Gaming Possible redoing of the 360 FAQ

FAST6191 · May 25, 2009

Update this is the old version, new version is down below. Link to it
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?s=&showtopic=157263&view=findpost&p=2075011" target="_blank">http://gbatemp.net/index.php?s=&showto...t&p=2075011</a>

-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------
OLD version
-------------------------------------------------

First I should thank WeaponXxX for the original FAQ as it was sorely needed, however as is often the case in these circles things have moved on, new stuff appeared and some info/tools are old.

Also while I am here is it worth a list a linkfest for the original xbox, opinions and whatnot below.

First up a straight copy of the original post and and whatever I added. It seems it is cheesy film/game time right now but I though I would kick this off anyway.
Personally I think some of the questions could stand to be reordered and possible merged.

So if you think anything that wants to be added, changed, reordered, merged, summarised or other otherwise clarified speak up. I am thinking a glossary of sorts might be a good idea along with a basic description of the drives in existence and maybe some hard drive hacks (if I do that I will need to first read up as most of it passed me by)

----------------------------
Original post
----------------------------
Xbox 360 Common Asked Questions

Q1) Do I need to install a chip to play backups on my 360?
A1) No, you can soft mod the firmware of your 360 drive to allow it to read backups.

Q2) How do I flash my 360?
A2) Seriously there are already detailed guides all over the internet. The short answer is you will need a sata card with a VIA chipset. There are other compatible sata chipsets so if you have onboard sata your more than welcome to try but let me tell you from my experience that I tried 3 different motherboards and 4 PCI cards with non VIA chipsets with no success. In the end I got a VIA chipset sata card off Newegg for $13 (USD). You’re also going to need to have the tools to open your 360. You can buy tools off the internet or you can do as I did and make them using the top of a DVD spindle. Also you’ll need a torque screw driver (the one that is a star). I am not sure if there is different models but sometimes I need a #8 and sometimes I need a #10. Next you will need the iXtreme firmware files. These files are illegal so don’t ask me for them, don’t ask for a link, and don’t PM me either as I don’t have them. And finally you’ll need a jump drive. With so many howto tutorials out there I don't feel I need to write my own but if your looking for info on how to open or flash your 360 I recommend googling “Xbox 360 textbook”.

Q3) Can you at least tell me what software to use to flash my 360? It all sounds so confusing!
A3) Google “IPrep”. It is, in my opinion, the most user friendly app to walk you through making a jump drive.

Q4) Is it hard to mod a 360? How much modding skill do you recommend someone have to attempt this?
A4) It is pretty easy…so easy a retarded raccoon could probably do it.

As I said there are plenty of guides out there on how to flash your 360 but we often get questions from people who just bought a flashed Xbox 360 or are considering it. So here are some more frequently asked questions…

Q5) Will I get banned from Xbox Live’s services for playing backups?
A5) This is a grey area as Microsoft does occasionally do banning waves. However to my knowledge they usually ban people for either A) playing leaked copies early, B) playing an unstealthed copy on live, and finally C) just playing a bad copy of a game. You need to understand the risks that at any time you could get banned even if you don’t fall into the above categories. With all that being said I will have to warn you to mod at your own risk! Personally, in my opinion, to give me the best odds of not getting banned I just make my own backups.

Q6) Okay how do I make my own backups?
A6) Step 1 would involve you acquiring a Samsung DVD rom drive capable of reading a 360 disc. In order for that to happen you need a certain model drive that can be flashed with the Kreon firmware. Now myself not being able to find the right drive in retail stores headed over to the ever popular site eBay and searched for “Kreon” and found a whole slew of options of drives with the Kreon firmware already flashed for me. With that being said I’d recommend you follow my lead as these drives generally go for around $35-$50 (USD) which is really not much and can save you time searching for the right model to flash yourself. At this point if you don’t have a dual layer DVD burner I’d recommend installing one of those as well because you’ll need one in a little bit. Now with your computer equipped to read Xbox 360 games you’re ready for step 2, using the right software to make your backups. Now you do have a few options but I am going to teach you with what I use as that will be easiest for me. I use a program called Schtrom360extract to do my rips and a program called IMGBurn to burn my backups.
First I am going to go into detail on how to make the rip. Lets start by inserting your 360 disc into your Samsung drive and then running Schtrom360extract which will bring you to the following screen:

<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/27823/360tutorial1.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Use section (A) to select your Samsung drive, use section (B) to select your destination, and in section © you get to choose how to rip your games. Stealth extreme 3.0 is all that is required for a good burn but many people believe using the Stealth extreme 3.0 splitvid option will help keep you more undetectable against future ban waves. With that being said ALL of my backups are made using the splitvid option. Before you start ripping lets head over to the options screen buy clicking the "Misc" tab. Bringing that up will give you a screen that looks like this:

<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/27823/360tutorial2.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />

The only thing I did was change my DVD rom type to the drive I installed. I recommend leaving everything else alone and just click the “X” button to go back. Now you’re ready to make your backup so go ahead and click extract. About 12 minutes later your rip will be done and you will have a .ISO file and a .DVD file. Now what you need to understand is that your 360 games have layer breaks at certain areas and so what Schtrom360extract did is note the breaks in the .DVD file. This means if you try and use your favorite program to burn the .ISO your going have yourself a coaster. That brings us up to step 3. Insert your DL media into your DVD burner and boot up IMGBurn. Click on the icon that says “write image file to disc” and you will now see this screen:

<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/27823/360tutorial3.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Under section (D) you’re going to want navigate your way to where you stored the backup and select the .dvd file. The destination will be to your DL DVD burner and I’d recommend using a 2.4 burn. Sure some people have success with faster burns but since I’m the one writing this I can tell you I have backed up over 40 of games with no issues use 2.4 so that is what I am comfortable with. With all that being said you’re now ready to go ahead and now click the icon next to section (E). On a 2.4x burn it takes just about 45 minutes but once it is done you’ll just completed your very own back up.

Q7) Does DL media matter or can I use the cheapest shit I can find?
A7) From day 1 I have always used Verbatim’s DataLifePlus dual layers and they have worked great with 0 coasters. Many others recommend Verbatims as well so to save yourself some headaches I just recommend you do the same. A side note, recently Verbatim moved its factory from Singapore to India and with that move came lower quality discs so I recommend searching for a supplier who still has the Singapores in stock. I want to emphasize that your more than welcome to try other brands, I am just informing you with what I use and has brought me 100% success.

Q8) Is there any hard drive exploits like the one for the PS2 called HDLoader?
A8) Nope, recently Microsoft offered us the ability to copy our games to the drive to offer all the benefits we craved such as quieter game play, faster load times, and of course less strain on our DVD rom drives. Of course you still need to have the original in to verify you still own the game but then the game just runs off your hard drive. But as of right now there is no exploit to allow you to change your games without getting off your ass.

Q9) I download a game off the internet and am not sure if it has been stealthed. Is there any way I can check?
A9) Sure, remember that program we used to make our backups called Schtrom360extract? Well boot that program up and go to tools and then to stealth check. You can either check an already burnt DVD or you can check the ISO. Just direct the program to where the game in question is and click stealth check. If it passes then your good to go!

Q10) Can I backup XBLA games or install XBLA backups?
A10) Nope. At this time there is no way to backup your XBLA games. A side note that many people are not aware of is once a year you can transfer your legally owned XBLA games to a new system using their transfer system found <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/licensemigration/" target="_blank">here.</a>

I need to go eat but if you can think of any more frequently asked questions new 360 owners ask feel free to post them and I will add them to this post

----------------------------
end of Original post
----------------------------
Q11) Granted it is not asked as often but it should be there.
Does it matter what region the xbox 360 games are from?

Answer.
Microsoft gave developers/publishers the option to region lock their games, some do and some do not. There is no real way to predict other than most games released solely to the German market are.
There is no way around a region lock but aside from Japanese, Korean and non-English Eu releases the time between releases (as in NTSC English and PAL English) is not that great at all.
Unlike the wii we can not mod games or the xbox itself to play different region games at this time (and that does not look set to change any time soon).
Here is a site with information on the releases and their region compatibility:
<a href="http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6" target="_blank">http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6</a>
Percentage wise games work more often than they do not across regions so it is definitely worth looking.

Q12) If I am banned can I unban my xbox.
Answer:
You can but it is a difficult task and will only work on older xboxes that can run homebrew. You will need an infectus chip and a donor xbox (one that is not banned).
Here is a youtube tutorial:
<a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nh-EGQrdA&fmt=6" target="_blank">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nh-EGQrdA&fmt=6</a>

Q13) Copied games from the original xbox games on the 360, can it be done?
You can play copies of original xbox games, some scene/similar releases exist but for the most part people have to make them.
I will need to find a better link than this but it is a start (the link is smilla969's guide which is the de facto guide to such things).
<a href="http://360patches.com/index.php?topic=842.0" target="_blank">http://360patches.com/index.php?topic=842.0</a>

Earlier firmwares allowed "normal" discs but these days all games need to be dual layer regardless of their original size (and they could quite happily fit on a CDR at points and usually hovered around the 2 gig mark). They really need to start out as 1:1 copies (no menus, hacks, mods) and naturally no homebrew exists.

And then you have to hope it works with what the 360 passes off as emulation:
US:
<a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm" target="_blank">http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardco...tygameslist.htm</a>
UK:
<a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm" target="_blank">http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/backwardco...tygameslist.htm</a>
(that list does not get near to it: many games have issues despite being good to go).
A site that often has some better info.
<a href="http://www.xboxbc.com/" target="_blank">http://www.xboxbc.com/</a>

Frankly I would buy an original xbox and mod that, less complex, less risky and the original xbox is awesome when modded (near PC grade media playback via XBMC and very good emulators for just about every system up to the PS1 and N64 among other things).

While I am here:
Q14) How often do (hacked) firmware updates come?
This is usually a double barrelled question when people realise you can add a sata port to the xbox to facilitate "easier" flashing as part of casemod.
No real answer other than more than two times a year for a major update would be rare.

Q15) What is wave 3?
It is the name given to a new variation of 360 games that include the recent NXE update in the video partition. As of May 2009 all new games feature it (and a good chunk of earlier games from March and April 2009 also feature it).
The newer hacked firmwares include checks on these video partitions and inclusion of this update made for a new "valid size", this change caused iextreme (the main hack used by near enough everyone) to reject discs.
1.51 and 1.6 updates fix this (1.6 is not available for Hitachi drives at this time (25th May 2009)). If playing games is your only concern there are no real differences from 1.51 to 1.6.

There is also an older method involving the 1.4 firmware (a downgrade at the time) and hacking the isos by hand, such things are not advised and any discs hacked with this method will need to be discarded for 1.51 and beyond).

Q16)Software tools of choice?
I will leave flashing guides to others (fan of dosflash here) but this is a software question:
xbins is the tool of choice for automated sorting of the IRC and FTP issues.
<a href="http://360mods.net/index.php?name=Downloads&file=details&id=29" target="_blank">http://360mods.net/index.php?name=Download...tails&id=29</a>

ABGX360: Some people affiliated with/behind ABGX (you may know the site from the release scene: <a href="http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6" target="_blank">http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6</a> ) now do a tool which has since replaced the older tools like DVD mulleter (used for iso checking):
<a href="http://abgx360.net/" target="_blank">http://abgx360.net/</a>

Q17) Copies on Xbox live, possible and will I get banned from live if I do.

Yes it is possible to backup games although as mentioned above you can only play backup games (1:1 copies) and you can not hack them like you can the wii ones (retextures and whatnot).

Online is fine for most people although microsoft occasionally bans people if it detects you are playing copies. The bans usually all come at once (hence the term banning wave).
Nobody really knows how it works but we suspect either

bad burns of games do it (along with bad dumps; some of the "early"* (as in before release dates) releases are sometimes bad and with no frame of reference/way to compare until release date....)

playing games online before release dates

some have cast doubt on some of the modding methods (the xbox can tell if you power it without a drive connected as you might have to, realistically there is no reason to have it out other than to mod it).

The "what causes bans" area is little more than rampant speculation most of the time though so I would not read much into it. [wild theorising]were I to be MS I would have a group of "probables" and only ban a select few of them at random, also I would use a combination of factors to try and determine who is up to no good[/wild theorising]
For what it is worth though it is the 360 that is banned, not the account and you can simply move your drive/account to another 360.
Unbanning was taken care of back in question 12) (it is quite hard and needs some specialist equipment and hardware and only works on earlier 360s).

Regarding the specific region question: I would say not, all xbox 360 games are at present 1:1 copies (give or take the hacking to get them working) and any "region free" that exists was built in/allowed by the developers/their publishers.

*early games. They come in two main forms:
"reviewer copies": it is speculated that there are several grades of reviewer and some of the less privileged have a stock 360 and get sent review copies for that. These occasionally find themselves online and can be played on flashed 360s.
Part of the problem is many of these releases are from p2p groups and while some are good at dumping games some are not (the same could be said for some of the scene groups but not as often).

"pre sale copies": either from a game shop or from a pressing plant, these are retail copies and should be good. Occasionally shops break release dates and MS has stated in the past nothing should happen to these people (look back at GTA4 for this one).

Q19) Homebrew on the 360; what is there and how can I do it?

A bug was found in earlier kernels which meant homebrew could be run, however it was fixed and these earlier kernels do not support newer 360s (broadly speaking if your 360 supports HDMI then you can not do homebrew). Also older 360s that had a warranty replacement/fix will also be unable to run homebrew.
It will also cost you the ability to run newer games and because of all this there is very little available.
At this time you are encouraged to watch the google talks presentation on the xbox 360 security:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxjpmc8ZIxM&fmt=18" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxjpmc8ZIxM&fmt=18</a>

Q20) Is there anything like the gamecube-IDE adapter or the flatmii for the 360?
There has been a proof of concept demo but there is nothing commercial or even "homebrew" available on the subject.
<a href="http://www.xboxhacker.net/index.php?&topic=8335.0" target="_blank">http://www.xboxhacker.net/index.php?&topic=8335.0</a>
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/13jXbhXZI48&fmt=18&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/13jXbhXZI48&fmt=18&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

Basically if your drive breaks you will need a proper replacement, if you do not want to send it to microsoft the same model is easiest although you can "spoof" another drive model and use that instead. Unlike the wii you can not just slot it in as the drive is locked to a 360 (hence the having to dump the firmware to mod it). For same model drive replacement you use the same methods as you do for flashing to play copies are used to replace (although obviously with the firmware from the xbox with the broken drive), spoofing is a bit more in depth (although nothing major and no extra hardware should be needed): <a href="http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox360-tools/360FirmwareToolbox.php" target="_blank">http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox360-tools/36...wareToolbox.php</a>

raulpica · May 25, 2009

Nice FAQ, Fast. Really a good work

But doesn't the latest iXtreme let you read original games directly from your 360 drive?
I guess that's easier and cheaper than getting a Samsung drive and flash Kreon on it.

FAST6191 · May 26, 2009

The first 10 questions are the unaltered original FAQ from WeaponXxX, the latter are the replies I made to people who posted in the topic.

As for use the 1.6 to dump games that is one of the things I was going to update, I just wanted to get it organised first.

triassic911 · May 26, 2009

Hardly anyone uses iprep anymore....

Also, I would change the making and burning of a backups into 2 seperate parts, because let's be real, most people ignore the making your own backup part anyway.

Sportsmaniac1322 · May 26, 2009

Could you add something about external SATA port mods in this too? I've been trying to look into it a little bit, because now that iXtreme 1.6 can be used to dump games I want to have access to the SATA port at all times. Since I also want it to be as easy as possible without paying $50 for a Blaster 360, I want to know what you think about it!

FAST6191 · May 26, 2009

First external SATA port.
Note that this the same as flashing your 360 and it is wise to give both devices a common ground (the 360 is floating ground* meaning the potential it calls ground can be somewhat higher than other devices).
In all cases you should take care about switching and never "remove" the DVD drive after the 360 has initialised it and I would never hotswap it at any time.

*if this needs further explaining: http://gbatemp.net/index.php?s=&showto...t&p=1461502

Two main methods exist here:
first is the use of an extension cable and also can be done so you just need to pop the plastic grating off and pull out the lead.
Example here:
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?sho...p;#entry3418799
This is the most common method.

The basic idea is you put the extension cable in the drive end of the 360 and then in general use the 360's own sata connector is plugged in, dumping them means you pop off the case and remove the 360 connector and connect your PC to the sata port in place of it.

Second is more of a casemod and delves into the world of electronics and as such probably falls outside the scope of the FAQ, the general idea is you get a sata port of some form, cut a hole in your case and give yourself a new connector.
In addition to the "aesthetics" you will have to tweak the internals of the port: sata is a one to one type of device unlike IDE/pata where you could have more than one on a cable and it is equally ill advised to try and rig up something in series or parallel (you might just be able to get away with it if you do not have to power your drive or have external power but I do not like the idea).
The simplest is to do little more than a "tidy" version of the simple method. Here you want to make a "snake" by moving the drive to and external port and then either doubling back into a secondary port and then into the 360:

Naturally you need to make what port is what (plugging the computer into the 360 is not a wise idea, you will probably be fine although I would not want to wager on that)

Next is the more electronics based method. In short your will have to make a "y splitter" for sata leads. There is good reason such things do not exist in the general world of electronics and in addition to this you will have to make a switch so as to enable you to select between the two.
http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Serial...ogy_Attachment)

Devices to do it exist but somehow they cost a fortune and I consider them a serious waste of money (technologically speaking they are a glorified throw switch). If you are still curious: http://www.industechnologies.com/products_...p;SubSubCatID=0

Your options here are a septuple (7) pole double throw switch which means you will have to make your own (you will be hard pressed to find more than four pole in general electronics) or merge some of the smaller number of throws and give them a common switch.
A rotary switch is probably your best option here, here is a project someone else did on such a thing (note that it is for the power, the signals which you will be doing are a different lead):
http://www.thesataswitch.com/

Failing that you can make it so the switches are a breakaway switch (you can "turn off" one or the other leads), it should be noted though that in doing so you leave yourself open to the possibility of having "both" live at the same time which as stated is not good (you might be able to rig something up with a push to break and a push to make switch using a common switching action to prevent this though). I do not know if you could rig it so you only need one or two wires to go to break the connection (think killing the power kills the device) but I would suspect not.

You could also spin this method into a throwback to the "snake", by inserting an external cable you can make it so the action of inserting the cable forces the internal one out (severing connections). As far as I am aware no off the shelf device will do this though. If you are especially bored you might consider an electronic (digital) version but that is getting well into the realms of pointless complexity.

Whatever your method you will find yourself with need of a sata port, these can be hard to find compared to similar things for serial (D-sub connector) ports so most people just rip apart either a cable or a rear bracket:
http://www.sourcingmap.com/port-internal-s...ml?currency=GBP

A noteworthy point:
Sata cables have a few different connectors, generally though you have internal (type L) or external (eSATA), they are no different in terms of signals and power levels (it is just geometry) and cables to convert between the two are readily available.

@triassic911 yeah I was going to explain the basics and then link somewhere else if people wanted a step by step (too many guides I read these days want to hold your hand and it makes it remarkably hard to pick out the good/necessary info). It will be a little more fleshed out maybe with some paragraphs below the "headings"
Step 1) Connect drive to PC.
Stuff about floating ground.

Step 2) Dump firmware.
Stuff about getting drives recognised and flashing liteons (the "spear"). I will probably focus on the methods that do not need you to desolder/short things and save those extras for a "further reading" type link.

Step 3) Hack firmware
Usually a simple action.

Step 4) Erase drive firmware and flash new firmware.
Erase is often part of the flashing but needs to be noted.

gaboumafou · May 26, 2009

You should also mention Jungle Flasher in the FAQ. Some, like me, find it "easier" to work on a Windows environnement.

Sportsmaniac1322 · May 26, 2009

That first mod you described actually looks quite easy, but I have one question. What do people use to cut the hole in the metal casing, and how do they do it?

FAST6191 · May 27, 2009

My guess is a small angle grinder or a dremel will be the best way, some of those look like they were done with tin snips (basically strong scissors) though.

The dremel will come with a thin circular attachment set at 90 degrees to the main device (this is in contrast to the normal attachments that will look like large pencil tips), the grinder will generally have the large face parallel with the body of the device. There are hybrids of the two though and I would suggest a dremel over a grinder (grinders are generally for well grinding and precision is not their strongpoint).
Third one from the bottom (either way) is what I am talking about:
http://www.corel-srl.it/images/dremel_foto.jpg

From there it should be fairly obvious what goes. Personally I would consider adding something for siding to try and prevent it from getting bent (and cutting you up when you try to grab things inside).

Edgedancer · May 27, 2009

Great job Fast. What makes me respect you most is that all of your posts are well thought out and structured better than 99% of the posts on the forum.

Sportsmaniac1322 · Jun 2, 2009

Why is this not stickied yet? This should replace the other FAQ since it has so much more information.

Also, I think you should update the dumping tutorial to use XBC. It's a lot better.

Blue-K · Jun 4, 2009

Good job, I thought that the old FAQ was not up-to-date, and bam, someone updates it

...

Well, I'm currently playing with the Idea of getting an XBOX360, so I searched up on the internet what's possible, how to do it, etc...during that research, I stumbled over some things, or not all my questions were answered...and here they are:

1) I've read somewhere that you can format a normal HD to HFS+, and then your 360 will recognize it...is this true?
2) Assuming I have a Ring of Death, and a Flashed Drive...because I haven't changed something on the Hardware, and I was careful and the Warranty Sticker would be still there, I would still have Warranty, right? So Microsoft should replace/repair my console for free...will they do something with the Firmware/Drive?
3) Is there any Chance to connect the Drive with an Adapter or something? I don't have a SATA-Port....
4) Is Vertifying during burning realy needed? I know...bad burns=probably ban, etc...but it takes time....

5) Case Mods...any problems with warranty?

Would be great if you could answer me these, thanks in Advance

. Keep it up on the great FAQ

Fabis94 · Jun 4, 2009

Imo JungleFlasher is better than iPrep.

FAST6191 · Jun 4, 2009

Sorry for not updating it yet people (1 through 10 are still exactly the same as the existing faq)

1) Not as such, you can mod certain drives and give yourself a large drive on the cheap though (or buy them but that is less fun). Guide to it: http://tech.redcat.us/mediawiki/Upgrade_xbox_360_hard_drive
Note you can not get as ridiculous as you can with the PS3 or even the original xbox but it does save you quite a bit (I do not know about the rest of you but I am incredible adverse to spending serious money on what amounts to ancient hardware)

2) Not sure (I have not heard definitely one way or the other), you should still be able to flash the original firmware back though (yet another reason we suggest you keep a copy when flashing your 360). Also note that people sell warranty stickers from 360s online for lunch money.
It might also be worth mentioning that you can occasionally fix a rrod.

3) Most people end up buying a sata card of some form anyway. They are about the price of a decent pizza.

4) Entirely up to you, personally I do not consider xbox live all that great and I am more than willing to "risk" it.

5) Cutting out the metal shielding may cause issues for you.
If you mean straight up case replacement then if you send it in you may get odd looks but if you swap it out then you should be good.
If you mean "custom" face plates then do what you like.

FAST6191 · Jun 24, 2009

Below I slight rejig of the FAQ although it is still not finished by any means (needs some links, some formatting and for me to get rid of the first person language). Just thought I would post it rather than have it rot on my computer.

---------------------------

First I should thank WeaponXxX for the original FAQ as it was sorely needed, however as is often the case in these circles things have moved on, new stuff appeared and some info/tools are old.

Also while I am here is it worth a list a linkfest for the original xbox, opinions and whatnot below.

First up a straight copy of the original post and and whatever I added. It seems it is cheesy film/game time right now but I though I would kick this off anyway.
Personally I think some of the questions could stand to be reordered and possible merged.

So if you think anything that wants to be added, changed, reordered, merged, summarised or other otherwise clarified speak up. I am thinking a glossary of sorts might be a good idea along with a basic description of the drives in existence and maybe some hard drive hacks (if I do that I will need to first read up as most of it passed me by)

----------------------------
Original post
----------------------------
Xbox 360 Common Asked Questions

Q1) Do I need to install a chip to play backups on my 360?
A1) No, you can soft mod the firmware of your 360 drive to allow it to read backups.
There are chips but they are either ancient methods of flashing a drive or for homebrew coders (a limited amount of homebrew exists for the 360).
At present all drives except the very latest liteon (starting appearing in late May/June 2009) can be flashed.
All drives except the lite on drives can be done with nothing more than a SATA card (more detail below but it is likely to need a certain chipset).

Q2) How do I flash my 360 and is it hard to mod a 360?
It is pretty easy…so easy a retarded raccoon could probably do it.

A2) There are already detailed guides all over the internet and anything said here would just be reiterating them for no gain. Before sending it off know that it is a fairly simple task.
The short answer is you will need a sata card with a VIA chipset (people stick to the 6421 cards- they can be picked up for around £/$/€10 online).
There are other compatible sata chipsets and as long as you do not erase anything trying will only waste time if it is not going to work.
The general order of things is
hook up drive
get the firmware read (lite on will need extra hardware)
hack the firmware
erase drive and flash new firmware.

There are automated tools but the steps are simple enough. DOS mode is the most compatible (boot from a USB drive) but Windows works for the vast majority of people.

Detailed guides to flashing.
Homemade lite on key on the cheap:
<a href="http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=668247" target="_blank">http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=668247</a>
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Q3)Software tools of choice?
I will leave flashing guides to others (fan of dosflash here) but this is a software question:
xbins is the tool of choice for automated sorting of the IRC and FTP issues.
<a href="http://360mods.net/index.php?name=Downloads&file=details&id=29" target="_blank">http://360mods.net/index.php?name=Download...tails&id=29</a>
It is a simple task and as long as the read the readme files (to make sure a bundled app is not an old version) then they all work in roughly the same manner just with a more or less fancy GUI.

ABGX360: Some people affiliated with/behind ABGX (you may know the site from the release scene: <a href="http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6" target="_blank">http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6</a> ) now do a tool which has since replaced the older tools like DVD mulleter (used for iso checking):
<a href="http://abgx360.net/" target="_blank">http://abgx360.net/</a>

Q4) How often do (hacked) firmware updates come?
This is usually a double barrelled question when people realise you can add a sata port to the xbox to facilitate "easier" flashing as part of casemod or for those intending to dump games (seer question 18 for minor discussion on that).
No real answer other than more than two times a year for a major update would be rare.

Those are the basics, now onto the more advanced questions

General questions.

Q5)Does it matter what region the xbox 360 games are from?

Answer.
Microsoft gave developers/publishers the option to region lock their games, some do and some do not. There is no real way to predict other than most games released solely to the German market are.
There is no way around a region lock but aside from Japanese, Korean and non-English Eu releases the time between releases (as in NTSC English and PAL English) is not usually that great at all.
Unlike the other consoles we can not mod games or the xbox itself to play different region games at this time (and that does not look set to change any time soon).
Here is a site with information on the releases and their region compatibility:
<a href="http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6" target="_blank">http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6</a>
Percentage wise games work more often than they do not across regions so it is definitely worth looking.

Q6) Does DL media matter or can I use the cheapest and nastiest I can find?
A7) The only thing that really matters is the media is a DVD+R DL (earlier hacks could use single layer but this was dropped as it risks a ban). The whole concept behind writable media rather odd when it comes down to it (if you compare the method by which real discs are made and the results between burning and pressing (real discs) you would probably be surprised it works at all.
It should be said that those who buy high rated discs are generally among those who suffer the fewest annoyances. Do make sure you do research as good discs types can go “bad” when a company shifts operations to different plants (which has happened several times).

Q7) Is there any hard drive exploits like the one for the PS2 called HDLoader or even something like the gamecube to IDE or flatmii for the wii, also
A8) No, as part of the recent NXE dashboard update Microsoft offered us the ability to copy our games to the hard drive to gaining quieter game play, faster load times, and of course less strain on our DVD rom drives. You still need to have the “original” in to verify you still own the game but then the game just runs off your hard drive. Not all games work with this however.
See question 17 for information on hard drive replacement/upgrades.

There was a demo of a drive being modded and by extension talk of something similar to the flatmii on the wii (use of hardware to fake the presence of a drive with a PC playing storage device) but nothing commercial or homebrew has yet come of it.
There has been a proof of concept demo but there is nothing commercial or even "homebrew" available on the subject.
<a href="http://www.xboxhacker.net/index.php?&topic=8335.0" target="_blank">http://www.xboxhacker.net/index.php?&topic=8335.0</a>
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/13jXbhXZI48&fmt=18&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/13jXbhXZI48&fmt=18&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

Q8) (disc) drive replacement, explain please.
If your drive breaks you will need a proper replacement, if you do not want to send it to microsoft the same model is easiest although you can "spoof" another drive model and use that instead. Unlike the wii you can not just slot it in as the drive is locked to a 360 (hence the having to dump the firmware to mod it). For same model drive replacement you use the same methods as you do for flashing to play copies are used to replace (although obviously with the firmware from the xbox with the broken drive), spoofing is a bit more in depth (although nothing major and no extra hardware should be needed): <a href="http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox360-tools/360FirmwareToolbox.php" target="_blank">http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox360-tools/36...wareToolbox.php</a>
An earlier way of flashing lite on drives was to dump the key from your original lite on and then spoof another drive (at the time the lite-on was not flashable remember) but was rendered pointless in the 1.5 iextreme hacked firmware update.

Q9) Copies on Xbox live; is it possible and will I get banned from live if I do?

Yes it is entirely possible to backup games although as mentioned above you can only play backup games (1:1 copies) and you can not hack them like you can the wii ones (retextures and whatnot). For what it is worth you can not hack them for offline either.

Online is fine for most people although microsoft occasionally bans people if it detects you are playing copies. The bans usually all come at once (hence the term banning wave).
Nobody really knows how it works but we suspect either

bad burns of games do it (along with bad dumps; some of the "early"* (as in before release dates) releases are sometimes bad and with no frame of reference/way to compare until release date....)

playing games online before release dates

some have cast doubt on some of the modding methods (the xbox can tell if you power it without a drive connected as you might have to, realistically there is no reason to have it out other than to mod it).

The "what causes bans" area is little more than rampant speculation most of the time though so I would not read much into it. [wild theorising]were I to be MS I would have a group of "probables" and only ban a select few of them at random, also I would use a combination of factors to try and determine who is up to no good[/wild theorising]
For what it is worth though it is the 360 that is banned and not the account so you can simply move your drive/account to another 360.
Unbanning is possible but it is quite hard, needs some specialist equipment, hardware and only works on earlier 360s.

Regarding the specific region question: I would say not, all xbox 360 games are at present 1:1 copies (give or take the hacking to get them working) and any "region free" that exists was built in/allowed by the developers/their publishers.

*early games. They come in two main forms:
"reviewer copies": it is speculated that there are several grades of reviewer and some of the less privileged have a stock 360 and get sent review copies for that. These occasionally find themselves online and can be played on flashed 360s.
Part of the problem is many of these releases are from p2p groups and while some are good at dumping games some are not (the same could be said for some of the scene groups but not as often).

"pre sale copies": either from a game shop or from a pressing plant, these are retail copies and should be good. Occasionally shops break release dates and MS has stated in the past nothing should happen to these people (look back at GTA4 for this one).

Q10) Can I backup XBLA games or install XBLA backups?
A10) Nope. At this time there is no way to backup your XBLA games. A side note that many people are not aware of is once a year you can transfer your legally owned XBLA games to a new system using their transfer system found <a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/licensemigration/" target="_blank">here.</a>
There is a seriously complex workaround to install downloadable content on the 360 and it is not without risk (to hardware and your banned/unbanned status on xbox live), more here:

Q11) Stealthed games, wave 3, abgx360. Glossary of iso terms please
ABGX360: Some people affiliated with/behind ABGX (you may know the site from the release scene: <a href="http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6" target="_blank">http://www.abgx.net/filename/?ch=6</a> ) now do a tool which has since replaced the older tools like DVD mulleter (used for iso checking):
<a href="http://abgx360.net/" target="_blank">http://abgx360.net/</a>

Stealth as the name implies is a way of preventing the iso from appearing as a copy to the internal checks of the 360 (not for playing, just for banning). ABGX360 and the Schtrom360extract detailed in the “how to dump games guide” below can check. You can either check an already burnt DVD or you can check the ISO. Just direct the program to where the game in question is and click stealth check. If it passes then you are good to go!

Wave 3.
It is the name given to a new variation of 360 games that include the recent NXE update in the video partition. As of May 2009 all new games feature it (and a good chunk of earlier games from March and April 2009 also feature it).
The newer hacked firmwares include checks on these video partitions and inclusion of this update made for a new "valid size", this change caused iextreme (the main hack used by near enough everyone) to reject discs.
1.51 and 1.6 updates fix this (1.6 is not available for Hitachi drives at this time (25th May 2009) and 1.6 was released after 1.51 by which point most people that were going to update were already at 1.51). If playing games is your only concern there are no real differences between 1.51 and 1.6.
There is also an older method involving the 1.4 firmware (a downgrade at the time) and hacking the isos by hand, such things are not advised and any discs hacked with this method will need to be discarded for 1.51 and beyond.

Technical/ in depth questions.
Q12) Homebrew on the 360; what is there and how can I do it?

A bug was found in earlier kernels which meant homebrew could be run, however it was fixed and these earlier kernels do not support newer 360s (broadly speaking if your 360 supports HDMI then you can not do homebrew). Also older 360s that had a warranty replacement/fix will also be unable to run homebrew.
It will also cost you the ability to run newer games and because of all this there is very little available compared to the other homebrew capable consoles.
At this time you are encouraged to watch the google talks presentation on the xbox 360 security:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxjpmc8ZIxM&fmt=18" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxjpmc8ZIxM&fmt=18</a>

Q13) If I am banned can I unban my xbox.
Answer:
You can but it is a difficult task and will only work on older xboxes that can run homebrew. You will need an infectus chip and a donor xbox (one that is not banned).
Here is a youtube tutorial:
<a href="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nh-EGQrdA&fmt=6" target="_blank">http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nh-EGQrdA&fmt=6</a>

Q14) Copied games from the original xbox games on the 360, can it be done?
You can play copies of original xbox games, some scene/similar releases exist but for the most part people have to make them themselves.
I will need to find a better link than this but it is a start (the link is smilla969's guide which is the de facto guide to such things).
<a href="http://360patches.com/index.php?topic=842.0" target="_blank">http://360patches.com/index.php?topic=842.0</a>

Earlier firmwares allowed "normal" discs but these days all games need to be dual layer regardless of their original size (and they could quite happily fit on a CDR at points and usually hovered around the 2 gig mark). They really need to start out as 1:1 copies (no menus, hacks, mods) and naturally no homebrew exists.

And then you have to hope it works with what the 360 passes off as emulation:
US:
<a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm" target="_blank">http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardco...tygameslist.htm</a>
UK:
<a href="http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm" target="_blank">http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/backwardco...tygameslist.htm</a>
(that list does not get near to it: many games have issues despite being good to go).
A site that often has some better info.
<a href="http://www.xboxbc.com/" target="_blank">http://www.xboxbc.com/</a>

Frankly I would buy an original xbox and mod that, less complex, less risky and the original xbox is awesome when modded (near PC grade media playback via XBMC and very good emulators for just about every system up to the PS1 and N64 among other things).

Q15) Okay how do I make my own backups?
Several methods exist although in the 1.6 iextreme hacked firmware update the ability to turn your normal 360 drive into a dumping mode was added. Other (older?) methods are detailed below:
A15) Step 1 would involve you acquiring a Samsung DVD rom drive capable of reading a 360 disc. In order for that to happen you need a certain model drive that can be flashed with the Kreon firmware. Now myself not being able to find the right drive in retail stores headed over to the ever popular site eBay and searched for “Kreon” and found a whole slew of options of drives with the Kreon firmware already flashed for me. With that being said I’d recommend you follow my lead as these drives generally go for around $35-$50 (USD) which is really not much and can save you time searching for the right model to flash yourself. At this point if you don’t have a dual layer DVD burner I’d recommend installing one of those as well because you’ll need one in a little bit. Now with your computer equipped to read Xbox 360 games you’re ready for step 2, using the right software to make your backups. Now you do have a few options but I am going to teach you with what I use as that will be easiest for me. I use a program called Schtrom360extract to do my rips and a program called IMGBurn to burn my backups.
First I am going to go into detail on how to make the rip. Lets start by inserting your 360 disc into your Samsung drive and then running Schtrom360extract which will bring you to the following screen:

<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/27823/360tutorial1.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Use section (A) to select your Samsung drive, use section (B) to select your destination, and in section © you get to choose how to rip your games. Stealth extreme 3.0 is all that is required for a good burn but many people believe using the Stealth extreme 3.0 splitvid option will help keep you more undetectable against future ban waves. With that being said ALL of my backups are made using the splitvid option. Before you start ripping lets head over to the options screen buy clicking the "Misc" tab. Bringing that up will give you a screen that looks like this:

<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/27823/360tutorial2.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />

The only thing I did was change my DVD rom type to the drive I installed. I recommend leaving everything else alone and just click the “X” button to go back. Now you’re ready to make your backup so go ahead and click extract. About 12 minutes later your rip will be done and you will have a .ISO file and a .DVD file. Now what you need to understand is that your 360 games have layer breaks at certain areas and so what Schtrom360extract did is note the breaks in the .DVD file. This means if you try and use your favorite program to burn the .ISO your going have yourself a coaster. That brings us up to step 3. Insert your DL media into your DVD burner and boot up IMGBurn. Click on the icon that says “write image file to disc” and you will now see this screen:

<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/27823/360tutorial3.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Under section (D) you’re going to want navigate your way to where you stored the backup and select the .dvd file. The destination will be to your DL DVD burner and I’d recommend using a 2.4 burn. Sure some people have success with faster burns but since I’m the one writing this I can tell you I have backed up over 40 of games with no issues use 2.4 so that is what I am comfortable with. With all that being said you’re now ready to go ahead and now click the icon next to section (E). On a 2.4x burn it takes just about 45 minutes but once it is done you’ll just completed your very own back up.

Q16)Red ring of death, what why when and where? also how to fix.
Needs basic explanation (ball grid array= useless if you do it wrong, MS did it wrong). X-clamp fix and theory.

Q17) Replacement/hacked/custom hard drives.
You can mod certain drives and give yourself a large drive on the cheap though (or buy them from people like datel but that is less fun). Guide to it: <a href="http://tech.redcat.us/mediawiki/Upgrade_xbox_360_hard_drive" target="_blank">http://tech.redcat.us/mediawiki/Upgrade_xbox_360_hard_drive</a>
Note you can not get as ridiculous as you can with the PS3 or even the original xbox but it does save you quite a bit (I do not know about the rest of you but I am incredible adverse to spending serious money on what amounts to ancient hardware).

Q18) External SATA port?
First external SATA port.
Note that this the same as flashing your 360 and it is wise to give both devices a common ground (the 360 is floating ground* meaning the potential it calls ground can be somewhat higher than other devices).
In all cases you should take care about switching and never "remove" the DVD drive after the 360 has initialised it and I would never hotswap it at any time.

*if this needs further explaining: <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?s=&showtopic=109419&view=findpost&p=1461502" target="_blank">http://gbatemp.net/index.php?s=&showto...t&p=1461502</a>

Two main methods exist here:
first is the use of an extension cable and also can be done so you just need to pop the plastic grating off and pull out the lead.
Example here:
<a href="http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=513488&st=0&p=3418799&#entry3418799" target="_blank">http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?sho...p;#entry3418799</a>
This is the most common method.

The basic idea is you put the extension cable in the drive end of the 360 and then in general use the 360's own sata connector is plugged in, dumping them means you pop off the case and remove the 360 connector and connect your PC to the sata port in place of it.

Second is more of a casemod and delves into the world of electronics and as such probably falls outside the scope of the FAQ, the general idea is you get a sata port of some form, cut a hole in your case and give yourself a new connector.
In addition to the "aesthetics" you will have to tweak the internals of the port: sata is a one to one type of device unlike IDE/pata where you could have more than one on a cable and it is equally ill advised to try and rig up something in series or parallel (you might just be able to get away with it if you do not have to power your drive or have external power but I do not like the idea).
The simplest is to do little more than a "tidy" version of the simple method. Here you want to make a "snake" by moving the drive to and external port and then either doubling back into a secondary port and then into the 360:
<img src="http://pix.gbatemp.net/32303/360snake.JPG" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Naturally you need to make what port is what (plugging the computer into the 360 is not a wise idea, you will probably be fine although I would not want to wager on that)

Next is the more electronics based method. In short your will have to make a "y splitter" for sata leads. There is good reason such things do not exist in the general world of electronics and in addition to this you will have to make a switch so as to enable you to select between the two.
<a href="http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Serial_ATA_(SATA,_Serial_Advanced_Technology_Attachment)" target="_blank">http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Serial...ogy_Attachment)</a>

Devices to do it exist but somehow they cost a fortune and I consider them a serious waste of money (technologically speaking they are a glorified throw switch). If you are still curious: <a href="http://www.industechnologies.com/products_list.asp?CatID=168&SubCatID=0&SubSubCatID=0" target="_blank">http://www.industechnologies.com/products_...p;SubSubCatID=0</a>

Your options here are a septuple (7) pole double throw switch which means you will have to make your own (you will be hard pressed to find more than four pole in general electronics) or merge some of the smaller number of throws and give them a common switch.
A rotary switch is probably your best option here, here is a project someone else did on such a thing (note that it is for the power, the signals which you will be doing are a different lead):
<a href="http://www.thesataswitch.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thesataswitch.com/</a>

Failing that you can make it so the switches are a breakaway switch (you can "turn off" one or the other leads), it should be noted though that in doing so you leave yourself open to the possibility of having "both" live at the same time which as stated is not good (you might be able to rig something up with a push to break and a push to make switch using a common switching action to prevent this though). I do not know if you could rig it so you only need one or two wires to go to break the connection (think killing the power kills the device) but I would suspect not.

You could also spin this method into a throwback to the "snake", by inserting an external cable you can make it so the action of inserting the cable forces the internal one out (severing connections). As far as I am aware no off the shelf device will do this though. If you are especially bored you might consider an electronic (digital) version but that is getting well into the realms of pointless complexity.

Whatever your method you will find yourself with need of a sata port, these can be hard to find compared to similar things for serial (D-sub connector) ports so most people just rip apart either a cable or a rear bracket:
<a href="http://www.sourcingmap.com/port-internal-sata-serial-ata-esata-bracket-adapter-p-30817.html?currency=GBP" target="_blank">http://www.sourcingmap.com/port-internal-s...ml?currency=GBP</a>

A noteworthy point:
Sata cables have a few different connectors, generally though you have internal (type L) or external (eSATA), they are no different in terms of signals and power levels (it is just geometry) and cables to convert between the two are readily available.

Gaming Possible redoing of the 360 FAQ

Techromancer

With your drill, thrust to the sky!

Techromancer

Burst Mode

Well-Known Member

Techromancer

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Techromancer

Director of Moon based operations

Well-Known Member

No right of appeal.

Xbawx playa

Techromancer

Techromancer

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum