What can I do with an old Xbox?

[Splych]

I still own my old Xbox... It is blue xD. I bought it that way, and it was in no way modded ;P

So what can I do with it?

I wanna make the best use of it... Instead of it just collecting dust in the basement. Any ideas?

 

[Edgedancer]

Make it into a kick-ass media center.

 

[ENDscape]

Use it as paperweight.

 

[Deleted-171178]

Play Vice City on it.

 

[codezer0]

Make it into a slimmer version of itself. Like what this guy did.

 

[SgtYutz]

Make it into a kick-ass media center.

look up XBMC its awesome.

 

[FAST6191]

+1 to XBMC, only now are regular standalones and media players starting to catch up.

 

[Originality]

+1 to XBMC too. I also swapped the HDD for a 500GB HDD I picked up for £35, so I've been slowly filling it up with lots of media and games.

 

[Splych]

- XBMC
- Paperweight
- Play Back-Ups xD

Making it slimmer is too much work. I am gonna go do some heavy research over the weekends. If I softmod it, what's required? Like, I don't want to get all this extra stuff that'll heavily increase the price making it more expensive than it is.

I got a few questions though:
- What do you need to softmod your Xbox?
- What kind of HDD does the Xbox use?
- Is it easy to softmod an Xbox?
- Can I use XBMC and play back-ups at the same time?

 

[codomir]

It is reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly simple to mod an xbox! All you need is an action replay memory card with one of those usb readers! If you cannot get that then you need an adapter for a flash drive, it plugs into the xbox controller. You also need one of these three games the platinum versions should work but I do not know about two of them. The games you can use are Mech Assault Splinter Cell (regular/platinum, easiest to get imo) and 007 agent under fire. After that go to this website and download the files http://www.smdepot.net/. After that its smooth sailing its pretty self explanatory, if you cant do it look on youtube. Then when your all done you should be able to play backups from hard driver OR from a disc, but I believe thats what XBMC is for you can get that from the official website, which I must mention they have it for windows now!!!!

 

[GameWinner]

my old xbox blinks red and green for some reason

 

[CheatingSoi]

I need to get an xbox but, at the stores they are still a wee bit too expensive to just pick one up on the fly. I want to play TimeSplitters FP in the best graphics possible and also it would be the onyl system that would still have online play for the game (I think). I would maybe even spray paint it white and green or something. It'd be a fun little project.

 

[codomir]

Is that because the way its modded? Or is it modded at all??

 

[Splych]

Okay... So I found this Xbox converter cable at ConsoleSource:
Xbox Converter Cable ($13) but it says "Use your favorite Xbox controller or steering wheel on your PC". Yet the picture shows the opposite which is Xbox Male to Female USB.

And then I found this:
Xbox Converter Cable ($10). But it is at some random store...
and
Xbox Extension Cable ($3). There is this one also, if I want to make my own USB Connector.

 

[wyndcrosser]

I recommend going to gocybershopping and picking up a xecuter 2.6 lite ce. They are cheap and a great modchip.

Softmod is a waste and causes errors sometimes....

XBMC let's you run media, homebrew and games. the new version has a xbox 360 skins, that runs like the original xbox360 dashboard.

If you want help talk to me. If you do get a modchip, get solderless, I couldn't get my modchip soldered well due to my iron being so big, so the connection sucks.

Wynd

 

[FAST6191]

The converter cables are just a USB extension lead with like coloured cables soldered to each other (the yellow one left alone). I usually just slice into a controller.

USB drive in lieu of a memory card: http://www.aideluxe.com/index.php?title=AI...nual_Appendix_K
Note that not every USB drive will work with one.

You can also mod an xbox with a hotswap method if you do not want to buy anything (other than perhaps some torx screwdrivers). General idea is you power the xbox long enough for the drive to unlock and then in the new unlocked state you stick it in the PC and fiddle with the contents there (putting the softmod on then). It is not that demanding a hack but it requires you to have a clue what is inside a computer.

I agree in part with wyndcrosser and softmods do have the fairly big downside of not being able to use just any hard drive (you need one that locks: http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list&v_...&sort=brand ) but frankly SMB/network and disc support is probably good enough to bypass it. They are stable though and anything but a waste.

 

[Splych]

Softmod is a waste and causes errors sometimes....
Wynd
Hmm... Alright. The only reason why I wanted to use Softmodding because it seemed easier then adding a chip. But it seems like either way, I am still gonna be opening up my Xbox. Since: 1. Will need to change the HDD and 2. If I put a modchip. So yeah... What kinda errors can you get by softmodding? And by modding with a chip, will it be easier/better/safer than softmodding? And is GoCyberShopping a trust worthy site O_O.

QUOTE(FAST6191 @ Oct 24 2009, 07:12 AM) The converter cables are just a USB extension lead with like coloured cables soldered to each other (the yellow one left alone). I usually just slice into a controller.

USB drive in lieu of a memory card: http://www.aideluxe.com/index.php?title=AI...nual_Appendix_K
Note that not every USB drive will work with one.

You can also mod an xbox with a hotswap method if you do not want to buy anything (other than perhaps some torx screwdrivers). General idea is you power the xbox long enough for the drive to unlock and then in the new unlocked state you stick it in the PC and fiddle with the contents there (putting the softmod on then). It is not that demanding a hack but it requires you to have a clue what is inside a computer.

I agree in part with wyndcrosser and softmods do have the fairly big downside of not being able to use just any hard drive (you need one that locks: http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list&v_...&sort=brand ) but frankly SMB/network and disc support is probably good enough to bypass it. They are stable though and anything but a waste.

Can I cut any branded Xbox controller? Because I got a few 3rd party ones lying around in my basement... I will try a bunch of USBs. But will be mad if not even one of em' worked >_

 

[crono999]

First do a softmod,its very easy to unlock your hdd,just get your xbox next to your pc put on your xbox and swap ide,now whit pc,rebuild your dash whit evox. whit in evox get your hdd key,whit this key you can make every hdd in your new xboxhdd,retail version or hacked on.

Now whit your hacked hdd use raincoat to flash your real xbox bios (tosp) and your pretty mutch done.

There are many guids to do this,just google around and get acces to xbin mirc and ftp.

This way you dont need to buy anything and only on some motherboards you need to solder,but it are just 2 points.

Good luck

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I'd say keep it. It doesn't sport full backward compatibility and even then, some games run much better on the Xbox than on the 360.

 

[wyndcrosser]

there's benefits with a modchip. (plus the xecuter 2.6 ce lite comes with a solderless patch for like 24$ complete, or like 27$ for a 1.6 version, check your xbox versions)

gocybershopping. I've heard two bad reviews from them, but nothing else. I've bought a lot of stuff from them and delivery has been spot on and quick, never an issue.

I didn't have a desktop, just a gaming laptop, so I couldn't use the software to flash my bigger HD with my org. HD's information.

(you motherboard and HD must match in order to work, there's a software that flashes your new drive with your old drive's information, but you need to insert it into your desktop, blah blah, there's guides)

But with a modchip, all you need to do is install the modchip, run Slayers (it's a set of programs ready for u to hack your xbox), run configmagic, then either copy down ur information or ftp to ur computer. Then take out your old hd drive, install ur new HD (500GB WD is cheap), load up slayers disc, it will install your custom dashboard and parition your new drive for you. Afterwards go back to config magic and make sure your new hd matches the data you have (if not just type it in, or import the file u ftp'd)

BAM!, you have a bad a$$ new gaming console with a rocking media player.

I'd do a 12v mod to your fan too to keep your HD cool.

Wynd