As
promised, Elite owners looking to peel the data from their old, antiquated Xboxen and stick it onto their shiny new
Elites will be able to order a free HDD Transfer Kit through Xbox.com. An important part of that task includes having a page to order it from! Unfortunately, there's no easy-breezy "webpage" to place the order through, instead, you'll need to download a PDF, print it out, fill it out with all sorts of serial numbers, and mail it to Zionsville, Indiana where a team of futuristic, underground refugees will decide if you qualify for the Transfer Kit ...
... which we might add "is a limited time offer, subject to product availability, and subject to change without notice." Well, at least it's free.
[Via
X3F]
PDF - Microsoft Xbox 360 Data Migration Kit Order Form
{ Apr 30th 2007 at 3:45PM } 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
OnTheLow @ Apr 30th 2007 3:52PM
First.
Arturo @ Apr 30th 2007 3:57PM
I just used a 512MB card, it took a long while, but I did it instead of waiting weeks for the kit to arrive like the pdf says I believe.
LinkerX @ Apr 30th 2007 3:56PM
I will just buy and return a 120 gig upgrade to use the transfer cable once. MS should have made this process easier considering the amount of money they are making off those of us that have bought both.
C. Grant @ Apr 30th 2007 3:57PM
Banned.
Arturo @ Apr 30th 2007 4:05PM
who got banned? and why?
AirIntake @ Apr 30th 2007 4:06PM
Banned!
wait...what's banned?
The True Gamer @ Apr 30th 2007 4:08PM
I know we have a lot of fanboy rantings here, but can't we keep out the childish "first" posts. What the hell is this, Teamxbox? ;)
PaleGringo @ Apr 30th 2007 4:13PM
I picked up my XB360 Elite yeterday, the 28th of the 28 that our local Best Buy had shipped for the launch. I dind't have any problems with mine, and, as it was purchased as an upgrade (not a replacement), I wasn't planning on transferring the data anyways. Instead, I got crazy and decided to spend the better part of yesterday evening downloading the 1.5GB of videos and 3.3GB of games and expansions (and I'm still not done).
It took some time, but at least I didn't have to pay for the content again, and, hopefully, I'll be able to circumvent that whole "must be on XBL to use the crap you payed for" scenario. I'm loving it so far. Some co-workers went back to my place for our lunch break and we played co-op GH2 the whole time. Can't wait until GH3 comes out and see how the online aspect goes on that one.
I still have about 104GB left after all the downloads (which I have more game-sepcific ones to still do), transfers of game data that are still in progress, and plenty of uses for that space on the horizon. I may pick up a transfer kit to have, since its free and all, but I don't think I'd ever need one at this point.
Joseph @ Apr 30th 2007 4:09PM
very smart...pun intended.
Papa @ Apr 30th 2007 4:12PM
Doesn't that suck. I've seen those transfer kits inside the stand alone 120GB drives.
Lord Chako @ Apr 30th 2007 4:14PM
Looks like somebody was jealous about not being first. j/k
Anywho, I wonder what the turnaround time is like for the transfer kit. Or why they didn't make it available to purchase on day one.
As far as XBL games go, couldn't you just migrate your account to the elite, and redownload the games?
Zertoss @ Apr 30th 2007 4:15PM
"I just used a 512MB card, it took a long while, but I did it instead of waiting weeks for the kit to arrive like the pdf says I believe."
That's what I believe I'll do. I would have to use a memory card anyway since I'm giving my old system away and the guys I'm giving it to probably want me to leave their saves on there.
x silence x @ Apr 30th 2007 4:38PM
Screw the form folks! Some of us need to sell our old 360s and here is how to get your cable and screw MS in the process for being morons about this issue.
Step 1: Go to Best buy and buy the 120 GB HDD
Mote: Keep receipt!
Step 2: Go home, open it up and use the transfer cable that is included with the HDD to transfer info to your Elite.
Step 3: Exploit Bestbuys 30 day guarantee and return the HDD and the cable.
Now MS will have a bunch of returned and opened 120GB Hard Drives and maybe next time they will use there damn heads and include the damn thing.
Redbeard @ Apr 30th 2007 4:55PM
Gamer Behavior Rule 37 - Be whiny and impatient even when someone offers you something for free.
Arturo @ Apr 30th 2007 5:13PM
@13:
not a bad idea. but u have to remember that some are left in the same situation as i was in not having anymoney left to get that and then return it after purchasing the elite, so thats where the borrowed 512mb card came in.
x silence x @ Apr 30th 2007 5:15PM
@14
Free? I looked at my receipt for the Elite and it sure don't look free to me...
Life Behavior Rule 1 - Protect your rights a consumer
HenryJonesJr @ Apr 30th 2007 6:06PM
@x silence x
Protect your rights? Huh? What right to a free cable does anyone have? MS certainly is under no obligation to offer you any such thing. As for your "consumer rights", if anything, stunts like the one you recommend only serve to hurt them as burned companies (like Costco) have to get stricter and stricter with their return policies because of thankless consumers like yourself.
x silence x @ Apr 30th 2007 6:18PM
@HenryJonesJr:
Bill Gates is that you? Next time can you include the cable so I don' have to reply to retards?
Get a life buddy. The day I shed a tear for any corporation will be day I take people like you to heart. If you read through some forums and blogs it's clear that this is a global issue. You should quit being a douche and let the people who need to deal with this issue do so.
PaleGringo @ Apr 30th 2007 7:00PM
@ x silence x
Bro, don't get me wrong, but *you're* the one advising to "Exploit Bestbuys 30 day guarantee and return the HDD and the cable / Now MS will have a bunch of returned and opened 120GB Hard Drives and maybe next time they will use there damn heads and include the damn thing."
That sounds more ethically questionable than a corporation, in your words, opting to *NOT* include the small one time use accessory in a console package that they believe to be more of a first time purchase rather than an upgrade. Microsoft made an avenue to get that accessory pro bono, and you have a problem because it's slower than 'exploiting' another company?
If you'd like something to make a personal crusade out of, why not the fact that MS still charges $100 for a 20GB drive WITHOUT the adaptor or that it'll set you back $180 for the 120GB drive WITH the cable. Even if you include the engineering cost with the HDD enclosure into that, it's really hard to justify why a drive that holds 600% more space is only 80% more expensive, or why it costs so much in the first place.
The 360 Elite is a bargain for what you get, just like the PS3 60GB version is too (believe it or not). However, unlike the 60GB PS3, you actually get MORE space on the HDD, and cables that are capable of supporting your HD setup, and and HDMI cable to boot. The only part that I didn't like so far is that it isn't using the 65nm chips, even though what I've seen so far leads me to believe that it consumes less power anyhow.
Happy gaming, all. Try to do the right thing out there.
x silence x @ Apr 30th 2007 7:56PM
@PaleGringo
Well thought and fair comments. However, I'm not going to swallow the fact the MS dropped the ball on this Transfer Cable. The whole idea of sending in snail mail to request the cable instead of doing over the phone reeks of bad planning.
Also, saying that I'm doing something ethically questionable by using a service offered by a company that rips people off left and right is ridicules. Do you think anyone will lose sleep at night over me returned products at Bestbuy? Nope. I am trying to bring a point to XBOX that the 2 cents that it would have cost to include the cable would have been worth it in the end just to include. Hell, I would have just bought the damn cable if it were sale.
Funny enough, a friend of mine just offered to lend me his so I'm cool now. As for the rest of you...
Don't feel bad for pulling a trick at a big company’s expense...
Because MS and Bestbuy wouldn’t.
Lord Chako @ Apr 30th 2007 8:17PM
"Don't feel bad for pulling a trick at a big company’s expense..."
It's good to know that you have the same mentality as ticket switchers, short changers, and shop lifters the like.
But don't expect everyone to posses your despicable
mentality, or agree with you. There are people here who work for these "big companies" and find this kind of behavior appalling.
Given the option of either waiting a week or two, getting something for free (minus the cost of a stamp), or scamming a store out of a product, I think most HONEST PEOPLE would do the right thing and wait it out.
Maybe one day when you have a job, and one of those "big companies" sends you a paycheck twice a month, you will see things in a different light.
PaleGringo @ Apr 30th 2007 8:37PM
@ Lord Chako
They pay you twice a month?!? :-D
I'm salaried Government/Education/Technical, and I *live* for 'the last working day of the month.'
Just the same, I can understand x silence x's frustration at MS, or any company whose 'lack of planning' sullies any of their customer's experiences. Perhaps including one would have been a viable option. Or better yet, rental stores (Blockbuster, GameFly, Hollywood Video, or whatever is in your neighbourhood) could make BANK off of renting these things out on the cheap as another alternative for the 'gotta have it now' crowd that's looking to get their used console back into stores for a fraction of what was paid for it.
Even better, the EBs, GameStops, GameCrazys and all the other specialty stores could offer that as a free service with trade-in: You buy the Elite from them, and they automagically copy your Pro's hard drive over to the Elite in the same visit or something.
I guess what it comes down to is that consumers can have all kinds of ideas and suggestions for companies and how they SHOULD HAVE conducted their product launches (Yes, I'm pointing at *YOU* SCEE). Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. A wise man (Burgess Meredith) once said "You can wish in one hand, and crap in the other ... and see which one gets filled first."
One final thing to consider is that Microsoft, like most profit-driven businesses, IS trying to squeeze every penny of value out of their product offerings. Yes, it goes to profit. Profit that pays for new development and to keep its employees happy... and to grow the company. Who does that money come out of? Us, the gamers. If MS believed that 95% of Elite buyers were new, then what sense would including a $3.24 adaptor in 100,000 units have made? It's a $324,000.00 decision all of a sudden, and one that they gambled with in the first place including one on the 120GB HDD (the probability of a person buying a core system and then upgrading to the 120GB drive is probably infinitesmal).
All things considered, it probably would have been easier in the long run if they just integrated it into a webpage on Xbox.com. I prefer online forms to paperwork anyhow.
Lord Chako @ Apr 30th 2007 10:34PM
@Palegringo
Even so, how does that justify scamming companies? Return policies are provided as a courtesy to the customer. Especially on opened items. Once you purchase an item, take it home, and open it up, its yours. You wouldn't want best buy coming to your house asking for an item back after you purchased it. If you buy a product from a store, and it dies/doesn't work, is broken, that ultimately is the manufacturer's responsibility.
The chances of the product being damaged after it has been unloaded to the retail chain are slim. If a product is defective, chances are, it was already defective before it reached your local best buy.
The only reason why places like best buy, wal-mart, target etc offer these courtesies is to keep the customer happy.
Every "defective" product that is returned to the retailer it is purchased at goes through a long a drawn out process. We have to pay someone to stand at customer service and accept the defective product. Someone has to be paid in reverse logistics to handle the product, reticket it, and ship it back to the manufacturer. Your retail chain has to pay the shipping costs.
The returned product still goes against the daily sales of the company, which ultimately affects the bottom line. If we don't meet and exceed last years sales (including returns), we lose scheduling hours. Which means that our scheduled hours get cut, which means I get paid less money, since I can't work as many hours because we aren't budgeted for it.
Scammers like silence affect every single person who works for that store. All because he doesn't want to wait 2 weeks for microsoft to mail him a free transfer cable.
I'm not denying the fact that it is an inconvenience, but that doesn't given him the right to scam retail chains out of a product. A product the manufacturer would provide for FREE, if he just had a little patience.
PaleGringo @ May 1st 2007 12:51AM
Well met, Lord Chako. I appreciate the civility and time you put into your comments.
To reitterate I am not condoning any kind of abuse of the systems in place, just that I can understand x silence x's point of view in this regard. It is regrettable that there are people in society that would do things so selfishly without thinking about the longer term repercussions. I admire you for thinking 'outside the box' and getting the bigger picture. If Joystiq, and other blogs, had more individuals like you posting, perhaps these here intarwebs wouldn't support the stigma it has for people with opinions.
Keep up the good work, and happy gaming!
Mike @ May 1st 2007 9:54AM
The thing about this discussion is that it relies heavily on one's definition of "abuse". I don't see the plan posed by x silence x as abuse - what he's done doesn't violate or even stretch the terms of Best Buy's return policy. I suspect the number of customers with an extra $180 will be acceptable to both MS and BB in the long run.
Now, as for what MS could have done different? How about a web page where you could sign up for your free cable (enter the elite's serial number ect) - that would be a much more efficient way to get the cable to the consumer w/o having to include it in the box - it would be a fair compromise.
Arshad @ May 13th 2007 2:53AM
Please i want to 160GB (SATA) Hard Disk Drive