More on XBox Live Bans, HDD Crippling, Possible Ban Causes

[I_Luv_2_Game]

Reports now indicate that the fresh wave of Microsoft bans on modified consoles has resulted in systems not only being banned from XBox Live, but also removing the ability to install games to the HDD, forbidding the use of Windows Media Centre extender, and not allowing the retrieval of achievements from backups without corrupting profiles.

To quote from Kushan: - What does this mean for you and what can you do about it?

Firstly, and most obviously, you cannot connect to Xbox Live on this console any more. This means no more game updates (aka title updates), XBLA games, marketplace content, netflix/sky player and so on. There is no way around this, all online capabilities are now disabled PERMANENTLY.

In all likelihood, your gamertag has NOT BEEN BANNED. When your gamertag gets banned, Microsoft sends you an email detailing why, if you have not recieved this email then your profile should be ok, to a certain extent.

Hard Drive installs are now disabled on the banned console. This means any disk-based games you have will no longer play off of the hard drive. If you attempt to play a game, it will tell you that it was installed on a different 360 and needs to be deleted/installed again. When you delete the game and attempt to install it, you are given a message telling you that it is not supported. There is no way to fix this, that functionality is simply gone from the banned 360.

The hard drive itself is left untouched - you can place it in another 360, even an unbanned one, and it will still work just fine. You do NOT need to reformat it to regain any kind of functionality. Any installed games will need to be reinstalled for theconsole you want to play them on. This is normal behaviour and happens when swapping HDDs on unbanned/legit 360's.

Windows Media Centre functionality is disabled. It is still possible to stream video/music content via the video library.

Your Gamertag may be corrupted. This does not mean your gamertag has been banned, you can recover it using any live-capable 360, however ANY ACHIVEMENTS YOU HAVE EARNED SINCE BEING BANNED WILL BE LOST. Your gamertag will be corrupted EVERY SINGLE TIME it is used on a bannedconsole. This means you cannot use your banned console to play backups offline just to get achievements - it wont work, the second you put your profile back on a good 360, it will be corrupted and all progress lost. There is no way around this.

The same applies to game saves - if you access a game save on a banned 360, it too will be corrupted when accessed on a legit/unbanned 360! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! There is no way around this, either.

Your XBLA games and DLC will still be valid, however to play them on a different 360 you will need to be signed into Xbox Live. This is normal behaviour on unbanned/legit 360's as well. They may be corrupted and have to be re-downloaded if you attempt to access them on a banned 360.

You can transfer all of your downloaded content to a new 360 here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/sy...on/default.htm however note that you can only do it once every 12 months.

So, in summary your Banned 360:
• Cannot go on Xbox Live
• Cannot install games to the HDD
• Cannot use Windows Media Centre extender
• Cannot be used to get achievements from backups without corrupting your profile

You cannot do anything about this, short of buying a new 360.

There may be more functionality disabled than mentioned here, things are still being discovered.

- So what caused my ban?
There are MANY theories as to what is causing so many consoles to get banned this time, however as of yet there is nothing concrete, just a lot of circumstantial evidence and speculation. Please do not add to this, a full investigation is under-way.

c4eva, the main guy behind iXtreme, had this to say:
fw itself not detectable
suspect they are going hard on warez releases and incorrect use of abgx!

He also added the following:
just to let you know that im looking into the current ban wave. I am currently running several brand new xboxs on live! These xboxs are in various configs. All are running ixtreme 1.61 One is running original discs, another is running on xbl (no discs), another is running a backup from my region! Until tests are completed, no eta on liteon fw!

When we know more, YOU'LL no more, so please do not ask for updates!
A full transcript is available here - http://pastebin.ca/1660777

Remember, if you really want to blame someone, blame the person that decided to modify your 360 in the first place - most likey, that would be you.

Read more: http://www.ps3news.com/XBox-360/more...#ixzz0WNORr3Vq

[MR_T]

MS are getting tough on this stuff now, wonder what will be included int he next ban wave

[enemyjeep]

Well they should be tough on it how can companies survive when the games are distributed freely to the masses.

MS could be nice though and stop charging ridiculous prices for certain things.

[three3-times]

lol!! no comment!

[F34R]

c4va's statements are a testament to why I know a lot of people that currently play on Live with modified consoles, have for a long time, and haven't ever been banned.

[I_Luv_2_Game]

c4va's statements are a testament to why I know a lot of people that currently play on Live with modified consoles, have for a long time, and haven't ever been banned.

I've never seen a modified console.. What would you look for if your trying to get a used console.. Because i think this is going to cause problems because if your new to the Xbox and you buy 1 use that used Xbox just might be modified.. An if you try to get on XBL and the system locks you out not knowing the console was modified it would be a nightmare.. I think companies like gamestop shouldn't except modified console just for that reason...

[F34R]

To be honest, I wouldnt know. Lethal_NFS would probably be your best bet. While he might not have modified a 360 to play back up games, he'll know what to look for to see if the 360 has been opened up or not. Also, you can ask that the console be connected to live before you make the purchase so that you can see it's not banned.

[PS3-The Ultimate Machine]

Two things i don't get:
1.Why is a pro ps3 site posting this?
2.Why didn't MS keep the ban hammer that tough since the beginning?Because i they had been so tough on their bans,ALOT less would be modding their 360s.

[F34R]

Two things i don't get:
1.Why is a pro ps3 site posting this?
2.Why didn't MS keep the ban hammer that tough since the beginning?Because i they had been so tough on their bans,ALOT less would be modding their 360s.

There is a 360 section for 360 discussion. In case you haven't noticed, there are some PS3 owners, such as myself, that also have 360's.

Just like the article states, reasons "why" are speculation, and that extends to why they do it in waves.

[I_Luv_2_Game]

2.Why didn't MS keep the ban hammer that tough since the beginning?Because i they had been so tough on their bans,ALOT less would be modding their 360s.

couldn't agree more.. i feel MS waited to long to attack the problem.. which i believe will cause a bigger problem with used consoles.. unless places like gamestop stop excepting used modified consoles..

[Staticneuron]

There is a 360 section for 360 discussion. In case you haven't noticed, there are some PS3 owners, such as myself, that also have 360's.

Just like the article states, reasons "why" are speculation, and that extends to why they do it in waves.

I don't think he is talking about this site. He may be referring to source.

http://www.ps3news.com/XBox-360/more...#ixzz0WNORr3Vq

And Does this ban mean no more FW updates for the console can be recieved?

[MR_T]

I've never seen a modified console.. What would you look for if your trying to get a used console.. Because i think this is going to cause problems because if your new to the Xbox and you buy 1 use that used Xbox just might be modified.. An if you try to get on XBL and the system locks you out not knowing the console was modified it would be a nightmare.. I think companies like gamestop shouldn't except modified console just for that reason...

several things, the 1st and most obvious being that the warranty sticker will be removed, although this cant be taken for gospel as warranty stickers can be easily removed with a hairdryer without damaging them, and also the fact that you can buy replacement stickers from certain online shops.

next thing would be damage on the pins that clip together on the rear of the console. most people remove them with a screwdriver/sharp object and will almost guarentee leave at least small markings

easiest way to physically test it is to simply stick a copied game into the drive and see if it runs, a wave 2 disc would be the best bet as ixtreme firmware 1.4 and under wont read wave 3/4 games.

and finally you can always take the case off, connect the 360 disc drive to the pc via sata and dump the disc drives firmware to your pc and check it that way, although if youve gone this far and you want stock firmware you can simply flash the drive back with its original firmware

[jaewest304]

This is a good thing. MS should be doing this and going hard on it. Its better for the devs and the industry.

Now @ everyone talking about used 360s...first, gamestop would not know if the console is banned because of two reasons. Reason #1 they DO NOT have anyway of checking it online at the store that Im aware of. Reason #2 the only way to know if its a modded console is going to be too much hassle for the gamestop employees to bother with

Now on a very serious note: with all the issues on the older 360 skus why in the hell would anyone buy a used 360? I sold mine for that very reason. It was an 07 sku and I knew sooner than later it was going to have troubles. I decided I wanted rid of it in order to get a brand new one...warranty and peice of mind

[I_Luv_2_Game]

This is a good thing. MS should be doing this and going hard on it. Its better for the devs and the industry.

Now @ everyone talking about used 360s...first, gamestop would not know if the console is banned because of two reasons. Reason #1 they DO NOT have anyway of checking it online at the store that Im aware of. Reason #2 the only way to know if its a modded console is to open it up and look for the mods (ex. dvd drive etc.)

Now on a very serious note: with all the issues on the older 360 skus why in the hell would anyone buy a used 360? I sold mine for that very reason. It was an 07 sku and I knew sooner than later it was going to have troubles. I decided I wanted rid of it in order to get a brand new one...warranty and peice of mind

Well people in general buy used consoles.. People like me and you who come to forums and educate themselves on consoles wouldn't have this problem.. But just in case i wanted to buy a Xbox used i wanted to know what to look for a mod

[jaewest304]

Well people in general buy used consoles.. People like me and you who come to forums and educate themselves on consoles wouldn't have this problem.. But just in case i wanted to buy a Xbox used i wanted to know what to look for a mod

I get you..Im just saying it would be more of a bad move than just saving up to get a new one. No warranty on used and the chances of problems on ANY used console are much much higher than on a new console

[three3-times]

this a questioon to a mod/admin. can we freely discuss this sorta thing on here? i know this is a ps3 site, but xbox forums have threads dedicated to this kinda stuff? i know a lot of peeps with modded 360s and i wanted to post a thread on here on friday re the bans etc, but wasnt sure how well it would be recieved!

[Evoking1230]

Im glad theyre doing it

I know some have modded 360's on here but meh

its only a matter of time before they get em all

[I_Luv_2_Game]

A conversation with a friend who works for a call center that handles an Xbox 360 account has yielded a disturbing truth: Microsoft has started its annual Xbox Live banning spree and it has disabled 600,000 accounts so far in the US and Canada.The target of the banning spree are mainly people who have modified their consoles to play pirated games. My trusty source says that they have been given instructions to push for a million banned accounts by the time the holidays are over."Our office has gone to hell," says the source. "People have been calling in around the clock and most of them are screaming teen-agers who don't understand the terms of use that comes with the console they bought."There you have it. If you're a big Mininova fan like GamerTotoy, stay away from Xbox Live until after Christmas to continue playing online.

http://pinoycosplay.blogspot.com/200...e42fff2713e017

[mickice]

The xbox forums show this aswell, pages apon pages flooded with people asking why their consoles can't go online.

It's their own fault.

Maybe in the 90's you could get away with piracy, but not anymore.

[Poida]

Serves them right, shouldve known better then to mod an Xbox 360 for pirated games.

[Poida]

MS are getting tough on this stuff now, wonder what will be included int he next ban wave

Indeed, but not sure anyone would wanna find out the hard way

[aayman_farzand]

And Does this ban mean no more FW updates for the console can be recieved?

You can also get the updates offline by saving it to a USB flash drive.

[higrob24]

While I believe its good to ban those breaking the law.
I never really believe a source that start with " A Friend told me"

[LeisureSuitLarry]

Geez, why are these people so dumb? They have a modded 360. They know MS bans folks with modded 360s. Yet they go online anyway? Kinda like going into a police station and telling the cops that you are going to rob the bank across the street. Don't get it.

[Poida]

Lol does this explain why xbox360forum.com wont load?