Xbox-Scene News

More on LIVE Bans, HDD Crippling, Possible Ban Causes

XanTium — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:07:10 -0500

Kushan wrote a nice little article on #FW@EFnet summarizing all kinda info we have about the current (still ongoing) Console Live Ban Wave:
[QUOTE]
- What does this mean for you and what can you do about it?
Firstly, and most obviously, you cannot connect to Xbox Live on this console any more. This means no more game updates (aka title updates), XBLA games, marketplace content, netflix/sky player and so on. There is no way around this, all online capabilities are now disabled PERMANENTLY.

In all likelihood, your gamertag has NOT BEEN BANNED. When your gamertag gets banned, Microsoft sends you an email detailing why, if you have not recieved this email then your profile should be ok, to a certain extent.

Hard Drive installs are now disabled on the banned console. This means any disk-based games you have will no longer play off of the hard drive. If you attempt to play a game, it will tell you that it was installed on a different 360 and needs to be deleted/installed again. When you delete the game and attempt to install it, you are given a message telling you that it is not supported. There is no way to fix this, that functionality is simply gone from the banned 360.

The hard drive itself is left untouched - you can place it in another 360, even an unbanned one, and it will still work just fine. You do NOT need to reformat it to regain any kind of functionality. Any installed games will need to be reinstalled for the console you want to play them on. This is normal behaviour and happens when swapping HDDs on unbanned/legit 360's.

Windows Media Centre functionality is disabled. It is still possible to stream video/music content via the video library.

Your Gamertag may be corrupted. This does not mean your gamertag has been banned, you can recover it using any live-capable 360, however ANY ACHIVEMENTS YOU HAVE EARNED SINCE BEING BANNED WILL BE LOST. Your gamertag will be corrupted EVERY SINGLE TIME it is used on a banned console. This means you cannot use your banned console to play backups offline just to get achievements - it wont work, the second you put your profile back on a good 360, it will be corrupted and all progress lost. There is no way around this.

The same applies to game saves - if you access a game save on a banned 360, it too will be corrupted when accessed on a legit/unbanned 360! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! There is no way around this, either.

Your XBLA games and DLC will still be valid, however to play them on a different 360 you will need to be signed into Xbox Live. This is normal behaviour on unbanned/legit 360's as well. They may be corrupted and have to be re-downloaded if you attempt to access them on a banned 360. You can transfer all of your downloaded content to a new 360 here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/licensemigration/default.htm however note that you can only do it once every 12 months.

So, in summary:
Your Banned 360:
* Cannot go on Xbox Live
* Cannot install games to the HDD
* Cannot use Windows Media Centre extender
* Cannot be used to get achievements from backups without corrupting your profile

You cannot do anything about this, short of buying a new 360.

There may be more functionality disabled than mentioned here, things are still being discovered.

- So what caused my ban?
There are MANY theories as to what is causing so many consoles to get banned this time, however as of yet there is nothing concrete, just a lot of circumstantial evidence and speculation. Please do not add to this, a full investigation is under-way.

c4eva, the main guy behind iXtreme, had this to say:
<+c4eva> fw itself not detectable
<+c4eva> suspect they are going hard on warez releases and incorrect use of abgx!

He also added the following:
<+c4eva> just to let you know that im looking into the current ban wave. I am currently running several brand new xboxs on live! These xboxs are in various configs. All are running ixtreme 1.61
<+c4eva> One is running original discs, another is running on xbl (no discs) , another is running a backup from my region!
<+c4eva> until tests are completed, no eta on liteon fw!

When we know more, YOU'LL no more, so please do not ask for updates!
A full transcript is available here - http://pastebin.ca/1660777

Remember, if you really want to blame someone, blame the person that decided to modify your 360 in the first place - most likey, that would be you ;
[/QUOTE]

How investigators tracked down a Modern Warfare 2 cyber pirate

XanTium — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:16 -0500

From venturebeat.com:
[QUOTE]
The posting last Thursday on Craigslist was alarming. Someone was selling a Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 bundle, with both a console and a game, for $500. The problem was that Modern Warfare 2, one of the most anticipated games of the year, doesn't officially go on sale until Nov. 10.

Activision Blizzard, the game's publisher, called in IPCybercrime.com, a Dallas private investigation firm that specializes in online investigations. The investigators tracked down the seller and stumbled into a scheme to pirate the game and sell a bunch of fake copies over the Internet. While the bust led to the arrest of just one hacker among many, it sheds light on the shadowy underground of the business of illegal piracy. It also offers a peak at how investigators try to head off a major piracy disaster before it happens.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: venturebeat.com

Twitter, Facebook, Last.FM and Xbox 360 Family Settings

XanTium — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:59:16 -0500

From majornelson.com:
[QUOTE]
As some of you might be aware, those under the age of 18 are not able to access Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm in our public preview. I want to you let you know that this will remain the case when it launches to the world soon. We made this decision because as it stands now, parents aren't able to use Family Settings to customize which of these applications their children can access. In order to offer an age-appropriate environment for everyone, we decided to turn off these applications for those Gold members under the age of 18. As expected, this has been a hot topic with the preview users. We want to make sure everyone was aware, however, that the development team is working on an update that gives parents the choice of which social applications their children can access. This means that Xbox LIVE members between the ages of 13 and 17 will be able to use Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm as long as their parents approve. The team hope to roll this out several weeks after launch and I will update you on the exact date as it gets closer.
[/QUOTE]

OTX: Xbox 360 Gamers Defecting To PS3 For Holiday Sequels?

XanTium — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:44:59 -0500

From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
It's coming time for the Holiday launches of anticipated multiplatform sequels -- and new data provided to Gamasutra by OTX's GamePlan Insights finds that many sequel-buyers might be switching platforms, defecting from Xbox 360 to PlayStation 3 for more than one major release.

OTX data shows that 15 percent of those who plan to buy the PS3 version of Assassin's Creed 2 own the Xbox 360 version of the original, while only 7 percent of those who plan to buy the Xbox 360 version own the original game on PS3.

Moreover, the trend for Modern Warfare 2 is the same, according to OTX. "The PS3 seems poised to shift the ratio of Xbox 360 to PS3 sales for most major multi-platform releases in its favor among dual owners," Williams tells us.
[/QUOTE]

Major Nelson Talks about Latest LIVE Ban Wave - More Bans Today

XanTium — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:45:45 -0500

From majornelson.com:
[QUOTE]
As you may have read online, we've been actively banning consoles from Xbox LIVE that have been modified to play pirated games. Our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox LIVE community remains a top priority. All consumers should know that piracy is illegal, and that modifying their Xbox 360 console to play pirated discs, violates the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void their warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE. The health of the video game business depends on customers paying for the genuine products and services they receive from manufacturers, retailers, and the third parties that support them. This would also be a good time to remind you that the warranty on an Xbox 360 console is not transferrable and if you purchase a used console that has been previously banned, you will not be able to connect to Xbox LIVE.
[/QUOTE]

While the 'banhammer' went quiet since last Friday's wave, it looks like Microsoft is banning users again today as reported by users on our forums and IRC.

Xbox 360 With Free 100usd Gift Card Deal at Walmart Updated

XanTium — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:09:39 -0500

From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
A retail tipster sends word that Walmart will be selling an Xbox 360 Arcade with a $100 gift card for $199 this Saturday.

Sounds like a great deal, though as with all rumors, make sure to take this with a grain of salt until we can get verification or the official news hits on Wednesday.
[/QUOTE]

*Update* News is confirmed on walmart.com

Full Story: kotaku.com | walmart.com

MS forcefully removes private chat from upcoming titles

XanTium — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:53:16 -0500

From examiner.com:
[QUOTE]
Do you like to use the party chat option on your Xbox 360? Well, if you do, you may soon find yourself being forced out of using that option. Microsoft appears to be offering developers the option to negate the private chat option the Xbox 360 offers.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will force players to decide whether or not they'll play the game and join the game chat, or choose to stay in a private chat and not play in the multiplayer game. The private chat feature became a way of telling other players of enemy locations after being killed.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: examiner.com

Talismoon First Aid Kit for Xbox 360 Controller

XanTium — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:13:11 -0500

Talismoon released a new product for the Xbox 360 controller:
[QUOTE]
If your Xbox 360 controller is losing some life, its time to administer some First Aid. The First Aid Kit includes new rubber mats for your controller, as well as replacement thumbsticks with potentiometers.

* Description
Bring your old controller back to life. This first aid kit fixes two basic problems. Fix the problem with "dead buttons" by replacing the rubber pads that the buttons rest on. After several years of heavy gaming, these pads can wear out and not provide the "spring" back that they onces did. Replacing the rubber mats is easy and requires on the most basic skill. This kit also includes replacement thumbsticks assembly. This includes the mechanism for the thumbsticks plus the potentiometers that work with the mechanism. Repalcing the thumbstick mechanisms requires intermediate soldering skills.

* Specs
-1 set of rubber mats for your controller. This includes 2 different shapes.
-2 thumbstick replacement mechanisms.
[/QUOTE]

Official Site: talismoon.com

Jungle Flasher V0.1.67 beta (50)

XanTium — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:20:18 -0500

A new version of JungleFlasher(info) has been released.

What's new/fixed:
* iXtreme 1.61 support
* 1 minor bug
* other work was planned but leak of 1.61 prompted this quick fix

Official Site: http://jungleflasher.net
Download: here

Microsoft Confirms LIVE Console Ban Wave to IGN

XanTium — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:43:55 -0500

From xbox360.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
"We have taken action against a small percentage of consoles that have been modified to play pirated game discs," a Microsoft spokesperson told IGN. "In line with our commitment to combat piracy and support safer and more secure gameplay for the more than 20 million members of our Xbox LIVE community, we are suspending these modded consoles from Xbox LIVE."

Microsoft also added this is a standing policy and isn't tied to any specific time-frame.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: xbox360.ign.com

New Console Ban Wave on Xbox LIVE?

XanTium — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:06:30 -0500

We're currently seeing lots of discussions on our forums (like here or here) and on IRC about console/hardware bans again, so it seems Microsoft is busy with a new Xbox LIVE console (not gamertag) ban wave atm.

Right now we don't have a lot of details, except it doesn't seem to be linked to any particular FW version or drive model, as users with all type of FWs and drives report bans, while others with the same configuration still seem fine.

Report your status in the thread below.
More details soon ...

Nand Pro 2.0b

XanTium — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:42:23 -0500

A new version of Nand Pro has been released a few days ago (sry for the late posting). It's a PC tool that allows you to read and write on the Xbox 360 NAND via USB or LPT with some simple wiring (for LPT at least).

From the readme/nfo:
[QUOTE]
This release fixes a bug when a sector fails to write, ie it will retry the block now.
Before it could corrupt the rest of the write. Reading was unaffected.
Also new feature, allows a "virtual nand device": Which is a RAW file, that nandpro pretends is a nand
It can then extract/inject individual blocks from a image, instead of a nand (ie no hardware)
For example you could inject a small xell into a large image with the following:
nandpro completerawimage.bin: -w16 xell.ecc
[/QUOTE]

Official Site: n/a
Download: here
News-Source/Full Readme: xbins.org

Team HyperX IXtreme v1.61 FW for Samsung and BenQ Drives Updated

XanTium — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:53:39 -0500

A new version (v1.61) of the iXtreme DVD Firmware for both Samsung and BenQ DVD drives has been released. A Lite-on version is still in development and will be released later (NO ETA).

These were released without any type of readme or NFO, but early user reports claim they work fine like v1.6 with added support for 'Wave 4' discs.

*Update* Team HyperX now officially released the new firmwares and the readme/nfo confirms it comes with 'Strict' Wave 4 compliance:
[QUOTE]
-Strict Wave 4 compliance! hybrid (modified disks) will not boot!
Strict Wave 4 compliance means wave 4 games will only boot if they have correct PFI/DMI/SS and timestamp for wave 4

Note for unofficial releases:
It is highly recommended that you do not flash unverified or unofficial releases. We often do not implement specific security features in beta firmwares that are neccessary precaution's to help keep everyone as safe as possible on Xbox Live.
[/QUOTE]

Official Site: n/a, by Team HyperX
Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD)
News-Source: xbins.org, #FW@EFnet

Xplorer360 For 250gb Drives

XanTium — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:44:54 -0500

Xamp released a patched version of Xplorer360(info) to work with 250GB harddrives on our forums.
From the readme:
[QUOTE]
The Good:
* Drag and drop content to and from (inject/extract) confirmed working on both Partitions 2 and 3.

The Bad:
* Do not use any sort of backup or restore image features with this patched version.
* Do not use this version with 20, 60, or 120 gig drives.

The Details:
* Changed the cluster chain length value to 00 08 39 at offset 0xF0C2.
[/QUOTE]

Download: here

Xbox 360 System Update � Wireless Adapter WPA2 support

XanTium — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:12:20 -0500

From majornelson.com:
[QUOTE]
The team has released a system update for the Xbox 360 over Xbox LIVE.

Sometime over the next few hours when you sign in to Xbox LIVE you'll receive a prompt to accept this mandatory update. If you are signed into LIVE already, you may be signed out and asked to accept the update and you'll be back online in a few moments.

This update does not include the Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and Zune features. Those will be coming to Xbox LIVE later next month. This update adds WPA2 support for the Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter.
[/QUOTE]

Note: As always, update at own risk and don't do it if u still wanna run the JTAG Hack.

Microsoft temporarily suspends Sky Player for Xbox 360

XanTium — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:10:37 -0500

Microsoft Statement via engadget.com:
[QUOTE]
The Sky Player on Xbox 360 service did successfully launch early this morning, it has subsequently been suspended due to an unforeseen technical issue. With so much excitement and interest in the service, we'd much prefer to ensure that our customers enjoy the highest possible quality of service. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise to our customers who have attempted to access the service today. Sky Player engineers are hard at work to resolve the problem - we expect to have the full service available tomorrow.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: engadget.com

Datel to fight back against MS unofficial memory card block

XanTium — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:09:04 -0500

From maxconsole.net:
[QUOTE]
We have just received exclusive word from a UK distributor of Datel that the company is to fight back against the block that MS induced on their pioneering memory card solutions for Xbox 360. We're told that an update for the product will be released shortly to enable the device once again!

"Due to recent actions by Microsoft, there is a possibility that these memory units will not fully function after the upcoming Microsoft Dashboard update.

Datel are aware of the changes that are required to remedy this problem and will shortly release a solution in readiness for this potential update. This will be made available to you and your retail / domestic customers shortly. In the meantime if you are holding any stock of this product you can, if you wish, return this to us and we will exchange / replace with new updated versions in readiness for the Microsoft Dashboard release."
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: maxconsole.net

Microsoft dismisses OnLive threat

XanTium — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:11:43 -0500

From mcvuk.com:
[QUOTE]
Microsoft has dismissed the possibility of streaming technology such as OnLive and Gaikai damagaing its Xbox business "for the foreseeable fututure."

Speaking at London Games Conference this evening, Xbox Live EMEA boss Jerry Johnson told BAFTA HQ - packed by industry delegates - that streaming tech was "not on an accelerated timeline".

"I think streaming technology is something that [the industry] is betting on longer term," he said. "Right now I don't believe that technology can scale out against the experience we can offer on a local machine.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: mcvuk.com

Sky Launches On Xbox 360

XanTium — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:32:49 -0500

From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
It's official. In the UK, Sky has launched on Xbox LIVE and Gold members with at least 2Mb broadband and either a Sky TV or Sky Player can watch Sky One, MTV and Sky Arts, reports CVG.

Those without Sky subscriptions can subscribe for �15 and for �19 for sports channels. Twenty-four channels are currently on the Sky service.

According to Sky's David Mercer, terrestrial channels are not yet available and programs won't be shown in HD because of poor British broadband speeds.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: kotaku.com

Microsoft Responds To PS3 Netflix Announcement

XanTium — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:19:38 -0500

From xboxlive.ign.com:
[QUOTE]
The announcement that video streaming service Netflix would be headed to PlayStation 3 next month left many wondering if Microsoft would respond by dropping the Xbox Live Gold membership requirement to use the service on the Xbox 360.

That answer, as of today, is no.

A company spokesperson reiterated to IGN the value of Xbox Live Gold status, saying it's online experience is still "a generation ahead of the competition" despite a yearly subscription cost.
[/QUOTE]

Full Story: xboxlive.ign.com