Flashing Xbox 360 Beginner FAQ

Learn basic information you need to hack/ flash your Xbox 360 to play burnt games on Xbox 360.

Written by Carson

FLASHING THE DVD DRIVE FAQ

Q: What does having “Hacked Firmware” let me do?
A: All it does is modify your DVD drive’s firmware to allow it to play burnt (backup) games. The newest version is iXtreme 1.61

Q: What tutorial should I use?
A: Look in this section!

Q: Can I still play Xbox Live?
A: Yes, but see Question below

Q: Will I get banned from Xbox Live?
A: There is always a chance you will get banned. Microsoft usually has about 2 ban waves a year, when they discover new methods to detect backup games. However, if you stay up to date with the latest firmware, you should be fine. Don’t let this scare you though, you probably won’t get banned.

Q: What if I figure out they are banning, and flash my firmware back to the original before I go online?
A: Let’s say Microsoft has found a way to detect iXtreme 1.61. They would start collecting logs immediately looking for people that they detected, and flag the account. When the fall updates comes around, they would ban all those flagged accounts. Flashing it back would be futile, since they already have logs of you playing burnt games. This is all assuming that they found a way to detect it.

Q: What if I only play backups offline, and legit games online?
A: It doesn’t matter. When you play the game, the 360 logs all the info. It would send the info to Microsoft as soon as you logged into Live.

Q: Do I have to open my 360?
A: Yes. There are tutorials everywhere, try YouTube.

Q: What all do I need to do it?
A: It depends on what kind of DVD drive you have. To find that out, you’ll need to open your 360. Click[-easily-identify-xbox-360-dvd-drive.html"] here](https://www.wemod.com/forum/44-firmware-hack-tutorials/1958-[how-) to find out what type of DVD Drive you have.

If you have a:
Hitachi= No SATA Card
BenQ= SATA Card
Samsung= SATA Card
LiteOn= Xecuter Connectivity Kit with Probe (No SATA Card)

Here is a good place to buy a cheap VIA Chipset SATA card:
VIA VT6421A IDE & SATA RAID PCI Controller Card

To buy an Xecuter Connectivity Kit v3 with Probe:
Here if you live in the USA
Here if you live in the UK
Here if you live in Canada
Here is a place that ships worldwide

[b]Again, DO NOT forget the Probe. It is needed to flash the LiteOn.

Q: Will it void my warranty?[/b]
A: Yes. Unless you save the sticker (Heat it up using a hair drier and peel it off). When you send it to the repair center, they do NOT check the DVD Drive for hacked firmware. I have sent in 5+ flashed 360’s. If you are paranoid, just flash it back. I even sent in my 360 without a warranty sticker and they sent me a fixed one back.

Q: Can I still play original games?
A: Yes.

Q: Can I download updates for Games?
A: Yes. Your burnt copy is an exact replica of the original.

Q: Is it hard?
A: In my opinion, no. If you can follow directions, then you shouldn’t have any problems. It should take you like an hour your first time.

Q: Can I mess up my 360 doing this?
A: You have to try pretty hard to break it. For example, erasing the keys from your drive and not having them backed up. But once again, don’t let this worry you. Like I said, almost no one breaks their 360 flashing it.

Q: Should I buy this “Blaster 360” thing?
A: No. It is a waste of $80. All it does is make it so you won’t have to open your 360 next time you want to update firmware, if you have a compatible drive.

Q: How often do I have to update my firmware to stay safe?
A: Personally, I’d update every time an update is released, just to stay safe. I’m gonna estimate you will need to update maybe… 3 times a year? But once you do it a few times, it will be really easy.

Q: How do I stay up to date with the latest updates?
A: You can always view our Xbox 360 Discussion area as our users normally post information the minute it’s released. Other good sources are:

http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/
http://xbins.org/

Q: Where am I gonna get all the programs to flash it?
A: Xbins. It is an IRC channel. I’d recommend you get this program called “Easy Xbins”, makes things much easier if you aren’t familiar with IRC:


http://rapidshare.com/#!download|98|35269995|Xbins.zip|1977

Q: Can I flash my 360 using my Laptop?
A: Yes, follow this guide

BACKING UP AND BURNING GAMES FAQ

Q: How can I backup my own games?
A: You’ll need a Kreon DVD Drive for your computer, with custom firmware. I’d really recommend you buy one from this guy on Xbox-Scene. He’ll put custom firmware on it for free, and he is where nearly everyone gets theirs.

Q: What kind of DVD’s do I need to burn games?
A: The Xbox 360 can ONLY read DVD+DL (Dual Layer) discs for games. The best kind is Verbatim. Most others won’t work or will die eventually. Might as well spend a few extra dollars to get Verbatim anyways, because you know they will work and last longer. You will also need a DVD+DL Burner, which is standard nowadays.

Q: Where is a good place to download games?
A:

http://www.xbox360iso.com/

Q: Now that my NTSC Xbox 360 is flashed, can I play PAL games?
A: Nope, still region locked. It isn’t a problem though, because you can always find downloads for both released at about the same time. For those who don’t know, NTSC-U is America, PAL is Europe, NTSC-J is Japan. This is just a broad list, but you can click the links to see more specific regions.

Q: I downloaded a game, and now I have a bunch of .RAR files. Now what?
A: Download WinRAR and install it. Now, right click on any of the files and click “Extract Here”.

Q: Ok, I have a .ISO and a .DVD file. What now?
A: This is easy. You can use tons of programs, but CloneCD is the easiest. All you have to do is download CloneCD, Select “Burn Image”, Select the .DVD file, select 2x-2.4x speed, and click Burn. It’s that easy. If you don’t want to spend the money on CloneCD, you can use ImgBurn.

Q: Do I need to check my ISO’s before I burn them?
A: No. I own over 50 backups, and I rarely use AGBX. As long as you are on iXtreme 1.6, you don’t need to worry at all. But many people like to be safe. Here is the download for ABGX. It is pretty simple, just load your .ISO file and click “Launch”.

Q: What is ABGX anyways?
A: ABGX is a tool written by Seacrest to check .ISO files. It is very simple to use. To keep it simple, it makes sure everything is right with the game you downloaded.

Q: If a game is leaked early, can I play it or will I get banned?
A: No, you won’t. No one ever has been banned for this. I have played so many games weeks before their release date, and have never been banned.

Q: But dude, I ran the .ISO through ABGX and it isn’t verified!
A: I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a million times. WHO CARES WHAT ABGX SAYS! Of course the game isn’t verified, it isn’t released yet! I see a ton of threads with people saying “No way I’m burning this game, it isn’t verified”. It really does not matter if it isn’t verified, quit being a pansy. All games released nowadays are perfectly fine to just burn and play without a problem. I have NEVER used ABGX before I burnt a game.

Q: But dude, I’m still scared of getting banned!
A: Grow a pair. When you flash your firmware you are taking the risk of being banned.

If you have any questions you would like me personally to answer post them here.

  • nickev123
1 Like

http://rapidshare.com/files/248528069/xbins.exe

Link broken =S

1 Like

Updated :smile:.

The newest version of iXtreme is not 1.61. The newest version is LT only for BenQ, Lite-on, and Toshiba-Samsung.

Great post very useful and reliable answers with accurate questions …STICKY THIS PLEASE !

Thanks Dude. Very nice accurate answers to common questions, if I Flash mine I Might use this as a reference

im pretty sure this doesnt happen, ms cant detect you playing burnt games if you havent played them online since the new way of detecting them wouldnt be active. i played mine offline for 2 years brought it online and it never got banned.

Your xbox stores your games played in your NAND, offline or online if you connect to live after playing it MS can see.

Awesome and comprehensive guide. Think I will try a flash now :smile:

Thank you for the guide! I just bought a Slim Xbox360 4GB, If i flash the xBox and run the games through USB, would that work?

Quick Question, My drive broke, and I want to flash it, so now I have to order a new one and extract the dvd key from it, but before I order the drive I want to make sure I can still extract the dvd key from it. I just got my SATA cable in the mail, but my question is this - Do I need a Ck3 to connect my BenQ Vad6038 to my computer?
Is it possible to connect the drive without a Ck3?

There working on it as of now. There is a video on you tube with a slim model working but it has not been released just yet. Could be wrong if someone wants to correct me.

This is cool, took a loud of my head, seems straight forward, there is a few more Q. I need to ask but before I do, I am looking around this cool forum… thx

Only xkey can do that :smile:

nice clean clear tut :smiley:

If u flash and only play back up games is there a possible way that a Xbox 360 will stop working on a Xbox updates or game update??? Are updates only possible when the counsel is online???

Thanks,
kid210

how do u open up the modding tools bit

how to unbann an xbox live acount, and please also report this account it’s mine : TeariestTub0

This thread is over a year old mate. You can’t unban your xbox account, and no one is going to report your account. If you need help make a new thread.