Method C Fully Internal

Method C: Games and mod on the internal drive (expert)

The mod is installed directly on the console's hard drive: no more USB key needed at startup. Games are copied by connecting that same drive to your computer.

Warning

Experimental, only for users comfortable with a drive adapter and with making a backup first. If in doubt, prefer Method A or Method B.

Requirements

• A SATA-to-eSATA or SATA-to-USB adapter to connect the console's drive to your computer.
• The permissions required to access the raw disk from TinyXbox360BackupManager:
  • Windows: run the app as administrator (right-click → Run as administrator).
  • macOS: launch the app from the Terminal with sudo (see the project README).
  • Linux: grant access to the disk with setfacl (see the project README).

Caution

Never let your computer format, initialize or "repair" this drive. Windows/macOS don't recognize its file system and will offer to do so — accept and you lose everything. At the prompt, click Cancel (Windows) or Ignore (macOS); on Linux, the drive simply doesn't show up in any file manager, which is normal. Make a backup before your first write.

Steps

1. Turn off the console and remove its hard drive — the procedure depends on the model:
   • Xbox 360 E
   • Xbox 360 S (Slim)
   • Xbox 360 (Fat)
2. Connect the drive to your computer through the adapter. If your system offers to format/initialize the drive, decline (see the warning above).
3. Launch TinyXbox360BackupManager with the required permissions (see Requirements).
4. Go to the Toolbox → on the ABadAvatar on a console hard drive card, click Install ABadAvatar on an internal console hard drive to install it directly on this drive.
5. Click the Select a target icon → Xbox 360 Internal Hard Drive (FATX) → select the drive in the list.
6. Add your games: see the "Installing games" section of the home page — the copy is local, so it's fast.
7. When you're done, disconnect the drive and put it back in the console.
8. Turn the console back on with no USB key plugged in: the mod launches by itself.

📸 Screenshot to take: the "ABadAvatar on a console hard drive" card in the Toolbox, then the connection window with "Xbox 360 Internal Hard Drive (FATX)" selected.

Troubleshooting

• The drive doesn't show up in the app: check the access permissions (see Requirements) — without them, drives appear greyed out.
• My drive is larger than 500 GB and the mod refuses to install: it is probably a Bad Storage drive, which is not supported for installing ABadAvatar. You can still install your games on it directly (step 5 onwards) — you will then need to use Method B to launch the mod from a USB key.
• To remove the mod from the drive, connect to the drive ("Xbox 360 Internal Hard Drive (FATX)"), then on the Device status page, ABadAvatar on the hard drive card, click Remove ABadAvatar from this hard drive.