Reset parental controls:
Go to "Settings" and highlight the "Parental Control" option. Press X, Y, L, X, at the passcode screen to reset the parental control setting to the default value.

Hidden FMV sequence:
Insert an audio CD. Stop the CD when it begins playing at the CD player screen. Press B, select "Copy", then press A. Use the "Select All" option, then press A. Use the "Copy" option and create a new soundtrack. Enter << Eggsßox >> as a name. Select "Done" and press A to view a hidden "Thank You!" FMV sequence.

Xbox Dashboard - View Music Animations:
Insert a music CD and play it on the music screen. When the music plays, you can see an animation in the jewel (that plays with the music). To make this full screen, press Y then press X. To return to the track selection, press any other button. Note: You can make the jewel full screen when using the DVD remote by pressing Info.

Xbox Dashboard - Hear voices:
When the dash is started, leave it alone for a short time. The screen will eventually get dark, and you will begin to hear sounds. One of these is an electronic voice.

Playing Burned Music Discs:
Burn music onto a CD-RW (not a CD-R) disc, and close the session when you burn the CD. Place it in your X-Box and rip away. Note: This also works with .MP3 files. The Xbox can store .MP3s and replay them later and saves a lot of space when compared to the .WAV files that are standard on audio discs.

Xbox Console Name:
Each Xbox console has a "name" assigned to it at the time of manufacture. To view the name of your system, play Halo link it to another Xbox and choose a linked play party. The Xboxs will have names above their symbols in the pre-game stat screen. To change your name, play challenge mode in Dead Or Alive 3. Successfully complete challenge mode and you will be prompted to enter a record name. Enter the name that you wish to change your pre-assigned Xbox name to. This will now be the title your Xbox is referred to during linked play. Note: This will only work one time, so be sure that you enter the name you wish to permanently have for your console.

To see your Xbox name easily, start Halo, go into multi-player mode, choose "Split Screen", "Profile", and "Location". After all that is done, there will be a screen that reads "Waiting for more players". The picture of the Xbox is directly above your profile name, and above your picture will be a word. That word will be used as your name when XBox goes online. This works best when there is only one controller plugged into the Xbox, so the multi-player game will not start before you see your name.


Play games from any country
Harbouring a desire to play Super Gaiden Ninja XI? Now you can. In fact, you can handily play any PS3 game from any country. On holiday in the States and spot the latest release at a bargain dollar-to-pound price? Help yourself. So far, at least, PS3 games aren't being region coded. That said PS2 and PS1 games are so you can't play a US title on a Euro console. And let's not forget that Blu-ray movies are region-coded so the barriers aren't completely down yet.

The secret video reset
One of the most annoying aspects of the PS3 are its video settings. Take it up to the bedroom portable or round to a friend's house and there's a good chance that you won't be able to see anything on screen because your 'new' TV is running at a different resolution or using a different cable connection. And - because you can't see anything - you can't change it. Until now. Shut down your PS3 then restart by pressing and holding the power button.This will reset your PS3 to its most basic 480p graphics mode so you'll be able to see enough to choose RGB SCART, component, HDMI or whatever from here.

See how much charge is on your pad
There's no indication of how much charge is left on the pad itself. Instead it appears on screen during games. Press and hold the PS button on any joypad. An indicator will appear, showing your pad's charge as a small battery. A full battery pic means a fully-charged pad. Neat.

Download game saves
Chances are someone out there has already beaten that boss for you and saved their game afterwards. Why not take advantage of it? Google 'PS3 game saves'. There are hundreds of finished and half finished game saves scattered all over the internet. Download the save you want - it'll come in a 'PS3' folder that you can lift onto a USB stick and put into your PS3. Go to the Game menu, choose your stick and the game save you downloaded should be right there. Press Triangle to copy it to your hard drive.

Make free video phone calls
You will need a USB headset (like the one you use for PS2 Socom) and an EyeToy camera. Plug in both via USB then go to your Friends menu. Choose a friend you've signed up earlier and press Triangle. Choose Start New Chat and type a message. Something like 'Videochat?' should do the trick. Now, providing they're in front of their powered-up PS3 (perhaps you could text them to tell them to be in position?) then they'll see your message and be given the option to accept your videochat. Now, provided they too have a camera and headset, two windows will open, one showing you (so you can make sure you're looking your best), the other displaying your mate. Best of all you can hit Triangle again and invite more people to join your chat - up to a maximum of six. And the cost? Not a bean above your usual broadband connection charges.

Browse multiple internet windows
Open the browser (go to Network) and surf to a page you want. Now open up the menu with a press of Triangle and choose 'Open In New Window'. Enter another URL and then do the same again. Keep going until you've got six windows open. Now press L3 (done by clicking down the left stick). You're now in multi-page mode. Move the left stick to flick through the webpages as though they were bits of paper, then click L3 again to zoom in.

Upgrade your hard drive
We took the drive out of our PS3 and found it to be a Seagate Momentus 5400rpm 60GB 2.5inch SATA drive. We swapped ours out effortlessly for a Seagate Momentus 120GB 2.5inch SATA drive and it worked perfectly. Remove the cover flap on the bottom of your PS3 with a fingernail. Undo the blue screw and slide the drive over to the right and out of your PS3. Undo the four screws on the 'caddy' and remove the old drive. Put your new drive in the caddy (it should be exactly the same size, of course) and re-do the four screws. Slot it back in and slide to the left to make the connections. Re-do the blue screw, pop the cover back on and restart your PS3. Say 'yes' to the message on screen and voila - new super-size hard-drive. (Go to Settings, System Settings, System Information to check).

Share your bought downloads
You can download anything you've bought from the store to five PlayStation 3s. This is useful if you've got more than one PS3 (of course) and also if you've wiped your hard-drive and don't fancy paying for the same download twice... However, you can also choose to share your download with your mates. The PlayStation Store logs how many times each download has been downloaded by each user. On your mate's PS3 Create New User and log onto the store with your ID. You'll now be able to go to your download and see that you've already downloaded whatever it was that you paid for. You can now download it again, using another of your downloads and giving it to your mate for free. Or a small optional charge.

Force a PS3 to show your files
Put your photos in a folder called 'PICTURE' or your videos in a folder called 'VIDEO' or simply *force* your PS3 to look at your files on your stick regardless of what you called them or where you put them. Insert your stick and go to the menu option you want (Photos, Music, whatever). PressTriangle to bring up a menu and choose Display All. This will show every file on the stick. It even works for a plugged-in iPod, though the multi-folder structure you'll reveal is a bit baffling. Still, your songs are in there if you've got the patience to find them.

Change your album art
When you import a music CD your PS3 automatically pulls down the album art and stores it with the tracks. Occasionally it gets it wrong, however, or it may simply not be able to find the art of your hipper, less commercial tracks. This is easily fixed however. Download a pic of the art you need as a jpg on your PC and put it onto a stick (in a folder called PICTURE, ideally). Copy it to your Photo menu (press Triangle). Now go to Music and select the album folder with the offending art. Press Triangle and select Information. Go to the Photo menu and select your new picture. Bingo.


Email a chum's Wii
You'll need to have a record of those damnably unmemorable friend codes for anyone you want to mail, but once you do it's simple: just drop a message to w[friendcode]@wii.com. For instance, w1234567891011@wii.com.

Add a smooth, constant blue glow to your Wii
The blue lighting around the disc slot normally only glows when the Wii's got some sort of announcement for you, and disappears once you've read it. However, you can lend your lounge a sci-fi feel by making that tastefull glow permanent. Just email your own Wii - using the system in the tip above - but never read the message (which can take up to an hour to arrive, incidentally). As long as it stays unread, that cheeky light will keep on twinkling.

Mario attack
If you're downloading something from the Wii shop - be it a new channel or a virtual console title - have a gander at what the Mario animation in the progress bar is wearing. If he's dressed in red and white (as opposed to his traditional red and blue togs), you can make him chuck fireballs with the A button.

Puzzle puzzle
Unlock a hidden hardcore mode in the Photo Channel's jigsaw mini-game. Move the cursor over the number of pieces you want to split your photo into, but hold down the 1 button before you select the option. The resulting jigsaw will be split into 194 pieces, which makes for quite the pictorial challenge.

Restore MP3 playback
Speaking of the photo channel, you were probably narked to discover that last year's update to do it inexplicably removed MP3 soundtrack support, lumping us with AAC tracks only. Yeah thanks, Ninty. Fortunately, you can downgrade to the original version by heading to Wii Settings then Data Management, then selecting the Channels tab and choosing to delete the Photo Channel entirely. Don't worry, it won't disappear - instead, it'll revert to sweet old version 1.0, replete with MP3 support.

Fix stubborn Wiimotes
If you're having trouble getting a new or borrowed Wiimote to synch with your console, there's a way to make the Wii completely forget about all the remotes it's paired with so that you can start afresh. Turn the Wii off and unplug it from the wall. Wait 30 seconds, then plug it in and turn it on again. When the Health & Safety warning pops up, open the flap on the front of the Wii, then press and hold down the red SYNC button for 15 seconds. And that's it - all the synced controllers will be forgotten. Then pair all your Wiimotes with the console using the standard method.

Use your Wiimotes with your PC
Yep, the Wiimote uses standard Bluetooth wireless tech to talk to the console - which means it can also work with a PC. So your Wii controller can double up as a remote control for movie watching, or you can even play any game with it. You'll need either built-in Bluetooth support or a USB adaptor in your PC, plus free app GlovePIE to get it working. There's a little bit of faff involved, but the instructions at the GlovePIE site will talk you through it. You can also download pre-made profiles for specific games


Jam to Tunes Using Your Car Stereo System Speakers
* Use the following instructions to play your PSP games and movies with your cars audio system. You will need a FM modulator, a cable with a male stereo 1/8" headphone connector at one end and split left and right RCA connectors at the other. The red wire with the 'in' line fuse goes to your car battery or switch. The ground wire grounds to the frame. Set the car's CD or tape deck to the FM frequency that is on the modulator. The frequency is usually 88.7 or 89.1. Plug the RCA connectors from the cable into the RCA jacks on the modulator. Plug the headphone end of the cable into the PSP. Turn on the PSP with the volume set at half way.

The PSP's sound goes through your car's antenna. No extra wires are needed nor are any other adjustments. Your games, music and movies will now play through your car's stereo speakers. Please note: take care when trying this and make sure you know how to use the modulator and know the right way to hook up the wire to the fuse box and ground wire. If this is not done right, this can damage or even short out the PSP. This one is for parents!

Changing the Save File Images
* Whenever you save a game, one or two pictures are created on your memory stick: ICON#.PNG - the 144x80 icon displayed when you select your saved file. The #, normally 0, may be higher if a game places multiple saves in one folder. PIC 1. PNG - the 480x272 background that's displayed when you cursor over your save or game disk. Knowing this, you can customize your save icons and backgrounds by simply replacing them with new . PNG files. However, make sure that you keep the new file less than or equal to the original file's resolution, or the PSP will cut off sections to make it fit.

First Connect your PSP to your PC. Then locate the save file you want to change. All saves are located in the PSPSAVEDATA folder, divided into separate sub folders to keep necessary files together. Once you've found the save icon you want to change, add .ori to the end of the file name, in case you ever want to change it back to the original. Resize the image you want as you're save icon to 144x80 and save it as a .PNG named ICON#.PNG - “where # was the number found on the file you renamed”. Then move the new picture into your save folder.

Now, whenever you see your save files on your PSP, its icon will be the picture you changed it to. Use the same method to change PIC 1.PNG files to your own custom pictures, but remember that the resolutions must be at most 480x272. *Please note this is a bit complicated and could result in losing all saves if not done correctly. This tweak is really for those who have knowledge of using these types of files. Please use caution when attempting this or have someone that knows how to work with these files help you.

Choosing a Background Color and Keeping it the Same
The PSP will change colors of the background screen every month automatically. You can pick a color that you like and have it stay that way. Simply go into the settings and select the month that has that color, when it changes, reselect the month. Note: Your date will always be wrong, but if color and style is your concern, this simple tweak does the trick.


Get DS demos via Wii
If you have the Nintendo Channel install on your Wii and you are sharing your personal usage data you are allowed to get hold ofdownloadable DS demos. The tricky part is finding out just where they are. To find them, click on the channel, choose the video list and select "Find Titles for You". In there is the DS Download service button. The rest is easy to work out. Once installed on DS it will stay there until you turn it off.

Speed up browsing on the DS
It takes a long time to enter a URL into the browser so it's a good job there is a "Speed Type" option. When entering the web address simply touch one of the five buttons to add a .com or .net onto the end of the address.

Recalibrate your touchscreen
Sometimes the touchscreen on the DS can go wonky and gets less responsive so it needs to be recalibrated. First you need to clean the screen up by giving it a good wipe. Next use the stylus to click on the settings icon to recalibrate the screen following the on -screen instructions. If that doesn't work, press down on the touchscreen to make a gap between the screen and the casing, making sure not to break the screen. Then try to clean in the gap with the toothbrush all around the edge. Recalibrate again. Test that it's worked by firing up Pictochat and paint the screen black. If you can do that easily and in a short time, you have been successful.

Make your DS Wi-Fi work with a Mac
Sometimes you choose the path less travelled and own a Mac. Of course if you have a DS it appears to be a tad more tricky to connect this to OS X. But there are means of doing this. If you open the System Preferences window on the Mac, you will see a sharing tab. Click on this and change the internet connection sharing option to built-in Ethernet and set the "To Computers" to theAirPort setting. Select the AirPort Options button and add an easily remembered name like "nintendo". Open Finder and click on Applications, then Utilities and then Terminal. In the terminal screen type ifconfig en1, hit return and find an entry looking like 'inet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx netmask'. The x's are IP address you'll need for the DS. Make a note of them. Type dig on the Terminal screen and the next set of numbers are the DNS server IP address you will also need. On your DS, set the SSID to nintendo

Wake up to your DS
If you haven't brought your alarm clock on your travels, did you know that the DS can fill in. To do this simply take out any game that might be in the console first and then turn it on. It will go to the home screen and you can click on the Settings icon at the bottom. Before you set an alarm you need to make sure that the clock is correct. Tap on the icon of a clock and set the time by tapping the up and down arrows either side of the time. Next go back to the menu where the clock icon was and tap on the icon that looks like an alarm clock. Once again set the time you want to be woken up tapping the up and down arrows. Tap on Confirm and the Quit. TheDS will display a message that it will shut down and tap Yes. The console will restart and you should tap on the small icon at the bottom right. Press the "A" button of tap on Yes to turn the alarm on. You will see the time counting downs in the top window. Sweet dreams!

Getting rid of surface scratches
When you bought your DS it was ll shiny and new, but after a few sessions, scratches show up with wear and tear. However, with the right tools you can get the console back to almost showroom perfect again. What you will need is a "microfibre" cloth, cotton wool balls and a can of Brasso. Make sure the cloth is brand new. Turn off the console and rub the outer case with a cotton wool ball. Make sure you have removed all the surface marks, this is best done in a well-lit room. Make sure that your Nintendo is a grime-free zone. Next, take the cloth and put some Brasso on it. Rub the cloth over the scratched area in small circles, avoiding the matt areas and where gaps are. This will only work on the shiny areas of the console - rubbing the matt areas could damage the area around the hinges. Keep going until the scratches disappear. This will take a while so make sure you have plenty of time. Finish up by cleaning off the residue with another cotton wool ball. Get another polishing cloth and rub over the console to buff it up good and proper and shining like a national guitar. Don't repeat this again as it will eventually wear away the surface. Go out and buy a nice carrying case to keep it looking new.

Access the browser failsafe mode
If you have somehow lost the password to access the DS browser application then you can access the failesafe mode and default to factory settings by clicking on the browser and when it is loading hold L, R, Up, X, B, and Select Enter failsafe mode. This will clear bookmarks and reset to factory settings.

Start your DSi a little more quietly
If you are in a boring lecture/meeting and you want to play a few games without alerting others what you are doing then it is quiet easy to switch on theDSi without making a sound. Simply hold down the - (minus) button on the Volume rocker switch while pressing the power button and no one will need know that you are gaming.

Talk to your DS
The microphone on the handheld is great for games that require you to speak to do something on screen but sometimes it's hard to get the thing to do anything you tell it. The most successful way to talk to your DS is to hold it about 30cm (12 inches) from you mouth and speak loud but don't SHOUT! Shouting and having the mic too close distorts your voice making it hard for theDS to recognise what you are saying.