April 6th 2010 9:00 am PT

Nothing for me yet.

It make take a few hours for you to be prompted to take the update. Patience.

As with every update, 360 or PS3, I’ll wait a couple hours just to make sure there are no errors.

WOOHOO! Thanks, Maj!

Looking forward to it.

Just got it installing now

Is the spring update still to come? Can you give us any hints as to what new features it may bring? Where can we post requests for update features?

Downloaded, thanks.

I take it that in order to download the update, you must already have a storage solution in place, right? Is it possible to loan a friends hard drive to download the update? Isn’t there some system space or something built-in that saves updates without the need of a harddrive?

Reading the FAQ.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/storage/default.htm

Frequently asked questions

* Why does Xbox 360 only support 16GB of storage, even though I have a much larger device?
Supporting USB storage devices up to 16GB in size is a huge increase in storage over any solid state memory storage solutions currently available for Xbox 360. Users that need more storage have options in the Xbox 360 hard drives, which are available for purchase separately.

Ha! You didn’t answer the question!

Installed. Nice one :thumbsup:

So with this update if I put my Gamer Profile on my Memory Stick can I then use it on other consoles without the need for recovering the Gamertag?

Thanks for adding the USB support.

dirty whirlwind, jag antar att du har en Xbox 360 Arcade-konsol. De har 256 MB inbyggt minne för den här typen av uppdateringar (vad jag förstår/antar). Läs mera här:

http://xbox.joystiq.com/2008/12/02/microsoft-confirms-256mb-internal-storage-in-xbox-360-arcade-uni/

Yes! Finally! Thanks!

Got my update! So happy XBOX is doing the USB support! Looking forward to using it! best part of my XBOX experience tonight.. Rough night on MW2 ..

@NBA Kirkland

Hahaha, you beat me to it. Wanted to post the exact same thing

Not only USB Memory but also Official HDD via Transfer Cable can be handled by this update!
Nice work!!

wow nothing like having my Mass Effect 2 gaming interrupted by this stupid update disconnecting me.

was it really necessary to have it log us out in the middle of play rather than just notify us the next time we log in?

In the middle of a sniping a headshot in Bad Company when I got disconnected! USB functionality works well, moved some of my DLC back and forth so it seems ok.

Not wanting to sound ungrateful, was there anything else done/added with the update?

Perixon: No, I don’t. I have a premium 360 with a busted hard drive.

Cool beans!

Bioware is having a contest today: http://social.bioware.com/brc/1688078

Don’t click on Veive257′s link unless you want to reward his spamming ways by giving him extra chances to win prizes.

Hey Major Nelson, maybe talk to Bioware about not having a spamming contest next time around?

Anyways, interesting update, I will use it to back up as many saves as possible in case my HDD dies one of these days!

Waiting for this. And the Blur beta.

got it, thanks

A new feature I noticed: A “Transfer Content” option when you press Y on your Main HDD.

I’d assume its for transferring your files to a new Xbox HDD without the need for the transfer disk.

dirty whirlwind: Hm. This is pure speculation (I have nothing to back up my theory), but it’s resonable to think that even the pre-Arcade models (such as the 360 Premium) feature some kind of onboard memory to store system updates. However, I’d like to stress that I’m not really sure about this. However, since your HDD is busted, I take it you still have the New Xbox Experience (with the avatars as opposed to the old “blade” GUI system). That strongly implies that your Xbox has the means of storing system updates somehow .

IPTV yet?

Nice update.

Awesome, thanks!

Yeah, excellent sidestep in the FAQ regarding the 16GB limit.

Only took about 4 years longer than PS3! Way to go!

Is it possible to download this update from Xbox.com somehow? And transfer it to a USB-drive and update the console from there?

Would be tremendously useful.

Perixon: Yeah, I was thinking that could be the case as well. Guess I have to ask someone to use a USB-device with the hard drive detached to know for sure.

The memory card bulk transfer is working quite well
thanks

a feature request for the future of being able to just transfer saves
and not just the games folder would be nice
i am having to go through over 500 folders manual to just transfer saves without
dlc

still very nice though

cheers

@efficaxor – doesn’t look to be available yet but keep an eye on this URL http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/console/systemupdates.htm

Sweet update! Never thought we’d see the day when we get to use unlicensed storage on the 360!

Now I can FORCE FEED my friends demos that they’re too lazy to download despite my recommendations.

Also, some poor folks in the world still have a GB limit on their DSL each month, this should help them out a tad.

PS the FAQ on xbox.com could be a bit more detailed.

Looks like the Storage Selection screen that pops up for game has changed order.
It was previously Hard Drive, Arcade onboard storage, Memory Unit.
Now it’s either sorted alphabetically or Hard Drive, Memory Unit, Arcade onboard storage. (Haven’t set up a USB drive yet).

Kudos for not schilling the Xbox360-branded USB stick to your blog’s audience. I appreciate that.

The FAQ doesn’t sidestep the 16GB limit at all. It’s pretty clear. “We limit it to 16GB, so if you want more, you have to buy a hard drive.”

Muzzymate: Yeah, thanks, I will keep an eye on that page – but considering the last update (fall 09) I guess it will take a while for this update to show up on there! Guess I have to wait for the update to come with future game discs instead.

Here’s some inclusions to the FAQ I’d like to see:

Copy demos to USB yes/no
Copy demos between 360 consoles yes/no
Copy/move installed DVD games or install DVD games to USB yes/no
Copy/move installed DVD games from one console to another via USB (answer is NO)
Copy/move purchased Arcade games to USB to play on other console when accompanied by profile yes/no (Yes if owner profile is on USB and connected to live when playing)

What are the official recommended read and write specs for flash memory?
What are the rated read specs of each official HDD 20/60/120/250?

Just a quick question – unrelated to the shiny new dash update that I’m looking forward to. Any news on what’s happening with Game Room – my box still pauses at the loading screen … ….

Seems like a pretty big update, what else does it change?

SSD in USB enclosure WORKS!!!!

Speed tests to follow. Follow the news on Xbox Forums under Xbox 360 USB Storage.

I will update speed improvements such as load and install times this evening in my : My SSD works via USB enclosure! ZOOOOM!!!” post at the forums. This is a great day in the neighborhood!!! POOF!

Quick question Major, If I had a 320GB external HDD with 80GB free, will the ‘Customize’ option still format it even when I set it up to use 16GB? I have a lot of important stuff on there.

The drive test seems to only be testing access times and not actual speed

Im moving my whole drive to sticks so i can format and move files back
so my files arnt fragmented on the drive

14.5gb large files in 27mins 14.7gb virtual partition on 16gb Sandisk Titanium Usb stick that passed test
15.1gb large files in 17mins 16gb virtual partition on 100gb hd that failed test

Nice any other features in this update?

Logged on got update, and now will likely never use USB Support.

Oh… I found Official HDD via Transfer Cable can be used only backup storage, games can’t be saved directory or installed to it.
I’m sad for this point and wish improvement for it.

When you select a game to play, it used to say “Play from Hard Drive” as the top option, but it no longer says it after the update? Is this correct? How do I know if I’m playing from the installed version on my hdd or directly from the disc this way?

Tried both a 1 gig usb flash drive, and a 100 gig usb drive. Both work (only up to 16 gig of course). Pretty good so far.

Hey Major, is there any chance you’ll be posting a full list of what has changed in this Spring update?

If you have a stick and use half of it for the Xbox, and you put media files on the “standard” partition, will the Xbox be able to see and play media files from the standard partition as well as using the Xbox-formatted partition for game saves at the same time?

We are getting closer to the shutdown of old xbox live titles on April 15th. Please give us information on what changes will be made afterward asap. Increased friends list and functionality are very high on my list of wants.

KiloOscarZulu, you can know it by top-right corner of menu.
Disc, HDD, USB Memory or Memory Unit is shown to tell where your game be loaded from.

Great!

@chiruno99 i hope we can, its hassel having to import it everytime etc

Thanks PiaCarrot jawp. However I did prefer it when it explicitly told me that I was playing from the hdd instead of just “Play Game”

Good question CyberKnight. I am thinking that only 360 portion would be visable once formatted, but that would be nice to have that option of having music on the rest of the drive I will check this later as well.

Thanks MS, downloading Blur Beta to usb flash drive.

The 16 GB limit kinda sucks… and I’m still not able to install DOAX2.

The 360 portion on the USB drive isnt a logical drive in PC terms, it’s just a bunch of Xbox 360 encrypted files of various sizes in a hidden folder. I sure hope the encryption is strong.. I’d hate to see rampant savegame and installed game haxing (wallhacks etc).

Well though the memory is small but I will be using this feature for any GoD games that I buy.

Too little too late, already moved my gaming needs to my 320 gb PS3 when I refused to be ripped off when I wanted to switch my 13 Gb HD for a bigger one. If I want DLC I have enough space and don’t need to plug in extra USB devices. My 360 is now collecting dust, waiting for the occasional exclusive (and only if they’re not also on PC). Oh, and that 320 Gb HD for my PS3 cost me much less of what an official MS 120 Gb costs. Hell, it cost me even less than an official 16 Gb USB drive will cost in my country…

To bad the new file management is only for moving files. I’d like to be able to copy files as well with the new system as it would make making a backup copy easier, or making a copy to take to another console & use when signed into live.

One new feature of the update it seems to store a list of installed
arcade games instead of re-scanning them every time you dash it

171 arcade games usually takes 20-30 secs on powerup its instant now
so they are in a stored text file or something now

Joecr, you can copy many files, but not all. User profiles cannot be copied (only moved) some game save cannot be copied, and definitely games you ripped to the hard drive cannot be copied. But I was able to copy most all my DLC, like Rock Band tracks, and game add-ons for RE5, ME2, and GTA IV.

Major the usb drives are formated fat32 with a 16k cluster size
on my 16gig drive access speed would be far better with a 64k cluster size

Can we move the Xbox 360 hidden folder to a pc
format it to a 64k cluster size then move the folder back

I presume it would be ok but dont want to try it without the ok just incase
i loose my data

Can you ask the people in the know plz if we are able to do that

Cheers

What exactly are the minimum recommended performance requirements? (i.e. read/write speed). That is pretty important info to know, especially if we’re going to pick up a new USB stick. The webpage FAQ does not provide any kind of quantitative information.

@DieLustigeWitwe I was saying that I wanted to copy multiple games at the same time, which you can’t do as you can only move multiple games at the same time. I covered what I’m talking about more over at http://forums.xbox.com/32031270/ShowPost.aspx.

@SirRadG
it seems to be a mix of access time and read/write speed

8gig class 6 sd card 19meg read write 0.whatever access time = pass
8gig pny usb stick 29meg read/write 0.whatever access time = pass
16gig Sandisk Titanium 24meg read/write 0.whatever access time = pass

8gig sony m2 card 12 meg read write 1ms access time = fail
Usb Hard Drive 30meg read/write 10ms access time = fail

@Shonk jr you must have moved your arcade games to your USB stick. I have a copy on the USB stick from copying each game one at a time & a copy of them on the HDD which is still slow to load them. This might get me to have multiple sticks with at least one per system if it is faster on the USB then the HDD.

@Joecr
i dont mean to load the games in
i mean to list the available games in Game Library
i have loads of games and on powerup or fresh load of the dash
it has to scan the games and there’s a delay in listing the available games

the new dash there is no scan it knows what games are installed
so lists them instantly

OK. I know this is a stupid question but why can’t you COPY your gamer profile to USB stick?

@LightAlexi – You can’t copy your profile anywhere. Your profile can only exist in one place.

If you go to a friend’s 360 and recover your profile there, then your profile only exists on your friend’s console. The copy that exists on your home 360 is invalidated, and you have to recover your profile at home to get it back (thus invalidating the one you recovered on your friend’s).

It’s because gamertags/accounts are supposed to be unique, you can’t share them. You can only log into them in one place at any one time.

It also helps if the storage device where you have your gamertag is lost or stolen (happened to me last year, when I had my profile on an MU). Recover your profile on any 360, and that rogue copy floating around out there is worthless to whatever scumbag has their hands on it. (But I’m not bitter, really.)

@Shonk jr I was trying to say that I still have the slow wait time on my console unless I move the games to the USB stick. Which I just tested.

right

i moved my whole drive to sticks
formated my 250gig
and moved them all back

they are on the drive now and its instant

Awesome feature for most people, but since I already had a 512MB memory card and 250GB on all three Xboxes, this update doesn’t help me much. What else does it do? lol

Thanks for adding this support. I look forward to utilizing it since I have 2 xbox’s. One for home and one for travel. Of which, I’m still waiting to find out if there is a work around to connecting an Xbox in a hotel room. The TOS screen proves to be ridiculous for me. I end up having to connect my laptop via wifi, then ethernet to my xbox, and bridge the connection.

I know this isn’t big for many people, but making a small change would make the system portable.
Thanks for the show and the blog. I always check and listen during my travels.

Jakeulas I can help!!! Maybe.

Not sure how complicated yor method is. Never tried that:

Another option: Connect with laptop or iphone, agree to TOS. You need to add that devices MAC address to your 360′s alternate MAC address under network. Then change the IP/Sub DNS to match either the laptop or Iphone’s automatically assigned numbers. This will give you a more direct connection. Hope this is of benefit!

Good Luck. Once I figured the Alt MAC I have successfully connected in hotels as long as the signal was good from the hotel.

@Shonk jr Then most likely my issue is that all my files are fragmented. I know it isn’t sexy but we need a tool to defragment the Xbox hard drive since it obviously is not a solid state drive.

OMG! I wish they told me this before I spend $30 bucks on a MS memory card. Oh well now I can use my 4GB USB Flash

What movies *COUGH COUGH* are you guys watching *COUGH COUGH*

Works really well, just transferred content in bulk, but wish there was a copy option so it doesn’t completely remove the stuff from the drive also I wish it didn’t sign you out when it did it. Might sell or give away my MU to someone who wants it and get me a bigger flash.

I don’t have an extra flash drive hanging around, or else I’d try these things myself, so at the risk of being Captain Obvious,

1) Can you install retail games to a flash drive, from the game DVD?
2) If so, wouldn’t the load times be noticeably faster than playing from the HDD?

@PoohBear – 1) Yes you can. 2) It depends on the speed of the flash drive.

Microsoft are not selling the transfer data migration kit anymore.. transfer from a 120GB to a 250GB will take a while with a USB 8/16GB stick..

WAIT JUST A DANG MINUTE!!!

GOOD NEWS TO REPORT.

Okay bare with me and follow the logic.

Microsoft allows for USB profiles, etc with April 4th update. L0llip0p on Major Nelson’s podcast says that now she can have 4 people each with a memory device and a profile. Currently 2 MUs and 2 USB drives. Good so far?

New 360 Slims may have the same feature minus the MUs, just with two additional USB drives. Therefore, 5 ports. One for wireless, and four for profiles. Theoretically, having 6 USB ports would make sense with no MUs.

Current bottleneck is the USB 2.0 which is capped at roughly 60mb/s. Lets say you have more than one flash drive, and you have a wireless USB attachment. The wireless device is using up some of the 60ms/s. Each flash is at certain points. BOTTLENECKS everywhere.

What is Microsoft to do? 3.0!

It has been reported that 3.0 is already in the works for Windows 7 (either finished or for a future update). So, Microsoft is aware. Why not implement 3.0 in new builds. 3.0 allows for legacy support at least for 2.0.

If Microsoft keeps the USB 2.0 it will have a major bottleneck when there is a wireless device and lets say 4 USB drives rocking. The 360 might not have a choice but for Microsoft to go 3.0.

Thoughts?

Seem to have encountered a bug. Left 4 Dead 2 wouldn’t let me install to the memory stick despite there being enough room as it wouldn’t fit on the HDD. Had to delete stuff on the HDD to get the install option, which then let me select the memory stick as a destination.
|
There was 3.2 GB space on the HDD (120GB drive) and 8 GB on the memory stick – the issue didn’t arise when I was installing R6 Vegas 2 with the same HDD space earlier and with 14.8 GB on the stick.

Awesome, thank you. Now if only you’d remove the artificial 16GB cap so I could attach a 512GB SSD flash drive.

@ KiloOscarZulu: Whenever you install a disc-based game to the HDD, it automatically defaults to playing it from the HDD if you start it up from the main Dashboard page. You don’t need to use the “Play from Hard Drive” option to do so.

This works just great. I have two xbox360s and it used to be a mission if I wanted to move between the two. I had to swap HDDs and the one isn’t always connected to Live so the update versions didn’t always match etc, etc. I updated them both today and swapping between the two is now a breeze. Great stuff! Well done!

@ Jakeulas: I also take a 360 on the road with me a lot to use in hotels since I travel a lot for work. I don’t usually have any problems connecting to the hotel’s internet for XBL, and I always use a wired ethernet connection. The only time I’ve ever had a connection problem was due to something with the hotel’s ISP, and I can usually fix that just by calling the ISP’s help number and have them enable the MAC address for my 360, and that almost always fixes any connection problems.
—
Something I noticed with this update is that there are certain 360 gamesaves that will transfer now that wouldn’t before the update, like Dante’s Inferno. However, I was disappointed to find that original Xbox gamesaves still have nothing but the “Delete” option available for them. Is there a possibility that this could be changed in a future update?

Great. Thanks for the update with USB support. All works just fine however as many have pointed out there could be more copy/move options to make life easier and save alot of time managing the drives. It took quite awhile to just copy all save games (almost 300 groups of games and saves to parse through) to the USB manually as the transfer options try to copy DLC as well which can’t fit on the USB.

One other frustrating point is that some saves cannot be copied and must be moved which doesn’t work if you are trying to make a backup of all saves. Below are the ones I ran across but I’m sure there are many more:
Bejeweled 2
Sacred 2
DOAX2
Death Tank
Hexic 2
KUF Circle of Doom
PDZ
Stranglehold
TH Proving Ground
The Beatles: Rock Band
Viva Pinata
Zuma
Hopefully this issue can be resolved so that a full backup is possible.

BloodOmen360, you’ve invested so much into playing 360 games (59K GS) that I highly doublt you would just dump the 360 due to an HD space issue and/or new HD cost issue. Even I didn’t want to pay for a new HD but managed to pickup a few for next to nothing. Also, if you were just going to dump the 360 and not use it anymore because of space constraints you could have just as easily gotten rid of old downloads and saves to free up space to continue playing. You obviously have a much bigger bug in your bonnet.

I am pleased with the addition of the ability to use USB sticks, though I am disappointed at the 16GB limit. I understand the want for people to buy the hard drives, but the main reason I want to use a large memory stick is for Rock Band DLC songs with my Profile to take to other people’s places. My DLC currently spans just over 15 gigs with a formatted 16gig USB stick allowing just over 13 gigs of music, thus making me have to remove songs in order to make this possible; this is not including Guitar Hero. Taking my xbox hard drive with is a pain, as the places i go to have their profiles on their hard drives and other DLC songs that I have not purchased, not to mention powering down the xbox and swapping drives when i need to leave, resetting calibration settings every place i take the drive to. Please raise the limit to at LEAST 32 gigs to accommodate the DLC for one game, but preferably to 64 gigs to allow all my DLC and games to be taken with me on one drive.

(I also have two xbox 360s, one i use as a portable/backup/XNA dev box, which the larger stick would be nice to keep all my DLC for all my games with me.)

Thanks @MACPH1ST0, but is that true? Before, when I launched an HDD installed game directly from the dashboard, sometimes it would run from the disc. I found that I had to wait several (very noticeable) seconds for the menu to refresh from Play Game to Play from Hard Drive. When the menu text isn’t explicitly saying Play from Hard Drive, how am I to know where it is actually running?

Bonus note : this update uncripples hard drives from previously banned consoles

No more locked saves!

I just threw my DOA4, Fable 2, and Rare saves on a thumbdrive.

@ KiloOscarZulu: After you install a game on your HDD, you can just go the “Play (game title)” tile in My Xbox, and it will automatically play it from your HDD when you press A at this tile. It might sound like it’s playing it off the disc at first, since it has to check that you have the disc in the drive before it will play, but yes, it defaults to playing off the hard drive if you have it installed. And yes I also noticed the lag in the time it takes for the “Play from Hard Drive” option to show up for installed games in the Game Details after you insert a different game disc. That’s due to the time it takes to access the data on your drive to recognize if the game is installed once you’ve inserted the disc. And also of course with original Xbox games, those will always be played off the disc since those can’t be installed on any storage devices.

finally…thankyou major nelson and xbox live, i actually have some space to download things now!!

I’ve been trying to apply this update all day. it gets half way then says it cant download. and it takes hours to get even there. what can i do?

Nice update, but I would also like to see support for external HDs added. With all the 360 can do anymore, you can never have to much space.

Next console generation, please don’t use laptop style HDs just to save some space. You can get so much more cheaper in a desktop sized drive. Having the drives be non-propritary could also be a big improvement.

“or you can purchase one of the official SanDisk 8 or 16 GB flash drives that are pre-configured and also come with a free month of LIVE.”

you’re really in touch with your fellow gamers there major, it’s uncanny how you know exactly what we want, like to pay twice as much for a memory stick just so it will have that cool Xbox logo on it.

what a tool!!!!!

here major, maybe if I bend over and drop my pants it’ll be easier for you!!

ive been trying to download this update for over 9 hrs now. anybody else having problems with it?

Try rebooting your modem and/or router. Also, I think there is a way to get updates via disk. Someone was asking about that on xbox.com forums. Not talking about new games. However, this seems risky…unless I missread the post. Good Luck.

I wish there was a way that I could download the update onto a USB and then update my xbox that way. I don’t have console access to internet right now because I am in Iraq and the only internet we have requires a login everytime you open a browser.

Excellent update, worked perfectly first time.

Good timing too, I just had to replace an old pro 20gig console with a new elite, and had to transfer the content etc.

@xBookoo Ninjax:
Watch this space: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/console/systemupdates.htm
.
You can download the update from there to a USB drive (yes, this works even before installing this update ) or burn it to a CD.

The only problem is, they haven’t updated that page yet with the current update (it’s still pointing to the Fall ’09 update).

And if you’re in Iraq as part of the military, thank you for your service.

Ever since I’ve downloaded the system update, I am having a very difficult time of connecting to EA servers on all of my EA games. Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone know what I can do to resolve this?

Also, the transfer option works with memory units.

$70 for the 16gb model? I wonder just how many more of these things would sell if they were not at least double the price of a 16gb drive w/o the 360 logo and a free month of Live? I know I’d buy one.

http://social.bioware.com/brc/1147639

The system update page (the one at the link CyberKnight provided above) has been updated with the USB memory update now, so anyone having problems getting it through their console can download it off that page now.

Th update blows!! I have to re-activate system with netflix almost every time I use it after the update. How did you guys manage to screw up netflix with a storage update?!? Typical Microsoft programing methods I guess. Don’t fix one thing without screwing up something else. I guess I need a roku.

I hope you guys realize that the max is actually 32GB (16GB per usb device). You can’t use no more than 2 USB devices at a time on the console.

@Major Nelson. So I have to ask? why the 16GB limitation. It seems trivial…

I’ve got to agree about other users’ frustration with the 6GB limit. Any technical reasons for this, or are you guys just dicks? >_>