Mod Chips

 


First of all how do they work?

An XBox, when turned on without a mod chip installed, runs through a set routine that is controlled by the XBox's BIOS.

  1. If the disc in the drive contains the correct digital signatures and media flags, the XBox executes default.xbe from the root directory of the disc (.xbe files are the XBox equivalent of .exe files on the PC).

  2. If there is no disc in the drive, the XBox then boots xboxdash.xbe (the XBox dashboard) from the main partition (C:\) of it's hard drive.

All mod chips essentially bypass most of part 1 above, with a mod chip installed the XBox no longer checks for digitally signed software or the special media flags.  So a mod chip essentially provides a replacement BIOS that the XBox uses instead of it's own BIOS (from M$).  At this point you can run backups of your software and unassigned code (i.e. code not written by M$).

Now lets look at the different Chips available.

Modchip Generation I (29 wires)
(Enigmah , Xtender , Homebrew , Region Free , Devilmod , XioS)

Modchip Generation II (11 wires)
(Messiah-X , Pandora1 , TitanX)

Modchip Generation IIIa (non-flashable LPC mods)
(X-ecuter2.0&2.1 , Cheapmod , Cyclone , Aladdin)

Modchip GenerationIIIb (flashable LPC mods)
(X-ecuterII , Xodus/Matrix , OpenXbox/PC-BioXX)

I'm not going to go through them all as many are out of date and are unavailable and the homebrew ones you make yourself and if you can do that, why the hell are you reading this ;-). The main two that remain are the Matrix a.k.a. Xodus (No Solder) and the X-ecuterII (of which their are 2 versions PRO and LITE)


The Matrix/Xodus

The main reason people use this chip is that it is a no solder chip so even a beginner can fit it
within a few minutes. Check the web site above for installation details. Essentially the chip has what are called POGO pins, these are like little needles that, when fitted correctly, touch the XBox's motherboard in specific places making a contact. The Chip itself is screwed into place to keep the POGO pins where they are supposed to be.


The X-ecuterII LITE and PRO (http://www.x-ecuter.com/ and http://www.xecuter2.com/)

This chip needs to be soldered into place (however a POGO pin adapter should be available early in the new year). It has 10 wires with only one wire being slightly difficult to solder. The X-ecuterII can also come with a pin header which makes fitting (and removing) the mod chip much easier. For more details on this check out the second of the two links above for installation diagrams.


Difference Between the X-ecuterII Pro and LITE

The LITE mod chip is sold complete with the BIOS and it is choice of the beginner as it doesn’t need flashing. The PRO version does not include the BIOS but involves extra features such as external PC programming, multi-bios switching and more. Of the two versions the PRO version is entirely legal as a programming tool and can be used legally with the LINUX BIOS. It then becomes your choice whether you use an illegally designed BIOS or not.

 
UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that I didn't mention that the X-ecuterII LITE can be used with a Linux bios as well - thanks to Ne01 for that smile.gif


So which chip to get?

In my opinion the X-ecuterII LITE is the choice for the normal average XBox user, although it needs soldering it is a better chip with a better BIOS. The soldering is relatively easy and if you really don’t want to do it then I suggest you find a place to take your XBox to, or send it to someone. You can always post a question in the forum on the respectability of a fitter before you send you console away!
The problem I have found with the POGO pins is that many people have complained of having to reseat the pins after a period of time as they shift out of alignment with the main board thereby severing the connection. The POGO pins also add great expense to the chip.


Will I ever need to upgrade the BIOS?

The BIOS that comes with the chip will have a certain set of features (like in game reset using the control pad, macro vision off etc). New BIOS's come out fairly frequently and if the chip you get can be flashed then you can update the BIOS to include these extra functions. It's kind of like future proofing yourself. If M$ (Microsoft) ever design a way to stop the Mod Chips playing backups you can update your BIOS so that whatever method they come up with proves to be ineffective!