how to get the perfect xbox live connection

Step 1:
Static IP on PC(Windows Vista)

Open up the start menu, and click Run.Type cmd or command in the Open;box. This will bring up a black window. Type ipconfig/all in the window and press Enter. A screen similar like this should pop up.



I want you to write down some of the information in this window. Take down the IP address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, and Name Servers. Make sure to note which is which. We are going to use this information a little bit later. We are only concerned with IPv4 entries, you can ignore the IPv6 stuff.

The name server entries are a bit complicated. Name Server is just another name for DNS(domain name server) server. Some router's act as a proxy between the actual name servers and your computer. You will know when this is the case, because the Default Gateway will list the sameip address as the Name Servers entry. We need to have the correct Name Server IP addresses. If we do not, you will not be able to browse the web. There are a couple ways to get these. The first way is to log into your router's web interface, and look at your router's status page. On that page you should see an entry for DNS Servers, or Name Servers. Write down the ip adresses of your Name Servers. Another way to get the correct Name Servers to use, is to give your ISP a call. They should know the ip addresses of your Name Servers right off. If they ask you why you need them, you can tell them you are trying to setup astatic IP address on your computer. If they try to sell you a static external ip address, don't buy it. That's an entirely different thing that what you are trying to setup.
Type exit in this window, then press the enter key to close it

Now click Control Panel, double click Network and Sharing Centre and single click Manage Network Connections on the left side of your screen.You may have several network connections in this window. I want you to right click on the one you use to connect to the internet. Then click properties,then click on [b] Internet Protocol Version 4 and then click properties.

You should now see a screen like this.

Before you make any changes, write down the settings that you see on this page. If something goes wrong you can always change the settings back to what they were! You should see a dot in the Obtain anIP address automatically box. If you do not, your connection is already setup for a static ip. Just close all these windows and you are done.
Pick an ip address and enter it into the IP Address box. The ip address you choose should be very similar to the router's ip addres. Only the last number of the ip address should be different. If the router's ip address is 192.168.1.1, I might choose 192.168.1.10. The ip address you choose should end with a number between 1 and 254, and should not be the same as the router's ip address. Every device that connects to your network needs to have it's own ip address. Put the subnet mask we previously found in the subnet mask section. The default gateway should go into the Default gateway box. Enter the dns servers we prevoiusly found into the two DNS Server boxes. Click okay all the way out of this menu. If you find that you can not pull up webpages, the problem is most likely the dns numbers you entered. Give your ISP a call, and they will be able to tell you which dns servers to use. This is a question they answer all of the time. They will be able to tell you what you should use right away. That's it you should be done! If you can'tconnect to the internet go back and change your configuration back to what it originally was.

Now moving on to Step 2
Creating Static IP on Xbox 360
This i had the most trouble with,and dont worry once your run the tests it might say your NAT is strict even it isnt,thats when theport forwarding comes in

Turn on your xbox and go across to system settings,then click Network and edit settings.Sorry for the old Dashboard Pic but its basically the same navigation as the new one.Click on both parts and click Manual instead of Automatic.Now enter your details.


These may be helpful for people who have these routers
Linksys
IP Address : 192.168.1.250
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.1.1
DNS : 192.168.1.1
D-Link
IP Address : 192.168.0.250
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.0.1.
DNS : 192.168.0.1
Netgear
IP Address : 192.168.0.250
Subnet Mask : 255.255.255.0
Gateway : 192.168.0.1
DNS : 192.168.0.1

Enter the the ip address you want to use for your Xbox 360 into this page. It's important to choose an ip address that not in your router's dhcp range. You can check this by login in to your router and looking at it's dhcp or LAN page. Alternatively you can just pick an ip address that is not close to the ip address your xbox was previously using. For instance if your xbox was using something like 192.168.0.2, then you would want the new ip address to be something like 192.168.0.200. If your xbox was using something like 192.168.0.240, then you would want the new ip address to be something like 192.168.0.2. Only the last group of numbers on the ip address should change, and that group of numbers would range from 2 to 254. Please, don't over think this just pick a number and go with it. I have just tried to provide some guidelines here so you can pick a better number. Once you are done entering theip address press the A button.The subnet mask for almost all home networks is 255.255.255.0.At GatewayEnter the ip address of your router into this page. Your router is your network's gateway. Then push the A buttonOnce everything is filled in then run a Test.It may pop up with a msg explaing you have a Strict NAT. If youre having problems its most likely the DNS Servers.Can be retrived on the Routers Config page or by calling your ISP.
Now its time for Step 3
Port Forwarding on the Router

Now this part is pretty quick and easy if you got everything working. Im describing the tutorial i did to my Netopia 2247-02 but most are quite the same.Note IP Address is most likely different to the one you will be using. This site called ''portforwarding' is really helpful.This link is for the good of man kind

http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding

Open a web browser like internet explorer or Netscape. Enter the ip address of your router in the address bar of your browser. In the picture above the address bar has http://www.google.com in it. Just replace all of that with the ip address of your router. By default the ip address should be set to 192.168.1.254. A box may pop up prompting for a username and password. at default it is admin (username) and admin1(password) Now you should be at a page which may look similar to this.

Be sure firewall is set to Low or Off and NAT is on.
Now click on Expert Mode,click OK. Click Configure,then Advanced and NAT.You should come to a page like this

Now we click Define Custom Service,click Port Forwarding NOT Port Triggering and should come to a page like this:

We have to do this 3 times filling in different info.
in number 1:
Service Name: XboxLive3601
Protocol: TCP
(external)Global Port Range: 3074 - 3074
(internal)Base Host Port: 3074

Number 2:
Service Name: XboxLive3602
Protocol :UDP
Global Port: Range 88 - 88
Base Host :Port 88

Number 3:
Service Name :XboxLive3603
Protocol :UDP
Global Port Range :3074 - 3074
Base Host Port :3074

You may also have to enter the IP Address that the xbox 360 is using.
Once they are done click on the arrow that will show a list of services.At the bottom will show your custom services.Click on the first one and click Enable.You will be on a page that will ask you to chose the Host Device.The IP Address of the 360 should be visible.Click that and confirm.Repeat process with the other 2.

Now there is one final thing.Underneath Define Custom Service button click on Static NAT and click on your 360's IP to be Static. And that page should look like this:


Dont forget you will be restarting your router a few times for changes to take affect

And thats if your finally finished!!!.This method is 100% to at least improve your connection with friends and defeat that LAG! For people who you couldnt connect with you should be able to, if not its their router not yours. So far its been going well and it works like a charm.

12v fan mod

ok this is my first go at this tut stuff so be gental lol i do my mod this way cuz i like to remove the fans without having to cut the 12v wire
i like the 12v source under the power plug you can use the one from the dvd drive if you like


under the fan plug there is 3 little tips sticking out or 4 if ur fans have 4 plugs make a bridge of solder to the 2 5v prongs if you have the one with the 3 prongs its the outside 2 if you have 4 of em just connect the red and the brown

once your done with that test it before putting it all back together and if all is well put some hot glue on the connectiongs to pervent them from rattling off or grounding out this is what it will look like when ur done


now put everything back together

FIX THE RROD

Tools of Trade
What you need to have is a set of Screw Drivers, among them a Torx 10(T10) and a Torx 8(T8) screw drivers. Other than that the fix itself will require the following:

- Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste
- 32 5mm flat washers
- 8 M5 x .8 x 10mm screws

You should be able to buy AS5 for under $10, and the rest should not cost more than $5, if you don't already have washers and screws. You can pick those up at any hardware department store.


STEP 1 Opening Up The Xbox 360

	First things first remove the faceplate. If you skip this step and go on to removing the top and bottom plates you will find they can be removed but you greatly increase the difficulty and chances of breaking the little tabs off the top and bottom plates. The easiest way to remove the face is to use the finger hole at the bottom of the console and simply pull forward.
	Give her a good tug and pop!
	Starting with the gray bottom vent plate, six tabs that hold it into place. You will find that all of them are accessible from the sides through the vent holes. Gently pull up on the plate and simultaneously release the clips by pushing in with the opening tool or other tool that fits through the hole.
	Start at the front of the case and work your way back alternating sides so each pair of tabs are released.
	Keep gentle pressure to pull it up and away as you go
	The top plate offers a bit more of a challenge 3 of the six tabs are not in plain sight, begin with the front two, they can be accessed from the two corresponding holes where the drive tray connects. The opening tool has a cut out so it fits just right to reach the two clips.
	The next two are visible through the vent holes and easily accessible.
	The final tab can be released by removing one of the Xbox feet at the rear to reveal a hole
	With the top and bottom vent covers removed we now lay the xbox down upside down. This makes the process much easier as the chassis is screwed to the top. With the bottom shell, (the one with the feet) pointing toward the sky we see these innocent looking 7 little holes.
	This is where the opening tool really comes into play. When releasing the clips I find it helpful to spread the case with my thumb and forefinger, then position the tool so the tool lines up with the two holes by the power cord.
	Press in on the tool, you should hear crisp clicks as the clips release and the case should pop open a bit.
	Continue to spread the case apart and push in on the vent area, there are a couple more spots where the case connects but these are not clips and do not require the tool. When you press in nothing too impressive will happen but you may notice that the case spreads slightly further apart.
	Then flip the tool around and line up the 5 tabs with the corresponding holes. Continue spreading the case apart from the right side and press the tool in.
	You should hear a series of more click clicks and the case is free. Spread the back apart a couple inches it should be able to rest open while you spin it arround to work on the front
	Begining with the front clip nearest the DVD drive a fingernail will suffice as an opening tool. A little pressure spreading the lid apart and it should pop right open
	same with the next clips
	and the last
	Lift the lid and ta-da a steel chassis presents itself, in this photo the six screws that need to be removed are circled. You should be very proud at this point shout to anyone that will listen "I got the thing open!" Okay now settle down and remove those six screws with a torx 10 driver.
	Flip it back right side up but before yanking the other half of the case off remove the eject button. Just jamb a fingernail under the right hand side and give a yank it will pop out. You can wiggle the case around and get it off without removing this but the chance of damage drops to zero if you already took it off.
	Lift the lid and there we go! This is another good time for shouting to anyone in the room... use your best judgment.
	You should now have a plie of parts that looks something like this.

STEP 2 FIXING RROD

Once you have taken a part (well partially) your 360, you should by now have something that looks like this


Now lets remove the motherboard from the metal casing. Look at the powerswitch in the front. There are 3 Torx8 (T8) screws that you must remove. One of them is concealed by that white light diffuser. Memorize the position it is attached, so that you don't accidently clip it on wrong, just to find out your 360 won't turn on AFTER you reassemble it.


After you remove the T8 screws, simply pull out the chip and set it aside. In some versions of the 360 there are a bunch of T8 screws that hold the motherboard from the bottom of the case. Unscew those, and your motherboard should come out of the metal casing.


Flip the motherboard over and face the culprit that has plagued your 360. Microsoft's ingenuis Xclamps design. These Xclamps are the reason why your Xbox 360 gets the 3 red lights. My guess is that somebody got really stoned one night and decided to hold in these brackets by pressure, instead of the logical, conventional... screws. Instead of evenly distrubiting the pressure, it pushes down on the back of the cpu and gpu chips. When the 360 gets hot, the motherboard flexes. The combination of that and the xclamps pressing down on the chips causes the cheap bga solder connections underneath the chips to break. This is why the towel trick temporarily fixes this, it reflows the solder to create the connections again, but the xclamps are still there to screw it up again.



Indulge yourself in prying those pieces of **** off the motherboard. I used pliers to get them off, but be VERY cautious not to damage the motherboard itself while you're at it. You must pry off 2 out of 4 ends before they pop off.



After removing the Xclamps, flip the mobo over to remove the heatsinks from the CPU(left) and the GPU(right, 2 chips; 1 big 1 small). Now stop, and lets take a moment to applaud to microsoft's awesome thermal paste job, it looks like very few of it actually ended up on the CPU/GPU to conduct the heat released from the chips to the heatsinks. Great job microsoft.


Use a 1/4" socket to remove the screws from both heatsinks.


Lets get the screws ready before we apply the thermal paste. I recommend putting 1 washer on the screw and then 2 washers between the motherboard and the heatsinks so that in case you tighten the screws a little too tight the heatsink won't crush the chip. Now you are ready to apply the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.


But before that, I would suggest that you scrub off Microsoft's thermal paste off the heatsinks AND the chips, be careful though not to actually damage the chips. Now put some AS5 on the CPU and on both chips of the GPU. Apply a reasonable amount of this stuff, don't drown the chips in it because it might actually all get squeezed off the chips(just like it did for MS) if you apply too much pressure when screwing back the heatsinks.





Top image is the GPU(2 chips)
Bottom is the CPU



Now it's time to put the heatsinks back on the CPU & GPU with the thermal paste on. Like I said before it is best to put 2 washers between the motherboard and the heatsinks.




The tricky part is to actually screw in the screws onto the heatsinks without flipping the motherboard over. For the obvious reason of course. What I did was simply lift the motherboard up with my hand and turn the screws clockwise until they firmly held the heatsink in place. If you find that a little difficult you can slide the mobo over to the edge of the table just so you can screw them in. Don't screw them in too tight, just enough so that it holds it in place.


You should have something that resembles the picture below. Once again do not overtighten the screws, and don't let them hang there too loosely.


Now plug the front panel(where the On button is) back on, and also the fan. Do not put the heatpipe or the DVD rom in place yet though.


Plug the Xbox in to the power supply and the AV cable.


And turn it on using a remote or your controller. Most likely your 360 will still have the 3 red lights, and the reason for that is because the solder connections are still broken. Let's fix that...


And by let's fix it I mean let's let it fix itself. Turn the 360 on without the heatpipe so that it over heats and resolders the connections. If you get 2 red lights that means the screws are too loose. Correct that and let it stay on for about 10 minutes, until the fan gets to full power. I just let mine overheat until it turned itself off not to fry the CPU/GPU. After it goes off(or you turn it off) let it stand for about 10 more minutes without touching it(otherwise you're screwed if you move it after it resoldered the connections).


Now turn it back on and it should have green lights. If the AV cable isn't plugged you will get 4 red lights, if it is plugged in to your TV, then you probably squeezed the thermal paste off the CPU and GPU while readjusting the screws. My first time repairing the 360 I had to take out the mobo from the metalcasing about a dozen times to make sure everything was done correctly, so if your first time isn't a charm either try the above process several times to get it working.


After you get the green lights, take it a part again(last time I promise) to tighten the heatsinks' screws. Play around with your 360 before closing it up, make sure it works properly.