Windows on Xbox

[Msherrard]

Does anyone know if it would be possible to put Windows (Or Linux if that's easier) on an Xbox One? I've got an old one laying around, and got curious. I know it's not as good as a gaming pc, and that's not the point. I think since the mobo and bios are custom, you would have to write your own drivers for everything. Can anyone shed some light on the subject? Thanks guys!

[vanished]

Nope, not possible.  Closest thing is Linux on a PS3

[Msherrard]

Do you know why it's not possible? Just trying to learn about it.

[ArduinoBen]

I'm pretty sure it runs on an ARM CPU, so only Windows 10S with custom Kernels.  Which sucks.

[vanished]

1 minute ago, ArduinoBen said:

I'm pretty sure it runs on an ARM CPU, so only Windows 10S with custom Kernels.  Which sucks.

The xbox one?  No way, it's an AMD APU, very desktop like in fact. 

2 minutes ago, Msherrard said:

Do you know why it's not possible? Just trying to learn about it.

The hardware is pretty close to normal PCs so that's not really the issue, it's just so locked down that between that and drivers, etc. no one has managed it so far or you would have heard about it

[Msherrard]

I was just talking about this with another guy, so I happen to know. Its an AMD x86 APU. You might be thinking of the switch. Thats got an ARM cpu.

[ArduinoBen]

Then technically it would be possible.  It would just be a lot of work....

[vanished]

4 minutes ago, ArduinoBen said:

Then technically it would be possible.  It would just be a lot of work....

I mean, technically almost anything is "possible"

But I think in this case the amount of work would be so insane that for all intents and purposes, it is fair to say it is basically not possible

Or at least, regardless of whether or not someone could theoretically make it happen in the future, as it stands today, there's no simple 10 step guide you can give someone that will let them do it, and hence, "not possible"

[Msherrard]

Roger, gotcha. Let's say someone had lots of time on their hands, and nothing else to do. Could you point them in the direction of how to get more info or where to start?

[RadiatingLight]

24 minutes ago, Msherrard said:

Roger, gotcha. Let's say someone had lots of time on their hands, and nothing else to do. Could you point them in the direction of how to get more info or where to start?

nope

[vanished]

3 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

nope

Seems like kinda a useless reply, but in this case, it's the only correct one I'm afraid

[LogicalDrm]

8 hours ago, Msherrard said:

Do you know why it's not possible? Just trying to learn about it.

8 hours ago, Msherrard said:

Roger, gotcha. Let's say someone had lots of time on their hands, and nothing else to do. Could you point them in the direction of how to get more info or where to start?

 

Well, if we would give you direction, that would already be against CS of forums. As

On 1/20/2016 at 2:52 AM, Windspeed36 said:

Talking about piracy in general, broad details, is acceptable however the posting or discussing pirated/hacked/cracked or otherwise nefariously obtained content is not. This includes Windows content, games, hackintosh, etc. Also discussions regarding ways to avoid or block legitimately installed monitoring/tracking software or the like is also not allowed.

It has locked BIOS. Meaning that you can't even select boot device and BIOS will install custom OS again like factory reset if no compatible OS is detected.

[Hayabusa1989]

I might be wrong but haven't people managed to get Linux running on the PS4 ? 

 

Trying to avoid being banned by being slightly vauge, anyways if my above statement is correct then perhaps someone motivated enough will do the same on the xbone ? 

[Donut417]

9 hours ago, Msherrard said:

Does anyone know if it would be possible to put Windows (Or Linux if that's easier) on an Xbox One? I've got an old one laying around, and got curious. I know it's not as good as a gaming pc, and that's not the point. I think since the mobo and bios are custom, you would have to write your own drivers for everything. Can anyone shed some light on the subject? Thanks guys!

To my understanding, the OS on the Xbox One uses the same Kernel as Windows 10. Though like pointed out above, you will have driver issues and Microsoft has locked it down tighter than a snare drum. 

[AshleyAshes]

10 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I mean, technically almost anything is "possible"

But I think in this case the amount of work would be so insane that for all intents and purposes, it is fair to say it is basically not possible

Or at least, regardless of whether or not someone could theoretically make it happen in the future, as it stands today, there's no simple 10 step guide you can give someone that will let them do it, and hence, "not possible"

Pretty much this.  Even with the classic Xbox which was also x86, despite being 'x86' what people forget is that 'x86' does not mean 'IBM Compatible', so Linux builds for the classic Xbox actually needed modification to even run on the hardware and in that case the classic Xbox was, as described by devs, '99% an IBM PC' that 1% needed custom code.

So even if your Xbox One was entirely unlocked for running unsecured software, it's less like an IBM PC as the classic Xbox was, you'd still need to rebuild Windows to even RUN on that hardware and to do that you'd need your hands on the source code to compile a build of Windows that'd even be compatible.  To even get CLOSE, in a practical sense, would be to get a custom build of Linux running on it and then run Windows in a VM and that'd be a pretty horrible experience.

 

Fun Side Story: I used to mod PlayStation Portables and sometimes people who saw videos on YouTube of PSP's running Windows via Linux and a VM, asking if I can do that, and me having to caaaaalmly explain that it would be a waste of my time and their money and that I can't turn their PSP into a portable Windows PC.

[vanished]

2 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Pretty much this.  Even with the classic Xbox which was also x86, despite being 'x86' what people forget is that 'x86' does not mean 'IBM Compatible', so Linux builds for the classic Xbox actually needed modification to even run on the hardware and in that case the classic Xbox was, as described by devs, '99% an IBM PC' that 1% needed custom code.

So even if your Xbox One was entirely unlocked for running unsecured software, it's less like an IBM PC as the classic Xbox was, you'd still need to rebuild Windows to even RUN on that hardware and to do that you'd need your hands on the source code to compile a build of Windows that'd even be compatible.  To even get CLOSE, in a practical sense, would be to get a custom build of Linux running on it and then run Windows in a VM and that'd be a pretty horrible experience.

 

Fun Side Story: I used to mod PlayStation Portables and sometimes people who saw videos on YouTube of PSP's running Windows via Linux and a VM, asking if I can do that, and me having to caaaaalmly explain that it would be a waste of my time and their money and that I can't turn their PSP into a portable Windows PC.

Actually I'm pretty sure the xbox 360 was RISC / PowerPC, not x86

I thought it was the original but I mixed that up

Kinda weird they have swapped back and forth over time

[AshleyAshes]

4 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Actually I'm pretty sure the xbox 360 was RISC / PowerPC, not x86

I thought it was the original but I mixed that up

Kinda weird they have swapped back and forth over time

I said classic Xbox.  One came before the 360, you know? >_>

 

It had a Celeron 733mhz (With the FSB speed of the Pentium) and nVidia graphics.  First game console to ship with an internal (3.5") hard drive?

 

Classic Xbox.

[vanished]

Just now, AshleyAshes said:

I said classic Xbox.  One came before the 360, you know? >_>

 

It had a Celeron 733mhz (With the FSB speed of the Pentium) and nVidia graphics.  First game console to ship with an internal (3.5") hard drive?

 

Classic Xbox.

Yeah I mixed that up >_>

I remembered one was risc and went looking and then remembered that was the 360 but by then it was too late

[AshleyAshes]

1 minute ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Yeah I mixed that up >_>

I remembered one was risc and went looking and then remembered that was the 360 but by then it was too late

Lies.  You're just making me feel old. Like when I had a co-worker who said 'Super Mario World, that was the first Mario, right?' and he was NOT trolling.  I nearly crawled under my desk to die.

[vanished]

5 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Lies.  You're just making me feel old. Like when I had a co-worker who said 'Super Mario World, that was the first Mario, right?' and he was NOT trolling.  I nearly crawled under my desk to die.

Another reason I got confused is I think Nintendo consoles have been RISC as far back as the NES if you stretch the definition a bit, but regardless, a long history of that there, so I figured that the first xbox probably did it like that too, but no, apparently not

 

Edit:

Well at least from Wii U, to Wii, GameCube, and N64, it's uninterrupted RISC

Edited November 29, 2017 by Ryan_Vickers

[AshleyAshes]

1 minute ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Another reason I got confused is I think Nintendo consoles have been RISC as far back as the NES if you stretch the definition a bit, but regardless, a long history of that there, so I figured that the first xbox probably did it like that too, but no, apparently not

Nah, the classic Xbox was HUGE, heavy, and had surprisingly PC like specs.  It was -almost- an IBM PC so it was attractive for some applications.  It was also the only console of that generation to feature hardware T&L and it really was an impressive, if large, machine.  Though the PS2 is what really succeeded in attracting ALL of the devs and having like 1200 games.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Msherrard said:

Can anyone shed some light on the subject?

Reverse engineering. 

You'll likely want to learn how DC circuits work, then work onto the fundamentals of digital technology. How do computers work, and then try and figure out the circuit diagrams to figure out how the XBox actually works. Only then can you start on trying to make anything happen. 

 

Here is some general oversight of how reverse engineering kinda works. 

Spoiler

 

 

[Kyle_N]

You can enable Dev Mode on the Xbox, and it will let you sideload any Windows app packaged as an AppX.

 

Look for Dev Mode activation app in the store. Install and follow instructions. I believe you do need to purchase a developer license for it, though. 

 

Once in Dev Mode, you're supposed to be able to use Visual Studio on another PC to deploy apps to the Xbox. You might be able to put AppX files on a USB and run them directly on the Xbox, but I'm not sure about that, been a while since I looked into this. 

You can package any exe application into an AppX using the desktop app converter: https://aka.ms/converter

[NTDaws]

On 11/28/2017 at 11:35 PM, Ryan_Vickers said:

Nope, not possible.  Closest thing is Linux on a PS3

Eh Yes and No, it's possible to run it. It's not possible (to my knowledge) to have it as a default OS.

[DrDerp]

On 11/29/2017 at 12:47 AM, Ryan_Vickers said:

I mean, technically almost anything is "possible"

But I think in this case the amount of work would be so insane that for all intents and purposes, it is fair to say it is basically not possible

Or at least, regardless of whether or not someone could theoretically make it happen in the future, as it stands today, there's no simple 10 step guide you can give someone that will let them do it, and hence, "not possible"

With the advent of Windows on ARM (I know, different processor stuffs like x86 where the XBOX is) it shows that it IS possible, but it requires a ton of diligent work. If someone was to put XBOXOS on a PC, then we might see what drivers are necessary for it. Its possible, but difficult.