I downloaded Sid Meirs Pirates for the xbox but when I go to play it, it says "cannot play, download again". I thought ok it must of got corrupted during download. So I delete it and download it again but the same thing happens. I have tried this a total of 5 times now and still the problem persist. Surely it cannot be a bad download 5 times in a row.

I emailed xbox support nut they told me to do the same thing agian.



Its not the HD because I can play xbox 360 games off it and demos work etc.



It was originally a arcade model but I have a 120gb HD on it now, so it should be able to play xbox games now.



Any one else have similar problem or know what I can do to fix it? 

I had the exact same problem. It is the hard rive after all. The emulation portion of your hard drive is most likely corrupt...you know, those 6 gigs that somehow get taken up for no real reason.

You can try reseting the hard drive cache...there is a guide on how to do that and it sometimes helps. Google xbox 1 games will not play on xbox 360. If that doesn't help, you need a new hard rive to play xbox 1 games. Sorry.

I think you are right disolitude. I rented a xbox1 game that is compatible with 360 to see if it would work. But I got the same message for the disc game, "cannot play, download again."

So it must be something wrong with xbox1 emulator inside the secure sector of the xbox HD. I wish there was a way to completely format the HD and reinstall every thing. Oh well AU$30 lesson.

if thats the issue microsoft should resolve it, but id have to agree its most likely the xbox 1 emulator was corrupted.

Try burning the update to CD and install it to on your 360

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardscompatibility.htm#disc

Download and Create a Disc
The second method is to download a file from Xbox.com and burn a DVD or CD. This method is a quick way if you don't have your console connected to a broadband connection, or if you use a dialup connection to the Internet. You could even do this at a friend's house who has an Internet connection and a DVD or CD burner.

Original Xbox Game Support
November 2007 update here.

By downloading this update, you agree to the software license and other related terms set forth in the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use, located here. Save the update as BackCompat_11-2007.zip—it's about 13MB.

You will need to unzip the file to get the default.xex file out and put it at a location on your computer. If you are using Windows XP, you can simply open the zip file like you would a folder. If you are using an earlier version of Windows you will need a separate utility to open the zip file, like WinZip. Be sure the update is named default.xex

The update will not run automatically unless the file is named default.xex and is the only file on the disc (i.e., not in a folder or directory).

Create a DVD or CD
To create an update disc you need the following:

• A DVD or CD burner.
• A blank, writeable DVD or CD.
• The update from Xbox.com.

These steps will cover burning the DVD or CD with Windows and the DVD or CD burning software that is part of the operating system. DVDs work better than CD-Rs, which in turn work better than CDRWs.

(For illustration, we're using a CD in a CD burner, but the same steps apply with a DVD in a DVD burner.)

Step 1: Place a blank disc in your burner. Select "Open Writable CD Folder Using Windows Explorer" or just open the CD drive icon from Explorer.

If you choose to use third-party CD/DVD writing software then please follow the instructions for that software in creating a data disc with just the update on the disc.

Step 2: Drag default.xex to the CD Folder. If the CD write window doesn't open by default please drag and drop default.xex on the CD/DVD RW drive.

Step 3: Click "Write files to CD" from the CD writing tasks in the Explorer window or select Write these files to CD from the CD/DVD RW drive right mouse click menu.

Step 4: Go through the CD wizard. The first step is to add a label to the CD; the default of the date is fine.

Step 5: The CD wizard will create the CD. Wait until the CD is ejected.

Step 6: Remove the CD from the drive—you have created the CD.

Update the Console
Update the backward compatibility program as well as the operating system software in your Xbox 360 console.

Step 1: Place the CD in the Xbox 360 console.

Step 2: The update program will start automatically. Select "Continue" to apply the update.

Step 3: Wait for the update to complete.

Step 4: Your system needs to have the operating system software updated. Select "Yes, update now" and press the A button.

Step 5: The console will reboot and you're done. Insert your original Xbox games and enjoy!

Or try formatting your hard drive

On your dashboard, go to My Xbox > System Settings > Memory. Once there, highlight Hard Drive and press Y. Select Format.

Many thanks pbroy, tried both.

It will not recognise the old update with NXE installed and the formatting leaves the secure sector intact.

You clearly have a supremacist 360.

Turn it to the United Nations inmediatly.

Is this a hard drive purchased from ebay?

You do realise that none of them are partitioned properly and will not allow playback of Xbox1 games?

I can actually help you fix this no problem but you will need

1. Xbox HD -> USB\SATA adaptor

OR

2. Laptop with mini sata connection.

EDIT - This definately sounds like you've got a homemade 120GB that has't been formatted properly in china\hk.