Can someone teach me about xecuter 2 for OG Xbox?

[darkworldq8]

So, what can I do with it?
Can I install a new HDD/SSD while using the modchip?
Can I install games and homebrew on the HDD and play them?
Can I install a custom dashboard on it?

An old friend of mine who played only a bit of Xbox back in the day decided to give me his OG Xbox around 10 years ago since it is taking up a lot of space and he no longer wants to use it.
The Xbox has a modchip sticking out of the case. If I turn the mod's switch on and then power the console the logo would say something like "xecuter 2" but the dashboard seems completely normal. There is also other switches on the modchip something like "bank1" and "bank2".

It seems like it can read discs fine. I do plan to open it up and try to remove the clock capacitor if it has one, give it a clean, replace the thermal paste, and replace the fan. I have already ordered a replacement fan and it should arrive at the end of this month.

 

[FAST6191]

Active mods on the xbox come two groups each with two sub flavours.

Hardware BIOS replacement

Software BIOS replacement.

Software (which is either save exploit or hard drive unlock based) comes a bit later in the boot sequence so when replacing hard drives you need one that locks (not all will) and it needs to be locked (makes it more annoying to read on a PC, and in the modern world use a IDE-SATA adapter as IDE drives are getting more and more rare).

Hardware BIOS replacement (which is mod chip or TSOP, the latter being only available on older revisions but doable with basic soldering and components available anywhere and if it is viable do remember to look into clock capacitor removal/replacement as they get a bit leaky, indeed generally look at that regardless of what you do) then happens early enough that the hard drive concerns are eliminated and you can put any suitably formatted one in there, and regardless of whether you have the EEPROM dumped. Does allow some other things but those are more of interest to those twisting the hardware in odd ways, or people that care overly about custom logos during boot. Some will allow booting various dashboards depending upon things but every dash worth considering has a software flavour you can launch from any other dash (most splitting between XBMC which does it all but needs a bit longer to boot to the tune of 15 or so seconds vs clean and quick gaming focused ones that load in a handful of seconds).

 

[darkworldq8]

Active mods on the xbox come two groups each with two sub flavours.

Hardware BIOS replacement

Software BIOS replacement.

Software (which is either save exploit or hard drive unlock based) comes a bit later in the boot sequence so when replacing hard drives you need one that locks (not all will) and it needs to be locked (makes it more annoying to read on a PC, and in the modern world use a IDE-SATA adapter as IDE drives are getting more and more rare).

Hardware BIOS replacement (which is mod chip or TSOP, the latter being only available on older revisions but doable with basic soldering and components available anywhere and if it is viable do remember to look into clock capacitor removal/replacement as they get a bit leaky, indeed generally look at that regardless of what you do) then happens early enough that the hard drive concerns are eliminated and you can put any suitably formatted one in there, and regardless of whether you have the EEPROM dumped. Does allow some other things but those are more of interest to those twisting the hardware in odd ways, or people that care overly about custom logos during boot. Some will allow booting various dashboards depending upon things but every dash worth considering has a software flavour you can launch from any other dash (most splitting between XBMC which does it all but needs a bit longer to boot to the tune of 15 or so seconds vs clean and quick gaming focused ones that load in a handful of seconds).

Thank you for the information. I'm new to the Xbox modding, actually I have little information about hardware mods. All I know is that hardware mod chips allow the ability to play backups and unlocking the region on a console. I know that I can play emulators on modded consoles, but I haven't gotten deep into it.