Modded XBoxes + Halo 2 = Live! Banning?

[kainemaxwell]

Anyone here anything else about this?
XBox Live! Alert (http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=6b4ee66fe492247335174d5e5c4285a7&showtopic=292191&st=0)

[EricRyan34]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

[GrayFox]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

I know there are some people who have 'hacked' their Xboxes. Mainly for the purpose of emulation though. I guess they're 'teh dumb' now.

[NE146]

If you want to play on Live. The best is to just have another unmodded xbox and a legit copy of the game you're going to play. That's about it.

[gamegirl79]

The solution is to install an on/off switch for the modchip. I have a modded xbox and play on Live all the time because the chip can be shut off.

[Nature Boy]

The solution is to install an on/off switch for the modchip. I have a modded xbox and play on Live all the time because the chip can be shut off.

I could be mistaken, but it didn't sound like people were being banned based on the modchip itself. MS is looking for other anomolies on your HD and if it finds them you've been zapped.


serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

Because it's fun. I've 'hacked' my Atari 8-Bit so that I can use a PC as a disk drive (thus ensuring I no longer have to worry about the belt on my 1050s wearing out). I haven't hacked my Xbox yet but I plan to some day - I love the challenge of getting an emulator up and running.

Everybody knows MS is cracking down on that (and rightly so). Caveat Emptor I say.

[Xtasy]

Switchs dont help everything....Ms scans your drive for halo2 filenam,e but the clever way to get around this is rename it something like dashxbox.xbe or something

There are rumors that ms are now scanning HDD's to see the size and if its modded....Another rumor is that they are now using so called "SmartScrews" which can tell if the xbox has had its screws removed

If you do have a little oopsie you can buy an unbanned EEPROm but installing this requires modding and they must be the same version as your xbox...They usally go for inbetween 5-10 dollars

check www.xbox-scene.com/tutorials to learn alot more

-Xtasy

[gamegirl79]

The solution is to install an on/off switch for the modchip. I have a modded xbox and play on Live all the time because the chip can be shut off.

I could be mistaken, but it didn't sound like people were being banned based on the modchip itself. MS is looking for other anomolies on your HD and if it finds them you've been zapped.

That could very well be true, but admittedly I've got anomalies on my HD (dashboards, apps, roms, etc.) and I haven't had any problems.

[NE146]

I didn't say it couldn't be done. I've played on Xbox live several times (when I had a subscription) with my modchip simply switched off. I just said.. "the best way" ;)

Personally it's pretty much a non-issue to me as I don't really care for Xbox live.. or online gaming for that matter. :P Although online SF2 has me thinking about it again....

[The Manimal]

If XBOX Live was FREE, I would probably think more about this than I do. I don't even own an XBOX yet, but I'd probably want to mod it.

[Mangar]

Playing any game on X-Box live while your modchip is turned "On" (or if you have an older modchip that you can't turn off) will get you banned. Halo 2 is no different.

I haven't heard of anyone getting banned for playing Halo 2 on Live with the chip turned off however.

[The Manimal]

How do they ban you? Is it by XBOX or by your IP #? I don't game online, but I'm curious. If you get banned, just get a new XBOX and try again?

[Xtasy]

How do they ban you? Is it by XBOX or by your IP #? I don't game online, but I'm curious. If you get banned, just get a new XBOX and try again?

Please dont hijack man As i said the EEPROM is where all your xbox info is stored, region blah blah blah and if ure bammed from Xb Live...If you do have a little whoops and get banned you can obtain a new EEPROM but they must be the same for your version....You may get a new xbox and try but most people keep one for modding and stuff and one solely for XboxLive

Hope that helps

-Xtasy

[The Manimal]

cool...thanks :)

[Mayhem]

M$ are rumoured to be recording not only the details on the EEPROM but the HD features and so on. So replacing the EEPROM may not solve the problem. The box itself gets banned; you can still use your account ID if you transfer over the information to a fresh Xbox.

Now if the games themselves weren't regionalised (M$ gave the publishers the choice, and most of them have sadly) then there might not be so many problems. Modding allows all regions to be played. Especially when quite a few people I know have US Xboxs and want to play PES4 online when it comes out. Except I doubt the game will have a US release...

[Richter]

If you do have a little oopsie you can buy an unbanned EEPROm but installing this requires modding and they must be the same version as your xbox...They usally go for inbetween 5-10 dollarsthat still wont solve it. The is an uber long discussion about this on XB scene. They still havent found a way to get back on live after a banning. Tried everything form HD swaps, mod-chips switches, EEPROM changes, combos of all the above, still no go (unless they found a way - havent check since the beginning of the month).

Pretty much that if you've been banned before, the only way to get back on Live is to buy a new unmodded XB

[Xtasy]

If you do have a little oopsie you can buy an unbanned EEPROm but installing this requires modding and they must be the same version as your xbox...They usally go for inbetween 5-10 dollarsthat still wont solve it. The is an uber long discussion about this on XB scene. They still havent found a way to get back on live after a banning. Tried everything form HD swaps, mod-chips switches, EEPROM changes, combos of all the above, still no go (unless they found a way - havent check since the beginning of the month).

Pretty much that if you've been banned before, the only way to get back on Live is to buy a new unmodded XB

Me thinks its the smartscrews Gentoox's Shallax reported


-Xtasy

[Mayhem]

Well if what's being said is true, it appears they are banning you for anything that's changed internally since you went on Live. So basically, if you want to run a changed-from-retail Xbox online you need to have had it all done prior to using it on Live.

[dj898]

make sure yo have the mod chip that can be turned off and HDD is locked - basically your Xbox appears to be stock with the chip turned off. Otherwise your Xbox itself will be banned and cannot be used on XLIVE ever again - well you can if you can source another PROM data and swapped but that's to much of hassle really...

or get 2nd Xbox just for XLIVE... :p

[charitycasegreg]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.

[Ed Oscuro]

Dumb is not letting people use larger hard drives, and I'd love to be able to upgrade the kernel "just because." Well, probably not dumb, but...petty.

As for emulation and the rest...I can see the point in not allowing that.

[tholly]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.


no....you are the dumb one....(im playing devils advocate here, it really doesnt personally bother me one way or the other) but, all the things you said are illegal unless you own the original copy....and your #2 basically says you wont own the original....

that type of shit is not fair for people that go out and spend hard earned money to get the games .... if you dont pay for it, you shouldnt be able to get on live with it.....that would just make it fair for the people that do pay

[racecar]

i though that you can't play(xboxlive games) on xbox live with a modded xbox :hmm:

[Ed Oscuro]

no....you are the dumb one....(im playing devils advocate here, it really doesnt personally bother me one way or the other) but, all the things you said are illegal unless you own the original copy....and your #2 basically says you wont own the original....
Well, sure, let's play Devil's Advocate.

Suppose you DO own an MPG or some such (perhaps you downloaded it off a site, you know some people let you do that) and you want to play it on your XBox...but Microsoft won't let you do that. If Microsoft's going to make so much use of PC hardware, then why don't they let you do more PC-like things on your machine? Well, I guess that's pretty much not going to ever happen, as they're lazy (no chrome options for the ol' Box either), and the NeXtBox doesn't look like it's gonna have a hard drive anyway.

[AB Positive]

what I want to know is if this is ONLY if you play Halo2... because I have no desire to get that game, but I still want to play guilty gear and SF Anniversary online.

I haven't had any issues playing on Live yet with my ModBox but then again I've only done fighting games and Outlaw Golf 2

-AG

[dmhawkmoon]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.

I'm not even going to play Devil's advocate. Stealing games and movies is not moral. Hopefully you were just pointing out that the mods do serve a purpose, albeit an immoral one...

[Hovoc]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.


no....you are the dumb one....(im playing devils advocate here, it really doesnt personally bother me one way or the other) but, all the things you said are illegal unless you own the original copy....and your #2 basically says you wont own the original....

that type of shit is not fair for people that go out and spend hard earned money to get the games .... if you dont pay for it, you shouldnt be able to get on live with it.....that would just make it fair for the people that do pay



um, i download all the red vs blue to my HDD and watch it on my tv..... thats legal...... :roll:

[omnedon]

Knives are used to do illegal things, and so are mods.

Knives are used to do legal things, and so are mods.

VERY simple question applies here. Since something *can* be used to do illegal things, should it therefore be banned?

Very simple. Even simple people should be able to understand it.

Just think if the knife violence lobby was as good as the copyright lobby, we'd all be eating steak with our hands, and spreading peanut butter with a spatula.

[buttasuperb]

I just have a 2nd xbox to use with live.

Question though, is there a way to delete your live account from another xbox?

[RCM]

I thought it was common knowledge that microsoft could very well ban you if you had something "funny" going on with your xbox. I'm not going to judge anyone based upon a modded Xbox. That's your business. It is always nice to buy original copies of games though. Esp. from franchises you like. If you love Halo and pirate it you might help yourself in the short run but could very well damage yourself in the long run. Meaning they won't develop new titles. I know Halo 2 has sold enough already to warrant a sequel though. You get what i'm sayin I hope! Carry on.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[omnedon]

modding does not equal piracy.

I've had a modded Xbox for more than 3 years, and have never burned a single Xbox game.

Why does this escape so many people? perhaps they've never seen what a modded Xbox can do? Copied games? Pffffft.

Microsoft is well within their rights to ban. You really like Live, but want the versatility of a mutimedia PC (I mean modded xbox)? Get 2 Xboxes. Easy.

[Xtasy]

modding does not equal piracy.

I've had a modded Xbox for more than 3 years, and have never burned a single Xbox game.

Why does this escape so many people? perhaps they've never seen what a modded Xbox can do? Copied games? Pffffft.

Microsoft is well within their rights to ban. You really like Live, but want the versatility of a mutimedia PC (I mean modded xbox)? Get 2 Xboxes. Easy.

Am i also getting a chip soon but for sole use as a media center...Im thinking of having a backup copy on a 120gig hdd and archiving all my dvds upstairs since im lazy

Btw u dont need to burn games ....U can just ftp em

-Xtasy

[omnedon]

I don't do that either.

I'm a collector.

[AB Positive]

Same here, I mostly use mine for a region free DVD, media center, and it's nice being able to play translated versions of my SFC RPGs... heh.

Still, any clue if it's only Halo 2 checking for anomalies or is this an XBOX Live thing?

-AG

[Nature Boy]

modding does not equal piracy.

But is modding the hardware not illegal in and of itself, even if what you do with the modding is legal?

[jonjandran]

modding does not equal piracy.

But is modding the hardware not illegal in and of itself, even if what you do with the modding is legal?

No it's not illegal. Once you buy an item you have the right to modify it any way you want.

By the way , I modded my XBOX because my kids would scratch the discs so bad that they wouldn't work. Now they're on the Hard-drive and I don't have to worry about it. :D

[omnedon]

Thankfully Canada has no DMCA. yet. @_@

[Xtasy]

Being on the HDD doesnt work for all gamse however....And remember HDD's die after some time


-Xtasy

[SegaAges]

I used to pirate dc games and gave serious thought about putting a chip in my xbox, but i have a special edition xbox. yes, it may be just the halo edition, but give it a few years, and it will be worth some money, and then i will have a kick a$$ collector's item.

there is nothing wrong with modding as long as you don't pirate. i am glad that i didn't see posts complaining about somebody getting banned for using a pirated copy or something, that would be dumb.

there is nothing wrong with pirating AS LONG AS YOU BUY THE GAMES YOU LIKE! that is the trick to pirating. i used to use pirating as a free rental service, even though i kept the pirated copies, i still bought the games i liked.

somebody already said it, there are very good reasons to have a modded xbox, so in this case, it sucks that ms is doing this. for the ones that use the xbox for pirating like crazy, too bad, ms is doing this help help prevent piracy and stuff like that.

[NE146]

there is nothing wrong with pirating AS LONG AS YOU BUY THE GAMES YOU LIKE! that is the trick to pirating. i used to use pirating as a free rental service

Man that means I have a LOT of Apple 2 game buying to do :hmm:

[rbudrick]

there is nothing wrong with pirating AS LONG AS YOU BUY THE GAMES YOU LIKE! that is the trick to pirating.

Ummm.....yeah.....

Nothing wrong with pirating? I hope you weren't saying all that as fact...

I didn't know there was a "trick" to pirating. You make it sound like some kind of legal loophole. I guess I can just go into court after being arrested for pirating and tell them its OK because I didn't like any of the games I pirated.

-Rob

[bargora]

modding does not equal piracy.

But is modding the hardware not illegal in and of itself, even if what you do with the modding is legal?

No it's not illegal. Once you buy an item you have the right to modify it any way you want.

By the way , I modded my XBOX because my kids would scratch the discs so bad that they wouldn't work. Now they're on the Hard-drive and I don't have to worry about it. :D
I was under the impression that the DMCA outlawed trafficking in "circumvention devices", one example of which would be mod chips that let you play DVD-Rs on your Xbox. So I'm not so sure that you can modify your Xbox any way you want.

I mean, you can modify your Hummer any way you want, as long as you don't put anything illegal on it, like, say, a 40mm chain gun.

Not being a glutton for punishment, I haven't read enough about the DMCA to figure whether you, as the end user of the circumvention device, would actually be liable to civil or criminal penalties. But mod chip dealers definitely could get in deep doo doo. And I suppose that an overzealous prosecutor gunning for reelection could always rope you in on a conspiracy charge. This message has been brought to you by Paranoid Dudes, Inc.


there is nothing wrong with pirating AS LONG AS YOU BUY THE GAMES YOU LIKE!
And, more importantly, as long as you don't get caught. Because as rbudrick implies, that argument isn't going to convince any judges. It may be legal to download one copy of a game that you already own, but I'm not even sure about that, and I don't think that's what you had in mind.

[jonjandran]

No I said there is nothing wrong with modding an item that you own.

I never said that it was legal to make and sell mod-chips that allow you to do it.

But if you make a mod-chip in your home for your use and never sell it or give the plans to others , that is legal. You have the right to modify anything you own.

[postulio]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb






that is the most uninformed, stupid ass hillbilly crap ive ever heard.

[bargora]

No I said there is nothing wrong with modding an item that you own.

I never said that it was legal to make and sell mod-chips that allow you to do it.

But if you make a mod-chip in your home for your use and never sell it or give the plans to others , that is legal. You have the right to modify anything you own.
Well, I guess you're right, sorta. You can modify the item. But according to our friend, the DMCA, "no person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." ("this title" is the Copyright Act.)

So I guess you can modify the Xbox, as long as you never use the modified Xbox to actually circumvent the copy protection. Look, I think that the DMCA is pretty friggin' draconian. I think it goes too far. All I'm saying is that it pretty much illegalizes the use of mod chips to play discs that your Xbox normally wouldn't let you play.

Oh, and manufacture of mod chips is definitely illegal, too. Even if you do it at home.

[charitycasegreg]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.


no....you are the dumb one....(im playing devils advocate here, it really doesnt personally bother me one way or the other) but, all the things you said are illegal unless you own the original copy....and your #2 basically says you wont own the original....

that type of shit is not fair for people that go out and spend hard earned money to get the games .... if you dont pay for it, you shouldnt be able to get on live with it.....that would just make it fair for the people that do pay

Yeah... Im not getting an xbox anyways. But I agree that that shouldnt be able to go on to live without owning the games. I wouldnt use live anyways if I had an xbox. And I like breakin the law. :texaschain: \^_^/

@postulio LOL I would have said something, but joe would have been here posting this: "Oh the king of pointless posts, all your posts are stupid". But Joe is god so he does what he wants :P

[jonjandran]

Well, I guess you're right, sorta. You can modify the item. But according to our friend, the DMCA, "no person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title." ("this title" is the Copyright Act.)

So I guess you can modify the Xbox, as long as you never use the modified Xbox to actually circumvent the copy protection. Look, I think that the DMCA is pretty friggin' draconian. I think it goes too far. All I'm saying is that it pretty much illegalizes the use of mod chips to play discs that your Xbox normally wouldn't let you play.

Oh, and manufacture of mod chips is definitely illegal, too. Even if you do it at home.

Ok you're not following me here.

You can do whatever you want to something you own. You just can't sell it or distribute it or use it to do something illegal.

So if you make a mod-chip , use it to put a hard-drive in your Xbox and then use it to store games that you own, you have done nothing illegal that you can be fined or jailed for.

Of course you would need quite the technical know-how to do that and then it would also be pretty much useless . But you could do it.

[tholly]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.


no....you are the dumb one....(im playing devils advocate here, it really doesnt personally bother me one way or the other) but, all the things you said are illegal unless you own the original copy....and your #2 basically says you wont own the original....

that type of shit is not fair for people that go out and spend hard earned money to get the games .... if you dont pay for it, you shouldnt be able to get on live with it.....that would just make it fair for the people that do pay

Yeah... Im not getting an xbox anyways. But I agree that that shouldnt be able to go on to live without owning the games. I wouldnt use live anyways if I had an xbox. And I like breakin the law. :texaschain: \^_^/

@postulio LOL I would have said something, but joe would have been here posting this "Oh the king of pointless posts, all your posts are stupid". But Joe is god so he does what he wants :P


please remove your two dashes followed by the >

[charitycasegreg]

serves em right, why do people have to "hack" and be dumb

If you think there is no point then why would people do it?

1. Emulation: Play all you favorite classics
2. Games on the hard drive: Rent a game, and install it onto your xbox
3. Movies: Download a movie to the hard drive and watch it anytime

The dumb people are the ones who... you.


no....you are the dumb one....(im playing devils advocate here, it really doesnt personally bother me one way or the other) but, all the things you said are illegal unless you own the original copy....and your #2 basically says you wont own the original....

that type of shit is not fair for people that go out and spend hard earned money to get the games .... if you dont pay for it, you shouldnt be able to get on live with it.....that would just make it fair for the people that do pay

Yeah... Im not getting an xbox anyways. But I agree that that shouldnt be able to go on to live without owning the games. I wouldnt use live anyways if I had an xbox. And I like breakin the law. :texaschain: \^_^/

@postulio LOL I would have said something, but joe would have been here posting this "Oh the king of pointless posts, all your posts are stupid". But Joe is god so he does what he wants :P


please remove your two dashes followed by the >

why does that F the page up... well removed.

[bargora]

Ok you're not following me here.

You can do whatever you want to something you own. You just can't sell it or distribute it or use it to do something illegal.

So if you make a mod-chip , use it to put a hard-drive in your Xbox and then use it to store games that you own, you have done nothing illegal that you can be fined or jailed for.

Of course you would need quite the technical know-how to do that and then it would also be pretty much useless . But you could do it.
But I do think that I am following you. And up until Congress caved in to the industry and passed the DMCA, I agree that it was totally legal to back up games that you own. But the DMCA says that you can't defeat a technological control over copyrighted material. Period.

So when you put the mod chip in your Xbox, suddenly you can store games on the hard drive. Normally, the Xbox only allows you to access the copyrighted work (the game) by reading it from the DVD. So now you've "circumvent[ed] a technological measure that effectively controls access to a [copyrighted] work"; you've defeated the technological lock that prevented you from copying the disc to the hard drive and playing it off of the hard drive. And the DMCA prohibits that sort of thing.

Not that I'd worry about the feds coming and hauling you away or anything.

As far as I can tell, it's still legal to make a backup (archival) copy of software. But what good is it to be able to make an archival copy if it won't play on your Xbox without using a prohibited mod-chip, i.e., "circumvent[ing] a technological measure..."? Not much good. Maybe someone will point this out this apparent idiocy in court one day.

[buttasuperb]

I already have all the romz

[jonjandran]

But I do think that I am following you. And up until Congress caved in to the industry and passed the DMCA, I agree that it was totally legal to back up games that you own. But the DMCA says that you can't defeat a technological control over copyrighted material. Period.

So when you put the mod chip in your Xbox, suddenly you can store games on the hard drive. Normally, the Xbox only allows you to access the copyrighted work (the game) by reading it from the DVD. So now you've "circumvent[ed] a technological measure that effectively controls access to a [copyrighted] work"; you've defeated the technological lock that prevented you from copying the disc to the hard drive and playing it off of the hard drive. And the DMCA prohibits that sort of thing.

Not that I'd worry about the feds coming and hauling you away or anything.

As far as I can tell, it's still legal to make a backup (archival) copy of software. But what good is it to be able to make an archival copy if it won't play on your Xbox without using a prohibited mod-chip, i.e., "circumvent[ing] a technological measure..."? Not much good. Maybe someone will point this out this apparent idiocy in court one day.

Ok now I see.

Hmm kind of a chicken and the egg thing. :hmm: