Can I install ubuntu on Xbox 360?

Solution 1:

no you cannot install ubuntu on xbox... the only linux available for xbox360 is a dead project called 'free60' and it only works on xbox manufactured before 2009.

besides xbox sucks as a htpc, has no hardware decoding chip and uses a ton of power. your better off buying a roku box or similar.

Solution 2:

The short answer is you can install linux on xbox 360 hard drive.

But all the solutions I've seen include putting vmlinux on a flash drive for Xell to launch before you get access to the hard drive and all the applications like internet browser, text editor, etc., on it. Your packages are still installed on the hard drive. The only thing you need on the flash drive is a Xell related file and vmlinux.

The newest update on this I've seen is

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/9t7rkm/debian_8_jessie_running_on_xbox_360/

They are using linux kernel 3.5.4 There's one problem with this installation: a driver for Xorg won't compile on Jessie so you don't have GUI. You can get GUI with an older version, Wheezy (debian 7) though.

The main challenges of installing linux on xbox 360 seem to be:

1.The cpu of xbox 360 is of powerpc architecture and is not supported by many newer linux releases.

2.Linux kernel code doesn't come with support for some xbox 360 specific hardware. You'll need to "patch" the code before compiling to make it work on the 360.

The statement that linux won't install on newer xbox 360s is simply not true. All Jtag and RGH modded 360s have access to Xell (press disk eject button to power on) and can launch linux binary directly. There's no longer need for the old king-kong hack.

Here's a relatively painless tutorial for installing debian 4 (Etch) on xbox 360. I've tried it. With some tweaking I managed to get it running.