What you can do
What You Can Do
A modded Original Xbox is a surprisingly versatile little box. Once you have replaced the locked-down stock dashboard, the hardware becomes an open platform for a range of legal hobbyist activities.
Homebrew applications
The community has produced a wide library of open-source homebrew: file managers, system utilities, EEPROM backup tools, FTP servers for transferring files over your network, and diagnostic apps that report on your hardware. These run natively and make day-to-day maintenance easy.
Emulation of classic systems
The Xbox's hardware is powerful enough to emulate many older consoles and arcade systems. Emulators exist for a broad range of retro platforms. You should only play games you legally own and have dumped yourself; this guide does not endorse downloading copyrighted ROMs.
Media playback
Perhaps the most popular use is as a media center. A custom dashboard can stream or play back your own music, photos, and video files from a USB-connected drive, the internal hard drive, or across your home network.
Custom dashboards
Replacing the original interface is the heart of softmodding. Popular choices include:
- XBMC4Gamers media + games a polished, modern-feeling launcher.
- EvoX a lightweight, classic dashboard.
- UnleashX a highly configurable, fast all-rounder.
All of these work regardless of your motherboard revision, since they run as software once your console is modded.