im new to the xbox scene, and i want to know what the advantages/disadvantages of a TSOP mod are

Advantages are that it is a 2 solder point modification. With the ability to upgrade the HDD.

Disadvantages are that something could go wrong and you could kill your xbox, If you want to play live then you need to install a switch.

pros - same exact function as a mod chip without the extra hardware and easy troubleshooting.

cons - can't be turned off unless you have a v1.0 or 1.1 xbox with a 1MB tsop, and if you don't know what you're doing you CAN kill your box and the only way to recover is with a 29 wire homebrew chip.

or a normal mod (lpc/xecuter 1/2.x), in conjunction with a specially progged 12c508/9 chip

well it is also possible to recover with an lpc mod with simply the matrix tsop bios and a switch on a19 and ground i believe? or is it 3.3v? sorry i don't remember but i know that by switching a19 on boot with the matrix bios on an lpc chip you can flash the tsop.

Yes, the major disadvantage is that you would of course be banner from XBOX Live. If you never plan to use Xbox-Live, then that is fine, but if you intend on using Xbox Live, then you should NOT flash your bios. Unless you have an older Xbox with a larger memory chip.

I flashed many xbox's and then when they went online, all were banned. So I have switched to installing chips instead, and personally prefer the Aladdin Chip (for reference, I get them all from http://www.modchipnow.com ) and the nice thing is, you only have to solder 4 wires (2 more than doing Tsop flash) and you can turn the chip on or off, just by holding down the power button. If you hold it for 2 seconds when powering up, the system is off. If you press it just slightly, the system is ON.

So far I have been able to put a 120gig HD into every system I modified, and this was confirmed to be able to be done by the guys at www.modchipnow.com and it DOES work. So, it gives all the nice things that a flash would, but then you can still go an play Xbox live (note: You HAVE to have the original game you OWN for XBOX live going online, just smart sense.)

Either method (modchip or flash) requires some soldering no matter what, but I like the fact that the chip can be on when I need it, and off when I don't booting from the original xbox bios.

Just my 2 cents (and lotsa words :) )

that site is a major rip. $40 for an aladdin??????????

I buy all my aladdin chips from wwwrobotpigcom

Only $10 each. Yes they are the 32 and not the 64. And yes they are clones, but I can buy 4 for the price of one at modchipnow. I have installed 20 or so of these and all have worked perfect.

aladdin or not... still a cheapmod :)

@gmr2000

6 posts, 4 of them mentioning modchipnow.com, if its your site, why not put it in you sig, instead of advertising it in a reply...........