Xbox

This is one of my projects, wherein I hack on the original Xbox. Be advised that a lot of the information on this page could be wrong and you shouldn't rely on it.

Projects

Some projects I'm thinking of...

• Xbox EEPROM reader
• Xbox test power supply
• Xbox DVD controller
• Xbox DVD test
• Xbox HDD mount

Resources

Books

See an open letter from bunnie to find a free version of Hacking the Xbox.

Forums

• https://www.badcaps.net/forum/
• https://www.ogxbox.com/forums/
• https://www.eevblog.com/forum/
• https://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/originalxbox/
• https://gbatemp.net/threads/xeniumice-by-nemesis.557971/

Discord

• XboxDev #welcome
• ConsoleMods.org #original-xbox

Wikis

• consolemods.org
• xbox.fandom.com
• xboxdevwiki.net

Websites

• https://www.hazeno.com/
• https://www.pencepc.com/

Specifications

• Intel Chipsets Low Pin Count Interface Spec (PDF)

Articles

• Dumping the original Xbox EEPROM using your VGA port
• How to fix Trace Corrosion
• Original Motherboard schematic/diagram
• Xbox Version Detection
• TSOP Flashing Unlock points
• The Original XBOX mod guide! (Also clean up) ( trust me i'm not a pro xD)
• Serial USB adapter becomes erratic when ribbon cable exceeds 10 inches #6
• Original XBox Debug Console – It lives again!
• Original Xbox Mod Chips
• Save Your Original Xbox From A Corrosive Death (hackaday.com)
• Why The OG Xbox Is The Greatest Game Console Of All Time (cinemablend.com)
• Xbox Repair (ifixit.com) for teardowns, repair guides, etc.
• How to Determine an Xbox's Version (itstillworks.com)
• How do I fix my disc drive that won't open? (gamefaqs.gamespot.com)

Disassembling

There are some notes at AnandTech about Disassembling the Unit.

Chipping

Based on this search I found and watched:

• How to Install an OpenXenium Modchip for the Original Xbox

Also check out:

• Aladdin XT PLUS2
  • How to Install an Aladdin XT Plus2 Modchip in a Xbox 1.6
  • How to Install an Alladin XT Modchip in a v1.6 Xbox
  • Microsoft Xbox - Mod-Chip (Aladdin XT Plus2) and New Larger HDD Install.
  • Aladdin XT Plus 2 ModChip Original Xbox 1.6 LPC REBUILD KIT INSTALL Hexen 2019 - RETRO PRO FRANK
  • Installing an Aladdin Xt Modchip to the Original Xbox
  • Xbox Trace Repair & Modchip - Retro Console Repair
  • Original Xbox Aladdin XT Plus2 Modchip Speed Install
  • 16TB in an OG Xbox. CERBIOS has arrived.
  • How To Original OG Xbox Capacitor Replacement Upgrade HDD Thermal Past Ide to Sata 80wire
• OpenXenium
• Xbox LPC rebuild
  • Original Xbox 1.6 LPC Rebuild Board - Installation & Review

Videos

• Let's build an OpenXenium modchip for the Original Xbox
• OG Xbox - Cerbios working on 1.6 with 128mb Ram Upgrade!
• 16TB in an OG Xbox? CERBIOS has arrived.
• Original Xbox No Power Fix- Capacitor Replacement
• Everything I've Ever Learned About the Original Xbox Part 1- History
• Everything I've Ever Learned About the Original Xbox Part 2- Motherboard Revisions
• Everything I've Ever Learned About the Xbox Part 3- Common Repairs
• How to repair an Original Xbox that will not turn / power on, or fix a broken Xbox power jack.
• Bill Gates Was Impressed by Original Xbox Modders! - Engaging the Modding Community
• Modded Original Xbox Demo - XBMC & Emulators
• Fully Modified Xbox with LCD Screen and Custom Case Mods
• How To TSOP Xbox Easiest Method 2020 v1.0 to 1.5
• 2020 OG XBOX Softmod Guide - upgrade HDD - Rocky5 + XBMC4GAMERS
• Original Xbox Startup Screen
• DVD service
  • DVD service 1
  • DVD service 2
• How To Original OG Xbox Capacitor Replacement Upgrade HDD Thermal Past Ide to Sata 80wire
• Ultimate OG XBOX Modding guide 2022! Xbox HD+ / Hard Drive upgrade!
• The Original XBOX is still AWESOME in 2021 | MVG
• How to Slim an Original Xbox Console
• Borderline OCD
  • How to Remove Scratches from Glossy Plastic - Sony PS3 Case Restoration
  • Xbox Corroded Traces & DVD Surgery (Part 1) - Retro Console Restoration
  • Xbox Corroded Traces & DVD Pot Tweak (Part 2) - Retro Console Restoration

Tools

• PCB Trace Width Calculator

Games

• List of Xbox games.

Guides

• Pence PC OG Xbox Guide

Maintenance

Trace corrosion repair

See Xbox trace corrosion repair.

Capacitor repair

See: PSA: Your Original Xbox may be ROTTING AWAY right now....

Basically for Xbox < v1.6 you need to replace or remove the Powerstor Aerogel capacitor (C7G2):

The PowerStor Aerogel is a 1F 2.5v SuperCap and it powers the clock for an hour or two, but it's smarter to leave it out because it's expensive and not very useful or reliable.

You can also replace these Nichicon HM (3300uF 6.3V) caps:

DVD recapping

See this series of posts:

• So, really... Has a anyone tried recapping a Thomson?
• Follow Up Post Proof of Concept: Recapped Thomson; 0.81Ω pre to 1.41Ω post
• Resurrect Your DVD Drive! Update #3 - Console5 Delivers Cap Kits
• Update #4 First Console5 Thomson Disk Drive Recap - Resounding Success
• Update #5 Console5 Samsung Version (B) DVD Drive Recap - This one's a mixed bag
• Update #6 Philips DVD Recapping - Success - Read Speed Benchmarks Thomson/Philips/Samsung - Console5 Disappointment
• Update #7 - DVD Recapping Capacitor Lists Complete (basically)

Revisions

See how to tell what version original xbox you have or Identifying Your Xbox Revision. A quick and dirty method is to look at the manufacturing date on the back.

It was hard to find good info about Xbox revisions, so take these "facts" with a grain of salt.

Version check

Video Chip	GPU fan?	Power	RAM	Version
Conexant	Fan	1 row		v1.0
Conexant	No fan	1 row		v1.1
Conexant	No fan	2 rows		v1.{2,3}
Focus	No fan	2 rows		v1.{4,5}
Xcalibur	No fan	2 rows	Samsung	v1.6
Xcalibur	No fan	2 rows	Hynix	v1.6b

Also from console5.com: To quickly determine your Xbox version, count the small silver surface mount 10uF caps:

• v1.0-v1.1: 7 total 10uF SMD caps
• v1.2-v1.5: 5 total
• v1.6: 3 total

Hardware Serial Number

Serial number format:

LNNNNNN YWWFF

Code	Meaning
L	is the number of the production line within the factory
NNNNNN	is the number of the Xbox produced during the work week
Y	is the last digit of the production year
WW	is the number of the week of the production year
FF	is the code of the factory where the Xbox was manufactured

Per Everything I've Ever Learned About the Original Xbox Part 2- Motherboard Revisions the serial numbers indicate these revisions:

Serial Number	Revision
LNNNNNN 20WFF	1.0
LNNNNNN 21WFF	1.0
LNNNNNN 23WFF	1.0, 1.1
LNNNNNN 24WFF	1.1
LNNNNNN 25WFF	1.1
LNNNNNN 30WFF	1.2
LNNNNNN 31WFF	1.3
LNNNNNN 32WFF	1.3
LNNNNNN 33WFF	1.4, 1.5
LNNNNNN 41WFF	1.6
LNNNNNN 43WFF	1.6b

Factory Codes

Factory	Location	Revision
02	Mexico	1.0 or 1.1
03	Hungary	1.0
05	China	1.2 (or later)
06	Taiwan	1.2 (or later)

Revision by Manufacturing Date

Per Everything I've Ever Learned About the Original Xbox Part 2- Motherboard Revisions the manufacturing date indicates these revisions:

Date Range	Revision
2001-01 - 2002-07	1.0
2002-08-18 - 2003-01-25	1.1
2002-12-01 - 2004-03-15	1.2
2003-03-02 - 2003-07-26	1.3
2003-07-20 - 2004-04-10	1.4, 1.5
2004-03-14 - 2004-09-06	1.6
2004-09-13 - 2005-08	1.6b

Revision Notes

Revision	Factory	Date	GPU Fan?	DVD-ROM	Hard Drive	Video Chip	Notes
1.0	Hungary, Mexico	Early to mid-2001	Fan	Thomson	Seagate	Conexant
1.1	Mexico, China		No fan	Thomson	Seagate	Conexant
1.2	China		No fan	Philips, Thomson	Western Digital, Seagate	Conexant
1.3	China		No fan	Samsung, Philips, Thomson	Seagate 10GB	Conexant
1.4	China		No fan	Samsung, Philips, Thomson	Western Digital 10GB	Focus
1.5	China		No fan	Samsung, Philips, Thomson	Western Digital 10GB	Focus	This is a rare version and may not even exist.
1.6	China, Taiwan		No fan	Samsung, Philips, Thomson	Western Digital 10GB	Xcalibur	Xbox 1.6 BIOS chips are EPROM only, can't be rewriten

Xbox BIOS Version Number

Boot the Xbox in dashboard mode by powering up without a disc in the DVD-ROM drive. Go to Settings and then System Info.

K: kernel version
D: dashboard version

Xbox Revision	Kernel Version
1.0	3944, 4034, 4036, 4627
1.1	4817, 4972
1.2–1.5	5101, 5713
1.6	5838

Software

PiPROM

• https://duckduckgo.com/?q=piprom&hps=1&start=1&atb=v379-1&ia=web

OpenXenium

• https://github.com/Ryzee119/OpenXenium

CerBIOS

@Sab on ConsoleMods discord says CerBIOS is generally considered the best one. Except if you need to support XboxHD+ which requires a specific patch for full functionality.

• CerBIOS Compatibility List

FATXplorer

• https://fatxplorer.eaton-works.com/

Linux on the Microsoft Xbox

• Linux on the Microsoft Xbox

Hardware

You can read about the Xbox technical specifications.

Mod chips

• https://makemhz.com/
• XeniumICE by NeMesiS
• Jafar Chip for Original OG Xbox - Xblast / Xecuter 2 X2 - 1mb Upgraded Aladdin
• OpenXenium

CPU

See Wikipedia for details, basically:

   CPU: 32-bit 733 MHz, custom Intel Pentium III Coppermine-based processor in a Micro-PGA2 package (though soldered to the mainboard using BGA). 180 nm process.
       133 MHz 64-bit GTL+ front-side bus (FSB) to GPU (1.06 GB/s bandwidth)
       32KB L1 cache. 128 KB on-die L2 cache
       SSE floating point SIMD. Four single-precision floating point numbers per clock cycle.
       MMX integer SIMD

RAM

Apparently all RAM is compatible except for v1.6b (says Bomb Bloke).

D0 points

You need to ground D0 to enable some mod chips.

Intel debug pins

1 Over here Anand says "The motherboard itself is manufactured by Intel and is a 4 layer design. Intel's trademark debug pins are also present on the motherboard although the pins themselves are missing. For those of you that have never used an Intel motherboard before, shorting the debug pins allows you to enter the BIOS configuration utility. We have yet to try shorting the debug pins on our unit but we'd be surprised if doing so didn't have a similar effect. You shouldn't expect too much to be contained within the Xbox BIOS but it'd be something interesting to toy around with in any case." -- so definitely want to look into that.

LPC pinout

Television

The first TV I got for testing was this one: Portable 12" 1080P TFT HD Digital TV Car USB HDMI Video Player Television.

The second TV I got for testing was this one: TEAC 19" HD DIGITAL FHD LED LCD TV & DVD PLAYER COMBO 12/240v LEV19A119.

DVD drives

Drive models are: Hitachi GDR-8050L, Thomson TGM600, Philips VAD6035, Philips VAD6011, Samsung SDG-605B (Samsung B), Samsung SDG-605F (Samsung F).

According to my mate Alex: there's usually four types of disc drive, those being: Philips, Samsung, Thompson, and Hitachi. The Thompson ones are known for failure and the general consensus is that Samsung is the best though it's also known for having "sticking" issues. Philips is good and has less of a failure rate than the Thompson without the tray getting stuck like the Samsung.

DVD drive belts

Per Everything I've Ever Learned About the Xbox Part 3- Common Repairs you can use Xbox 360 drive belts for replacements in Samsung and Philips drives. But Thompson drives use larger belts. Apparently you can wash Thompson belts in hot soap and water to clean off dirt and grime.

HDD drives

All drives are only 8GB usable.

Western Digital WD80EB

• Western Digital WD80EB @ HDD FAQs

Western Digital WD80EB Technical Details

Manufacturer	Western Digital
Manufacturer Website	www.wdc.com
Manufacturer Part No	WD80EB-28CGH1
Product Series or Family	Protege
Product Type	Internal Hard Drive
Storage Capacity	8GB
Spindle Speed	5400RPM
Drive Interface	IDE
Form Factor	3.5Inch

Seagate ST310014ACE

• Manual (PDF, from Seagate)
• Seagate ST310014ACE @ HDD FAQs

Seagate ST310014ACE Technical Details

Hard Disk Model	SEAGATE ST310014ACE
Disk Family	U Series X 10014
Form Factor	3.5″
Capacity	10 GB (10 x 1 000 000 000 bytes)
Number Of Disks	1
Number Of Heads	1
Rotational Speed	5400 RPM
Rotation Time	11.11 ms
Average Rotational Latency	5.56 ms
Disk Interface	Ultra-ATA/100
Buffer-Host Max. Rate	100 MB/seconds
Buffer Size	2048 KB
Average Seek Time	12.7 ms
Width	101.9 mm (4.01 inch)
Depth	147.0 mm (5.79 inch)
Height	19.99 mm (0.79 inch)
Weight	455 grams (1.00 pounds)
Acoustic (Idle)	2.7 Bel
Acoustic (Min performance and volume)	2.9 Bel
Acoustic (Max performance and volume)	2.9 Bel
Required Power For Spinup	2800 mA
Power Required (Seek)	12.8 W
Power Required (Idle)	7.20 W
Power Required (Standby)	0.80 W
Manufacturer	Seagate Technology

Power boards

In Everything I've Ever Learned About the Original Xbox Part 2- Motherboard Revisions the speaker says that power supplies can be switched within these groups:

• v1.0-1.1
• v1.2-1.5
• v1.6

And that you shouldn't switch power supplies between version groups.

In How to tell what version original xbox you have the speaker says there are four main types of power board, as shown in the following graphic, (but I think this is specific to NTSC boards and things are different for PAL systems?):

Power connector

Some good prior reading is the Wikipedia Molex connector article. See real world power usage (max observed 8.6A).

I asked about this on reddit and was referred to this pinout which I stole:

I'm not sure (yet) if I got this right or not, but I ordered the following from au.element14.com:

For Xbox part number (MS P/N): X0161-001 (v1.0-v1.1 single-row):

• Connector Housing, KK 396 41695, Receptacle, 12 Ways, 3.96 mm
• Contact, MarKK™, KK 396 45570, Socket, Crimp, 18 AWG, Tin Plated Contacts

For Xbox part number (MS P/N): X01734-003 (v1.2-v1.6 double-row):

• Connector Housing, Pull Tabs, UL 94V-2, Mini-Fit Jr. 5557, Receptacle, 20 Ways, 4.2 mm
• Contact, Mini-Fit Jr. 5556, Socket, Crimp, 18 AWG, Tin Plated Contacts

For IDE/PATA HDD power:

• Connector Housing, Commercial MATE-N-LOK, Plug, 4 Ways, 5.08 mm
• Contact, Commercial MATE-N-LOK, Socket, Crimp, 18 AWG, Tin Plated Contacts

Power safety cord

See EEVblog #1164 - Xbox Engineering Baptism Of Fire for a run down on how the Xbox safety cord issued by Microsoft works. They sent these out instead of doing a product recall. I have one or two of them.

EEPROM

There's some good info over here: https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:EEPROM

For reading/writing EEPROM see: https://github.com/grimdoomer/PiPROM

Q. how do I try the master passwords? do I take the disk out and plug it into a PC? the system is FRAGing so can't boot. there's no mod chip installed.

A. Indeed, you hook it to your PC and then see if you can get it to unlock. Recommend FATXplorer for this.

https://fatxplorer.eaton-works.com/2022/06/21/fatxplorer-3-0-beta-21-new-og-xbox-hdd-lock-unlock-tool-other-enhancements/ If no master password is accepted, then you'll need to dump your EEPROM and hand that to FATXplorer. Alternate option is to dump your EEPROM, then use your reader to write it back into a working Xbox motherboard. Readers can also write. 🙂 Note that different Xbox models use different EEPROM formats, though there are PC-based tools that can convert between them if need be.

This screenshot taken from 2020 OG XBOX Softmod Guide - upgrade HDD - Rocky5 + XBMC4GAMERS indicates what is kept in EEPROM:

IDE to SATA

Such as this one over here: Startech.Com IDE to SATA Hard Drive or Optical Drive Adapter Converter - 40-Pin

Also from Amazon: StarTech.com IDE to SATA Hard Drive or Optical Drive Adapter Converter - 40-Pin PATA to 2.5 inches SATA HDD/SSD/ODD Converter, Red (IDE2SAT2)

Troubleshooting

See Xbox Troubleshooting.

Fire, fire, fire!

Some early Xbox power boards had the risk of catching fire.

See EEVblog #1164 - Xbox Engineering Baptism Of Fire.

According to Bomb Bloke: The affected Fox Link PSUs are only in 1.0s, I think, and even not all 1.0s have them. Later Fox Link designs improved on matters. The issue is that the mains socket isn't properly anchored to the actual PCB, it's pretty much just solder holding it in place. Mess with the socket too much and the solder cracks, and running mains power through cracked solder causes sparks. The solder can be reflowed, though, and you can re-enforce the socket so's it won't crack again. Add some glue for eg.

Blinking Light Codes

See Xbox Error Codes for more details.

Light	Meaning
Solid red	overheated
Flashing green	bad bios load
Flashing red-orange	bad video output
Flashing red-green	system failure (can be a lot of things)

Protocols

Parallel ATA

AKA:

• Ultra-ATA/100
• ATA-6

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA

Components

Mod chips

• XeniumICE
• Jafar Chip
• OpenXenium

Capacitor kits

• Microsoft Xbox capacitors kits
  • Microsoft Xbox Original Cap Kit - v1.0 through v1.6 - OG Xbox
• Other capacitors
  • check out Aluminum Organic Polymer Capacitors

DVD capacitors

Stolen from Update #7 - DVD Recapping Capacitor Lists Complete (basically).

Note to terminology:

• SMD: Surface Mount Device
• THT: Through-Hole Technology
• Ele: Electrolytic capacitor
• Poly: Polymer capacitor

Hitachi GDR-8050L

Capacitor	Quantity	Height	Width	Lead spacing	Replacements
Ele THT: 220uf 16v	1	9.76mm	8.2mm	3.75mm	860080374009 $0.41 RZW221M1CBK-0811S EEU-FC1C221 $0.68 EEU-TA1C221 $1.14
Ele THT: 220uf 6.3v	2	7.55mm	6.5mm	2.9mm	ECE-A0JKA221I $0.47 ECE-A0JKA221 $0.47

Samsung SDG-605B

Capacitor	Quantity	Height	Width	Lead spacing	Replacements
Ele THT: 100uf 16v	2	11.4mm	6.42mm	2.5mm	EKZE250ELL101MF11D $0.70 25ZL100MEFC8X7 $0.73 EEU-FC1C101 $0.58
Ele THT: 220uf 10v	2	11.7mm	5.3mm	2.5mm	UVK1A221MDD1TD $0.50 UHE1A221MED $0.70 UKW1A221MED $0.75 UFW1A221MED $0.50
Ele THT: 47uf 6.3v	1	7.46mm	4.1mm	2.5mm	ECE-A0JKA470 $0.44
Ele THT: 47uf 6.3v	3	7.75mm	5.12mm	2.5mm	ECE-A0JKA470 $0.44 EEA-GA1A470 $0.57 ECE-A1AKS470 $0.52
Ele THT: 4.7uf 25v	1	5.85mm	3.7mm	2mm	ECE-A1VKS4R7 $0.39 ECE-A1EKS4R7 $0.39 ECE-A1VKS4R7I $0.39 ECE-A1EKS4R7I $0.39
SMD Ele: 220uf 6.3v	2	5.88mm	6.3mm	6.23mm-8.44mm	EEE-FP0J221AP $0.96 865080143009 $0.45
SMD Ele: 47uf 6.3v	2	5.7mm	5mm	5.28mm-7.19mm	UWG0J470MCL1GB $0.75 EMVY6R3ARA470ME55G $0.65 865060142003 $0.36 UWT0J470MCL1GB $0.60 UWG0J470MCL1GB $0.75 UWZ0J470MCL1GB $0.79

Samsung SDG-605F

Capacitor	Quantity	Height	Width	Lead spacing	Replacements
SMD Ele: 220uf 6v	3	6mm	6.3mm	6.55-8mm	EEE-FP0J221AP $0.96 865080143009 $0.45
SMD Ele: 100uf 16v	1	6mm	6.3mm	6.55mm-8mm	EEE-FP1C101AP $0.96 EEE-FT1E101AP $1.10 EEE-FT1E101AL $1.15 AFK107M16D16T-F $1.04 EEE-FK1C101P $0.68
SMD Ele: 47uf 6v	1	5.36mm	5mm	5.3mm-7.2mm	865060142003 $0.36 865080242004 $0.39 EEE-FC0J470AR $0.78 EEE-FC0J470R $0.70

Philips VAD6011

Capacitor	Quantity	Height	Width	Lead spacing	Replacements
Ele THT: 100uf 25v	4	7.4mm	6.5mm		ECE-A1EKS101 $0.76
Ele THT: 33uf 25v	3	5.75mm	5.1mm		ECE-A1EKS330 $0.52
Ele THT: 10uf 25v	2	5.75mm	5.1mm		ECE-A1EKS100 $0.42
Ele THT: 1uf 50v	1	5.75mm	4.2mm		50ML1MEFC4X5 (bulk only) ULM1M50

Philips VAD6035

Capacitor	Quantity	Height	Width	Lead spacing	Replacements
Ele THT: 100uf 16v	5				EEA-GA1C101 $0.81
Ele THT: 10uf 16v	2				ECE-A1CKS100I $0.39
Ele THT: 33uf 25v	2				ECE-A1EKS330 $0.52
Ele THT: 47uf 16v	1				ECE-A1CKS470 $0.52

Thomson TGM600

Capacitor	Quantity	Height	Width	Lead spacing	Replacements
Ele THT: 100uf 16v	9	6mm	8mm	3mm	EEA-GA1C101 $0.81
Ele THT: 10uf 50v	2	5.26mm	6.46mm	3mm	EEA-GA1H100 $0.57
Poly THT: 47uf 16v	1	7mm	6.55mm	3mm	20SEP47M $2.06

Clock capacitor

• Nichicon JUWT1105MCD - $1.44
• ELNA RSDZ11052R5E22300T - $2.76

Power capacitors

• Mouser
  • UHE0J152MPD1TD 1500uF 6.3v low ESR = $0.781 each
  • UHW0J332MPD 3300uF 6.3v low ESR = $1.40 each
  • UPW1A332MHD 3300uF 10v low ESR = $1.76 each
• AliExpress
  • 1500uF 6.3v low ESR = $0.438 each
  • 3300uF 6.3v low ESR = $0.455 each
  • 3300uF 10v low ESR = $0.476 each

LPC rebuild board

• LPC Rebuild QSB for Xbox 1.6
• Original Xbox 1.6 LPC Rebuild Board

Controller thumb sticks

Check out "For Xbox Classic" sticks on AliExpress.

Notes

• EEPROM and TSOP are different
  • EEPROM is 256 bytes of storage
  • TSOP contains BIOS code (including the kernel)
• The BIOS is loaded from a modchip or the TSOP
  • "most all custom BIOSes are just hacked up versions of the original firmware. The initial edits basically just involved turning off the DRM, but fancier features came along over time."
• XboxHDM sources
  • unlockhd
• The Kernel is installed in the TSOP
• The Dashboard is installed on the HDD
• Notes on clock capacitors:
  • the clock caps on v1.6 boards use Nichicon branded 1 farad caps & they're a known good brand
  • v1.0-v1.4 boards use the same leaky caps & they're not nichicon/chemicon/(insert known good brand)
  • the v1.5 board hasn't been proven to exist
• Modchips I've heard of so far:
  • Aladdin XT PLUS2
    • w/ EvoX BIOS on them, probably ver M8+
  • OpenXenium
    • "OpenXenium is basically an attempt to remake Xecuter chips, while keeping the new design public."
• TSOP flash options:
  • X2 5035
  • EvoX M8+
  • Titan (a further patch set for the M8+)
    • Titan with the XboxHD+ features seems ideal.
    • "To me, Titan's most exciting feature is the ability to crank the UDMA mode to achieve faster speeds across the IDE ribbon. Hardware has always supported it, but the firmware never did."
  • CerBIOS
    • "is also an interesting up-and-coming BIOS, but my attempts to find documentation for it haven't been fruitful. Makes me wary about recommending it."
• "a decent modchip does provide stuff like XeniumOS, which frankly is a really good thing for an inexperienced modder to have"
  • "I'm not sure how many decent modchips are still in production."
    • "OpenXenium is decent and still being made (slowly), so you'll hear about that one a lot."
    • "But something like an X3 is also decent. You'll just never find them any more."
    • "I think Aladdins were decent, but all the ones being made now are bad clones. But it's not something I've seriously looked in to, so take that with a grain of salt."
• Are there any BIOSes which aren't "just hacked up versions of the original firmware"?
  • "Yes, Cromwell (and everything that's a hacked up version of Cromwell, eg XBlast)."
  • "Cromwell is built from scratch, it's firmware that doesn't use any of Microsoft's code. Can be distributed totally legally."
  • "But no, it can't run XBEs at all. It's only intended for booting Linux."
• In DVD drives use Lithium grease to lubricate rails, gears, and other plastic parts that make contact.
• In Game Restart (IGR):
  • LT + RT + Back + Black
  • LT + RT + Back + Start
• The clock capacitor goes through the two holes on the right which are closer to each other than the ones on the left are.
  • the cathode (short wire) faces the back, the anode (long wire) towards the front

Stickers

If stickers are missing it means we haven't investigated this console yet.

Color (mark)	Means
RED	console does not work
GREEN	console works
YELLOW (plain, no mark)	console is chipped
YELLOW (cross)	console is not chipped
YELLOW (question mark)	not sure if console is chipped