Archive:Xbox hardware modifications

Section about hardware modifications. This will cover; harddrive replacing, fan replacing, fan 12volt mod, heatsink replacement, foam insulation, other silent/quiet mods, etc. However since this is a XBMC manual and not a Xbox manual this article is not prioritized, but feel free to help out and add to this article, (a good knowlage base of this kind of information is the xbox-scene.com tutorials, also checkout the Xbox General Questions and Answers FAQ in this manual).

Xbox-case modification

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

Harddisk drive replacement

The original Xbox™ only has a 8GB harddrive and many people choose to replace it with a faster and larger harddisk drive.

Limitations and information to know before you start

• The two recommended harddrive brands that run cool and quiet in the Xbox are Samsung and Seagate.
  • You do not get more speed out of a 5400rpm than a 7200rpm harddrive, 5400rpm runs cooler and quiter.
  • Neither do you get a speed increase out of more harddrive cache so save money and get one with less.
• Up to 2TB (2048GB) in size. Upgrading your harddrive will also speedup Xbox loading and boot-up times.
  • Note: XBMC only supports F: and G: partitions for harddrives and 512GB per partition!
• If you want to install a harddrive larger than 137GB then you need a LBA48 compatible Xbox 'hacked' BIOS.
• If a partition is larger than 256GB, the harddrive needs to be formatted with 32k clusters, use XBpartitioner.
  • XBpartitioner is used to partition extra partitions such as F: and G: (not the default C:, E:, X:, Y: and Z:)
• Largest partition supported by a LBA48 BIOS and 32k clusters is 512GB, so 512GB+ need G: partition.
• If you want to continue to play on Microsoft Xbox Live online-gaming service then you must lock the harddrive.

HOW-TO replace the harddrive and partition/format it

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

DVD-ROM drive replacement (PC DVD-ROM)

Since most original DVD-ROM drives that comes with the Xbox™ have problems reading CD-R media, a few people choose to replace that DVD-ROM Drive with a PC DVD-ROM Drive, which enables better compatibility of home-burned media like CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R/RW, and also allows faster loading times.

Limitations and information to know before you start

• Only very specific PC DVD-ROM drives manufactured by Samsung and also LG can be flashed with a hacked Xbox DVD-ROM firmware that allows it to read/play original Xbox games.
• No other PC DVD-ROM drives can read/play original Xbox games, instead you can only use them to play original DVD-Video movies and home-burned media like CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R/RW (including backed-up Xbox games).

HOW-TO replace the Xbox DVD-ROM drive with a PC DVD-ROM drive

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

HOW-TO flash your PC DVD-ROM with a Xbox DVD-ROM drive firmware

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

Fan modifications/replacements

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

Heatsink replacement and adding additional heatsinks

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

PSU (Power-Suply) replacements (ATX PSU)

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

Foam/rubber/bitunium installments (vibration/isolation mods)

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).

Other silent/quiet modifications

Contents to come (when someone like YOU adds it!).