Jtag Kernel Update Options

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Hi all,

I used to be super active here a year and a half ago, but had to drop off the face of the Earth. Recently, I have had a little more time to game, so I thought I'd update my JTAG to current software. Which is why I'm here...

I have updated my JTAG's kernel more than once, so I thought I knew what I was doing. I used J-Runner to create a 14719 kernel using a dump I got from Flash 360. Process went fine--no errors.

But since I have flashed the new kernel to the NAND (using Flash 360), I now cannot boot the machine. It starts, and the power light comes on the RoL, but then it sits. There are no spinning light around the RoL, it just sits with the power icon lit. No audio, video. Am I correct in assuming it's not even loading the kernel at this point?

To make things worse, I might be able to solder an LPT cable to the motherboard to re-flash if that is indeed what I have to do, but I don't have the time nor do I know for sure if I could get it right off the get go. So I am open to suggestions for resolutions.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Aldanga]

Nice to see you back around.

You don't have any bad blocks in that NAND, do you?

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Aldanga--good to see a friendly name still. I hope X-S is treating you well.

Good question. I noticed that this most recent dump from Flash 360 did not say anything about bad blocks, but I know for a fact that in the past, previous dumps have listed 7. So, yes? Previously, it was consistent with displaying the bad blocks, and it was always the same 7 bad blocks--they didn't change. I thought that this consistent behavior was ok, yes?

I have a text file I dumped that contains the addresses:

CODE

Bad Blocks at:

908
917
9BB
CF7
DA6
EBF
F17

I also just used XNandHealer to verify (locally) the recentdump.bin (the one I used to patch) and the original dump flashdmp.bin. The recentdump.bin reported no bad blocks, but the original flashdmp.bin still lists the 7 addresses.

I guess this could be a big issue. Any thoughts on why I didn't get any bad blocks?

Also, perhaps this would attribute to the bad blocks not showing: I have a 512MB NAND. I recently got a 2TB external and I wanted to play around with it on my Xbox. I booted into the normal dashboard (kernel 13599) and went to format the external drive. I accidentally formatted my internal memory. Up til now it has been listed as "Unformatted" and I didn't want to touch it. Good play on my part that I did just as I wanted to update, eh?

Thanks Aldanga.

[Aldanga]

I'm not sure how J-Runner compensates for reallocated blocks as I've never used it. I've consistently had issues with new flashes not working when blocks have been reordered due to bad blocks on the TSOP. I would look into that before checking out anything else.

I'm not sure why you didn't get bad blocks. Perhaps they were just bad writes and not actually bad blocks on the NAND. I've seen that before.

This post has been edited by Aldanga: Mar 10 2012, 08:39 AM

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Regardless of the cause, only way to recover is to solder points back on and reflash, yeah?

Booting with DVD tray open doesn't seem to load Xellous either.

Seems like I am up the creek without a paddle.

[Aldanga]

Unfortunately, yes.

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Do you do crap this like? Care for some business?

[Aldanga]

I haven't done much in a while, but I certainly could if you don't want to mess with it.

[Ketchup_Bomb]

I have soldered an LPT to my Xbox before (not this one), but it was like an all day event. Haha.
I really like this kind of stuff, but I also don't have the means to fix if I make a mistake.

That's why I'm a pansy and looking for outside help.

Are there any solderless solutions these days for read/writing the NAND?

If you would rather not deal with it, do you have any suggestions for people to go to? I guess I could find the seller I got it from--see if he's still around. But I'd still like to hear your opinion.

Thanks for everything so far good sir Aldanga.

[AtlantaMods]

i can reflash it for you im in atlanta and could do it for you if your willing to ship it out to me

[Aldanga]

I have soldered an LPT to my Xbox before (not this one), but it was like an all day event. Haha.
I really like this kind of stuff, but I also don't have the means to fix if I make a mistake.

That's why I'm a pansy and looking for outside help.

Are there any solderless solutions these days for read/writing the NAND?

If you would rather not deal with it, do you have any suggestions for people to go to? I guess I could find the seller I got it from--see if he's still around. But I'd still like to hear your opinion.

Thanks for everything so far good sir Aldanga.

The NAND-X from Team Xecuter has a quick solder solution. It's supposed to be super simple for people with limited soldering skills. You're probably looking at around $40+ for that.

I don't have a problem fixing it for you. I've got limited responsibilities, and something like this won't take a really long time.

[Ketchup_Bomb]

i can reflash it for you im in atlanta and could do it for you if your willing to ship it out to me

Hi AtlantaMods. I appreciate the offer. I served an LDS mission to Atlanta--I love it there! Where abouts are you?
To be honest I would probably send it to Aldanga first since I have experience with him, but I will keep you in mind.

The NAND-X from Team Xecuter has a quick solder solution. It's supposed to be super simple for people with limited soldering skills. You're probably looking at around $40+ for that.

I don't have a problem fixing it for you. I've got limited responsibilities, and something like this won't take a really long time.

I was actually doing some homework and looking into what solutions there are for my instance. I guess the first question that needs to be answered, is if I have a backup of a known, working, freeBOOT NAND image, and I flash it back to the console, should it boot just fine into that old image? It's probably back with 9199 or 12611. Wouldn't flashing the NAND basically completely restore the console back to its original state when the image dump was made?

Second, I looked into the NAND-X a bit and I think the QSB boards is the route I want to go. I would leave the cable plugged in to the QSB's and hide it under the HDD so I should still be able to access it without disassembly. The only reservation I have here is just the soldering. I have soldered an LPT cable to a mother board before... think these "easy QSB's" will be friendly enough for a tard like me?

[AtlantaMods]

im about 15 mins from atl

[Aldanga]

If you have a dump from the console when it was working, flashing it back to the console will work just fine.

I haven't used these particular QSBs, but I've used easy solder boards before with certain modchips and they've been relatively simple. These should be quite similar. If you've managed soldering wires into their specific holes, the QSBs should be mild difficulty at worst.

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Ordered a NAND-X on Monday, arrived today, installed today, QSB's are easy but I still found a way to make it look like Quasimodo, flashed 9199 NAND dump, XeLL boots, and the dashboard does as well.

Now I just gotta make a correct current kernel and I'll be good to go.

Left the cable in there, and it's hiding under the HDD so I don't have to tear it down if I need manual access to the NAND. I would call that a success.

Thank you Aldanga and AtlantaMods. X-S has treated me well over the years. All the best!