Two external SSD drives have now stopped working on my Xbox One X

AAKRUSEN · Jun 6, 2020

Last year I added an external SSD (Sandisk, 512GB, don't recall the model) using a USB3-to-SATA adapter to increase loading speeds and in-game menus speeds. It worked well for a few months and I was happy. During this time I was exclusively playing Destiny
2. One day I went to fire up the game and it said I did not have the game installed. Looking into the settings I find that the SSD is not showing up. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. It showed up for a few minutes, everything was there, but before
I could fire up the game, it was missing again. This time unplugging and plugging it back in did nothing. So I reloaded everything back on the internal HD and suffered until I could afford a new SSD. Fast forward to when I can afford a new SSD and this
time I purchased a Samsung (860 EVO, 500GB) and used the same USB3-to-SATA cable. Everything was working fine for a few months (still only playing Destiny 2) until it happened again. Unplug, replug, nothing showing up. I tried a different USB3-to-SATA cable,
no go. I tried plugging the SSD into my PC and Windows would not recognize it. Back to the internal HD and I've been like that for a few months. I want to go back to an SSD, but I don't want to waste another $100 if this will happen for a third time.

Two different SSDs, two different cables, got a few months out of each drive.

What is the issue here?

Did I do something wrong during the initial install?

Is this a common problem?

Why do I not have this issue with the internal HD?

:)

Obsessive Power

Hi,

Sorry about your issue there. I'm curious, why were you using a USB 3 to SATA adaptor to play games off an SSD?

These adaptors are really only meant to be used to quickly back up drives or achieve files. If the drive disconnects during access it could potentially become corrupt, although I've not heard of this killing the drive.

The best way to connect a 2.5" drive (SSD or HDD) would be to use an external drive enclosure. The enclosures already have the SATA and power connectors built in. If you take apart an external drive (like

this Seagate expansion) you would find the same connector built in.

The tool free enclosures are the easiest to use. As easy to install a drive as it is to change batteries in a TV remote

This is the SSD I use:

Plugged into this:

Are you sure the drive/s are dead? I suggest buying an enclosure, plugging in the drive/s into your PC and running Windows 10 Disk Management to see if your drives are detected.

AAKRUSEN

Hi,

Sorry about your issue there. I'm curious, why were you using a USB 3 to SATA adaptor to play games off an SSD?

These adaptors are really only meant to be used to quickly back up drives or achieve files. If the drive disconnects during access it could potentially become corrupt, although I've not heard of this killing the drive.

The best way to connect a 2.5" drive (SSD or HDD) would be to use an external drive enclosure. The enclosures already have the SATA and power connectors built in. If you take apart an external drive (like

this Seagate expansion) you would find the same connector built in.

The tool free enclosures are the easiest to use. As easy to install a drive as it is to change batteries in a TV remote

This is the SSD I use:

Plugged into this:

Are you sure the drive/s are dead? I suggest buying an enclosure, plugging in the drive/s into your PC and running Windows 10 Disk Management to see if your drives are detected.

I never thought about the cable I was using being a temporary connection, that might be the problem like you mentioned. The cable still works (on new drives) and it lights up, but the Xbox and PC don't "see" the SSDs that have been corrupted. I'm betting
it's corrupted as you said due to the type of cable.

Yes, both SSDs are dead, neither can be detected by Windows (when going through Disk Management). I threw away the Sandisk one a long time ago, but the Samsung is sitting in my desk hoping someone could help me revive it. What are my options there?

I'm willing to try something different, like the enclosure you mentioned or a official External SSD like what you have pictured.

Thanks for the info!!

KingPoszumz

Hi,

Sorry about your issue there. I'm curious, why were you using a USB 3 to SATA adaptor to play games off an SSD?

These adaptors are really only meant to be used to quickly back up drives or achieve files. If the drive disconnects during access it could potentially become corrupt, although I've not heard of this killing the drive.

The best way to connect a 2.5" drive (SSD or HDD) would be to use an external drive enclosure. The enclosures already have the SATA and power connectors built in. If you take apart an external drive (like

this Seagate expansion) you would find the same connector built in.

The tool free enclosures are the easiest to use. As easy to install a drive as it is to change batteries in a TV remote

This is the SSD I use:

Plugged into this:

Are you sure the drive/s are dead? I suggest buying an enclosure, plugging in the drive/s into your PC and running Windows 10 Disk Management to see if your drives are detected.

The drives come with the cord. Its the only way to connect the SSD to the X. Opening the Xbox/Hard Drive voids any warranty.

Obsessive Power

Yes, both SSDs are dead, neither can be detected by Windows (when going through Disk Management).

Not a great deal you can do if the drive is dead. Only suggestions would be to try would be to insert it to a external enclosure and see if it works. If it doesn't, then the only other test would be to plug it directly into a PC via SATA. If the drive is
still not detected than it's failed.

My guess is the controller chip is dead/fried. SSD's are made up of a PCB (printed circuit board), a controller chip, NAND Flash modules and a few hundred megabytes of RAM. If the controller is dead then effectively the whole unit is dead.

It's not just the connection you need to be concerned with, it's heat. While SSD drives use low power, they can still get rather warm. Normally this isn't an issue as long as you don't place it near another heat source.

The link I provided is the Seagate Expansion which a 2.5" mechanical external hard drive, if you want speed you don't want one of these.

I don't really play on my Xbox One X as much now, I'm a 90% PC gamer these days. I had an old

Crucial MX500 SSD that was used as boot drive for my Windows 10 PC. But when I built my new gaming PC last year, I replaced this older boot drive for a 500GB and then added another 2TB SSD.

After this I was left with a 250GB SSD that I wasn't using. So, I bought an external drive enclosure and turned my 2 year old 250GB internal SSD into an external SSD for my Xbox One X.

Obsessive Power

The drives come with the cord. Its the only way to connect the SSD to the X. Opening the Xbox/Hard Drive voids any warranty.

External pre-made drives come with a cable, but I'm not talking about retail external hard drives, I'm talking about drives put inside in an enclosure.

I didn't say anything about 'opening an Xbox hard drive.

Two external SSD drives have now stopped working on my Xbox One X