USB drive using the USB port, then put it in the expansion adapter
Hi, thanks for watching!
This was one of the many things I tried over a few days. Everything resulted in the adapter not being detected or the error shown in the video. If I get time I will continue to try any ideas I get!
@@tbtekuk yeah I had one that was working software update hit and it died as well, now I'm having issues with my email since I switched ISP, the new ISP my private and public IP are different so I can't send email because the address I use uses port 587, and it gives an error because of the private and public IP being different. So I've had issues with tech lately lol
Unfortunately it looks like the ROM on the SSD is supposed to be unique to Microsoft
I'm okay with going to Seagate. For me, Western Digital has been absolute crap. I had HDDs from them die on me in less than a year, or just slow down to the point where they're basically unusable. Meanwhile, my Seagate drives are still working great years and years later. So yeah, I'm gonna stick with them as they're a brand I trust.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Interestingly my experience has been the exact opposite. In fact I thought it was common knowledge that Seagate drives have one of the highest failure rates... good that yours are still going!
@@tbtekukSo far I've had the same experience. Every drive I've had that had failed early were either a Seagate or a Toshiba drive. I've yet to have a WD drive die early, with the majority of them lasting significantly beyond the estimated lifetime.
its the biggest bug for me with the xbox... playstation slap a pci 4.0 nvme in and away you go... but no xbox you have to buy a stupid locked device
Hi, thanks for watching!
I agree it's not ideal, pretty anti-consumer.
It took them almost two years for them to enable that port on the ps5 with a system update, though. Not all nvme drives work, you need a specific speed.
@@Blu3ManiC As long as it's a Gen 4 SSD it'll work. Even the slowest ones at around 3k read/write will work.
Microsoft is cracking down on Aftermarket parts soon Non certified Microsoft Controllers will pop up an error then 7-10 days the controller won’t be detected
Anyone trying to circumvent a proprietary component for any console should know that the next update is going to kill it. It’s a pointless task which will only become useable when we’ve moved to the next gen console and taken the other offline.
Hi, thanks for watching!
Ultimately it shouldn't be a proprietary component in the first place. That doubled with the fact that they are twice the price of a universal alternative only encourages people to experiment with third party equipment.
Would have been great if it had worked but I guess it wasn't meant to be!
You are correct. It was a shrewd move by Microsoft. Sony did the same with the Vita. It's no wonder people seek alternatives.
U need to clone ur xbox on it because off the code
The internal ssd is soldered to the motherboard and is locked to the console via some method of security so if the ssd fails you have to go to an authorised repairer.
I think the official storage devices are locked in a similar method as for new Apple devices via the update that Microsoft implemented. The only way to get extra storage apart from the official expansion card is to use an external usb 3 drive to only store the game data on, you will not be able to play these games from the external drive.
Given this situation, Sony is the more flexible console set-up in the addition of extra drive space and what can be used for playing games.
Hi, thanks for watching!
I have worked on both of the Xbox Series consoles, the internal SSD isn't soldered to the motherboard on either. It's connected via a PCIe interface, housing an SSD the same size as the one in the video.
You are right about the security though, in the form of a 1GB partition on the SSD that's encrypted, within which has some kind of security key that marries up with the motherboard and changes after every single update/factory reset.
You can replace them as long as you are able to clone that partition to the replacement drive. If the original SSD completely fails, then yes unfortunately the only people who can (currently) repair it is Microsoft which is quite expensive.
@@tbtekuk thanks for clarification on the issues that I raised, it's a shame that Microsoft has made it so hard to add extra storage for games on the xboxes compared to the ps5.
@@paulfrayne6519No problem!
Yes it wouldn't be an issue if the prices of the official cards were in junction with prices of similarly performing SSDs, but they are around 50% more expensive and ultimately use the same technology.
The fact that only the official cards are compatible makes it a monopoly and together with the high pricing makes it exploitative of their customer base, hence why people have explored potential alternatives.
Luckily for PlayStation, Sony allow the use of any Gen 4 PCIe NVMe SSD, so the customer is free to choose the model they want and at the regular market value price point.
@@tbtekuk The storage options are NOT comparable. The Gen4 NVME expansion is on a single NAND IC. Plus they are higher quality binned parts to meet MS standards and also run cooler than retail equivalents. It costs premium because they are premium.
@@paulfrayne6519 If PS5 storage dies entire console is bricked. At least the XBOX would be repairable.
Frankly it's ridiculous that MS made this proprietary. Clearly it doesn't need to be as shown by Sony's implementation.
Yeah microsoft pulled a sony with the expansion cards...
the console is not rejecting it.... you did not format it correctly. the xbox uses its own format to an extent and REQUIRES bunch of partitions that you are missing...
ruclips.net/video/UJAz03fgMJA/видео.html do this and it'll work.
Hi, thanks for watching!
This is for Xbox One internal drives of which I've replaced many myself.
Completely unrelated to Series consoles expansion cards.
yes, but will work@@tbtekuk
You should have tried FAT32, it is far more likely to work than NTFS. NTFS includes permissions of the host machine, so is not very useful for transporting between machines and especially to constrained hardware devices.
Hi, thanks for watching!
It is literally impossible to use the FAT32 filesystem for this application. The maximum single file size in a FAT32 partition is 4GB and the majority of games will have loads of single files that are much larger.
Yea too bad it aint as easy to do as is on ps5. Microsoft are some arseholes for coding the ssds with partitions
Hi, thanks for watching!
I could not agree more!
Proprietary storage is the #1 problem with Series X|S.
It wouldn't be nearly so bad if they would let you play new games over USB3, the speed of a good USB drive would be perceptually identical to most users, and even on PS5 you don't need to meet the minimum performance to play games (the card only needs to use the right interface, but it can still be much slower), no modern game is actually incompatible with slower SSDs because the games just pause if your storage isn't fast enough, which is only annoying and not game breaking.
Hi, thanks for watching!
It's all because both companies marketed the super fast loading times as key features. USB 3, although fast, wont reach the Gen 4 PCIe speeds. Even a Gen 2 USB 3 maxes out at about 2.4GB/s effective speed whereas the higher end Gen 4 PCIe drives can run at nearly triple that.
Sony have done it the consumer friendly way, only limiting the interface type and generation. This means the drives will closely match the marketed performance but allows the consumer a fairly wide choice of applicable options at various pricepoints.
Microsoft however have opted to take the monopoly approach, not only forcing consumers to buy their own vetted drives but charge nearly twice as much as other comparable equivalents... quite exploitative of their customer base.
They are now banning non-vetted 3rd party controllers too, so that players will be forced to buy Microsoft approved ones, essentially ones they get a sales cut from.
I bought the original 1TB Seagate expansion card for my Series X. Buy the original accessories for the Series consoles. Microsoft doesn’t like 3rd party accessories, they always patch them with OS updates.
This is why I don't own an Xbox series X. Their policy on expansion drives & controllers is horrible.
Hi, thanks for watching!
My thoughts exactly! Monopolizing the accessories and then pricing them far higher than suitable equivalents is fairly anti-consumer!
The price Is lower than ps5, Better cooling and interior design
@@riccardomarinoni6733 Until you want to expand the storage. PS5 + normal price SSD = Cheaper than XSX + Overpriced locked down CFX card.
Yeah Microsoft is clamping down on 3rd party peripherals and that's great stops garbage budget technology from working on Xbox
Xbox and their decision to go dedicated expansion cards is the dumbest thing they could have ever made with the Series X/S.
How do you have a tech channel and not know that you can open electronic devices without it voiding any warranty. The internal storage shouldn't matter - if the Seagate drives are utilizing multiple model numbers then that would have made this never more likely to succeed.
Hi, thanks for watching!
If you remove the sticker on an Xbox Series X it literally leaves behind text saying 'Void'.
I fix these things for a living so the only reason I would ever return it for a warranty service is if it develops an unfixable issue e.g graphics card or complete SSD failure. In which case they would just replace the unit entirely but would look for any excuse to make it chargeable at that point. A big 'Void' residue would be excuse enough.
@@tbtekuk in both Europe and the US it's illegal to enforce those stickers.
@@tbtekuk you shouldn't spread misinformation like that. To properly maintain a console you'll need to open it up. Your ability to do that is protected by the law. You just sound stupid.
@@AlaskanGamerGuy Sure but I've read the warranty terms in the past.
If they believe anything has been modified or damage has been caused when it was opened then they can refuse a warranty service. They don't even have to provide evidence.
If the console has an irreparable fault that means they would have to completely replace the unit then they would try their best to avoid doing that for free... easiest way is to fall back on the terms and blame the user, say they broke something when it was previously opened and so they can't provide the service under warranty.
Makes far more sense not to risk it and just wait until the warranty period is up.
Best solution is to buy a PS5 and use any SSD you wanna use instead of buying a console that wants you to over pay for additional storage and you don't have to go through this shite.
Guys, I figured out a work around, all you have to do is get a PS5 instead of letting Microsoft scalp SSD's.
Time, electricity, parts etc it will be easier to save another 50£ and just buy original expansion card and stop trying to be Einstein 😂😂😂😂
Hi, thanks for watching!
It is more principle rather than just cost. I would rather help people get something for the right price and break the overpriced monopoly. Being restricted to only 2 products (1 if you want 2TB) for what is essentially just Solid State Storage, when there are thousands of products widely available that could do the same or an even better job at the same or lower price, is really anti-consumer.
Even if I end up spending days and as much as an official card, It's still worth the effort!
Hardly 'definitive' when you skip to the end only for you to say 'i don't know' 🫤
Hi, thanks for watching!
It's definitive because I have used the correct SSD and formatted/cleaned/partition tabled the drive in every way possible and it doesn't work no matter what. Either it's not detected or if it is the error always appears. I already showed the instructed setup of the SSD, the video would have dragged on if I showed all of the other ways I setup the SSD.
In all other content I've seen on this the wrong drive is used or they haven't got a way of connecting it to a computer, so ultimately not helpful in communicating if it actually does work or not.
The only way forward from here is to get an official card and attempt to clone it to the SSD but even if that works you'd have to buy an official card anyway so there's no point... as I've said in the video, you may as well just buy one of the official cards.