View Full Version : Original Xbox Information and parts
Timlander
08-22-2010, 01:22 PM
I am looking for information on the original Xbox as well as parts. I am thinking about modding my Xbox I have here, just liven up the case a little bit with some LEDs and other things of that nature. I am also throwing around the idea of putting an entire PC into an Xbox case. I think it could be a pretty fun adventure. :D I would just like to possibly get an old nonworking Xbox or just the case so that I can know what I have in store for myself as far as modding possibilities and interior room without cracking mine open. Iv also never messed with an Xbox before, so I don't want to screw mine up. So all info on this is welcomed.
ok so you want to mod your xbox case.
here are some easy mods.
1. clear case emblem. take the top of the case and put it in the freezer for about 30 min. take it out and with a small flat screw driver pry up the circle emblem (be careful not to chip it. Next after you have it removed cut the circle out of the top of the case but leave about 1/8 inch of the circle intact so there is some thing to stick the emblem back to. Next take some goof off or some thing like it and remove the green paint. Dont go too crazy with it so you can still have the XBOX logo in silver. Now for the leds if you want them. Just hot glue them in a daisy chain around the opening and connect them to a spare or add on mole x connector. next use some of the adhesive removed from the emblem to stick the emblem back on. You can lightly sand the cleared emblem to make it have more of a glow if you like.
2. Adding a usb to the controller ports. Just open the xbox and look at the front of the box. Go to the 4th controller port and unscrew the port from the xbox it will hold the last two ports. Next disconnect the wires from the last port. Make sure you label the wires because they may not use the same colors as the usb. Next cut the female end from an old usb cable and strip back the wires. Make sure to leave enough cord to mount it where you might like. In most cases the colors are the same so just connect the wires from the usb to the controller port wires. Next reconnect the wires from the controller port back the way they where originally. Next take a cutting tool and make an opening some where out of the way so you can pass the connector for the usb to the out side of the case. How you do this is up to you. By the way the yellow wire is for a light pen or light gun and you will not need to connect it to any thing on the usb but you should connect it back to the controller port if you plan to use it for a light gun or pen. As well you cant use the usb and the controller port at the same time. They will work one at a time tho.
I will post some more mods for the xbox later tonight when i have more time.
As well it seems they may have stopped making the case extender for the original xbox.
a miniITX mb will fit nice in the xbox case with a laptop dvd rom and a laptop hdd. The hard part is finding a psu that will fit in the case. You can look around and find one but the easy way is to just take the psu out of its case and relocate the parts into the xbox case. Its really not that hard of a mod. The usb ports will be easy as well just use the old controller ports and then either mod your cables to use the controller connectors or take the controller ports out and mod them to hold usb female ends. the back pannel is easy as well. just locate where your going to mount the mb and then take the IO pannel and line it up with the back of the mb and mark it out. Cut out the area and snap in the IO plate.
You can remove the emf shield on the top of the case. Its the tin on top where you removed and cut the hole for the led mod for the emblem.
Most of the mods for the xbox case are the same type of mods for a pc case.
Just take your time and it will turn out great.
jacobroufa
08-22-2010, 05:09 PM
As Newegg lists them, Mini-ITX, PSU's will fit in the Xbox case no prob. Check out http://xbox-scene.com/xbox-tutorials.php for information on some mods. If you want to mod your xbox to be used as a media center, it works great for anything up to 720p videos. I love mine and probably wont be changing until I get a 1080p tv.
Timlander
08-22-2010, 05:22 PM
oh some very nice ideas so far. =) as you know freestuff I am interested in one of your Xbox shells, so when you get a chance PM me or leave a message on here letting me know about those.
I have 1 case right now that i will give away. I just need to figure out shipping and such.
As Newegg lists them, Mini-ITX, PSU's will fit in the Xbox case no prob. Check out http://xbox-scene.com/xbox-tutorials.php for information on some mods. If you want to mod your xbox to be used as a media center, it works great for anything up to 720p videos. I love mine and probably wont be changing until I get a 1080p tv.
Good call on the psu. back when I was doing the pc xbox cross over it was hard to find any thing that would fit with out removing it from the case. xbox-scene.com is a very good place to learn and find mod tutorials.
X264 and hd video don't play on the xbox but you can rip your videos to xvid or mkv and they play fine.
P.S. look for xbins on irc chat. Type in the chat window /msg xbins !list if I remember right. (tutorial here if you need it (http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/368866)) Lots of good stuff on their ftp servers. XBMC has an ftp server as well but cant remember the name of it right off hand but I'm sure some one here knows it.
Timlander
08-22-2010, 06:51 PM
I have 1 case right now that i will give away. I just need to figure out shipping and such.
Good call on the psu. back when I was doing the pc xbox cross over it was hard to find any thing that would fit with out removing it from the case. xbox-scene.com is a very good place to learn and find mod tutorials.
X264 and hd video don't play on the xbox but you can rip your videos to xvid or mkv and they play fine.
P.S. look for xbins on irc chat. Type in the chat window /msg xbins !list if I remember right. (tutorial here if you need it (http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/368866)) Lots of good stuff on their ftp servers. XBMC has an ftp server as well but cant remember the name of it right off hand but I'm sure some one here knows it.
Ok. Yea as of now I am thinking I will use the case I may get from you as a guide to decide what I want to mod on my Xbox. Then after I am done modding my Xbox I will use your case as the new case for a PC build with i-atx motherboard and such. I just need to see how everything will fit. Iv looked at all of the small form factor PSUs on newegg and what sucks is the wattage. I wanted this to be somewhat of a gaming PC still, and with 300watt psu being the max I could find that will be tough. I would be able to run my HD4850, but it just barely comes in at 5 watts under the watt output on the rail. I will have to see what I can do as far as that goes...
Give me some time and Ill see what I can come up with. Will the psu need to be inside the case? If not you can extend the cables and use just about any psu. You will need one or 2 of those pcie riser cards or what ever they call them. I would look for a ribbon type. The case extender would have made it much easier to put the psu in the case so I will keep looking for that.
jacobroufa
08-22-2010, 07:50 PM
When you do mod it, before doing the PC-changeover thing, look into softmodding. It's pretty simple anymore, with the most complicated step being the IDE hard drive hotswap... but even that is pretty easy (albeit nail-biting). You don't need anything other than a computer with an IDE channel and the right files.
As MC says, properly encoded files will play perfectly. Doesn't matter the format as the base media player for XBMC is Mplayer, but the encoding is what determines how much information is streamed and the Xbox is pretty limited hardware-wise so avoid the higher bitrate files. For a pretty good explanation on container/format vs codec, the best I've found is actually due to the HTML 5 spec coming up; see this link (http://diveintohtml5.org/video.html#video-containers).
Post-pc-component-install... My Seasonic SS250SU has been working great with plenty of room left for my build... and yes a Core2Duo and 8800GT plays Crysis just fine. :) With a top end Mini-ITX board and a mid range graphics card, you'll be able to play just about anything and stay within the size limit. The best, cleanest, most awesome Original Xbox to PC conversion is OS Xbox Pro (http://www.willudesign.com/osxboxproTop.html).
Have fun!!!!!
Marne
08-23-2010, 01:20 AM
if i remember correctly llama.com had alot of shit back in the day
Timlander
08-23-2010, 07:11 AM
When you do mod it, before doing the PC-changeover thing, look into softmodding. It's pretty simple anymore, with the most complicated step being the IDE hard drive hotswap... but even that is pretty easy (albeit nail-biting). You don't need anything other than a computer with an IDE channel and the right files.
As MC says, properly encoded files will play perfectly. Doesn't matter the format as the base media player for XBMC is Mplayer, but the encoding is what determines how much information is streamed and the Xbox is pretty limited hardware-wise so avoid the higher bitrate files. For a pretty good explanation on container/format vs codec, the best I've found is actually due to the HTML 5 spec coming up; see this link (http://diveintohtml5.org/video.html#video-containers).
Post-pc-component-install... My Seasonic SS250SU has been working great with plenty of room left for my build... and yes a Core2Duo and 8800GT plays Crysis just fine. :) With a top end Mini-ITX board and a mid range graphics card, you'll be able to play just about anything and stay within the size limit. The best, cleanest, most awesome Original Xbox to PC conversion is OS Xbox Pro (http://www.willudesign.com/osxboxproTop.html).
Have fun!!!!!
Yea man I googled "Original Xbox mod" yesterday and found that Xbox mod and it was rather extreme and very nice. I dont think I will be going that far, but it was a very very nice mod indeed.
Timlander
08-23-2010, 01:17 PM
Give me some time and Ill see what I can come up with. Will the psu need to be inside the case? If not you can extend the cables and use just about any psu. You will need one or 2 of those pcie riser cards or what ever they call them. I would look for a ribbon type. The case extender would have made it much easier to put the psu in the case so I will keep looking for that.
Yea the PSU will be best to be inside the xbox. I would like it to all be inside if possible. It may be hard to do with a small 300watt itx psu though. Once I get your case I will be able to get good measurements and see if I could fit a regular PSU in there since the m-itx board is so small.
scraps
08-23-2010, 02:51 PM
I can't wait to see you get started on this bad boy. I love consoles turned into a real machine.
Timlander
08-23-2010, 03:03 PM
Yea, i am not a fan of consoles anymore. I was back in the NES, SNES and Genesis days, but not now lol. The only thing great about this Xbox mod will be the smoking ass PC inside it. I really cant wait.
Send me your shipping info and I'll figure out what the shipping will be. Also I'll be sending you a working box. I cant find the one we talked about. Its still free tho. It is missing the front xbox logo plate for the dvd rom drive.
Timlander
08-23-2010, 07:08 PM
Send me your shipping info and I'll figure out what the shipping will be. Also I'll be sending you a working box. I cant find the one we talked about. Its still free tho. It is missing the front xbox logo plate for the dvd rom drive.
Alright man thanks a lot. your a life saver. Ill send ya a pm.
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