I. Introduction
Some basics and assumptions (the more you know, the
more you UNDERSTAND):
Crossover cable: A crossover cable is needed to
directly connect your computer and Xbox. You would plug one end of the cable to
your computer and the other end into the Xbox, there are no devices in between.
If you have a hub, switch, or router you will not need a crossover cable though
some still will work with one. With connecting to hubs, switches, or routers
you should use a straight-through cable. The image below shows the difference
between the two:
To easily tell if you have a crossover or not, simply
look at the two ends side by side. If all the pins, 1 through 8 on both ends
are all the same color in the same order, you have a straight-through cable. If
pins 1, 3 and 2, 6 are swapped you have a crossover cable. Notice the TX, RX as
well. This shows why in pc to pc connections a crossover is required. Otherwise
one pc will be transmitting over the same wire the other pc is trying to
transmit on.
This guide currently gives configuration examples for
setting up an FTP connection with Evox, Avalaunch, MXM, or UnleashX as your
dash. It is also recommended to use FlashFXP as your FTP client though many
others will work just fine.
You do not NEED an internet connection to FTP to your
Xbox. When you ftp to your Xbox from a computer in your house to the Xbox in
your house, no packets (data) need to go out to the internet and they shouldn't
even try. The tricky part is when you want to be able to access the internet
and ftp to your Xbox at the same time. How this is done and how difficult it is
depends on the devices you have.
I will not list every baby step involved for how to set
things, like every mouse click required. If you're not sure how to do something
I've said to configure, see number 5 below.
If something is said in this guide that you don't
understand or don't know how to accomplish it, try google. It is a search
engine at http://www.google.com
For example, if I say "Run a command prompt"
but don't mention how; don't go immediately posting in the forums asking how
you run a command prompt. First, try searching in google, "how to run
command prompt windows xp". I'm willing to bet you'll get your answer
faster. Another example, just so we're clear, if I say "turn off your
winxp firewall", you may search in google, "how to turn off windows
xp firewall". Again, I'm betting your answer will come faster.
This guide now has configuration diagrams to help
anyone having difficulty understanding the configuration examples I discuss.
Some people simply do better with visuals. The key for the diagrams is provided
below:
II. Configuration Examples
Find the configuration that best matches what you have.
Reading them all anyway could help your understanding.
1. Computer Direct Connection to Xbox
In this configuration you have your computer and Xbox
directly connected. This direct connection can either be with the crossover
cable, or with a straight-through cable to a hub/switch and then another
straight-through cable from the hub/switch to your Xbox. Both are 'direct'
connections.
2. Computer with two NICs
In this configuration you have two NICs. One possibly
going to a router or a cable or DSL modem, the other you wish to make a direct
connection to your Xbox with. You also have the option of configuring your Xbox
for live, xbconnect, or xlink by enabling it to get out to the internet through
your computer.
3. Computer with one NIC and a router
In this configuration you should have your computer and
Xbox connected to the router. The router's WAN port goes to your cable, DSL
modem, or otherwise out to the internet.
PRE SETUP: Before you begin setting up your
configurations you should cable everything up properly. Make sure your Xbox is
booted up with the dash loaded as well so you can test the settings you will
put in. If you are loading your dash from a CD or DVD, any changes you need to
make to the evox.ini, avalaunch.xml, config.xml or mxm.xml you will need to
re-burn onto the disk then reboot your Xbox with your new boot disk. When
making changes to the evox network settings when booting evox from the hard
drive, make sure you scroll all the way down when you are finished and select
save and exit.
Setting up Configuration 1
This is the simplest setup. Even if you have one of the
other configurations, if you are experiencing problems you can always try this
to help troubleshoot. This configuration can be setup in two different ways as
showed in the Configuration 1a and Configuration 1b diagrams.
Evolution X Dashboard
Basically you can setup the [Network] Section of your
evox.ini to look like this:
[Network]
SetupNetwork = Yes
StaticIP = Yes
Ip = 192.168.0.3
Subnetmask = 255.255.255.0
Defaultgateway =
DNS1 = 0.0.0.0
DNS2 = 0.0.0.0
You may also have SkipifNoLink and you can set that to
No. Also verify your [FTP] Section looks like this:
[FTP]
Enable = Yes
Password = xbox
IGR = No
MXM Dashboard
If you use MXM as your dash in your MXM.xml file you
would want the section to look something like this:
Also just verify there should be an FTPServer section
that looks like this:
Avalaunch Dashboard
Also for Avalaunch make sure you set the username to
this:
UnleashX Dashboard
For UnleashX, edit the config.xml file to look like
this:
Also make sure the FTP section in UnleashX is all
enabled (which is by default) so it should look like this:
If you boot evox with these settings you can verify
your Xbox has the correct IP either by looking on a skin that displays it or in
settings it will display it in blue text up top. You can also look in the other
dashes if you have an IP, if not right on the front screen (via whatever skin
you have) then under a settings sub menu. If you see No Link or No IP! Then
either one of these settings is wrong, you don’t have it connected to your
computer with the correct settings yet, or your crossover cable is bad.
Now on your computer go to the properties of the NIC
that has a crossover cable connected to the Xbox. Click on the Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) and then properties. Enter the following:
IP Address: 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway:
DNS:
That's it. Simple huh? Now set up your FTP Client. For
FlashFXP, install the program and run it. Click on "Site Manager"
then click to create a new site. Name it Xbox or whatever and for the IP enter
192.168.0.3, verify the port is 21. The username and password are both
"xbox", all lower-case and without the quotes. Go to options and
uncheck any check marks on PASV or passive mode if you are using Evox. If you
are using one of the other dashes you can leave PASV checked. Apply the
settings and connect.
If you have your one NIC connection to the internet and
just want to unplug that connection and plug in a crossover to your Xbox when
you want to FTP there is an awesome way to automate changing your NIC settings
from how they need to be set for the internet and how they need to be set for
the crossover to the Xbox. Luckily someone has a perfect tutorial for that and
its here: http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/switch-network.php
If you use Windows XP you shouldn’t even need to bother
with making those scripts. If your one NIC is set to use dhcp for the internet
and when you connect it to your Xbox you always change it to a static address
you can enter that address in the Alternate Configuration tab of your NIC. So
if you go to your NIC properties then select TCP/IP and hit properties you
should see two tabs, a General tab and an Alternate Configuration tab. The
General tab you would leave set for dhcp so when you plug into the internet it
would work. The alternate tab you would enter settings needed to be connected
to your Xbox. Now when you switch your internet connection to the crossover
cable of the Xbox windows should detect your dhcp network is down and try using
the configuration in the alternate tab automatically. In this way you never
have to change your NIC settings even though you are changing from a dhcp
internet connection to a static direct to Xbox connection.
If you are having problems connecting still please read
the Troubleshooting Section.
Setting up Configuration 2
The configuration 2 diagram above shows the most common
setup you would have with 2 NICs in your PC. The only difference between this
and configuration 1 is that the second NIC would have a connection to the
internet for you. Chances are this NIC to the internet is getting a public DHCP
address like 64.238.121.12, or any such number. If this NIC goes to a router,
you may wish to read configuration 3 and you may not need your second NIC at
all. So when the NIC gets DHCP like this it is automatically assigned an ip,
subnet, gateway, dns, etc. so you don't need to do anything else to it. The
only "gotcha" with this configuration is that when you configure your
second NIC that goes direct to the Xbox you may configure it in such a way that
your computer tries to access the internet through that NIC instead of the
correct one with the public DHCP. This is a routing issue and one way to ensure
this doesn't happen is to configure the NIC with the connection to your Xbox
exactly as in configuration 1, specifically making note that you DO NOT enter a
gateway address. Your Xbox itself can also be setup just as in configuration 1.
Refer to the Troubleshooting section if you are having problems and yet are set
up as I described.
So if you connect one of your NICs to a router in this
configuration you may be getting an internal IP like 192.168.x.x instead of an
external IP address. If this is the case make sure the NIC that goes out to the
Xbox is not given an IP address on the same subnet as the NIC going to your
router. For example, when the NIC going to your router and out to the internet
is getting an IP of 192.168.1.x and has a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and the
gateway on this NIC is the IP address of the router, then set the IP address of
the NIC going to your Xbox to 192.168.0.x with a subnet of 255.255.255.0 and
don't enter a gateway. Then make your Xbox have an IP address on the
192.168.0.x range, and again a gateway would not be needed.
**Advanced Option** If for some reason you would like
both your NICs on the same subnet then you can still force the one going
internet to be used by default for everything and the one going to the Xbox to
only be used when connecting to the static IP of your Xbox. Open up a command
prompt and type 'route print'. With route print you can see what route your
data packets will take to try to access the internet or your Xbox. What you can
do is manually add a route that tells your computer that anytime it tries
sending anything to 192.168.0.3 it should use the NIC with the direct
connection the Xbox, not the one that goes out to the internet. To do this run
the route print command. The first thing you'll see is an interface list. It'll
say something like:
Interface List 0x1 ........................... MS TCP
Loopback interface 0x2 ...00 06 5b b8 e3 33 ...... 3Com 3C920 Integrated Fast
Ethernet Controller 0x3 ...00 02 2d 26 2c 74 ...... Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series
Wireless LAN Mini PCI Card
So in this case the NIC going to the Xbox is 0x2, which
would be IF 2 in the command. To add the static route follow this pattern:
route ADD 157.0.0.0 MASK 255.0.0.0 157.55.80.1 METRIC 3
IF 2
destination^ ^mask ^gateway metric^ ^Interface
So in our example you would type:
route -p add 192.168.0.3 mask 255.255.255.255
192.168.0.2 METRIC 1 IF 2
to remove this at any time you would just type:
route delete 192.168.0.3
The other option you have if you want your Xbox to get
out to the internet through your computer’s internet connection is to set up
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on your computer. How to set this is up a
good thing to google search. You can also try this page:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/connect/windowsics.htm for good details. Once
set up the only thing to change is to put a gateway address in your evox.ini,
avalaunch.xml, or mxm.xml file which should be your computer’s IP address, so
the gateway you would use is 192.168.1.1 since that is probably what ICS will
set your NICs IP address to.
Setting up Configuration 3
This is sort of like configuration 2 but instead of
your NIC getting a public DHCP address it should be getting an internal private
DHCP address. This address can be anything within this range: The blocks are
10.0.0.0. to 10.255.255.255, 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255, and 192.168.0.0 to
192.168.255.255.
There are very high chances your router is giving out
addresses somewhere in 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x If this is the case your
computer should be successfully getting its DHCP address from your router and
if you can plug your Xbox into that router as well then just change your
evox.ini to have StaticIP = No. So in our first configuration example you would
just have to change the files to be this:
Evolution X Dashboard
[Network]
SetupNetwork = Yes
StaticIP = No
Ip = 192.168.0.3
Subnetmask = 255.255.255.0
Defaultgateway =
DNS1 = 0.0.0.0
DNS2 = 0.0.0.0
Once you set StaticIP to be No, the ip, subnet,
gateway, and dns values are no longer used. You can boot your Xbox and see what
IP it is getting from DHCP and simply FTP to that address.
You can also still have your Xbox use a static ip so
that you always no its IP address, even with a router that gives out DHCP. Just
make sure the static IP you give it is on the same subnet as the DHCP addresses
it is giving out. To do that, make your evox.ini like this:
[Network]
SetupNetwork = Yes
StaticIP = Yes
Ip = 192.168.0.3
Subnetmask = 255.255.255.0
Defaultgateway = 192.168.0.1
DNS1 = 0.0.0.0
DNS2 = 0.0.0.0
Here you've changed static ip back to yes and your
gateway address should be the address of your router now. If your router is on
a different subnet and by that I mean its ip is 192.168.1.1 and it is giving
out dhcp address's of 192.168.1.x then you would make your evox.ini reflect
those differences like this:
[Network]
SetupNetwork = Yes
StaticIP = Yes
Ip = 192.168.1.3
Subnetmask = 255.255.255.0
Defaultgateway = 192.168.1.1
DNS1 = 0.0.0.0
DNS2 = 0.0.0.0
MXM Dashboard
If you run MXM as your dash and want to use DHCP then
the MXM.xml file's section should look like this:
Avalaunch Dashboard
If you run Avalaunch as your dash and want to use DHCP
then make the section of the avalaunch.xml look like this.
UnleashX Dashboard
For UnleashX, edit the config.xml file to look like
this:
For all of the dash's configuration files, whenever you
have them set to use DHCP, none of the other values you have defined below that
are used. So if you have enabled DHCP then the IP address you see in the
configuration file is NOT the one your Xbox will likely get. Also be careful if
your router is giving out DHCP, and you want to give your Xbox a static IP so
you know the IP address all the time then make sure whatever static IP you pick
for your Xbox is not already an IP used by something else on your network given
out by the router's DHCP range.
Xbox on the Internet
Do you want to…?
Access RSS news feeds on your Xbox
Successfully browse the internet with Linksboxs
Use a chat client from a dashboard
Anything else that requires the Xbox to get out to the
internet
If these things aren’t working for you after setting up
FTP to your Xbox following one of the above configurations then there could be
a few reasons why. I’ll go over each configuration and describe what you MAY
need to modify to get these working.
Configuration 1
With configuration 1a, you can NOT get out to the
internet. You would need to either buy a router or another NIC for your PC.
Once you’ve purchased one of those, your configuration will follow one of the
others. With configuration 1b, you generally can NOT get out to the internet
either. If you have this configuration and your PC can get out to the internet
then it is probably getting a public IP address from your ISP. This assumes you
have a hub or a switch and not a router. You can buy a router and then follow
configuration 3, but if you don’t want any new hardware then you can probably
only get your Xbox or computer on the internet one at a time. In other words
when your computer has the IP from your service provider you can get on the
internet. Then maybe you switch it to a private IP in order to FTP to the Xbox.
Well to get your Xbox on the internet you’d have to get your Xbox that public
IP from your service provider. Set your Xbox to use the same settings as your computer
does to get that IP. If you aren’t using DHCP make sure you don’t forget to
enter the DNS values otherwise addresses won’t resolve. Remember your computer
should either have the private IP values or be turned off in order for your
Xbox to successfully get the public IP from your service provider. Some ISPs
will give you more than one public IP to use. If that is the case then your
computer and Xbox can be on at the same time through the hub or switch.
Configuration 2
The last paragraph in configuration 2 from above
describes using ICS to get your Xbox out to the internet. So this is the first
step you would need to take. If you are using ICS and you have your Xbox set to
use DHCP then it should be done. If, however, you have set your Xbox to a static
IP and aren’t able to use linksboks or get the news feeds then chances are you
are simply missing the DNS values. Go to a command prompt on your PC that can
access the internet and run ‘ipconfig /all’ without the quotes. Look for the
NIC that has the connection to the internet and look at the DNS values it has.
Whatever they are, use those values in the static configuration of your
dashboards network settings. So if you look at the examples I’ve given, most of
the DNS values are either blank or set to 0.0.0.0. Just take the DNS IP’s from
the ipconfig /all and replace the 0.0.0.0 in the Xbox configuration file with
those new values. Save, reboot, and you should be all set.
Configuration 3
This configuration is very easy to get working as well.
Again, if you are using DHCP on your Xbox then you shouldn’t be having any
problems. If you are using a static IP in this configuration then, just like
configuration 2, you are probably only missing the correct DNS values. Follow
the same procedure as in configuration 2 to get the DNS values filled into your
dash configuration file.
Other ways to Connect
There are a few other ways to connect to your Xbox
without using an ftp client. I'd like to mention them here just to cover the
'networking' your Xbox topic but I'll link to the guides/tutorials that I think
cover the connection the best. Also, all these other connections still use the
ftp protocol, I'll cover telnet later.
You can map a network place on your computer to your
Xbox so instead of needing to fire up an ftp app you could just go to windows
explorer or a shortcut on your desktop to double-click and there is all your
Xbox. Two tutorials have already been written that explain how to do this in
Windows XP and Windows 2000.
For win2000:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/evoguide6.php - This guide uses webdrive to
accomplish this on Windows 2000. Some other software I think would work as well
is Internet Neighborhood Pro and FTP Desktop but I've tried none of them so
can't recommend one over the other. If you find any freeware app that will
provide this functionality let me know and I will try it out and add it here.
You can ftp to your Xbox direct from your web browser.
Basically in your web browser instead of putting in http://www.website.com you
would put in something like ftp://xbox:xbox@ and it should open
right up to the contents of your Xbox folder structure. Nice and simple, no
third party ftp client needed. A good guide for this can be found here: FTP
using Internet Explorer and be sure to read the rest of the thread for some
tips and answers to questions. There is also a tutorial on the tutorials page
here: http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/ftp-ie.php. Please keep in mind this
functionality is not limited to Internet Explorer only. Most browsers support
typing in ftp:// instead of http:// if you want to ftp. I use the Opera browser
and can connect the same way. If you ever forget the format to use to send the
username and password in the address bar you can also (at least with IE and
Opera) connect just by typing ftp:// and then you should get a
pop up box prompting you for the username and password.
Xbox to Xbox Transfers
If you have two Xbox's and want to transfer directly
between them there are a few ways to do it. For any way your Xbox's still need
network connectivity between each other. You could set them up just like
configuration 1 from above or even hook them up to a router and use DHCP.
If you use Avalaunch as your dashboard then the easiest
way for you would be to use the File Manager that is built in. When you launch
the file manager click start and select switch to remote. Move over to the
right side now (which is the remote side) and hit start again. Now select add
FTP Server. Enter the IP address info of your other Xbox. Once this is setup
you should then be able to switch back and forth between local and remote sides
and transfer your files.
If you don't have Avalaunch as your dash you can run a
program called XB-FTP. This program you would launch as an app from one Xbox
and it your FTP Client. The other Xbox you would leave booted into whatever
dash you run and it would be the FTP Server. There is another application you
can run on your Xbox called xToolbox. You can use this app to transfer between
two Xbox's as well just go into its file manager once it loads and it should be
self explanatory for you. Just make sure you edit the host.ini file with the
applicable IP address's for your local and remote Xbox. If you have a PC you
can also use the FXP method that is detailed here:
http://forum.psxcare.com/support/showthrea...p?threadid=7239
You don't have to use XBMP, you can use any dash that
supports PASV for this method.
Troubleshooting
First is to verify you are communicating with your
Xbox. Run a command prompt and ping your Xbox IP address. In our example that
would be 'ping 192.168.0.3'. Also, If you seem to have a connection that gets
dropped every so often try to ping like this: 'ping -l 1024 -t 192.168.0.3',
this will continuously ping your Xbox with 1024 bytes. Hit ctrl-c to end it. If
you get any timed out then maybe you need a new Ethernet cable somewhere. If
you can ping try a. and b. below, if you can't ping read that and the rest.
If you can ping but still have problems with FTP, make
sure PASV is disabled in your FTP client if evox is your dash. Go to the help
for your ftp client to figure out how to do it if you don't know how.
Make sure any firewall programs you run are turned off.
Especially if you run Windows XP there is a default firewall that may be on.
Its in the advanced properties of your NIC where you can uncheck the box for it
to verify it isn't on. Also even if you think you disabled a firewall it could
still be blocking ports. Crap Software firewall can behave this way. It does
this to ensure no virus or rogue program can disable it. Instead of disabling
Crap Software just add the IP address of your Xbox or even the entire subnet as
Trusted. Then it will allow packets through.
If you can't ping make sure you check 1b, but also make
sure you are using the correct Ethernet cables for your setup. Refer to the
basics above about the crossover cable. Try pinging your local computer with
these commands: 'ping 127.0.0.1' and 'ping localhost'. If you can ping these
it's a good sign your TCP stack and driver for your NIC are loaded properly. If
these do not ping correctly the first thing to try is to reload the driver for
your NIC or search the manufacturer's website for an updated driver.
Try different ftp clients or make sure you are using
the latest version of the client you have, especially if you are using the
EvolutionX dashboard make sure you try FlashFXP if you are experiencing any
problems.
Make sure you have the video cable plugged into the
back of your Xbox (problem experienced by ndiguy). Note: the video cable
doesn't have to be connected to your TV but does need to be connected to the
back of the Xbox.
Run a sanity check if all else fails... make sure the
settings you think are in your evox.ini are actually there. Run a command
prompt on your pc and type 'ipconfig /all'. This will list all the settings all
the NICs on your computer have. Verify they are all what you think they should
be. When posting in the forums for more help try to include these two things in
your post, it's a good first step.
If you get No Link! when you boot your Xbox make sure
it is set to static ip. Verify the computer or whatever you have it connected
to is booted up first and set up correctly. Then boot or reboot the Xbox. Make
sure the cable and other hardware you are using is good. As a last resort,
maybe your Xbox NIC is bad and needs replacing.
“I have two Xbox’s at home and two separate Xbox live
accounts, but when they both try to play live at the same time one always gets
booted or disconnected, what’s going on?” There could be a number of things but
if you’ve checked everything else and think your network is all good, etc then
whatever router you have these connected to could be handling PAT (port address
translation) incorrectly. I know for a fact the current Linksys products will
not handle this configuration properly. I also know that the Dlink DI-614 does
handle this correctly and so would work with this configuration. If you have a
different brand router and have this configuration let me know if it works or
not for you so I can make a good list of who handles PAT correctly and who
doesn’t.
Nothing seems to work for you? Post your problem on the
Xbox-scene forums. In your post try giving as much info as needed. Describe how
you have things physically connected. Post the network section of your dash’s
configuration. Post an ipconfig /all from your computer (or just all IP information).
Post any specific error messages you get, especially an FTP log if you can ping
your Xbox but just can’t seem to login. Post what software you use on the Xbox
and your PC. Finally, make a new thread for your problem, don’t post as a reply
to someone else’s problem and don’t just PM someone you think will help.
FTP Speed Issues
Once people start using FTP the next problem they may
have is the speed being too slow. The key to addressing this issue is to try
everything! Change your configuration, change software, use every combination
of my suggestions below. The more you do the better chance something will
reveal itself as the culprit to your slow speeds. Here is a common list of
things to check to help improve your speed:
Try the extended ping from number 1 in the
troubleshooting section. If you get some replies and some timed outs during
that ping this could slow down your speed. Replace your cable(s), update
driver(s), try different NIC, etc.
In the advanced properties of your NIC you should be
able to find the settings for the speed and duplex of your card. Change these
settings and see if some combination gives you better speed than others. Start
with speed of 100 and full duplex and cycle through 100/half, 10/full, 10/half.
Check how much free space you have on the PARTITION you
are ftp'ing to. If you have an 80GB hard drive and it says you have 20GB left,
that doesn't mean you have 20GB of free space left on that partition. That
partition could have very little space left while another partition has 18GB
left. There are some reports that with <2gb and="" common="" drops.="" ftp="" general.="" in="" is="" issues="" most="" of="" one="" probably="" space="" span="" speed="" the="" this="" with="">
If you are using a wireless or usb NIC setup try going
wired with standard Ethernet to see if that narrows down the problem for you.
And if you were using DHCP try assigning a static IP to your Xbox instead. Also
try changing the channel that your wireless is currently communicating on.
There could be more interference slowing down your speeds on a certain channel.
At least try channels 1, 6, and 11.
Try different software on both ends... experiment. All
configurations will be different. Try different FTP clients, updating FTP
clients and even try using a different ftp server on the Xbox. One post on the
forums suggested that switches from Evox to nexgen increased ftp speeds to the
F: drive. The Avalaunch dash seems to be a pretty stable and fast FTP Server as
well.
Try different hardware... don't overlook this! For
example, if you have a hub, try a new one or better yet get a switch.
If you are using FlashFXP (or maybe try this with any
client), some forum posts have suggested that by changing the transfer packet
size from 4096 to 2048 you could see a speed increase. Some people run fine at
4096 but I know of at least one instance where changing this value to 2048 has
helped tremendously.
Suggestions from ILLusionsOfGrander member on
xbox-scene:
Make sure the NIC on your PC is not just a 10 mbit NIC
but a 10/100 mbit NIC. Using a 10/100 NIC as opposed to just a 10 can
definitely increase transfer rates
If you go to the advanced settings of the NIC in your
PC, some cards have a "Early TX Threshold" value. Upping this value
from its default can also increase speeds. The example given was with a Dlink
card and its default value was 8 and changed to 38. This increased the speed
from 6500 kBps to 11000 kBps.
Wireless Xbox
I've noticed a few posts about how to get the Xbox on a
wireless network so figured I'd touch on the subject here and give my thoughts
on hardware to accomplish such a thing. First thing to consider is whether you
want to use 802.11b or 802.11g. Discounting any other deciding factor you may
have, and focusing solely on Xbox functionality, if you want to use your Xbox
for ftp transfers and to play Xbox live then you'll be fine with 802.11b. If
you think you'll want to stream movies or music to it and will want to do a lot
of large (over 100mb) ftp transfers you'll want to go with 802.11g. With
that...
There are two setups you can use to communicate with
your Xbox wirelessly. The first and least common way would be in an ad-hoc
fashion. This would be the exact same as using a crossover cable from the Xbox
to your pc just without the actual cable. Basically your computer would have
some sort of a wireless card whether USB, PCI, or if it's a laptop then a
PCMCIA or mini-PCI. For your Xbox you would get a wireless to Ethernet bridge
(I'll mention brands in the next paragraph) and basically just RTFM for how to
set it up in ad-hoc mode to communicate to the wireless card in your computer.
Again, this would be like using a crossover cable, only your computer and Xbox
would communicate with each other.
The most popular way which most people would want to
implement is with a wireless access point/router. From Linksys if you decided
to go with 802.11b you could get model BEFW11S4, if you want 802.11g the
WRT54G. From Dlink for 802.11b the DI-614+ is a good one and for 802.11g the
DI-624. Now to get your Xbox to communicate wirelessly with one of these access
point/routers you would need a wireless to Ethernet Bridge for it. From Linksys
for 802.11b you could get a WET11 and for 802.11g the WET54G. From Dlink for
802.11b the DWL-810+ and for 802.11g the DWL-G810. From here it's really just a
matter of reading the manual's (if you even need to) to get these bridges to
associate to the SSID of your access point.
Now I'd like to say don't think these are the only
products that work. There are many other companies with products that do the
exact same thing. I just listed the most common of the ones I'd recommend using
and if you look up the product you'll get an idea of what to look for from
other companies. I'm also not a fan of the MS wireless Ethernet bridge devices.
Currently, from what I've seen you need to configure it from the MS dash and
with a modified Xbox this isn't always a good thing. However, obviously they
will work just fine so feel free to check them out too.
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.