How Hard is it to Mod an Xbox?

[slip81]

I'm not looking for advice or tips on how to do it or anything like that. I'm mainly just wondering how hard it actually is to install a new, DVD drive, modchip, HDD, and get the software up and running?

Is it something that a person will little to no modding skill/experience could do, or does it really require a professional?

[tarheelsnipe]

i had no soldering skills, little networking knowledge, and only a vague tutorial when i did my first mod over 2 years ago. My first Xbox mod went ok. It took me 4 days total. I have probably messed up 3 or 4 motherboards out of around 30 mods. I would assume that a 90% success rate for someone with no electronics or IT background is pretty darn good. I don't do solderless mods because they sometimes shift around when the console is moved around, however that's an option if you don't like the idea of melting metal onto your Xbox motherboard.

But to answer your question, it's all relative. Get several tutorials and get familiar with the similarities and differences in the tuts before you start.

As for the DVD and hard drive, it's pretty simple. All the DVD drives for Xbox are interchangeable. The hard drive needs to be formatted, but that's not too hard to do with a modchip and auto-install cd.

Good luck if you decide to do it.

edit: ooooh, and one more thing... i see you have a XBL account. if you want to keep your XBL account, you'll have to modify the upgraded hard drive's serial number to match the stock hard drive's serial. Otherwise, your Xbox will get banned.

[gamegirl79]

I would say if you've ever built a computer (or even swapped out parts) then modding an Xbox won't be so bad. I would recommend reading a couple tutorials first to familiarize yourself with the inner workings of the Xbox.

You can find a lot of how-to's HERE (http://www.xbox-scene.com)

[njiska]

Like they said swapping the HDD or DVD is literally as easy as unpluging the old drive and pluging in a new one. Installing the mod chip on the other hand is more difficult.

With no solder skills you can easy install the LPC Pinheader but the really hard part is soldering to D0. D0 is a very small and unpleasant solder point on the top of the board (slightly easier on the bottom) and it takes some skill to get it right because pad is so small and tight to other traces. I found the easist way was to scrap off a small portion of the top of the trace and solder to that (WARNING: Don't lift the xbox be the D0 solder wire to show your prowess. My older brother did that and ripped the trace right off the board. It was a bitch to repair)

Of course if you suck a soldering, or have shakey hands i'd recomend you try a no solder mod. Oh and stick with Xecuter since they're the best mod company out there.