Rumor: Cable to transfer HDD data to Elite 360

by Dustin Burg { Mar 21st 2007 at 1:00PM }

True, the rumored black Xbox 360 Elite has yet to be officially confirmed, but we figured we'd add some more rumor logs onto our fanboy fire. Yesterday, Ben over at ars technica expressed his concern for how to transfer HDD data from his old 360 to the new Elite 360 if he were to purchase one. Not soon after Ben received a tip from a person who works at a large video game distributor (who wanted to remain anonymous) and divulged an answer to the data transfer problem ... an included cable. The tipster went on to say that,

"MS has told us that the data will be transferred via some sort of cable that will be included with the unit. The cable will also be included w/ the 120GB drive that will be sold separately (price TBD)."

Again, this is a whole basket full of rumor berries, but if it were true would it sway your opinion on a new Elite 360 purchase? A HDD to HDD data transfer cable would be a great accessory anyway and with the release of a 120GB HDD one would think it'd be a no brainer. Or maybe we're all just geniuses.

[Via Digg]

Tags: 120 gb hd, 120gb, 120GbHd, black, cable, data transfer, DataTransfer, elite, hd, xbox 360 black, xbox 360 elite, Xbox360Black, Xbox360Elite

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

PlayaCDubb @ Mar 21st 2007 1:09PM

Even if they included the supposed cable it still wont solve the problem. Microsoft would still have to rewrite there xbl download policy and make the paid downloads not register to the 360. So even if you did transfer everything to the new drive the only way your paid downloads would work would be if you were connected to xbl 24/7 and I'm sure not everyone is able or wants to do this.

qbix @ Mar 21st 2007 1:13PM

Will I have to call Xbox support to have them credit yet another newly created silver account with the points necessary to repurchase all my live arcade titles which are attached to my 360?

qbix @ Mar 21st 2007 1:17PM

@PlayaCDubb: LOL, beat me to it! I'm glad I'm not the only one who is annoyed by this. I mean, I paid in full for these games so I should be able to play them offline on a new system.

Josh @ Mar 21st 2007 1:18PM

If MS is smart then they wouldn't release the Elite system until they could put wifi into it for free, include HDMI, include a 120 GB HD, use a quieter DVD drive (a slot drive would be super cool) and use the 65nm chips all for $350 and drop the regular premium to $300 then get rid of the core all together. That all seems doable seeing it's been out for over a year and would absolutely destroy anything the PS3 has to offer.

John @ Mar 21st 2007 1:29PM

Agree with 1 and 2. I spent 2 hours calling tech support to refund $15 for a refurb, and that is $15 I still haven't received.

Stupid DRM. If anything, DRM makes me want to pirate more, not less.

SuicideNinja @ Mar 21st 2007 1:33PM

"use a quieter DVD drive (a slot drive would be super cool)"

Slot drives are over-rated...I hate them on my Wii and PS3. They are more likely to have problems than the old tray loading method. Not to mention they let more dust through. I guarantee that if the Blu-ray laser doesn't go all DRE on me (like a dozen PS2s did), then the slot loading mechanism will be the first to go.

Anyway...I've moved to other 360's without a problem...I don't see what the big deal is. Unless you're talking Silver accounts...because I don't know.

SuicideNinja @ Mar 21st 2007 2:16PM

KineticOnline @ Mar 21st 2007 2:08PM

The DRM isnt effected by switching the hdd, its locked to the console.

frodo @ Mar 21st 2007 4:10PM

If msft came up with a way where I could transfer everything seamlessly to the new hard drive without any catches or hangups, then I would certainly drop the moneys for a new one. If not, no dice.

max @ Mar 21st 2007 3:32PM

the only reason i'd want the elite is for the quieter dvd drive

Ninegauger @ Mar 21st 2007 2:35PM

I don't need a bigger hard-drive yet. Call when there's a smaller, quieter Xbox 360.

DjDATZ @ Mar 21st 2007 2:43PM

nice...just my problem with getting the new HDD.

i havent had any of the problems you guys are describing with the xbla titles...and i cant wait for this new hdd so i dont have to worry about deleting movies i've downloaded...

moore @ Mar 21st 2007 2:58PM

Those movies expire anwyays, so what do you care about keeping them for?

As far as content, who cares? the cable is for SAVEGAMES first and formost, you can re-download all your bought stuff lickety split.

I know your purchased stuff will want you to be online to sue it if on a new xbox, but who cares? it's designed to be online 24/7 anyways.

qbix @ Mar 21st 2007 3:04PM

@SuicideNinja: I have a gold account, I purchased a few live arcade games, my 360 failed, returned it (kept hard drive), got a new system from MS, all my arcade titles are now demos unless I am connected to Live. So basically, half of my license to play the games which I paid for in full is permanently gone.

In addition, it's no longer possible for additional accounts on my 360 can play the full versions of my live arcade games even if they connect to Live. So, you can imagine why a lot of us are concerned about buying an additional 360.

MadKmkze @ Mar 21st 2007 3:16PM

The bad thing about the whole upgrade is that if people wanted to upgrade that they would most likely trade in the system they already have before purchasing the new one therefore not being able to transfer their data to the new hard drive. True you could trade it in without the hard drive but then thats money your losing and once you transfer the data most people will just toss the old hard drive to the side and not use it anymore. It's just one of those things your not sure about until everything is final. So we will have to wait on Microsoft to see if any of this is true.

Pasha @ Mar 21st 2007 6:48PM

If it has HDMI, i will be returning my existing xbox to Best Buy under the protection plan and I'll be getting this. Although, i am pretty partial to the white 360. So, if all the rumors are true, and they will eventually replace the premium with 120GB HDMI version, i might just have to wait
Then again, there's the whole "limited edition" geek factor.
Decision, decisions.

Ogden2k @ Mar 22nd 2007 8:57AM

I wonder if this will resolve the issue with not being able to copy/transfer game saves that are tied to your HDD for example, Viva Pinata. That's what would hold me back from not purhasing the new console as I do want it for the HDMI.

Brandon Johnson @ Mar 21st 2007 4:31PM

Thats good to hear. That was the only thing I was concerned with if I decided to get the 120 GB hard drive.

Kid Pyrrhic @ Mar 22nd 2007 9:24AM

KineticOnline hit the nail on the head. The problems with the DRM has nothing to do with the hard drives. It has to do with the content being tied to a particular console.

Lorul2 @ Mar 21st 2007 5:55PM

Uhmm...

All you 360 fans in this comment section already know the newer quieter drives are already out for the 360; As long as your manufactured date is after Nov 2006.

But all you 360 fans already knew that...

Lorul2 @ Mar 21st 2007 5:59PM

BTW

This is some magic cable...What is it SATA, USB, Magic? What will be used to tell the 20 GB drive to transfer the data to the 120 GB drive? A PC, A 360; do you need windows XP or can you use a MAC? This cable thing sounds fishy..

htiawe @ Mar 21st 2007 6:39PM

The cable isnt whats interesting, its whats in the spring update, thats whats interesting. IF this cable rumor is true then the update should contain some kind of function to backup your harddrive to another 360, which would open up for other uses. Could it be used to back up to a PC or a removable drive? Can it be used to connect to the 360? But this is all IF all of this is true and such functionality is included in the update.

Many ifs...

Gamertag: GOPAL892005 @ Mar 21st 2007 7:13PM

why cant Microsoft release a 120GB HDD which sits underneath the old 20GB - then u can have two HDD's sitting ontop of each other & 120/130GB free scace - no transfer required
[the 20GB's 'sata' connector can pass through the top of the 120GB HDD]

Deezul @ Mar 21st 2007 7:16PM

What I'd like to see in a game console is one that can hold more than one disc! Call me lazy, but it's a pain to have to keep swapping out games when you usually have 2-3 that are your "regulars." Why not let me load the console up with them, and then swap as necessary? A slot loading drive with room for multiple discs wouldn't make it that big; there are in dash car stereos that take multiple discs.