Newbies Glossary of Terms:

Please add what you can:

ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment. A disk drive interface standard based on the IBM PC ISA 16-bit bus but also used on other personal computers. The ATA specification deals with the power and data signal interfaces between the motherboard and the integrated disk controller and drive. The ATA "bus" only supports two devices - master and slave.

Avalaunch - another popular dashboard. Includes an IRC, Telnet, and FTP client, as well as an integrated Fileserver and the ability to download game saves from xbox-saves.com right from the xbox. Displays game icons and plays shoutcast streams.

BIOS - Pronounced "bye-ose," BIOS is an acronym for basic input/output system - tells your xbox how to work! A hacked bios can allow unsigned code (backups and homebrew software) to run, as well as various other features.

BFM - Bootable from media. This is a bios flag that allows the bios to loaded from the hard drive with a debug bios or using the Phoenix Bios Loader. Do not flash a BFM bios onto a chip. Some people think that 'bootable from media' means that it boots a cd in the drive, while other bios's do not. Those people need to take an english class on what the suffix 'able' and the word 'from' means. Notice its not 'boots media' or 'boots to media', but 'bootable FROM media', meaning the bios itself boots from media (media in this case meaning not a chip).

Chameleon - A mod chip manufactured by Team Xodus Cheapmod - A simple mod chip made of a SST Bios chip and PCB. Due to the simple nature of these chips, they are often sold for $10-20USD.

Cromwell - A clean rom replacement devoid of M$ code designed specifically to run Linux and other alternative OS's, It currently does not run games or ordinary xbox executables.

Crossover - the kind of cable you need to connect an xbox DIRECTLY to another computer or xbox. if you are using a router, hub, or switch this is NOT necessary and will not work; use a regular patch cable for that. the xbox system link cable is a crossover cable. d0 - an install point in 3rd generation mods, to the right of the LPC holes. if this is not connected right the xbox will boot to the original bios like there is no modchip there

Dashboard - the program first run when you start your xbox up with nothing in the drive. the default MS dash is the familiar menu for dealing with game saves and audio cds

Dongle - 1) The receiver from the DVD kit that plugs into the controller ports on the console 2) The piece of the controller breakaway cable that plugs directly into the Xbox

EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory - a chip that is on the xbox motherboard, located directly 'above' the TSOP. This chip contains information about your xbox (the hard drive lock key, region code, video mode etc.), can be backed up and restored. This is what is banned by xbox live.

Eject Fix - bios fixed so that opening the dvd drive DOESN'T reset the xbox, letting you load a cd with, say, a media player, then putting a video cd in Eject Trick - pressing the eject button while the xbox is on will disable the modchip, and the xbox will boot from the TSOP. This is used on the matrix modchip Error - Xbox error codes explained

EvolutionX - 2 things EvolutionX Dash - the most popular custom dash, has a boot menu for homebrew software, ftp server, custom skins, etc. EvolutionX Bios - this is a bios made by the Evolutionx team. The whole "Evox is the bios, EvolutionX is the dash" thing is false; not sure where this got started, but its not true.

EvoX - see EvolutionX

Flashing - putting a bios on a bios chip (modchip or TSOP)

FRAG - when you try to boot up, the light on the eject button

Flashes Red And Green (get it? :) ). means that the xbox cannot boot a bios. This could be anything from, problem with installation of your chip, bad bios, solder splash, lifted traces, etc.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol - lets you access your xbox hard drive from the pc (or from another xbox) when it's running evox or another ftp server. you can do anything you could with a drive attatched right to your pc

HDD - Abbreviation for Hard Disk Drive.

HDD Swap - Switching the xbox hard drive with another, usually a bigger PC harddrive

Homebrew Mods - Older mod chips. Don't confuse these with cheapmods. I don't beleive these had a pcb, and all wiring was connected direct to the bios chip.

IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics. The original name for ATA by Compaq. Before IDE, HDDs used to have the controller on a card instead of integrated on the HDD (seen as the circuit under the HDD), and required two cables, one for data and one for controlling the HDD.

IGR - In Game Reset - pressing buttons on controller (usually both triggers + start + back OR triggers + start + black) to either reset the xbox (x2 bios IGR) or return to dash without resetting (Evolutionx IGR)

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display, not to be confused with TFT LCD a simple display screen like a digital clock face, typically grey-green with black characters and sometimes backlit with LEDs

LED - Light Emitting Diode Locked - Xbox hard drives, like laptop hard drives, are locked. You must unlock it to use it in another xbox or pc, and it must be locked to be used without a modchip. You can lock a hard drive on any box, but you need the xbox that locked it to unlock a hard drive. unless you have the eeprom

LPT - printer port, used for external programmers LPC - stands for "Low Pin Count" - refers to an Intel standardized port allowing for legacy free computers to have legacy devices, in laymen.s terms a computer with only USB ports can have a PS2, Serial, Parallel, Game port, etc ports attached through some circuitry into the LPC port. In addition to legacy devices the LPC port can also be used to connect an IR port, Smart Card Reader, or External Bios - points in a 3rd generation chip install, 2 columns, 8 rows, filled with solder in a v1.0 xbox

Matrix - A Cheapmod chip with pogopins. Manufactured by Team Xodus.

Media Flags - each game has a value according to what media it is on. retail games have flags for dvds, so you have to patch it to run off the hard drive (change the media flag)

MediaXMenu - based on MenuX, a popular open source dashboard/multigame launcher. Has a powerfull scripting language, as well as HIGHLY customizable skins. User is able to play music, display preview icons, and videos. Check out the MXM forum on xbox-scene.com.

MenuX - a hacked version of MS's Game Demo menus. Used for multigame discs

Milksop - A homebuilt TSOP programmer which uses a TSOP test-clip or other attachment method to program the TSOP without the cooperation of the xbox hardware. Modchip - holds bios, makes xbox boot to the bios held instead of onboard bios

Molex - the standardized 4 pin connector attached to the hard drive, the Red wire is +5V, the Yellow wire is +12V and the Black Wires are Ground

MXM - See MediaXMenu

NexGen - another custom dash, early in development. shows potential, beta is a bit too buggy for some

NTSC - National Television System Committee refers to both the global region the Xbox comes from as well as the video signal standard that is produced.

NTSC-NA refers to North America and

NTSC-J refers to Japan; the video signal output b$ an NTSC Xbox is 60Hz

PAL - Phase Alternation by Line, refers to both the global region the Xbox comes from as well as the video signal standard that is produced, PAL Xbox.s come from Europe, the video signal output by an PAL Xbox is 50Hz

Parallel - see LPT Patching - retail games need to be patched to run off the harddrive. x2 bios all automatically patch older games for you on the fly, and x2 version 4975 does the new ones as well

Pot tweaking - tweaking a potentiometer in an Xbox DVD drive (usually a thompson or phillips brand) to make it read discs better, note this method doesn't always work and sometimes damages the drive.

Programmer - any way to externally flash your modchip, using a pc

PSU - Power Supply Unit

RTFM - short for Read The F#*&ing Manual, usally said to a person that asks way too many questions that can be found in the manual.

SPI - Serial Peripheral Interface. A serial interface in which a master device supplies clock pulses to exchanges data serially with a slave over two data wires (Master-Slave and Slave-Master). This term probably originated with Motorola in about 1979 with their first all-in-one microcontroller.

"The Usual Places" - Places for obtaining xbox files. Often newsgroups, irc rooms (such as #xbins on EFnet)

Torx - A star-shaped screwdriver tip/receptacle in the head of screws. Many/most modern electronics use Torx screws as they are easy for robotic assembly drivers to align. Torx bits can be purchased wherever fine tools are sold.

Trace - A path of conductive material such as copper, silver, or gold, on the surface of or sandwiched inside a PCB, printed circuit board. Individually, these traces are often refered to as a "run." Traces carry electrical signals from one electronic component to another, with minimal use of space. In other words, traces are all the small lines you see on a PCB (printed circuit board).

TSOP - Thin Small Outline Package - the onboard bios chip, can be flashed with a hacked bios as a cheap alternative to a modchip. switches can even be installed. dangerous though, you might ruin your xbox

Xbins - #xbins it is an channel on IRC for homebrew games and files

XDK (SDK) - Xbox Developer Kit (Software developer kit) used to make games and apps for use on the Xbox

Xecuter/Xecuter2/Xecuter3 - A bios series, and chips series currently in development, made by Team

Xecuter. x2/x3 - see Xecuter/Xecuter2/Xecuter3

Xenium - 4th generation chip, made by Team OzXodus

Ybox - a bios version that looks for yboxdash.xbe when booting up, so you can keep your original dashboard intact. most bios search for evoXdash.xbe now, so it usually isnt necessary.