[Backin]

My buddy showed me his Xbox which has XBMC installed on it and he showed me some of the features it can do. I was impressed.

I went out and purchased a used Xbox to get one set up for my use at my house. I have never modded a gaming machine. Never had the need or want but this I want. I am very good with computers so I shouldn't have an issue.

My goal:

1. Hardmod a modchip in Xbox
2. Install a new HD
3. Install XBMC
4. Cooling

I have been reading the forums on this website among many others as well as various websites to get as much info on these topics as I can before I do this so I do it right on the first attempt.

ModChips
I have been unable to find a website that will compare modchips available for the Xbox. I have seen plenty of website that want to sell them but I cannot tell differences between them. What are primary differences between ModChips? What is the best one to get without worrying about price. If you all can show me the way and/or give me pros and cons to different Modchips, it would be very helpful. I believe my Xbox is a v1.3 but I have not opened the case up yet to confirm. I know that it is not a v1.6 though. I would prefer solderless as I do not have solder materials at my house. I have experience solder repairing laptops but am not even close to being an expert at it.

Hard Drive
From what I have been reading there is a limit to Hard Drive size and it has something to do with the number 137. I am guessing that it is the max for a particular partition that the Xbox accesses normally and you need a ModChip and/or just a new partition created to get full use of the drive. I want to install a 1TB drive in it if possible. I just need to know what the limitations on HD size is and what the restrictions of partitions are. Is a specific ModChips needed to access certain size HD's? Should HD be locked or unlocked.

XBMC

This shouldn't be hard at all and should go plain and simple. It is just a matter of getting the Xbox ready for the install.

Cooling
Like with most electronic devices heat is always an issue. What is the typical lifespan of a Xbox. Once I have it open I am gonna clean it up nice and good to get rid of dust, potential hotspots, and will probably rethermal what is needed. If kept clean will any additional cooling ever been needed? Fans or Watercooling. I am making this something that I plan to keep for a very long time and do not want to see it go dead after 1 or 2 years.

On a side note which I have not done any research on, is it possible to turn on/off the old Xbox wirelessly like the 360? If it is a hardmod just point me in the direction.

Sorry for the length of this post but just wanted to get all of the info in one thread.

[joebrady]

You find more info on the actual xbox modding over at xbox-scene.com. Once you have it modded sucessfully, come back here for all the good XBMC info.

See my signature for info on power on from the remote.

[Bomb Bloke]

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=18
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=41

You will find much of what you're asking and more via the above two links.

ModChips
...

There is very little a modchip can do that a softmod or TSOP flash cannot. All three mod types are available to you: 1.6 consoles can't be TSOP flashed.

A modchip essentially overrides the BIOS-holding TSOP on the Xbox motherboard. The DuoX2 is a good cheap example, the X3 (not DuoX3!) more or less being top of the line. Solderless modchips sound easy, but tend to result in more work in the long term (as you have to open the box up every time the things come loose).

Hard Drive
...

http://wiki-scene.com/Partitions_%28Xbox%29
http://wiki-scene.com/FATX

(Note that 137gb is 129gb in "manufacturer's megabytes").

The capacity limit depends on how up to date your mod is, as opposed to what type it is.

Cooling
...

Oddly enough, nearly all the systems I've seen or heard of dieing due to heat related causes had modifications done around the heatsinks... That said, many people have done such mods without issue, but personally I won't be bothering again.

Generally in stock systems, either the DVD drive, PSU or HDD will be the first things to go: The HDDs are fully replacable, of course, as are PSUs. Though with DVD drives things get a bit trickier, as they're not standard hardware. Whether that matters depends on how often you'll be booting Xbox game discs.

On a side note which I have not done any research on, is it possible to turn on/off the old Xbox wirelessly like the 360? If it is a hardmod just point me in the direction.

Basically you need to wire an infrared receiver into the power switch. Generally you'll install the emitter into a standard Xbox remote, which you can also use to control XBMC.