What do I need to start flashing an xbox?

clonadlad

I want to start flashing xboxs myself and I need some help badly on what to purchase and how to do it. I saw this on modtraders and was wondering do I need everything on this to start up.

I don't really know what everything does there but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. Money is a bit tight so if there is anything I can skimp on, please tell me what I don't or do need.

Thanks!

TouchingVirus

To flash all Phat drives you need the following:

A compatible SATA device (e.g. VIA6421 PCI card, X360USB)
A way to power the drive - e.g. Xecuter CK3i
A probe device to probe certain models of LiteOn drives (e.g. 74850C, 93450C, 83850C v1).

For flashing Slim drives you need:

Xecuter X360USB - A usb device that acts as an SATA controller (like the VIA6421) but can work with Slim drives too unlike the VIA6421.
A way to power the drive e.g. Xecuter CK3i
For drives with locked chips you need to either replace the chip on the drive board, or replace the entire board with one with an unlocked chip. If you are no good at soldering, the replacement PCB is the best option but it does cost significantly more.


So if you're starting out, I would recommend a CK3i with Probe v3 in addition to an X360USB. This should cover all models and all drives. It also means if you want to do flashing with a laptop you only need to buy one more thing - an external +12V molex power supply - because everything runs off USB

clonadlad

Thanks for the help. Do you think this bundlewould be the best option? Buying the stuff separately seems to work out a lot dearer. And will this be everything I need to flash apart from the molex adapter?

EDIT: Will this molex adapter do the job? I think ya need that extra 3 pin power supply but I can take that out of the xbox if I have to?

TouchingVirus

Yes, the bundle will do everything because it has a CK3i, Probe v3 and an X360USBpro. The other things there are:

• The opening tool to open Phat consoles. You will need to purchase other tools to open the 360 slim - take a look on youtube for some good guides and recommendations
• An XT adapter which is a simple PCI-compatible brack that provides you with external Molex power if you plug a spare molex from your computer's PSU into the socket on the inside. Not a bad idea but you will need a molex extension cable for it to be useful. I'd junk that and get an external +12v molex power The external SATA port might be useful though, especially for the following...
• HDD Adapter - A small card that converts the proprietary MS Hard Drive socket on an enclosure into a regular SATA one you can use with eSATA/internal SATA ports. Also has a USB slot so you can power the drive. This helps because you don't have to have a Torx-4 to open up the Phat enclosure to access the data on the drive if you want to backup/modify hard drive data.

ModTraders offers an external molex power supply too so you can get the bundle and this. You might need a 3-pin power (Kettle lead), some 360s have 3-pin kettle plugs going into the PSU, others only have 2-pin kettles (missing the earth pin). Kettle Leads are not expensive and can be had for pittance on ebay/adverts/local computer repair shops

I'm out of the loop on flashing Slim drives so I am not sure if this is required or recommended or whatever but there is also a probe for Slim drives that have MXIC chipsets (other chipsets include Winbond etc). The probe is called SPUTNiK360.

Reamer Fanny

TouchingVirus wrote: »

Yes, the bundle will do everything because it has a CK3i, Probe v3 and an X360USBpro. The other things there are:

• The opening tool to open Phat consoles. You will need to purchase other tools to open the 360 slim - take a look on youtube for some good guides and recommendations
• An XT adapter which is a simple PCI-compatible brack that provides you with external Molex power if you plug a spare molex from your computer's PSU into the socket on the inside. Not a bad idea but you will need a molex extension cable for it to be useful. I'd junk that and get an external +12v molex power The external SATA port might be useful though, especially for the following...
• HDD Adapter - A small card that converts the proprietary MS Hard Drive socket on an enclosure into a regular SATA one you can use with eSATA/internal SATA ports. Also has a USB slot so you can power the drive. This helps because you don't have to have a Torx-4 to open up the Phat enclosure to access the data on the drive if you want to backup/modify hard drive data.

ModTraders offers an external molex power supply too so you can get the bundle and this. You might need a 3-pin power (Kettle lead), some 360s have 3-pin kettle plugs going into the PSU, others only have 2-pin kettles (missing the earth pin). Kettle Leads are not expensive and can be had for pittance on ebay/adverts/local computer repair shops

I'm out of the loop on flashing Slim drives so I am not sure if this is required or recommended or whatever but there is also a probe for Slim drives that have MXIC chipsets (other chipsets include Winbond etc). The probe is called SPUTNiK360.

Basically the flashable IC chipset for Slims come in two varieties, if you look closely at the serial number on the IC you'll see either a number beginning with 03 (MXIC) or 05 (Winbond). MXIC are relatively easier to flash compared to Winbond chips which require either a replacement PCB, IC or if your brave enough Kamikaze hack, for MXIC all you need to do is solder a 10ohm resistor to a ground spot on the PCB, make a cut on the PCB and probe a pad.

clonadlad

TouchingVirus wrote: »

Yes, the bundle will do everything because it has a CK3i, Probe v3 and an X360USBpro. The other things there are:

• The opening tool to open Phat consoles. You will need to purchase other tools to open the 360 slim - take a look on youtube for some good guides and recommendations
• An XT adapter which is a simple PCI-compatible brack that provides you with external Molex power if you plug a spare molex from your computer's PSU into the socket on the inside. Not a bad idea but you will need a molex extension cable for it to be useful. I'd junk that and get an external +12v molex power The external SATA port might be useful though, especially for the following...
• HDD Adapter - A small card that converts the proprietary MS Hard Drive socket on an enclosure into a regular SATA one you can use with eSATA/internal SATA ports. Also has a USB slot so you can power the drive. This helps because you don't have to have a Torx-4 to open up the Phat enclosure to access the data on the drive if you want to backup/modify hard drive data.

ModTraders offers an external molex power supply too so you can get the bundle and this. You might need a 3-pin power (Kettle lead), some 360s have 3-pin kettle plugs going into the PSU, others only have 2-pin kettles (missing the earth pin). Kettle Leads are not expensive and can be had for pittance on ebay/adverts/local computer repair shops

I'm out of the loop on flashing Slim drives so I am not sure if this is required or recommended or whatever but there is also a probe for Slim drives that have MXIC chipsets (other chipsets include Winbond etc). The probe is called SPUTNiK360.

I really appreciate the help. That molex adapter you linked seems to be the same as the one I saw on ebay which is much cheaper so I think I'll go with that one. I think I'll just go with that bundle on modtraders and see what happens from there. They are out of stock at the moment so I'll have to wait.

I'll probably be back soon enough to annoy ye with more questions so thanks for now!

TouchingVirus

justryan wrote: »

Basically the flashable IC chipset for Slims come in two varieties, if you look closely at the serial number on the IC you'll see either a number beginning with 03 (MXIC) or 05 (Winbond). MXIC are relatively easier to flash compared to Winbond chips which require either a replacement PCB, IC or if your brave enough Kamikaze hack, for MXIC all you need to do is solder a 10ohm resistor to a ground spot on the PCB, make a cut on the PCB and probe a pad.

The MXIC solution isn't really ideal for a guy who's only starting out flashing drives IMO, especially since the SPUTNiK360 will make it almost impossible to screw up for only an extra tenner Thanks for the info though, I'm now up to speed on Slim flashing

TouchingVirus

clonadlad wrote: »

I really appreciate the help. That molex adapter you linked seems to be the same as the one I saw on ebay which is much cheaper so I think I'll go with that one. I think I'll just go with that bundle on modtraders and see what happens from there. They are out of stock at the moment so I'll have to wait.

It's 3 euro cheaper. If you buy the one from Hong Kong on ebay you'll have to post it back there if there's a problem with it, as opposed to the UK if something goes wrong with the modtraders one. Just my €0.02.

I'll probably be back soon enough to annoy ye with more questions so thanks for now!

No bother at all, we'll still be here :P