External hard drive being plugged in prevents xbox one from connecting to the tv

1. Plug external hard drive into Xbox One with good connection.

2. Download games.

3. Unplug external drive.

4. Take external drive to Xbox One with bad connection.

5. Plug external drive in.

6. Play games.

7. Say thank you.

Note: External drive needs to be USB 3.0 and have 256GB of free space.

I had a similar issue. I found that my external hard drive that was plugged in was drawing just enough power to prevent the xbox from restarting. It restarted after I unplugged my external drives. Hopefully this helps!

Is your console an Xbox 360 or Xbox One ?

Double check if the external hard drive is actually being detected, sometimes the USB connection might be loose. If the external hard drive is not detected, turn off the console

and then double check the USB connector is firmly plugged in, then turn console back on and see if external hard drive appears.

Also another thing to check... some brands of external hard drive have a power light when turned on. Check if the power light is on.

Here is a relevant note from the known issues summary, I hope you find it useful

Wireless Networking:

You may encounter a “wireless network hardware on this console is not working” error when connecting to Xbox Live with a wireless connection.

Your Xbox One console may be unable to detect a wireless connection while an external hard drive is plugged in. Workaround: Unplug the external hard drive, hard reset the console, connect to WiFi, then connect the external hard driv

I'd check the power on the external hard drive too. Make sure it's all plugged in to a working outlet and make sure it's switched on, and check all the plugs to the Xbox One to make sure it's hooked up properly. If it's still not connecting, it might be
an issue with the hard drive itself. The Xbox One should pick it up and register it being there if it's hooked up and turned on. Good luck, I hope it fixes soon!