Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Consoles => Topic started by: fastredpacman on January 22, 2006, 03:28:55 pm
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Would it be better to have the xbox's bios flashed or have a mod chip intalled? What are the pluses and minuses for each?
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If you have an Xbox version where you can flash the TSOP, then that is definitely they way to go. Unless you are looking for some of the advanced features, such as LCD displays, that require the use of a modchip, then no sense in spending money on one.
Both of my Xboxes are 1st gen, and they have their TSOPs flashed, and also have switches installed to break it up into multiple banks. That way I can still go on Live by just switching to the original bios.
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I was going to go the flash route, but ended up wanting more storage space. Since I was going to put a bigger HDD in anyways, I bought a Xenium mod chip and have been running flawlessly for about 18 months now. Being able to SAMBA and FTP over a network is really worth the extra money.
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I was going to go the flash route, but ended up wanting more storage space. Since I was going to put a bigger HDD in anyways, I bought a Xenium mod chip and have been running flawlessly for about 18 months now. Being able to SAMBA and FTP over a network is really worth the extra money.
Huh?
Why would you need a chip for that?
That is just a standard part of any modded system post 1st gen modding.
The only reason to buy a mod chip at all would be if you wanted to add an LCD screen or enhanced ir remote support, didn't have a flashable TSOP, and/or are against soft modding.
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I had two mod chips before I started TSOP flashing. I had to remove them because they were both of extremely poor quality and had issues in the connecting wires between chip and switch board. Both were soldered-in Xecuters you'd expect better from.
Then I spent about $15 on a TSOP kit (memory card and 007:AUF) and never looked back. My $15 kit has probably modded more than 15 xboxes by now. If anyone wants a coulpe of Xecuter 2.3's that don't work worth a crap I'll let them go cheap!
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I'll put in my vote for a softmod as well. It seems funny to me that I'd pay for a chip when I already have the means to make things work like I'd like to. But then you do need to have one of the games with an exploit as well, plus a memory card.
Good luck either way.
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The only reason to buy a mod chip at all would be if you wanted to add an LCD screen or enhanced ir remote support, didn't have a flashable TSOP, and/or are against soft modding.
I thought you needed a mod chip if you had to swap out the DVD drive? Is that correct? A reason to swap the DVD drive would be the disc read errors.
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Gonna be on Live? Modchip
No live? Softmod
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The only reason to buy a mod chip at all would be if you wanted to add an LCD screen or enhanced ir remote support, didn't have a flashable TSOP, and/or are against soft modding.
I thought you needed a mod chip if you had to swap out the DVD drive? Is that correct? A reason to swap the DVD drive would be the disc read errors.
If you swap the DVD drive for another Xbox DVD drive you don't have to do anything special at all. I think a softmod won't boot without a DVD drive but a TSOP flash definitely will.
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The only reason to buy a mod chip at all would be if you wanted to add an LCD screen or enhanced ir remote support, didn't have a flashable TSOP, and/or are against soft modding.
I thought you needed a mod chip if you had to swap out the DVD drive? Is that correct? A reason to swap the DVD drive would be the disc read errors.
If you swap the DVD drive for another Xbox DVD drive you don't have to do anything special at all. I think a softmod won't boot without a DVD drive but a TSOP flash definitely will.
I thought if you used a mod chip you didn't have to use a XBOX DVD drive? Is there anything special about the XBOX DVD drive? I thought I could go to bestbuy/walmart and get a liteon drive and it would work?
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The only reason to buy a mod chip at all would be if you wanted to add an LCD screen or enhanced ir remote support, didn't have a flashable TSOP, and/or are against soft modding.
I thought you needed a mod chip if you had to swap out the DVD drive? Is that correct? A reason to swap the DVD drive would be the disc read errors.
If you swap the DVD drive for another Xbox DVD drive you don't have to do anything special at all. I think a softmod won't boot without a DVD drive but a TSOP flash definitely will.
I thought if you used a mod chip you didn't have to use a XBOX DVD drive? Is there anything special about the XBOX DVD drive? I thought I could go to bestbuy/walmart and get a liteon drive and it would work?
No it's not that simple. To read real (store-bought) xbox games you absolutely must have an xbox drive, or a specific samsung model that has to be modified first. There are ways to get an off-the-shelf DVD drive to work, but only to read video DVD's, game backups, music cd's, etc. Original games will not work at all in a Liteon.
And beyond not reading originals, using a standard DVD drive can be a little tricky because #1 they won't fit very well and #2 they lack the tray-in, disc-ready, etc signals the xbox is expecting. Check xbox-scene for various tutorials on using non-xbox drives.
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I thought if you used a mod chip you didn't have to use a XBOX DVD drive? Is there anything special about the XBOX DVD drive? I thought I could go to bestbuy/walmart and get a liteon drive and it would work?
The xbox dvd drives have a special firmware that makes them read the discs differently so that the can read the xbox games. also there is special wiring with the xbox drives there were ways to convert a samsung 616t into a xbox drive but they stop making those particular drives.
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pro / con
Softmod needs games to be patched
easier to f up
Some chips have FTP support under there own OS. I've softmodded and was never able to get the boot cd to lock the HD. something about the eepromnot being on the CD.. (it was in ever folder) wasted 6 cd's of trial in error) result.. tossed it in my chipped xbox to boot it then cable swap to lock it under the original box with config majic ;)
if you mod a lot its nice to have at least 1 chipped box around to get ya outta any pinches ya might find yourself in ;)
d88
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pro / con
Softmod needs games to be patched
easier to f up
Some chips have FTP support under there own OS. I've softmodded and was never able to get the boot cd to lock the HD. something about the eepromnot being on the CD.. (it was in ever folder) wasted 6 cd's of trial in error) result.. tossed it in my chipped xbox to boot it then cable swap to lock it under the original box with config majic ;)
if you mod a lot its nice to have at least 1 chipped box around to get ya outta any pinches ya might find yourself in ;)
d88
Games need to be patched?
Dude, if your going to copy them, DVD2XBOX patches them FOR YOU.. its not exactly hard..
Softmodding, is litterally 2 button pushes now.. back when i did mine it was this huge deal.. now, its a simple click, run game, load save game, click, reboot xbox done.. if your adding a hard drive, its like 2 more steps..
TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
Having issues with Locking, id suggest grabbing the nix distro if your finding the easy dvds to be an issue..
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Games need to be patched?
Dude, if your going to copy them, DVD2XBOX patches them FOR YOU.. its not exactly hard..
Softmodding, is litterally 2 button pushes now.. back when i did mine it was this huge deal.. now, its a simple click, run game, load save game, click, reboot xbox done.. if your adding a hard drive, its like 2 more steps..
TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
Having issues with Locking, id suggest grabbing the nix distro if your finding the easy dvds to be an issue..
TSOP is a huge waste?
A huge waste of what?
Do you even know what it is?
Yeah, I guess a person could waste a little more solder than necessary bridging that millimeter wide gap required to flash the TSOP, but seriously... The cost of solder isn't exactly a budget breaker.
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whats TSOP?
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Modchip if you wanna play online otherwise softmod works just as good. I dont know much about softmodding but I did read about it was too much hassle and I use xbox live almost everyday so I went with a chip. Its cheaper and easier(assuming you dont have a memory card,copy of whatever game you can use for softmod,etc).I only paid $15 for the duox2 and installation only took like 15 minutes.
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whats TSOP?
TSOP = Thin Small Outline Package
It is the type of package that the flash chip that holds the bios on Xbox uses (Up until v1.6 anyway).
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TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
How do you reverse a softmod when the hard drive dies?
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TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
How do you reverse a softmod when the hard drive dies?
That's easy. You buy a modchip. :)
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TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
How do you reverse a softmod when the hard drive dies?
That's easy. You buy a modchip. :)
True. The reason I bought a second chip was to troubleshoot/repair problems for friends or xboxes I bought from ebay. I used to make a little money on the side buying them broken for $25-50 and selling them TSOP flashed for $100-150. It's nice to have a chip in those situations.
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Games need to be patched?
Dude, if your going to copy them, DVD2XBOX patches them FOR YOU.. its not exactly hard..
Softmodding, is litterally 2 button pushes now.. back when i did mine it was this huge deal.. now, its a simple click, run game, load save game, click, reboot xbox done.. if your adding a hard drive, its like 2 more steps..
TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
Having issues with Locking, id suggest grabbing the nix distro if your finding the easy dvds to be an issue..
TSOP is a huge waste?
A huge waste of what?
Do you even know what it is?
Yeah, I guess a person could waste a little more solder than necessary bridging that millimeter wide gap required to flash the TSOP, but seriously... The cost of solder isn't exactly a budget breaker.
Huge waste of TIME..
Time is money..
Think about it, if your not replacing the HD (just to make my point here), Softmod takes 2 min, tops.. it takes a soldering iron longer than that to heat up.. not counting taking the machine apart to solder it..
Yes, my very first modded box, i TSOPed a friends.. HUGE waste of time for a stock HD..
If your doing the whole new HD thing, Time put in will be about the same for both, and a softmod is just as stable as a tsop anymore..
If you HD dies in the xbox, you replace the damn HD.. softmod isnt going to make the box die any faster than a tsop.. and a modchip solution isnt the end all to putting a new HD in.. Linux distro, or ultimate installer disc can boot a new HD and set it up to be ready in very little time..
Call me bitter, but TSOP is a waste, if your going to solder, get a real modchip.. if you want cheap, and the tools to do multiple boxes and make some extra cash, softmod.. Softmods have evolved guys, TSOP is a thing of the passed
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If you HD dies in the xbox, you replace the damn HD.. softmod isnt going to make the box die any faster than a tsop..
You really need to stop taking disagreement so personal. I have absolutely nothing against softmods. I think they're great and I agree that they won't kill your hard drive. What I'd like to make clear is that if you lose a hard drive on your softmodded xbox, that xbox is going to need a modchip to make it useable again.
I'm reasonable enough to admit that a softmod is much quicker and easier than a TSOP flash. I also think it's a better option for people who don't want to open their xbox or don't have the soldering equipment or skills.
Just bear in mind that no matter how loud Soapboy shouts it, a softmod is not free of drawbacks. All the options have their nagative points.
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If you HD dies in the xbox, you replace the damn HD.. softmod isnt going to make the box die any faster than a tsop..
You really need to stop taking disagreement so personal. I have absolutely nothing against softmods. I think they're great and I agree that they won't kill your hard drive. What I'd like to make clear is that if you lose a hard drive on your softmodded xbox, that xbox is going to need a modchip to make it useable again.
I'm reasonable enough to admit that a softmod is much quicker and easier than a TSOP flash. I also think it's a better option for people who don't want to open their xbox or don't have the soldering equipment or skills.
Just bear in mind that no matter how loud Soapboy shouts it, a softmod is not free of drawbacks. All the options have their nagative points.
No, it wont need a modchip to make it useable again.. You need to read up on softmodding again..
O_o
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Question for you experts...... My xbox just "froze" and started blinking the red light. Do you have any idea how I could fix it?
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TSOP is a huge waste anymore.. and softmodding is 100% reversable..
How do you reverse a softmod when the hard drive dies?
Assuming you have saved your EEPROM information you can create a new xbox hard drive from a PC, using a linux distribution. Using xboxhdm you can boot from the CD and it tells you what you need to do every step of the way.
Oh, and most softmod options have you back up your EEPROM info by default. If you're paranoid you can FTP a copy to a PC or even print out a hard copy of the information.
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Question for you experts...... My xbox just "froze" and started blinking the red light. Do you have any idea how I could fix it?
If its just a red light its your video connection. Check the cable and try again. If it FRAGs (Flashes Reg And Green) it will give you an error code in the corner of the screen to troubleshoot with.
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Video connection is flashing Orange & Green light.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/lofiversion/index.php/t242484.html
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Im gonna put in my two cents here because I have owned both TSOP modded and chipped Xboxes with 1st - 3rd gen modchips.
1. TSOP flash works just as good as a "real" mod chip for everything EXCEPT Xbox Live. However, if you TSOP a version 1.0 Xbox (1.0 meg TSOP) you can install a switch between the two 512k bios banks and even go on XBL. This gives you everything a modchip give you but you really need a 1.0 for best results.
2. Inexpensive modchips like the DuoX2 can be purchased for approx 15 bucks and offer the ability to easily boot to retail bios for XBL, easily recover from a bad flash on your chip (offers 2 512k banks so you have one side for backup), and in my opinion is the easiest and best way to go.
3. More expensive third generation modchips (like the Xecuter 3), offer fancy options like a built in ftp server, and LCD screen outputs, adjusting the boot screens and flubber from boot up but dont offer enough to justify the added price in my opinion.
That is all...
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