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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Flashing an XBOX 360

By Daniel Thompson

Your XBox 360 is one of the most powerful and versatile gaming systems ever made. Not only can you play all of your favorite games on this console, but you can also go online for interactive game play, enjoy music and movies and much more besides. Even though the XBox 360 offers a lot of functionality to gamers, there are some limitations imposed by the default settings in these gaming systems.

The main limitation that generates much concern among gamers is the inability to play backup games and other custom games including hacked and homebrew ones. This is a common protection that older consoles utilized to reduce piracy rates and encourage users to buy the original games. Just like how people did it with the other consoles, people took the matter to their own hands and devised methods to bypass these security checks.

Modding is one way which a lot of people get around these limitations in their game systems. To mod your XBox 360, you need to buy a mod chip and install it in your system; it's a procedure that most people with a little technical inclination can do with relative ease. Modding is usually a pretty straightforward thing, but it can sometimes be hard to get your hands on a mod chip and incorrectly installed, modding can damage your system or even render it useless. Since you need to open the console to do this, it's a process which a lot of people approach with some trepidation.

Flashing works a little bit differently and although it still requires you to open up the console, no soldering is required. Flashing works by hacking the firmware that controls the components and alters it in such a way that backup games can be played without the need of modding. While many would think that people would do this for illegal matters, playing backup copies is useful for avoid scratches on your original discs.

You will need an Xbox opening kit. These are not expensive and can be easily obtained. Once you have this kit opening the console will present no problems. To flash means that you switch the DVD connector with the computer?s SATA port. You will use a firmware tool to flash it using a disc. Sometimes there is no SATA port. This is when you can try using a PCI SATA card on the condition that it has the VIA 6421 chipset. If it does not, it probably will not work.

Once you have determined who the manufacturer was you can begin. Invariably you will flash using Dosflash or Ixtreme via disc, but this is dependent upon who the manufacturer is.

Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of opening up their Xbox 360 in order to change anything. Nowadays you will be able to find services on the Internet that, for a fee, will allow you to download content that actually unblocks your system for you. These sites even offer additional help and support and are definitely worth a visit if opening up your console yourself seems like a bad idea.

If you want to get around the limitations of your XBox 360, flashing is a good alternative to modding. It's important to keep in mind that neither of these techniques are free of risk and Microsoft discourages these practices. If your flashing goes well though, you'll finally be able to play backup copies of your favorite games and custom games; as long as these are legal in your state, flashing your XBox 360 can be a rewarding experience. - 18424

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