I tried searching though all of the info on these forums, and there was just so much to search though, it started to give me a headache.....so I thought I would just ask and get some help from an experienced modder.

I've never modded anything before, and I'd like to mod my Xbox. I now have an Xbox 360, and never use my Xbox anymore....so I want to mod it so I'd actually use it sometimes.

The only thing that I know about modding is that I'll be able to play backups of games off the the HDD and burned DVDs.....and that I'll be able to stream media from my PC.

What else will I be able to do after installing a mod chip?


Edit: Will I be able to stream high-def videos from my PC and play them on my HDTV? (I have the component cables)

As an answer to your question about HDTV and X-Box. XBMC/Xbox can playback 480p (720x480 progressive) HDTV files just fine (that's 720x480 progressive media files), XBMC/Xbox can even upscale 480p (and standard DVD-video) to 720p and 1080i without problems and at great quality, (as the upscaling gets done by the video-out chip and not the CPU). XBMC being (Xbox Media Center) a dashboard that replaces your factory (M$-Dash). I recommend it to anyone who is new to Xbox Modding. It's a very easy to use and has a nice looking interface. Plus it's a breeze to setup. And not only will you be able stream mediafrom your pc to xbox. But you can watch Youtube videos, listen to streaming playlists, and television shows via internet. The X-box can transition into an extremely powerful and versatile multimedia tool after modification. Emulation is very popular. If you enjoy SNES, NES, Genesis, PSX, etc. You will find the xbox to be your cup of tea. The best part about X-box modification is that it can be done without spending a dime. If you don't wish to hardmod your box (mod-chip). Then you can softmod the box. This is performed by either a game save exploit. Or hot-swapping. However, if you don't own one of the games that are required to perform the save exploit, a memory card, and action replay. I would suggest the Hot-Swapping method. Assuming you have experience with computers. It's fairly simple to do. And is free. If you're interested in the hotswapping tutorial, http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=332179 click. If you have any questions or anything, just PM me.

voultar summed everything up perfectly so i wont really need to say anything but i will just mention this.

if u choose the softmod route with hotswaping (via XBoxHDM) you need to connect everything in just the right order for the pc to be able to communicate with the xbox's hard drive otherwise you will have problems.

just be carefull though if using XBoxHDM as you DO NOT want to unlock your hard drive with it cause if you do im pretty sure your screwed unless you have the EEPROM file (which u wont have until u do a sucessfull softmod and run the backup option in evox)

just BE CAREFULL and you should be fine... and it's like voultar said... just contact him if you got any problems or questions.

and i should also note... it's "potentially" risky using the hot swaping method as it could possibly damage your pc or xbox or both!!! SO DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! ... but i did it many times in the past and never had a problem yet myself.

the modchip route is nice but it costs money... main advanatges with modchip are you dont need to do hotswap and it's just easier to fix xbox if something is to go wrong (but modchip generally requires soldering, i DO NOT recommend getting solderless modchips!)... but other than that the softmod is just as good once it's up and running.

So if I successfully softmod with hotswapping, it will be just as good as having a mod chip? Will I still be able to upgrade the HDD (like to a 160GB drive)?

I'm pretty sure the answer to this question is no.......but if I softmod with hotswapping, will I still be able to play on Xbox Live?

If I do decide to get a mod chip instead of softmodding....why wouldn't you recommend the solderless modchips? (I was planning on getting a solderless)

Once you have hotswapped and are successfully running the softmod there isn't much that a chip can do that you can't. Upgrading the HDD in a softmod is a lil harder than a chipped box, but not too much or better put, not enough to warrant buying a chip to upgrade the HDD. Once you have the softmod running you need to backup the eeprom then FTP in and put a copy of it on your PC. Then build your new HDD with XBOXHDM. Searching and reading tutorials will explain that and how to do it.

About Live: Depends if you have been on Live already. If you have already been on Live with that XBOX the eeprom and HDD info has been recorded and if you sign in with a different HDD you will be banned. If you have never used Live on that box then your fine to start now. If you have used Live before then you need to get a new eeprom before signing in. Search "marriage theory" for more info on the marrying of the eeprom and HDD.

Solderless chips are nowhere near as reliable as a soldered chip. They tend to come loose alot and you have to open the box up and refit the chip to get going again. Much better to just pay someone to solder it in or learn to solder and do it yourself (I didn't know anything about soldering before xbox modding).