Tips for First Time Hard Mod

[mdkmike]

im very new to modding and have only soft modded my xbox but would like to take it to the next level. from anyone who has hard modded there console before is there any rookie mistakes that could be avoided or things to look out for ? bare in mind im nervous just to open the thing up lol . thanks 

Edited February 8, 2019 by mdkmike

[Magicaldave]

It depends a lot on what you mean. Hard mod can be anything from a TSOP flash to a mod chip to an HDMI port or PSU shrink or anything, really.  

Basic steps, don’t be scared of the box, ground yourself on something, and get comfortable with a soldering iron.

If you’re not exactly sure what mod to start with, this site has an excellent guide on TSOP flashing. Also look into http://www.biline.ca/xbox_mod.html

Also, if you haven’t already, use Rocky5’s CD for the softmod. A lot of people still use SID/AID/who knows what and it tends to be filled with old crap.

The TSOP flash mod is pretty simple and will give most of the benefits of a mod chip (hacked BIOS, no dvd, zero out hdd key for EZ replacement) 

A tip for this one: use the HeXen 2018 CD found on this site and *try* to flash a 256k Bios to check exactly which flash chip you have. Just before the BIOS actually gets flashed, it’ll tell you which TSOP you have. If it is a Winbond or Sharp, go back and use the sharp/Winbond TSOP option in HeXen. 

Visual inspection will not always work here, and if you get a corrupt BIOS on your system it’s a bad time.

The coolest mods out there, some of which can be found on this site, are really personal to you. Desperate for HDmi? Multiple guides for that. Wanna use a PC power supply? Schematic’s on this site. 

maybe you have a bunch of wireless controllers and you’re tired of the adapters sticking out of the front. Maybe you want two hard drives because reasons.

Think of something you like, even if it’s out there, and try it. Almost anything can be added or upgraded on these systems. Mini-LCDs, built-in displays, extra RAM, wi-fi... it goes on until you get tired of it. The only thing i know of that ISN’T possible on these systems is a GPU upgrade.

Edited February 8, 2019 by Magicaldave

[mdkmike]

Wow thanks man , honestly id love to upgrade the hard drive and add a mod chip at least to start off with. ill  check out that website as well. when i was thinking about doing this it was scary cus i had nothing to work off of but you have given me alot to research. thanks for taking the time to reply to this .    

[dcnc123]

Do you know if it is possible to flash aladdin chips and replace it with a new bios by just using hexen 2018?

[Magicaldave]

15 hours ago, mdkmike said:

Wow thanks man , honestly id love to upgrade the hard drive and add a mod chip at least to start off with. ill  check out that website as well. when i was thinking about doing this it was scary cus i had nothing to work off of but you have given me alot to research. thanks for taking the time to reply to this .    

No probs! If you’re looking into a hard drive mod, I prefer applying the TSOP mod as most modded BIOSes don’t require a dvd drive, you can just drop in a new drive in the dvd drive slot  and run chimp to clone and lock your drive without hotswap. Hotswap isn’t too bad, but I killed a drive once doing it. 

 

You can can also use xboxhdm If you have an old pc with an IDE drive. 

 

Also, since you’re most likely using a SATA hard drive in the upgrade, make sure you use an 80-wire IDE cable and preferably the Startech SATA to IDE adapter. The HDE adapters work but in-game reset doesn’t work on the consoles I’ve used them with. Good luck!

Edited February 9, 2019 by Magicaldave

[Magicaldave]

4 hours ago, dcnc123 said:

Do you know if it is possible to flash aladdin chips and replace it with a new bios by just using hexen 2018?

As long as your chip is installed properly, it’s the only thing you can flash on the console. 

From what I see, the Aladdin chips have a 256k bios, so when you boot HeXen, make sure you pick a 256k BIOS and just before you actuallu flash it will tell you what chip is being flashed. 

 

I’m not sure what it will be for your chip, but if you take a close look at the name it should be fairly obvious if it’s your Aladdin or your Xbox that’s getting flashed. If it’s your Xbox chip you should check your modchip install. 

 

Xbox chips are usually Sharp, Winbond, Hyundai, Samsung, there are a few others, I’m sure. 

[MamePlayer]

I'm getting ready to do my first tsop as well so I'm thankful for the info!