Xbox One S Drive Upgrade Is Needed
The Xbox One S comes in different storage configurations, including 500GB, 1TB and 2TB (in some special editions). As games continue to grow in size, some AAA titles can take up to 110GB without 4K enhancements. This means your storage can fill up quickly if you want to install multiple games. Eventually, you'll receive a low storage warning, and you'll be forced to uninstall a game after completing it.
It is inconvenient to uninstall the finished game to free up space, especially when you need to do this again and again. To prevent this bad experience, the best way is to upgrade the Xbox One S hard drive to a larger one, preferably an SSD disk.
Two Ways of Xbox Hard Drive Upgrades
When facing storage issues, one of the first solutions to consider is using cloning methods to upgrade your Xbox One S’s internal hard drive or SSD. This is often the most effective way to resolve insufficient disk space.
Additionally, the Xbox One S supports external hard drives and allows you to expand your storage by connecting a drive of at least 256GB via its USB 3.0 ports.
By comparison, the first way is better except for ultimately voiding your warranty. While the second way always carries some processing overhead and consumes a lot of CPU. Besides, the external hard drive is more vulnerable due to sudden shock or fall. In sum, select a way depending on your needs and follow the steps in each method.
Way 1: Xbox One S Replace Hard Drive
To directly replace the Xbox One S internal hard drive or SSD, you need to prepare the best Xbox hard drive clone software - AOMEI Backupper Professional. It comes with the following standout features:
💛 Disk Clone: It will clone all the games on the Xbox One S drive and keep its original structure. 💛 Intelligent Clone: It clones only used sectors, thus you can easily clone larger drive to smaller SSD. 💛 Edit Partitions: It resizes partitions on the destination disk, thus avoiding unallocated space after cloning to a larger drive. 💛 SSD Alignment: It helps to accelerate the writing and reading speed of the SSD drive and extend its lifespan.
How to start the cloning process? First of all, download this software and install it on your computer. For server users, try the AOMEI Backupper Server.
Easiest hard drive clone software for Windows PC.
Then, prepare a larger HDD or SSD for Xbox One S internal hard drive upgrade. You also need some extracting tools for removing and installing hard drives on Xbox One S. Now follow these steps to transfer all data from the old disk to the new disk:
Note: Please backup the important data on the destination disk first, because all the data on the destination disk will be wiped out after the cloning.
1. Take the Xbox One S drive out and connect it to your computer. Also, connect the larger HDD or SSD to your computer.
2. Run AOMEI Backupper and select Disk Clone at the right side of the Clone tab.
3. Choose the Xbox One S hard drive to clone and click Next.
4. Select the larger HDD or SSD as the target disk to store data from the Xbox One S hard drive and click Next.
5. Click Edit Partitions and choose Add unused space to all partitions or Manually adjust partition size to resize partitions and avoid unallocated space. You can also convert disk types (MBR and GPT) with it.
Notes: ◑The Sector by sector clone option makes the Edit Partitions unavailable. If the target disk is larger than the source disk, don't use it unless you want to clone all sectors on the source disk. ◑If the target disk is an SSD, check the SSD Alignment option the boost SSD disk performance.
6. Press Start Clone to begin Xbox One S SSD upgrade or HDD upgrade.
After cloning, install the larger HDD or SSD onto the Xbox One S console, then you will find that there is more free space to store data on the Xbox One S.
Way 2: Xbox One S Add External Hard Drive
1. Connect the prepared external hard drive to the Xbox One S and make sure it can be recognized. Then, go to Settings > System > Storage. Then, you will see the internal and external drives here.
2. Select the external drive, scroll down to the option Format and select Format storage device.
3. Completely shut down your game console and restart.
4. Move games and apps.
- Launch My Games & Apps, select the installed games from the internal drive, and press the Menu button on the controller.
- Click Manage Game > Move all or Move to start the migration process.
Now, your Xbox One S will work as smoothly as before.
FAQs about Xbox One S Hard Drive Upgrade
1. Do I need to reinstall my games after upgrading the hard drive?
If you're upgrading the internal drive, you may need to reinstall your games unless you use a cloning method to transfer the data. External drives allow you to move games between devices without reinstallation.
2. Can I upgrade my Xbox One S storage without voiding the warranty?
Upgrading the internal hard drive may void the warranty, but using an external hard drive does not affect your warranty.
3. Is there a specific type of hard drive I should use for the Xbox One S?
The Xbox One S is compatible with both 2.5-inch internal hard drives and SSDs, and external drives that are USB 3.0 compatible. It's recommended to use a high-performance SSD for faster load times.
To Sum Up
Xbox One S drive upgrade is the best solution for resolving low disk space warnings, as it provides more storage rather than just freeing up space. You can choose to upgrade the internal hard drive or SSD, or add an external drive for extra capacity. The internal upgrade is generally recommended, as external hard drives can be less reliable, use more CPU resources, and may not perform as consistently as internal drives.
In addition to the clone features, AOMEI Backupper is embedded with the backup and restore features. You can use it to create a disk image or system image and restore your computer when problems occur. Why not try it now?
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