You don't need to hardmod it to be able to play backups. There's some softmod methods that work well and removing the clock capacitor that has a habit of leaking and eating through the board is as easy as opening up the console and wiggling it out. You don't need to replace it on most models.

Whole process can be done in an afternoon. I'd check out MrMario2011's video to see how challenging it is though to get a feel for it