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CheapMod Installation

There are two ways to go about this on a 1.0 Xbox.  You can either install the header on the board or solder nine wires.  For the purposes of this tutorial we will first cover the hardest method, the header install.  

Start with the following tools and parts:

Xbox motherboard removed from console
Soldiering Iron 15 Watt for the D0 wires 
Soldering Iron 20-30 Watt for removing the soldier from the holes.
Soldier
De-Soldier pump
Assembled and Flashed CheapMod Chip
6" 30AWG wire
Mini Single Pole Single Throw (SPST) switch.  Radio Shack 275-324 or similar 
(This is only necessary if you want to be able to enable/disable the mod.)
De-Soldier Braid (optional)

We need to accomplish two things one, disrupt power to the stock bios, this is done by taking the power trace (often referred to as D0) and connecting it to ground, this dissipates all power that was destined for the sock bios and it is left without power.  Next we need to put another bios in its place.  Enter the CheapMod.  There are 15 points on the board as pictured below.  These offer a way in where the CheapMod is able to perform the functions of the normal bios.  On a 1.1 version these holes are empty and you are able to skip the de-soldering step.

These are actually holes through the motherboard that have been filled with solder... we need to take it out if we are putting in header pins.

Now begin by de-solder the holes.  No pictures for this step, it is a two handed job and does not easily lend itself to photos.  Hold the board up on edge, position the soldiering iron on one side and the de-soldering pump on the corresponding hole on the other side, heat it up and suck it out with the pump.  Do it a couple times per hole to get it clean, I also used some de-soldering braid to clean up a pesky hole.  I did this step with my station set at around 600 degrees there is a good amount of solder you need to heat up using a low wattage iron would take longer.  Now remove one of the pins on the header so the missing one lines up with the missing hole.  This pin can be used to test out the holes and see if any are still blocked with solder. 

Now you can see all the pins coming through the bottom of the board.  This is a good time to test the board and see everything still works.  If you messed up you would rather be able to clean the splash or fix the trace prior to securing the header in place.  I tried mine and it still boots so I took the board back out and finished up by soldering the header in.  The goal is to heat the pin and the the sleeve of hole at the same time, apply the soldier to the pin and hole and allow it to melt rather than applying the solder to the iron and trying to let it run down.  You want the parts you are trying to solder to be warm enough to allow the solder to melt and run into the spaces.  Each point took about 5 seconds to warm enough to melt the solder with my station set at around 500 degrees (I'm guessing that would be somewhere equivalent to a 20 watt iron)

Now on to the D0 trace.  There are many places to ground out the trace and several places to solder to the trace.  I have chosen the easiest ones, on the bottom of the board.  I highly recommend this for beginners and seasoned modders alike.  Take the board out!  the 3 minutes it takes to remove the 11 screws pays off in the long run.

Now tin the points you plan to solder to using a low wattage iron, the point pictured on the right is the most difficult in the whole process, using a hot 30-40 Watt+ iron will surely burn the trace, be careful on that one and be quick with the iron.  The Iron should not be in contact with the pad more than 3 seconds at a time.

Then connect them with some 30AWG wire.  That wire can have a switch on it, this will allow you to turn the mod on and off.

Re-assemble the rest of the box and DONE!  When booting with the switch in the on position you should see the following screen.  When booting with the switch in the off position you will see the normal green flubber Xbox screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp.  Llamma.com and Xbox-Repair.net are in no way affiliated with Microsoft.  All references to Modchips, Linux and any other forms of xbox modifications are done for the purpose of writing and testing interoperable software as allowed under Sect. 1201 (f) Reverse Engineering exception of the DMCA.  This site does not condone the illegal copying of games.  All advice/information is provided as is without warranty to accuracy. Do not consider any comments as legal advice, I am not a lawyer. All references to Mod chips should be taken as hypothetical in nature, actually installing a mod chip may be illegal. In simple terms don't sue me if you mess up on your own or with my help. Make your own decisions do the research determine what is legal and what is not, I take no responsibility for your actions.  
All photos and content copyright © Llamma Corp. 2002
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