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10 Really Cool Things To Do With Your Xbox 360 That Microsoft Won’t Tell You.

Top Buzzard — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 01:08:03 +0000

Originally written by Alec Meer at techradar.com news section ”10 Xbox 360 tricks Microsoft doesn’t tell you”, is a great article that I ran back in ‘08 and got alot of good feedback from so I have republished it for any new viewrers who didn’t see it. This article demonstrates why the Xbox 360 is such a powerful choice for gamers to choose when buying a game console. Now with the recent price cuts (Xbox 360 Pro $199) makes picking a console game that much eaiser. Here is the article and also visit their site it has alot of valuable and interesting information in it.

1. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once

If you’ve got one of the component/composite dual video cables – the one that comes in the box with most 360s – you can have your console display its gamey goodness on two TVs simultaneously. The trick is to flick the cable’s switch to Standard Definition but hook up the composite (yellow) cable to one screen and the component (the red, green, blue) cables to another. It won’t be high-def, but it could be handy if you’re staging a mini LAN party and want to set up a display for bored spectators to point their eyes at.

2. Play your own music in original Xbox games

That you can fire up your own MP3s during a 360 game is common knowledge (and re-soundtracking moody horror games with the Benny Hill theme tune never stops being funny), but it doesn’t work if you’re playing a title from the original Xbox. There’s a way around it – start playing your album or playlist before you load the game, and it’ll keep on playing once you do fire the title up. The game’s own music won’t be muted, however, so if you can’t do that in its settings you’ll go mad from the weird cacophony.

3. It can write its own blog

Ah, the internet – founded upon crazy men making crazy things for free. Such as a blog supposedly written by your 360, based on what you’ve been using it for. It monitors your Live account and automatically generates entries about what it’s been up to that day (or what it hasn’t been up to – expect many posts about neglect if you don’t turn it on for a while). The tone is very much American geek, but it’s a fun record of your own gaming habits, and of keeping an eye on what your chums are up to. Get set up at www.360voice.com.

4. Play Xbox 360 games online for free – without a Live account

That you have to pay a subscription for online gaming, something that’s free on other consoles and on the PC, is perhaps the 360’s greatest bugbear. Stage your own form of peaceful process by playing online without paying a penny. You’ll need XLink Kai, a free app you run from a PC on the same network as the console that tricks the 360 into thinking the internet is a LAN.

So it’ll treat remote opponents as though they’re in the same room as you – and you don’t have to pay for local multiplayer. Clever! One snag – Microsoft has set the 360 to boot out anyone with a ping higher than 30ms, so you’ll have to be selective about who you play with. Local chums are best, not your Chinese penpal.

5. Interact with your Xbox 360 music

Hit X whilst playing a music CD or file (whether from the 360’s hard drive, an MP3 player you’ve plugged in, or streamed from a PC) and you’ll enter Psychedelic Wonderland. Well, some artful visualisations, anyway. Grab a controller or two (or up to four, as it happens) and start moving thumbpads and pressing buttons to interact with the crazed shifting colours. There are actually some fairly elaborate controls – read the full manual at http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/x360manual.php. Good at parties, this.

6. Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor

The good news is you don’t have to drop £50 on Microsoft’s offensively overpriced Wi-Fi adaptor. The bad news is you’ll need a laptop with W-Fi to do it. Head to Control Panel – Network Connections (In Windows XP) or Network & Sharing Center – Manage Network Connections (in Vista). Select the Local Area Connection and the Wireless Network Connection at once, then right-click and hit ‘bridge connections’.

Disconnect then reconnect to your wireless network, run a network cable from the laptop’s Ethernet port to the 360’s, and you should be good to go. Unfortunately, you may have to remove the bridge (repeat the above process and you’ll see the option) whenever you want to browse the net with the laptop.

7. Play music from your iPod

Not a secret as such, but Microsoft doesn’t exactly shout about the fact it plays nice with a device made by uber-rival Apple. Hidden in the depths of the Marketplace, you’ll find a teeny download called ‘optional iPod support’. Once you’ve grabbed that, plug in your iPod (iPhones aren’t supported yet, sadly) and head to the Media Blade. You’ll see your pod appear there, and can now browse its music by album, artist, genre or whatever. It’ll also charge via the USB port, usefully.

8. Reset your Xbox 360 video settings

Remember this one if you’re in the habit of carrying your console to chum’s houses and hooking it up to different displays. It can end up trying to output the wrong signal, so you can’t see anything or get a flickering screen. Fortunately, there’s a fairly simple fix if this happens. Remove any discs from the tray and turn the thing off. Then turn it on using a gamepad. As it boots, hold down the Y button, then hit and hold the right trigger. The video settings will reset to default, and you’ll stop your sobbing.

9. Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360

Free app Tversity neatly sidesteps the pointless video/audio restrictions Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo alike slap on their consoles, making them able to play any format. Again, you’ll need a PC on the same network, but it’s a simple matter of installing the program and having it scan the folders you keep your media in. It’ll replace the standard network file-sharing system Windows uses, but behaves pretty much the same way at the 360’s end. As well as that, it’ll convert unsupported files on the fly – though you’ll need a pretty beefy PC to do this with large video files, otherwise you’ll be waiting ages. You can also add online video URLs on the PC’s end – including Youtube – and then access those from the console.

10. Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound

Though the newer 360s have an HDMI output for optimal video quality, they’ve built the ports in such a way that you can’t have the standard component/composite video cable, with its crucial optical audio output, plugged in at the same time as HDMI. Instead, you’re supposed to drop a frightening amount of money on the official HDMI cable with audio adapter. Balls to that. See the big plastic box at the end of the standard video cable that connects to the console? Wedge a knife or screwdriver into the join and twist to pop it off. The result looks messy, but is small enough to plug in alongside a standard, cheapo HDMI cable.

Read 360 Error Codes – What do they mean?

Top Buzzard — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:14:38 +0000

The “RED RING OF DEATH”, no it’s not a new horror movie title but if you own an Xbox 360 you still might cringe when you see this appear on your 360. But before you go into panic mode here are a few simple explanations of the error codes that are most common.

ONE RED LIGHT:

E64, 65, 66 – DVD Drive Error http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927746

This error usually means that the DVD drive has gone bad or the software that runs it got corrupted. Not good news either way. If you tried to replace the disk drive yourself (and void your warranty) and didn’t use an Xbox 360 OEM disk drive you get this error. If you did use an original OEM disk drive chance are good your software is corrupted and you need to call tech support and they maybe able to advise you on what do to next.

E67, E68, E69 Hard Drive Error

http://support.microsoft.com/kb917874

Turn off your power and remove the hard drive and restart the 360 again. If that works you know the problem is in the hard drive and maybe able to send it in for repair. Chances are you will lose all your saved games but while its being repaired you should be able to play the 360 with a memory unit.

E71 – Hardware Failure

http://support.microsoft.com/kb927747

Often times this error shows a hardware failure but it could be a software issue. Corrupt temporary data could be the cause. Your 360 stores downloaded data such as backward compatibility and software updates in a special cache. If that goes bad you need to clean it out. Here is how to do it. Reboot the 360. On the dashboard go to the System file section, then memory and highlight your hard drive. Press the Y button. Then enter secret six button code on your controller: X, X, Left Bumper, Right Bumper, X, X. The 360 will ask if you want to perform system maintenance –enter yes. This will clear your temp data cache and you will have to redownload any game patches but that should make your 360 healthy again. NOTE: If you can’t even get to the dashboard you got bigger problems – call tech support.

E74 – Hardware Failure

http://support.microsoft.com/kb941377

There are a lot of different reasons why this error could appear. Microsoft calls it a hardware failure but don’t be fooled thinking it’s a cable or power supply o over heating. This is one that is better left to the pros at Microsoft to figure out meaning you’re going to have to send it in. But contact them first.

TWO RED LIGHTS

If the two red lights on the left side of the ring of light are flashing its probably because the 360 has overheated. The fans might have stopped pulling out the warm air from the back or maybe they are blocked or clogged. Obviously turn the unit off and let it cool down. If it is clogged try buying a can of “canned air” usually available at Best Buy or Wal-Mart and give it an angled blast from the side. Also make sure that where ever the console is that it has plenty of room to breathe fresh air and not right next to another component that is also putting at hot air.

THREE RED LIGHTS

The infamous “red ring of death” that appears in all quadrants except the upper right is very distressing to any 360 gamer. This usually occurred on older models and Microsoft has extended the warranty for these units and fixes them for free. As for newer models you will still have to send it in to Microsoft.

FOUR RED LIGHTS

Despite being the full “red ring of death” this one is fairly easy to repair. Your AV cable isn’t connected or not all the way in. Check it, if it is nice and snug and still doesn’t work buy a new cable that should solve it.

LAST WORD

If all else fails contact Xbox, they’re the pros and the only authorized repair center despite what you might hear or find on the internet. Simply call 1-800-4-MY-XBOX. Try also online at support.xbox.com and you can speak to a live customer support agent through text chat, sometimes this method is quicker

A Portable 360 – Here's How Its Done!

Top Buzzard — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:15:11 +0000

Having 4 kids of my own and trying to keep them happy during family trips and outings is always a challenge. The too and from is usually the worst cause they get bored. They all love playing the XBox 360 and so I searched for a way to make ours portable yet reliable. I came across one company Portable Gaming Solutions that makes a very nice system to make the 360 and other consoles portable. That doesn’t mean battery operated but you can use a power converter and play it in the car. Now that’s pretty cool for the kids and parents. A pair of headphones for the kids and we (the parents) will never hear “are we there yet” again. There area lot of options available and add-ons available. Just visit Portable Gaming Solutions to see all the neat gadgets for making gaming portable. If you want to try your hand at making your own 360 portable visit Ben Heckendorn’s “how to” on Engadget.com and give it a try. I think I will just buy one already done. With my skill set I’m great at taking things apart just not so good at getting them back together.