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106 Comments
- trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I believe this is the old way to softmod your xbox? But it's a great guide and it's actually exactly how I did it for my xbox but I didn't have a easy guide like this to follow. This is a must for any xbox user, my xbox sat for like a year until I modded it and then it was used daily.
- mark_in_bc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Over the last year or so I've made some good coin from this mod. The Xbox Media Center software has been around for a while the version in this article is the latest and the best to date. After the mod you can still play your Xbox games (plus any legal back-ups you have) but you can't play Xbox Live without being band.
You can also download software from the same source that will allow you to clone a larger HD without a mod chip. Its not hard to do if you know how to read and follow instructions. With a large HD you can rip your movies and Xbox games and save wear and tear on your legally owned disks. - kwazyJAS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You can now us a PSP as a wireless remote for changing songs & play/pause on XBMC all thanks to jonny2002
http://forums.qj.net/showthread.php?t=37792 - Mr.Nibbles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ok, softmods are fun, but a hardware mod will give you a slight advantage (multiple bios's on one machine - selectable at bootup if you get the smartXX v2 or 3) you can even add 2 USB ports to the front if you get the correct front panel! this means a USB keyboard and mouse for linux or even XBMC
i have modded about 5 xbox's and we have 2 in the flat here, one on my telly, and one in the living room on the HD panel. Both integrate automatically with each other (with no setup!) and any media files on one can be viewed/streamed to the other.
I can run any games from the hard drives.
Its Samba compliant as well, so i can stream all the movies on my Linux based Samba server, and acess all the windows fileshares as well.
almost EVERY SINGLE video and audio codec are supported. i have yet to come across a media file that the xbox wont play!
For those commenting on HD streaming, it actually isnt too bad as long as your not running a really really uncompressed HD file at 780p/1080p - the xbox's CPU isnt actually good enough to keep up!
but you can actually upgrade the CPU if your that way inclined ;)
For the person complaining about subtitle support, you are wrong. Any Vob/Subs will play just fine, and you can even tweak the size of the subtitles for the visually impaired! great when my flatmate forgets her glasses and we want to watch a couple episodes of Last Exile!
My favourite mod? The LCD screen mods (can be used so easily with the smartXX V3 chips!!). You can use the machine to stream music to any system without even plugging in a TV!!! also means you can see what files are playing without using the TV screen to check, so you can mong out watching crazy visuals without any loss of trippy screen space! woot!
i reccomend either PIMPED xbmc http://bitspace.dyndns.org:6560/index.php
or the RS (real small) lite version so you can add your own stuff if you like (no dedicated tracker but have a hunt on your favourite XBOX torrent site!)
my xbox's own (with a capital P) any media streaming device available today. I can even surf the net from the comfort of my sofa!
there is a crapload of awesome plugins avaiable for XBMC, but be careful a lot havent been updated for a good couple of years so probably wont work! i suggest getting the Gamespot plugin so that if your stuck on a game, all you need to do is hit the gamespot button and find the guide.... all without getting up off your lazy ass!!!!
best thing about all of this?
XBOX second hand: £60 (max!)
Modchip: £20 (or nothing if your softmodding!)
so... for less than 80 quid you get yourself the ultimate media streaming device.
you can even sync it with your Tivo ;-)
if youve already got yourself a Xbox runnning XBMC, get another box and turn it into a SAMBA fileserver for your network! get rid of that DVD drive and get 2 Hard drives on the go... mmmm 800gb of network storage... delicious! - kehunt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3XBMC + Wireless = Crazy delicious
When I turn mine on everyone asks why Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Sony, etc don't try to sell anything like this. Or why the people behind XBMC don't just go legit. Those guys could be wealthy even with the licensing of codecs and MS dev kit. - beelz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1may have to try this now that i got my 360
- sourbrew, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Man, i love my x box media center, it will mount rars, then mount an iso in the rar, then load the dvd menu off of it. Or alternatively let me pick subtitles files/language track on maktrosa / make me a sandwich / blowjob / whatever else.... sooo tricked out. Its like a sclade with out all that bling
- clokwise, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I use my XBOX almost exclusively for XBMC! Kicks butt. The DVD reader in my XBOX died a long time ago so I added a wireless access point now I can stream movies and TV shows I downloaded direct from my PC hard disk.
- JAWS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1great guide. this would have saved me some agony in the past when my softmod went wrong.
- boxx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1XBMC+HDTV is the Best.... True that...
DOUBLE TRUE! - Googled, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"this sure wasnt on digg a few months ago(not exact same link, but about modding xbox), and sure as hella hasnt been all over techtv, g4techtv and g4 and hasnt been going on for years"
Yeah well not everyone gets g4, you know other parts of the world outside the US. And not everyones been on digg that long.
awsome guide! - hoowahman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i use this constantly. Best thing I've ever had for an entertainment center period. Mix this baby with a large screen TV and a good news group hosting service and your golden.
- mrboratsagdiev, on 04/24/2008, -0/+1http://www.xboxmod.net/
- beelz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2http://thepiratebay.org/search.php?q=Xbox%20media%20center&audio=&video=&apps=&games=&porn=&other=&what=search&page=0&orderby=dl
- lybertyboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You don't even need an action replay. If you have a usb flash drive lying around, you can trick it into thinking it's an action replay.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=262740 - Amplix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'll have to try this out!
Thanks - DarkZen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1gotta get a larger hdd for mine, only running on a 40gig =/ Though i put a x-changer2 into my xbox to make it all the more easier lol.. Not to mention ive haced in a few usb ports and later i plan to add some extra fans above the hdd for better cooling... Great system though, my friends still dont get how i control my xbox from the computer.. The web interface is fun to play with on the home network ;)
-DZ - themulf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1DId this in august, now have a 300gig in it. Great to do, love XBMC.
- HeatVision, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Digg, for the people who this may be news for. A modded Xbox is the best media center out there, too bad the 360 guys didn't incorporate these features (but I suppose their hands were tied politically).
- hoowahman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes I have never come across a common vid filetype that hasnt yet .mov and i think .rm too.
- irodman, on 11/20/2009, -0/+1sounds like a kick ass mod!
++digg - ironchief, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hooking one these bad boys up to my Honda van so I can have all of my media, plus games all in one place. Maybe wireless controllers and wifi for some war driving fun. Can you say ultimate media hub?
- killin1a4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"I believe this is the old way to softmod your xbox? But it's a great guide and it's actually exactly how I did it for my xbox but I didn't have a easy guide like this to follow. This is a must for any xbox user, my xbox sat for like a year until I modded it and then it was used daily."
Yea theres a new exploit called nkpatcher, that actually ghosts your c drive, not sure how it works but its the new shiznot. This method is much easier and works great btw. - Googled, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Yes I have never come across a common vid filetype that hasnt yet .mov and i think .rm too."
Thanks. Now to find a cheap xbox.
/me off to ebay - joel2600, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i actually just got done watching a movie that my xbox was playing off of my pc and this was the first article I saw scrolling across my TV screen when I went back to my main menu.
Believe it, it is the *****, and i can do everything you have ever imagined.
The movie I was playing off of my pc was even still in ISO format. There are a lot of great python scripts out there that people are making and updating all of the time that compliment xbox media center, and you can even download the scripts directly to the xbox if you would like. The type of scripts people come up with are too numerous to mention and cover a variety of different things: reading maddox, using a notepad editor, checking e-mail, downloading and indexing all the video feeds from a certain site... the possibilities are endless.
even if you don't play video games, it's just amazing the amount of things you can do with the xbox as your media center and will always be extremley far ahead of everyone else trying to push their 'media centers' out in the market that can't do half as many things as you can with a modified xbox.
it's definitley worth your time. - Peteostro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"So can it play avi files, Divx etx?" Yes it can play almost any format you throw at it. This has to be one of the best mods of all time. Its no joke. I use it daily
- matgorb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is not the latest. A quick look on the install screen shows UDE, and you should look for an exploit called ‘ndure’ you can even do Live with it without being banned.
You can get an uptodate XBMC binary from CVS here:
http://www.xbmc.org/xbmc-cvs/
Scroll down and click ‘Téléchargez XBMC’.
You don't need the datel action replay, you can do it with a simple usb memory stick or an external usb hdd if you download the software (legit from the maker website!) have an adapter (look on ebay for things like that http://cgi.ebay.com/PC-ANY-USB-DEVICE-FEMALE-SOCKET-TO-XBOX-ADAPTER-CABLE_W0QQitemZ8259807191QQcategoryZ20385QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
Here for the details
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/USB_Storage_To_Xbox_Memory_Card_HOWTO
And ebay is a great place to get a second hand game that will work, 007 Agent Under Fire is my favorite (the old version not the platinum), but an original non classi Splinter Cell will do too. This run for a couple of pounds in the UK.
Or you can find somebody with a soft/hard moded Xbox that will do a copy of the necessary save game on an Xbox memory card.
Right now in Finland
Xbox 99€
An old game 007 Agent Under Fire 10€ off Ebay
An adapter USB/Xbox less than 8€ off Ebay
Who doesn't have a USB memory stick these days? - broscup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Buy A Chip!
XBMC Rules though, have been using it to stream media from my computer for a while now, even the wife can use it. Got all my kids videos on the computer so they don't screw up the disks, it's awesome.
Can Play just about everything, unless it has DRM,
Although, if you download a video podcast, you have to change the file extension to mov from m4v, but you could probably just update an xml file and fix that, not sure. - CUBApete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Delicious guide.
- olibird, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2You should read xbox-scene, softmodding can go wrong , plus for about the same price you can get a mod chip, solderless that plugs in.
- joxy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1modded my xbox to become a media center (planning to add mythtv to it) and it has become the envy of my friends. worth every penny of the xbox, and mine was free
- j0ram, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Using the PIMPED version as a media center and love it. best thing I ever did to anything I have.
- matgorb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Things can go wrong, they are a lot of horror stories from the old days (My flatmate had an Xbox that could only boot from Official games for a few month, no dash board no nothing after a bad manipulation, and he didn't save the eeprom so we had no key to make it work again, we finally had to go through a really complicated hotswap procedure to save) but almost everything can be fixed.
The first thing to do when you softmod, after you booted on the hacked save game, is to save the eeprom, it contains the key to unlock the hard drive, you need it if you ***** up and need to plug it in a PC. Just select save eeprom, most install have the option, ftp to the Xbox and save the precious eeprom.bin (you can do without it but it's a pain)
Nowadays everything should be fine anyway, the last time I mod my Xbox I changed the hard drive to a 80GB, it has been working flawlessly since then. - godfa7h3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Highly suggest anyone who is thinking about doing this to give it a shot. Just do your research at xbox-scene and give it a go. It's an absolutely phenomenal media center.
Kevin Rose did a segment on The Screen Savers a few years back about modding Xboxs, and that's how I got into it. Thanks Kevin!!
As far as Live goes, if the box your using has already been logged into Live, you will still be able to play as long as you don't upgrade the hard drive. However, if you upgrade the HD and it's already been on Live, you will get banned. The EEPROM (kind of like the Xbox's serial number if you will) and the HD are linked together, so if those change, it results in a ban.
Oh, and you definately can not play on Live with the mod enabled!!! - usergentoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i used the softmod installer deluxe and auto installer deluxe
- gODfall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wo0t
- Quickstrike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yes! XBMC is the best thing that happened to my xbox. Have been using it for a couple years now and is now my primary dashboard.
Everyday since I bought my mod-chip a few years ago, the xbox is on atleast once with one person of my family watching something. It is the center piece item when friends come over for a movie.
It is organized perfectly, it loads movies of all sizes instantly (even from rar files). It even tells me the weather.
One thing that I will add. The video quality is awesome and it has never had troubles playing any kind of media file. Since the native res. on a tv is lower than that of a computer monitor, telesync or dvd-rips that aren't the best quality look 100000x better than on the computer. Actually watchable when displayed on TV.
Also the way it lists titles is phenominal. Soo much control. I love the little icons you can have for each movie and how you can check out the plot, actors, IMDB rating etc..
Whenever I turn on the xbox and XMBC boots up, an instant smile is on my face. This is one awesome program! - ItsGus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0nor does it explain how to fix any of the SEVERAL things than can go wrong a long the way.
i've seen lengthier guides on ltools ALONE...
this is quite a nice overview, though.... but for more detail, deffinetly check out xbox-scene.com - hellb0y, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Softmodded my xbox awhile back..
I was wondering.. Can you copy the files for XBMC to a CD-R and then copy it on the xbox?
Would save the assle of connecting it to the network :P - XSaYnt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"This was definitely the cheapest mod for me. I bought an action replay, used it, and promptly returned it to the store for a refund = free."
I hope you don't regularly conduct yourself this way. That's just dishonest. - russizm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"i use this constantly. Best thing I've ever had for an entertainment center period. Mix this baby with a large screen TV and a good news group hosting service and your golden."
so true. - jalagl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Does anyone know the procedure to install a new, larger hard drive with this type of softmode?
- scmiles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I have had my xbox modded for going on 5 years, no soft mod back then, I have on of the original Matrix MOD chips. XBMC is the greatest thing ever created for a game console. I use my XBOX more for watching movies than playing games! I even used swappable drive bays with keys, to make my hard drive(s) external. If I fill one up with games, I just put a new drive in load my apps and start filling the new one all without opening the XBOX. If I don't want anyone to be able to boot the xbox, I lock the HDD with the key, and voila.
- zakharm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Are these softmods still available even after I've updated to the latest version of Xbox live?
Has the eject button problem been fixed where if you press the eject button it resets the Xbox?
Can you unplug the Xbox without it turning into a brick? - gookie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hotswap + Midnight Commander + UXE = BLISS!
- XSaYnt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice guide, but you can do the same softmodding with xboxhdm, and save the $25 on the action replay as well as the money spent on MechAssault. Once you strike those two items, the monetary cost of softmodding is zero. Of course, you will probably want a bigger hard drive in the end, but that's technically an xbox enhancement, and not softmodding itself.
- LycoLoco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"I actually have an action replay sitting here i got for free a while back from this guy at ebgames...and I get a copy of Mechassault for 6 bucks used...hmm this is very tempting. Has anyone had any problems or known of any softmods gone wrong horror stories?"
I'd go for it. I modded a friend's box about three months ago, only using guides I found online and it worked without a hitch. I bought my modded xbox on eBay for $230 and now I use XBMC almost daily to stream media from my PC to the TV. I'm thinking about getting another one just to use as a media player at home. Go for it - you won't regret it one bit. - kayakertim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0PROBLEM:
I followed the instructions to the letter but ran into a problem at the following point. On Press "A" on "UXE install" and you will be prompted with several questions. Well I pressed A and up came a message
"Correct update.xbe has not been found. Either install dash 4920,5659 or 5960 or add the update.xbe to the package. Cannot install UXE.
Having purchased Mech Assault and action replay I am hoping someone can help me with this.
Thanks all. - MichaelRFX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hi Guys, Man if you have an Xbox, I suggest that you do this. You will love using the XBMC interface. It’s very powerful. You can download scripts to enable the Xbox to download the latest trailers and podcast. I did the splinter cell softmod. I bought a Xbox to do my first attempt to softmod it and I ***** up because after I installed the Softmod I forget to install the dashboard and I turned off the Xbox and it gave me a "You need to service your Xbox" quote. I was ***** stooped. But I returned it to my local GameStop where I bought it used. But after I installed the second time, it worked like a Charm. YOU WILL LOVE XBMC!-Michael R
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