XBox 360: Retaking Ownership of Your Console

Imagine this: What if you went to the dealership and bought a new car - and then found out that it could use only one brand of gasoline? And worse, that the car itself monitored what kind of gas you used and reported any attempt to use non-authorized gasoline to the car manufacturer who'd then disabled your car from working? No one would accept that. But that is exactly the situation XBox owners find themselves in. Even completely legal XBox 360 games download is made impossible because the XBox will not accept anything but Microsoft media for games, and the XBox Live service may simply disable and ban your XBox if it detects what Microsoft considers illegal use.

However, it is completely legal to make backup copies of XBox software or XBox 360 movies you bought. So if you download XBox 360 games in order to have an XBox backup, you ought to be able to do that. Unfortunately, Microsoft's paranoia keeps that from happening unless you know the secrets of getting around the roadblocks Microsoft used to make it impossible for you, as the owner, to protect your own property.

In order to do so, realize that the XBox 360 is really just a regular PC that Microsoft locked up for more than copy protection reasons. They also did it because gaming consoles must be totally standardized so they can run every game ever made for the platform. Nothing wrong with that. There is, in fact, a sanctioned software development kit for homebrew programmers, but it still relies on the locked XBox hardware. There are ways to get into the machine and run emulators and other software, but the big problem is the optical drive that's locked via XBox 360 firmware.

So what it all boils down to is that the drive in the 360 must be reflashed, and that is not trivial. It requires opening the console, so at the very least you should be fairly computer-savvy and able to deal with hardware and command line software. That's because in order to flash the DVD drive you need to use a Serial ATA (SATA) interface with just the right chipset for the brand and model of the drive in your XBox (it can be one of several models used). You also need a DVD burned with particular capabilities. Then you need the proper software to for the DVD drive in your XBox, and that again is something that may be protected.

It can all be done, and there are sites that tell how to do it. They also act as information clearinghouses for such matters, helping people protect their investment in expensive games. When looking for such sites, make sure to find one that offers Xbox 360 firmware, emulation, and Xbox 360 game downloads, as well as a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The most reputable sites usually include the option of a lifetime membership, and provide you with customized backup and burning software. They'll give you step-by-step tutorials, guidance, video, and downloads.

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About the Author

Chris Robertson is a published author of Majon International. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2009 (Fri May 30 2008) Majon International. Majon International is one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource web site at: http://majon.com