Should I mod out my Xbox?

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Thu Jun 01, 2017 3:18 pm

I have an original black Xbox. Someone gave it to me. Or tried to give it to me, I insisted they take a hunderd bucks for it. The 360s had just come out and people were upgrading everywhere. I played it for a while and even put in a modchip. Then I lost interest and it's been in it's box ever since.

I plugged it in the other day, just for the hell of it and I got a system error. 'Welp, that's dead, now what do I do with it?'

I took it apart thinking I could put in a small form PC motherboard and use it as a regular computer. Then I noticed that the modchip had come partway loosened from it's spot (the solderless version). Oh well, that's probably the system error, the thing worked fine in it's unmodded state, maybe I should go back to that. So now I'm at a crossroads

Do I :

A] Continue to stuff a computer in the case?

B] Put it back to it's pristine condition?

There are pros and cons to both answers, which is why I'm posting this here.

THE
SCREWDRIVER IN ONE HAND
AARDVARK

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:22 pm

Update! Even without the modchip it still gives me the red ring of death. My choices are very limited here at this point.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Thu Jun 01, 2017 6:53 pm

Is it a solid red light? I think that's an overheating error but fixing it could be difficult/impossible. It could be anything from a blown capacitor to a dead fan or chip. Do you get any video at all?

It looks like on CL you can get a modded Xbox for $100 so I couldn't spend more than that trying to fix it. If you've already got it open I'd check things like fans and heat syncs.

If that route gives no love... sounds like a PC case to me!

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Thu Jun 01, 2017 7:26 pm

It can help lower your home's energy bill if you hollow out the case, yeah, and use it as a Dyson Sphere.

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Fri Jun 02, 2017 5:14 pm

I think the original Xbox is somewhere between obsolete junk and retro goodness so I think I'll put it back together in it's non working condition and sit on it for a few more years. There's no really good emulators out there so I might have to find my games for the PC if I want to play them. The specs for the thing are pretty laughable now.

THE
LAST DECADE
AARDVARK

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Sun Jun 04, 2017 2:13 pm

The video is OK but as soon as it finishes the power up graphic it just says to call customer service in nine different languages. If I had to guess I'd say the hard drive is bad. Don't know for sure but I'm not really worried about it. Not playing the games I have wont break my heart. I just watch them on Youtube and move on.

THE
FIX IT SOMEDAY
AARDVARK

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Jun 04, 2017 2:29 pm

One thing I am going to try at some point is to just get a 128GB flash drive and have a computer with a small motherboard go that route. Maybe back up the image after I get everything where I want it so I can restore if it dies.

AArdvark · Post by **AArdvark** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:15 pm

Update.

OK I got error 05 at bootup which means hard drive unlocked. I looked it up.

So now I have to put the modchip back in and work some big magic ju-ju on the thing, or something. There's a laundry list of stuff on these websites. Hoops for me to jump through in order to do something that I'm not really sure I care about in the first place.

Well now it won't even boot up. Not so much as a hello. I may mod it out after all if I really bricked the thing.

THE
REARRANGE THE DECK CHAIRS
ON THE TITANIC
AARDVARK