Xbox modding questions

iregk

savemejebus wrote:

hmm if you look at the earliest posts in this thread you'll get a good idea but in a nutshell you can

•Backup Xbox games & DVD movies (that you own) to the HDD
• Run emulators
•Use the xbox as a media centre playing AVI, XVID, MPEG 1/2, REAL MEDIA, VCDs, SVCDs, Divx files and DVDs without a dongle
•Run all sorts of cool homebrew apps
•Run linux
•Browse the interweb and lots more

Thanks mate for the answer, thats a good amount of cool $h!t alright...

elmer

iregk wrote:

Actually can anyone answer this, why can't you just simply copy a cd of mp3's over or play them? Do you need to rip an audio cd to the HD in order to have them on there?

if it's modded you can(provided your drive reads the disc) if it isn't you have to use the microsoft dashboard which is restricted to playing audio discs or ripping them to wma and playing those

Nige

KeRbDoG

savemejebus wrote:

Elmer, posts in this thread alot, does it ( in the Dublin area i think) while www.modchipsireland.com do it by post, or if you're in the Cork area you can drop the box off.

those people are doing illegal business! classic, not only do they chip your machine and flash it with an illegal bios, they also dump "Nintendo/Playstation/Sega Emulators +Roms".
Not only that, they over charge! A cheapmod is only 10euro and installation free if yea know your arse from your elbow

elmer

kerbdog wrote:

those people are doing illegal business! classic, not only do they chip your machine and flash it with an illegal bios, they also dump "Nintendo/Playstation/Sega Emulators +Roms".
Not only that, they over charge! A cheapmod is only 10euro and installation free if yea know your arse from your elbow

Quick question - did you read the thread? if you did you'd find a Classic, not only does it contain how to do the modding, where to get the chips and the answers to questions asked - it also already contains pointless statements very similar to your own.

I don't condone copyright breaching btw

That is all

Nige

SLIM19198

kerbdog wrote:

those people are doing illegal business! classic, not only do they chip your machine and flash it with an illegal bios, they also dump "Nintendo/Playstation/Sega Emulators +Roms".
Not only that, they over charge! A cheapmod is only 10euro and installation free if yea know your arse from your elbow

Are you alive????
Do you read the internet???

No alterations are made to the original Bios, just a second bios is added on, this is not illegal!!
The Hd is replaced, big deal. Youre telling me if the HD in your XBOX packed up you would buy a new XBOX and not replace the old HD..... Yeah right!

Emulators are also not illegal and are freeware, (check the internet) as are Public Domain roms (hundreds all over the net), so read before you quote in future!

A cheapmod is exactly that, a cheap mod!!!!
You get what you pay for!

Why dont you put up a site offering cheapmod installations for 15 euro?

RE*AC*TOR

SLIM19198 wrote:

Are you alive????
Do you read the internet???

No alterations are made to the original Bios, just a second bios is added on!!
the Hd is replaced, big deal. Youre telling me if the HD in your XBOX packed up you would buy a new XBOX and not replace the old one..... Yeah right!

Emulators are also not illegal and are freeware, (check the internet) as are Public Domain roms (hundreds all over the net), so read before you quote in future!

this new bios - is the code legal? The hard drive isn't a problem, and yes emulators are legal - but what about the roms? I wouldn't be so quick to jump in with your €0.02

elmer

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

this new bios - is the code legal? The hard drive isn't a problem, and yes emulators are legal - but what about the roms? I wouldn't be so quick to jump in with your €0.02

all xbox bios except cromwell contain some microsoft code. roms are a very gray area but yeah unless the publisher has given permission then i would deam them questionable at best. that said there are plenty of homebrew roms that are completely legal

I guess what slim is getting at like my previous post is that kerbdogs post was pointless and also ironic given his statements regarding XMBC on other posts

Nige

iregk

Hey all,

Looking to get my xbox chipped, its the crystal version bought just before christmas. Not looking for an ftp server or anything serious basically i want to run it as a media center. Mp3's playing off the hd etc... modschipireland have said that the DuoX2 is perfect for what im looking for but I have to send it to cork.

Live in wicklow work in dublin so can anyone telll me of anyone of the east in the dub/wkl area that does this and does anyone know much about the DuoX2, is that the one i want and it is a good chip?

Thanks
Graham

jumbo

I did this a couple of weeks ago. It was very scary and I was very surprised my xbox stilll worked afterwards (I havent soldered in years). I'd recommend anyone doing the solder-mod on a 1.6 do a *lot* of research on how to do it right beforehand. Well worth it though.

EDIT -- Sorry, to put this in context, I was replying to an earlier post on modding a 1.6 (aka crystal) xbox.

peterk19

@iregk there is a few people here that do this including myself,
i see you live in wicklow i think elmer lives out that way so it might be easier for you if you send him a pm if not i work in the city centre and ill help you out if you can get it to me
Pete

jumbo

I had something similar to this happen to me just after I installed to the new HDD. Evox was installed on f: but it kept on booting the old MS dash. Eventually after a couple of re-installs and no progress I figured I had to reflash the bios so that it booted from f:. There was a tool on the Slayer's install CD for this.

EDIT -- Sorry, I was referring to a question earlier by some guy and his dad modding their bros x-box and they couldnt get it to boot.

[nicK]

just bought an Aladin XT chip, but it didn't come with any wires to solder onto d0 etc.. where's the handiest place to get these wires?

peterk19

it would probably be a lot easier to take it from an old appliance eg telephone or something and just tinning the end with a bit of solder rather than ordering some more if you are going to order some the proper name is Kynar wire from memory
Pete

Giblet

Cheers Pete

[nicK]

just a quick question..

this diagram is the best i can about installing the chip but shows very different instructions to when i installed the xecuter 3 modchipa while back

are the points marked in red the only soldering required?

Ciaran500

They are the only ones I had to solder when installing my Xecuter2. So I assume they are correct.

elmer

check out this link - http://www.xbox-scene.com/modchips3b_table.htm (diagrams at the bottom choose the 4032 from the zip file) the aladdin xt doesn't install the same as that really old diagram - you'll need to either solder on the bt and l1 points or bridge the bt with the contact above it( the first point you're soldering on to the board)

well that's all of course if it's not a newer 1.6 then ignore those comments and jsut follow the diagram. i'd advise installing the d0 on the alternate point on the underside of the board - it's not in those diagrams but it'll be in the x3 ones you were looking at before - again that only applies for the older xboxs

if any of that doesn't make sense let me know

Nige

[nicK]

elmer wrote:

check out this link - http://www.xbox-scene.com/modchips3b_table.htm

Nige

excellent elmer, exactly what i was looking for.
i may have a crack at this tomorrow but knowing the likelyhood of something going wrong, i'll probably be back requiring more help shortly..

cheers.

elmer

oh i just remebered there are also alternate bt and l1 points on teh back of the board - afraid you'll have to try the xbox-scene.com forums for the pic though cos i can't remember where i saw it.

i'd definately not advise trying the top points unless you're well used to soldering - if you screw up those points anything really can happen - from the xbox not turning on to it not turning off to it only staying on for a few seconds - easy enough to fix but also easy enough to make even worse

Elessar

Hi Guys,

I was looking into all this xbox modding stuff recently and I am seriously considering it. But I feel as though my head is about to explode with all this dashboard/bios soldering evox stuff etc etc. I have a few questions:

1. There seem to be a lot of mod chips out there, can anyone recommend a cheap one (solderless only!)?

2. Am I right in thinking that the solderless versions come in two parts, that is the chip itself and the solderless adaptor thingy? If so, would anyone recommend this one http://www.thechipshop.info/product.php?productid=39&cat=16&page=1

3. Do the chips themselves have any bearing on what screen (that's the dashboard right?) comes up on startup?

4. I plan on buying a bigger HDD for the mod, but also using the original for xbox live (by switching over HDDs) since I've registered already. Do I need to install any software on the original HDD first? Or can I just pop in the new HDD when I install the modchip and work from there?

5. Is networking your xbox to your pc ESSENTIAL? I don't really know how to do this and I probably dont have the cables anyway (unless the stuff that came with IOLBB works?).

I will have other questions probably. I'm actually quite familiar with computer architecture as I build them every so often but for some reason this xbox thing has gone way over my head. Help appreciated.

P.S. Oh heres two more I forgot: With the mod, can you play import games and dvds from any region? And can you play the DVDs from the disc using the controller instead of the remote?

jumbo

Elessar wrote:

Hi Guys,

I was looking into all this xbox modding stuff recently and I am seriously considering it. But I feel as though my head is about to explode with all this dashboard/bios soldering evox stuff etc etc. I have a few questions:

There's loads of stuff to get through but its well worth it - x-box becomes about 10x more useful when you mod it. Take a look around for Slayer's install-disk - I think it sorts out nearly everything on the software side. You'll need to sort out your bios before you can boot it though.

Elessar wrote:

1. There seem to be a lot of mod chips out there, can anyone recommend a cheap one (solderless only!)?

I got an Xecuter 2.6 and I thought it was quite good. You can get a solderless adapter but you may have trouble going solderless if you have 1 of the newer x-boxes. It cost me about 25 euro without the solderless kit and I got it from Kanection.co.uk.

Elessar wrote:

2. Am I right in thinking that the solderless versions come in two parts, that is the chip itself and the solderless adaptor thingy? If so, would anyone recommend this one http://www.thechipshop.info/product.php?productid=39&cat=16&page=1

3. Do the chips themselves have any bearing on what screen (that's the dashboard right?) comes up on startup?

Shouldnt do. The dashboard (correct!) has to be installed.

Elessar wrote:

4. I plan on buying a bigger HDD for the mod, but also using the original for xbox live (by switching over HDDs) since I've registered already. Do I need to install any software on the original HDD first? Or can I just pop in the new HDD when I install the modchip and work from there?

I think this is something thats been done quite a lot. I've seen loads of tutorials for it. Looks a little messy though. You shouldnt need to install anything on the original Harddrive.

Elessar wrote:

5. Is networking your xbox to your pc ESSENTIAL? I don't really know how to do this and I probably dont have the cables anyway (unless the stuff that came with IOLBB works?).

I got by without being able to n/w (I had some win98 networking issues). You can do it all by CD-r/w.

Elessar wrote:

I will have other questions probably. I'm actually quite familiar with computer architecture as I build them every so often but for some reason this xbox thing has gone way over my head. Help appreciated.

P.S. Oh heres two more I forgot: With the mod, can you play import games and dvds from any region? And can you play the DVDs from the disc using the controller instead of the remote?

Dont know about the import games, but I'd say its quite likely. You can play DVDs region-free and you can use the x-box controller (no DVD add-on required!).

[nicK]

that guide you recommended is ok elmer, but it's not detailed enough for me..

at xbox-scene, they also seem to think there's a real lack of decent high quality images for the Aladdin XT, but a thread has started showing excellent guides for the Aladdin Advance XT.. is this the same as the XT??
(when i installed the xecuter3 on another xbox, there was no trouble getting guides and pics which made me feel more at ease with the soldering)

anyway, i've finally got the xbox opened in front of me (it's 1.4/1.5) and i'm not too confident going much further without a decent guide or high res pics..

i've trawled the net but i'm still getting dead links and old guides..
could you offer any advice/decent links/forums/pics?

elmer

[nicK] wrote:

that guide you recommended is ok elmer, but it's not detailed enough for me..

at xbox-scene, they also seem to think there's a real lack of decent high quality images for the Aladdin XT, but a thread has started showing excellent guides for the Aladdin Advance XT.. is this the same as the XT??
(when i installed the xecuter3 on another xbox, there was no trouble getting guides and pics which made me feel more at ease with the soldering)

anyway, i've finally got the xbox opened in front of me (it's 1.4/1.5) and i'm not too confident going much further without a decent guide or high res pics..

i've trawled the net but i'm still getting dead links and old guides..
could you offer any advice/decent links/forums/pics?

I'm surprised you couldn't find it searchign the xbox-scene forums - there are plenty of different ones there but i like this one

http://www.fixnchipz.co.uk/page4.html

the aladdins are all basically the same - the installation is very similar for them all

Nige

[nicK]

cheers again..

so, according to that diagram, i've got to remove one of the pins from the pin header, correct?
at least i can make a start at getting that soldered into place..

also, i only need to solder to the d0 and BT points from the chip? (as im not using and lcd panel)

elmer

[nicK] wrote:

cheers again..

so, according to that diagram, i've got to remove one of the pins from the pin header, correct?
at least i can make a start at getting that soldered into place..

also, i only need to solder to the d0 and BT points from the chip? (as im not using and lcd panel)

you can actually remove more pins but for simplicity just remove the one pin for where there's no hole

I've no idea about leaving out the l1 - i tended to ground the bt to the lpc pin above it instead of going near those bt and l1 points

Nige

Nige

[nicK]

my soldering skills are soo bad.. leaves me wondering why i started this little project myself in the first place
just after trying and failing to solder the lpc into place.. well actually, it's in place, but there is solder everywhere!
anyway, i'll get a pic up later that will make you laugh your ass off

elmer

i wouldn't go near the bt and l1 points then - ground the bt by soldering to the lpc point abbove it and link d0 to ground - if you need to enable/disable the chip put a switch on the d0 wire

Nige

g5hn710m4xpdwy

do any of ye know any shops around the kildare - dublin area? that will mod my xbox put in a new HD and so on...
thx in advance
Flunk

Duffman

I have a 1.6 Xbox, the only soldering I've ever done in my life was in science class in first year.

But I'm feeling adventurous. Would I be stupid to try to install an xecuter chip? The wires look simple enough on the diagrams. I'm just not sure what the deal is with the PCB rebuild.. Does it just need to be attached to the motherboard?

How hard is it really?

g5hn710m4xpdwy

you could just softmod the xbox instead