P/Systems offer a professional Xbox upgrade installation service at your home,
anywhere in South or Mid Wales. Whether you want just a replacement BIOS or a full
upgrade including a 120GB hard drive, we can do it. No need to take your
Xbox anywhere, no need to leave it and come back next day, it's all done
at your home. It gives you a chance to ask any questions you may have,
plus the kids get a chance to see inside an Xbox without taking it apart
(and breaking it) themselves. All you've got to do is ring us to book an
appointment, then answer the door when the engineer arrives.
As of February 2004, PlayStations and PSones are no longer upgraded, our remaining stock of Dallas DS1073s (otherwise known as the Chromagic digital colour-chips) will be reprogrammed for use elsewhere.
We no longer offer any form of PS2 upgrade service, we'll let this Planet Feedback page
explain why we don't need the hassle. If that's not enough evidence for you, click here to see how many PS2 "Disc Read Error" related websites there are. When your PS2 stops working (shouldn't be too long now) or if you
want it upgraded, contact www.psxrepair.com, a South Wales company who have built up a thriving business replacing DVD mechanisms and controller ICs in games consoles that (according to Sony) have no fundamental design flaws. Go figure.
For all Xbox models, including the newer "1.3", "1.4" and "1.5" models (serial no.
xxxxxxx 31xxx and above) an economical chip-free upgrade (where we reprogram the Xbox's onboard
BIOS chip) is now available.
For Xbox models 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 (serial nos. up to and including xxxxxxx 30xxx)
we can alternatively fit the highly reliable LPCMOD
V2.0, supplied to us by www.gamefreax.de.
In these cases, an optional toggle switch (with gold-plated contacts) can also be fitted if you
wish (although this is unlikely to let you play on Xbox Live without getting
banned for having a modified Xbox!). This toggle switch is fitted inside
the Xbox, with the toggle discreetly poking out through the left-hand side
vents by about 3mm.
Check Xbox-Scene's mod-chip comparison
table (where the LPCMOD
V2.0 is classed as a "cheapmod"). The only reason you'd need
an Xecuter is if you are developing your own software and wish to install a
larger "debug" BIOS. If all you want to do is play games and movies
you will see NO BENEFIT in using an Xecuter - you're just paying for the name.
Check Xbox-Scene's forums here.
Lots of people are experiencing problems with these upgrades, and we wouldn't
want to pass these problems on to you. In particular, ANY mod-chip installed
using "pogo-pins" (where spring-loaded test pins are used instead
of soldered joints) can have problems if the chip gets knocked or jolted out
of alignment.
Our installations now use the reliable EvoX M7 EjectFix BIOS. The latest BIOS from the Evolution-X team, and the first to support "1.4" and "1.5" Xboxes, EvoX M7 will work
on any Xbox, regardless of motherboard version. The Eject Fix stops the Xbox
resetting when you open the DVD drive, useful when playing VideoCDs or saving
games to the hard drive.
Our upgrades are write-protected prior to installation, to protect them
from being accidentally reprogrammed with the wrong BIOS.
We don't use the Xecuter BIOS because the benefits of having an "in-game
reset" feature are outweighed by the problems some people are having (crashing when a network cable is connected,
etc.).
If you want to compare the BIOSes, click here.
The 123.5GB hard drives we fit are Hitachi DeskStar 180GXP 7200RPM drives which draw just 5.9 watts of power (others draw up to 8 watts, all of which has to be disippated as heat).
We don't supply smaller drives due to the relatively small difference in price, however bigger ones are available on request (an additional £160 will get you a 300GB drive).
Our philosophy: if you're going to fit one, fit a big one!
We can fit a different drive that you have supplied, if you wish.
Some of the software we install (see below) lets you install your games on
the hard drive. This improves loading time, reduces wear and tear on the
DVD drive and means the discs can be stored where they can't get covered
in scratches or (often sticky) fingerprints! The bigger the drive, the more
you can store. A 120GB drive can store around 55-60 games on average. The
standard Xbox drive (8GB on the oldest Xboxes, 10GB on the rest) will store
between 1 and 3 depending on game size.
It's labelled and returned to you in a protective cardboard box. Although it
can be "unlocked" and used in a PC, we recommend keeping it as
a backup copy of your Xbox system software.
Installing an upgraded BIOS is only half of the solution. The other half is software
installation. What you get are:-
- The EvolutionX dashboard (which replaces the green menu that appears
if you start an Xbox without a disc in the drive)
- DVD-X 2 (a multi-region, VCR-friendly DVD player that doesn't
need the DVD remote control kit!)
- Xbox
Media Player (which
plays WAV, DivX, VideoCD, SuperVCD, MPEG, MP3, AVI, JPEG, QuickTime
and more)
- Px HDD Loader (which lets you save games to your Xbox
hard drive)
- Hu-Go! (a PC Engine games console emulator)
- Enigmah Videomode Selector (which lets you switch your Xbox between NTSC and PAL display modes for improved game compatibility)
Yes, you get a 20-page user guide, a PC CD-ROM with around 600MB of utilities
(mostly Xbox-related) and a 12-month on-site guarantee.
On-site no-chip (TSOP flash) upgrades in South Wales are £40. Upgrades including a 123.5GB hard drive are £120. These prices drop if several machines are being upgraded in one "hit", so feel free to gather your mates up to get a bulk discount! Prices for such installations are available on request.
Coming soon!
It's 0800 358 8394, and it's free. You'll probably get the answering machine (which gives the price for a chip-free BIOS upgrade, with or without 120GB hard drive),
so leave a message and we'll call you back.
One of our previous customers contacted us recently to let us know what one of our shop-based competitors (NOT psxrepair.com) is getting up to, here in the South Wales valleys.
He apparently purchased an Xbox from their shop in Pontypridd which was to be pre-modded with an Xecuter Lite modchip. Imagine his surprise when he found them installing a cheaper Aladdin mod (presumably flashed with an Xecuter BIOS, so it looks the same on the screen) instead!
Even though their pre-modded Xbox was £20 dearer than ours, they still wanted an extra £25 to install EvolutionX (although this price was reduced to £10 when he protested), WITHOUT the additional applications which are included in our pre-modded Xboxes, as they are in all of our installations.
Also they suggested that to install EvolutionX on his nephew's Enigmah-modded Xbox he needed to "unlock" the Xbox hard drive (Xbox hard drives are locked to the Xbox with a unique password), a procedure which subsequently needed a replacement modchip to put right (early mod-chips don't allow unlocking of the hard drive).
Finally (and worryingly), they asked him if he had a copy of the unlocking software, so they could unlock a stack of hard drives taken out of Xboxes. To sell "as new" perhaps? Draw your own conclusions.
ALWAYS make sure you're getting what you expect, BEFORE parting with your cash!
We only take payment when the job is complete, so it's in our interests not to fleece our customers in any way!
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