How to softmod your Xbox and install XBMC for free

kaimera

hi all,

Quick question - some of the links in the OP are dead.

Is the procedure still valid today? Do I need one of the 3 exploit games to install xbmc on say a new 500/1tb hdd?

Thinking of a nice media centre for the parents.

Also, if I put a new hdd in, can i copy my old game files onto it?

m8

Before you go to too much bother check if the HD is lockable.

There is a list somewhere on the net.

Myrddin

Dead links fixed in OP

Lethagized

Got this working a treat on an xbox, i followed the op's instructions to the letter and it went smoothly. Well, sort of. Took me 24 hours of constant messing around (mainly problems with the way i was burning the disc. Found the default windows 7 iso burner to work the best. I decided to try it on another xbox with the same kernal id 5101. The problem i have now is the this second Xbox won't switch off at all now. The small power button does nothing, and even selecting shut down through unleash or xmbc, it just reboots and never refuses to rurn off. It even switches on automatically on it's own as soon as i plug the power cord in without any hdd or dvd drive connected and refuses to switch off unless i pull the power cord. My other xbox doesn't do this. I don't understand. I did both xboxes the exact same way with the same disc, oldskool pc etc but they turned out differently.

Another slight issue is the fan noise whilst in the unleash dash. This can be reduced significantly when using xbmc though so isn't really an major issue. Is there any way to alter this inside unleash?. I've reduced it to the min but it's still way too high. Can someone help please?

Lethagized

And now the problem has fixed itself. I left it unplugged for 24 hours and upon initial startup i had an error screen. After rebooting, the power button appears to be working as it should and it boots to the unleash dash faultlessly. Must have just been a bios glitch or something.

mayto

I just tried to softmod an xbox there for first time in years but having problems. I used the older nk patcher method which I know is old but always worked I think . I hotswapped the hdd and ran softmod with option two for nk patcher. I then get copying fonts .xtf errors and the xbox boots but says it needs xbox live update. I can access the hdd in xboxhdm still by removing the dvd-rom to unlock it at boot but now I do not know dash version as cannot access system settings. Any idea how I progress as ndure needs to know dash to set it up or can I use ndure if I do not know dash version?

m8

Where are you located?

You need an Eeprom Reader.

mayto

Thanks for the link m8 but I got the xbox softmodded with custom fonts method but for some reason the lan is not working on the xbox. I just get ip of 0.0.0.0 whether I select static or dhcp. It says there is a link when lan cable is connected but does not get an ip either in evox or off slayers disc. Not sure if there is a hardware problem as I did not test network before the softmod and the network cables I tried with are working fine. Any ideas?

m8

Set the IP yourself. Just use any IP not in use on your network.

mayto

m8 wrote: »

Set the IP yourself. Just use any IP not in use on your network.

Tried changing settings but just will not take an ip. Could be a hardware problem or hopefully software. For the moment I just want to get the eeprom backup off the hdd, any ideas how to do this ? I tried running xbmc off a disc but it will not load. I have one of those adapters to connect a usb to the controller port and maybe copy it that way.

mayto

Well finally got an ip for the xbox I installed xbmc and apps off slayers evox 2.7 and it seemed to fix it. I am gettng an ip for xbmc and evox, do not think evox was updated but working right now.

Los Lobos

m8 wrote: »

We need more projects for the Xboxes. Best arcade setup or something.

Working on it here...

m8

I'm sure there is a way to backup your eeprom.bin file and recover by FTP from evox and then if the Hd fails you have enough to build a new drive.

Hangover

kaimera wrote: »

hi all,

Quick question - some of the links in the OP are dead.

Is the procedure still valid today? Do I need one of the 3 exploit games to install xbmc on say a new 500/1tb hdd?

Thinking of a nice media centre for the parents.

Also, if I put a new hdd in, can i copy my old game files onto it?

This method doesnt require any exploitable games and it is still very valid , if you were lucky enough to have one of the games the process is much simpler . XBMC on the xbox is still the best value media centre you can build , only the raspberry Pi would beat it for value - raspberry cant play games though (not xbox/ emulators at least ) .

yellowbear

Is the Xbox capable of playing all the latest file formats with XMBC, like MKV etc?
I have an xbox in my parents house and am wondering if its worth my while digging it out and modding it, but if it cant mkv's i dont think I will spend the time on it.

Black_Knight

Last I tried the original xboxes themselves where the reason they couldnt play MKVs. Video card does support it. Open to correction if something has changed since I last did this.

Hangover

Xbox/XBMC plays MKV's no problem, it all comes down to the encode and the bitrate used . I have some 480P mkv's that look stunning and play fine.

yellowbear

Hangover wrote: »

Xbox/XBMC plays MKV's no problem, it all comes down to the encode and the bitrate used . I have some 480P mkv's that look stunning and play fine.

Thanks for the info. Is 420P the highest it can handle?

J0hnick

Haven't fired mine up about 4 years, is it worth updating XBMC on it ?, the one I have has the old blade dash board from the 360 circa 2009.

Hangover

yellowbear wrote: »

Thanks for the info. Is 420P the highest it can handle?

It will play 720P if its encoded correctly otherwise it will struggle will true 720P files.

Hangover

J0hnick wrote: »

Haven't fired mine up about 4 years, is it worth updating XBMC on it ?, the one I have has the old blade dash board from the 360 circa 2009.

Certainly is, a lot of work has been done on DVDplayer and now plays what it struggled before.

witnessmenow

J0hnick wrote: »

Haven't fired mine up about 4 years, is it worth updating XBMC on it ?, the one I have has the old blade dash board from the 360 circa 2009.

Thats a a 360 I presume? Unless im mistaken there is no XBMC for it. Would be worth jtagging it maybe!

Hangover

I'm sure he means the blades 360 skin for xbmc.

Hellrazer

Im thinking of picking one of these up.

Is the method in the OP still the best way to mod it?

I want to build a media player with xbmc and have it as an emulator machine for the retro stuff.

Would an 80gb drive be enough as I have a spare sitting around here.

Also with regards to unlocking the drive would usb to ide adapter work instead of actually connecting to a pc`s ide connector?

Hangover

If you dont have an action replay kit or access to a modded xbox then this method is still valid, xboxhdm has a usb version .
80gig is ok just for emulators but for storing media files you cant go past a 2tb hdd upgrade.

Hellrazer

Ok need a bit more help.

Just picked up an already modded xbox on adverts with an executor chip already installed.

All working fine but Im trying to get xbmx4xbox up and running to stream tv shows from a few plugins.

The program itself is working fine and I can add repositorys/plug ins etc but Im getting script errors and cant seem to fix the problem.

From memory its something to do with xbox using different scripts than a pc but Im not sure how to fix it.

Anyone got any insight??

Thanks

Hangover

The scripts must be xbox specific, you cant use the pc xbmc version scripts. I suggest you go over to xbmc4xbox where you'll find info on the scripts that work.

Hellrazer

Hangover wrote: »

The scripts must be xbox specific, you cant use the pc xbmc version scripts. I suggest you go over to xbmc4xbox where you'll find info on the scripts that work.

Thanks for that.Ive gotten one of the programs working but 1 channel seems to be the one Im having problems with.


Can seem to fix this one at all.

Ste-

Hellrazer wrote: »

Thanks for that.Ive gotten one of the programs working but 1 channel seems to be the one Im having problems with.


Can seem to fix this one at all.

The particular website that streams from is having problems at the minute.
Google will tell you more about the problem and a solution for the dev of the add-on.

Hellrazer

Ok Ive found some alternative plugins that are working great.

Have one other smaller issue though.

Im getting buffering errors a lot say every 5-10 minutes.

Its not a network problem--Hardwired 50mb UPC broadband through cat 5.

If I stream the same show on my pc and xbox the xbox buffers and the pc doesn't.

Any ideas with that one?

Also how can I make the executor boot direct to xbmc instead of the dashboard?