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Finished Rewiring, Very Happy With The Results
(i.imgur.com)
With exception of the Mister, all consoles have either been modded or repaired. Bonus, everything is automated through Home Assistant so it will turn on the TV, switch inputs, and turn on the console, all via voiced controlled.
Yes I do all the modding and repairs myself. The OG Xbox needs a lot of TLC, multiple caps need to be replaced depending on the model (clock cap needs to be removed on all of them). You don't really need Project Stellar, though I do like it's modern interface on the console. A Aladin chip flashed with Cerbios (which does require soldering) along with a Startech IDE Sata adapter and 80pin ide cable.
Oh wow I think that level of modding is way beyond my means.
Well wanting an OG Xbox is a good motivation to learn! I got into this hobby because I wanted an HDMI mod for the N64 but didn't want to pay over $600 for a premodded one.
You don't need to hardmod it to be able to play backups. There's some softmod methods that work well and removing the clock capacitor that has a habit of leaking and eating through the board is as easy as opening up the console and wiggling it out. You don't need to replace it on most models.
Whole process can be done in an afternoon. I'd check out MrMario2011's video to see how challenging it is though to get a feel for it
That is true, I just prefer the hardmod methods for their reliability. Only the 1.6v needs either a replacement or another mod to keep it out. Some of the 1.0 and 1.1 have a habit of CPU caps going as well.
Totally get it. The biggest reason I would encourage someone to hardmod is a failing disc drive can cause the console not to boot. You don't need a disc drive with a hardmod and buying an additional console is cheaper typically then buying just a replacement disc drive.
Is there a resource or community you can recommend for someone who is interested in learning more about the console nodding scene?
Thanks in advance!
Of course!
RetroRgb- great retro content in general, his weekly round ups and questions are incredibly useful. He also has a discord for patreon supporters which has a pretty chill group.
Voultar His videos are the best soldering tutorials on YouTube for consoles. Also his snes and N64 RGB mods are super simple to install for beginners. His video on the N64Digital really helped me install my own.
Macho Nacho He does pretty good coverage of newer mods and explains the features in pretty simple terms.
My Life In Gaming These guys have to be most in depth and unbiased reviewers of retro hardware.
Console Mods Wiki a pretty good site that covers a lot of information on retro consoles, still a work in progress
Console Repair Community this one is not too active (I'm most of the posts) but hopefully we can get more questions there.
And finally any of the individual communities on Lemmy for individual consoles. They aren't the most active but if you post questions hopefully there are people to help answer (I subscribe to many of them and try to help when I can). The important thing is to ask detailed questions and provide pictures when it would help.
Thanks for the great list! Cheers!
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Well I just found one at a thrift store for 30 bucks. Feels like our conversation may have been great timing.
Very cool! If open that system up and try to identify the revision, if its not a 1.6 cut out the clock cap and clean the area with ipa. If you want to try going the softmod route, take a look at this tool https://github.com/Rocky5/Xbox-Softmodding-Tool (eg guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW6QsGXTrFQ)
Thanks so much. I will definitely be doing this when I can.
I wish there was an active OG Xbox community on Lemmy. The subreddit helped me get through my journey of doing a hardmod (TSOP flash) on my 1.0 version; I had an unfortunate disk drive failure at the EXACT wrong time (after the softmod), and it made things a LOT more complicated lol. But I also learned wayyy more than I anticipated, and have flashed 3 more since then without any issue (except for finding a roach infestation inside one of the cases, but I still salvaged the hardware and flashed it)
But regardless, you can message me too with any questions. I've never installed a chip to hardmod, but I can TSOP flash the hell outta them now. And if you're able to hardmod, I highly suggest it mainly because of how much more stable it becomes
Edit: This wiki also has pretty much anything you'd want to know about modding the Xbox https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:Original_Xbox_Mods_Wiki
Man you’re so helpful I really appreciate it. I’m definitely intimidated by the steps to Tsop but soft modding looks incredibly easy.
The softmod is pretty easy, especially if you have one of the exploitable games lying around (I had Splinter Cell). The flash drive-to-controller port converter-cable and a compatible flash drive (listed on that website) is all you need.
Just write down your EEPROM number after you softmod, for the love of god, even before trying to zero it or back-it up. That was when mine froze, restarted and the disk drive failed, giving me an "error code 7"... which not many people knew could be due to a dead disk drive, because it can be due to several things. A TSOP flash (if you have a version earlier than 1.6) allows you to run without a disk drive, and an unlocked HDD. It makes it pretty much brick-proof
I had no soldering skills when I tried it, so I was very intimidated too. But a $15 RadioShack soldering iron got the job done... the TSOP flash technically only has to work once. I even "lifted the pad" on my second xbox, but there are alternate points you can use a jumper wire on, if you fuck up the first attempt. .
For a $30 xbox at a thrift store, it might be worth your time to try. I say this from the other end of doing it, but it was also my first mod, first soldering job, and I was terrified I would fuck it up. Turned out, the soldering was the least of my problems after my disk drive failed lol
But either way, good luck! It was one of my favorite projects and is still in use as a balling emulator. The thing has a lot of potential once you get into it!
Hey friend. So I’ve never soldered before really. I was looking at harbor freight and they have two types could you verify if I could use the cheaper one? I don’t fully know the differences.
Hey! You can definitely use the cheaper one, it's still a lead-free rosin core, but just doesn't come with as much solder as the more expensive one. And you'll use very little for a Tsop flash, not even a quarter of what's in the cheaper one (even less than a quarter of it)
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