Original Xbox Softmod as of 2013

[drmlvr]

Took out the old box out of storage and want to mod it, mainly for media center use, emulators, and what not.  What is the easiest/fastest method to mod these nowadays?

Mike

[SNAAKE]

easiest is to send it to me

otherwise you'd still one of the exploitable games like 007, mechassault, splinter cell and a memory card.
I like this guide here http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox.shtml

[sharpfork]

Before you commit to a softmod, I have to ask:
Do you know which version it is?
Do you know soldering basics?
Do you plan on putting a bigger drive in it?

[ark_ader]

Why does he need to solder if it is a softmod?

Get yourself Splinter Cell (Original)

Find Automated Installed Deluxe (AID) 4.0

Burn it to a CD and be patient as the Xbox will read CDRs...eventually.

Run the Linux shell via the exploit, then pop in the AID disc.

Back up your C: drive and BIOS.

Follow the prompts on the AID disc for a softmod.

Scan the Net for instructions if needed.

Plenty of tuts on YouTube.

Find yourself CoinOPS 5 Lite. 

[DillonFoulds]

It may not be basics, per se, but TSOP flashes aren't *too* hard (not applicable to 1.6(b) consoles, though.

I did a couple in the fall, to get some of my storage consoles "up-to-date". It sure makes the hdd upgrade portion a lot less worry-free.

[drmlvr]

I suppose I could go the extra effort and solder, if need be, but was wanting something less "intrusive" as my soldering skills might not be up to par with those tiny solder points. 
Not sure of the version but has a manufacture date of July 2002.  Definitely would like to upgrade HD. Will a softmod allow me to upgrade it? Or are hard drive upgrades only best done with a chip?  Looked at some tutorials and for the most part just added a little more to my confusion (tsop, hotswap, SID, AID, game exploit, etc.)  Dont mind reading up and following up one method but don't really want to spend time researching them all.  For the moment, kinda leaning to SNAAKEs recommendation and going the exploit way, only if HD upgrade a possibility.......


.........just saw you can buy the memory cards with the exploit from eBay.  Anyone have info on these? I have original Splinter cell game but no memory card much less the usb dongle thing...

[Blux]

Here is what you can do... Should be the cheapest way possible, you will only need a USB extension cable, a small flash drive (<4GB).

Cut the USB extension cable in half and strip the wires on both sides.

Open the dongle end of the controller and match up the standard USB end wires to the wires in the dongle and solder them in.  This is super easy even if you are bad at soldering.
If you want to be fancy you can dremel a hole through the dongle to make it look clean and still be able to use it as a regular controller or on your PC.

Now open the controller and solder the female end of the USB extension to the memory card port. (Sorry don't have a picture of this because I own an XBox memory card, but I know it can be done. I did attach a picture of the wires though)

**EDIT** The wires in the picture of the back of the controller are actually where the cord comes into it... You may have to look a schematic for your specific controller to see the pin-outs for USB on the memory card slot **EDIT**

Now download the XBox Action Replay Software.  If you are using Windows 7 64 you will have to download Virtual Box and install a copy of XP (doesn't have to be legit, you won't need to activate it because the process is very quick)

Format the USB drive to FAT32 using Windows

Plug the USB drive into the controller and plug the controller into the PC.  It should show up as a standard Mass Storage Controller/Device.  Use USB View to get the vendorID and productID of your flash drive.

Under C:\Program Files\Datel\Action Replay XBOX\drivers find the xbreader.inf.  You should be able to open the file with notepad to edit it.  Change the first line and replace the PID_XXXX and VID_XXXX with the numbers/letters you got from USBview for your Flash Drive.

Plug the USB drive into the controller and plug the controller into the XBox.  Use the XBox to format the USB drive.

Now plug the controller back into the PC.  Go into device manager, right click on it and tell it you want to install the driver manually.  Select the xbreader.inf you edited and it should install the driver no problem.

Now use the Action Replay Software to transfer the save games to your newly made "XBox Memory Stick"

You can now use the save games to mod your XBox using the exploit method for Splinter Cell.

After that you can use Heimdalls Xbox Engineering disc to upgrade to the newest softmod and to swap in a bigger harddrive. (I can write you a guide for this too if you need it)


Action Replay Software: http://us.codejunkies.com/support/article.aspx?article_id=70
USBView Software: http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/USBView.shtml

[nipsmg]

NONE of this is necessary at all.

If you have an xbox, a CD burner, and an older computer with IDE inputs on the motherboard, it's VERY simple.. Just follow the directions.  I did this in about an hour about a week ago. (there are youtube videos showing how to do this as well): http://snesorama.us/board/showthread.php?67819-Guide-Softmod-your-XBOX-the-modern-way!

NO games needed, no hacked controllers for USB input, no Action replay or memory card.

[Blux]

NONE of this is necessary at all.

If you have an xbox, a CD burner, and an older computer with IDE inputs on the motherboard, it's VERY simple.. Just follow the directions.  I did this in about an hour about a week ago. (there are youtube videos showing how to do this as well): http://snesorama.us/board/showthread.php?67819-Guide-Softmod-your-XBOX-the-modern-way!

NO games needed, no hacked controllers for USB input, no Action replay or memory card.

Oh man I totally forgot about this hotswap method.. its what I used to do my xbox a long time.  Still had my method fresh in my mind because I made a memory card for a friend to use with my splinter cell.  Making the usb dongle is cool for using the controller on pc though.

[danny_galaga]

Most important mod 

http://dannygalaga.com/xbox.html

[DillonFoulds]

I see that you mentioned the smaller transistor board reference, but what about the board ref for the cap to be removed? If you let me know, I've got 3 xboxes at home that could all be handy to remove this part on.

[ark_ader]

Here is what you can do... Should be the cheapest way possible, you will only need a USB extension cable, a small flash drive (<4GB).

Cut the USB extension cable in half and strip the wires on both sides.

Open the dongle end of the controller and match up the standard USB end wires to the wires in the dongle and solder them in.  This is super easy even if you are bad at soldering.
If you want to be fancy you can dremel a hole through the dongle to make it look clean and still be able to use it as a regular controller or on your PC.

Now open the controller and solder the female end of the USB extension to the memory card port. (Sorry don't have a picture of this because I own an XBox memory card, but I know it can be done. I did attach a picture of the wires though)

**EDIT** The wires in the picture of the back of the controller are actually where the cord comes into it... You may have to look a schematic for your specific controller to see the pin-outs for USB on the memory card slot **EDIT**

Now download the XBox Action Replay Software.  If you are using Windows 7 64 you will have to download Virtual Box and install a copy of XP (doesn't have to be legit, you won't need to activate it because the process is very quick)

Format the USB drive to FAT32 using Windows

Plug the USB drive into the controller and plug the controller into the PC.  It should show up as a standard Mass Storage Controller/Device.  Use USB View to get the vendorID and productID of your flash drive.

Under C:\Program Files\Datel\Action Replay XBOX\drivers find the xbreader.inf.  You should be able to open the file with notepad to edit it.  Change the first line and replace the PID_XXXX and VID_XXXX with the numbers/letters you got from USBview for your Flash Drive.

Plug the USB drive into the controller and plug the controller into the XBox.  Use the XBox to format the USB drive.

Now plug the controller back into the PC.  Go into device manager, right click on it and tell it you want to install the driver manually.  Select the xbreader.inf you edited and it should install the driver no problem.

Now use the Action Replay Software to transfer the save games to your newly made "XBox Memory Stick"

You can now use the save games to mod your XBox using the exploit method for Splinter Cell.

After that you can use Heimdalls Xbox Engineering disc to upgrade to the newest softmod and to swap in a bigger harddrive. (I can write you a guide for this too if you need it)


Action Replay Software: http://us.codejunkies.com/support/article.aspx?article_id=70
USBView Software: http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/USBView.shtml

It is hit and miss using a USB stick.  Hard disk swap is pants.

Just use the old tried and trusted method.

When you have soft modded the console, then use Xbox Partitioner to install a larger drive.

Unless you have a spare 400gb IDE then I suggest using a SATA to PATA board for $5.

As long as you backup the Xbox BIOS you will be fine.

[SNAAKE]

2002 means you have an old xbox for sure and you can tsop flash it. its just bridging 2 simple solder points and flashing the internal xbox nand. all you do is softmod it first, load "slayers 2.6" disc and flash the tsop. then the xbox is "hard modded" and all you do is hook up a new drive(should be in cable select mode) and format it using slayers disc.

xbins as all the files you need. otherwise you can just google things. ALTERNATELY you can avoid all this and I will do it for a fee. but sometimes its fun doing it yourself

[sharpfork]

2002 means you have an old xbox for sure and you can just tsop flash it. its just bridging 2 simple solder points and flashing the internal xbox nand. all you do is softmod it first, load "slayers 2.6" disc and flash the tsop. then the xbox is "hard modded" and all you do is hook up a new drive(should be in cable select mode) and format it using slayers disc.

xbins as all the files you need. otherwise you can just google things. ALTERNATELY you can avoid all this and I will do it for a fee. but sometimes its just fun doing it yourself

Do this or have SNAAKE do it.  Hard mods aren't fragile.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Drnick]

Snaake,  Do you know if the Crystal Xbox can be TSOP'ed?   
Hijacking over.

[ChadTower]

Snaake,  Do you know if the Crystal Xbox can be TSOP'ed?   
Hijacking over.

I have one and I softmodded it with the hot IDE swap mentioned above.

[SNAAKE]

Snaake,  Do you know if the Crystal Xbox can be TSOP'ed?   
Hijacking over.

check the date. if I can remember correctly, only 2004/2005 xboxes were 1.6 and didn't have tsop.

[Drnick]

Snaake,  Do you know if the Crystal Xbox can be TSOP'ed?   
Hijacking over.

check the date. if I can remember correctly, only 2004/2005 xboxes were 1.6 and didn't have tsop.

Cool, will pull it out and look it over,  if it can't I will use my chipped xbox to create a hard drive for it. (I just have to be extra careful and remember not to mess up the bios on the chip).  (I would just use Slax or whatever and do the hotswap method as this was the method I used to use, unfortunately I no longer have a PC with an IDE controller).

[ChadTower]

I'm fairly certain the Crystal Xbox is 1.6.

[danny_galaga]

I see that you mentioned the smaller transistor board reference, but what about the board ref for the cap to be removed? If you let me know, I've got 3 xboxes at home that could all be handy to remove this part on.

I actually didn't look when I did it! But it'll be clear enough when you open it up. It's the medium sized cap in that group of 3.

[drmlvr]

SO removing this clock cap will be okay so long as the console is always plugged in?  What if its unplugged later, I'm sure clock will have to be reset but will this have a negative effect on the dashboard trying to load from the softmod? Will the dash load immediately after resetting the clock or vise versa?  Or can you end up in some kind of clockloop?

Mike

[danny_galaga]

SO removing this clock cap will be okay so long as the console is always plugged in?  What if its unplugged later, I'm sure clock will have to be reset but will this have a negative effect on the dashboard trying to load from the softmod? Will the dash load immediately after resetting the clock or vise versa?  Or can you end up in some kind of clockloop?

Mike

I don't know much about the softmods. Only that I've read somewhere (I'll try and find a link) that later versions of softmods insert a time on bootup. It will be the same time every time it boots up, but I assume you aren't using your xbox as a clock 

[northerngames]

out of the hundred's I have seen first hand I have never seen nor heard of this issue till today.

is it a new more current fad/issue due to it's age?

if so more then likely all the caps are bad on that particular motherboard if that's the case.

[SNAAKE]

^ its not "new". you simply didn't run into any xbox with the problem. out of hundreds I modded, I THINK I had one with the cap problem. which meant nothing anyway because I installed a duox2 in there. if I remember correctly, the cap problem was from not turning on the system for a while and the internal clock getting screwed up somehow.

[northerngames]

so 1 for every 500 console's is not really the most important mod like there all doomed these days's then?

I was just curious becuase I never heard of it till now and thought it may be something going on with all of them due to their age and thinking great how many xbox's are going to get ruined now where it damages the boards and they just toss them type thing.

[knave]

Other than it's fun to do, Is there much life left in modding the old Xboxes? Don't get me wrong...I loved mine and it saw use daily for years...I liked it enough that I have a few more original xboxes waiting in the garage. But I think I have moved on. When Netflix came we gradually stopped using it so I packed it up.  I could mod the rest but I don't think we would use them. 

[northerngames]

I'll be in the market for one soon here 

[ChadTower]

It still makes one hell of a media streamer if you don't mind a practical resolution limit of about 480p.  And there are tons of games out there to be played that are getting pretty hard to find at local retail.

[Drnick]

It still makes one hell of a media streamer if you don't mind a practical resolution limit of about 480p.  And there are tons of games out there to be played that are getting pretty hard to find at local retail.

Yep I agree totally with the above,  For the most part my TV Watching is all in SD and XBMC is IMHO probably the smoothest media centre in the world.  I have 3 of them and all they do is stream video around the house.   Well that and the occasional game of World Poker Tour 

[danny_galaga]

out of the hundred's I have seen first hand I have never seen nor heard of this issue till today.

is it a new more current fad/issue due to it's age?

if so more then likely all the caps are bad on that particular motherboard if that's the case.

^ its not "new". you simply didn't run into any xbox with the problem. out of hundreds I modded, I THINK I had one with the cap problem. which meant nothing anyway because I installed a duox2 in there. if I remember correctly, the cap problem was from not turning on the system for a while and the internal clock getting screwed up somehow.

The problem is JUST the clock cap. It is the only cap on the motherboard that is an 'aerogel' type. That type was used because you can get super duper capacity out of a small physical size. These one's are 1 FARAD for instance! It won't matter if you turn your xbox on often or not, those caps leak (why, I don't know, maybe because it was a new technology at the time and they hadn't ironed out the wrinkles  ). Someone did tell me that later models of the original xbox have a different capacitor or something and don't have that problem. But he didn't say what model or how you can tell. SNAAKE if you modded most of those boxes 'back in the day' then most won;t have leaked yet. But over time, it's almost a 100% guarantee that type of cap will leak. NONE of the other caps on the motherboard are of that type, so the problem will be confined to that single cap. If you are handy at pulling these apart, it really is worth the effort to check on it. You don't even need a soldering iron if it has leaked because that stuff leaches the lead out of the solder, making it so hard to melt, it's easier just to snap the capacitor off!

If anyone DOES know which models have this cap (or if they all do) let us know (",)

Sorry for the thread derail...

[NewToBuilding]

Hi guys, thanks for the info you guys have posted, but I'm still confused.

I bought a used xbox, I believe it's version 1.1 or 1.2, it was built in 2002.

Anyways, I'm still confused on how to do this.

So there are four ways to mod this, correct? The TSOP Flash, Softmod, hotswap, and a hardmod/modchip.

In my situation, should I just do a hardmod with a modchip, which cost around $25?

I don't have a computer with an IDE port, so I can't do a hotswap.
I also don't have a copy of Splinter Cell, MechWarrior or 007, so I can't do a softmod.
I also don't have a copy of one of those games, so I can't do a TSOP flash.
I don't have a modchip but they only cost $25.

Why pay $15 for a copy of these games when for $10 more I can just do a modchip, correct?

It's impossible to softmod/tsop flash without one of those games, correct?

Thanks for the help!

[ChadTower]

So there are four ways to mod this, correct? The TSOP Flash, Softmod, hotswap, and a hardmod/modchip.

Almost.  You have two types of mods:  hardmod and softmod.  TSOP and hotswap are methods of implementing a softmod. 

Why pay $15 for a copy of these games when for $10 more I can just do a modchip, correct?

Can you solder?

[NewToBuilding]

So there are four ways to mod this, correct? The TSOP Flash, Softmod, hotswap, and a hardmod/modchip.

Almost.  You have two types of mods:  hardmod and softmod.  TSOP and hotswap are methods of implementing a softmod. 

Why pay $15 for a copy of these games when for $10 more I can just do a modchip, correct?

Can you solder?

Yes sir I can. Well, I took three years of electronics courses in high school, so it's been a few years. But I'm confident enough. I already bought a soldering iron that has solder.

[DillonFoulds]

So there are four ways to mod this, correct? The TSOP Flash, Softmod, hotswap, and a hardmod/modchip.

Almost.  You have two types of mods:  hardmod and softmod.  TSOP and hotswap are methods of implementing a softmod. 

Wrong here Chad, the TSOP flash is a hard mod. There are solder points to bridge and you're physically modding the motherboard to disable the write protect of the TSOP package. There is more involved than the basic softmod, and it's permanent. It also loads before the dashboard or it's files are loaded.


Hotswap/game exploit installs are based on font exploits in the dashboard and it's files, and therefore are softmods.
TSOPs, LPC chips, and 29 wires chips are hardmods, and directly edit/replace the onboard BIOS.


@NewToBuilding: Depending on your level of skill with soldering...
- The TSOP method is the cheapest (Free+tools!). It's the second hardest to solder behind the extinct 29pin chips. It's also the second least likely to fatally fail.
- LPC Chips are hands down the best method to mod, since it leaves the onboard BIOS intact. They're the most robust feature-wise. Also you get control of the machine at the pre-BIOS level. They're the most stable. Once the chip is in and flashed, there's not much that can't be fixed, and the typical worst-case scenario is you just run a boot disc and restore from a hdd backup.
- Softmods (a la HDD swap or game exploits) are relatively unstable, and can render a console useless until you solder in an LPC chip. That risk being stated, they're evolved a loooooong way since the days of the original font exploits. They're at a mostly safe level now, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to brick a softmod. Regardless they are repairable via LPC chips, in the case that anything should go wrong.
- 29 wire chips are out-dated and useless.
- DVD firmware flashes are possible. They didn't take off, since the hack was released so late in the life span of the xbox. ALso it's expensive, since you have to burn each game to a dual layer DVD. Overall the DVD firmware hacks are a waste of time. They're considered more of a proof of concept that a viable hack.

LPC chips tend to win out in my opinion. Plus once you've got a box LPC modded, you can just install a soft mod and pop the chip out for use in a different console.

[NewToBuilding]

Thanks for the detailed response Dilon.

I'll go with the modchip route. I didn't know I could use a modchip, then install a softmod and pop out the chip.

I'll go the modchip route

[ChadTower]

Ah, okay, I have never tried the TSOP so I didn't know there was a physical mod involved too. 

FWIW, I ran three modded Xboxes for years.  Two were softmods via the hotswap method.  One was a chip (Xecuter, I think).  Never had a single issue with any of them being unstable.  I never tried to connect any of them to Xbox Live, though.  That is probably no longer an issue anyway.

[knave]

The risk of bricking the xbox seemed pretty slim, and since I gathered three of them for 0-$20 each It was worth it.

I would do it that way again if I ever felt like getting around to it.

[DillonFoulds]

The only real risk involved with hotswapping is no different that typical ESD chances when dealing with any computer. It's lessened by grounding yourself to the PC, and also ground the pc to the xbox. It is possible doing any softmod method to mess up dashboard files, but with the installer scripts these days, the risk is highly minimized. The BIOS replacement is always my favourite modding method regardless, just because of the low level system control. I tend to get under the hood when I'm tinkering, and there's been more than a couple times where I've borked a system. When doing HDD swaps in an xbox for example, the xbox can't boot an unlocked hdd. If you unlock your stock drive mid upgrade, and don't have an IDE slot handy, you're essentially FUBAR'ed until you get a chip.

I'm rambling. I'm sure most of the live servers for classic xbox games are taken offline by now, so live bans aren't exactly a risk any more.

[ChadTower]

Static discharge and just dropping the stupid hard drive while swapping it.  That's how I would fail if I did.

[Blux]

Thanks for the detailed response Dilon.

I'll go with the modchip route. I didn't know I could use a modchip, then install a softmod and pop out the chip.

I'll go the modchip route

I have a memory card already loaded with the Splinter Cell exploit and a copy of Splinter Cell.  If you want I could ship them to you for $10 and give you your $10 back once you ship them back. 
Edit: dug through my stuff and found chaos theory and my hexen disc. I can send those also for the dash update and anything else you would want to do