Hackers play with the Xbox

***Zardon*** · Jun 26, 2002, 01:17 PM

Microsoft's Xbox console may not be overpopular with computer game players but it is rapidly winning fans in the hardware hacking world.
Computer scientists, smart amateur engineers and others are taking the console apart and creating modification chips and software for the machine to make it do things Microsoft never intended it to.

The modifications mean the console can play movies, pirated games and music files.

Microsoft is currently investigating ways to stop the hardware hackers.

One of the most comprehensive investigations of the insides of an Xbox was done by Andrew Huang, a graduate student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In early June Mr Huang released a 15-page report on the three weeks it took him to find out about the security system built in to the Xbox.

He also showed how to interrupt its start-up sequence so it can be made to run other operating systems.

Mr Huang's investigations have been followed by others who have produced modification, or mod, chips for the device to change what it does and how it does it.

The chips, some of which go by the name of Xtender and Enigmah-X, let owners use their console to play pirated games, run PC software or games from other regions.
Many of the games produced for the Xbox use a regional coding system to help game makers manage the release of their titles.

The mod chips let keen gamers play imported games that they would otherwise have to wait months to play.
Although there are new mod chips being developed for the Xbox few think they will be widely used.

The chips have to be soldered onto the circuit board of the console, a feat most game players are unlikely to attempt.

Other Xbox tinkerers are working on other ways of modifying the console without needing to resort to soldering wires onto a circuit board.

Add-on programs are now starting to appear that work with a modified console. One of the first makes it possible to play movies on the console provided they are encoded using the Divx format.

Many of the movies being shared in online networks use Divx because it does a good job of preserving image quality but the resulting files are a fraction of the size of the original film and can be downloaded in a reasonable amount of time.

Also recently moved to the Xbox is the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (Mame) which lets players run old style arcade games on the console.

Mame is hugely popular online because it authentically recreates many of the games that people spent hours playing in their youth.

Microsoft is known to be looking into ways of stopping the spread of mod chips with legal action or by ensuring future Xbox games will not work with a modified console.

But it too also has plans to extend what the Xbox can do. Reports this week suggest that Microsoft is planning a hybrid device that uses the internal hard disk of the machine as a video recorder.

Frodo301 · Jun 26, 2002, 01:33 PM

I actually had read that MS scrapped the idea of using the Xbox as a video recorder. I've taken mine apart to look at it, thought about modding a different case. Would'nt be too afraid to add one of these chips, but I'm a good guy who would never use illegal devices to copy/watch/play games or movies

.

***Zardon*** · Jun 26, 2002, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Frodo301
but I'm a good guy who would never use illegal devices to copy/watch/play games or movies .

well with a name like Frodo I would expect no less

Frodo301 · Jun 26, 2002, 03:50 PM

But I'm possessed by the power of the ring.

DallasStar · Jun 26, 2002, 03:52 PM

My father and I once were modding my old Playstation (few years ago) with a modchip. The chip was halfway installed. Everything was going well.....until.......

HE DROPPED A PIECE OF MOLTEN METAL RIGHT ON TOP OF THE DAMNED CIRCUITS ETC.!!!!

....pissed me off..... didn't work anymore......I scraped the metal off with my nail..... then it worked......in a half-assed fassion (froze every few minutes and often "could not read cds").

But I now have my PS2

(xbox can go to hell for all I care, I'll think about using an xbox the day Square, Konami, and Namco stop developing for the PS2

)

Jun 26, 2002, 01:17 PM	#1
*Zardon* enchanted Join Date: May 2002 Location: Driverheaven Posts: 32,252 Rep Power: 3150	Hackers play with the Xbox Microsoft's Xbox console may not be overpopular with computer game players but it is rapidly winning fans in the hardware hacking world. Computer scientists, smart amateur engineers and others are taking the console apart and creating modification chips and software for the machine to make it do things Microsoft never intended it to. The modifications mean the console can play movies, pirated games and music files. Microsoft is currently investigating ways to stop the hardware hackers. One of the most comprehensive investigations of the insides of an Xbox was done by Andrew Huang, a graduate student from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In early June Mr Huang released a 15-page report on the three weeks it took him to find out about the security system built in to the Xbox. He also showed how to interrupt its start-up sequence so it can be made to run other operating systems. Mr Huang's investigations have been followed by others who have produced modification, or mod, chips for the device to change what it does and how it does it. The chips, some of which go by the name of Xtender and Enigmah-X, let owners use their console to play pirated games, run PC software or games from other regions. Many of the games produced for the Xbox use a regional coding system to help game makers manage the release of their titles. The mod chips let keen gamers play imported games that they would otherwise have to wait months to play. Although there are new mod chips being developed for the Xbox few think they will be widely used. The chips have to be soldered onto the circuit board of the console, a feat most game players are unlikely to attempt. Other Xbox tinkerers are working on other ways of modifying the console without needing to resort to soldering wires onto a circuit board. Add-on programs are now starting to appear that work with a modified console. One of the first makes it possible to play movies on the console provided they are encoded using the Divx format. Many of the movies being shared in online networks use Divx because it does a good job of preserving image quality but the resulting files are a fraction of the size of the original film and can be downloaded in a reasonable amount of time. Also recently moved to the Xbox is the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (Mame) which lets players run old style arcade games on the console. Mame is hugely popular online because it authentically recreates many of the games that people spent hours playing in their youth. Microsoft is known to be looking into ways of stopping the spread of mod chips with legal action or by ensuring future Xbox games will not work with a modified console. But it too also has plans to extend what the Xbox can do. Reports this week suggest that Microsoft is planning a hybrid device that uses the internal hard disk of the machine as a video recorder.

Jun 26, 2002, 01:33 PM	#2
Frodo301 Outraged Join Date: May 2002 Location: The mountains Posts: 585 Rep Power: 0	I actually had read that MS scrapped the idea of using the Xbox as a video recorder. I've taken mine apart to look at it, thought about modding a different case. Would'nt be too afraid to add one of these chips, but I'm a good guy who would never use illegal devices to copy/watch/play games or movies . __________________ The greatest thing you'll every learn is to love, and be loved in return.

Jun 26, 2002, 03:50 PM	#4
Frodo301 Outraged Join Date: May 2002 Location: The mountains Posts: 585 Rep Power: 0	But I'm possessed by the power of the ring. __________________ The greatest thing you'll every learn is to love, and be loved in return.

Jun 26, 2002, 03:52 PM	#5
DallasStar Junior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Wave Existence Posts: 2,065 Rep Power: 0	My father and I once were modding my old Playstation (few years ago) with a modchip. The chip was halfway installed. Everything was going well.....until....... HE DROPPED A PIECE OF MOLTEN METAL RIGHT ON TOP OF THE DAMNED CIRCUITS ETC.!!!! ....pissed me off..... didn't work anymore......I scraped the metal off with my nail..... then it worked......in a half-assed fassion (froze every few minutes and often "could not read cds"). But I now have my PS2 (xbox can go to hell for all I care, I'll think about using an xbox the day Square, Konami, and Namco stop developing for the PS2 ) __________________ "A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night." --- Franz Kafka