226 CHAPTER 10 Xbox Media Center FIGURE 10.28 Locating videos on the Xbox hard drive is as easy as pointing and clicking. ~OD~ -~ FIGURE 10.29 The Xbox Media Center video player supports a wide variety of video formats. Weather The Weather screen is a nice option that rounds out this great Dashboard. You need to configure the Weather settings so that this screen reflects your part of the world. You can use an interna- tional region code or a ZIP code for your city to see the current weather forecast for your area. Figure 10.32 shows The Weather Channel on your Xbox, with data provided by http://www.weatheLcom. Running Xbox Media Center 227 FIGURE 10.30 You can modify the video settings during playback. FIGURE 10.31 You can modify the video settings during playback. To set your local area, select Settings, Weather to configure up to three locales that you wish to see in the Weather screen. Using the Search option next to each locale (shown in Figure 10.33), you are given a virtual keyboard with which to enter a search value. You can search by ZIP code, city name, or international code. Type in the name of the city in which you live using the virtual keyboard, as shown in Figure 10.34. 228 CHAPTER 10 Xbox Media Center FIGURE 10.32 You can view the current weather forecast for your local area. FIGURE 10.33 You can enter a search value to change the locale. Typing phoenix into the search field brings up a list of matches from the weather database at http://www.weather.com (see Figure 10.35). You can scroll through the list to find the city you are looking for. W11en you select one of the locations, it is entered into that position (of which there are three in XBMC). You can then return to the main menu and open the Weather screen to view the new locations you have selected (see Figure 10.36). Running Xbox Media Center 229 FIGURE 10.34 Typing in the search criteria for a locale. FIGURE 10.35 The search criteria resulted in a list of matches. Settings At this point, I believe you have seen enough of the options in XBMC to make your way through the Setting screen without requiring an overview of it. The Settings screen (shown in Figure 10.37) includes many options for customizing the functionality of XBMC, so I encourage you to browse each of the configuration pages within the Settings screen to see whether there are any options that you would like to use to personalize XBMC for your needs. 230 CHAPTER 10 Xbox Media Center FIGURE 10.36 Viewing the weather forecast for the newly selected location. FIGURE 10.37 The Settings screen is the place where you go to fully customize XBMC. Summary This chapter provided a complete overview of Xbox Media Center as both an application and installable Dashboard that can be booted up when the Xbox power is turned on. XBMC is a pow- erful media playback application that excels at playing numerous types of audio and video fJ !es. In addition, XBMC comes with a digital photo viewer with thumbnail and slideshow features. Major Hardware Mods CHAPTER 11 Replacing the Xbox Case CHAPTER 12 Upgrading the Xbox Hard Drive CHAPTER 13 Lighting Up the Case CHAPTER 14 Cooling Down Your Xbox APPENDIX A Xbox Resources [...]... Installing the Motherboard Next comes the motherboard Slide the motherboard into the case with the back side first so the LAN, video, and power cord ports are in position Then lay the motherboard flat on the bottom of the case, as shown in Figure 11.28 Stock Cases FIGURE 11.27 Both controller port assemblies have been installed FIGURE 11.28 Removing the motherboard from the case With the motherboard... install the screws to hold down the motherboard (see Figure 11.30) 249 250 CHAPTER 11 Replacing the Xbox Case FIGURE 11.29 The motherboard has been positioned in the case FIGURE 11.30 Screwing down the motherboard Stock Cases Installing the DVD-ROM Tray Panel You insert the DVD-ROM front tray panel onto the front of the DVD-ROM drive by sliding it down over the slots and tabs on the front of the tray,... Replacing the Xbox Case The case cover lifts off after the screws have been removed Figure 11.5 shows the inside of the stock Xbox after the case cover has been removed You must remove three more small screws, and then you can lift out the hard drive and DVD-ROM drive, unplugging the IDE and power cables as you do so FIGURE 11.5 You have gained access inside the Xbox You don't need to remove the hard... sides of the case liner are the best places to lift Small pegs on the bottom of the case hold down the aluminum liner, and three pegs on the inner side of the front panel also hold down the liner Gently tug on the metal to pull it upward, little by little You will want to pull at each corner, as shown in Figure 11.16, and lift the back side higher than the front side to clear the three pegs in the front... slide the front button assembly into the notches on the back side of the new front panel, as shown in Figure 11.36 Then press the top part down until it snaps into the tabs on the panel Be very careful at this stage because you can easily break the small tabs; a tiny dab of lubricating oil is helpful FIGURE 11.36 Inserting the front button assembly into the new front panel The new buttons fit the button... behind the metal liner Fortunately, you can just pull it out with a little tugging at each corner (see Figure 11.14) FIGURE 11.14 The inner aluminum liner inside the Xbox case 241 242 CHAPTER 11 Replacing the Xbox Case Try not to warp or bend the aluminum as you pull on each corner to coerce it out of the case Figure lLl5 shows the side of the case with the liner starting to come up FIGURE 11.15 The sides... plugged into the motherboard But if you happen to have found a replacement case without the front buttons, you'll need to transplant them FIGURE 11.13 The Xbox power supply removed from the case The only way that I've been able to determine to remove the front button assembly is to remove the inner metal liner inside the Xbox case There just doesn't seem to be any other way to get to the assembly,... take the parts from your old Xbox case and assemble them inside the new aftermarket case Aftermarket Cases Installing the Front Button Assembly Let's start with the new front panel Figure 11.35 shows the parts needed to assemble the new front panel; they include the aftermarket clear front panel and buttons, along with the button circuit board that was removed from your old case FIGURE 11.34 The UV-sensitive... have the front panel off, you can then gently lift a small tab above the eject button to remove the button assembly circuit board Two tabs on top of the panel free the button cover, as shown in Figure 11.19 Stock Cases FIGURE 11.16 Lift out the liner by lifting the back side of the liner first FIGURE 11.17 The case liner has been removed 243 244 CHAPTER 11 FIGURE 11.18 FIGURE 11.19 Replacing the Xbox. .. the front, top, and sides The front panel snaps into the front of the case, as shown in Figure 11.38 Be sure to feed the button wire plug through the large hole in the front before snapping the panel in place The sides each have three tabs that must be snapped into place, and one tab on the bottom of the front panel keeps it firmly in place FIGURE 11.38 The clear front panel has been installed on the . case. Figure lLl5 shows the side of the case with the liner starting to come up. FIGURE 11.15 The sides of the case liner are the best places to lift. Small pegs on the bottom of the case hold down the aluminum. a LAN party! After you have completely torn down your old Xbox, you can proceed with the following instructions that will explain how to remove the rest of the parts in your Xbox and install them in. the original case. FIGURE 11.3 The bottom of the stock case. Figure 11.4 shows the back of the stock Xbox. After you have removed the six screws, you can just lift the case upward. If it seems