Here's the whole story on the ban. They scan your eeprom and your HD. Record that info and if any of those two shows up without the other, boom your banned.
Second, there is most definitely a problem with the thompson drive. go to
www.xbox-scene.com a few days ago there was a news thread on this, also it seems Bungie.net is talking about it also. Look around there, hopefully you'll figure something out.