What to do with a Debug kit (Xbox)

[SamuraiSmurfette]

What can I do with an Xbox debug kit?
Picked one up from a guy for $50, because it 'didn't work'
Seems to me, that it's just outputting a PAL signal
(can this be changed?)
What all does it play?
Are the hardware specs any different from a normal Xbox?
(bigger hard drive? different processor?)

I don't really have much info on this unit.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!

[dj898]

flash retail BIOS and play games... :evil:
(provided that the reason it didn't work was its BIOS was got wacked...)

[98PaceCar]

No, don't flash the BIOS! That's a sure way to frag the box.

What you need is the XDK recovery disk which will allow you to put the xbox in either debug or retail mode. In debug mode, you can softboot a special bios to play unsigned/retail code from the dvd rom. Otherwise, you can ONLY run debug/beta signed code. If you flash the bios in a debug xbox with anything other than a real debug bios, you have a nice green paperweight on your hands. Might as well mod it then!

As it came from Microsoft, it will only run disks that are beta or debug. Unless you happened to get one of the Xbox Live! beta units, then you can only run a total of 7 games which are extremely difficult to locate. I'm not sure of any way to tell if it's a Live! beta short of trying to recover the xbox with the xdk and even that's not a guarantee.

[dj898]

sorry just being nasty there... he he

you may have better response asking on Assembler forum...

[Kejoriv]

check xboxscene.com I am sure they could help you

[SamuraiSmurfette]

wow. lots of info to take in.
Thanks for the links guys!

[omnedon]

You want that puupy modded properly.

hardware mod like an Executer 2.6 can be deactivated with a switch, so you can preserve all 'Debug' abilities, plus you will be able to everything else a modded Xbox can do, switch that PAL signal, play games, the works.

[98PaceCar]

You want that puupy modded properly.

hardware mod like an Executer 2.6 can be deactivated with a switch, so you can preserve all 'Debug' abilities, plus you will be able to everything else a modded Xbox can do, switch that PAL signal, play games, the works.

Why would you put a mod chip in it? You can achieve the same thing by softbooting the hacked debug bios. I don't think there's anything major that can be done with a chip that can't be done with the softbooted bios. Much easier to remove too.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

I hooked it into my monitor, and it plays fine on a Pal-B standard signal.
Only things on it seems to be Audio/Dashboard launcher
and 7 music tracks.

So right now, I've got a kick ass 11-pound green external CD player for my computer

There's an option for "restore Xbox to Factory State" which might fix the display problem, but I dare not push it without asking first.

I think the Bios option is the way to go, but there's so many versions, and I don't want to screw it up :/

Waiting to hear back from my post in the Newbie board of www.xbox-scene.com

[omnedon]

OSG's repaired countless failed softmods. A failed softmod is fixed by putting in a chip. Why screw around? Get it done correctly the first time with a piggyback hadware BIOS.

My opinion only. I've worked on at least 500+ Xboxes, so what do I know?

I'm sure softmods are wonderful. No one talks about the failures though. They just come running to me when their Xbox is a paperweight.

It would be a real shame to turn a rare Debug into a paperweight. A chip is completely reversible, and changes NOTHING of the original setup. Why fool with the built in software on a rare Debug? It's it's internal software that makes it special, so changing it in any way seems unecessarily risky. IMO.

[98PaceCar]

OSG's repaired countless failed softmods. A failed softmod is fixed by putting in a chip. Why screw around? Get it done correctly the first time with a piggyback hadware BIOS.

My opinion only. I've worked on at least 500+ Xboxes, so what do I know?


Trust me, I'm in no way doubting your skills. That wasn't my intention in my message at all. My thing is I don't see a reason to put a mod chip in a rare xbox when you can mod a retail box and get the same effect. I can't see too many people needing the extra capabilities of a Debug, so why open one up and mod it?

Besides, one of the major features of the debug is the ability to soft boot a bios for testing. I'm not talking about one of the weird exploits. It is as simple as going through either Xbox Neighborhood or FTP and dropping the bios in the correct location. Nothing fancy or tricky required. I've got a link with info on this, but it's at home so I can't post it. I found it on xbox-scene though, if you want to look.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

you've got a very good point.
I don't want to destroy any of the features that make it special.
Perhaps I'll just sell it. That way someone who can use it can get it, rather than me just screwing around with it.

[omnedon]

Sorry Pacecar! I assumed you were talking about an Exploit. :)

[jajaja]

Unless your into developing and such I dont think you have any use for it or the knowledge. I sure dont hehe.

[98PaceCar]

Sorry Pacecar! I assumed you were talking about an Exploit. :)

No prob and I agree with you 100%, given the choice between a mod chip and an exploit, I'll take the chip any day of the week!

[TheRedEye]

Can't you take screenshots with those?

[98PaceCar]

Can't you take screenshots with those?

Sure can. There's a way to grab them by using the XDK.

[youruglyclone]

you've got a very good point.
I don't want to destroy any of the features that make it special.
Perhaps I'll just sell it. That way someone who can use it can get it, rather than me just screwing around with it.

like a lion stalking prey I will pounce!!!

got a price in mind?