Original Xbox (modified?) with old version of Evolution-X (EvoX?). What to do with it?
August 24, 2010 11:43 AM Subscribe
Original Xbox (modified?) with old version of Evolution-X (EvoX?). What to do with it?
I was given an old, original Xbox that has been modified. Right now, it has a bunch of games backed up onto that can be played, as well as a media player and DVD player software.
I think it has been modified in some way as there is a button that has been glued to the outside of the box with wires running inside. Pressing the button connects the two wires and pressing it again disconnects them. When they are connected the Xbox boots into the Evolution-X Dashboard. When disconnected, I get the regular Microsoft Dashboard.
I would like to update the software if possible, as I'm sure it is way outdated, and maybe get some new functionality out of it. It's great to be able to play the games, but they are so old now, and I have a Playstation 3 that I use mostly for playing games anyways. I thought about maybe putting the XBMC software on it and use it as a media center. Anyways, I am not sure really where to go or what the steps are to bring things up to date and I am wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction, or link me to some useful information/guides/etc.
Here are the relevant information I can find about the system:
It seems to be XBOX_V1.1, with RemoteX V1.8.3752.
BIOS Version: EvoX D.6
Kernel Version: 1.00.4817.01
Xbox Hardware Info: 00000201 A3 B2
I was given an old, original Xbox that has been modified. Right now, it has a bunch of games backed up onto that can be played, as well as a media player and DVD player software.
I think it has been modified in some way as there is a button that has been glued to the outside of the box with wires running inside. Pressing the button connects the two wires and pressing it again disconnects them. When they are connected the Xbox boots into the Evolution-X Dashboard. When disconnected, I get the regular Microsoft Dashboard.
I would like to update the software if possible, as I'm sure it is way outdated, and maybe get some new functionality out of it. It's great to be able to play the games, but they are so old now, and I have a Playstation 3 that I use mostly for playing games anyways. I thought about maybe putting the XBMC software on it and use it as a media center. Anyways, I am not sure really where to go or what the steps are to bring things up to date and I am wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction, or link me to some useful information/guides/etc.
Here are the relevant information I can find about the system:
It seems to be XBOX_V1.1, with RemoteX V1.8.3752.
BIOS Version: EvoX D.6
Kernel Version: 1.00.4817.01
Xbox Hardware Info: 00000201 A3 B2
Xbox Media Center is indeed your killer app here. Towards the end of life of my Xbox, I didn't even bother using it for games anymore as it was too much of a hassle to try to get the DVD drive to work consistently, but with XBMC being configured to share my PCs hard drive, I was able to stream video over it for years.
This seems to have the relevant information on getting and installing XBMC.
posted by quin at 12:41 PM on August 24, 2010
This seems to have the relevant information on getting and installing XBMC.
posted by quin at 12:41 PM on August 24, 2010
It's been a while but I remember getting the latest XBMC off the #xbins IRC channel, unzipping then just FTPing the files over (or overwriting the existing install).
posted by wongcorgi at 12:49 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by wongcorgi at 12:49 PM on August 24, 2010
You can find XBMC in the #xbins IRC channel, or available on assorted Torrent sites. I mostly use my modded xbox for XBMC, but occasionally for emulator games.
posted by backwards guitar at 12:54 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by backwards guitar at 12:54 PM on August 24, 2010
Despite the age of the console, there are a few fun games for it that you might see in a bargain bin or something. Stubbs the Zombie (especially good in two-player cooperative) and Destroy All Humans come to mind.
posted by exogenous at 1:41 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by exogenous at 1:41 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I've successfully gotten the latest "T3CH" version of XBMC running (yay).
Should I bother with trying to upgrade the EvoX stuff?
posted by doomtop at 2:44 PM on August 24, 2010
Should I bother with trying to upgrade the EvoX stuff?
posted by doomtop at 2:44 PM on August 24, 2010
i'd say there's no reason to bother with evox.
per wikipedia:
Pros
* Easy to edit configuration file
* Simplistic and straightforward menu design
* Compatible with many Xbox game trainers
* In-game reset
* Does not allow users access to potentially dangerous things without explicitly telling it to
* Will boot to a very basic menu instead of crashing if the configuration file is missing or corrupt
* Can easily be run from a CD if user still wants access to Xbox Live
* Can easily be installed via softmod
* Small size
* Big skinning community
Cons
* Slow release cycle
* More prone to going into a clock loop if the Xbox is left unplugged for a long amount of time
* limited features compared with other dashboards.
posted by nadawi at 3:10 PM on August 24, 2010
per wikipedia:
Pros
* Easy to edit configuration file
* Simplistic and straightforward menu design
* Compatible with many Xbox game trainers
* In-game reset
* Does not allow users access to potentially dangerous things without explicitly telling it to
* Will boot to a very basic menu instead of crashing if the configuration file is missing or corrupt
* Can easily be run from a CD if user still wants access to Xbox Live
* Can easily be installed via softmod
* Small size
* Big skinning community
Cons
* Slow release cycle
* More prone to going into a clock loop if the Xbox is left unplugged for a long amount of time
* limited features compared with other dashboards.
posted by nadawi at 3:10 PM on August 24, 2010
If you're bored you can convert all your high-def content to DivX (or XviD with more restricted settings) - that ancient bit of tech is perfectly capable of streaming 720p video. I converted mine to wireless with an old D-Link router running dd-wrt.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:09 AM on August 25, 2010
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:09 AM on August 25, 2010
Oh yeah - if you haven't got component video cables, get them, or no high-def anything for you. Cheap set I got on eBay for under $10 worked just as well as the more expensive set I ordered from the US.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:11 AM on August 25, 2010
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:11 AM on August 25, 2010
And third post's the charm: if you get HD cables, XBMC will upscale all your standard def stuff to 720P. It does a pretty sweet job.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:12 AM on August 25, 2010
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:12 AM on August 25, 2010
Oh yeah, definitely get some high-def component cables.
posted by exogenous at 12:42 PM on August 25, 2010
posted by exogenous at 12:42 PM on August 25, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
i know a few people who love XBMC so much they've actually just loaded it onto their pc, even though there's lots of media center programs out there. it really seems to be the best of the lot.
posted by nadawi at 11:49 AM on August 24, 2010