HDD-transfer-kit
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Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit out of stock [Update: back in stock!]
[Update 11/12/09: Well, that didn't take long. Though Microsoft may not have known yesterday, Hard Drive Transfer Kits are back in stock today! As in, right now. So, if you need one, or had been told to "use your own hard drive" you may want to give 'em a call at 1-800-4MY-XBOX and get yourself squared away.] If the recent price drop has encouraged you to hedge your bets and replace your aging, bound-to-die Xbox 360 with a quiet, new, Jasper-equipped 120GB Elite, you'll want to pay attention. As relayed to us by tipster Paolo, and confirmed by a Microsoft representative, the Hard Drive Transfer Kit – which is currently available for eligible consumers by calling 1-800-4MY-XBOX – is "out of stock at the moment" and the company does "not know when inventories will be restored." Of course, it's "working on resolving this shortage as quickly as possible" but in the interim, if you want to get data of your old 'box and you didn't buy the 120GB drive at retail (which comes with the HDD transfer kit) Microsoft Support recommends that you "use your old hard drive." Not the most elegant solution, especially if you're trying to unload that old Xbox. We've asked Microsoft to clarify when we might expect the Kits to be restocked and we'll share with you if and when we hear back.
Elite owners: order HDD Transfer Kit for free
As promised, Elite owners looking to peel the data from their old, antiquated Xboxen and stick it onto their shiny new Elites will be able to order a free HDD Transfer Kit through Xbox.com. An important part of that task includes having a page to order it from! Unfortunately, there's no easy-breezy "webpage" to place the order through, instead, you'll need to download a PDF, print it out, fill it out with all sorts of serial numbers, and mail it to Zionsville, Indiana where a team of futuristic, underground refugees will decide if you qualify for the Transfer Kit ... ... which we might add "is a limited time offer, subject to product availability, and subject to change without notice." Well, at least it's free. [Via X3F] PDF - Microsoft Xbox 360 Data Migration Kit Order Form
Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360 Hard-Drive Transfer Kit
While we're going through the manual that came with the Hard-Drive Transfer Kit, we though we'd share some pics of the little devil. It connects to the underside of the Xbox 360 hard drive and to the console via USB. This kit did not come with the Xbox 360 Elite. Microsoft anticipates most customers purchasing the Elite will be new customers; however, if you're upgrading, they'll provide a free Hard-Drive transfer kit redeemable at Xbox.com. While that's working (estimated time: 42 minutes), here's some info from the process: You need to snap your 20GB drive onto the Elite, and plug the 120GB drive into the Transfer Kit (yeah, we thought it was the other way around at first, too) Despite the image on the CD sleeve and software screen, the manual says "be sure to connect the transfer cable to the back port, not a port on the front of the console." This process does not copy your 20GB hard drive; it moves that data over to the 120GB drive and erases the 20GB drive The preloaded content on the Elite will be erased and replaced with your old data (not Hexic! Not again! Our refurbed 20GB drive didn't have Hexic on it ... and now the Elite won't either) XBLM and XBLA data will be moved, but the licenses "are tied to your console not your hard drive." This means you will only be able to play/watch those items while connected to Xbox Live. (Update: this only applies to switching consoles -- users upgrading to the 120GB drive on their existing console shouldn't encounter this shortcoming) Movie rentals will not be moved at all and will need to be watched before transferring data. Update: And we're done. The update took just under 40 minutes, and we needed to re-enter the network security settings for the 360's wireless adapter, but otherwise it went smooth enough. Our save games are intact and operable, our XBLA games are intact and semi-operable (as long as we're signed onto XBL, otherwise they behave like demos) and, whaddya know, Hexic remained on the drive! %Gallery-2823%
