In this post we will describe how you format your Xbox 360 hard drive to make it compatible with original Xbox games. The context of the post is that we bought a new 3rd party harddrive for our Xbox 360 s, and per default it does not support original Xbox games due to it is lacking a compatibility partition (which results in a “This original Xbox game has encountered a problem and can’t continue.” message). In this post, we will describe how to use the FatXplorer 3 tool to create such a partition, and to copy over the necessary files. To do this, you will need to connect your Xbox 360 hdd to your computer using a SATA to USB solution.
Step 1: Download FatXplorer 3
FatXplorer 3 essentially allows you to format your Xbox 360 hard drive, create the necessary partitions, and copy over the required files using e.g. Windows explorer. The advantage in using FatXplorer 3 is compatibility with Windows 7/10. You can download the tool from here:
https://fatxplorer.eaton-works.com/
Install the program and if needed, Microsoft Net Framework.
Step 2: Download compatibility files
Download the compatibility files:
https://api.eaton-works.com/download/FATXplorer/MiscFiles/Backwards%20Compatibility%20Files.zip
This zip archive contains two set of files: 1. Files needed for the compatibility partition to work. 2. A title update that you will transfer to your content partition once it is formated. Unzip the archive to a folder on your computer.
Step 3: Format your hdd in FatXplorer
This process is rather straight forward, and the tool will guide you through the process. Choose Formatting tools -> Xbox 360 HDD and just press next. Don’t add any additional files during this process.
Step 4: Add the files using Windows file explorer
In FatXplorer, go to Devices, and choose to mount the compatibility partition in Windows explorer.
From the files you downloaded in Step 2, add the “Compatibility” folder to the root of the partition.
Next, unmount this partition, and choose to mount the content partition.
Create the following file structure in the partition:
\Content\0000000000000000\FFFE07D2\000B0000
Add the “tu20075c00_00000000” file from the April 2018 Title Update to this folder.
Step 5: Play original Xbox games!
Next, insert the hdd in your Xbox 360, and enjoy your original Xbox games!
