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]

Installing a PC heatsink onto an Xbox 360

William Quade on April 10, 2017

In a previous post I wrote about the many heatsink options for the fat Xbox 360 consoles. I focused on the official heatsinks that Microsoft used. I was able to improve temperatures using newer heatsinks, but I still wanted to look into better cooling options. In this post I’ll be covering installing a PC heatsink onto an Xbox 360.

Things you’ll need

Here’s a list of items you’ll need for installing a PC heatsink onto an Xbox 360.

A spare Xenon Xbox 360 CPU heatsink
A spare Falcon Xbox 360 CPU heatsink
Arctic Alumina thermal adhesive
Dremel
Pliers
Clamp
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 heatsink
Thermal paste
Tape
80mm fan
Soldering iron and solder

Those items are specifically for the final mod that I ended up with. I used the Xenon CPU heatsink for the mount of the new CPU heatsink, and the Hyper TX3 for the heatsink itself. You can make your own mount, or use any other PC heatsink as long as it fits. [Read More]

Xbox 360 heatsink options, cooling upgrades

William Quade on March 31, 2017

After making my fat PS3 nearly silent, I wanted to make my Xenon Xbox 360 as quiet as possible. Right now I’m in the process of attaching a computer heatsink to my console, but before I write about that, I should probably write about all of the Xbox 360 heatsink options.

Xbox 360 revisions, and their heatsinks

Microsoft’s first Xbox 360 revision was called Xenon. It featured a very short, but long and deep aluminum fin heatsink on top of the graphics chip. On the processor there was a beefier heatsink with a copper baseplate, heat pipes, and many aluminum fins. [Read More]

PS3 custom firmware installation (fat CECHA01, and slim CECH-2101A)

William Quade on March 29, 2017

Installing custom firmware onto my PS3 was one of my goals I mentioned in my project introduction post. This post describes my experiences during PS3 custom firmware installation on my fat CECHA01 console, and my brother’s slim CECH-2101A console.

Update: I have written another post going into more detail on custom firmware installation using a Teensy on a CECH-2001A PS3 slim.

What is custom firmware, and what it’s used for

Before I begin I’d like to provide some background information. Sony released firmware version 3.55 for the PS3 in late 2010. In this version Sony messed up the encryption system which allowed the PS3 hacking community to create custom firmware updates that could be installed, also called custom firmware or CFW. [Read More]

Adding an HDMI port to the original Xbox

William Quade on March 19, 2017

Microsoft shipped the original Xbox with a composite AV cable, which was fine for 2001, but composite doesn’t work very well with modern HDTVs. You could buy a component cable for your system, but official Microsoft cables are hard to find and expensive. Not all HDTVs even have support for component either. If only the original Xbox had an HDMI port. This post outlines the process of adding an HDMI port to the original Xbox.

Things you’ll need

Here’s a list of items that you’ll need for adding an HDMI port to the original Xbox. [Read More]