Xbox 360 Hacked! - Backup Discs Now Playable!

Posted Mar 18, 2006 at 10:44PM by QJ Staff Listed in: PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 Tags:
Ó


PSP homebrew developer Nytrix, from our forums, has confirmed an earth shattering breakthrough in the Xbox 360 hacking scene today. As you know, we earlier, reported on the issue of backup games being playable on the Xbox 360. The author of the video was unwilling to give out the technique that he used to accomplish this feat. However, Nytrix has gone above and beyond and determined the methods used and claims to have duplicated the procedure, along with providing more information on exactly how and why this is possible. Apparently this is only applicable (at this time) on the Hitachi drives that come with the Xbox 360, however we expect to see breakthroughs in all drives very soon. Here is a quote from our forums from Nytrix.

I have figured out how it was done in the video. (the video of the guy playing the PGR3 backup) here's the instructions, I am currently playing Full Auto (Backed up).

It's a modified firmware of the Xbox 360 DVD-ROM drive. As you (should) know, all Xbox 360 executables (XEX files) are signed by Microsoft (with a private key only MS has). This means that if you try to change anything to the XEX file, the signature will be wrong and the file will not boot.

Now ... to protect from booting an exact 1:1 copy of a game from a DVD-+R, microsoft gave each XEX file a 'mediaflag'. This mediaflag tells the Xbox 360 from which media (cd-r, dvd-r, dvd+r, dvd-rw, hdd, dvdxbox, dvdxbox360, ...). Changing this mediaflag in XEX is not an option as it'll break the signature (see above), so ... what's done in this firmware hack is breaking the detection of the disc.

As you can see, he has found the flaw in Microsoft's self professed "bullet proof security" by simply modifying the firmware of the DVD drive to allow backup copies of official games to boot. Now as simple as this may sound, it does require some advanced soldering skills, and will probaby not be within the means of the average person. However, with this astonishing breakthrough, we do fully expect to see Xbox 360 DVD ROM's for sale on ebay with the hacked firmware soon.

Check out our previous coverage of this topic with a video of it in action [here].

[While we do not support piracy here at QJ.NET, we will always cover the news. Reporting on something is not the same as encouraging it - just like reporting a murder on the 10 o'clock news does not encourage you to kill people. A member of our forums has confirmed what was shown in the previously released video and shared the resources he used to do duplicate it - without giving an indepth "how-to" that might be construed as encouraging the piracy of Xbox games. It is our belief that this breakthrough is the first step in getting unsigned code and homebrew programs to be executed on the Xbox 360 and is a valuable piece of information that could positively benefit the Xbox 360 Community.]
 
 
 

Comments [refresh]

by jOeCooL - 2006-03-18 18:34
» LOL

Xbox wasn't thatt easy to hack.

by corporate trash - 2006-03-18 18:35
»

cool but this site is supposed to be for psp

by prominator - 2006-03-18 18:42
» by when

when will this be release to the public

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 18:44
» psp > xbox360

they just cant accept that so they try to steal psp fans by posting bs 360 msges.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 18:46
» cool

running to find a 360

by Billy Talent - 2006-03-18 18:46
» Why?

And this is in PSPUpdates why?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 18:47
» I love *****

Only 5 days to Xbox360 release in Australia, and now i don't have to buy any real games, cool.

by evilgrug - 2006-03-18 19:00
» Uh, so?

Uh, so what is the point of this news post, and what is the "earth shattering discovery"?



We KNOW that the TheSpecialist booted backups by changing the firmware, and we KNOW that it works by changing the media code flag....he did the same thing on the Xbox 1 a few months ago.



Unless "Nytrix" has come up with the replacement firmware (link plz) I fail to see what earth shattering breaktthrough he has actually made.



Congratulations , Nytrix, for determining what we already knew!

by cory1492 - 2006-03-18 19:02
» ??

Was there even an actual thread by Nytrix describing what he had to go through to do this, or is this a fake news post?



"here's the instructions" - here being in some guys head I guess.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 19:03
» you're point?

he just pulled this from another website, he hasn't said anything that isn't widely avalible on other sites.



this is nothing we didn't already know.

by InTheZoneAC - 2006-03-18 19:06
» soo...........

does this mean people don't even need to buy games? They can just d/l to their hd? Also does this work for online games like GRAW and CoD2?



If so I might just get a 360 later down the road after I get a ps3(only to play exclusive 360 games for free lol)

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 19:10
» haha

The PSPupdates news crew really has no clue.



In your original newspost you erroneously stated we're closer to running homebrew, which is false, we're no closer to running unsigned code.



Now you attribute an "astonishing breakthrough" to Nytrix when he hasn't done anything but read the website YOU ORIGINALLY LINKED TO! HOLY ****, WHAT AN AMAZING DISCOVERY!



Delete this news story and save yourself the embarassment.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 19:18
» yay

wow, i love knowing how i can come to pspupdates for all my xbox360 needs.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 19:25
» sigh

If he can do what he said, then get a video of it from all angles to prove that there are no other Xbox360's or other devices that can play a video of this and make sure there is actual button pushing so we know he isn't just playing a dvd on the machine with video recorded earlier of him playing the game. Then I might get a little excited for a system that I'm never going to own.

by Jake - 2006-03-18 19:37
»

More info is on the forums.

by soopergooman - 2006-03-18 19:39
» hmmm

Isn't this all about PIRACY and ISO's? YO what gives QJ?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 19:48
» PSP Backups are bad, Xbox backups ok!?

Okay, I remember just a few weeks ago when MPH released his 2.00 game loader, PSPupdates was all over him about the ability of playing games from backups. And now they are posting progress on how to play pirated, excuse me, backup games on the xbox? Sounds like PSPupdates got their **** mixed up. I am seriously losing all respect for PSPupdates and their ability to bring breaking news to the "PSP" community! WHO CARES ABOUT THE XBOX360!! LET US ABOUT THE PSP!!!!!!!!!!!! !

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:00
» Stop complaining!

If you don’t want to read it just scroll past it damn!



I find this news very cool but I wish they didn’t go as far as posting how it was done. I do not approve of Piracy or new consol systems. I for one like my PSP and Xbox360 and I don’t want them to go the way of the Dreamcast...

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:03
» uhhu....

while I do appriciate news on any MAJOR development/breakthrough for ANY system (if it wast for this, I never would have heard of homebrew on the PSP) This isnt groudbreaking, since all he done was replicate what someone else has done. at the very most Nytrix has confirmed the contents of the video, and thats at the VERY most.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:05
» god damn bunch of babies in here

I know its "cool" to rant about whatever you want here.. but seriously, how ****ing big of a loser do you have to be to mock a posting? The world doesn't just revolve around you.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:05
» 42t2

can any1 say law suit?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:08
» Its not just on the PSPs site...

Its on all of them... I hope they do this for every consol/portable unit it maybe the thing to sell me on a game or some thing.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:09
» omg

you people are so narrow minded its pathetic, psp this psp that, something we already know... give it a ****ing break. the owners of qj can post what ever the **** they want, if you cant live with this, go away. and what good does fighting with words do anyways? your all prolly just a bunch of losers sittin in your parents basement, jerkin of too anime/hentai **** or w/e its called.. GET A LIFE STOP ****IN! Life is way too short.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:13
» rodney

can't we all just get along?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-18 20:22
» your funny rodney

nocomment

by franklee - 2006-03-18 21:56
» Firmware hack

I am glad to hear someone else has the solution out there (Nytrix) and is willing to share the hacked firmware. I believe this article is saying he has done it and is willing to share it... , but um where is it?!



Im guessing its not completely released yet because from the sounds of things it requires some kind of flashable chip soldered to the dvd drive. (The article only mentions of a solder needed) Its just a guess but i think flashable because each game is going to need diff firmware? (the bad sector patterns?)



Anyways I would love to hear more about the topic and not useless chatter about psp whiners that dont like 360. (I believe any major breaktrhough on a console deserves a cross platform article personally)



BTW, got a great kick out of the whole "360 reflection in the tv conspirisy theory". Ha Ha Ha. Don't you think somone who hacks and mods 360s would have a few hanging around the living room..??? Sure anything can be fake but its funny how quick you see the doubting Toms babbling about silly nonsense. : D

by Ezekiel Xz - 2006-03-19 01:02
» easy fix

MS can just put firmware checks in all thier new games, problem sorted.

by Vecha - 2006-03-19 04:00
» Just like the psp?

"MS can just put firmware checks in all thier new games, problem sorted."



well...almost like it.

by jason61616 - 2006-03-19 07:28
» Support Piracy?

"While we do not support piracy here at QJ.NET"



Then why the f**k do you have ads for free psp games and downloads on the frontpage.



You guys are in it for the money. Don't try to beat around the bush. If having links to iso's make QJ money then they allow it. But if any user links to isos its against the sites piracy policy. Why because it doesn't make QJ any money.



Quit saying your against piracy when your not.



Although i must admit that most users including me hate pirates it pisses me off that the owner of this s**t is a hypocrite. Just don't make any sense.

by Yantis - 2006-03-19 07:43
» Reply to jason61616

We don't support or approve of piracy and we don't accept ads from people that promote piracy. We turn down many such offers every week.



The ads you are seeing are served by Google and we don't have a lot of control of what Google puts up there. Sometimes we block something then it just appears again under another name.



Hopefully that explains why you see the ads you see.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-19 07:43
» Firmware update and PS2 answer.

No, it can't play PS2 backups. That's just stupid. This is an Xbox 360, not a PS3.



But on the subject of the firmware upgrade for the 360, I don't know how well that would work. I don't think the DVD drives firmware is designed to be software upgradeable. This is basically the same problem that Sony is having with the GTA exploit. It's partly a hardware problem. So that makes it a lot harder to fix.

by bigdave325 - 2006-03-19 08:26
» A few comments from me :D

Well i like piracy.... it makes the gaming world that lil bit more interesting



I think the big news (to all of you who didn't realise this) was that this bloke is willing to share the fact that he's got 'copies' to work, unlike that ova dude who thought he was gr8 4 doin it but didn't wanna fully prove it!



Even if QJ.NET did support piracy they wouldn't be permitted to say it coz they'd get a rite ass rapin!



I think sum ppl need to chill out in ere! Its just news fellas don't get so worked up about where its placed or if ur interested or not! Chill! U don't av 2 read it!

by jason61616 - 2006-03-19 08:37
» Reply to Yantis

Thanks for clarifying that. I've been wanting to mention it for a while. I understand now but it still is kinda bad to be such an anti piracy website advertise for free psp iso's. Although outta your hands it still sends a mixed image and is a large reason for all the newbie iso talk. Thanks again for the explanation.

by Ezekiel Xz - 2006-03-19 09:55
» Fix

There will be a fix, if its not flashing the firmware, it certainly can read it. If it really is hardware, give ms 2 months and all new 360s will have signed dvd firmware. Then only the first million units will be hackable. Ebay will have a field day lol.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-19 17:13
» NOTORIO

WELL NOT THAT ITS ALL BAD FOR THOSE WHO SIMPLY WANT TO WALK THAT WAY,,, ONE MIGHT CHOOSE TO TEST MACHINES AND OTHERS TO STORE,PIRATES(-),,, THEN THERE ARE JUST THOSE OF US THAT SIMPLY BELEIVE I DOING WHAT WAS SAID CANNOT BE DONE,,,THIS IS GOOD,, AS FOR THE FUTURE REALESE OF THE PS3 SONY GETS TO LOOK BACKON ALL OF THESE AND STUDY... COME ON!! TIS IS GRRRREAT1931...

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-19 18:54
» big balls of fire

im a coward n thats y i got this to say ...

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-20 04:37
» BLAH

37 Comments



» LOL



Xbox wasn't thatt easy to hack.



by jOeCooL at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:34PM



cool but this site is supposed to be for psp



by corporate trash at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:35PM



» by when



when will this be release to the public



by prominator at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:42PM



» psp > xbox360



they just cant accept that so they try to steal psp fans by posting bs 360 msges.



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:44PM



» cool



running to find a 360



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:46PM



» Why?



And this is in PSPUpdates why?



by Billy Talent at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:46PM



» I love *****



Only 5 days to Xbox360 release in Australia, and now i don't have to buy any real games, cool.



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 18, 2006 at 11:47PM



Edited by Q.J. NET Staff, because:

off topic / x rated

» Uh, so?



Uh, so what is the point of this news post, and what is the "earth shattering discovery"?



We KNOW that the TheSpecialist booted backups by changing the firmware, and we KNOW that it works by changing the media code flag....he did the same thing on the Xbox 1 a few months ago.



Unless "Nytrix" has come up with the replacement firmware (link plz) I fail to see what earth shattering breaktthrough he has actually made.



Congratulations , Nytrix, for determining what we already knew!



by evilgrug at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:00AM



» ??



Was there even an actual thread by Nytrix describing what he had to go through to do this, or is this a fake news post?



"here's the instructions" - here being in some guys head I guess.



by cory1492 at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:02AM



» you're point?



he just pulled this from another website, he hasn't said anything that isn't widely avalible on other sites.



this is nothing we didn't already know.



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:03AM



» soo...........



does this mean people don't even need to buy games? They can just d/l to their hd? Also does this work for online games like GRAW and CoD2?



If so I might just get a 360 later down the road after I get a ps3(only to play exclusive 360 games for free lol)



by InTheZoneAC at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:06AM



» haha



The PSPupdates news crew really has no clue.



In your original newspost you erroneously stated we're closer to running homebrew, which is false, we're no closer to running unsigned code.



Now you attribute an "astonishing breakthrough" to Nytrix when he hasn't done anything but read the website YOU ORIGINALLY LINKED TO! HOLY ****, WHAT AN AMAZING DISCOVERY!



Delete this news story and save yourself the embarassment.



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:10AM



» yay



wow, i love knowing how i can come to pspupdates for all my xbox360 needs.



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:18AM



» sigh



If he can do what he said, then get a video of it from all angles to prove that there are no other Xbox360's or other devices that can play a video of this and make sure there is actual button pushing so we know he isn't just playing a dvd on the machine with video recorded earlier of him playing the game. Then I might get a little excited for a system that I'm never going to own.



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:25AM



More info is on the forums.



by Jake at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:37AM



» hmmm



Isn't this all about PIRACY and ISO's? YO what gives QJ?



by soopergooman at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:39AM



» PSP Backups are bad, Xbox backups ok!?



Okay, I remember just a few weeks ago when MPH released his 2.00 game loader, PSPupdates was all over him about the ability of playing games from backups. And now they are posting progress on how to play pirated, excuse me, backup games on the xbox? Sounds like PSPupdates got their **** mixed up. I am seriously losing all respect for PSPupdates and their ability to bring breaking news to the "PSP" community! WHO CARES ABOUT THE XBOX360!! LET US ABOUT THE PSP!!!!!!!!!!!! !



by Anonymous Coward at Mar 19, 2006 at 12:48AM



» Stop complaining!



If you d

by xbox360boy - 2006-03-20 08:00
» New Video

I watched new video. Is it real? Link: http://rapidshare.de/files/16001668/hack_xbox360.rar.html

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-20 10:25
» Yo

I hope the hack is fixed by Microsoft asap. When I had my original xbox I wanted to mod it, but never did and Im glad. I like xbox and love my xbox 360 so I will sopport it by buying every game I like.

That's just MHO

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-20 11:17
» it is real

nocomment

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-20 11:22
» NOT FAKE

for all you people who dont know what your talking about:http://www.kev.nu/360/dvdshort.html



it take the firmware and takes away the forbidden ranges it only affects the dvd-roms firmware NOT the xbox and yes it is only for piracy there would be no way to run homebrew untill someone figures out how to unlock the hard drive

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-21 11:06
» wicked

should force the game price to go down a bit NOW!!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-22 02:08
» MS

Does MS have any response?

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-22 02:51
» Nytrix is a tool

Nytrix is a tool being used by qj.net to post this copied article all over thier different sites to increase hits and traffic, hell they even made a nice little banner ad about this one plagerized post, but Nytrix is just a pawn to put a face on to get traffic, he faked replicating the hack with all talk and no proof, go hits go!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-23 10:08
» about time

Well it is about time I mean 360 homebrew is getting closer this is a start of things to come! not long b4 a ps1 emu etc on the 360 not that I got one i'm waiting for PS3 but if 360 gets homebrew I may buy that aswell.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-24 18:55
»

*****

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-26 00:05
» Someone stated

Well i like piracy.... it makes the gaming world that lil bit more interesting



People like you is what makes companies go bankrupt you cheap B******!!!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-27 07:30
» *****

*****

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-27 14:03
» Release the patch

Releases the patch for the xbox360 so other people can try it.



I would be really good to play backups of xbox360 games that you own.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-03-28 01:54
» IDIOTS!

you guys are fkin idiots... the ones complaining are the ones that dont have a 360 get off your ass find a job then you can buy one and enjoy this wonderful news...



for the idiot talking about the ads. Theyr generated google ads. You think google allows publishers to post piracy sites. NO!! you think pspupdates controls what ads appear? NO! its all generated by keywords on the site.



Learn a little then talk your crap. No ones in it for no money. Theyr running a free site they have ppl sitting on theyr computers nearly all day as this site updates sooo frequently!!! and your complaining about getting free *****? SHUTUP!!!!



i run my own site its a huge euro/techno download site www.puroeuro.com :) it requires extreme work and i rely on people clicking my ads to pay the bills. they dont click i get no money i shut down the site.



THATS! how it works no one does anything for free anymore. STOP YOUR LITTLE *****Y WHINING you little punks make me mad i wish i could smack you upside the head right now!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-05 12:25
» WHY IS THIS "FEATURED CONTENT"

I STILL DO NOT SEE WHAT THE GOD THAT IS NYTRIX HAS ACTUALLY DONE TO DESERVE THE FEATURED CONTENT MARK ON YOUR BLOGS HOMEPAGE - IT WAS THESPECIALIST AND HIS TEAM WHO DID THIS, NOT "YOUR AMAZING GUY FROM OUR FORUMS."



THERE IS NO PROOF THAT THIS GUY EVEN DID ANYTHING.



THIS POST IS F-U-C-K-E-D U-P!

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-07 15:57
» YO VLASO

you are all useless mortals; why the hell to people think this is pspupdates.com when CLEARLY is says xbox360.qj.net

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-10 08:55
» morons

all ps fanboys pspupdates is a site that is with qj updates and they support all current consoles so dont come in here posting sum dumb ***** like wat is a 360 doing here stop hating. Get it 360 fanbase not ps fanboi hate ***** heads

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-10 10:47
» this is to Anonymous Coward, at Mar 28, 2006 at 06:54AM

this is to Anonymous Coward, at Mar 28, 2006 at 06:54AM





lol nothings free? well i went to your website and guess what the welcome message is?...............................................Welcome to Puroeuro, Registration is free and will always be free.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-12 21:15
» The hack is bull*****

All you losers think this is real. Hahaha buy a xbox 1 coz they r0x3rz man

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-15 15:58
» why is this on pspupdates

you pressed a link to xbox360.qj.net

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-16 03:49
» who cares

i don't care about this at all. it probably costs alot more to get the stuff to solder on than to buy a game. if you can afford to get an xbox 360 so early after the relese, you can afford to buy a game.

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-18 02:35
» solder?

They are talking about a FIRMWARE hack... no soldering was ever mentioned, it seems to be just an updated firmware put onto the DVD player where did you see modchip/soldering?

by Exodium - 2006-04-18 11:06
» eermm

nocomment

by Exodium - 2006-04-18 11:09
» eermm

excuse me butem see the linkk above on your browser?? QJ.NET Xbox 360 BLOG.. not pspupdates.... damn...

freakin idiots

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-20 02:25
» lololololololololol

PS3 roxxx and will b 1337 ovr xlax360

by Anonymous Coward - 2006-04-21 04:09
» ebay doesn't allow xbox piracy..

.. noob..

by I have sex with little boys - 2006-05-05 17:17
» Vagina.

That is all. lol.

by X-tra - 2006-05-10 13:41
» grow up

Hope all screaming swearing kids get banned, mature discussion would be nice very once in a while.

Think this is a good step up, and I have managed and confirmed this too..

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