Accessing a USB hard drive attached to an Xbox 360?

[Feek]

If I plug an external USB hard drive into my Xbox 360 is it possible for me to attach to that hard drive and dump media onto it over the LAN?

Or am I on cloud cuckoo land for even thinking such a thing?

[Daz]

360 will only mount external volumes read only, so even if you could get to it you wouldnt be able to write to it :(

[Feek]

Hmmmmmm.

So the way to do it would be to get an enclosure that has both LAN and USB on it so that I can dump stuff via the LAN port onto it and then play it on the 360 via USB?

[Burble]

The enclosures that I've used with USB and ethernet have only allowed one connection to be used at a time. From memory the Icybox something-or-other shuts down the ethernet interface if the USB port is in use.

[leowyatt]

Aye probably the best thing but they aren't cheap :(

[Feek]

The enclosures that I've used with USB and ethernet have only allowed one connection to be used at a time. From memory the Icybox something-or-other shuts down the ethernet interface if the USB port is in use.

That's not a problem, I won't be dumping stuff onto the drive when the 360 is turned on so as long as it's clever enough to shut off the LAN when the 360 starts up and then enable it again once the 360 lets go of it then it'll be perfect.

[Mark]

The enclosures that I've used with USB and ethernet have only allowed one connection to be used at a time. From memory the Icybox something-or-other shuts down the ethernet interface if the USB port is in use.
While it's possible in theory (a NAS box needs some form of embedded processing capability) I expect most (if not all) enclosures of this type will be the same. Multiplexing requests over more than one interface requires more complex firmware and save the odd enthusiast there just isn't the demand.

[Wellington]

I thought that the usb harddrive has to be in a particular format (FAT32???? mebbe) for it to access it?? I not know... I iz stupid and tired.

[SidewinderINC]

Hmmmmmm.

So the way to do it would be to get an enclosure that has both LAN and USB on it so that I can dump stuff via the LAN port onto it and then play it on the 360 via USB?

Can you not just connect to it on the Xbox via the lan? Tis what I do with my PS3 + Icybox.

The enclosures that I've used with USB and ethernet have only allowed one connection to be used at a time. From memory the Icybox something-or-other shuts down the ethernet interface if the USB port is in use.

Depends on what type of Icybox.

[leowyatt]

I thought that the usb harddrive has to be in a particular format (FAT32???? mebbe) for it to access it?? I not know... I iz stupid and tired.

To be honest the 360 is quite nice with the formats it will read. Mine reads my HFS+ drive perfectly. Plus I can have large files on there with no issues.

[Feek]

The enclosures that I've used with USB and ethernet have only allowed one connection to be used at a time. From memory the Icybox something-or-other shuts down the ethernet interface if the USB port is in use.

Is this (http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/products/external_cases.php?we_objectID=5090) the one? It looks like it supports both SATA and IDE drives with both ethernet and USB ports.

[Feek]

To be honest the 360 is quite nice with the formats it will read. Mine reads my HFS+ drive perfectly. Plus I can have large files on there with no issues.

Leo, how did you format your external drive? I've accepted that I'm going to move my drive enclosure around so I formatted it in Leopard with Disk Utility in a 'Mac OS Extended (Journaled)' format, with the Partition Map Scheme set to GUID Partition Table.

I copied a load of video files to it then tried it on my 360 and it doesn't even recognise that there's a drive attacked so I suspect that I chose the wrong format/partition.

[leowyatt]

If you're on windows you need a program called MacDrive but on the mac I just formatted the drive using Disk Utility as you did.

On the 360 did it not show any USB devices?

[Feek]

Nope, it didn't even recognise there was a device connected. I may format it through windows using MacDrive, I've been doing some reading around and it appears that Disk Utility can be a bit hit and miss for it. Hopefully MacDrive will work through a VM.

[leowyatt]

You not got a windows machine you can use? I'll just connect my drive and tell you how I formatted it.

Feek make the drive Mac OS Extended don't journal it. That is how mine is formatted and works a treat.

[Chuckles]

Macs and PC's can both read FAT can't they?

[leowyatt]

Macs and PC's can both read FAT can't they?

most likely yes. Why you ask?

[Feek]

You not got a windows machine you can use? I'll just connect my drive and tell you how I formatted it.

Feek make the drive Mac OS Extended don't journal it. That is how mine is formatted and works a treat.

Not easily, at least not one with USB2 that will work at any kind of speed.

Macs and PC's can both read FAT can't they?

Yes, but I don't particularly want a 2Gb limit on file sizes which I will get with FAT.

I'm already installing MacDrive into my VM but I'll try it as you suggest first Leo and if that doesn't work then I'll do it through the VM.

/edit - I'm going Mac OS Extended and MBR as the Partition Map Scheme (I figure a better chance of the 360 reading that rather than GUID)

[leowyatt]

I'm pretty sure the Mac Os Extended format will do fine for you Feek. I didn't do anything else myself and my drive has been fine. To be honest I haven't used macdrive to format any disks myself but I know other people who have.

Fingers crossed it's already done :D

[Feek]

Yay, that worked as extended but not journalled, thanks Leo :D

All the downloaded avi stuff plays but the files I converted from HD using that slow application won't play though so I'll have to try that new one you found via a VM and see how well it works.

[leowyatt]

I'd recommend downloading version 23 (Sparta) and version 24. However extract both and replace the mp4box.exe file in the tools folder from version 24 as the vanilla sparta version errors out. But try it first and see how it goes, it will error out at the last second once the video has been converted.

You just click close and it carries on but it became a PIA for me as I was converting alot of stuff and kept having to go back everyone 10 minutes :(

[Burble]

Is this (http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/products/external_cases.php?we_objectID=5090) the one? It looks like it supports both SATA and IDE drives with both ethernet and USB ports.

I'm a bit late to the party, but yep, that's the one.

[Feek]

Ahahahahaha

It appears that they will play, even though the preview icon shows a no entry sign :)

[leowyatt]

Did the program work?

[Feek]

I didn't even try it - I had a call at work late this afternoon from LMF asking if she could watch one of the films I'd put on the drive. I laughed and said she could try and then I heard it playing in the background. That's with the original slowly converted version of the film. It plays perfectly just the preview icon shows a no entry sign as though it doesn't recognise the filetype.

[leowyatt]

Well give it a shot for any film from now on, no slow waiting :)

[Feek]

I'm running build 25 (squared away) now, it's gone through the splitting stage, the bar is all the way over to the right and it looks as though nothing is happening. I've got the logging on with the tool output selected and it's done nothing for 40 minutes :confused:

[Feek]

Looks like I'm not alone.

http://mkv.jakebillo.com/forum/index.php/topic,78.0.html

Gonna try the earlier version.

[leowyatt]

Now you come to mention it I had trouble with the latest build. 23 worked a treat for me :)

[Feek]

23 with the file from 24 is running through quite nicely now in my Fusion XP VM :)

[leowyatt]

let me know if the copy of MP4box.exe craps out at the end of the conversion

[Feek]

Nope, went straight through taking about an hour and a half for an 8Gb mkv with no errors :)
I shall report back tonight as to how well it plays.