Home
AboutBackpackingGamesLinksPicsProgramsStuff I WroteTextThings I Made
My StoryByronic HeroEnglish FinalPower EssayQBASICMicrosoft's Really Hidden FilesPicking A MasterlockNumber Systems Xbox Modding Accelerating ReturnsPropagandaThe Florida PlanEverclear

Components You'll Need. Female Serial Connector 2. (2) 5volt 1W Zener Diodes 3. The original Xbox holds a special place in my heart. I acquired one around the time the 360 was released and immediately fell in love with the very vast collection of apps, mods and emulators for the system. My first system had a transparent S controller that was more reasonably sized than The Duke for my hands.

Dale Swanson 07-09-2009

The original Xbox can be turned into a media center that can play classic video games, videos and music. Xboxes are very cheap ($30) from places like Craigslist, or even free from someone that doesn't want it anymore. In order to use the Xbox in these ways first it must be modded. There are a few ways of doing this, but here I will describe a way to softmod without needing anything else (using the hotswap method).

Terms

HDD - Hard Disk Drive
Softmod - Software only Xbox mod
Hardmod - Mod that requires a chip
Dashboard - The main program that the Xbox runs when you first start it. Similar to an operating system for a PC.
UnleashX, Evox - Two common Dashboards.
Ndure - Program that softmods.
XboxHDM - General Xbox modding tools.
IDE/PATA - Older hard drive connector, used by the Xbox.

Overview

So why do you want to mod an Xbox? How should I know?

Why do I mod Xboxes? Because it turns a crappy $30 console into a multimedia center. A modded Xbox will be able to play classic games (Atari, NES, SNES, Sega, Game Boy, N64), play almost any video format, play music, as well as playing Xbox games directly off the HDD. Those are the main features, but you can also browse the web, play other games, and run various other programs. You have a couple options that will depend on what features you want. The ability to run emulators (classic games), will come with any modded Xbox. However, if you want to play Xbox games from the HDD or watch videos and listen to music the stock 8 GB HDD won't be big enough. If you don't care about Xbox games I recommend you simply put your videos and music on your home network and share them. The Xbox will be able to play them from the network quite easily. Xbox games though can't be played over the network (at least I haven't been able to get them to work). Estimate about 3 gigs per game, to figure out how much room you will want. Also remember you can keep the games on your PC and swap them out on the Xbox, although this takes a bit of time. If you choose to install a large HDD, it must be IDE, not SATA, and slower speed drives are actually better since they are cooler. Personally I have an 80 gig HDD in the Xbox with about 15 games on it, then I have my video on the network.

Now to review the ways of doing this. The first method was the hardmod. This involves buying a mod chip for around $30-$50, opening your Xbox and soldering it in (later solderless adapters were made). This method has the benefit of giving you the most freedom to use your modded Xbox how you want. However, progress was made and now almost anything that can be done with a hardmod can be done with a softmod.

The softmod doesn't involve any hardware changes, everything is done in software, hence the name. There are two types of softmod, the first requires you have one of three specific games and a way to copy files from your computer to the Xbox (either memory card + Action Replay, or USB drive + USB to Xbox adapter). You'll likely have to buy these items. However the benefit is you don't have to open the Xbox at all, so if you are scared of releasing the demons that live in your Xbox this is probably the best bet for you.

The last method is the one I prefer. It's the hotswap softmod. You have to open the Xbox and unplug the HDD and plug it into your PC while they are both running. Thus it can be rather risky, particularly if you preform the operation in a bath of salt water and shake uncontrollably. The benefit is that it only requires the Xbox, and a PC, you don't have to buy anything else.

You will need:

Xbox
Some blank CDs/DVDs
Torx 20, 15, 10 screwdrivers (sometimes tiny flat screwdrivers can be used instead)
PC with IDE/PATA ports
Larger HDD if you want to be able to play Xbox games from the HDD
Desire to work on insides of PC while powered on.
Oxygen to breath while conducting mod

Prep Xbox

Before you begin you have to do some stuff in the stock Microsoft Dashboard to prepare. First turn on the Xbox and go to the time set up, make sure your time zone is correct. Next go to the game save manager and delete all the game saves to free up room (you don't have to do this, but if you bought the Xbox used you probably don't want the saves anyway). Then you need to rip at least 1 song to the Xbox HDD. I use The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Original Soundtrack, you can probably use something else.

Then you need to find out what version dashboard and kernel you have. Go to Settings > System Info and wait for the text to scroll, at the bottom of this text is the versions:
K:1.00.5838.01
D:1.00.5960.01

The above dash is 5960, this is the newest dashboard, you should make sure yours is up to date. I haven't seen one since I started modding again that wasn't. I've heard you can simply play any new game or log on to Xbox Live to update the dash. The kernel above is 5838, there's a good chance yours is different. The kernel is based on when the Xbox was made, and won't change for any one Xbox. You'll need to know what kernel you have later so write it down.

Make Disk

You'll need Ndure 3.1, and xboxhdm 1.9. Auto Xbins is a good tool to use to find Xbox software. Ndure is the actual softmod, and xboxhdm is a general program for Xbox stuff. You'll use xboxhdm to run Ndure. First start up the Ndure program and select your options. For the most part the defaults are fine, however, there are two key changes. First you must select your kernel, second you must select 'Create XBOXHDM Installer'. After you do this finish the steps to build your Ndure files. When the program is done you should have a folder called 'ndure', you have to copy that folder into your xboxhdm/linux/ folder. See my screenshot for clarification.

Now you go to the base xboxhdm folder and run the file 'make-iso-win.bat'. This will create a file called linux.iso, this is your CD you will use to mod your Xbox. Burn this iso and you'll be ready to open your Xbox.

Opening the Xbox

The Xbox is fairly easy to open, once you know where the screws are. There are 6 long T-20 screws holding the case on. They are all on the bottom under the feet and stickers. You'll have to pry the 4 feet off (I use a small flat screw driver, they can be quite hard to remove). You can feel around for the holes under the stickers for the other two screws. Once you find them punch a hole through with your screwdriver and remove them. See my picture for locations.

Remove the case lid. Inside you will find a bounty of candy and happiness. After you finish the candy you will see the gray ribbon cable, hidding underneath it is a single gold T-10 screw, remove it.

Now you should try to unplug the power and IDE cable from the back of the HDD. They sometimes are quite hard to remove, wiggling may be necessary. Then you can lift the whole black plastic HDD tray out. The HDD power cable is routed through it to make your life harder. Lastly there are four T-15 screws, two on either side of the HDD tray, they will have to be removed to remove the HDD from the tray.

The Hotswap and Softmod

Now that you have your modding CD and your Xbox HDD it is time to begin the actual modding. All Xbox HDDs must be locked in order for the system to boot. Locking is a rather obscure HDD feature which I don't think I've ever seen used for anything other than Xboxes. When the system is first powered on the HDD asks it for a a key. If the system provides the correct key then the HDD is unlocked. It will remain unlocked for as long as it's powered, and will return to a locked state

Original Xbox Eeprom.bin Download