How to Backup Xbox 360 Games – 3 Easy Steps
Backing Up Your XBox Gaming System
If you have invested money in an Xbox Gaming System and all the games to go with it, you know that you have spent quite a bit. How do you protect your investment? The first thing you should consider is backing up your system. As with a computer, it is important that you back up your Xbox and the games you have in your system, in case you were to experience problems with your system which causes loss of your games or important pieces that drive your Xbox System. Think of the back up as a small insurance policy. Now, let’s learn how to back up your Xbox System.
Flash Drive Work Best
Your Xbox 360 System allows you to use a USB flash drive for back up. To back your system up using a flash drive, you will need to purchase a USB drive with at least 1 gigabyte of storage capacity on it. The bigger, the better, so larger than 1 gigabyte would assure that you have enough space to hold your XBox backup.
Format the USB Flash Drive for Compatibility
You will need to format the drive to use it with the Xbox. To format the USB flash drive, you will use the FAT32 from Windows, which will allow you to format up to a 16 gigabyte drive. You will plug the flash drive into your USB port on your Xbox 360. Go to the “My Xbox” choice in your “System Settings” and choose “Memory.” Select the “USB Storage Device” choice. Since your USB drive should be dedicated to just back up for your Xbox 360, you will only select the option “Configure Now.” You do not want to partially configure your flash drive. Do not customize your format. You will be asked to confirm that all of the contents of the flash drive can be erased and you will select“Confirm or Yes.” The flash drive will go through a series of tests by the system formatting it prior to the format process beginning. If the flash drive is not large enough an error message will appear on your screen. As soon as the format is complete, the flash drive will appear in your list as a “Storage Device.”
Back Up Your System
You can now back up your entire system onto the flash drive by using the “Copy” and “Move” functions for one item at a time and the “Transfer” function for more than one item at a time. To copy items, select the “System Settings” option in “My Xbox.” You will now select “Memory.” Choose the storage device, “Hard Drive,” that you are going to back up from the choices. Select the “Transfer Content” option to select all of the contents on the hard drive. Be prepared for the process to take several hours to complete, as there is a lot to back up on your system. You will not be able to use the Xbox Dashboard while you are completing this process. If the process gets interrupted while you are backing up, you can restart the process and the process will continue from the point where it was interrupted.
Now you are ready to back up your system. You made an investment in your system and your games. Protect your investment by backing it up.
Flash Drive Work Best
Your Xbox 360 System allows you to use a USB flash drive for back up. To back your system up using a flash drive, you will need to purchase a USB drive with at least 1 gigabyte of storage capacity on it. The bigger, the better, so larger than 1 gigabyte would assure that you have enough space to hold your XBox backup.
Format the USB Flash Drive for Compatibility
You will need to format the drive to use it with the Xbox. To format the USB flash drive, you will use the FAT32 from Windows, which will allow you to format up to a 16 gigabyte drive. You will plug the flash drive into your USB port on your Xbox 360. Go to the “My Xbox” choice in your “System Settings” and choose “Memory.” Select the “USB Storage Device” choice. Since your USB drive should be dedicated to just back up for your Xbox 360, you will only select the option “Configure Now.” You do not want to partially configure your flash drive. Do not customize your format. You will be asked to confirm that all of the contents of the flash drive can be erased and you will select“Confirm or Yes.” The flash drive will go through a series of tests by the system formatting it prior to the format process beginning. If the flash drive is not large enough an error message will appear on your screen. As soon as the format is complete, the flash drive will appear in your list as a “Storage Device.”
Back Up Your System
You can now back up your entire system onto the flash drive by using the “Copy” and “Move” functions for one item at a time and the “Transfer” function for more than one item at a time. To copy items, select the “System Settings” option in “My Xbox.” You will now select “Memory.” Choose the storage device, “Hard Drive,” that you are going to back up from the choices. Select the “Transfer Content” option to select all of the contents on the hard drive. Be prepared for the process to take several hours to complete, as there is a lot to back up on your system. You will not be able to use the Xbox Dashboard while you are completing this process. If the process gets interrupted while you are backing up, you can restart the process and the process will continue from the point where it was interrupted.
Now you are ready to back up your system. You made an investment in your system and your games. Protect your investment by backing it up.