TheSegaHolic

Ahhh right, so to make sure old thicko here has got this correct The EEPROM from the original HDD is cloned to the new 500GB HDD and I can still back up/null the EEPROM via the new HDD to future proof me should I need to replace the drive in future?

So I’m humped then if this 500GB HDD dies, as he’s not backed up the EEPROM or given me the original HDD?

I bought a pre-modded Xbox on eBay, it’s a 1.6 with the LG-Hitachi drive and has a 500GB WD installed with XBMC running. Everything works great, but when I messaged the seller to ask about the EEPROM, he said he hadn’t nulled it but that I could do it with Rocky5’s tool should I ever need to. I was just wanting to future proof myself should the HDD provided fail down the years, but how has he managed to replace the HDD without nulling the EEPROM? I thought that was part of the whole softmod and HDD unlock process prior to swapping the drive out. So should the drive fail in future am I humped? Or has the EEPROM from the old HDD been ported over to the new 500GB one? Cheers!

Yeah, both copies are in great condition. As I say every other game I own works fine, I only have 16 at present but still plenty to troubleshoot with.

Really? That’s good to hear. The magnets getting “stuck” is what I think happened when I got the console, as it’s barely used. I ran Halo 2 for 30 mins and it froze. When I restarted, the console wouldn’t spin discs. When I opened the DVD drive up I must have released the magnets and since putting it back together it’s been fine, but there’s a thing I’d like to run by you … My Xbox will not load Dead or Alive 1 or 2 Ultimate. It loads up, but it’s slow, like the loads times between the title screen and character select take ages, and when the game starts, the gameplay is fine but the audio is out of sync (the announcer says “Fight” 5 seconds into the bout). I have tried a second copy, and that one doesn’t even load at all … at least the first loaded the game up, albeit it ran slowly. Every other game I own works fine, but it hates DOA Ultimate 1 and 2!

If even the slightest bit of pressure is placed on the case directly above the disc drive as it’s running, there’s a metallic “vibrating” noise. I actually had to loosen the screws on the case to stop it doing it all the time after reassembling it. I thought perhaps I’d tightened the two halves of the shell together too much. Also, is the read/boot time “normal” between inserting a disc and the black Xbox splash screen showing? Video here:

Wow, really!? I thought this was quite loud, too. Something else I’ve noticed, if even the slightest bit of pressure is placed on the case directly above the disc drive, there’s a metallic “vibrating” noise. I actually had to loosen the screws on the case to stop it doing it all the time after reassembling it. Also, is that read time “normal” between inserting a disc and the black Xbox splash screen showing? Wee video here:

You guys are legends, cheers. This forum is a fountain of knowledge, absolutely brilliant.

Yeah, I really just want a larger hard drive in there to play Xbox games from to save wear and tear on the DVD drive, I’m not even interested in emulators. The console serial number ends 33305, which going by some online sources puts my console as a 1.4 made in China, but the manufactured date on the console is 16/08/2003. The Kernel is 5101. I’d just like the simplest way of getting a bigger hard drive in there to play original Xbox games from. I’ve got plenty of games of my own, I’d just like to not rely on the DVD drive long term to play them. Thanks!

I apologise for the tech OCD, I’m just so stoked to have this console back in my life and every little noise or sound makes me wonder, “What if”? My Xbox has a Philips DVD drive and when I power the system on with no disc inserted or close the tray with no disc inserted while powered on, I can hear the lens move up and down the track 3 times before settling. Is this normal behaviour for this brand of disc drive? I’ve included a video below, you can clearly hear it after the tray closes. Thanks!

Cheers for the replies folks. I’m astounded at the variety of means to mod the Xbox, it’s just choosing which route to go down. A friend who has a hard modded system (his mod chip is visible on the outside left side of the case) has offered to do the mod for me and he’s suggested building the hard drive for me on his PC then flashing the TSOP before using HeXen to unlock the drive and swap them over for the one he built. Is that doable? I feel I’ve watched that many YouTube videos (Mario, MVG, etc) that my head is full of info that doesn’t match up or make any sense .

I know this is an old topic, but there’s been a few recent replies. The Xbox I got last week, which was in pristine boxed condition and immaculate inside and out (still had protective film over the eject and power buttons) ran fine until it froze while running Halo 2’s demo loop for around 30 mins. When I tried to reload the disc, or any disc, it didn’t spin up. You could hear the lens seeking, but there was no spin up … there were no disc read errors either, it just sat there. After opening it up and cleaning/replacing the belt, it works like a charm again. My drive is a Phillips model, but the belt definitely done the trick.

Hi, I’m looking for some advice on where to begin with modding my Xbox. I’ve had a read around the forum and seen loads of threads with issues like games loading slow off the new HDD, slow boot ups, error messages like DVD not found, etc and it’s making the idea of modding the console somewhat daunting, no matter how many videos I watch. I’ve fully modded a Dreamcast but that’s very plug and play and has no software exploits, etc so this is a whole new level. My question is, if this Xbox was put down in front of you today, what would be your mod method of choice? I had looked at using the Rocky 5 softmod and then FTP’ing the extras disc across to use Chimp but the whole “4 second window” for the hot swap makes me nervous. Is that the way to go or is there a better way? I just want to put a larger Hard Drive in there to store rips of the discs I own, taking the strain off the DVD drive. Cheers.

Me again, sorry! I’ve noticed that my copy of OutRun2 has an issue where the music track, regardless of which one I choose, will randomly start to stutter or skip … like a scratched CD would when played in a HiFi (remember those!?). One other quirk is that when I select the left road after the first stage and cross the checkpoint, all the cars and basic backgrounds are there (the sky) … but there’s no road. It’s floating cars and trees. This lasts for … 2 seconds at most then everything clicks back into place, but further on the audio track will randomly stutter. When I run the game in my 360 Elite, it’s fine. All my other games play fine bar one, and have no audio issues, but I’m definitely going to soft mod this thing in the coming days, I’ve got Splinter Cell coming. I’ve also found out that this Xbox does not like my copy of Half Life 2. It reads it, shows me the black Xbox logo/splash screen then stays there. The disc works fine in my 360 Elite. It was suggested to me on Twitter it could be a tracking issue due to dryness of the gears/rails with age, and that cleaning both and applying some Lithium Grease may help. The drive hasn’t seen a lot of use, so I don’t think it’s “dying” but it does need a little TLC. Anyone have any other advice or expertise to help me with? Cheers!

Here’s another interesting “quirk”. Some discs, when loading, make a loud metallic vibrating noise when spinning. I took the top off the console and tried again, vibrating is gone. If I apply a tiny bit of pressure with my finger to the circle on top of the DVD drive casing, I can replicate the vibrating noise. Is it a case of me screwing the DVD drive chassis back together too tightly? Putting the lid back on the console too tightly so it’s putting pressure on the top of the DVD drive … but then, why does it only do it on certain games?

Right, ok. The discs weren’t spinning prior to taking it apart, and the same noise when the tray was closed/disc was inserts match what you see in the video. Perhaps something slipped out of alignment and the opening and reassembling has helped? Or perhaps an IDE or power cable had come a little loose and me unhooking them and rehooking them back up has done something? I mean I’m delighted its working now, but I don’t plan to use it often. At least now I can use the Splinter Cell soft mod and get a bigger hard drive in there to store my discs on.

Ok, so an update … after reassembling the console I decided to give it a try and, to my amazement, it worked again … I don’t know if perhaps the upper portion of the disc spindle held inside the top half of the drive shell had seized up but the action of opening it up to look and reassembling it again seems to have worked. I’m going to clean the worm gear and rails and apply a little lithium grease as it looks like perhaps it’s simply dried out after close to two decades in storage and barely being used. I did notice when playing a little OutRun2 that the music skipped and stuttered in places, so I don’t think I’m out of the woods yet by any means, but it’s a damn sight more positive than it was a couple hours ago!

Hi folks, A friend pointed me in your direction, and I hope you can shed some light of this issue. I picked up an immaculate Xbox today, boxed, sealed manual, still had the plastic over the eject and power buttons, not a mark on the case I played some OutRun2 and Dead or Alive 3, no issues. I then decided to “stress test” and run a game for half an hour, and chose Halo 2, letting it sit in its promo/demo loop. After around 35 mins, the game froze. I ejected the disc, returned to the dash, and reloaded the disc … nothing. The green light around eject just flashes, but there’s no action from the drive other than 3 whirs then nothing. Tonight I took the console apart, and it’s immaculate inside. No leaks, no dust, no bulging caps, not even a spec of dust on the fan … I doubt this console has seen much use, which is what makes this issue even harder to understand. When I had the lid off the drive, I tried to load a game, OutRun2 … but the behaviour is the same for any disc. The lens moves to the top of the track and back 3 times, and each time it returns to its “home” position next to the disc spindle, the spindle tries to turn and moves, if it’s lucky, a centimetre or two. It does this 3 times, then nothing. I don’t get any disc read errors, because the disc doesn’t seem to spin up. The drive, like the rest of the system, is very clean but it just stopped working so suddenly. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated. I don’t want to return this to CEX for them to scrap it, especially given it’s condition, so I want to try and save it. If the drive is toast, as I suspect it may well be, what are my options in terms of modding without a working disc drive? Thanks all. Edit: I have uploaded a video of the drive in action, here: