Probably both. The original probably experienced the RRoD, and had the mobo and/or DVD-ROM drive swapped out. A friend of mine used to try to fix 360's the same way, and they often failed within a couple months after the refurb. It's just due to the nature of the system defects, refurbs tend not to last. Imo, you are better off getting an Elite+extended warranty (from a place that doesn't check under the faceplate) and hoping for the best. It can be modded, but flashing the FK79 is out of most people's league. The key is to find someone who is skilled at soldering and willing to give it a try. That can be hard to find in the U.S. There's always a chance you'll get a BenQ which can be flashed completely via software. Another possibility is finding a pre-owned 360 with a Samsung or older model Hitachi drive.

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today i bought a xbox 360 arcade version brand new

didnt open it up to see what drive is in it yet

as i read more on doing this flash thing it says i need a floppy or usb flash drive which i dont have

1 gig usb flash drive is like $10 max.....good to have one regardless.

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Yeah it's best to use a smaller one... sometimes people have issues with flash drives 1GB and over when flashing the 360. A 128MB or 256MB one is ideal, Xtreme Boot Maker or iPrep will format it to FAT32 and create a boot disk. From what I've read, a USB boot disk is much safer and reliable than using a floppy disk. The first thing to do, is find out which drive DVD-ROM drive you have. When flashing Hitachi drives, no boot disk is necessary. I'm not sure if you can spot BenQ drives externally. You can tell if it's a Hitachi or Samsung drive by ejecting the disc tray and comparing it to this pic:

Click to view the original image

Once you know what DVD-ROM drive you have, then you can worrying about getting the necessary tools for the flash ready.

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looks like benq?so i need a usb flash drive ?

It looks like it's a BenQ, the grooves and slots don't match either the Samsung or Hitachi. You be the judge: Xbox 360 DVD Drive Comparison How to determine which version DVD drive you have in your Xbox 360, Samsung, Hitachi, Benq

Click to view the original image

If it's a BenQ, then you can flash it completely via software. You will need to dissemble the 360 to be 100% sure, but it looks like a BenQ. Here's a guide for flashing the BenQ:

How to: Mod XBOX 360 with Benq drives w/ VIA CHIPSET « The Rabbit Hole

I don't believe you need to use a floppy disc, a USB flash drive is definitely the preferred method. All the necessary files for flashing can be found on xbins.

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i got my hacked firmware to my 256 mb flash drive(hope its a benq didnt open it yet as i read there are 2 ways to flash the benq ? i wanted to know if i can use one or the other


zSHARE - benq-iprep006-tutorial.pdf

zSHARE - benq-manual-tutorial.pdf


i can use the first one ?

From what I can tell, it just looks like the second guide may be an alternative to using iPrep exclusively. I've read using Xtreme Boot Maker to create the boot disk is more reliable than iPrep. It was very easy to use when attempting to flash my Samsung. I think you should be ok using the first guide, as long as you follow the instructions to the letter. It doesn't look like the part about erasing the original firmware from BenQ drives apply to you, that looks like it's for VIA chipsets only. You have an nForce 4 series if you recall. It's your call, go with whatever method you are most comfortable with. Be sure to follow all the safety precautions to the letter, and always keep a backup of your orig.bin (created after dumping original firmware) on a USB stick or disc somewhere. It contains your drive key and original firmware, if you ever need to flash the 360 back to stock for whatever reason.

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thx

quore>>and always keep a backup of your orig.bin (created after dumping original firmware) on a USB stick or disc somewhere


in first method it dont say about it saving the origonal firmware?
or does it save it to the usb flash drive automatically

Yes I believe it does. The original firmware is usually saved as orig.bin. Just to be safe, backup all the files on flash drive.

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