Xecuter 3 Installation Tutorial
Pin Header : v1.0 - v1.5

This tutorial will guide you through installing the Xecuter 3 modchip by using the pin header installation method. If you follow this tutorial carefully you should have absolutely no problems whatsoever. You should be aware that the Pin Header install is the absolute most highly recommended method of installation, after all the LPC port is SUPPOSED to have a pin header soldered to it in the first place. A wires install should only really be used for those who have the LPC holes filled in with solder (v1.0).
Tools needed: Torx 10 & 20 screw drivers. Good quality soldering iron and solder (doesn't need to be expensive - a basic 15watt $15 iron will do the job just as well as a $500 iron). Some flux paste / flux pen is always recommended along with some electrical tape. These items are not essential but guarantee a perfect job.

NOTE: If you have an Xecuter 3CE then you should follow this updated tutorial written by tehsoul (It's basically the same as the one on this page - just a few updated pictures.)

Rules for good soldering

Use a reasonable quality iron of the correct wattage for the job.
Use "electronic" resin cored solder of fine gauge.
Make sure all surfaces to be soldered are "bright, shiny" and thoroughly clean.
Make sure the solder tip is clean, shiny and properly "wetted".
Remember the soldering iron tip is only to heat up the surfaces to be soldered.
Apply the resin cored solder to the heated "job", not to the soldering iron tip.
Remember to visually inspect ALL of your soldered joints, preferably with magnifying glasses.
Consider using a multimeter to provide an "electrical continuity" check between various parts of the circuit.

Let's see what you get in your X3 kit. As you are aware we always give you a great package of options, we don't skimp on quality of build or components supplied. We like to make sure you have all the adapters and wire harnesses that you would ever need, regardless if some of the items are of no use to your particular installation. Cutting costs = cutting quality and service. The items that will be used in EVERY installation are (1) (3) (4) & (8). (2) & (7) are optional as the switch module is not actually needed for everything to work, however its a cool piece of kit which adds excellent function to your mod install (LAN LED, HDD LED, Manual Switches, Flash Protect, Mod Status LED). (5) is required for a v1.6 install only. (9) is required for a pin header install only. (6) & (10) is required for a wires install only.

Use a Torx 20 Screwdriver. Lift up the sticky pads in the 4 corners and unscrew the bolts. You will also find 2 screws underneath the silver patent sticker and also underneath the barcode/date sticker. Now remove the top cover to reveal the Hard Drive and DVD Rom unit.

Now using a Torx 10 screwdriver, locate the 3 screws that bolt the DVD Rom and Hard Drive to the chassis and unscrew.

1. Unplug the Hard Drive Power Connector
2. Unplug the Hard Drive IDE Cable
3. Remove the Hard Drive from the Xbox chassis
4. Remove The DVD Rom from the Xbox chassis
5. Unplug the Hard Drive IDE cable from the Xbox motherboard
6. Unplug the DVD Rom power cable from the Xbox motherboard

Now you have a clear view of the Xbox motherboard. The first thing you should do is locate the LPC port. This is the area you will be soldering the pin header to. As you can see the holes are clean and ready to go. Only old machines have solder in these holes (v1.0 ) the newer machines are all unfilled (v1.1 - v1.6). If you wish to remove solder from any filled holes - simply add flux, put some fresh solder on each hole and heat it up a little them simply use some solder braid to remove.

Next job is to remove the Xbox motherboard from the Xbox chassis. First unplug all the connectors from the motherboard to prevent any stress when removing, then use a Torx 10 screwdriver to remove all 11 screws. The diagram illustrates this clearly just to give you a little confidence. Please note the picture is that of a v1.0 (You can tell by the fan over the GPU). The v1.1 - v1.6 looks a little different but its pretty much the same process.

There you have it. The Xbox motherboard is now removed and ready to work with. Not so hard at all was it? For your reference the motherboard in the picture is that of a v1.4 (Focus Video Encoder)

You should be aware that the LPC on the Xbox was DESIGNED to have a pin header installed. All Xbox Dev kits come with a pin header from factory - so its obvious this is the best install method, not only cleaner but more secure. You should note that pin 4 and pin 16 is removed. The pictures show very clearly how and where to connect this to the Xbox motherboard. The pin header is item 9 on the parts list.

You may want to tape the pin header to the Xbox motherboard before turning it over to make sure you get all the pins showing to their full length. After turning the Xbox motherboard over you can see exactly where you have to solder. This part is probably the easiest soldering you will ever have to do - its fast and simple and is basic 1 on 1 soldering techniques. Just take your time and you'll do fine. As you can see in the pictures the before and after shots show you how simple and clean it really is.

Now to solder the wires from the RED/GREEN/GRAY adapter (Item 8 on the parts list). Green is LAN LED, Red is Hard Drive LED, Gray is D0. For those that don't know D0 is used to switch between your Xbox bios and modchip bios - sending a ground signal to the D0 line forces the Xbox to boot from the LPC port, when a ground signal is not sent then your Xbox boots as if there is no modchip; all enable/disable functions are performed by the modchip of course. As you can see the D0 points have a slightly different layout on v1.0-v1.1 boards than they do on v1.2-v1.5 boards. These 3 points are again very easy, they are direct solder points and no difficult vias (like the ones where many people had problems with the D0 on TOP of the motherboard). These are the last soldering points you will have to do.

This is how everything should look once you have soldered. Like we said before it doesn't look difficult does it ? Once you are confident that your solder points are solid you should tape the cable in place and attach to the X3 as illustrated. The X3 is item 1 on the parts list.

NOTE: Before fitting the chip to the pin header we recommend you tape up the alt 5v pin (top right just above the backup flash rom) to insulate against any possible shorts. You should always make sure you use a little diligence and common sense when toying with electrical components.

Now we are going to connect the Power/Eject No Solder Adapter (Item 3 on parts list).

1. Unplug the Yellow cable that connects to the Xbox's Power/Eject buttons.
2. Plug in the Power/Eject No Solder Adapter
3. Remove the backing tape and fix to the Xbox chassis
4. Plug the Yellow cable into the adapter
5. Plug in the X3 Power/Eject cable (Item 4 on parts list)
6. Connect the X3 Power/Eject cable to the X3 as illustrated

Here is an overview shot of how everything should look so far. The Xbox used here is a v1.4 (Focus Encoder)

Now to connect the external switch. We are going to route the cable by removing the game pad port from the left side of the case (Game Ports 1 & 2). You will need to use a Torx 10 screwdriver.

1. Unscrew 2 Torx 10 screws from the gamepad port.
2. Take care in removing from the Xbox chassis
3. This is the gap where we are going to thread the switch cable
4. Take your time in thread the cable - do one socket at a time it can be a little fiddly
5. Connect the X3 switch
6. Remove the backing paper and stick to the Xbox as shown
7. Re-connect the gamepad port - take care in making sure the switch cable is sitting nice and flat (put some electrical tape over the wires to protect from any damage.
8. Connect to the X3 modchip as illustrated

This is how everything should look at this stage. In fact you are actually done - that's the entire X3 installation process finished. 

Connect up your DVD Rom and Hard Drive to the Xbox motherboard and then plug in your AV cable. Now power up the Xbox with a quick tap of the power button. If you have followed everything correctly you should get a bright blue X3 logo on your switch panel. This means that the mod is booting from the main 2MB Flash Rom and everything is functioning correctly. Your TV screen should show FlashBIOS v3.x. To test disabling the mod simply press and hold the power button until the X3 Logo shines bright red. It shouldn't be longer than a second. You will now see your Xbox booting with the X3 disabled and the TV screen should show your Xbox booting up as normal with the Green X Logo.  To test booting from your 256k backup Flash Rom you need to press BOTH your power button and eject button at the same time. The X3 logo should sine bright purple (a mix between the Blue and Red LED's). Your TV screen should show FlashBIOS v3.x

SUCCESS !!