Hacking xbox and unsigned code, directions request.

Tattorack · Jan 30, 2015

Hello guys,
I have a friend with an xbox 360 (not a slim/lite one) that recently asked me if I could somehow
make it possible for his console to run unsigned code so he can have broader costumization features
and yes, also play iso's from a usb external EHD.
Now hacking, flashing and messing with things is nothing new to me but doing to an xbox, a console I've
barely touched an analogue stick of, is completely new to me.

When looking on the internet I can only find tutorials, directions and explanations on how to physically
open it up and start working on the internals, and thats something I really don't want to do.
Much less on a device that doesn't even belong to me.
I've also seen this gadget, xk3y I think its called, but I believe thats only for playing iso's and costs €100 besides.

So I'm wondering, is there a way to software hack the console?
If so, what would it be?
Will it prevent him from playing retail games on multiplayer (like Call of Duty Black Ops II)?
Would none retail/downloaded iso's work with multiplayer?
If he simply changes the general theme and style of the xbox menus, would that still get him banned from xbox LIVE?

FAST6191 · Jan 30, 2015

http://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-how-to-hack-your-360.334203/ covers most things you might wish to know.

No pure software mods worth speaking of these days save for PIRS DLC (PIRS is a variation on a file format used by the 360, various game of the year and other DLC came in this form and can be installed by anybody with access to the hard drive or a USB drive formatted for use with the 360 and something like usb xtaf). Not much got released in that form but it is enough to pay attention to.

If you want modded games rather than just copied games on DVD/optical that are region compatible (region locking is a thing on the 360 but not all games do it. http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6 is a database worth looking at).

Hacks then
Two main classes if you do not count the likes of PIRS
1) Drive mods, this is flashed drive and dual layer discs of ODDE (think WODE if you are familiar with the Wii, indeed that xk3y device you mentioned would be an example of a 360 one). Depending upon the drive version and dash version you can probably get away without soldering anything though it will require opening the 360.
Some were banned in the past and theoretically it is still possible. Generally though if you check your games then it is good.
Retail and stock should be possible on live with this.

2) Full mods, note they do not allow you to play copied DVDs though they can make the process of getting the keys needed for it easier. They will require opening the console and soldering, maybe also some mod chips depending upon the mod and what you are doing.
If it is on an old dash (unlikely if you are mentioning xbox live in this) then no online is possible for anything.
If it is a new one then it is not possible in modded mode. If you make serious efforts then you can do a dual nand mod and boot between stock and hacked NAND and still have stock dash go on Live. This is a complete pain to manage and as 360s go for next to nothing these days you might as well pick up one to use in that case.

These are the ones that allow homebrew, hacked games, region free, hard drive loading, USB loading, XBLA installs, DLC installs, cheats, install of any size hard drive, control remapping....... 1) quite literally just allows you to play copied games that are compatible with the region of your console, however they allow xbox live to work where this is limited to system link over the internet (normal system link is blocked unless you have a crazy low ping, with a JTAG/RGH system you can

Full theme mods would require JTAG/RGH (that would be 2) in the examples above), there might be some basic mods/themes you can install otherwise but it is not worth it really -- who knows what some cowboy did out on the internet and MS do not take kindly to some things like this.

Tattorack · Jan 31, 2015

FAST6191 said:
http://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-how-to-hack-your-360.334203/ covers most things you might wish to know.

No pure software mods worth speaking of these days save for PIRS DLC (PIRS is a variation on a file format used by the 360, various game of the year and other DLC came in this form and can be installed by anybody with access to the hard drive or a USB drive formatted for use with the 360 and something like usb xtaf). Not much got released in that form but it is enough to pay attention to.

If you want modded games rather than just copied games on DVD/optical that are region compatible (region locking is a thing on the 360 but not all games do it. http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6 is a database worth looking at).

Hacks then
Two main classes if you do not count the likes of PIRS
1) Drive mods, this is flashed drive and dual layer discs of ODDE (think WODE if you are familiar with the Wii, indeed that xk3y device you mentioned would be an example of a 360 one). Depending upon the drive version and dash version you can probably get away without soldering anything though it will require opening the 360.
Some were banned in the past and theoretically it is still possible. Generally though if you check your games then it is good.
Retail and stock should be possible on live with this.

2) Full mods, note they do not allow you to play copied DVDs though they can make the process of getting the keys needed for it easier. They will require opening the console and soldering, maybe also some mod chips depending upon the mod and what you are doing.
If it is on an old dash (unlikely if you are mentioning xbox live in this) then no online is possible for anything.
If it is a new one then it is not possible in modded mode. If you make serious efforts then you can do a dual nand mod and boot between stock and hacked NAND and still have stock dash go on Live. This is a complete pain to manage and as 360s go for next to nothing these days you might as well pick up one to use in that case.

These are the ones that allow homebrew, hacked games, region free, hard drive loading, USB loading, XBLA installs, DLC installs, cheats, install of any size hard drive, control remapping....... 1) quite literally just allows you to play copied games that are compatible with the region of your console, however they allow xbox live to work where this is limited to system link over the internet (normal system link is blocked unless you have a crazy low ping, with a JTAG/RGH system you can

Full theme mods would require JTAG/RGH (that would be 2) in the examples above), there might be some basic mods/themes you can install otherwise but it is not worth it really -- who knows what some cowboy did out on the internet and MS do not take kindly to some things like this.

Thanks for all the info! This is great.

I've spoken to him, and he's content with just flashing the disk-drive.
Opening up the xbox and taking out the disk drive doesn't appear to be much harder than opening a laptop (a procedure I've done a few times before), question though;
I only have a basic SATA to USB converter, not one of those special xbox converters. How much of a difference does that make? Whats so special about those xbox adapters, if
the only things I'm going to be doing is recieve data from the drive, and send (flashing) data?
Also, is the "xbox opening tool" the only way of effectively opening the console?

FAST6191 · Jan 31, 2015

I am not sure sata to USB will work actually... here we go

The 360 DVD modding traditionally relied upon slight inconsistencies with SATA implementations and whatever else. What drive model/firmware revision on drive model needed what varied what procedure you had to do. Generally though they all wanted certain kinds of sata chips (the classical one being the VIA 6421 and some Nvidia stuff, Intel sata tended not to work for most models) and various other things. Later in life various devices came along that did it all in one device and being custom made they did not need you to uninstall drivers/boot into dos modes, mess around with BIOS settings in some cases and open your machine (by the way the drives are sata but they use custom power cables, some use their 360, others have cheaper dedicated devices for it). Once you have sworn up a storm doing the first drive flash then it tends to go easy for some reason so I stuck with the sata card/motherboard and a program called dosflash. I do suggest a drive powering device but they are cheap enough really.

Opening the original style of xbox 360. If you care about the warranty then probably best to drop a couple of Euros on a tool, if you do not then I used a scalpel and the relevant sized torx bits for years and never did any damage you could see from the outside (and the inside was just the scalpel marks where I slid it in to dislodge the snap tabs). Slims you ought to take a tiny bit more care with but it is probably even easier there.

Tattorack · Jan 31, 2015

FAST6191 said:
I am not sure sata to USB will work actually... here we go

The 360 DVD modding traditionally relied upon slight inconsistencies with SATA implementations and whatever else. What drive model/firmware revision on drive model needed what varied what procedure you had to do. Generally though they all wanted certain kinds of sata chips (the classical one being the VIA 6421 and some Nvidia stuff, Intel sata tended not to work for most models) and various other things. Later in life various devices came along that did it all in one device and being custom made they did not need you to uninstall drivers/boot into dos modes, mess around with BIOS settings in some cases and open your machine (by the way the drives are sata but they use custom power cables, some use their 360, others have cheaper dedicated devices for it). Once you have sworn up a storm doing the first drive flash then it tends to go easy for some reason so I stuck with the sata card/motherboard and a program called dosflash. I do suggest a drive powering device but they are cheap enough really.

Opening the original style of xbox 360. If you care about the warranty then probably best to drop a couple of Euros on a tool, if you do not then I used a scalpel and the relevant sized torx bits for years and never did any damage you could see from the outside (and the inside was just the scalpel marks where I slid it in to dislodge the snap tabs). Slims you ought to take a tiny bit more care with but it is probably even easier there.

Oh, forgot to mention that the utility I intend to use is Jungle Flasher with the firmware available on iXtreme.

Anyway, I'm taking this tutorial as a reference.
He's using a special SATA adapter, but talks about another kind of adapter that basically replaces the connection of the disk drive in a tower pc (and I only have access to 2 laptops).
Also, I intend to keep the disk drive connected to its power-cord in the xbox (if that doesn't completely melt something anywhere).

Warranty isn't a problem, its not like the console was bought recently; he's been having it for quite a while now.
And I find it hard to believe that Microsoft, of all companies, would give a warranty that stays about longer than a year.
(Its not a slim, its a phat, by the way. Yeah, I saw slims are quite a different story with opening up).

FAST6191 · Feb 1, 2015

Can't say I know the specifics of France's laws here but most of Europe has laws similar to the Sale of Goods act which tends to then say things like "you have to sell a device that lasts a reasonable amount of time/use" so multiple year warranties kind of just fall in line with that.

Afraid I am not inclined to watch a half hour video on things I largely know right now. However it looks like he has one of the dedicated/standalone flashing tools.

There are laptop/PCMCIA versions of the VIA6421 (I think it was called 8421 but don't quote me on that) but they were rare and hard to come by, not to mention expensive, during the 360 heyday and I hate to think what they go for now. Edit just checked and French ebay has a few for around 20 Euros with shipping.

You can use the 360 to power the drive when it is connected to a PC, make sure to connect the chassis to the laptop/PC chassis (the 360 uses floating ground and thus you want to use your PC ground/share a ground just in case) and keep video cables in there.

Hacking xbox and unsigned code, directions request.

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