On Xbox one I need to search for a specific file name on an external HDD. No apps seem to...

Hello there!

My name is Jonny and I will be assisting you today!

First, thank you so much for contacting us regarding your inquiry/ concern.

There won't be a way to go into the hardrive and search for a specific file without a PC. The Xbox is a home console and is not a PC or mobile device. It is simply designed for entertainment purposes ie: Gaming and Media so sadly there won't be an app that will allow you to pick through each file.

However, if the HDD was formatted as a media storage device when it was used with the Xbox, you may be able to cycle through the media files using the player BUT this will ONLY work if your Xbox was used to format it as a media device.

Alright, thanks for the information!

I'd like you to try some very specific troubleshooting steps to further narrow down where the issue lies.

First, let's try reformatting your external HDD by following the steps below:

• Move your media files off of the external HDD so you will not lose them.
• Reformat the external HDD to NTFS on a Windows PC.
• Move the media files you wish to have back onto the external HDD.
• Uninstall the Media Player app.
  
• Hold the power button on the Xbox One console for 10 seconds, or until the unit fully shuts down.
  
• Reinstall the Media Player app.
  
• Plug the newly formatted external HDD back into the Xbox One console with a different USB 3.0 cable (if possible) and verify if the issue persists!
  

Be sure to follow each step in that order! If the issue persists after trying the steps above, the next step will be to try a different USB 3.0 external HDD to see if the issue persists on multiple eternal HDD's.

Try each of those steps above, along with a different external HDD, and post back the results so we can narrow down the issue further and help you get this sorted!

Thanks!

Even with the media app installed how can i copy movie files from Mac to the external hdd on the Xbox ?

this article is about the xbox music app. not the xbox one. i cant imagine the xbox one wont let you stream media from your network. that would be a huge step backwards. i just read this as the xbox music app only access music from the cloud, so if you want
to put your music on the cloud you have to pay for that service.

-

the media player and libraries should be able to be told to access files on the local hdd, the external hdd, or a network hdd. if not it wont be long before someone makes an app to do it.

The media files are either MPEG-4 or MKV. I can confidently say that the issue is not due to file compatibility as I have many other files in those formats that play just fine.

This is the exact issue: I have an external HDD connected to my Xbox with all my media (movies mainly) files that I have saved throughout the years. When you initially connect an external HDD to the Xbox it asks if this is for storing Games/Screen Captures
or if this is for Media playback. In this case media playback is selected and then all the files currently on the HDD will show up and play without issue.

Now here is the issue. After the initial setup and selecting this HDD as media only, any additional files I add to my HDD the Microsoft Media Player as well as VLC will recognize the file/folder depending on how I have it formatted, but:

1) If the file is not in a folder both programs will recognize the file but will not play it

or

2) If the file is in a folder, then when I open the folder the folder is empty.

This is a new issue and has never happened in the past.

One potential temporary solution I thought of, but I don't know how to do it or if it is possible: Can I have the Xbox forget the external HDD (without clearing the HDD obviously) so as to the next time I plug it in it will recognize the external HDD as
a new drive and I can select Games vs Media again? This way after media is selected all my new files will show up as well.

Update: I restarted my Xbox and reselecting the Games vs Media did not work. When trying to play an individual file (of the new files just added, because all my previous files in the same format work just fine)

Update #2: The external HDD I am using is a WD 8TB Easy store. As I stated above all my old files work but none of the new files do. As my issue was not formatting, I dug out my old HDD (a 2TB Seagate) and added my new files to that. All the new files played
normally. The question is.... why are new files not playing on my WD while they play normally on the Seagate. (BTW: Yes both HDD are formatted the same, exFAT). At least for me this appears to be an external HDD issue. I will do one more update after clearing
my WD HDD before adding everything back, but this will take around 1 day.

Update #3: After erasing all media and adding it back to my WD external HDD all files (including the new ones) play as normal.