External hard drive not detected

C0l0nel Ll0yd · Apr 2, 2015

I just bought a usb 3.0 wd elements 3tb hard drive and my xbox one will not see it as a media player. Yes I have unchecked the box to turn storage off when xbox is off, also tried different usb ports and still the same problem. Please help

:)

gds1972 · Apr 2, 2015

External hard drive not formatting on Xbox One

Hi

When I added an external hard drive to my console the drive format was pretty quick.

If you have run through all of the steps listed below reference the external hard drive nor being detected and it is still not being detected then I would try to obtain a replacement external hard drive and hopefully this one should work correctly.

Troubleshoot External Storage Drive Detection | Xbox One External Storage

Reaper951 · Apr 2, 2015

External Hard Drive Not Detected

Ive been having the same exact issue with my external hard drive. i also am a member of the preview program. this all happened to me right about the same time you originally posted or just after. if my external is plugged in when the xbox boots up... i just
gets stuck on the loading screen. i have to remove the hard drive before start up to get it to boot. either way, im unable to use the hard drive now. ive tried all the suggested stuff online. the hard restart, using a different usb port, changing my power
settings and nothing has worked. i do know that the hard drive is still good though because my laptop recognizes it without any problems. ive tried contacting microsoft about it and STILL have not got any response from them. how many more people has this happened
too???

FearedNightmare · Apr 2, 2015

Does it have media on it like movies etc ? or do you want to use it for games ?

If you want to use it for games make sure it's formatted as NTSF, it should already be like that but just check in case

gds1972

Hi

When I added an external hard drive to my console the drive format was pretty quick.

If you have run through all of the steps listed below reference the external hard drive nor being detected and it is still not being detected then I would try to obtain a replacement external hard drive and hopefully this one should work correctly.

https://support.xbox.com/games/troubleshooting/console-doesnt-detect-external-storage

smw007

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.

XBF Crystal P

Hi there agentdutywars17,

Thanks for reaching out here in Xbox Forums. I understand there is an issue with the Xbox console detecting the external hard drive. I recommend to try the following:

Troubleshoot external storage detection on Xbox One
Try a different port on the Xbox console
Try using another cable that connects from your external hard drive to your Xbox console
Try a different external hard drive to help isolate the issue between the Xbox or the hard drive

Give this a try and let us know the results.

XBF Brad A

Hello Edward,

Thanks for the replies. We recommend trying to format the external hard drive on a PC. Make sure to format to NTFS. Also here is a guide for issues

detecting external hard drive. If the hard drive is not compatible with the console it will read it as a media device no matter the format.

Thanks,

Brad

Linkin Jon

I have the same issue. does not detect any external hard drives. only device it seems to detect was the controller.

External hard drive not detected