X-Box

[dubb93]

Not really 100% sure about this but I believe Microsoft is now going with Sony in fixing disk read errors even on consoles no longer under warranty.

As some of you may remember I went through a big ordeal with them about 6 months ago and they wouldn't budge from $99.99 to fix the console. However last week I called them and they agreed to fix my launch console for free. Not sure if they just made a mistake and mine slipped through, or if they are actually fixing all of them now.

If anyone has an old X-Box laying around and wouldn't pay the 99.99 to get it fixed(I remember several others around that time.) now may be the time to call and test this out.

[Yellow5]

If anyone has an old X-Box laying around and wouldn't pay the 99.99 to get it fixed(I remember several others around that time.) now may be the time to call and test this out.

This happened to my original xbox which of course was a Thompson drive. :) I decided to void the warranty and buy a replacement laser head ($5) for the drive. Installed it and it's worked like a champ ever since.

My wife thought she'd be nice and buy me another xbox so now me and the kids network them togeter and play. I've been thinking about taking the old one apart and putting it into a mini case to use it as a media center for the TV.

Nice to see they are finally going to honor yours and fix it for free!

[Philliesfan980]

Get a mod chip and a 200 gig HD. Load the games onto the drive and you never have to worry about read errors again, plus the games load up like mad.

They now have a soderless mod chip for $34.99 - WELL worth the price.


Todd


Hmm... do you know from experience :)

[MizzouRah]

Get a mod chip and a 200 gig HD. Load the games onto the drive and you never have to worry about read errors again, plus the games load up like mad.

They now have a soderless mod chip for $34.99 - WELL worth the price.


Todd

[Yellow5]

Funny. I did not want to bring up mod chips here because I am new and wasn't sure how people would take it. The old xbox has a mod chip installed and I am dropping a HD into it this weekend. :)


edited because I can't spell

[Flasch186]

Get a mod chip and a 200 gig HD. Load the games onto the drive and you never have to worry about read errors again, plus the games load up like mad.

They now have a soderless mod chip for $34.99 - WELL worth the price.


Todd


can i be pointed in a direction please, sir....itll be a nice hanukkah pres. to myself.

[spleen1015]

Yellow5, can you elaborate on the Thomson drives? Were they the cause for many problems with the launch consoles?

EDIT - Nevermind. I did a seach and found it.

[stevew]

Usually piracy is frowned upon in these parts. Now if you are talking about loading purchased games on the hard drive, its okay :)

[Flasch186]

Usually piracy is frowned upon in these parts. Now if you are talking about loading purchased games on the hard drive, its okay :)

games you ve purchased

[MizzouRah]

http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/xb-spider

Yes, I've bought all my games. Freezing games suck, and this gets rid of that problem/worry.


Todd

[Flasch186]

well its out of stock but when it is, is it easy to install?

[MizzouRah]

You can get them elsewhere, do a google search for Spider mod chip. This is the cheapest I've found them.

Yes, if you have a knack for taking things apart and re-assembling them. Just printout all instructions and make sure you follow them closely. Also make sure you know what version Xbox you have. DON'T make the mistake of getting anything smaller than a 200GB harddrive, each game is about 4GB. A friend of mine has a 100GB drive and wished he had a 200GB.


Todd

[Flasch186]

how do you find out what version you have?

[MizzouRah]

http://www.modchipstore.com/product_16198_Official_Spider_Chip_and_Platinum_120GB_Hard_Drive_Combo.html

Actually, this sounds like a good combo.

I forgot where I went to get the instructions, do a search. Seems like if you get this kit, you don't need to know the version, it works on all versions.

http://www.spiderchip.com/ (official site)

Todd

[stevew]

Can't you set up your xbox to tivo or something like that?

[MizzouRah]

Is the Spider Chip compatible with all Xbox versions ?
Yes, the spider Chip is compatible with all Xbox versions V1.0 to V1.6 and is solderless on all of them!

Will there be any update to the Spider Bios ?
Yes we are already working on the new version, and will always bring new quality update to our bios, which will be available for download on this site in the Download section.

On the Spider Chip I can see one connector 12 pins. What is it ?
This connector is here to connect the programmer and flash the bios easly. The programmer is a usb programmer to connect to your computer. The flash is very fast and easy. You must use the programmer if you have do a bad flash and your xbox can't start when the modchip is activated.

Can I unlock my HDD with the SpiderChip ?
Yes, to unlock your HDD, you must use the SpiderChip bios. When you start your xbox with the spider chip, for the first time, you have the SpiderChip Bios will let you unlock the hdd or flash the bios.

I think the Spider Chip is very good, but I don't want use the wires to connect to the Xbox. How I can do ?
If you don't want use the wires, then it's easy. You can cut the wires, and use only the PogoPins or use the 2x6 Connector to install in your xbox.

I don't want take care to start the modchip or not, and want only always use the modchip and don't have a switch outside. How to do ?
If you want always let the modchip start and don't use the switch PCB, it's not a problem. When the Switch board is not connected, the modchip turn on alone.


Todd

[jbmagic]

its seems interesting..i saw it on the show screensaver computer tech show on cable..

there alot of cool things with that mod for xbox, like transfering music, movies, games from your computer to the xbox. it has a nice menu for xbox called evolution i think..then it show how you can pick a movie, game or music you want to do on the xbox..

i was surprise they show all this on that screensaver tech show on tv

[Yellow5]

Two reasons for modding mine:

1) To copy most of my games to the HD. I own roughly 20 games with more coming for Xmas. I'll drop a 200gb HD into it this weekend. My wife is working at Best Buy during the holiday season so I can pick one up using her discount.

2) I want to also use it as a mini mediacenter testbed. The xbox mediacenter project is pretty neat and I really want to see what I can do with it.

I'm running an Xecutor 3 chip right now and it was a pretty simple install. I didn't need a million features, just something that will allow me to do the basics.

I love tweaking things like this and my kids enjoy learning about it. We will be building a DVR after we complete the xbox projects.

[Philliesfan980]

XBMC is currently the #1 use of my XBOX.

[MizzouRah]

Two reasons for modding mine:

1) To copy most of my games to the HD. I own roughly 20 games with more coming for Xmas. I'll drop a 200gb HD into it this weekend. My wife is working at Best Buy during the holiday season so I can pick one up using her discount.

2) I want to also use it as a mini mediacenter testbed. The xbox mediacenter project is pretty neat and I really want to see what I can do with it.

I'm running an Xecutor 3 chip right now and it was a pretty simple install. I didn't need a million features, just something that will allow me to do the basics.

I love tweaking things like this and my kids enjoy learning about it. We will be building a DVR after we complete the xbox projects.

Can I come over? :)


Todd

[Philliesfan980]

If you can afford it, try and get the Xecutor 3, much better chip. Also try and solder it in. Much less likely to flake out if you end up moving/bumping your XBOX.

There's a nice program out there that autoinstalls about 40-50 nice APPS and other programs automatically onto your XBOX. FTP, Box Explorer, Media Player, Media Center, Etc. I believe it can be found on usenet if you look for it.

[dubb93]

This happened to my original xbox which of course was a Thompson drive. :) I decided to void the warranty and buy a replacement laser head ($5) for the drive. Installed it and it's worked like a champ ever since.

My wife thought she'd be nice and buy me another xbox so now me and the kids network them togeter and play. I've been thinking about taking the old one apart and putting it into a mini case to use it as a media center for the TV.

Nice to see they are finally going to honor yours and fix it for free!

Yea, its a pretty bad sign when you ship one in with a Thompson drive and get back a Samsung drive. Thats a pretty good sign of them admitting the Thompson drive was defective.

As for modding, I can't see spending more than the cost of the system to fix it up when the life of the system may only be another year.

[Philliesfan980]

Yea, its a pretty bad sign when you ship one in with a Thompson drive and get back a Samsung drive. Thats a pretty good sign of them admitting the Thompson drive was defective.

As for modding, I can't see spending more than the cost of the system to fix it up when the life of the system may only be another year.


Thats what I thought, but at $150 (and a few games), it serves as a mighty nice media center (not many GOOD divx players out there).