a question about xbox emulation

It seems that all the "emulators" out there (both of them) try to snag the commands from the native Xbox OS and port them into a directX 9 API or something of the sort...

Granted, this is the timeless tradition emulators have employed, but Xbox it would seem, gives us another approach.

If the Xbox is similar enough to a PC that it can in fact run linux, then drivers must exist. Since the Xbox OS is a stripped version of win2k, would it not be possible to swap out drivers in the Xbox OS with other win2k drivers, such that a typical PC could boot straight into the Xbox OS??? I have read some of the linux outlines, and if they know exactly what tweaks are required to put linux on an xbox, it seems the reverse would be required to run Xbox OS on a PC.

I know its not "emulation" since the PC would be dedicated to being an Xbox from then on, but I have some 1.3 Ghz celerons in my attic doing nothing anyway. I would gladly throw away Windows booting capabilities if they could boot as an Xbox.

If this is possible, it would be much much more efficient than any port could ever dream of, and might in fact yield playable results with processors on par with the 733 in the Xbox itself.

It seems like all one would need is a stash of win2k drivers and a way to get the OS off an Xbox.

Could this be done? I'm pretty experienced in C++, Fortran, the .nets, Java, etc... I haven't touched XDK yet, but it seems likle this method wouldn't require it. I haven't researched this yet as the idea just hit me. There is more to the OS than just the dashboard, right? If so, is it burned into bios, or on a partition? In either case, does anyone know how or where I can get my hands on it?

:confused:

Hey Nitro

I think thats a great idea and I have a couple of old PCs in the shed that would more than run an Xbox operating system. I couldnt help but wonder though, wouldnt it be easier to remove the xbox hard drive, take and image of it and use that image to boot the PC. Feed windows 2000 drivers into that OS and go play.

Dug

Huh? You can do that?

We dunno gforce, but I think its worth a try. You dont have a spare Xbox I can play with do you :D

First of all, this thread is/was old... check the date before replying!

Second, that will not work Dug. The Xbox and PC are still two different things. The Xbox BIOS is very hardware specific. It's MMIO and PMIO addresses are completely different and the hardware is not identical to a PCs. Linux was "ported" to Xbox, not just magically installed on it. I could go into further detail, but just know this. That idea has come up time after time after time after time again and it just can't be done. So don't try it! Trust me, when it comes to Xbox, I know my stuff rather well.

Thanks for the reply shogun.

I was actually looking at running a PC with an XBox operating system, not the other way round. I was also just asking a question so there isn't any need to be upset.

I wasn't upset, I just didn't want you to screw up your PC.

This is a great idea though.

But you can't say the BIOS is similar because it runs linux...even ipods run linux lol.