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A simple soldering-based fix has landed to unbrick hard drives on banned Xbox 360s.  (Source: Xbox-Scene)
Some simple soldering will remove one of the crippling effects of Microsoft's update

Microsoft came down with fire and fury upon the unsuspecting modding community.  Where past rounds of bans has typically been limited to a couple thousand users, this time it kicked off over 1 million Xbox Live users.  Microsoft detected modified drive firmware and installed an update on the banned consoles, bricking them. 

While still technically able to play games, the consoles had their cryptographic keys revoked resulting in corruption to Gamertags and saves used with the console.  Additionally, hard drive installation of games was banned and the usage of the Windows Media Player extender was disallowed.  Microsoft is telling those caught with their hands in the modding cookie jar to buy new consoles.

A couple days after the ban landed, modders were already coming up with ways to circumvent it.  One fix involved taking data from unmodified older units, but this fix wasn't practical for most, as it required an older, unused Xbox 360 on hand (attempting to use the restored console and the console you got the keys from would likely result in both being re-banned).  While an update to the modded drive firmware is currently in the works, there was no widespread fix to remedy the damage done by Microsoft.

Now a slightly simpler solution to fix one of the major problems associated with the ban -- the bricking of the hard drive -- has landed.  While the fix does require basic soldering skills, it's relatively simple -- you just solder one pin (Pin 19) on the NAND Write Protect (NWP) chip to the ground.  It is recommended you install a switch in between.  When grounded, the console can install games, even once the ban is in place.  However, it makes your console unable to install kernel or other firmware updates.  To do so, you need to temporarily unground the pin, hence the switch. 

The fix was first posted on Xbox-Scene, a popular modding website.  It was developed by the user GodzIvan.  The net result is to prevent the bricking of the hard drive, though this won't help if your drive has already been bricked.  Still it is a key piece of the puzzle for restoring and maintaining functionality on banned consoles, with more supporting pieces forthcoming.

Microsoft opposes modding because it claims that the modding community is promoting piracy.  It also opposes the installation of third-party operating systems (such as Linux) on the Xbox 360, a popular mod.

While some modders indeed use their modded firmware to allow them to play pirated discs, others use them for more morally ambiguous purposes.  As discs are often damaged, some users mod to allow the creation and use of backup discs.  Fans of foreign games or movies often mod to allow out-of-zone materials to play.  Yet another less objectionable use is the installation of Linux or third-party software on the hacked Xbox 360.  Still others use mods to support hardware like LED lighting for custom cases.

DailyTech is neutral on the topic.  We do not support modding, nor to we discourage it.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
By stubeck on 11/18/2009 8:10:57 AM , Rating: 2
I'm confused by this aspect of the article. While that is a mod, its not a mod which will get you banned as far as I know.




By JasonMick (blog) on 11/18/2009 8:25:39 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
I'm confused by this aspect of the article. While that is a mod, its not a mod which will get you banned as far as I know.


It is unlikely to (read on). But it will of course void your warranty, as to Microsoft any modification represents a violation of the EULA.

I wanted to give an example of why some people mod for reasons *other* than piracy. I know many do it to install Linux on Xboxes, or to play backup games (both of which involve modifying firmware which will likely earn you a ban), however I wanted to give yet another slightly different example of what some enthusiasts who don't support piracy, but support modding are doing.

The only way lights mods (could) earn you a ban, is if you drove them with custom software and you modded your drive to allow the installation of custom software. Of course you could always just install them as a standalone module with a microcontroller, in theory, but these seem to be the two most logical options. I'm sure people have tried both approaches.


By Hiawa23 on 11/18/2009 9:28:51 AM , Rating: 3
although I am not into the whole modding thing, I find all these articles fascinating. To see the modders trying to stay infront of MS, or Sony, or Apple is interesting to me, & the length that some go to.


By Hiawa23 on 11/18/2009 2:36:02 PM , Rating: 1
I think it's kind of silly that this is an issue at all. If you purchase a tangible item, you should be able to modify it however you want.

You can do whatever you want to do with your Xbox, all MS is saying is you aint logging onto our network with it. If you are losing money due to piracy & other advantages modded consoles allow, I am sure it aint silly at all to you.


By rs1 on 11/18/2009 3:03:33 PM , Rating: 5
They're saying more than just that. By disabling the internal HDD and the device's multimedia capabilities, they're also saying that you no longer get to use the hardware that you paid for in your own home, even if you stay off of their network.

MS can police their network however they want. But they shouldn't be crippling features that are built-in to the console and that have nothing to do with accessing their network.


By Lerianis on 11/18/2009 3:43:53 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, even banning these consoles off their network comes into question because these mod chips are not being used to cheat in games. Last time I heard, you could not be 'banned' from a service for playing on it with an 'illegal' copy.

Either the services have 'keys' that you have to input to play the game on them, have anti-cheating devices on them that monitor what people are doing and ban for any 'impossible' behavior (such as not getting hit by bullets), or anyone can play, regardless of 'legal' copy or 'illegal' copy.... not to mention that backed-up copies are LEGAL by copyright law!


By 88MVP on 11/19/2009 1:45:31 AM , Rating: 2
This is all kinds of wrong, but to your last point: Making a backup of something you own might ordinarily be fair use, but bypassing the encryption on a disc is a clear violation of the DMCA. Even if the underlying activity (making a backup) doesn't violate copyright law, circumventing the anti-copy features of the disc violates a federal criminal statute.


By rs1 on 11/19/2009 2:54:45 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
Even if the underlying activity (making a backup) doesn't violate copyright law, circumventing the anti-copy features of the disc violates a federal criminal statute.


Which is of course an excellent example of why the DMCA is all kinds of screwed up. It undermines fair-use essentially by allowing manufacturers to say "we don't want you to copy that even for legitimate purposes, so now you can't" whenever they want.

Just slap some crappy encryption on there that anyone can crack, and now the DMCA can be used to prevent all kinds of activities that would have been perfectly legal under standard fair-use interpretation.


By Black69ta on 11/19/2009 5:56:00 AM , Rating: 2
To Me it seems like MS is in effect acting like an artist, audacious enough to demand where I put "my" artwork that "I" purchased in my own home.
I could see banning, if they can prove that your mod is bringing down the Live network, just like the FCC and radio interference.

If there is no harm then no foul, I still believe that the Piracy war is like the late 80's Drug wars and they are wasted resources.
They could use this modder community to improve the Product while at the same time reduce development costs.


By PhatoseAlpha on 11/18/2009 9:30:59 AM , Rating: 1
As you can install games to the hard drive on the 360, the 'backup' argument seems awfully far-fetched. When you already are playing from the HDD not the disc, 'backup' is very, very questionable.


By justsomeone on 11/18/2009 10:08:09 AM , Rating: 2
But you still must insert the disk to play the game even if it's installed on the hard drive, so there remains the risk of damaging a disk and being unable to play the game. It wouldn't be very smart for MS to let you install a game and pass it along to your friends to do the same thing.


By Lerianis on 11/18/2009 4:05:11 PM , Rating: 4
Ah, but that is what is starting to annoy people on the PC.... that they have to keep their EASILY SCRATCHED GAME DISC in the drive in order to play.

That's the main reason why I crack EVERY SINGLE LEGALLY BOUGHT GAME I BUY! Period.... I go onto GameCopyWorld or somewhere else, download the crack, install...... HAPPY, because now that stupid disc check is gone and I don't have to keep my disc in the drive, spinning for NO LEGITIMATE REASON, where it could get scratched.

Sure, say I am 'breaking the ToS'.... I don't give a damned, to be blunt. Neither does my boss (a lawyer) who does the same thing with his PC games, after having a TERRIBLE time getting a disc replaced even thought the company in question HAD A RETURN POLICY, because they didn't keep any discs in reserve for returns because of disc scratching.


By justsomeone on 11/18/2009 4:28:59 PM , Rating: 2
I agree. If I knew I could get away with it on my xbox I'd definitely make backups and run those instead. I'd keep the originals on the shelf just like I do with the movies I back up. Instead I (and the kids which is honestly scary) must treat xbox disks like delicate little flowers.


By jrollins on 11/19/2009 8:11:22 AM , Rating: 2
I'd love to be able to make backups of my xbox games. To many times have i had someone (mostly little kids) bump into or shake my 360 while im playing. For those that dont know, when that happens it puts a big ring around the disc making it unusable, sometimes if you find a nice person at GameStop they will replace it for a small fee, but only a few times.


By Akrovah on 11/24/2009 4:37:23 PM , Rating: 2
Really, how many discs have you actually had ruined by scratches? In the 16 years that I have been playing games on CD, DVD, and now even Blu-Ray, I have never once had a disc stop working on me, or even get signifigant scratches. A couple here and there yes, but nothing life threatening. I still have the original X-Com disc, released in 1993, and it still reads perfectly, granted no modern OS will actually run the game, but the disc is fine. What are you people doing to your discs that makes you so paranoid about using them?

Its really not hard. Don't touch the data side, don't leave them out. Have them either in the drive or in the case. If the manufacture was to cheap to give you a real case and it came in a paper or cardboard sleve, then have a pack of mini jewel cases standing by. You can get packs of like a hundred of the things for like 20 bucks.


By invidious on 11/18/2009 11:50:29 AM , Rating: 5
The old addage that any system can be hacked applies both ways. Microsoft is perfectly capable of finding away around whatever this chip does and accurately detecting that the chip is installed. The only safe way to not get banned is to not mod.

Anything beyond that is done at your own risk. If you really want to you use your xbox as a personal modding device then don't hook it up to xbox live. If you don't do that then there is nothing Microsoft can do to you. If you are dumb enough to try to use their services with a hacked xbox then you deserve to get banned, your reasons for modding are irrelivant.


By mcnabney on 11/18/2009 1:52:40 PM , Rating: 2
I wonder if Microsoft will refund any unused XBL service fees that had additional months paid for?

Oh, and EULAs aren't worth shiat. My 12 year old son clicks them all the time - pretty sure he can't legally agree to squat. If MS wants to act against piracy than they have to act against the actual act of piracy and not a method which has other legitimate uses. The same type of logic wants to ban guns because they are often used in crime.


By Lerianis on 11/18/2009 4:13:58 PM , Rating: 2
Right, he cannot legally agree to anything under the current law (though, the companies are trying to get that changed for anything that doesn't have personally identifiable information).

You are exactly right that Microsoft should actually GO AFTER THE COMMERCIAL PIRATES, who are the people who are actually making them lose money.

Little Johnny or Jessica, downloading a game and playing it on their modded console, is usually NOT making them lose one cent because of a few things:

1. The game that they are downloading 'illegally' is out of sale and no longer being sold anywhere.
2. The game is too expensive for them and they wouldn't be able to afford it anyway, so Microsoft isn't losing on cent.
3. They have already BOUGHT the legal game or their parents have and have given them a backed up game to play because their parents have realized that the discs are fragile as hell, and even if/though their kids (who are NATURALLY tough on things) do their best to 'take care of it', it is going to get damaged sooner or later and stop working.
This could be taken care of by a simple policy of Microsoft taking your disc back and sending you a replacement disc.... but the main reason I hear that they don't want to do that, is because it would mean having a MOUNTAIN of replacement discs in a warehouse somewhere. Easy solution: GO TOTALLY DISC-LESS!

Which, it appears that they are actually considering for their next consoles.


easy fix to piracy is lower prices
By rvd2008 on 11/18/2009 10:55:13 AM , Rating: 5
$60 per game is obscene amount of money, hence piracy is blooming. Reduce prices 2-3 times and piracy will be reduced 5-10 times. My guess is game makers are too greedy to understand a simple concept of volume sales.




RE: easy fix to piracy is lower prices
By Hiawa23 on 11/18/2009 12:14:31 PM , Rating: 1
$60 per game is obscene amount of money, hence piracy is blooming. Reduce prices 2-3 times and piracy will be reduced 5-10 times. My guess is game makers are too greedy to understand a simple concept of volume sales.

If you look at how that $60 breaks down, from manufacturing, adverising, the cut retailers get, & everyone else's hand that's in the pot they don't make much.

I also don't buy your argument if you lower the selling price piracy will lessen, cause DVDs are cheap, but piracy is also crazy in that medium, so reducing the price of games, which isn't going to happen, so no point for me to even entertain that cause for many the games are their only revenue stream, & to lower the price they would have to sell alot more to offset, & given the economy the way it is, unless it's Black Friday or something, $60 will probably be the standard. Most of my games I buy from Gamefly so I don't pay $60, & there are plenty of online stores that have good prices, or you could just wait & pick up the games when they go down or go on sale. Games could be $29 & there still would be piracy.


RE: easy fix to piracy is lower prices
By rvd2008 on 11/18/2009 12:58:28 PM , Rating: 4
$20 DVD and $30 bluray - how exactly is that cheap?
People buy DVD to watch it ONCE or TWICE (best case scenario). To defeat DVD piracy prices should be under $5 new release, blurays should cost no more than $7. DVD sales are sluggish and bluray sales will go down the drain when digital download service will become reliable for 30GB/hour new content under $5.

To prove my point see how strong HD DVD sales are in spite of the dead format realms. They are sold like hot cakes with prices $3-5/disk. With this pricing NO ONE will bother to still. Piracy will be decimated.

And to your comments about advertising, retailing - sell directly over internet, cut the cost, get rid of middlemen.

At the end of the day, no matter how much DRM you put in place, you will not stop the piracy. This has been proven so many times in the past that it is almost not worth mentioning.


By mcnabney on 11/18/2009 2:00:08 PM , Rating: 2
Between Netflix and Hulu, I haven't bought a DVD in over a year.

And BluRay is way too expensive to invest in.


RE: easy fix to piracy is lower prices
By Hiawa23 on 11/18/2009 2:46:32 PM , Rating: 2
$20 DVD and $30 bluray - how exactly is that cheap?
People buy DVD to watch it ONCE or TWICE (best case scenario). To defeat DVD piracy prices should be under $5 new release, blurays should cost no more than $7.

I don't pay $20 for DVDs. I have Netflix so I get mine from them but on occasion I buy at Best Buy or Walmart & I only buy when at a good price & most of Best Buy new DVDs generally are $14 or so on day 1, or online, & by your logic cars should cost no more than $8000, they would sell more of them right. In fantasy land, yeah I agree, DVDs should be $5, videogames should be $19.99, & gas should be $.99/gallon, but in the real world, come on.

Capitalism at it's finest.


By Lerianis on 11/18/2009 3:45:51 PM , Rating: 3
Capitalism at it's WORST, more like it.


By joex444 on 11/18/2009 11:56:46 PM , Rating: 3
Way to go moron.


RE: easy fix to piracy is lower prices
By Hakuryu on 11/18/2009 3:02:27 PM , Rating: 2
When I first got an Atari in 1977, games like Space Invaders were $59.99. The reason games are still a similar price is because of volume sales; many more people buy games today.

Reducing prices will not 'fix' piracy. Maybe a very small percentage would buy then, but the majority do it just because they can. Why go buy something they can get for free?

Then you have the sellers of pirated works which probably are the majority of the problem. When I was in Korea in the Army, just outside the base were about 5 stores that sold nothing but pirated cassette tapes. I don't know if they are still there, but I highly doubt any of these businesses would shut down if media prices were lowered.


By rvd2008 on 11/20/2009 2:12:53 PM , Rating: 2
There is a problem with your logic. In 1977 computer games were novelty business. There were few available, computers were rare and super expensive as well. Only few people bothered to buy it. It was a niche market.

Not anymore. 30 years later on it is difficult to find a home without a PC. You complain that 1977 $60 is much more than today because of inflation, but you totally forget to mention the market size increase, that alone covers inflation up many times. Games nowadays multiply like rabbits. They share the same engine, framework, drivers, support, network, servers, even story lines and artwork. Why do we not see these savings passed on to consumers?


By Lerianis on 11/18/2009 4:00:35 PM , Rating: 2
I agree totally with that statement. 60 dollars a game is too expensive for a game, especially when you take into account that non-necessities have gone up in price so much, so you are now fighting for the few dollars that are left that people are not paying for necessities of life.

If they would reduce the price for a new game by 1/2 (save for the sequel to a multi-megahit)..... then piracy would decrease by nearly 5-10 times, and they would BE SELLING MORE GAMES... much more, in fact, that the price decrease would be totally OBVIATED and they would be making more money in the long run.

Of course, with the braindead corporations of today who think in terms (outside of the computer hardware industry) of "INCREASE INCREASE INCREASE PRICE!"...... we won't see that anytime soon, until companies start going out of business.


two points
By tmouse on 11/18/2009 8:24:53 AM , Rating: 5
First:

It will not undo (or undue as written in the article) it will prevent the hard drive "bricking".

Second:

quote:
DailyTech is neutral on the topic. We do not support or condone modding


I'm not sure either it's another case of poor spelling and should be:

DailyTech is neutral on the topic. We do not support or condemn modding

or the quote is nonsense since you are NOT neutral if you have a view one way or another.




RE: two points
By peritusONE on 11/18/2009 12:11:37 PM , Rating: 3
I think the fact that the article goes into enough detail to tell you exactly what to do is being in support of it.


RE: two points
By hkubby3985 on 11/18/2009 12:49:56 PM , Rating: 1
condone [k?n'd??n]
vb (tr)
1. to overlook or forgive (an offence)
2. (Law) Law (esp of a spouse) to pardon or overlook (an offence, usually adultery)
[from Latin condonare to remit a debt, from com- (intensive) + donare to donate]
condonable adj
condonation [?k?nd??'ne???n] n
condoner n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 6th Edition 2003. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003


RE: two points
By tmouse on 11/18/2009 2:22:53 PM , Rating: 5
Outside of showing you can copy and paste from a dictionary, your point is?

"Do not support or condone" is NOT being neutral

I can understand why they would have such a disclaimer. I can understand why one could have that position, but the sentence simply does not make sense. A neutral stance would be "do not support modding nor do we condemn it" . This sentence says we do not support it or forgive (overlook, pardon ect.) it, a stance that is far from neutral.


RE: two points
By tmouse on 11/18/2009 2:37:24 PM , Rating: 2
I see the disclaimer has changed and now is both clear and shows neutrality. I'm really not a sentence Nazi.


Jason, please stop.
By wolrah on 11/18/2009 9:03:52 AM , Rating: 2
So far you're two for two on misunderstanding the various "fixes" that have been discovered for this ban wave.

The first one from a few days ago with the keyvault only works if you had your CPU key ahead of time, which very very very few people did. Not only that, but you

This one does not unbrick anything, it simply allows those users not yet banned to prevent one of the effects of the ban.

I strongly recommend that everyone currently running a modded console perform this mod as it seems that current DVD firmwares put us in to a "not if, but when" situation at least until iXtreme LT comes out, but it won't do a damn thing for anyone who is already banned.

At this point, the vast majority of those who are already banned are SOL.




RE: Jason, please stop.
By JasonMick (blog) on 11/18/2009 9:13:09 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
The net result is to prevent the bricking of the hard drive, though this won't help if your drive has already been bricked. Still it is a key piece of the puzzle for restoring and maintaining functionality on banned consoles, with more supporting pieces forthcoming


I clarified this I believe with the above paragraph and a slight change to the title. Thanks for the info though :)

In my defense, the Xbox-Scene's article and the resulting discussion weren't exactly crystal clear on whether it unbricked already bricked HDD's. And short of performing the illegal modification myself, I can't verify this (I don't own an Xbox 360, and even if I did, that would kind of destroy my neutrality on the topic).

Still, this hardware fix is a new option for those not yet banned, as you point out. And when/if the HDD bricking can be worked around, it will be equally important to the banned units as it will prevent re-bricking attempts.

When it comes to my coverage of Xbox mods, definitely let me know if you think the specifics are a bit off -- a lot of times with these kind of articles I'm working off forum posts/posts on less newish websites, so it can be somewhat confusing particularly for someone who doesn't own a 360 (and thus isn't modding one). Like I said -- the upside is I'm neutral and I'm providing coverage not available on (most) other news sites, the downside is that there will sometimes be some minor errors that I hope users like you with more experience bring to my attention.

I definitely appreciate your enthusiasm.


RE: Jason, please stop.
By corduroygt on 11/18/2009 10:03:42 AM , Rating: 3
This is a Rube Goldbergian solution to the banning problem. If you're modded and haven't been banned yet, just don't plug into the internet, since it's only a matter of time and no matter what you do with your xbox, MS will also ban its console id from the server side, meaning you won't be able to connect to live even if your hdd isn't bricked when you're banned.
Simplest solution is to have 2 xboxes, one for offline and other for online.


RE: Jason, please stop.
By heartlessdeath on 11/18/2009 1:49:30 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
by corduroygt on November 18, 2009 at 10:03 AM

This is a Rube Goldbergian solution to the banning problem. If you're modded and haven't been banned yet, just don't plug into the internet, since it's only a matter of time and no matter what you do with your xbox, MS will also ban its console id from the server side, meaning you won't be able to connect to live even if your hdd isn't bricked when you're banned.
Simplest solution is to have 2 xboxes, one for offline and other for online.


This is a great marketing technique by MS. Ban one console so they will buy another. We'll make millions. Eat that sony.
This is one of the reasons why I am starting to turn my back to microsoft. They Have one sided opinions "Modders are pirates" and they use their status in the entertainment industry to strong arm everyone to do what they want. Most people learn about technology by taking apart the remote and putting it back together. then they say i want to do this and make better remotes for the world. MS is hindering the creativity of american consumers. Lets say a modder comes up with something truly revolutionary that MS can capitalize from, they will never know because they are right, we are wrong, they are big and we are small, and there is nothing we can do about it. -Matilda.


RE: Jason, please stop.
By tmouse on 11/18/2009 2:33:08 PM , Rating: 3
I do not think this will help much with the banning. In essence they cannot "brick" the system but as long as you prevent the flash (which is all this does) you cannot upgrade the system. If you do not accept an upgrade it will not let you on XBL so although you're not formally banned your functionally banned. If you reset the switch you will be detected and formally banned and "bricked". I can see where it does help with some of the side effects if your in that situation.


The real easy fix...
By ajira99 on 11/18/2009 9:50:44 AM , Rating: 2
Is to not use a Xbox 360 that has had either it's hardware or software "modded" on Xbox Live! No desoldering required and no warranty breaking. Look, MS doesn't care if you paint polka-dots on your console, put a "Keep On Truckin'" bumper sticker on it, or even strip it and put the innards in that ridiculous Lian-Li replacement case. Install Linux if you want to (I don't see the point, though). You can use a modchip (or not) as your conscience dictates, BUT you can't use it online with Live!

If people want a disc replacement policy, take a poll and petition MS. Just stop claiming that the mods are used just to allow backups to be played and all that garbage. I remember how the biggest complaint used to be the noise of the optical drive. Well, if you have a hard drive (even a used 20GB one), install the game to that and it's not even an issue.




RE: The real easy fix...
By Lerianis on 11/18/2009 3:52:41 PM , Rating: 1
The mods are mostly used to allow backups to be played. It is not 'garbage' no matter how much you (paid Microsoft poster, I bet) would like it to be.

I have 4 friends who have modded their XBox360's and Xbox's to play backed up games, and that is the EXACT reason why they did it: TO PLAY BACKED UP GAMES ! Not to play pirated games, but to play legally backed up games in order to protect their investment in those discs that are so goddamned scratchable it is not funny in the slightest.

There comes a time when people like yourself have to realize that not everyone who mods is a pirate. It's time to automatically assuming that and GO OUT AND LOOK IN THE HOMES for some real, non-bullshit data like I have from looking at my friends.
Of course, you would not want to do that, because you would find out.... oh god... preserve us.... PEOPLE ARE NOT PIRATES WHO DO THIS! THEY ARE OUR BEST CUSTOMERS!

Your best customers who you have just PISSED OFF and who might because of that.... now turn to piracy to give you a big "F' you!" Especially the YOUNGER ones who are the ones who you don't want to make angry, because if they are angry as children... they are going to REJECT your arguments as adults.... and you are going to be heading down the line to "OUT OF BUSINESS-LAND!" (sing what's in " with me)


RE: The real easy fix...
By kilkennycat on 11/20/2009 2:53:58 PM , Rating: 2
Ah, yes. I fully understand. With your 4 friends, they take turns in buying a new game and then the owner makes 'backup copies' for his 3 friends..... In these recession times, a very sensible solution to the $60 new-game prices and saves having to wait for bargain-basement sales.....

Oh, and by the way, I have fully recovered scratched game CDs and DVDs for myself and friends of mine, including disks with spin-scratches, by the appropriate application of ultra-fine scratch remover normally used to burnish car finishes to a very high shine and with a few minutes of elbow-grease. Not exactly rocket science.


Legality
By Nightraptor on 11/18/2009 5:36:32 PM , Rating: 2
I'm really wondering about the legality of all this. I mean it is perfectly legal for Microsoft to kick these Xbox's from their Xbox Live service for modding them. However, it seems that they went well past this and pretty much rendered the devices unusable even in offline mode. This seems to be stretching the edges of legality. Even if MS could prove that these modifications were intended to pirate software (and this would be nearly impossible) they don't have the right to take the law into their own hands and destroy property owned by another even if they manufactured the product originally. Now don't get me wrong I'm sure they have some legal defense up their sleeve and taking on MS would be a nightmare, but I really think there might be something here.




RE: Legality
By Nik00117 on 11/19/2009 4:01:33 PM , Rating: 2
Put it this way (i agree with you)

You mod your car for racing and it is no longer road legal. can the ploice stop you bringing your car on the road, yes they can.

Can the police damage your car? No they can't.

The road is xbox live and the car is the 360. M$ has ever right to ban you from xbox live as they see fit, they have no right to damage your 360 though.


Really "undue"?
By MeesterNid on 11/18/09, Rating: -1
RE: Really "undue"?
By R6Raven on 11/18/2009 8:02:50 AM , Rating: 1
It means Jason wrote this one.


RE: Really "undue"?
By goz314 on 11/18/2009 11:26:07 AM , Rating: 1
It means the so called editors of Dailytech do a piss poor job of proofreading.


Jason Mick Bias
By sebmel on 11/18/09, Rating: -1
RE: Jason Mick Bias
By Flunk on 11/18/2009 8:47:04 AM , Rating: 3
The xbox is a fixed function hardware device while you're comparing it to a PC operating system. This is not an apt comparision, complaining that Mac OS X doesn't run on other PCS is more akin to complaining that the XMB doesn't run on Xboxes.


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