External hard drive won't format - please help

Discus and support External hard drive won't format - please help in XBoX on Consoles to solve the problem; Hello everyone. I have a WD My Passport X 2TB external hard drive that I can t get working. I spent an hour on the phone with XBOX support with no luck... Discussion in 'XBoX on Consoles' started by PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016.

  1. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest

    External hard drive won't format - please help


    Hello everyone. I have a WD My Passport X 2TB external hard drive that I can t get working. I spent an hour on the phone with XBOX support with no luck either so this community is my last best hope.

    My XBOX one won't format the drive for games and apps. After naming the device and selecting "format" it just takes me right back to the storage selection screen leaving my drive unformatted. I've formatted it on a PC. Still no good on the XB1. I can format
    it on my 360 and use it there but nothing on the XB1.

    I've done hard resets galore, tried different ports, everything I can think of or research on the web. Even the tech through XBOX support couldn't figure out the issue. Can anyone help? I would greatly appreciate it!

    Thanks in advance!

    :)
     
    PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016
    #1
  2. frazzy21
    frazzy21 Guest
    Green spinning circle external hard drive

    I get a green spinning circle when trying to format external hard drive, please help
     
    frazzy21, Apr 17, 2016
    #2
  3. n7oldnavy
    n7oldnavy Guest
    HELP

    My Xbox One Can"t format my external hard drive or move/copy games Help.
     
    n7oldnavy, Apr 17, 2016
    #3
  4. {Parity}
    {Parity} Guest

    External hard drive won't format - please help

    Try these steps. First make sure your external HDD is disconnected. Then do another hard reset like this. Hold the power button on the console for 10 seconds or until the power shuts down completely. Unplug the power cord from the back of the console
    for 5 minutes. Plug the power cord back -

    1. Power on your xBox (do not plug in drive yet)

    2. Go to the side menu to settings

    3. Go to System, then storage

    4. Scroll over to Manage storage area. (you will see the internal storage)

    5. Plug in the new drive.

    6. Select the new drive and it should give the choice to format for games.

    7. Follow the prompts for the remaining questions (default storage location, etc.)

    8. You may go back to where you see format the drive for games a second time after answering the questions, chose it and you will hear the system format the drive and shortly the drive will pop up as ready.

    Let us know. Good Luck!
     
    {Parity}, Apr 17, 2016
    #4
  5. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest
    Thank you for the rply but unfortunately it didn't work. In fact, it didn't even give me the option to format the drive. It's treating it like a media drive. All I can do is view contents, of which there is none.

    I do appreciate the help. Thank you.

    Still in need of suggestions.
     
    PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016
    #5
  6. {Parity}
    {Parity} Guest
    Have you tried putting it on a PC and removing all partitions then re-partition it and format that partition to NTFS? I have seen where others have had good results with that approach.
     
    {Parity}, Apr 17, 2016
    #6
  7. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest
    I've seen that too but I don't know how to repartition it.

    I think it's through the disk manager tool but from there I'm unsure of the steps.
     
    PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016
    #7
  8. {Parity}
    {Parity} Guest

    External hard drive won't format - please help

    {Parity}, Apr 17, 2016
    #8
  9. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest
    Thank you. I figured out the partitions and tried a few different sizes but still no luck. The XBOX 1 simply will not format the drive. As soon as I click "format for games and apps" it loops back to the storage screen showing me an unformatted drive.

    It's very frustrating but I seriously appreciate the suggestions. I'm trying everything.
     
    PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016
    #9
  10. {Parity}
    {Parity} Guest
    Did you try partitioning the drive into one partition? The XBOX want to use the entire drive for the games.
     
    {Parity}, Apr 17, 2016
    #10
  11. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest
    I did. No such luck. I don't know what else to try.
     
    PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016
    #11
  12. {Parity}
    {Parity} Guest
    Do you happen to be in the preview program? If so if you post there someone may have insight to the problem that could be caused my a recent preview update. Just a thought.
     
    {Parity}, Apr 17, 2016
    #12
  13. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest

    External hard drive won't format - please help

    No, not a member of the preview program. Thanks again for all of your suggestions!
     
    PBeadle, Apr 17, 2016
    #13
  14. Captain_WD
    Captain_WD Guest
    Hey there PBeadle,

    If the drive is working on your 360 the problem should be with the console itself. Just for the sake of ruling out the drive completely as the potential cause of the problem I would run
    WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool on a PC and see if the drive passes both the quick and the extended tests.

    The drive is specifically designed to work on Xbox consoles and it comes pre-formatted and ready to go so it shouldn't be a problem. Have you tested other external dries with the console and see if it works? Do you have the latest update on your console?
    If other drives also cause problems, MS's support should be able to help.

    .
     
    Captain_WD, Apr 17, 2016
    #14
  15. PBeadle
    PBeadle Guest
    Thank you for the reply.

    I don't have any other drives to try but I will try the diagnostic tool later today. I do have the latest update on the XB1.

    I am under the assumption the issue is with the console but XBOX support was unable to help after being on the phone with them for about an hour.. We exhausted all of their known solutions. I could maybe try a different tech but at this point it may be pointless.

    I'll update later with results from the diagnostic tool.

    Thanks again!
     
    PBeadle, Apr 19, 2016
    #15
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External hard drive won't format - please help

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