College v2

Hacking the Xbox

In this tutorial, I am going to explain how to hack your Xbox, and the various advantages and disadvantages.

WARNING: READ THIS ENTIRE TUTORIAL BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANYTHING!

First I’m going to explain what exactly you are doing by following this tutorial.

The Xbox, as you may or may not know, is like a computer. It has a Basic in/out system or BIOS and it has an Operating system or an OS. The Xbox’s OS only allows Signed games to be played on the Xbox and it only allows specific signed programs and files. In the Splinter Cell, or Mechassult games there is an exploit (an exploit is a programming patch or error). The specific “error” in these games allows for the installment of Linux. With the files provided, you install Linux which overrides the Microsoft OS. This allows Un-signed games (burned games) and unsigned files and programs (emulators) to be used.

Things you should know:

• Cold boot: This refers to when you turn off your xbox and then turn it back on by hitting the small power button (not the open/eject button)
• Nearly, every thing you can possibly do is completely reversible. I will explain how to reverse specific actions later.
• To play on Xbox Live, you must Cold boot with the game already in the Xbox. (an alternative is to restore your Xbox, I will go over that later)
• There is no manual on your new menu, you’ll have to mess around and figure some of it out on your own. Don’t worry, its pretty simple.
• Your Hard drive is 8 GB, enough for about two medium sized games such as Halo 1 and Halo 2, if you take out the campaign for each or vis versa if you prefer the campaign and not multiplayer (you will find the backing-up games on your Hard drive more useful for games like Half-Life 2 and Fable)
• You cannot play the games you back-up onto your hard drive on Xbox Live

The advantages:

• Burned or backed-up games
• Emulators
• Back-up games to play off of hard drive
• New dashboard
• FTP access
• Un-signed programs, or files
• Complete control over your Xbox
• Custom network and hardware configurations (fan speed, LED light color etc)

The Disadvantages:

• Xbox live is disabled (this is still accessible, and you may still play online games, though there is a possibility of being banned)

• It is STRONGLY recommended you use the new power cable, not the old one that was recalled, though that is still acceptable.

Now that you understand all the risks and what you’re doing, lets get started on what you need

You need:

• An Xbox
• A controller
• One of the original Splinter Cell or Mechassault (personally recommended), games (you can purchase any of them for about $5)
• A router or Bridge connection to your Xbox ( this is how you send programs to your Xbox)
• An Xbox Action Replay (you will only need this for one step, so if you can borrow it, it will be easier)
• A computer
• These files that can be found HERE . This contains the ALL download files for EACH game

If the link or download is broken or corrupt, contact me at Cblanda@gmail.com and I will fix the link

Hacking:

Now that you are fully equipped, let’s get started.

First off, you need to plug the Action Replay into your PC and transfer the above files onto your Action Replay by dragging and dropping the “saves”. Then you have to copy the files from your Action Replay memory card onto your Xbox. Then put in the game you are using into the Xbox, and Cold boot.

IF YOU ARE USING SPLINTER CELL:

If you are using Splinter Cell, Read this(otherwise skip down to Mechassault)

When the game loads onto the main menu select the profile named Linux, then select campaign, and then checkpoints, this will load the EVOX or Unleashed X dashboard. From here, you must first back-up your C: drive. Then select install UXE or Install Linux, Depending on what version you’re using. This will take a few moments, if your screen goes black or flickers don’t worry. After about a minute or so, the LED light on the Xbox will blink, this means the install is finished. Otherwise it will show the Linux penguin at the top and some code going down the screen.

IF YOU ARE USING MECHASSULT:

If you are using Mechassault: Select the Profile named Linux, and select campaign. Go to back-up menu, and back-up C: Drive and then elect Install UXE in the main menu. This will take a few moments, if your screen goes black or flickers, don’t worry, after about a minute or so the LED light on the Xbox will blink, this means the install is finished. Otherwise it will show the Linux penguin at the top and some code going down the screen.

When the screen says “DONE!….It is safe to turn off your Xbox.” or LED is blinking. cold boot your Xbox without the game in the disk drive.

So now that your Xbox is Hacked, what now?

I’m going to show you how to FTP to your Xbox. This is how you transfer files back and forth such as Xbox media center, emulators, and ROMs. First off, you need to get your Xbox onto your network, either by a router or connect directly to your computer. After your Xbox has been connected through a router, or to your PC it will be given and IP address. This is a number which is in 4 increments of numbers between 1 and 255. It should look something like this 92.168.1.101, that is just an example, you can find your IP address at the bottom right corner of your dashboard or somewhere else on the out side edges of it, depending on the dashboard version. Once you have the IP address, you’ll need to use an FTP client such as Smart FTP. Internet explorer works fine as well. All you have to do is type in FTP:\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. Replace the X’s with your Xbox’s IP address. The default Username is “xbox” and the default password is “xbox”.

You can change this later if you want.

If you use Smart FTP (which I recommend because its way easier) when it starts up click “file” then “new remote browser”

It should look like this:

Then fill out the info, it will look like this:

Click Connect, and you will get letters along the left side, like so:

Now all of your programs like emulators and XBMC (Xbox media center) go under E > Applications, so first you’ll need to make a folder under E called applications.

Now you can see I have more folders, but I’ll get into that. You’ll need to put the programs file directly into the Applications folder so it looks like this:

All emulators go in thier own folder in E > Emulators like so:

In each emulator there is a config.ini file that says ware the ROMs are , or the “ROM Path” you will need to Put in to ROM path, most of the time its “E:Roms” but if you have more then one emulator, that can be a problem as your games can be mixed up.

Now what to do if something goes wrong.

TROUBLE SHOOTING TIPS:

• If for some reason the install fails, no worries, no damage is done.
• If you wish to SAFELY go on Xbox live without fear of being banned you must go to system, settings, back-up menu, and then “restore un-modded back-up” this will restore the Xbox to its original state, to mod it again, all you have to do is put in the game you used, and then go to the Linux dashboard as before, only this time when you go to the “back-up menu” select “restore modded back-up.
• If you are having trouble connecting to Xbox live make sure your connection settings are correct, to be sure, select “restore to default” at the bottom of the network menu.

And I conclude this tutorial by pointing you in the right direction

LINKS

• Many programs of various kinds for your Xbox XBINS (this is only a,list of apps.) NOTE: this site is down for now
• Xbins works by way of MIRC and FTP a tutorial can be found here
• Another helpful place for ROMs is HERE
• You will need Firefox to use this website, you can get Firefox here

What you have basically done is turn your Xbox into another computer. Use FTP to add all of the ROMs and emulators your heart desires.

And that is all I can do for you.
Enjoy,
TKB

If you have any questions email me at Cblanda@gmail.com or comment.

[tags]xbox, hack, emulator, rom, nintendo, video games, arcade[/tags]