How to connect external hard drive?

Okay, I found out how to format it from my Mac, but it will only let me format it to MS-DOS (FAT), and ExFAT. Will either of those work?

 

A guy on Reddit says that ExFAT partitions are recognised by the Xbox One, so I would try that, although there's no harm in trying both.

Failing that, you'd need to ask a friend with a Windows PC to format it to NTFS for you.

 

Format it to NTFS as FAT file formats like FAT32 degrade and corrupt more easily on large memory sized hard drives. It will just save you from a headache if the hard drive possibly crashes. Just gotta say been there done that.

 

Does anyone know if it's ok to leave it running in the background. I noticed my HDD blinks off and on whenever the xbox console is turned off. I thought it would turn off the port too since it's not on "Power-saving" mode.

 

There is always a power supply to the one if you switch of by the socket it should work

 

"I noticed my HDD blinks off and on whenever the xbox console is turned off."

In the console settings, there is an option to turn off the external storage when you turn off the console, so make sure you enable that. Even with that option enabled though, if a new dashboard/game/app update is released, that will get pushed to your console
automatically (if you have automatic updates enabled), so the hard drive will turn on to enable that content to be downloaded, then it'll turn off again when it's done. Also, if you buy a game via Xbox.com or SmartGlass, the hard drive will turn on and the
console will download the game, then it'll turn off again.

That said, there does appear to be a bug in the latest preview dashboard that causes your external hard drive to turn on and off repeatedly while the console is off, even though it's not downloading anything, so be wary of that. I've reported the issue and
it's been acknowledged by MS staff.

 

@Sigma that sounds really odd. I don't use instant on mode, well not very often. But, even though my console turns off (orange light on PS) the HDD light still blinks on and off at a slow, steady rate. It has done this since I got the HDD just before Christmas...
and I'm not in the preview program. I seem to recall reading a post in the forums that said there is still power going to the USB port(s) and there fore this is just the HDD indicating there is power, but no activity. Doesn't seem like a bug in that aspect?

Edit: I also have it set to turn off external storage... if you recall from a different conversation.

 

What's the make and model of your drive?

 

I got a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB last month and every time I connect it, a Dashboard balloon pops up. If it doesn't pop up, go to settings to search for the plugged in external HDD.

 

@Sigma, it's a WD My Passport Ultra 1tb; Metal Edition.

If memory serves, the WD My Passport drives do, in fact, flash at a steady rate when the X1 is 'off' regardless of which mode (instant on or energy saver) is used, since there is still power to the USB port itself. Mine always has. Which is why I was certain
that my DL of DAI had stopped when I powered down the console (in instant on mode), since the HDD light went from flashing rapidly [indicating being written to/read from] to the steady rate, indicative of being turned off... yet still sensing power from the
USB port.

 

Yeah, I originally had the same drive (the regular version, not the metal one), and I cut out a small piece of electrical tape and stuck it over the light because it was flashing slowly when it was off.

 

I know this thread is a few months old now, but I found something that might help others who come across this thread looking for help. I have been trying to get a couple of old 500GB hard drives that I put into Cavalry USB 3.0 enclosures to work with the
Xbox One, but it wouldn't even recognize that the drives were connected (other than the unusual symptoms of the settings app crashing and the controller randomly unsynching when the drive is connected, never figured out why a hard drive would cause that).
I tried exfat, fat32, and ntfs formats with no luck (using MAC Disk Utility to partition the drive). Back in disk utility, I decided to see what was under the "Options" button on the Partition tab and noticed that Master Boot Record was the default partition
scheme. I switched it to GUID Partition Table, repartitioned the disk as exfat, and plugged it back into the Xbox; the "storage detected popup came up right away. I recommend, whatever program you use to format the drive, make sure your partition
scheme is "GUID Partition Table."