Xbox Linux was a project that ported the

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

to the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

. Because the Xbox uses a

digital signature A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very high confidence that the message was created b ...

system to prevent the public from running

unsigned code Code signing is the process of digitally signing executables and scripts to confirm the software author and guarantee that the code has not been altered or corrupted since it was signed. The process employs the use of a cryptographic hash to val ...

, one must either use a

modchip A modchip (short for modification chip) is a small electronic device used to alter or disable artificial restrictions of computers or entertainment devices. Modchips are mainly used in video game consoles, but also in some DVD or Blu-ray players. ...

, or a

softmod A softmod is a method of using software to modify the intended behavior of hardware, such as video cards, sound cards, or game consoles in a way that can overcome restrictions of the firmware, or install custom firmware. Video card softmods Video ...

. Originally, modchips were the only option; however, it was later demonstrated that the TSOP chip on which the Xbox's

BIOS In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...

is held may be reflashed. This way, one may flash on the "

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

" BIOS, which was developed legally by the Xbox Linux project. Catalyzed by a large cash prize for the first team to provide the possibility of booting Linux on an Xbox without the need of a hardware hack, numerous software-only hacks were also found. For example, a

buffer overflow In information security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomaly whereby a program, while writing data to a buffer, overruns the buffer's boundary and overwrites adjacent memory locations. Buffers are areas of memory ...

was found in the game '' 007: Agent Under Fire'' that allowed the

booting In computing, booting is the process of starting a computer as initiated via hardware such as a button or by a software command. After it is switched on, a computer's central processing unit (CPU) has no software in its main memory, so som ...

of a Linux loader ("xbeboot") straight from a save game. The Xbox is essentially a PC with a custom 733 MHz

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

Pentium III The Pentium III (marketed as Intel Pentium III Processor, informally PIII or P3) brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile CPUs based on the sixth-generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 28, 1999. The brand's initial p ...

processor, a 10 GB

hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...

(8 GB of which is accessible to the user), 64MB of

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

(although on all earlier boxes this is upgradable to 128MB), and 4

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

ports. (The controller ports are actually USB 1.1 ports with a modified connector.) These specifications are enough to run several readily available Linux distributions. From the Xbox-Linux home page:

'' The Xbox is a legacy-free PC by Microsoft that consists of an Intel Celeron 733 MHz CPU, an nVidia GeForce 3MX, 64 MB of RAM, a 8/10 GB hard disk, a DVD drive and 10/100 Ethernet. As on every PC, you can run Linux on it. '' '' An Xbox with Linux can be a full desktop computer with mouse and keyboard, a web/email box connected to TV, a server or router or a node in a cluster. You can either dual-boot or use Linux only; in the latter case, you can replace both IDE devices. And yes, you can connect the Xbox to a VGA monitor. ''

Uses

An Xbox with

installed can act as a full desktop computer with

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, a web/email box connected to a television, a server, router or a node in a cluster. One can either

dual-boot Multi-booting is the act of installing multiple operating systems on a single computer, and being able to choose which one to boot. The term dual-booting refers to the common configuration of specifically two operating systems. Multi-booting may ...

or use Linux only; in the latter case, one can replace both IDE devices. One can also connect the Xbox to a

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can now ...

monitor. A converter is needed to use keyboards/mice in the

controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

ports; however this is not difficult, as the Xbox uses standard

with a proprietary port. Currently only a few distributions of Xbox Linux will run on the version 1.6 Xbox (the third newest version, including 1.6b). Xboxes with modchips and the

bios In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...

installed can run more distributions than those with only a softmod. This is mainly due to issues with the video chip used in version 1.6 Xboxes that was developed exclusively by Microsoft and which has no source code available at this time. This can cause significant

overscan Overscan is a behaviour in certain television sets, in which part of the input picture is shown outside of the visible bounds of the screen. It exists because cathode-ray tube (CRT) television sets from the 1930s through to the early 2000s were h ...

on all four sides of the screen when a different

kernel Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

than the original is loaded.

Softmod

One of the more popular ways of installing Xbox Linux is through a

, which does not require a modchip to use. The Xbox Linux softmod utilizes a save exploit found in the original run of ''

MechAssault ''MechAssault'' is a video game released for the Xbox notable for being one of the first games to support Xbox Live online multiplayer. Developed by Day 1 Studios and published by Microsoft, ''MechAssault'' was initiated when Denny Thorley of Day ...

'', ''

Splinter Cell ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell'' is a series of stealth action-adventure video games, the first of which was released in 2002, and their tie-in novels that were endorsed by Tom Clancy. The series follows Sam Fisher, a highly trained agent of a ...

'', '' 007: Agent Under Fire'', and ''

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4'' is a skateboarding video game and the fourth entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label in 2002 for the GameCube, PlayStation, Xbox, ...

''. The method involves loading a hacked save file transferred to the Xbox's Hard Drive. When the save file is loaded, the ''MechInstaller'' is initiated. The Xbox Live option on the dashboard is replaced with the new Linux option after rebooting the system. Another softmod that can be used is the

hotswap Hot swapping is the replacement or addition of components to a computer system without stopping, shutting down, or rebooting the system; hot plugging describes the addition of components only. Components which have such functionality are said ...

exploit which will unlock the Xbox hard drive long enough to allow one to modify it. There is also a way to completely replace the Xbox's stock BIOS with a "Cromwell" BIOS, which is completely legal and is solely for Linux on the Xbox. However, once the TSOP (BIOS chip) is flashed with "Cromwell", the Xbox can no longer play Xbox games or run native Xbox executables (.xbe files, akin to .exe for Windows).

List of distributions

There are several distributions of Xbox Linux, most of which are based on PC Linux distributions.

References

External links

Project site
on

SourceForge.net SourceForge is a web service that offers software consumers a centralized online location to control and manage open-source software projects and research business software. It provides source code repository hosting, bug tracking, mirroring ...

* {{in lang, de}
Xbox Hacking official document

SoftMod Xbox for Free (Hotswap Technique!)
Platform-specific Linux distributions Xbox (console) software Game console operating systems Discontinued Linux distributions Linux distributions

Uses

Softmod

List of distributions

See also

References

External links