Xboxhdm For Dummies, hd rebuild, restore, upgrade ..so on Options

[kingroach]

XBOXHDM FOR DUMMIES v.1.8

OFFICIAL XBOXHDM THREAD

INSTALLING SOFTMOD? CHECK OUT:
Ndure Installer For Pc

Ndure Softmod Through Xboxhdm

F.A.Q FOR "XBOXHDM FOR DUMMIES"
read this if you have any questions


changelog:
v.1.2 to 1.3
added how to lock/unlock HD with unlockx.
link to xboxhdm v1.6.1
v.1.3 to 1.4
changed tutorial using new xboxhdm 1.7
changed lock/unlock method to built in xboxhdm tool from unlockx
changed the link to xboxhdm
1.4 to 1.5
added tutorial to clone hd
1.5 to 1.6
minor changes
1.6 to 1.7
added f.a.q
1.7 to 1.8
fixed broken images, added few links and fixed some typo

caution: unproper use of xboxhdm can nuke your hd ( as long as you have your eeprom you can always recover), Read the tutorial carefully, if you are unsure/confused of anything ask here..may be it will save you some trouble.

note;As pictures are worth thousand words so I will use more pictures/screenshots then I write. It will also be easier for you and noobs. Please wait a few secs for the pictures to load. Dial-upper have to wait more for the pictures to load. The pictures are hosted in a free website. If anyone can offer dedicated hosting for the pictures then let me know.

note for xboxhdm incase of image is nonbootable or you get cannot found linux cd-rom error ( I got): in new xboxhdm 1.7 ( downloaded from both xbox-scene and xbins, xboxhdm>linux>isolinux>boot.cat is named as linux.boot but the make-iso-win hasnt ben updated, change xboxhdm>linux>isolinux>linux.boot to boot.cat to fix the problem

TOOLS USED:

1. xboxhdm ver. 1.7 ( current version 1.9)
download

2. Slayers Disk 2.6 final ( for dash version 5960.01)

How to get: Usual places


MAKE YOUR BOOTABLE XBOXHDM CD IMAGE:

1. Unpack xboxhdm_v1.6

2. After you unpack you find this files under xboxhdm folder:
1. linux ( folder)
2. cygwin1.dll
3. make-DOS-floppy.bat
4. make-iso-lin.sh
5. make-iso-win.bat
6. mkisofs.exe
7. rawrite.exe

there is also some other readme files but u need these files.

3. Copy files for xbox C:\ drive from slayers disk and put the files in xboxhdm's linux>C folder.

4. copy your xbox's eeprom.bin to linux>eeprom folder

5. Double click on make-iso-win.bat, it will bringup command prompt and dump the bootable iso same folder.



6. Burn the iso with your favorite burning program.

SETUP YOUR COMPUTER AND XBOX:

1. Put you cd/dvd drive in primary slave and xbox hard drive in primary master ( I didnt tested with secondery master and slave).



2. Unlock your xbox hard drive and put it to the primary master. ( If you can, unless there is procedure later)

UNLOCK THE HD

After you boot to xboxhdm choose "3"(Boot linux with locking/unlocking utilities).

You will see this screen:



write "unlockhd -a" and press enter to unlock you hard drive. make sure you have eeprom.bin in linux>eeprom folder.


BOOTING XBOXHDM ( First setup your computer to boot from cd):

After you boot you will see this screen:



now press enter to boot into console and you will be in this screen:




now write "xboxhd" and press enter, if you xbox hd in the master you will see this screen:



write "yes" and press enter and you will be in the option screen:



if you had your eeprom.bin in the linux>eeprom folder and your hd is still locked then write "6" and press enter. xboxhdm will calculate your hd key and password and unlock the hd.Write down the info.



your hd in now unlocked so you can perform the necessary operations.press enter and you will be in the option screen

BUILD YOU HD FROM SCRATCH:

After unlocking the hd, write "1" in option screen and press enter. It will bring this screen:



write "yes" and press enter, now it will build the partition table and reboot:



This post has been edited by JayDee: Dec 30 2006, 10:23 AM

[kingroach]

RESTORE YOUR C:\ DRIVE:

After rebooting go to option screen. Write "2" and press enter. After you hit enter it will ask you to write "yes" or "no". Write "yes" and press enter. first it will format your C:\ drive:



and then if you have proper files in the cd it will copy the files from cd to C:\ drive, you can also use this option to downgrade dash if you dont have a memcard to do savegame exploit:



write "yes" and hit enter. C:\ drive will be copied from cd.

INSTALLING F:\ Drive or UPGRADE YOUR HARD DRIVE:

To upgrade your hard-drive do all the above steps. Then again come to the Option screen of xboxhdm. Write "4" and press enter. Now xboxhdm will scan your hd tell you if you can have F:\ drive or not. If you can you will be asked to write "yes" or "no". Write "yes" and press enter. It will make the partition table and reboot:



After you reboot, once again go to option screen and press "4" again. Your F:\ drive will be build:



And now you are done.

CLONE EXISTING HD

In the welcome screen type "3" and press enter, xbxohdm will list available drives attached with primary and secondery ide cable:



in my case my formatted xbox hd is attached with primary master, cd-drive with primary slave and another new blank hd with secondery master. so to start cloning first you have to enter your xbox hd's address in my case its "hda". so type "hda" and press enter. from the picture you can see theres another hard drive attached to secondery slave and its "hdc" so enter "hdc" as destination drive and press enter. Now it will ask for confermation. type "yes" and press enter and ur hd will be cloned.

note: cloning takes extremely long time and there is no progress indicator.. wait around 2-3 hour to clone a complete 120gb drive. For cloning stock drives, it takes abouta hour.



now wait few minutes to finish the job. it took me arount 12 minutes to clone the hd with nothing extra in xbox hd ( no games, apps, movies only the orinal files) and F:\ drive formatted. If you have more stuff in ur xbxo hd it will take more time.

make sure your new hd is unlocked first and then locked when you are done by the following method.

LOCK/UNLOCK YOUR HD:

After you boot to xboxhdm choose "3"(Boot linux with locking/unlocking utilities).

You will see this screen:



write "lockhd" or "unlockhd" and press enter to lock or unlock you hard drive. make sure you have eeprom.bin in linux>eeprom folder.

DONT FORGET TO LOCK YOUR HD BEFORE YOU SHUTDOWN XBOX

Reply if you have questions, soon I will be writing how to install various exploits using xboxhdm. and dont forget to thank "ldots" for making this wonderfull distro. I cant even imagine the days I had to use xlinux for softmodding.

This post has been edited by kingroach: Feb 4 2005, 06:36 PM

[madienmasher]

wow thanks for the info , but i still have a question how or what can i use to unlock a new hd? lol just got a 120 gig , and im a lil unsure

[Angerwound]

Beautifully done kingroach

[kingroach]

[madienmasher]

[fightclubber]

Sorry if this is obvious to you guys but can i perform all the functions if the box is NOT modded?

[ldots]

Good job on this graphical tutorial kingroach. This is a nice add-on to the "official" xboxhdm thread that tries to cover most of its functionality - therefore not suited for the user who just wants a HDD upgrade. Making pictures of xboxhdm in use is a great idea.

About the locking/unlocking part. I think its dangerous to recommend using the locking tools from CDROM. I know it shouldnt be a problem if people write down the password they use or use the savelog command, but if they do a typo when punching in the password, then shut down the PC to try out their new drive and find the xbox boots to error 6 - they are f*****. The log-files generated by unlockx and hdlock are not store when using the locking tools from CD since the CDROM is read-only. Instead use the "Make DOS Floppy with locking/unlocking tools" option in xboxhdm if you have a floppy drive.

Also unlockx is known to not work well with all drives. I have experienced this with a Seagate drive. I recommend using hdlock/hdunlock in stead.

From version 1.6.1 the is a automatic locking/unlocking option when using the tools from floppy. I attach the section from the official thread below.

The locking/unlocking tools
WARNING! Using the locking utilities from CD the tools cannot store any log files with used passwords, as the CD is read-only. It will be stored to the virtual filesystem in RAM but is gone after rebooting. These logs are needed if you accidentially use an incorrect HD passwd. Using either unlockx or hdlock to lock a drive the passwd used will be written to screen and you will be prompted to write this down. If you run the locking tool from CDROM I furthermore advise you to insert a formatted floppy in your primary floppy-drive and run the command : 'savelog'. This will write the log-files from the locking tools to floppy.

Be warned that locking HDD's is serious buisness! Don't just fool around with the locking tools and always be sure you backup the passwords you use. Locking the HDD with an unknown password will make the HDD useless if you dont store the log or write down the password!

I put the following locking/unlocking tools on the CD :

• hdlock, Only locks a HDD
• hdunlock, Only unlocks a HDD but doesn't disable locking. The drive will relock after reboot if you only run this tool.
• hdddisabl, Disables locking. To be used after hdunlock so that locking stays off after rebooting.
• unlockx, One option locks a drive, another option unlocks and disables locking in one go. Warning! This tools has been known to not work well with some drives. I recommend hdlock/hdunlock.
• atapwd. Good for checking the drive security status. Can also be used to unlock with the Master password. If you locked your HDD with ConfigMagic the Master password is set to 'TEAMASSEMBLY'

In my experience hdlock seems to be more reliable than unlockx. I therefore recommend using hdlock whenever possible. However, if you cannot lock/unlock with one tool - try the other. Unlockx still usefull for checking the drive status.

As of version 1.6.1 of xboxhdm there is a semi-automatic way of locking . If you include the eeprom.bin from your xbox on the xboxhdm CD (in the eeprom folder). Run the xboxhd tool (see below) and choose option 6) to generate the HDD password. Then run option 7) to generate a DOS floppy with the locking/unlocking tools. The HDD password will be written to the floppy and on rebooting with the floppy you have two locking/unlocking commands available.

• lockhd, will prompt you to choose a drive and will lock the HDD with the password written to the floppy by xboxhd
• unlockhd, will both unlock the HDD and disable locking with the password written on the floppy

Should the password generated by xboxhdm be incorrect (bad eeprom dump, or a bug in the password tool <- you can never rule this out completely), you should still be able to unlock the drive again with the password stored on the floppy in : input/hdpass.txt

WARNING! The locking tools are not made by me, so dont make me responsible if something goes wrong. Locking HDD's is not without risk.

Final tips!
Some PC Bioses seems to enable the Freeze Lock command on unlocked drives on bootup. When freeze lock is set you cannot relock the drive. This is rare though and might be disabled in some bioses. On my PC the bios only sets Freeze Lock on the Primary Master channel. Putting the xbox HDD on Primary Slave enables me to lock the drive again. Otherwise switching to another PC can be a solution if you should run into this rare problem.

[adil786]

[baller4life]

newegg.com

[kingroach]

thnx ldots for the warning, unlockx never failed me but i only tried with one hard drive.

newegg.com is only for uS, they dont ship to UK. You can try amazon.co.uk for cheap hds.

[DirtyDigitz]

ZipZoomFly has some good deals too, got my hard drive from there, free 2nd day shipping in the US.

Great Tutorials, hopefully they'll pin it!

[LepPpeR]

Added this to the tutorials list. Thanks for the hard work.

[Anthony52]

is there any risk's when rebuliding your c: drive?

[kingroach]

no there sint as long as you have the right files in linux>C folder.