Series X USB Ports & Games not booting

Sam Cheatle · Aug 18, 2022

I'll try and word this the best I can.

I use a wired Razer controller and an external Seagate HDD for older games (both Xbox compatible). I usually have the Seagate in the lower rear USB, and the Razer device plugged into the front USB, the top rear USB unused.

The first time I boot my Xbox Series X in a day it will boot and register the above, but not let me boot any game. There is no error message after any click of a game or wait after. I try off & on, usually no difference.

After a hard reset when I start up the console it wont notice all of the devices or wont notice some of them, in the latter instance it usually picks up the Seagate, and not the Razer controller. In some instances I've noticed some lights working on the controller, but these are just the indicators for power & which button map setup I'm using. (Games would load if I were to use another controller at this point)

After multiple variations of soft & hard resets switching the controller's port between the front & the back it will then start up & recognise the controller, but lose the Seagate HDD. I then repeat this until it starts up with all devices. I do also try the unplugging all connections and waiting 5-10 minutes in this process as well.

This has been my pre-game ritual this week, before this the setup worked fine.

If anyone has anything to help with any of this that would be grand, I know its dead strange.

Thanks

:)

[ A J ]

Hi, Sam! thank you for reaching out.

My name is AJ, I'm an Independent Advisor for the Xbox Community.

I'm sorry to hear you've been experiencing some issues with your console.

I have a few questions regarding your setup:

- Is your console's sleep mode set to "Standby"?

- Is your console plugged directly into one of the wall's outlets? sometimes extension cords, surge protectors, and power strips can cause this kind of problem.

- Besides your HDD and the Razer controller, do you have any other external device plugged into your console?

I'll be looking forward to your reply.

Best regards.

Obsessive Power

Hi,

No, sorry it won't work. The USB ports on the Series X|S are USB 3.1 which have a maximum speed of 500MB/s. This means, no matter what drive you buy, no matter what speed it's rated at, you're stuck at the max speed of the USB port.

The only drives that can be used for Series X|S games are either the internal or the storage expansion card.

I have the Expansion card for my Series X. I also have an external 2TB USB SSD in an enclosure. I can only use the external SSD for Xbox One games. They do load a lot faster than a mechanical hard drive, but I can't play my Series X games off it.

Bokor Zombie

Yes mate the Xbox Series X will have an optical out port, 2 HDMI ports, 2 USB-C port, Ethernet

Obsessive Power

Only the Seagate Expansion and the WD Black C50 work for Series X|S games. All other SSD's can only be connected via the USB port and they are too slow for Series X|S games

andersonpassos

Thank you for contact us! I'm Anderson, an Independent Consultant and a Microsoft user like you.

Good evening

Ensure that you are using the correct USB port on your Series X. Some consoles have multiple USB ports, but not all of them may support USB 3.0 speeds. Check your Series X's manual or support website to see which ports support USB 3.0 speeds.

Try connecting the SSD enclosure to a different USB port on your Series X. If the first port you tried did not work, it is possible that there is an issue with that specific port. Try a different one to see if it recognizes the SSD enclosure as USB 3.0.

Verify that the USB cable you are using is rated for USB 3.0 speeds. Some USB cables may not be rated for USB 3.0 speeds and can cause the device to not be recognized as USB 3.0. Ensure that the USB cable you are using is rated for USB 3.0 speeds and is in good condition.

Series X USB Ports & Games not booting