Reddit reviews SanDisk Cruzer Blade 4GB USB 2.0 Flash drive- SDCZ50-004G

Memory cards are basically regular USB flash drives in a special case with a special connector. If you pop one open and remove the 8MB flash drive, you can put in a replacement drive that is (much) larger. Drives up to 4GB are supported.

I used a SanDisk Cruzer Blade 4GB USB Flash Drive.

Once the drive is in, you can use the stock Xbox dashboard to format it. This works on stock (unmodded) Xboxes too.

First of all, before anything else, the single most important thing to take care of is to identify which revision your Xbox is. If it is not a v1.6/v1.6b, you MUST open it and remove the clock capacitor IMMEDIATELY! If you don't, it will destroy the motherboard.

Now, onto your questions:

• 1. It will not affect the BIOS, but it does install new files to the HDD. Mainly, the new dashboard.
     
• 2. Yes. In fact, it is incredibly important that you do so because the DVD drives are very, very old and are failing. Try to preserve it by using it as little as possible and play everything from the HDD instead.
     
• 3. Modded or not, you can always swap it with another Xbox drive, but when it comes to using PC DVD drives, it's generally not possible, though there are some units that can be modified to work with the Xbox. But like I said, generally speaking, no, it has to be another Xbox drive.
     
• 4. Never seen one, but you can easily use a flash drive with the Xbox via a USB to Xbox adapter. The Xbox can't work with any flash drives that are over 4GB and the vast majority of them won't work at all. This one is confirmed to work though.
     
• 5. There are no drawbacks and the benefits are many. You can run homebrew applications, you can rip games to the HDD and can upgrade the HDD to up to 2TB, you can get all of the old Xbox Live DLC, you can mod games, you can play emulators, the region lock will be disabled so that you can play import games, you can null the EEPROM's HDD key, making it easier to save the Xbox if something ever happens to the HDD, etc., etc.
     
• 6. It's basically impossible for a softmod installation to go wrong. You have to be intentionally trying really hard to screw it up in order for it to screw up. You can potentially mess it up afterwards though, if you don't know what you're doing, but that's part of why nulling the EEPROM is a very good idea, as it will make it easier to fix the problem. Once the softmod is installed though, yes you can extract all of your game saves for safe keeping on your PC, or wherever else you'd want to keep them.
     
     Make sure you softmod with JCRocky5's Xbox Softmodding Tool though. Stay away from all the older softmods that you'll see being used in YouTube tutorials and the like. This one has a way more straightforward installation procedure and is much better overall. Plus it has a much cleaner look and is still regularly updated. Once you have installed this softmod, run the included NKpatcher Settings application and null your EEPROM's HDD key.
     
     If your Xbox is a 1.0-1.5, you should also upgrade to a hardmod, by doing a TSOP flash, which will replace the original BIOS with a much better one, making the Xbox even better than it is with just a softmod.

Damn these got expensive!

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Blade-drive-SDCZ50-004G/dp/B002U213Y8/

Guaranteed to work, so you don't have to guess and pull out all your hair. I've tried over 10 different ones, and this is the only one that works for me.

[SanDisk Cruzer Blade 4GB USB 2.0 Flash drive- SDCZ50-004G] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U213Y8?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf) works perfectly.

This is the flash drive that most of us use which is guaranteed to work.

I would really encourage you to think about upgrading the hard drive after you softmod it. Playing backed games on discs can get expensive since most of the games are 6gb+. Even a 80gb IDE drive would be a massive help!

The hardest part of modding is finding a flash drive that works.

What you will need.

Flash Drive (should work)

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Blade-drive-SDCZ50-004G/dp/B002U213Y8/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539785044&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=sandisk+cruzer+blade+4gb&dpPl=1&dpID=411nUnjz9eL&ref=plSrch


Usb to xbox controller port

https://www.amazon.com/Mcbazel-Xbox-Converter-Adapter-Original-Console/dp/B076HHZ41Z/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539784602&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=xbox+controller+to+usb+adapter&dpPl=1&dpID=41y27JttbeL&ref=plSrch#

Sata to IDE adapter (If you upgrade hard drive)


https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Drive-Optical-Adapter-Converter/dp/B00EOJNGC2/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1539784695&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=sata+to+ide+adapter&dpPl=1&dpID=51styPntUEL&ref=plSrch

80 connector IDE cable

https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Cable-Device-Conductor-inch/dp/B000I21Y28/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539784965&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=80+connector+IDE+cable&dpPl=1&dpID=41gZKwD33jL&ref=plSrch

Use the Rocky 5 mod and youtube tutorial and you will be fine!

Here you go. I used this one when I softmodded mine a couple weeks ago

I used this one less than a month ago and it worked without issue. You can tell by the "frequently bought together" section that other people have used this drive as well ;)

Try amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002U213Y8?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

When you can, this $5 drive might be a good investment. :-) If you lived nearby, I would give you one.

I keep the install image on a flash drive all the time, for rescue purposes.

Once you have some experience, read install from existing linux which for me was helpful in many ways.

Good luck and welcome.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U213Y8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Bought this recently and can confirm it's a 4gb USB that works great for softmodding.

Posting again even though I edited my post.... The Sandisk Cruzer Blade 4GB does indeed work.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002U213Y8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1FKZ2EJJ4DP2Q&coliid=ISXTSG04LWJD3&psc=1

Still for sale on Amazon too.