How to Perform Xbox Series X SSD Upgrade: Step-by-Step

This article details how to upgrade the Xbox Series X SSD, its benefits, and addresses common user concerns. Let's dive in!

Miya

By Miya Updated on December 11, 2024

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User Case: Can You Upgrade the SSD in An Xbox Series X

“Hey everyone! I'm thinking about upgrading the SSD on my Xbox Series X for more storage space. I love downloading a ton of games and some of them are pretty huge! Has anyone done this before? Any recommendations on which SSD to get, and how tricky is the process? Also, does it impact game performance or warranty in any way? Thanks!” 

In fact, performing your Xbox Series XSSD upgrade can definitely give you more storage space for all those big games. For compatibility and ease, you can buy the official Seagate Storage Expansion Card. It's super easy to install, just plug it into the dedicated slot on the back of your console. There’s no impact on performance, and it won’t void your warranty since it’s an officially supported accessory.

Xbox One S

But if you want to store and run games more economically, then I recommend performing your Xbox Series XSSD upgrade, which is more economical and convenient for backing up your games and the game runs more stably, while also allowing you to run every game you want to play, such as Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games.

It is not difficult to do this. You only need to use the professional disk cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Pro to do it easily! Below I will show you the complete steps in a few steps, so that you can seamlessly enjoy a wonderful gaming journey! Let's take a look together. You can also click here to see how to replace Xbox One X hard drive with SSD.

👉Use Newbie-friendly Disk Clone Tool to Upgrade SSD

How to Perform Xbox Series X SSD Upgrade

One cost-effective and permanent solution to expand your Xbox's storage is to replace its hard drive with a higher-capacity SSD. For this, we recommend using AOMEI Backupper Pro, which streamlines the cloning process with its "Disk Clone" feature.

Easily achieve this goal of Series XSSDreplacement by cloning your data to a new SSD, ensuring all your information is transferred seamlessly. This new SSD can be immediately utilized and even plugged into another system if needed. By cloning your Xbox console's existing storage to a new SSD, you can quickly resume playing without missing a beat.

Use Newbie-friendly Disk Clone Tool to Upgrade SSD

To directly replace the Xbox Series X internal hard drive or SSD, you'll need the best Xbox Series X hard drive cloning software—AOMEI Backupper Professional. This software offers you two options to upgrade Xbox S hard drive :

  • Disk Clone: Clones all the games on the Xbox Series X while maintaining its original structure.
  • Partition Clone: Allows you to clone partitions from one hard drive to another, which is especially useful when cloning the Xbox Series X drive to a new HDD or an SSD larger than 2TB. Ensure the User Content partition is at the end to avoid system boot failures.

AOMEI Backupper Professional clones only used sectors, enabling you to clone large drives to smaller drives or SSDs without boot issues. Additionally, it can enhance the reading and writing speed of the SSD and extend its lifespan.

To start the Xbox Series XSSD upgrading process, download and install AOMEI Backupper Professional on your computer. For server users, consider using AOMEI Backupper Server.

AOMEI Backupper

Easiest Windows clone software for personal use.

Prepare a larger HDD or SSD to upgrade the Xbox Series X SSD without losing data. Connect it to your new computer and ensure it's recognized. You'll also need tools for removing and installing hard drives for the Xbox Series X.

Note: Back up important data on the destination disk first, as all data on it will be wiped out after cloning.

Step 1. Remove the original Xbox Series X hard drive (refer to iFixit's tutorial) and connect it to your computer. Select Disk Clone from the Clone tab.

Disk Clone

Notes: The Professional version of AOMEI Backupper supports cloning all data and system disks, including MBR to MBR, MBR to GPT, GPT to GPT, and GPT to MBR. Ensure both disks use the same disk type (MBR or GPT) if it’s a system disk. Check the disk type in Disk Management under the Volumes tab.

Disk Partition Style

Step 2. Choose the Xbox Series X hard drive to clone.

Select Disk

Step 3. Select the larger HDD or SSD as the target disk for the Xbox Series X data.

Choose Destination Disk

Step 4. (Optional) Click Edit Partitions to resize partitions and avoid unallocated space. You can also convert disk types (MBR and GPT) here. This requires upgrading to the Professional edition first.

  • Copy without resizing partitions: Keeps the original partition size.
  • Add unused space to all partitions: Allocates unallocated space to each partition on the target disk.
  • Manually adjust partition size: Allows you to extend unallocated space to any partition on the destination disk.
  • Convert the destination disk from MBR to GPT: Converts the partition style of the destination disk to ensure secure boot when cloning GPT to MBR or vice versa.

Copy Without Resizing

Note: The "Sector by sector clone" option makes Edit Partition unavailable. Only use it if the target disk is larger than or equal to the source and you want to clone all sectors.

Step 5. Check the SSD Alignment option to boost SSD performance. Then, press Start Clone to upgrade the Xbox Series X hard drive.

Start Clone

After cloning, replace the Xbox Series X hard drive with the larger HDD or SSD. You’ll now have more free space on your Xbox Series X. These steps also apply to upgrading other Xbox Series X drives.

Besides cloning, AOMEI Backupper also serves as a backup and restore software for Windows 7/8/10/11/XP/Vista. With it, you can back up your Xbox Series X hard drive and restore data to another hard disk, offering an alternative to cloning.

Disk Backup

Benefits of Upgrading Xbox Series X SSD

Why Upgrade Your Xbox Series X/S Storage? The answer is simple: more storage allows you to install more games and enjoy smoother gameplay.

  • More Storage for More Games: Modern games can take up tens or hundreds of gigabytes. With only 1TB on the Series X and 512GB on the Series S, upgrading lets you install more games and play anytime.
  • Optimized Performance: Xbox Series X/S consoles use Xbox Velocity Architecture for faster load times and smoother gameplay. Expanding storage with a compatible device ensures all games benefit from this technology.
  • Better Save Management: More storage means you won’t need to constantly uninstall and reinstall games based on what you’re playing. It offers greater flexibility with game save data and installations.
  • Next-Gen Game Performance: Xbox Series X/S-specific games are optimized for the consoles' SSD technology. Using an external HDD won't deliver the same performance.
  • Increased Media Storage: If you use your Xbox as a media center, additional storage allows you to download and store more movies, music, and other media files.

FAQs on Xbox Series X SSD Upgrade

Your Turn

Upgrading the SSD in your Xbox Series X is the best solution for low disk space warnings, as it provides more space rather than just freeing up existing space. You can either upgrade the internal SSD or use an external drive to expand capacity. The former is recommended since external drives don't perform as reliably as internal ones, are more vulnerable, and use more CPU resources.

For disk cloning software, consider AOMEI Backupper Professional. It facilitates Xbox Series X SSD upgrades in all situations and enhances SSD performance. Its intelligent clone feature allows you to easily clone larger drives to smaller ones or SSDs. For IT technicians, AOMEI Backupper Tech or Tech Plus versions are available for use on unlimited PCs or servers.

Miya
Miya · Editor
Miya has an excellent insight and receives professional and systematic technical training since joining AOMEI. She has a comprehensive understanding of computer issues, aiming at helping users troubleshoot all kinds of problems. A lot of computer users around the world have found her articles very helpful!