Like it says, I've never soldered anything in my life. I've actually never taken apart a complicated system, like the Xbox. Do you think I'd be able to install the X-ecuter without ruining the chip or my Xbox?

And what kind of iron would I need? Could I just get a cheap one like this on that's on eBay? I have some solder, just not the iron.

http://*********.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1751377694

I would suggest the you practice on some of piece of electronics before you get near the xbox with an iron. A 15W iron should work fine. Search the board for solder to find more tips and techniques.

I just saw the new pics of the x-ecutor (www.xbox-snese.com) and it looks like it's a breeze to install. The hardest part looks to be the 1 wire, other than that you just lay the chip down, and drop 9 small dabs of solder in the holes. They guys that showed the pics said a novice installer could easily put one in...if you never done any soldering, of course you should mess around with some old piece of electronics for a while, but as long as you can get the 1 wire soldered, everything else should be easy as pie!

Don't do it! Let someone who knows how. The XBOX is too precious to dink around with.

chindavon@hotmail.com

If I do the soldering wrong with the ONE wire, will it actually screw the Xbox or the chip up?

If you see that you mess up on it, and remove the excess solder *BEFORE* you turn on the XBox, then there's no harm done. But if you accidentally spill some on a power lead or something like that, then it'll most likely fry your motherboard when you turn it on. I did that with my Playstation a few year ago. Just take your time on the 1 wire, the rest should be a snap.

Well, I figure if by some chance I screw it up horribly, I'll buy a new one from Wal-Mart, replace it with the broken one, and take it back, to get a refund.

Just make sure you have the right tools. Like a 15 watt solder iron is great. Make sure the tip is thin. Also I would agree with practicing soldering on some old junk circuit boards. If you accidently put too much solder on. Just get a desolder braid to remove the excess solder. Just make sure you don't pull any of the copper points out of your board or you could be screwed.

Originally posted by MisterSnot
Well, I figure if by some chance I screw it up horribly, I'll buy a new one from Wal-Mart, replace it with the broken one, and take it back, to get a refund.

Well, they might act a little strange when they notice that the xbox pads are ripped off, and the warranty label is ripped off, but by all means...heh.

Well, I doubt they'll even open the box, besides to check it's there. Wal-Marts, in my experience will take back almost anything, including OPENED video games sometimes...it's crazy...

Oh, and thanks to all the guys who have offered support, like scu316, brandonbooth, etc...I appreciate it! :D

microsoft is going to start asking retailers to check the bottom of the system...some already do.

use a 25watt iron with a 2mm cut flat tip...make SURE you get FLUX not just solder...flux cored solder is not good enough you need a seperate pot of flux....also get some de-solder braid to mop up any mistakes......

I modded a PSX once with a Big *** nail and some huge solder wire!!!! A pair of pliers and a stove and I was in. Although the PSX had no video after that... Dunno why???

Use a HOT hairdryer to loosen the labels on the bottom of the XBOX. If you screw the install on the modchip just return it to the store.. I just did a install of the Xtender which had 31 wires. It works fine but it really is not for the first timer. A local guy in town was doing installs for the XBOX as well as PS2 for $40.00. Labor only of coarse.. I wouldn't do it for that...

Good luck

DW:round:

hi m8 i was advised by the geezer who chipped my bruv's x box unless you're nifty with a soldering iron don't even think about it.:)

Take it to a professional installer, it's not worth the risk to do it yourself.