I purchased a 360 with 75 games (back up discs - not originals). It would play those as well as new original discs. However recently it stopped playing the back ups and will only play the new ones. It has absolutely no network connection and never has. Any thoughts or ideas on how to repair it? I am currently running dashboard 13599. Thank you!!!!
When updating past a certain dashboard version your DVD drive is flashed with new firmware to support playing XGD3 game discs, basically giving the developers an extra 1gb of space to use. This will remove the hacked firmware flashed to the DVD drive, meaning your 360 is not modded anymore. You would need to get the DVD drive flashed again if you wished to play backup games.
System updates are included on game discs, so you cant avoid them forever. Eventually you will get a game which requires a system update before it will let you play.
Hmmmm... So is there any way a novice like myself can flash my drive again in order to play the 75 back ups I have? I have a separate hard drive that I can use for store bought games.
Have a look at: Jungle Flasher - Downloads it has all the software you need to flash, along with a detailed manual. Chances are you will need to purchase hardware to complete the flash too. Have a read through the Jungle Flasher tutorial at that link, several times, it explains everything in great detail.