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Microsoft Banning Modded Xboxen

Posted by Zonk on from the cry-me-a-river dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Since the release of Halo 2 (ed: and just before), Microsoft has been banning modified Xboxes from Xbox Live. Some have even been banned with their mod-chips turned off. Previously many users had been able to use Xbox Live provided they disabled their mod-chip. There are a few theories floating around as to how MS is doing this: from scanning the hard-drive for non-MS material to being able to check if the DVD-drive/Hard-disk serial number is from stock or not."

11 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. xboxen? how about using correct words by gl4ss · · Score: 5, Insightful

    you afraid ms bans slashdot too if you refer to xboxes?

    and anyways, surely it would have been known for you as a xbox owner, especially owner of a modded one, that the software can scan the hd(and itself, which it should do for the net play anyways, on which they will pin the reason for this to be).

    yeah, it kinda sucks that you can't get the most out of your xbox (use it for emulators, xvid playing AND gaming on xbox live, you pretty much knew you would in reality have to choose between the two) - BUT YOU KNEW THAT when you put down the cash for the system anyways.

    obvious solutions? don't modify anything on the harddisk by yourself. pretty darn hard for the box to guess by which bios it was last booted with..

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  2. This should come as a surprise to no one. by still_sick · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From the start, everyone here has been saying that since they owned the XBox machine, they can mod it however they want.

    Great. Go nuts.

    But it works both ways. Microsoft owns the Live Network - and if they say "No Modded XBoxes", that's what it means.

    They are under no obligation to let you break their rules. Just because some people have gotten away with it up until now means nothing.

    --
    ...Also, I didn't know Buggalo could fly.
    1. Re:This should come as a surprise to no one. by Zonk · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree completely.

      You are entirely entitled to do whatever you want to what is indeed your property.

      However, if you sign up for Xbox Live you're signing a service contract that states somewhere in there that modded machines aren't allowed. MS is perfectly within their rights to make that requirement a part of the deal. In fact, I appreciate it. Knowing that a modded cheater isn't going to be gaming with me is a reassurance.

      I get a little frustrated when people decide that just because they bought one piece of a puzzle, they own the whole damn puzzle too.

      Buying an Xbox doesn't mean you get to decide how they run the Live service. Buying Diablo 2 doesn't give you the right to run your own Battle.net server. Read the fine print before you sign on the dotted line.

    2. Re:This should come as a surprise to no one. by Cecil · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Buying an Xbox doesn't mean you get to decide how they run the Live service. Buying Diablo 2 doesn't give you the right to run your own Battle.net server.

      The former is valid, the Live service is Microsoft's property. The latter is not valid, the Battle.net server (bnetd) was *not* Blizzard's property.

      If someone wanted to create a "Mod-chip okay!" XBox Live service, I think that should be perfectly fine. Likewise, if someone wants to create a "Cheaters welcome!" (or "Not welcome!" depending on your view of how Blizzard handles cheaters) version of Battle.net, more power to them as far as I'm concerned.

      But it doesn't always have to be about cheating or mod-chipping or piracy, maybe I want to run a gaming network where stats for all sorts of different games, including Battle.net games, all get compiled into the same rankings. Or maybe I want to modify the rules somewhat. It shouldn't be illegal. I don't care if it is or isn't under current copyright law and licensing agreements and other stupidity, it shouldn't be.

      --
      Random and weird software I've written.
    3. Re:This should come as a surprise to no one. by FortKnox · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I actually prefer it this way. That way we know there is no 'hardware trick' that allows cheating in, say, Madden. So when I get my butt stomped, I realize I'm just really bad at the game, and can't blame cheating ;-)

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
  3. xbox connect by Strokke · · Score: 4, Informative
    Although I am a faithful user of xbox live, there is an alternative for people who get banned.

    http://www.xbconnect.com/

    Xbox connect is supposedly improving constantly and adding a lot of features to make it more new user friendly. My friend has a modded xbox and says that it works fine. I think it lacks the useful interface options and stat tracking of xbox live....however if you do get banned (and I know theres a big percentage of users on this site who have modded xboxs), give it a try

  4. same with socom2 on ps2 by apostrophesemicolon · · Score: 4, Informative

    afaik, Sony PS2 uses the DNAS (Dynamic Network Authentication System) to scan whether the game CD is authentic sony product and then checks if the PS2 have been modded..
    the result is (at least for me, using Messiah2) is real difficulty in logging in with modchip turned off..

  5. Another alternative by Rick+the+Red · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At only $180 for a new Xbox, less for a used one, there's another alternative: buy a second, unmodified Xbox for exclusive use on Xbox Live. If you can afford Xbox Live and a mod chip, then you should be able to afford a second Xbox.

    --
    If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
  6. Re:I can't comment on how they're detecting mods.. by llevity · · Score: 5, Informative

    It doesn't ban based on the mac address. It bans based on a unique number stored in the Xbox's EEPROM. Based on that, you can get someone else who never plans to play on Xbox live to use a utility to get the data out of their EEPROM, send it to you, and you can reflash your xbox with this. This will get you back on Live. Unfortunately, unless you figure out how they banned you in the first place, they'll just ban this new EEPROM. It was a useful trick when the only way to get banned was to forget to switch off your modchip prior to hopping on Live, but no longer.

  7. Re:I can't comment on how they're detecting mods.. by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    IP is a Layer 3 protocol. Your (Layer 2) ethernet address isn't transmitted to servers over the internet. Many IP enabled devices don't even use ethernet and thus have no mac address.

    Regardless, these machines aren't blocked from connecting to the network. They're allowed to connect, checked and then disconnected.

  8. What happens if I buy a used Xbox and it's banned? by artifex2004 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let's say I go to Gamestop and buy a used unit. If I buy into the Live service, and find out the box is banned, does Gamestop have to replace with another unit? This is assuming that it was used with a removeable mod, of course, and that it was removed before Gamestop accepted it, etc., or that its EEPROM was used to reflash another unit.

    Also, what good is the Live service if I don't play multi-player games? Do they do any kind of software updates, etc., through the service?