xbox 360 blackSo you have connected your original HDD to your computer to use Xplorer360, either to upgrade to a bigger HDD or to transfer/delete some data. Then suddenly your XBOX 360 wasn’t able to recognize it when you connected it back to your console. Keep your cool as there is a way to fix this. Do not blame Xplorer360 because the actual problem is in your PC’s motherboard.

 

HPA (Host Protected Area), an area of the hard drive where the hardware manufacturer can store data, is created when you connect your HDD to your PC. Although this doesn’t occur with all motherboards, there are still chances that you might encounter this problem. If you try to connect this HDD to other PC’s, then you may fail to restore its contents because the 1st HPA on the first PC is still active. HPA affects the LBA (Logical Block Addressing) size, so your Xbox 360 detects it as a smaller HDD, hence leaving the HDD unrecognized by the console.

 

Things you need:

Your Xbox 360 plugged using SATA

Computer with SATA ports

WinHex (Registered Version)

MHDD (a freeware program for low-level HDD diagnostics)

 

After getting your tools, follow the simplified steps below:

 

  1. Plug the original 20GB HDD to the computer.
  2. Turn on your PC. In BIOS, select boot from CD first.
  3. Restart your computer. Boot off MHDD bootable disc.
  4. If MHDD doesn’t launch automatically, type MHDD and press enter (when using a USB boot disk type).
  5. Once MHDD is booted, it will identify the hard drives connected to your computer. (Ex.
  6. Type in the number that matches to your 360 HDD and hit Enter. (Ex. 4)
  7. A blue prompt will appear in the screen: MHDD> Type: NHPA ,then press enter.
  8. A message will appear: “Do you want to set Native LBA address (y/N)?” Select “y”. “Native Maximum LBA address: 39070079 Continue (y/N)?” Choose “y” again.
  9. Another message will appear:  “Fail. Try to re-power HDD. Done.”
  10. Disconnect the power cord from the 360 unit and wait for 10 seconds before reconnecting it.
  11. Type NHPA and press Enter.  “Do you want to set Native LBA address (y/N)?” Enter “y”.
  12. A message will appear that says “Working … Done.”
  13. Disconnect the power and cable cords (in that specific order) from the computer and plug it to your XBOX 360.

 

Voila! You’ve got your HDD back without formatting.