2 Year Old Xbox Questions

[pro1driver]

these questions were asked on another forum i am a member of, most of you know me from there as well.

if there is a way to install a new hard drive in an XBOX that doesn't require the "mod chip" or whatever else, and its against board policy to mention that here, then please PM me with a solution. thanks in advance, and here's my dilema(sp?)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ok, here it goes. my grand-daughter has a 2 year old XBOX. i don't know the serial number, or model number, to me, its just an XBOX, nothing really special. i heard a noise that she pointed out to me. it sounds like a "whirring" noise, and it seems to be from the dvd drive. the game sometimes freezes, if for only a second or two as well.

my first thoughts were that of the hard drive. but, i'm also wondering about the dvd drive, would that make a 'whirring" sound as well....??

there isn't any "typical" clicking noise(s) from the hard drive however, but, that's not to say that the hard drive ISN'T making that "whirring" sound.

so, i've googled some, and the dvd drive is pretty straight forward on replacement.

however, the hard drive seems to be very involved, including replacing a "mod chip" backing up files, FTP this, FTP that,etc, etc.

why can't i simply "drop in" a new hard drive, maybe only a 20-60 gigabyte or so, not more than that, and let the BIOS in the current motherboard reconize the new hard drive, then i'd be done with it.........??

i'm really mostly trying to teach my grand-kids the importance of not going out and buying brand new anytime and everytime something breaks down. i want them to realize that rebuilding something can be of a great benefit, because someday, they might only have money for "second-hand" or used. i don't want them to think that money will always be available, making them spoiled for new all the time.......

thanks in advance to all that respond, and happy new year to all as well.

antonio, pop, poppy, pappa, pappy, gramps, grumpy, old man, old fart, baldy, poppo, dirty ol' geezer.............

[Potato2k4]

these questions were asked on another forum i am a member of, most of you know me from there as well.

if there is a way to install a new hard drive in an XBOX that doesn't require the "mod chip" or whatever else, and its against board policy to mention that here, then please PM me with a solution. thanks in advance, and here's my dilema(sp?)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ok, here it goes. my grand-daughter has a 2 year old XBOX. i don't know the serial number, or model number, to me, its just an XBOX, nothing really special. i heard a noise that she pointed out to me. it sounds like a "whirring" noise, and it seems to be from the dvd drive. the game sometimes freezes, if for only a second or two as well.

my first thoughts were that of the hard drive. but, i'm also wondering about the dvd drive, would that make a 'whirring" sound as well....??

there isn't any "typical" clicking noise(s) from the hard drive however, but, that's not to say that the hard drive ISN'T making that "whirring" sound.

so, i've googled some, and the dvd drive is pretty straight forward on replacement.

however, the hard drive seems to be very involved, including replacing a "mod chip" backing up files, FTP this, FTP that,etc, etc.

why can't i simply "drop in" a new hard drive, maybe only a 20-60 gigabyte or so, not more than that, and let the BIOS in the current motherboard reconize the new hard drive, then i'd be done with it.........??

i'm really mostly trying to teach my grand-kids the importance of not going out and buying brand new anytime and everytime something breaks down. i want them to realize that rebuilding something can be of a great benefit, because someday, they might only have money for "second-hand" or used. i don't want them to think that money will always be available, making them spoiled for new all the time.......

thanks in advance to all that respond, and happy new year to all as well.

antonio, pop, poppy, pappa, pappy, gramps, grumpy, old man, old fart, baldy, poppo, dirty ol' geezer.............

I had the same problem with mine, it stopped playing newer games and just kept freezing. I think its the DVD drive because often times I would get a "disc scratched" on brand new games.

[JDoors]

... why can't i simply "drop in" a new hard drive, maybe only a 20-60 gigabyte or so, not more than that, and let the BIOS in the current motherboard reconize the new hard drive, then i'd be done with it.........?? ...

You're assuming the BIOS has the necessary instructions to recognize hard drives other than the original.

The BIOS in older computers, for example, simply don't know how to recognize hardware they weren't designed to run (there's a limited amount of memory available, so they put in the necessary instructions to get running, and no more). The X-Box is likely similar regarding a limited BIOS, plus, the formatting likely differs greatly from standards for PCs.

That's all conjecture, I have NO IDEA how the drive or BIOS is configured in an X-Box, but the issues and others (like, Microsoft intentionally limiting the capabilities of the system, hence the requirement to "hack" it to make it work with other than OEM hardware) are some reasons you might not be able to do what you're thinking.

I concur that it's the DVD drive anyway.

[garmanma]

Kevin Rose on the Screensavers was always doing stuff with the Xbox. I remember nothing was ever simple. On one show, if I recall correctly, on the older units you were to solder leads off of the EPROM and modify the circutboard. He mentioned the newer models had removable chips and you could find modded chips online, but their were propietary and hard to find. I also remember after that episode the TechTV boards were flooded with posts "I modded my Xbox and now it won't work, what do I do" Kevin even said on the show"if your Xbox is working fine don't attempt this" Probably wouldn't hurt to try a DVD player replacement if you have an inexpensive one around

Mark

I looked at some modded chip sites and they're sure not cheap

Edited December 31, 2006 by garmanma

[pro1driver]

yes i too remember Patrick & Leo doing some things to an XBOX, like soldering chips. i was able to go back to my grand-daughters house and give a listen to the dvd player. apparently, this one particular game causes the dvd player to make the whinning noise, like its trying to "seek" something, and the dvd is spinning like crazy. i have already searched for an inexpensive dvd player, they are under $25.00 at most stores, even online. so with that in mind, i will probably jsut change out the drive and leave the HDD all alone. when the machine finally dies, then she can get a new one. maybe by then, the prices of the new XBOX 360 will come down. she has way too many games to buy a different game console. and yes too, those modded chips are expensive.

thanks for your responses........

Edited December 31, 2006 by pro1driver

[mikex]

I googled xbox hard drive and replace xbox hard drive. Some mention mod chips others don't. I am guessing it depends on the version. It seems like one of the time you need to be ready to by a new xbox because you might really kill it.

M

[JDoors]

... she has way too many games to buy a different game console. ...

Note: Many orginal X-Box games will work fine on the 360, some need a download to the hard drive to make it work, and only a few will not work at all. The Official X-Box site has the list of compatible or modifiable games that will work on the 360.

The 360's still too expensive, but you won't entirely lose the investment in original games.

[iccaros]

note

you can not change the harddrive with out a modchip, and using a mod chip for this is not ageist the law or this board. its the illegal use of coping video games that woudl make it illegal.

but your problem sounds like a DVD drive

http://www.llamma.com/ has DVD's.

the problem with replacing the harddrive is they are locked and you can not unlock them with out a modchip or special PC hardware.

my Xboxes run Linux so I have replaced all my drives, I'll look to see if I have one sitting around.