Xbox mod

[clanggedin]

Some chips can can install a Bios from a flash drive if you have the adapter that converts a controller port to USB.

I believe the Xenium has that capability, but I'm not sure which others do too.

[lloydcom]

Some chips can can install a Bios from a flash drive if you have the adapter that converts a controller port to USB.

I believe the Xenium has that capability, but I'm not sure which others do too.

So how does the mod unit get its power from, if it was used with a flash drive?

I'm curious now. 

You make a usb cable from one of the xbox's controller port (I figured that part out), then you hook up the mod chip to the usb cable and then the xbox is modded, right? 

That's great, so now you never have to open the xbox and hardwire the modchip - like in the earlier examples already posted in this thread- so one could say its like a softmod?  So the mod chip is portable too?

I don't see anything wrong with that.  Heck you can unplug it and the xbox would be as normal as before.  That's cool.  My guess you could store XBMC in a spare partition or on DVD, when you have this dongle-type modchip attached, right?

That sounds better than opening up a xbox and changing its architecture

[shmokes]

My god, Lloyd, you're obnoxious. 

I said it once, but here it goes again.  This thread is named "Xbox mod"  That's the title of the thread.  That means it's what shows up in the list of threads in the console section.  It's six pages long.  Does it occur to you that maybe . . . just maybe . . . Saint and all the mods are perfectly aware of the existence of a thread that might have something to do with *gasp* modding xboxes?  Give it a ---smurfing--- rest. 

Guess what?  There's a thread in EE right this very second that is all about Chad getting a ticket for speeding.  What?  A thread about illegal activity?  Call in the mods!!!

Even if modding an Xbox turns out to be technically illegal you have to be a ---smurfing--- ignoramus to not be able to wrap your head around the difference between modding an Xbox compared with modding a Gamecube or PS2.  And, frankly, there are perfectly legitimate reasons to mod those consoles too, such as backups and defeating region lockouts.

[ChadTower]

You make a usb cable from one of the xbox's controller port (I figured that part out), then you hook up the mod chip to the usb cable and then the xbox is modded, right?

No.  That is not correct.


BTW, that speeding ticket was for going 25mph.  I'm such a badass.   

[JackTucky]

Mods please leave this open but ban lloydboring.

-J

[lloydcom]

My god, Lloyd, you're obnoxious. 

I said it once, but here it goes again.  This thread is named "Xbox mod"  That's the title of the thread.  That means it's what shows up in the list of threads in the console section.  It's six pages long.  Does it occur to you that maybe . . . just maybe . . . Saint and all the mods are perfectly aware of the existence of a thread that might have something to do with *gasp* modding xboxes?  Give it a ---smurfing--- rest. 

Guess what?  There's a thread in EE right this very second that is all about Chad getting a ticket for speeding.  What?  A thread about illegal activity?  Call in the mods!!!

Even if modding an Xbox turns out to be technically illegal you have to be a ---smurfing--- ignoramus to not be able to wrap your head around the difference between modding an Xbox compared with modding a Gamecube or PS2.  And, frankly, there are perfectly legitimate reasons to mod those consoles too, such as backups and defeating region lockouts.

The whole thread is called Xbox Mod.  To my mind xbox mod means to modify the xbox than it was originally intended.  We are good with that right?

What I call a xbox mod is different to what you guys are suggesting.  My xbox mods are new cases, changing the controller ports to utilise USB connections.  Adding lights like case mods, putting in a fan that sounds a lot quieter than the current vacum cleaner sounding types.

That is modding a xbox.

The other "mod" is chipping the xbox to play homebrew and pirated games.  Its well documented was on TechTV, have lots of sites dedicated to adding larger drives, XBMC, and the emulators etc.

But you have to understand that this site forbids such topics, so like we all do when we visit the site, we behave ourselves and follow the rules.  If you want to mod a xbox go to those sites that cater for it.  I shouldn't have to explain it to you guys time and time again.

It just ticks me off when you guys promote activity which breaks the law.  You always say before a sentence: "it probably is" or "most likely does" but never a link or a factual statement.  Its always from your point of view which cannot be justfied "illegal".  It sounds so childish.

When you guys argue without facts - you just look dumb. 

Geez

[ChadTower]

Well, from a technical user's standpoint - and this is a technical user's forum - you've just described a bunch of mostly useless m0dz.  You're ricing out your Xbox with lights and a pretty case and various other things that don't make it any more useful than it was when you took it out of the box.  The USB mod is useful in some ways but not all that many.

Given the nature of this forum, which is to build things, open things up and change them functionally, repair things from a broken state, or to restore things from a diminished state, an Xbox mod thread can be expected to include modchips and other such functional changes (the USB port changes would apply here).

The social onus is on you to digest the culture of this forum and integrate.  It is not the other way around.

[clanggedin]

YeahLLOYD.... Technically you can install a mod chip inside an Xbox without having to solder it to the mainboard. Then you can remove it whenever you want without any evidence of the Xbox ever having a modchip inside. It's called a SOLDERLESS ADAPTER.

The only thing you you break by opening up your Xbox case is the warranty. With my mod chip and without having to install any hacked bios I can FTP data to and from my Xbox. I can move MP3s my save files. I can back up my EEPROM and hard drive data I can even install a new hard drive if I run our of space on the stock 4GB drive the microsoft provides. All of that can be done without removing or changing the existing XBOX bios at all. It's when you install another bios that you may be crossing the line in certain countries.

My PS2 plays games off an external harddrive and all I needed was a CD that I put in that lets me do this. The CD only lets me copy and play games stored on the harddrive and does nothing else. Even though I am not altering the arcitecture of the PS2 I can play "backups". To me that CD is more illegal than any modchip is because its sole purpose is to make copies of games, but by your logic ,(unless I misunderstood), it's OK to use because I didn't have to crack open the case and install it.

[shmokes]

When you guys argue without facts - you just look dumb. 

Geez

STFU.  I linked you to an Australian court case in which Sony tried to shut down mod chips (the court felt the same way as us, btw), and pointed out that no games companies have attempted to use the provision of DMCA that you incessantly refer to.  Your dismal reading comprehension skills do not amount to us refusing to back up our opinions with fact.  And your dismal attempts to talk in legal language do not make you a lawyer ("I want proof that someone in standing in law says it is LEGAL TO USE MODCHIPS.").

[ChadTower]

Man those solderless adapters look sketchy.  Like if you picked up the Xbox and Etch a Sketched it the modchip would fly off and short out a bunch of random stuff.

[lloydcom]

When you guys argue without facts - you just look dumb. 

Geez

STFU.  I linked you to an Australian court case in which Sony tried to shut down mod chips (the court felt the same way as us, btw), and pointed out that no games companies have attempted to use the provision of DMCA that you incessantly refer to.  Your dismal reading comprehension skills do not amount to us refusing to back up our opinions with fact.  And your dismal attempts to talk in legal language do not make you a lawyer ("I want proof that someone in standing in law says it is LEGAL TO USE MODCHIPS.").

[

Its legal in Austrailia.  Get caught by cops over there and you are free from procecution, well until 2007 when they have to change that law to be in line with new trade agreements.  My apologies to the  Austrailian posters on this site.   Its not legal here in the UK or in the US where this site is hosted.

Coming back to what Shmokes was saying, well...what were you saying?  You need to take some advice from your quotation from your post.  Yes for  sake shmokes, get a grip.

Well, from a technical user's standpoint - and this is a technical user's forum - you've just described a bunch of mostly useless m0dz.  You're ricing out your Xbox with lights and a pretty case and various other things that don't make it any more useful than it was when you took it out of the box.  The USB mod is useful in some ways but not all that many.

Given the nature of this forum, which is to build things, open things up and change them functionally, repair things from a broken state, or to restore things from a diminished state, an Xbox mod thread can be expected to include modchips and other such functional changes (the USB port changes would apply here).

The social onus is on you to digest the culture of this forum and integrate.  It is not the other way around.

To be totally honest I wish I could mod the xbox I have, but I cannot.  Yes I would love to have a cheap media centre and play music and movies.  In another earlier post - I noted that there was a good deal going for xbox and 4 games for £50.  £50 for a media centre PC would be a dream come true.  And I have seen XBMC and it is really wonderful.  It's all very tempting, and if I am in my own home - who's right is it to tell me what to do?

Well I have a little voice in my head that says I cannot.  Its the little voice of reason.  Even if I can do a thing, it has to be the right, honest and just thing.  That is why I try to walk the straight line.  I'm not a paragon of virtue, who isn't? 

I changed the leads to my xbox so I can charge my USB devices.  Every time I hook my Ipod shuffle to the PC it wipes the tracks off.  Quite annoying.  But with the USB from the xbox I don't have that problem.  I play a lot of Soul Calibre on my cab, so the USB on port 4 does a lot of work too.

Works great with the X Arcade, but its a cable mod and a worthy inclusion in this thread as it is a Xbox Mod.  No great harm done.

From a technical standpoint - this site and Saint's Book is about modifying arcade controls and building cabinets, not chipping xboxes.   This is not my site.  And when I visit other peoples site, I try to observe the rules.

Someone mentioned you got a ticket for speeding.  Going 25mph.  Not so fast that you could kill someone, but fast enough if you were going 25mph in a 10mph school zone.  What is it $100 each mile an hour you go over?  Or perhaps you were going too slow, becoming a hazard.  Whatever - you got caught and you have to pay a fine, pay higher insurance or go to drivers school.

But you got caught doing something you are not allowed to do by law.  I always remember the driving handbook slogan "Driving is a privilege not a right".  I remember it to this day.  It reminds me of this site.  Its always a privilege to post here, not a right.  If you get caught with your xbox mod, who knows which book they thow at you.

Technically speaking I love a great joypad hack, or building a star wars yoke or finding ways to hook up light guns to PCs and xboxes.  So finally on a technical standpoint this post/argument is over, because a xbox chipping mod is Illegal by the DMCA. No Ifs buts or maybes.

At least I tried to give a good argument against this thread, even though it means alot to you guys.  I bet the past 5 years has been like candyland.  Free Mp3s, Torrents, Roms, etc.  Never worrying about those people who invest in games or hardware that try to make a living. No.

Who cares right?

Its Finito Bandito. For me on this subject.  Goodnight.   

[NinjaEpisode]

Perhaps if we approach this in a different direction, i.e. Reverse Engineering:

Reverse engineering as a fair use is firmly established. See Bowers v. Baystate Tech., Inc., 320 F.3d 1317, 1325 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (reverse engineering is a fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107); Sony Computer Entm't, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 956, 602 (9th Cir. 2000) (reverse engineering was fair use for the purpose of gaining access to the unprotected elements of software).

It could be argued, that those of us who chose to mod our xboxs, or other consoles are doing so for the purpose of reverse engineering.  I doubt anyone here disputes the fact that the same mods can lead to illegal activities, however, as shown above, the actual act of modding or 'reverse engineering' is NOT illegal.

[MameMaster!]

HOLY COW THIS THREAD IS EXHAUSTING.

....and on top of it all there's no bacon.

I was promised Bacon.



 

[boykster]

HOLY COW THIS THREAD IS EXHAUSTING.

....and on top of it all there's no bacon.

I was promised Bacon.



 

[clanggedin]

Man those solderless adapters look sketchy.  Like if you picked up the Xbox and Etch a Sketched it the modchip would fly off and short out a bunch of random stuff.

If the adapter is installed correctly then it is extremely difficult to get it tocome off. My Xbox has been dropped twice. Been in the car numerous times and my 8 year old son has it in his bedroom on the floor where it is constantly getting smacked and I have never had to reseat the adapter once. Whereas my brother has had to reseat his adapter twice since he bought his.

[Silver]

Yes, but soldering direct (especially to d0) makes you look like real man.....  (well, almost....)

Definately running on the warm side. Running xbmc with auto-temp control of the fan makes it sound like a tornado... (I hooked up a 80mm fan with a sensor wire to the xbox mb header, but no 12V fan speed mod.) Clearly should have got a quieter fan, although now I've read that replacing the white gunk thermal compound under the cpu/gpu and reduce temps a lot.

All the software reports my xbox as a 1.1 not a 1.3, despite the physical check guides saying its a 1.3. Not sure there is much difference. The internal cooling looks pretty basic though.

[JackTucky]

I was going to offer bacon, but Lloyddork's rants make me think I shouldn't mod the bacon by cooking it.  After all, Bill gates doesn't want me cooking the bacon.

-J

[SirPoonga]

ok, I am locking this for now.  You guys did have a rational discussion but then it did turn for the worse.  We are discussing the issue in  he moderators forums.  Thanks.

[SirPeale]

Yeah...what SirP said.