The BIG BANHAMMER Thread - Ban Wave is OVER...for now

[Adam]

This post only lists PakGamers.com members whose consoles have been banned within the Fall '09 period. These are their Pakgamers' Usernames, not Xbox LIVE GamerTags.

The count so far is 30+.
insomaniack
Adam (Twice)
faizy
xstrike9999
ImranKakar
omerrandhawa
Zeppelin
Gizmo
ReZoN
Rana Sahb
DaGamer
ThE OnE
fahadzaidi12
Edifier
hayabusa
mobimercer
kid91
Xunair
nofilz
hamidami
Moon1990
hamidami
darkside84
energy12
hamxah1
atifishaquepk
vyrus
sheraz2000
hunter4life
Raptoria

& God knows who

New Console Ban Wave on Xbox LIVE?​

We're currently seeing lots of discussions on our forums (like here or here) and on IRC about console bans again, so it seems Microsoft is busy with a new console (not gamertag) ban wave atm.

Right now we don't have a lot of details, except it doesn't seem to be linked to any particular FW version or drive model, as users with all type of FWs and drives report bans, while others with the same configuration still seem fine.

The following article has been taken from Xbox-scene.com

- What does this mean for you and what can you do about it?
Firstly, and most obviously, you cannot connect to Xbox Live on this console any more. This means no more game updates (aka title updates), XBLA games, marketplace content, netflix/sky player and so on. There is no way around this, all online capabilities are now disabled PERMANENTLY.

In all likelihood, your gamertag has NOT BEEN BANNED. When your gamertag gets banned, Microsoft sends you an email detailing why, if you have not recieved this email then your profile should be ok, to a certain extent.

Hard Drive installs are now disabled on the banned console. This means any disk-based games you have will no longer play off of the hard drive. If you attempt to play a game, it will tell you that it was installed on a different 360 and needs to be deleted/installed again. When you delete the game and attempt to install it, you are given a message telling you that it is not supported. There is no way to fix this, that functionality is simply gone from the banned 360.

The hard drive itself is left untouched - you can place it in another 360, even an unbanned one, and it will still work just fine. You do NOT need to reformat it to regain any kind of functionality. Any installed games will need to be reinstalled for the console you want to play them on. This is normal behaviour and happens when swapping HDDs on unbanned/legit 360's.

Windows Media Centre functionality is disabled. It is still possible to stream video/music content via the video library.

Your Gamertag may be corrupted. This does not mean your gamertag has been banned, you can recover it using any live-capable 360, however ANY ACHIVEMENTS YOU HAVE EARNED SINCE BEING BANNED WILL BE LOST. Your gamertag will be corrupted EVERY SINGLE TIME it is used on a banned console. This means you cannot use your banned console to play backups offline just to get achievements - it wont work, the second you put your profile back on a good 360, it will be corrupted and all progress lost. There is no way around this.

The same applies to game saves - if you access a game save on a banned 360, it too will be corrupted when accessed on a legit/unbanned 360! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! There is no way around this, either.

Your XBLA games and DLC will still be valid, however to play them on a different 360 you will need to be signed into Xbox Live. This is normal behaviour on unbanned/legit 360's as well. They may be corrupted and have to be re-downloaded if you attempt to access them on a banned 360. You can transfer all of your downloaded content to a new 360 here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/licensemigration/default.htm however note that you can only do it once every 12 months.

So, in summary:

Your Banned 360:
* Cannot go on Xbox Live
* Cannot install games to the HDD
* Cannot use Windows Media Centre extender
* Cannot be used to get achievements from backups without corrupting your profile

You cannot do anything about this, short of buying a new 360.

There may be more functionality disabled than mentioned here, things are still being discovered.


- So what caused my ban?
There are MANY theories as to what is causing so many consoles to get banned this time, however as of yet there is nothing concrete, just a lot of circumstantial evidence and speculation. Please do not add to this, a full investigation is under-way.

c4eva, the main guy behind iXtreme, had this to say:

<+c4eva> fw itself not detectable
<+c4eva> suspect they are going hard on warez releases and incorrect use of abgx!

He also added the following:
<+c4eva> just to let you know that im looking into the current ban wave. I am currently running several brand new xboxs on live! These xboxs are in various configs. All are running ixtreme 1.61
<+c4eva> One is running original discs, another is running on xbl (no discs) , another is running a backup from my region!
<+c4eva> until tests are completed, no eta on liteon fw!

When we know more, YOU'LL no more, so please do not ask for updates!
A full transcript is available here - http://pastebin.ca/1660777

Remember, if you really want to blame someone, blame the person that decided to modify your 360 in the first place - most likey, that would be you ;

Want to find out if you are banned? Go through the following and very easy tutorial.

1) Download XVal 2.0: here

2) Provide the software with the required information (i.e your console's serial number and its "X value")

3) Your console's Serial number and its X value can be found in your console's System Settings>Console Settings>System Info

4) The X value is located in the same page (System Info) but is written on the bottom right-hand corner of the page like (X: abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop)

5) Correctly input the Serial number and X value (including dashes) to Xval 2.0 (Do not mistake the console ID with the serial number)

6) Decrypt and see your result

If your result comes "clean", it means your console is NOT banned. However, the only thing it doesn't show is that whether your console has been flagged or not.

UPDATE: Although we have no way to confirm this but a few tests conducted by c4eva himself indicate that Microsoft can now detect each and every Xbox 360 modded with the iXtreme firmware!

You have been warned!

 

[onelonehawk]

Well everybody, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!! be careful.

 

[incredibulous]

hmm..........thnx fo the info thouhg!!
but we cant quit playin live can we

 

[Raptorian]

Just came back from LIVE, no bans.

 

[Dark Sith]

ixtreme 1.6 / 1.61 being banned as well how , i thought it was stealth WTF , no one is safe , any pg member got banned or something .

 

[Edifier]

Oh well, I guess its time to disconnect my ethernet wire then. =|

 

[GoldenHawk]

i upgraded my 360 fw to via live and did not get banned thank god

 

[TheGoldenTouch]

I also went to live today on Benq 1.4 firmware and didn't get banned.

 

[sliyk]

im staying off till the storm blows over

 

[Hypnotic]

anyone from pg got banned?

 

[Lars]

Then , MS might be banning those who are playing patched Wave4 games

 

[Dark Sith]

yes this could be a possiblity , patched wave4 games converted to wave3 could be a reason , coz ixtreme 1.6 is quite safe up till now better go get 1.61 guys .

 

[Kane]

thank God i didnt got banned from Xbox Live.Microsoft on Prowl again.PGers try not to play Wave 4 Games online with old Firmware e.g 1.4,1.5,1.6.Upgrade to 1.61 and then play wave 4 games on live.Btw Any Pger got Banned from live?

 

[Chandoo]

Possible Ban Spree Coming : BE WARNED !

New Console Ban Wave on Xbox LIVE?
>> We're currently seeing lots of discussions on our forums (like here or here) and on IRC about console/hardware bans again, so it seems Microsoft is busy with a new Xbox LIVE console (not gamertag) ban wave atm.

Right now we don't have a lot of details, except it doesn't seem to be linked to any particular FW version or drive model, as users with all type of FWs and drives report bans, while others with the same configuration still seem fine.

Report your status in the thread below.
More details soon ...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378466

 

[Necrokiller]

Uhhh kinda late... or am I missing something here?

http://www.pakgamers.com/forums/xbox-360/41961-console-bans-being-reported.html

 

[Chandoo]

it's in the right subsection

 

[Chandoo]

It makes sense.

Wave 4 is largely unpatched right now, a lot of people are using that mod that completely removes security i-e making it even MORE vulnerable, MS is just striking the iron while it's hot. Smart, fucking evil, but smart.

 

[Necrokiller]

Saw that. You could've just moved that thread here smarty.

 

[Chandoo]

No i can't, not a section mod so let's make fun of usuf before he fixes this.

 

[CerebralTiger]

No i can't, not a section mod so let's make fun of usuf before he fixes this.

*Raises hand*....how can I help

Updated my console last night thinking I accidentally got into the preview program....lol....if I'm to get banned, there's absolutely nothing I can do to prevent it now....meh