Using USB flash drives with Xbox 360

You can format and use a USB flash drive as an Xbox 360 storage device and store up to 2 terabytes (TB) of content.

To use a USB flash drive with your Xbox 360 console, it must meet these requirements:

• A minimum of 1 GB of storage capacity
• Windows FAT32 file system format

Note If you formatted the device in Windows using FAT16 or NTFS, you might be able to reformat it in Windows using FAT32. Macintosh and Linux formats do not work.

Warning Using a USB flash drive that does not meet the minimum requirements might significantly affect the performance of your console.

Before you format a USB flash drive as an Xbox storage device, make sure you have the latest console software update. See How to get a new Xbox 360 update.

Note If you get the message "Can’t configure," the USB flash drive does not meet the USB minimum requirements.

To format a USB flash drive, follow these steps:

1. Plug a USB flash drive into a USB port on the front of your console.
2. Press the Guide button  on your controller.
3. Select settings, and then select System Settings.
4. Select Storage or Memory.
5. Select USB Storage Device.
6. Select either Configure Now or Customize to format the USB flash drive for Xbox content.

Note If the USB flash drive doesn’t have at least 1 GB of space available, the options on this screen won’t be available. In this case, use a different USB flash drive.

• Configure Now: Erases the USB flash drive and configures 2 TB for Xbox storage. Select Configure Now, and then confirm that you want to erase all data on the USB flash drive.
• Customize: Configures a portion of the USB flash drive (up to 2 TB).

1. Select Customize.
2. Move the Reserved Storage slider to select the amount of space you want for Xbox storage.
   Note 512 MB is reserved for system use.

3. Select Configure.
4. The console tests your USB flash drive to make sure it works correctly with the console. If your USB flash drive passes this test, you can use it.
   
   Note If you use USB flash drives rated below the recommended speed, you might experience reduced game performance and quality. To cancel and try another USB flash drive, select Cancel.
   
   
5. Your USB flash drive is ready to use and will appears in the Storage Devices list as USB Storage Device.

Now you can use your USB flash drive like any other Xbox storage device. For information on how to copy and move content between storage devices, see Copy, move, or delete Xbox saved games, profiles, and avatar items. You can only plug two USB flash drives into your Xbox 360 console at once.

Note You can’t view or access Xbox 360 information stored on your USB flash drive on a computer.

To see what other users are saying about these topics or to ask your own questions, go to our Xbox Support Forums – Xbox 360 Console & Accessories.

Please note that Xbox Support Forums content is available only in English. To translate Xbox Support Forums content into another language, paste the URL into an online translation tool such as Bing Translator.