Notice: This page is about the full port of the ReactOS desktop operating system for the original Xbox. For the Xbox gaming kernel see Run Xbox Games on ReactOS‎.

ReactOS Xbox port targets the original Microsoft's Xbox gaming console, which is based on Intel Pentium III (Coppermine) processor that ReactOS could support.

It might be useful in different ways:

For people who don't have a computer, but have an Xbox which can be used as a computer with ReactOS

For gamers who want to run retro console emulators which are available only as Windows applications

For XQEMU emulator developers who need an open-source Xbox kernel implementation

For the project itself, because it allows better flexibility of porting to other platforms

Hardware

Known hardware specifications on the Xbox are:

CPU: Pentium III Coppermine based 733 MHz custom CPU, 128 KB L2 and 133 MHz FSB (i686 class, could be upgraded up to 1.4 GHz with mods)

RAM: 64 MB DDR 400 in a 128-bit bus (6.4 GB/s, expandable to 128 MB with mods)

Motherboard/Chipset: Custom motherboard design using the nVidia nForce chipset (close to nForce 420) which acts as both the system chipset and the graphics adapter, Southbridge is the nVidia MCPX which is identical to the MCP-D southbridge used in the nForce 220/415/420 (basically a chipset with IGP configuration like many PCs compatibles around the 2000s)

Graphics: nVidia NV2A GeForce 3/4 class Hybrid GPU (OpenGL 1.3, DirectX 8.1 HW support (Pixel Shader 1.3/Vertex Shader 1.1?), between a GeForce 3 and a GeForce 4)

Storage: 8 or 10 GB 5400 RPM (IDE), HDD formatted in FATX; 2-5x DVD-ROM drive; 32 MB USB memory card

Network: NVIDIA nForce 10/100BASE-TX w/ ICS ICS1893AF PHY

Audio Controller: NVIDIA nForce APU w/ Wolfson Microelectronics XWM9709 AC97 2.1 Codec

Status

Note: See Xbox Port Roadmap and Xbox Port Tests for more details.

Boot CD works in XQEMU, but shows black screen.

Live CD boots in XQEMU, having problem with USB input, see CORE-16352.

Boot CD / Live CD doesn't boot on real hardware, see CORE-16692.

Can be booted from HDD using pre-installed files: MBR/FAT32 boot works, having problem with USB input, see CORE-16352. BRFR/FATX boot works, but partitioning scheme not supported by disk driver, see CORE-16329.

Xbox port blockers: CORE-16329, CORE-16352

Real hardware blockers: CORE-16319, CORE-16692, CORE-16726 (including the line above)

See this JIRA ticket list for known unresolved problems.

«It's just fun for now, nothing else. You can browse your Xbox's HDD in explorer as if it's just a PC computer, you can even do some very simple things, but not very much really. But with time – when we finish nVidia network card driver, it's gonna become more interesting since possibilities are endless – there are so plenty of software for Win32 that there is definitely something cool you may want to try to run on your Xbox» :-)

— Fireball (talk) 19:55, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Known facts

Development problems

Many hardware components that need drivers.

Lack of people with low-level programming and reverse engineering skills.

Microsoft has discontinued original Xbox since 2006, so few people with a working console left, and their number is decreasing.

Existing work

Installing

It's possible to install or just run ReactOS either on real Xbox or in XQEMU emulator.

You need the following steps:

Check out this article to learn more about the testing process.

You should be able to compile ReactOS.

Run the following command configure -DSARCH=xbox before compilation to set target platform as Original Xbox.

before compilation to set target platform as Original Xbox. Build and burn a LiveCD/BootCD ISO image.

Insert the medium and boot ReactOS (see Install ReactOS on Xbox for details).

Gallery

People who have an original Xbox

Andreas Bjerkeholt aka Harteex

Daniel Reimer aka EmuandCo

Manatails007

Andrew Cook aka ariscop

Ben Nottelling

Robert Naumann aka gonzoMD