I was told that you have to have the XBOX hard drive that came with that XBOX in order for the XBOX to work normally. I lost my hard drive after putting in a new one with my mod chip. My mod chip broke now I'm trying to get my XBOX back working normally again. I was thinking of ordering just a motherboard and the matching hard drive off ebay to put into my shell. Does anyone know if there is any other hardware piece that can only work in sync with its original counterparts that came in the same system, or will this idea work?
If you can't find a mainboard for less than $90, I'd suggest looking in pawnshops, CD/VHS and video game resales shops. I can find used Xboxes in every store that I check.
cheapest thing would be get another modchip especially if you have a solder one, it can be removed, new one put it, use any (unlocked) hard drive and auto installer, after flashing the chip youre all set