A lot of Xbox 360 owners are still in sticker shock over the announced price of the upgraded 120GB hard drive — $180. However, the lovable community of hackers have apparently solved the problem by creating a workaround that will allow users to use an off-the-shelf (read: much cheaper) 120GB Western Digital Scorpio BEVS-LAT drive instead. As with all hacks of this sort, this could either break your 360 or invalidate your warranty. But the idea of keeping an extra $100 out of the pockets of Microsoft maybe enough incentive for some gamers to take the plunge.
The individual who coded the hack, "TheSpecialist," says that his program can do the job but also warns, "This tool has only been tested by me. It worked for me. While great care has been taken, this tool may contain bugs and therefore may seriously harm your HDD. Use at own risk !!!"
In response to the new hack, other 360 owners are giving warnings and advice. Damonbard, a Digg member, said, "This is a good hack and saves almost $100, but I would not bother until after the spring dashboard update. Microsoft can make these drives unusable really fast with a clever update that blocks usage [of] these ‘hacked’ drives. Wait a few weeks…"
[via Xbox Scene]
