xbox mods

[sri3850341]

can anyone please direct me to a thread or a place to locate step by step instructions to mod a xbox for mame?actually the whole dealio,will be using 2 stick xarcade setup in a cabinet,and dont know where to start...ga**stop has used xboxs for 50 bux and will pick that up today.have been doing some googling and reading and cant find anything to walk me through from start to finish..if someone would like to coach me through this journey i would gladly utilize there paypal account  ..want to install mame on xbox and maybe some roms  ,and have a front screen control panel with game selection (dashboard i guess)

[sri3850341]

sorry,title is wrong should be xbox mods

[DaveMMR]

I'm no expert in modding.  I put a Solderless chip in my Xbox and it worked until I moved a couple of times and did something to brick it*.  Nevertheless, there's a lot of websites out there with information on Xbox modding (check out this page).

But if you're not sure where to go, your best bet would to contact someone who, for a fee, will mod your Xbox for you (there may be a couple of members on this forum who perform this service though I don't have specific names).  You may want to run a quick forum (especially on Buy/Sell/Trade) to see if anyone has an offer out there.

(*EDIT: This thread inspired me to take a look at the issue with my Xbox and after looking up some info, I was able to fix it - albeit without the mod.)

[sri3850341]

im talking the whole thing..i can mod the xbox,you buy the chip and theres detailed directions..i'm talking about getting mame into the xbox with a mame front end and using the xbox with xarcade controls

[northerngames]

you will be very limited on games that will load as the xbox only has 64MB ram and 733MHZ pentium 3 cpu so a $20.00 garage sale pc would give the same results really and no fancy adapter needed..

[hypernova]

sorry,title is wrong should be xbox mods

Then edit the initial post.  You can change the title of the thread there.

[sri3850341]

sorry,title is wrong should be xbox mods

Then edit the initial post.  You can change the title of the thread there.

there are 1000's of mame games.the roms are very small.i'm talking about 80's arcade emulation,stuff i grew up with

[odysseyroc]

I just got a version of mameox called coinops and like it. It might not play everything that a high end PC does, but it plays pretty much everything I'm interested in, including SNK vs Capcom. There's also the ability to play every regular xbox game too, which I'm not sure a $20 garage sale PC will do.

[northerngames]

sounds like your all set then?

[ChadTower]

The real value of a modded xbox is XBMC.  Everything else is poo on a stick by comparison.

[Grasshopper]

I disagree. MAME actually runs surprisingly well on an Xbox.  All the games that matter will run just fine. It might not have the flexibility and power of a PC but a modded Xbox is still the cheapest way to play classic games on a TV.

People have short memories. 64mb doesn't sound like much memory by today's standards but only a few years ago it was actually considered to be quite a lot.

[DaveMMR]

All the games that matter will run just fine.

Objection - subjective!  Actually, yes, most of the classics runs quite well, but a few of my later-day faves ran less than satisfactorily.   

And I don't think it's necessarily the cheapest way considering you have the mod the thing, depending on your access to old computers.   But even if it is, it's definitely not the easiest way.  Modding the Xbox and adding files takes a little bit of work.  Or you can pay someone to do it, but then it's no longer the cheaper option.   Pluses and minuses on both sides, take your pick.   

[northerngames]

 I remember 64mb too but not a few years ago but over a decade almost two decades ago back in time in the pentium 1-2 days and it sucked then too

 all I was trying to say is most will not load becuase it will give an out of memory error becuase the 64mb is not enough for about 1/2 to 2/3's of mame to run on a xbox correctly and if they do there way too slow and choppy but classics do run good.

[sri3850341]

think  im gonna go 486 or something of the like..craigslist ftw..also im already familiar with uploading front end and the roms on pc.will be using x's tankstick
this seems to be the most logical route...

[Malenko]

meh softmod with a bigger HD put all the XBOX versions of the compilation games on there and the XBOX games as well; no $20 PC can run Dead or Alive 3 :p

[slycrel]

I have an xbox in my arcade cabinet and use it for one very good reason.  <10 second boot time.

I use mameDOX though I think there are newer compilations out there.  I have my box softmodded and the stock HDD, if I don't put the newer huge games on then it all fits nicely.  It's a bit trickier to customize than a PC version, but for most who use my arcade cabinet they don't care -- it's almost insta-on instead of taking awhile too boot, which is a great thing for the crowd I show my cab to.

[Grasshopper]

And I don't think it's necessarily the cheapest way considering you have the mod the thing, depending on your access to old computers.   But even if it is, it's definitely not the easiest way.  Modding the Xbox and adding files takes a little bit of work.  Or you can pay someone to do it, but then it's no longer the cheaper option.   Pluses and minuses on both sides, take your pick.   

I think the key is whether you want to use a TV or a VGA monitor.

If it's the former then the Xbox is going to be a far cheaper option. There's no way that a $20 PC is going to give you a picture that matches the Xbox's high quality component output. If you're lucky you might get an s-video connector but even that was uncommon on older PCs.

However, if you want to use VGA then I agree that you'll be far better off with an old PC. You can get component to VGA converters for the Xbox but they're not cheap. You can also buy or build a far cheaper converter and patch the Xbox's BIOS to produce a (sort of) VGA signal. But it's not an easy hack and won't work on 1.6 Xboxes. For most people it won't be worth the hassle.

[Grasshopper]

Is there a good source of info out there on modding Xboxes to do VGA?  I'm interested in doing it...

This thread is a good starting point:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/lofiversion/index.php/t553930-0.html

[northerngames]

another vga post is here

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=422635

[Stobe]

I second the "CoinOps" suggestion.  Its the best xbox based mame front end to date (IMHO).

Cone to think of it, I surprised with all the talent around here, that a fellow BYOAC-er hasn't made a better xbox FE yet.

[ChadTower]

I second the "CoinOps" suggestion.  Its the best xbox based mame front end to date (IMHO).

Cone to think of it, I surprised with all the talent around here, that a fellow BYOAC-er hasn't made a better xbox FE yet.

Do you need the XDK to compile code specifically for modded Xboxes?  I can't remember.

[slycrel]

I looked into writing my own front end when I put my cab together.  I didn't find a way of doing so without using the official xbox sdk and since I didn't feel like pirating it at the time I used what was available elsewhere.  At some point someone started making a reverse engineered SDK but it wasn't ever fully functional.

[nipsmg]

I'm putting in a 3rd vote for softmodding.

There's no need to buy an xbox modchip anymore.

Find a tutorial on softmodding on xbox-scene.com or elsewhere (google is your friend).  There's also tutorials on adding a larger hard drive to a softmod.

THen do yourself a huge favor and install XBMC. 

Should take you all of an hour or two max.

[BobA]

I have done both mods and would go softmod if I had to do it again.  The different board revs and lpc changes make the modchip a bit more difficult.   If you do not solder well it makes it alot more difficult.   

The softmod is simple and can be done in an hour.   You do not have to open up your box for the softmod.   The only catch was finding a USB stick to XBOX usb port adapter so that my USB stick would plug in.   You can make your adapter but buying one is much simpler.

Go for the softmod.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, the last round of hardware mods were mostly so people could disable them and get onto Xbox Live still... now that you don't really need that anymore the softmod is fine.

I have a couple more I want to mod and I'm going to go with softmodding from now on.

[J_K_M_A_N]

I go with softmod and I don't use the game save method. I use the hot swap method. That has zero cost if you have a computer. I use this guide always and it has never failed. It is a little scary at first but after two or three, it is a piece of cake. Plus you can get an xbox from craigslist for like $20 now a days if you are patient. So even if you trash it, you can get another. The main thing is to back up the eeprom RIGHT AWAY. Once you have that, you can build a new drive from most any IDE drive.

J_K_M_A_N

[Malenko]

I just TSOP flash.... can have the entire thing done and Slayer's disc installing in 15 minutes.....

you cant TSOP all xboxs. but you can softmod any of them.. I was exploit saving using AUF but you (well, I) can pull the PROM data and build a new HD in under 10 minutes. I love my 120GB Halo edition XBOX, I wish I still played it as much as I used to

[dcninj4]

i dunno how to mod xboxs, but i do know how to add software and use them quite well... my current one is a softmodded 120 gig...

my mame can run street fighter alpha 3 with no issues... what more could you want?

in my mame cab I've got a custom build x2 dual core amd 2.6ghz with 2gb of ram 500gb hard drive and it's all mounted on a wooden board... it runs EVERYTHING!

[dcninj4]

i agree on that... it's nice to have, but i'd rather run mame on my arcade machine...

[Singapura]

From a versatility point of view, the modded Xbox is the best console you could ever own. I use my Xbox for streaming videos, playing games, watching online movies or youtube vid's and as a music server. Even my cab doesn't get that much use!

[Necroticart]

actually from a versatility point of view the PS3 is the best console you could ever own it can stream videos, play games for example Street Fighter IV, watch online movies or youtube videos and it can be used as a music server not to mention it can play HD content like Blu-ray movies or AVCHD files and I've not tried it yet but I'm sure it can play Mame nicely via an install of Linux. and it can do all that unmodded with a PC running TVersity Media Server once the modders crack it who knows what else will be possible

[ChadTower]

I never did get XBMC to access youtube all that well.  It locks up the damn thing more often than not.

[Grasshopper]

Incidentally, are you XBMC fans aware that versions now exist for Linux, Mac OS, and Windows. I haven't tried them myself but I've heard good things about the Linux version.

http://xbmc.org/

[ChadTower]

Yeah, but haven't had any reason to try any of them.  The coolness of XBMC is that it runs on an Xbox like a closed appliance that natively puts out (and upscales) TV signals and can be had for super cheap.  I'm not sure there is anything in XBMC for a desktop that can't be done better some other way (except of course Xbox gaming).

[Grasshopper]

Yeah, but haven't had any reason to try any of them.  The coolness of XBMC is that it runs on an Xbox like a closed appliance that natively puts out (and upscales) TV signals and can be had for super cheap.  I'm not sure there is anything in XBMC for a desktop that can't be done better some other way (except of course Xbox gaming).

Well you could turn that argument round any say why not try them? XBMC is totally free and appears to be at least as good as any media player that I've tried on a PC. anyway, it's nice to have another option.

[ChadTower]

Yeah, you could, but I have no reason to want to run a PC on a television, and that's what I use XBMC for.  No drivers, man!   

[Samstag]

I'm building an HTPC and will probably put XBMC on it.  It works great on the Xbox, but it can't handle high-def content so I needed a faster platform.  The PS3 might have been my choice if they'd only release one that doesn't look like a grill.  Until I can stack it, I don't want it.

[ChadTower]

I'm building an HTPC and will probably put XBMC on it.  It works great on the Xbox, but it can't handle high-def content so I needed a faster platform.  The PS3 might have been my choice if they'd only release one that doesn't look like a grill.  Until I can stack it, I don't want it.

See, THAT is really the only drawback.  The upscaling works really well but if you throw a real 720p source at it it chokes.    I'll cool with the upscaling, though, since my TVs are all 32" at the largest anyway.

[kizer]

You simply can not beat the Xbox running XBMC for the price. I picked up a Xbox for 25bucks and a 250gig drive off ebay and thru in a remote for 5bucks and I have a media center packed full of videos that I watch on my big screen.

As for the PS3 and the Xbox360 sure they are nice, but the interface is no way as cool and you can not beat the price of the Xbox. Price is so cheap I have one in my guest room too.

[ChadTower]

You don't even need the drive upgrade.  Mine are stock drives - it streams so well there's not much point to having anything other than games stored locally.