I recently had some issues with my Xbox One. Initially this manifested as an E105 error whenever I tried to boot it up in a place where it couldn’t find the WiFi network it was expecting. Eventually it began to get E105 errors all the time.
Nov 29, 2020 Note: To save games and apps, you need to do this formatting on Xbox One itself because the Xbox One external hard drive format type is a proprietary one. After that, it is impossible to read the game files on Windows/Mac PC. Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in MacOS. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives. Note: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. The following is based on the latest version of macOS. Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in MacOS. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives. Note: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. The following is based on the latest version of macOS. Besides Mac and Windows PC, it is also compatible with various devices like Xbox One, PS3, PS4, etc. However, a single file stored on FAT32 hard drive cannot be larger than 4GB and the volume has 2 TB restriction. I have a MC815LL/A mac mini. Command + R rescue/recovery does not find a hard drive partition to install OS X Lion onto. The machine has a hard drive in it. Disk utility does not let me create a partition onto the drive or format the drive. I think that the hard drive needs to be formatted. I bought this used. Hard drive data has been erased.
Trying to do an offline update didn’t work, and resulted in an E102 error. I began to suspect a hard drive issue, and on investigation it turned out that this was indeed the case!
If you have a corrupted HDD on your Xbone, or if you’re trying to replace or upgrade the drive, then keep reading for full instructions on how to install a new drive from scratch WITHOUT needing your files from the original drive!
Step 1: Identifying the Issue
Firstly I should stress that this method should be a LAST RESORT if you are having trouble with your Xbox. Before you start taking your console apart, make sure that you have tried all the standard troubleshooting tips, such as:
- Doing a hard reset
- Power cycling your console
- Doing a factory reset
- Doing an offline system update
If you are getting an E105 error, and factory reset fails with an E102 error, AND you are unable to do an offline system update… Then you might have some corrupted data on your hard drive. In this case, it might be worth trying the steps below.
Step 2: Preparing for the big job
You will need:
- A Windows or Linux PC (may work on a mac pro but who can afford one of those??)
- Two USB sticks (4gb or larger)
- an Ubuntu Desktop disc image file
- PenDriveLinux (or any other piece of software that can create a bootable USB stick from the disc image)
- Xbox One hard drive creation scripts (here)
- The Xbox Offline System Update archive (OSU1)
Create a bootable Ubuntu USB stick using PenDriveLinux
Format the second USB stick to NTFS and copy the $systemupdate folder onto it from the OSU1.zip file.
Copy the folder containing the Xbox HDD creation scripts onto this second USB stick as well.
Open up your Xbox and remove the hard drive (tutorial here).
Disconnect all system drives from your PC, and connect just the Xbox hard drive and the two USB sticks.
Step 3: Formatting your drive
External Hard Drive For Xbox
Boot from the Ubuntu USB stick. You will be asked if you want to ‘try Ubuntu’ or ‘Install Ubuntu’, click on ‘Try Ubuntu’.
click on the top icon in the dock on the left-hand side and use the search bar to find and open the ‘disks’ program.
You should be able to see all the storage connected to your system. If you have the same problem as me then your Xbox drive will show as having one large partition of type “Unknown”
Important: if you Xbox drive shows as having 5 partitions which are readable and mountable, you do not have the same hard drive issue that I had and this method will probably be of no use to you!
Delete the partition, and note the name of your drive (it will be something like ‘sda’ or ‘sdb’)
Find and open the terminal application (you can find this in the search bar like you did for the disks application).
Hard Drive For Original Xbox
Type ‘cd’ followed by a space, then open the ‘files’ application from the dock and find the foler that contains the hard drive creation scripts. Drag this folder onto the terminal window, then click on the terminal window again and press enter.
Type ‘sudo python xboxonehdd.py sda’ (replacing sda with whatever the name of your hard drive was that you found earlier). Then hit enter.
Mac Hard Drive To Pc
it will tell you that you are missing the required partitions, so let’s create them!
Still in the terminal, type ‘sudo bash mkxboxfs.sh sda‘ (again, substitute in your drive name if it is different) and press enter.
i you look back at the ‘disks’ application, you should see the partitions being created.
Once this is done, run that first python script again with ‘sudo python xboxonehdd.py sda’
When asked to confirm, type ‘yes’ and press enter.
It should only take a second. Once it is done, go back to the ‘files’ application and shift-delete the folder with the scripts in so you are left with just the $systemupdate folder on the second USB stick.
Close all programs, shut down the computer and return your Xbox hard drive to your console.
Step 4: Reinstalling System Files
Once your hard drive is back in your console, connect the HDMI and power leads.
You will also want to connect it to the internet via an ethernet cable (the network cable may not be necessary but better safe than sorry).
Plug the USB stick containing the $systemupdate folder into the back of your Xbox, then hold down the BIND and EJECT buttons and press the power button.
Continue holding down the BIND and EJECT buttons for about 20 seconds.
At some point (it may take a few seconds or a few minutes) your Xbox should start to update from the USB stick.
If this doesn’t happen, wait a little longer and you should be brought to the ‘Something went wrong’ screen.
From here select ‘troubleshooting’, then ‘offline system update’. your console should now begin to copy the files it needs from the USB.
That’s it! Once the update is complete you will be able to set it up as you would a new Xbox, sync your account to gain access to your save games and download any previously purchased content. From that point on your Xbox should work like a charm!
The only minor side-effect I’ve noticed from using this technique is that I no longer have the green boot screen on my Xbox. I just have a black screen for a few seconds until the home page loads. I assume this is because this file is not one that is included in the OSU! archive and hence doesn’t get replaced when doing the update.
Enjoy your Xbox! Let me know in the comments if you tried this andwhetherr it worked for you! If you have any [problems I will try to advise.