Xbox modding..

[Rick Sanchez]

Hey all,

I need something clearing up.

I have been informed that if I now upgrade my HDD on my xbox when I go back onto xbox live I will be banned, even if I disable the chip.

I was told this is because it notices the HDD serial change, is this true? If so I might as well sell my xbox and buy a brand new one, or one thats not been on xbox live to chip and upgrade the HDD on that right?

Cheers

[fe_man2000]

From what I read this is what people believe - I have a 60gb HDD and I have just signed up for live again - BUT I had the drive in Before I signed up so I didnt get banned. I cant find 100% proof of this but I can believe its true - any one else got an opinon on this ??

Cheers
Iroman

[Mr.James]

I signed up for xbox live two weeks ago and I've got an 80GB HDD that's on it's way out. I've ordered a new 120GB drive which I'm gonna upgrade to. I'll take all the precautions and let you know if I get banned.

If I do I'm phoning M$ up and getting them to re-enable my account. Microsoft have no right to tell me where I must have my xbox repaired. Surely as it's against competition laws? Once ALL new computers were sold with OEM Windows on, it's only since Microsoft were taken to court and lost that it's been possible to buy PCs without a Windows OS (or the 'Microsoft tax') as it was known.

[DaveTheRave]

I signed up for xbox live two weeks ago and I've got an 80GB HDD that's on it's way out. I've ordered a new 120GB drive which I'm gonna upgrade to. I'll take all the precautions and let you know if I get banned.

If I do I'm phoning M$ up and getting them to re-enable my account. Microsoft have no right to tell me where I must have my xbox repaired. Surely as it's against competition laws? Once ALL new computers were sold with OEM Windows on, it's only since Microsoft were taken to court and lost that it's been possible to buy PCs without a Windows OS (or the 'Microsoft tax') as it was known.

they cant re-enable ur account mate its not that which is banned, its your xbox

[debug77]

Unfortunately when you signed up to xbox live, you pretty much gave up all your rights as a human being by accepting the T&C for Live.

[Likkle]

Just get a new EEPROM, that will give you a clean slate

Anyone whos been banned can have mine for free ( i dont use live)

The problem is the new HDs arent properly married to the box (you can do it though). Id just go stock to be honest though!

[inoxx]

the problem is eve if u get a new eprom, you can still get banned as the HD key will be different.
the best solution for now is to stay off live for the time being and see if the xbox gurus come up with some code to fool xblive into thinking it has the right HD key.
If you really cant stay off xblive then a second xbox might be a good idea.

[Mr.James]

Just get a new EEPROM, that will give you a clean slate

Anyone whos been banned can have mine for free ( i dont use live)

The problem is the new HDs arent properly married to the box (you can do it though). Id just go stock to be honest though!

Any more guidance about this 'marrying' thing? I've heard that it all gets done when you first log in to xbox live but what exactly is being calculated?

the problem is eve if u get a new eprom, you can still get banned as the HD key will be different.
the best solution for now is to stay off live for the time being and see if the xbox gurus come up with some code to fool xblive into thinking it has the right HD key.
If you really cant stay off xblive then a second xbox might be a good idea.

I don't know what you mean by that first sentence.

If they detect your box is mod'd they ban your HDD Key from connecting. Different eprom = different HDD Key = Different Xbox...... and no more ban.

I'm gonna bit-by-bit copy my current (never banned) 80gb hdd to a new 120gb. Delete the F: partition, repartition it to the full capacity and format. I'll also get a HDD serial number changer to make sure the 120 has the same serial as the 80 (just in case they check that too) and also make sure hy HDD key doesn't change. Surely these precautions would make the disk identical to the one scanned by live?

[Erad]

my friend got his chipped and a 60gb hard drive put in by this person who said that its undetectable, which he though was a loada bollocks, but he now plays xbox live hours and hours a day... not banned yet...

[Mr.James]

my friend got his chipped and a 60gb hard drive put in by this person who said that its undetectable, which he though was a loada bollocks, but he now plays xbox live hours and hours a day... not banned yet...

Yeah there are all these theories about why people are getting banned, lpc scans, hdd upgrades etc. I just reckon they've changed the method of banning to by HDD Key rather than on the mac address and the only things they check for are modchips (obviously) and hacked save games. People who have modded xboxs have been able to use hacked saves to give them unfair advantages. (Better cars in Project Gotham etc.). Microsoft has to keep the integrity of xbox live otherwise it's gonna go down the pan. Save games don't transfer from xbox to xbox so I reckon they just check if the save games are compatible with your system you're good to go. If not banned...

[DrXerox]

Here's what happened to a mate of mine.

I modded his Xbox several months ago. He played XBL, no problems.

I recently upgraded his hdd from the standard to a 80gigger. He was banned within 2 days

I think they noticed a change in his Xbox hardware. So its only a change in hardware that causes problems.

[debug77]

Here's what happened to a mate of mine.

I modded his Xbox several months ago. He played XBL, no problems.

I recently upgraded his hdd from the standard to a 80gigger. He was banned within 2 days

I think they noticed a change in his Xbox hardware. So its only a change in hardware that causes problems.

Has to be the hard drive, because it's perfectly fine to take your xbox live account round a friends house and login from their Xbox (with totally different hdd id, mac, etc...)

[debug77]

Off the TeamExecuter site

We think its safe to say that the recent crop of XBL bans have come about by M$ collecting your eeprom data including your HDD serial number / key when you sign up to Xbox Live for the first time - this is what's known as the "Marriage Theory".
So basically if you upgrade your hard drive after signing up to XBL your account will get fried. We feel there is no "drive scanning" taking place so dont be paranoid about where you are storing your files.

Solution?: Upgrade your hard drive BEFORE signing up to the XBL service.
Better Solution?: Hacking the firmware of the upgraded hard drive to have the same serial number / key as your stock hard drive.

[Mr.James]

Upgraded me box the other day. Played halo 2. Left for 24 hours, banned.


They're definitely profiling xboxs when they're connected to live. Change the drive and they detect the serial number's different and you get banned.

Anyone know where I can get an xbox live virgin 1.6 eprom (or 2, 3 or 4)from?

[{{909}}]

pm me mr james, i can send you an eprom from this crystal i have here

[Cochise]

Here's how I see it.... LIVE is a pain in the ass for everyone who wants to mod their console. Up until now the Xbox was more than a £100 therefore it made sense to try and get the most out of the Xbox as both a multimedia & Live gamers platform.

Whether you use the eject trick, switch or etc.. It still kinda takes the care free fun of on-line gaming out of the whole LIVE experience. Hell there are even some cool mods you don't even try out for fear of messing up your Live playing ability.

Now that the Xboxes are sub £100 and M$ are constantly updating with damn LIVE updates. I'd say save yourself the bother of all the worrying of accessing LIVE with the wrong bios and all the headache which that entails and just get a second box for LIVE play;

• 1. No more LIVE worries..
• 2. Mod your other console to your hearts content.....
• 3. When Xbox neXt comes out you end up with 2 multimedia consoles with twice the fun since magic workers won't have any immediate answer for waiting modders with the neXt version until the thing will has been released for a while at least.:thumbs

The choice is yours, stay in the endless BS M$ loop where who knows what the hell they are scanning on your drive or take the RED pill & be free from the matr$x:nowords:

[keyamon]

from what i've read and from mine and my friends experiences when you sign up to live (since LIVE 2.0) M$ "marry" your eeprom and HDD key. so if either are changed, then you are banned!
your GamerTag will then be flagged for more checks if you should get back on Live.

If you change your HDD Before you sign up to live, then your OK (providing you did it correctly)

if you changed your HDD after you sign up to live then you are going to have to get a NEW eeprom and a new HDD key, taken from an XBOX that hasn't been on LIVE.

[Cochise]

If you change your HDD Before you sign up to live, then your OK (providing you did it correctly)

Oh! there are many theories around right now...I've read them myself. Even if those suggestions of swapping out the HDD before LIVE interaction prove to be correct then that's cool until the next nail biting update. Why deal with the LIVE hassles at all at a price of sub £100 is all I'm saying really.

[keyamon]

i do agree. and if both my XBOXs get banned and my other eeproms dont work i will happily buy another