Xbox One controller bumper repair, button switch replacement

William Quade on May 8, 2017

The Xbox One controller is one of my favorite controller designs. It took the comfortable Xbox 360 controller, which was based on the original Xbox controller S, and improved it. Two big changes were the more precise d-pad, and the support for being used with a computer using a standard USB cable.

An Xbox One controller I had bought in 2015 started having problems recently. The left bumper button wouldn’t always register presses. It always made the click sound, but wouldn’t always be recognized as a press in games. Obviously this is very annoying when switching tabs in the Xbox dashboard, and when playing games that require the frequent use of the left bumper. [Read More]

1540 Xbox One project introduction

William Quade on May 7, 2017

All of the video game consoles I have covered on this blog so far have been older systems. Today that changes, since I’m beginning a series of posts covering the Xbox One revision 1540 console that I purchased last October.

After the success of the Xbox 360 Microsoft was optimistic going into the launch of the Xbox One. They ended up making a lot of bad decisions that allowed the PlayStation 4 to outsell the Xbox One. At $499 the Xbox One was expensive. The focus was on it being an all in one media device, which people didn’t want. This of course mirrors the launch of the PlayStation 3 which focused a lot on media instead of games, and cost a lot more than the Xbox 360. [Read More]

SCPH-101 PSone MM3 modchip installation (PM-41 NTSC board)

William Quade on April 30, 2017

There are several ways to play game backups on the original PlayStation. One common method involves swapping a genuine disc for a backup disc while the system is running. Another method is to install a modchip that allows the PlayStation to boot directly to backups. This is a guide for PSone MM3 modchip installation.

An MM3 modchip will allow you to play your game backups, as well as games from other regions. You can get an MM3 chip for fairly cheap at around $4-10, I got mine from a US seller on eBay preprogrammed and prewired for $8 shipped. [Read More]

SCPH-101 PSone project introduction

William Quade on April 30, 2017

In late 1995 Sony released their very first entry into the video game console market, the PlayStation. The PlayStation would go on to sell over 102 million units, making it one of the best selling video game consoles of all time, only being outsold by its successor, the PlayStation 2. At $299 the console was priced at $100 less than is main competitor at the time, the Sega Saturn. Later in late 2000 Sony began selling a slimmer version of the PS1 called the PSone, this is the start to a series of posts covering my SCPH-101 PSone project. [Read More]

Original Xbox TSOP flashing guide

William Quade on April 23, 2017

There are two types of mods you can do to run homebrew on your original Xbox. The first, and easiest method is a softmod. The second method is a hardmod, which requires a physical hardware modification. A softmod is useful, but doing things like replacing your hard drive is much more difficult than with a hardmodded system. This is a guide on how to hardmod an original Xbox through the Xbox TSOP flash chip.

The original Xbox has a small EEPROM chip on the motherboard in a TSOP package.This chip acts as the BIOS of the original Xbox. Basic hardware initialization code is executed from the BIOS every time the Xbox boots. By flashing the BIOS with an aftermarket BIOS you’ll be able to unlock additional functionality that the Xbox is capable of. Some features include booting from homebrew disks, using unlocked hard drives, and upgrading RAM. [Read More]