According to this , Microsoft not only bans a modified Xbox 360 console from Xbox Live if it is found to be modified, the console manufacturer actively disables the hard drive and Windows Media Center functionality as a consequence of modifying the console.
Read More for the full message being sent to Xbox 360 users with banned consoles.
Update: There are two new updates to the original story below the main article.
- 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 the console 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 banned console. 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: 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.
Consumer advocacy issues notwithstanding, this demonstrates how far Microsoft is willing to go to keep people from using their console, usually claiming that it is fighting piracy and cheating in online games when there is no substantial proof of the activity.
Update: Below is a found demonstrate how to check if the console has been banned:
Update 2: Reports (, ) are now surfacing that Xbox 360 owners that have not modified their consoles in anyway have been affected by the latest ban wave, with Microsoft customer service actively refusing assistance on the grounds that the system for detecting pirates and players that cheat as “foolproof”.
Update 3: Another has surfaced regarding the increased availability of “used” modified consoles on Craigslist for as low as $90, with the caveat that Microsoft is refusing to extend the warranty to used consoles that have been modified and subsequently banned, leaving customers that unknowingly purchase a modified console on their own in terms of help.
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71 Responses to “Microsoft Disables Hard Drives on Banned Xbox 360 Consoles (Update with Video)”
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Your tag and score is ok.
How can you download games on to your hard drive if your xbox is banned? Is there still a way?
Move it to another console that isn't banned. Your saves won't work though.
if a 360 with a flashed drive required an update (dashboard), is there any risk of any of the things mentioned in this article (drive installs, corrupt saves, loss of achievements etc) if I just update it offline via usb key? also don't plan on using xbl so is it still possible for that to happen to the console or does it need to be connected for the update to take action if the console is found to be flashed.
thanks.
so let me get this right if you use a flashed 360 that hasent been online since last month it would work? but what happens if you were online when the ban hit does your hd still corupt the profile for going on a flashed 360 that hasent gone online????
I am trying to read all the comments and I read the article – I just have one question that's not quite clear to me -i bought a banned xbox (on purpose) – my boyfriend doesn't have internet so live isn't an issue – i just wanted to replace has ps2 that has finally died
anyway….. it doesn't have a harddrive so i was wondering can i buy one or a memory stick to save games on like i normally would and can you still get achievements and will they save normally – thankst
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ok well this is freakin bullcrap i dont have any mods or anything, im just a regular kid who wants to get on live and i cant, havent been on xblox live for like a month, got on a month later and it said i had been banned, does anyone know who i can talk to to even get the console fixed or looked at, i didnt do anything, they cant just take my xbox away from me for no explanation or reasoning behind it, someone give me an explanation!
I used the offline test to see if my console was banned. It is banned. Can I connect my hard drive to a clean Xbox buy DLC, and place my hard drive back on my banned console without losing my access to the DLC? In other words, will I lose my DLC Rock Band songs?
I am one of the newbs who got banned this November.
I don't realy mind being banned from LIVE.
The one question I have.
I hate it that I'n not able to Install/Play Games from my 120g Hard Drive.
Is there ANYWAY to fix this?
That would be perfect!
I dont use Live except for updates. Online part doesn't interest me because i don't want to pay for Live service. It is same story for any online game: pay&play. Well, i won't. Majority of X360 games are overpriced and most of the services that Live offers are basically free (game trailers & demos, rent-a-movie, facebook, MSN … ).
I cant play HALO or COD online. Big deal. I have PC for that. Coop game? Please…. As for media extender, X360 is great! i have DNLA server (tversity, freeNAS, MCE) so this option is really great! And what happens? MS cripples my console because i modified it. It is my device and i will do with it anything that I like. As I said, I don't use Live. I don't need it and I don't want it. So who give them the right to disable any other feature than f*ckn Live? I'm not pissed off because my console is banned (actually, it is not, i keep my x360 offline). I'm pissed off because I can't connect to Internet and get FW updates. And other thing, does MS send a note, email, message or something to inform me that my console have ban status?
ok, sorry if this has been asked before but i didn't see this exact question anywhere… i have an unbanned and unmodified xbox and and am looking to buy a banned modified xbox to only play offline with it. will i be able to use the hard drive from my unbanned xbox on the banned xbox to get achievements? there is no corrupted data on the drive, will the data get corrupted even if i play the flashed xbox offline only?
If your xbox gets banned but you get a new console and keep the same hard drive, can you play on xbox live or is it your hard drive that get banned? help please thank you
If your xbox gets banned but you get a new console and keep the same hard drive, can you play on xbox live or is it your hard drive that get banned? help please thank you
If you put your unbanned machines HDD onto the banned/modified machine, it will corrupt the gamer tag and will not save any of the achievements, as soon as it goes back onto the unmodified machine you will have to recover the gamertag and you will have lost the achievements.
I have one modded console and one console for XBL, but I'm not so bothered by my gamerscore
You don't have a right to complain about what they disable. You didn't have the right to modify it, you didn't have the right to download/purchase illegal copies of games and save hundreds of dollars. If you'd put the money for the games you stole aside everytime you got one, you'd have enough to buy a new xbox and gold membership.
Quit your bitching
FTR – I have a banned and modified console, I'm just not complaining about it
@Mike: You’re right. Those are the rules and we all know them, but M$ shouldn’t deactivate other functionality other than Live. NOT ALL PEOPLE modifies their console to steal games… sometimes it’s for using burned back up discs to protect the investment made in original game discs, specially where they have kids. Besides, it’s totally legal to have/make a back up copy of your software.
Now, here goes the question… The Xbox I bought with MY money: is it mine or M$? If the hardware is mine I can do what ever I goddamn please with it, at the risk of losing my warranty.
In my country, hackers sell the new FW updates and install them for around US$15.oo, so I won’t need FW updates from XBL ever!
@Mrak: M$ won’t send any mail informing you your console was banned. In stead you’ll get a nice black box on screen with some error codes and if you try to test your internet connection you’ll get a different add that reads you can’t connect to live because you are banned and you can test your connection and confirm it works but not get online.
I hate online gaming and coop game mode, I love playing alone thank you. I agree with Mrak: I won’t pay another dime to play already overpriced games.
I have a doubt though: Do you get banned even if you never sign up for an Xbox Live account (silver or gold, it doesn’t matter)? I just wanna use the media center feature in my home network, not play online games , connect to XBL or download updates. Somebody could shed some light on the matter please?