The Black Art of Xbox Mods- P1 pptx

Summary Chapter 2: Disassembling Your Xbox Getting to Know the Xbox Hardware The Case The Motherboard The Power Supply The DVD-ROM Drive The Hard Drive... Lifting the CaseExamining the M

International Standard Book Number: 0-672-32683-3

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2004095063

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: December 2004

The Black Art of Xbox Mods

Copyright © 2005 by Sams Publishing

All rights reserved No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,

mechani-cal, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written

permis-sion from the publisher No patent liability is assumed with respect to

the use of the information contained herein Although every

precau-tion has been taken in the preparaprecau-tion of this book, the publisher and

author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions Nor is any

liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the

informa-tion contained herein

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or

service marks have been appropriately capitalized Sams Publishing

cannot attest to the accuracy of this information Use of a term in this

book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any

trade-mark or service trade-mark

Warning and Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as

accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied The

infor-mation provided is on an "as is" basis The author and the publisher

shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity

with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information

con-tained in this book

Bulk Sales

Sams Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered

in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales For more information,

Contents at a Glance

Introduction

Part I: The Xbox Demystified

1 Welcome to the Xbox Scene

2 Disassembling Your Xbox

3 Identifying Your Xbox Revision

Part II: Mod Chips

4 Introduction to Xbox Modding

5 Installing a Solderless Mod Chip

6 Installing a Soldered Mod Chip

Part III: Software Mods

7 The Xenium Operating System

8 EvolutionX Dashboard

9 Avalaunch Dashboard

1 0 Xbox Media Center

Part IV: Major Hardware Mods

1 1 Replacing the Xbox Case

1 2 Upgrading the Xbox Hard Drive

1 3 Lighting Up the Case

1 4 Cooling Down Your Xbox

Appendix

A Xbox Resources

Index

71957

698399

129157179207

233259275289

297301

Table of Contents

What You Will Learn

Conventions Used in This Book

Part I: The Xbox Demystified

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Xbox Scene

"Getting" the Xbox

Breaking into an Industry

Video Game Competition: The Other Side of the Coin

Learning Some Hard Lessons

Xbox Rumors Realized

Xbox Roots

Timing Is Everything

The Game Developer's Dream Machine

Bridging the PC/Console Gap

Promises, Promises

Did Xbox Work Too Well?

What Can You Do with Your Xbox?

So What's the Spiel?

Summary

Chapter 2: Disassembling Your Xbox

Getting to Know the Xbox Hardware

The Case

The Motherboard

The Power Supply

The DVD-ROM Drive

The Hard Drive.

The Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

Front-Side Bus (FSB)

Media Control Processor (MCPX)

Removing the Cover

Removing the Rubber Feet

Removing the Six Case Screws

4 4

7

7 8 9 10 11 11121213 14 14 15 16 18

19

19 2122222224 2425 25252626 26

Lifting the Case

Examining the Main Deck

Removing the Hard Drive

Removing the Hard Drive Tray Screw

Removing the Cables

Lifting the Hard Drive Tray

Removing the DVD-ROM Drive

The DVD-ROM Screws

Removing the IDE and Power Cables

Pulling the DVD-ROM Drive

Removing the Motherboard

Removing the IDE Cable and DVD-ROM Power Connectors

Removing the Motherboard Power Supply Connector

Removing the Motherboard Screws

Unplugging the Controller Port Cables

Removing the Case Fan

Removing the Motherboard

Hardware Serial Number

Video Chip Verification

Xbox BIOS Version Number

Special/Limited Edition Exceptions

Halo Special Edition

Limited Edition Crystal Pack

Additional Exceptions

Summary

2930 32 33 333538383839 43 44464848525256

57

57575758 58 58 59 59606061 62 636464646566

vi The Black Art of XBox Mods

Part II: Mod Chips

Chapter 4: Introduction to Xbox Modding

What Is a Mod Chip?

How Does a Mod Chip Work?

Are Mod Chips Legal? The Modded Xbox Why the DMCA Does More Harm Than Good What Can You Do with a Mod Chip?

Xbox Media Center (XBMC) Homebrew Games

Overview of Available Mod Chips

Xenium.

Xecuter SmartXX XBIT Aladdin X-Chip Before You Install a Mod Chip

Summary

Chapter 5: Installing a Solderless Mod Chip

Solderless Xenium Installation

Locating the LPC Fixing a Pre-Soldered LPC Locating the DO

Installing the Solderless Adapter Installing the Mod Chip Booting Up the Mod Chip

Summary

Chapter 6: Installing a Soldered Mod Chip

Removing the Motherboard

Installing a Pin Header (All Revisions)

Preparing to Solder Locating the LPe Removing Pin 4

69

697070737475 75 76 77 78 787979.80808082

83

8385.87888994

.96

97

99

99103 104 105 107

Inserting the Pin Header

Soldering the Pins.

Installing the DO Wire

Xbox Revision 1.6 Mod Chip Installation

Double-Checking the Revision

Installing the Pin Header

Rebuilding the LPC

Installing the LFRAME Wire

Troubleshooting

Problem with theDO/LFRAME

Problem with the LPC

Other Problems

Summary

Part III: Software Mods

Chapter 7: The Xenium Operating System

Overview of the XeniumOIS

The XeniumOISMain Menu

Installing the EvoX Dashboard

Installing the EvoX BIOS

Creating a Custom BIOS

Using the EvoX Dash

Tweaking EvoX Dash

The EvoX Dash Interface

Creating Your Own EvoX Skins

Summary

Contents vii

107110113115115.116116123125125125125126

129

129130131134 140 144155155155156

157

157158159159160165167167168 173177

viii The Black Art of XBox Mods

Chapter 9: Avalaunch Dashboard

Installing Avalaunch

Customizing a BIOS for Avalaunch Copying the Avalaunch Files to Your Xbox Adding Avalaunch to the Xenium O/S Launch Menu Running Avalaunch

Avalaunch Features The Main Menu XBox Media Player Games

Applications Emula tors File Manager IRC Client Telnet Client Settings Reboot Shutdown Summary

Chapter 10: Xbox Media Center

Overview of Xbox Media Center

Installing Xbox Media Center

Installing the XBMC Files Installing a Hacked BIOS Running Xbox Media Center

The Main Menu

179

179180181.181186.186186187187191.191191 194194195204205.205

207

207208209209211 212212215217221 224226229230

Part IV: Major Hardware Mods

Chapter 11: Replacing the Xbox Case

Stock Cases

Tearing Down the Old Case

Replacing the DVD-ROM Tray Panel

Assembling the New Case

Aftermarket Cases

Assembling the Aftermarket Case

The System Jewel

Summary

Chapter 12: Upgrading the Xbox Hard Drive

Overview of the Swap

The Stock Xbox Hard Drive

The Replacement Hard Drive

Connecting Both Hard Drives

Master/Slave Settings.

Connecting the IDE Cable

Connecting the Power Cables

The Hard Drive Upgrade Wizard

Running the Drive Upgrade Wizard

Formatting the New Drive and Transferring Data

Verifying the Upgrade Process

Summary

Chapter 13: lighting Up the Case

Cosmetic Xbox Modifications

Cold Cathode Lighting

How About a Glowing Jewel?

Removing the Cold Cathode Bulb

Gluing the Light to the Case Cover

Custom Lighting with LEDs

Creating Your Own LED Light Show

Building the Main LED Wire Loom

PuttingItAllTogether

Examining the Cold Cathode Light

The Custom LEDs

Summary.

Contents ix

233

233 234

· 245246.252

· 252258258

259

· 259260261

· 262262264264267267271 273274

275

275277279279281281281283285286286287

Chapter 14: Cooling Down Your Xbox

Software Cooling Solutions

Setting Fan Speed in BIOS

Setting Fan Speed in XBMC

Active Cooling for Your Xbox

Hard Drive Cooling

Finding Room in the Case

Installing a Hard Drive Cooling Fan

Summary

Appendix A: Xbox Resources

Xbox Information Sites

Mod Chip Manufacturers

Xbox Hardware Sites

Xbox Software Sites

Index

289

289290291292294294295296

297

297298298299

301

About the Author

Jonathan S Harbou rhas been an avid gamer and programmer for 17 years, having startedwith early systems such as the Commodore PET, Apple II, and Tandy 1000 The first console hedisassembled and tried to hack was the Atari 2600 He holds a degree in computer informationsystems and enjoys writing code in several languages Jonathan has experience with several plat-forms, including Windows, LimlX, Pocket PC, and Game Boy Advance Jonathan has written ninebooks on the subjects of game programming, application development, console programming,cross-platform programming, and now console modding He maintains a website dedicated tothese subjects at http://www.jharbour.com

For My Father,

Martin Scott Harbour

This book would not exist without all the incredible amount of diligence by individuals whofreely gave their hard-earned knowledge to others This book is not a unique work by any means,and although everything described herein was performed by me, I do not take credit for figuringout anything on my own I am just a writer! Yes, I am a hard-core gamer and programmer, but I

am by no means a hardware hacker What I have done here is simply study, build, and explainhow it was done To all of you out there who tinkered, experimented, and figured it all out, thenshared your knowledge with the world, this book is dedicated to you

This project was a labor of love, and I hope it shows in my writing style I appreciate this tunity, as myforte is software development by day, game programming by night I would like to

oppor-thank Sams Publishing for releasing this book I appreciate the daily encouragement and support

of Neil Rowe and thank Sean Dixon for his hard work I appreciate the hard-working editors,artists, and layout specialists at Sams for doing such a fine job Thanks go to Team Xodus for pro-viding me with several mod chips for the development of this book Also, a special thanks toArtifex and Stealth for the Xeniumas.lowe a big thanks to the folks at www.customps2.com forseveral clear cases that are featured in this book

I thank my wife, Jennifer, for putting up with the insane deadlines I faced with this project thatsoaked up all of my free time for several months Thank you for being so supportive! I am alsoblessed to have two wonderful kids, Jeremiah and Kayleigh, who force me to take a break now andthen I thank God for my family

To my readers, thank you for buying this book I am certain that you will enjoy it! Finally, to theopen source community-lighten up a little! You are winning, after all

We Want to Hear from You!

As the reader of this book,you are our most important critic and commentator We value your

opinion and want to know what we're doing right, what we could do better, what areas you'd like

to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you're willing to pass our way

As an associate publisher for Sams Publishing, I welcome your comments You can email or write

me directly to let me know what you did or didn't like about this book-as well as what we can

do to make our books better

Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book We do have

a User Services group, however, where I will forward specific technical questions related to the book.

When yOll write, please be sure to include this book's title and author as well as your name, emailaddress, and phone number I will carefully review your comments and share them with theauthor and editors who worked on the book

The Xbox might be described as a powerful, proprietary

PC that has been customized exclusively for runninggames This book will help you to maximize the potential

of your Xbox video game console by showing you how

to modify your Xbox in various ways You will learn how todisassemble your Xbox, right down to the motherboard, andyou will learn about each component, inside the Xbox case

Several chapters are devoted to the most important part ofXbox modding: choosing a mod chip and then learning how

to install it in your Xbox The mod chip allows you to runthird-party software on your Xbox that is normally limitedexclusively to licensed retail games By being able to run cus-tom software on your Xbox, you will be able to transform itinto a powerful media center capable of playing music files(such as MP3) and video files (such as MPEG2, Divx, WMV,and Xvid) All of the Xbox mod chips currently availablework on the same principles, so you will find the coverage ofthe material applicable to whatever mod chip you use (orplan to install while reading this book) Although this bookaddresses several of the major mod chips currently available,

it focuses primarily on the Xenium mod chip

2 Introduction

I chose this mod chip because itcomes with an excellent operatingsystem with features that will assistwith upgrading the hard drive andinstalling your favorite Dashboardsand software All of the mod chipscurrently on the market are similar,

so even if you're using another modchip (such as SmartXX, Xecuter, X-Bit, X-Chip, or Chameleon), you willfind the topics relevant and helpfulbecause the focus is mainly on theXbox itself, not on any specificmodel of aftermarket hardware.Several chapters are devoted to theinstallation and use of customDashboard software-which issomewhat like an operating systemfor your "modded" Xbox, allowingyou to take advantage of softwareyou have installed For that matter,the new Dashboards provide a wayfor you to copy software to yourXbox from your PC using a localarea network (LAN) connection.Most custom Dashboards come with

an FTP server, so you will be able tolog on to your Xbox as if it were acomputer on the Internet and thentransfer files to your Xbox harddrive Some Dashboards also pro-vide a SAMBA/SMB server thatallows you to treat the Xbox harddrive like a shared network drive

Introduction 3

For you to get the most out of your Xbox, this book will also teach you how to upgrade your hard

drive You will be able to install a new hard drive in your Xbox-replacing the original hard

drive-with up to 300GB of storage space, which is plenty of room for anything

you want to do with your Xbox

The hundreds of photos in this book will help to guide you through each subject area-from

identifying your particular revision of the Xbox (did you know there are seven "unofficial"

versions?) to installing a mod chip to upgrading your hard drive Everything is fully explained,

and each subject area includes dozens of photos that illustrate each step of the process of

modding your Xbox

No matter what you plan to do with

your Xbox-from turning it into a

monster gaming rig or a media

cen-ter compucen-ter to acting as a hub for

your big-screen TV and

entertain-ment center-you will find the

information you have been looking

for in this concise, fully illustrated,

thorough, and step-by-step guide to

Xbox mods This book is part

hard-ware and part softhard-ware, and there is

equal treatment of both You will

learn how to fully customize your

Xbox from a functional perspective,

as well as from a cosmetic perspective And you will learn how to modify the software to match

the exotic changes you have rendered on the physical appearance and functionality of your new

"super" Xbox

So, if you are just browsing at a bookstore, flip through the pages and see for yourself how every

subject is completely explored and explained, and every step of the process is completely laid out

for you I'm sure you will find this book an excellent addition to your library and an

indispens-able reference that you will keep an arm's length away at all times This book is not just a guide;

it is a reference, with all the major features and specifications of each revision of the Xbox, as well

as all the major mod chips at your fingertips