I just bought an oXbox for the first time (sorta)

[Jagosaurus]

Thanks Ziggy.

Well... This ended up being an expensive thread for me . Just ordered a v1.4, LG/Hitachi drive, & a nice matte dark grey custom paint job. Clock cap removed, thermal paste change, but otherwise stock.

I sold my UnleashedX console locally that I modded back in 2016 (hard to believe that long ago) in a recent collection further scale down. Been wanting to get another project console since. Back in the game ...

Looking at various HDMI options now. Modding & HDD upgrades after.

Will report back

[Jagosaurus]

Alright! "New" (to me) v1.4 OG XB arrived. Matte grey paint job with black jewel on top looks great. It's not modded otherwise with stock HDD. Will have to get a pic posted. Phone photos too large to attach directly now.

After ensuring clock cap was removed by previous owner, putting the Hitachi/LG DVD drive through its paces for a bit, checking Ethernet & fan functionality, and testing the system out with a couple hours of Halo 2, ready to tinker and mod ...

I went back & forth on which methods to mod with. I decided to go with what I had on-hand and what I'm already most familiar with. I've been pretty pressed for spare time lately so decided to keep it simple.

Broke out my copy of 007 Agent Under Fire & my FATX formatted USB with Softmod Installer Delux (SID) on it. Had console softmodded and UnleashedX running in 20 minutes!

Now for the HDD swap portion next ...

I ultimately decided to go the CHIMP route by JRocky again. Cloning/swapping HDDs and key nulling has gotten so streamlined, I don't have to overly worry about complications if upgrading further later. I ended ordering a new-old-stock, well priced 3.5 inch 250GB Western Digital IDE HDD manufactured in 2008 -> WD2500AAJB lockable on compatibility chart. This is scheduled to arrive next week so in pause mode.

Again, just an easy path and proven method for me. I had a great experience with a 160GB WD IDE drive in my last original XB project. I may eventually update to a larger 1TB SATA or SSD with a PATA to SATA adapter and 80 pin cable, but going simplistic route for me... for now B)

Trying to pick up a few games this weekend. Will report back there and on inbound HDD upgrade next week!

[Ziggy]

Nice! I definitely wanna see pics of that, post them when you can!

[Jagosaurus]

There we go! Managed to attach a screenshot at a lower resolution & smaller sile size. Digging the color scheme! Ready to get the new HDD in.

[Ziggy]

Nice! I'm not sure if it's just the picture, but it looks like a flat or matte grey. I'm digging it! It definitely looks cool with the Xbox jewel being black, as well as the plate by the power and eject buttons. And with the black controller cable plugged in, it definitely has a mild two-tone thing going on.

Re: Hard drive upgrades... I had flashed the TSOP in my 1.0 and upgraded to a SSD (PATA to SATA adapter with an 80 conductor cable). It was easy as pie with the hard mod. I went as far as installing a dashboard but that's it. I haven't set it up yet. Mostly because I was getting annoyed with the Xbox flubber animation splash screen. The hard mod changed the colors on it, and I couldn't figure out how to restore it. I very much want the OG one. So I got kinda of annoyed with it and that sort derailed me LOL.

My 1.1 Xbox, I already have all of the parts to upgrade to SSD as well. But I'm not sure if I want to yet. I was thinking it would be cool to keep one soft modded. But then I figured... Why? I'll probably end up hard modding it and putting the SSD in there, and just have one as a backup to the other.

I had purchased a cap kit for both consoles. Not just for the mainboards, but the power supplies and DVD drives as well. The kits actually weren't cheap. Which is why it's killing me that they're just sitting there in the box. I'll have to get around to doing the recaps eventually. I kinda wanted to do that sooner rather than later. And hopefully that'll take care of the awful high pitched whine that my 1.1 does in standby.

I also decided to keep the stock fan. When I get around to doing the recaps, I'll also fix up the fans. Mainly, deep cleaning and lubing them. Then they should be quiet enough that I shouldn't have to worry about swapping them out.

[Jagosaurus]

Thanks! Yessir, it's a matte grey. Really nice paint job. Can still read all of the fine text in plastic molding.

Nice on hard mod. I've only ever messed around with the softmod. Saw a cool "DVD drive delete" concept but it required a BIOS mod.

... that said. Ran into an issue last night upgrading my HDD. The original ribbon cable that hooks into DVD drive, the connector snapped which broke it! just ordered another one for 10 bucks. So should be good, but the side pieces literally snapped off & it pulled off. Looks like the ribbon cable was pinched under the drive caddy so it was getting pressure from 2 sides when I went to remove to plug it into my new HDD for CHIMP process. I then had to get tweasers and take plastic out of the "receiver" ends on both sides of DVD drive pins. Crazy. I honestly didn't pull that hard. Freak thing that'll set me back a week.

[Jagosaurus]

New IDE cable came in ... DVD drive freed from brittle, broken cable's death grip and working. System now boots w/o 07 error code.

And here we go ...

[Ziggy]

Nice! Did you get a generic IDE cable? Or a custom Xbox one? I actually got a custom made 80 conductor cable that someone on eBay makes, it's the same length, position and orientation as the OGXBOX cable.

[Jagosaurus]

HDD upgrade to 250GB successful!

I found a seller on ebay selling xbox parts, and they had a replacement 40 pin cable from a doaner system for 10 bucks shipped. Went with the easy route for now. I also wanted to test my temporarily gimped DVD drive pins with a stock cable. Fortunately I didn't damage it . Any non-Thompson drive needs to be preserved lol.

Do you have the HDD, PATA to SATA adapter, and 80 pin cable you bought (links, models, etc) that all jived well together in your build? I'll archive them.

In time, I'll likely upgrade to a 1TB (maybe 2?) SATA drive and the 80 pin cable. I went the lazy route for now. That said lol...

I did run into some hiccups . A few tips to any one upgrading:

- Use a first party controller
- Put secondary drive or PATA adapter jumper in Slave mode (cable select didn't work for me)
- If using Chimp, DL the latest and greatest build from JRocky5s GitHub
- If you have older version of Chimp laying around, avoid it and delete the linux config file. Do not place in E: root like we used to do. It was causing conflicts for me.
- Use composite AV cables on a set that accepts 480i

After troubleshooting all that for a bit, I then had to DL & FTP over the XBPartition 1.3 app. This allowed me to format my F drive to "see" all available space. So now my F drive has ~230GB of disk space

Overall, very happy for now with the project outcome . Ripping a few key titles from physical disc via DVD2XBOX as typing this. Will um... go find, a few others that are pricey online to FTP over.

Also, I've been happy with this HDMI adapter I bought as a quick fix. Reddit community had it essentially labeled as the best output for the tier of spend at $40. I remember Kaico had some OSSC drama couple years back, but overall like this product.

Kaico Original Xbox2HDMI

[Ziggy]

Do you have the HDD, PATA to SATA adapter, and 80 pin cable you bought (links, models, etc) that all jived well together in your build? I'll archive them.

Yes!

For the SATA adapter, I used the StarTech one. I've used this one in the past in a PC, so it's what I would have used anyway. So it helps that this is the one that is most recommended for OGXbox.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EOJNGC2/

For SSD, I'm not sure if it matters much with compatibility. My guess is any good drive would do. That said, I wanted to save money so I hunted for some cheap SSDs that were still brands that I feel like I could trust. In my 1.0 Xbox, I have a Crucial 480GB. It seems to work flawlessly, although I haven't played many games on it yet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G3KGYZQ/

I had also picked up a Lexar 512 GB for my 1.1 Xbox, but I haven't installed it yet. I might use it for my PS2 instead, I'm undecided. But here's that one...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TQSYBPH

Prices on the SSDs might have been a little better when I bought them. I would seriously just get whatever, so long as it's a trusted brand/model to begin with.

For the PATA ribbon cable, this is the one that I got: https://www.ebay.com/itm/285741611164

It's a custom made 80-conductor cable that has the same length and orientation as the stock cable. So it's a perfect drop-in replacement. I bought two, but have only used one so far (with the Crucial SSD installed in my 1.0 Xbox). I haven't had any issues with it. I even swapped out a stock Xbox mechanical HDD at one point, so I could unlock it, and this cable worked fine for that as well.