XBOX To Linux In 7 Simple Steps And,, Upgrading XBOX HDD In 4 Simple Steps Options

[LostKoRn]

XBOX TO LINUX IN 7 SIMPLE STEPS

AND

UPGRADING XBOX HARDRIVE IN 4 SIMPLE STEPS!
(Near Bottom)

ALSO

HOW TO BACKUP XBOX GAMES
(At Bottom)


This tutorial will guide you through how to install UDE along with linux on your xbox and once you have done that how to put a brand new PC hardrive in.

To start off with I have a little saying for this tutorial. If you want to install Linux on your xbox and you are one of these people who prefers to read what buttons you must press on a game before you actually play it then this tutorial is not for you.
In simple terms - If you cannot think for yourself and work things out for yourself don’t continue reading.
Also don't forget that this is MY way of how installed it since I was having so much trouble with other tutorials.

Ok so here we go.

Necessary Equipment:

* An Xbox (The older the better) - To find out your version

http://www.xbox-linux.org/docs/versionsfinding.html

* The Game - Mechassault (Has to be the original version NOT platinum hits or any other type)
OR
The Game - Splinter Cell
OR
The Game - 007 - Agent Under Fire

* A PC Or Laptop With A USB Port

* Internet Connection (Preferably)

* An Action Replay Memory Card With USB Docking Station (With software -www.codejunkies.com) - If you can manage to get just the USB docking station then it would be good provided you own or buy a memory card. If not then its best to get both the card and station.

AND/OR

* An Official Memory Card Or Madcatz Memory Card -

If you have a way of accessing your memory card without using a docking station i.e.

http://www.xbox-linux.org/docs/howtoar.html

If you do then you will need an official or madcatz memory card. If not then you will need the Official card and USB docking station supplied with action replay.

Also although i have not tried this method myself but if you are stuggling with the USB stick method then check out this tut. SO YOU DONT NEED TO USE A MEMORY CARD OR AR (apperently) Once again i havent tried this way of doing it so i ant garuntee it will work :

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=262740


* The Latest Version Of ldots ltools Package -

There are 3 versions of this package depending on the gamesave exploit you wish to do.

Mechaussault, Splinter Cell or 007 - AUF (Agent Under Fire) For legal reasons I am not allowed to tell you or give you a link to where you can retrieve any of these packages but I will say that there is a good channel on IRC ;-)

* A Copy Of A Preferred Xbox Linux -

I used Gentoox Home Edition http://gentoox.shallax.com/modules.php?name=Downloads but there are others out such as Ed's Xebian http://www.xbox-linux.org/docs/debian.html and more but I will only be explaining Gentoox Home Edition in this tut.


(It has been rumored that the new versions of the Action Replay Memory Card corrupt the saves when transferring them but I’m not sure if it corrupts the ltools save as I used the USB Docking Station and an Official Memory Card so it’s up to you to take the gamble)


If you have all (most) of them, then you may continue.


I will be going through the mechassault savegame version of the ldiots tool package, the installed EvoX dashboard and the Gentoox Home Edition Installation.


Savegame Exploit:


1. Open up the Action Replay software and open up the directory in which your version of the ltools package is saved. The just simply drag and drop the .zip file into the middle column

(PC Database) After this drag the gamesave (Run Linux) across to the left column which shows your memory card and it should copy across.





2. Take out the memory card from the docking station and put it into the top of your xbox joypad. On the microsft xbox dashboard choose memory and select the memory card with the gamesave on. Go to the gamesave and click A. The select Copy and copy the game to the xbox hardrive. Insert the chosen game which matches the chosen game save and wait for it to load.





3. Once loaded select campaign and load up Run Linux by selecting it with A.
Once loaded scroll down (Press B if it just says Mechassualt disc) and select UDE Install.

Choose which UDE to install by which Kernel you have, UDE1 green (A) should be used on kernels prior to 5713 and UDE2 should be used on kernels 5713 and higher. Also the UDE2 only works on USA/Canadadian xboxes so this may come of help to some people if you have a kernel higher than 5713 and a PAL xbox:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=257341


At this stage unless you own a 1.6 version of the xbox press green (A) if you own a 1.6 press blue (X).
Now you must choose your dashboard (I chose EvoX as it is good for if you wish to put apps onto your Hardrive and not have to keep selecting them yourself but MXM is more informational so it is up to you) Now just let it do its thing and wait until it says 'It is now safe to turn off your xbox' which you turn off.



Installing Linux (Gentoox):

You can stop here if you just wish to have evox on your xbox!!!

4. Turn the xbox back on and wait for it too load. You will be presented with a bios selector screen after the xbox intro has loaded.
To advance just repeatedly press A (Green) until the Bios intro loads up.
Once again when you see the picture of the bios loader just repeatedly press A until it loads up.

(I’ve found that if you remove the joypad from the xbox before the xbox intro has finished loading, it will skip the bios loader and take you straight to the dashboard but you must insert the joypad again after you are presented with the dashboard)

Now when I put Gentoox onto a CD-RW I was presented with an error when trying to install so

I had to FTP my xbox and upload certain files. If your copy of gentoox works fine from the CD then you may advance to step 6 if not follow step 5. (Since I did not use CD I do not know if there is a difference between CD installation and FTP installation but if you need further help with either installation:

http://gentoox.shallax.com/modules.php?nam...rticles&secid=2


5. Since we cannot install gentoox via disc we must FTP the installation files to our xbox. I recommend using an FTP program for this step such as SmartFTP www.smartftp.com which will also come in use if you wish to install other apps such as mediacentre later on.

Now enter the IP of the xbox which should be displayed at the top right of the screen (EvoX) and use xbox for the username and password. Create a folder called Gentoox in a directory of your choice (C:\Gentoox) Now extract all the contents of the Gentoox Home Edition which you downloaded to it. Open stardust.iso which should be inside the folder where you extracted all the contents to, using IsoBuster:

http://www.smart-projects.net/isobuster/

Now create a new folder inside the folder you are in (C:\Gentoox) and extract all contents of stardust.iso to it (C:\Gentoox\Stardust ISO)
Now open the folder and open DISTRO.rar which has just been extracted and extract all the files to a new folder
(C:\Gentoox\Stardust\Gentoox Upload) now you must highlight all the files in the new folder and drag and drop them into E:\ on the xbox hardrive via SmartFTP (DO NOT use any folders just place them directly on E:\)

Now you must go to the directory, Dashboard (E:\Dashboard) and downlod evox.ini to your desktop and open it up from your desktop, now paste this into the text (near the bottom in the root section) directly below MS Dashboard : Item "Gentoox","E:\gentooxx.xbe" and make sure its all still
lined up correctly, save the .ini and send it back to your E:\Desktop in your xbox via ftp now restart your xbox. Once restarted on your dashboard should be an option to select Gentoox, select it and wait to load.





6. Once loaded from the disc or via the FTP your joypad should begin to rumble (Don't worry this is normal) and if you just don’t press any buttons as it will automatically go to the Gentoox installation.
Once this has loaded you must follow the on screen instructions and highlight the text A (Green) and press B (Red) Once you have completed this you must select from various options.
I pressed A (Green) to every single choice, even though it did say it runs slow it seems to be running fine to me. When it asks you for the options about VGA and Remote Desktop etc. I recommend that you write the information down as it will come in use later on.
Once you have finished choosing options it will install Gentoox and when it says it is now safe to turn off your xbox, turn it off. (If no options appear on the install of gentoox then they may appear on the first run but once again I just selected green to all of them and mine works fine)





Running Linux:


7. Turn back on the xbox and when loaded choose Gentoox from the dashboard and once again you must not press any buttons as it loads gentoox automatically. Congratulations you now have an xbox which is running Linux! If you are using a TV to view on then I recommend you refer back to the information you wrote down upon installation about VGA etc and you should be able to use remote desktoping from your PC.





Misc.

If you wish to install any other things like xbox media centre then you must get the latest version.
(Once again for legal reasons I am not allowed to give you any information where to retrieve this from but there is an IRC channel which will answer all your questions)

Now go to E:\Apps Create a folder named xbmc and upload (drag and drop) all the contents of the .rar into the folder (NO subfolders) You must do this for all other apps you wish to use such as Config Magic etc. and just select launch menu and select apps from the dashboard.


Thank you for your time and I hope this tutorial has helped you in what you were stuck or struggling on.

Thanxs to:

ldots
xbox-linux
xbox-scene
Gentoox
#xbins - (/XBOX/Operating Systems/linux/distributions/ltools)
TriggerNum5
Flame2K
Krayzie

FAQ:

Q. Why can i not use my joypad with linux?
A. If it is your first time running gentoox after the installation then it has trouble with your joypad. You must reset your xbox and load gentoox again

Q. Why is it asking me for a CD after ive used the FTP method?
A. You must delete the installation files you used via FTP and upload them again exactly as you did before

Q. Why does my screen go all distorted when it comes up with 'install linux' after i've clicked gentoox for the first time?
A. You must reset your xbox and try it again. I dont know why specifically why! Just do it! lol

Q. Will I still be able to use xbox live if i use this method?
A. OH YEH!!! Ok all you gotta do as far as i know is dont be stupid and click on anything that will trigger off live and you just gotta uninstall ltools whenver you want to go on live ;-)

Q. I think i've been banned from live! Can i get unbanned?
A. In short YES, BUT you will need to get a friends eeprom who isnt planning to use live. To update your Xbox's EEPROM with an unbanned EEPROM, download Configmagic and use it. The xbox's hdd has to be unlocked before you can update and as soon as your done lock it straight after! If you dont lock it then your xbox wont boot up again so i recommend backing up your eeprom onto your pc so that you can revert if anything goes wrong!

Q. My hdd is totally messed up! And i just keep getting error (6, 12 or 21) Help?
A.

Error 6 - Ok, from what i know of error 6 is because something is wrong with the hardrive, so maybe when you installed the new hdd you put the wrong key in or it is not locked properly.

Error 12 and 21 - These errors are both software errors and this means you have messed up something on the hardrive (e.g. You deleted default.xbe or you messed around with c:\.
There are two thing i can think of to sort this out.
1. Insert MA, SC or 007 and uninstall and reinstall ltools.
2. If the saves have gone or something else is wrong then looks like you may have to hotswap and redo the hdd (read into hotswapping, provided you backed up c:\ and the eeprom) or use a spare hdd to create a new xbox hdd (also provided you backed up your eeprom and c:\)


UPGRADING XBOX HARDRIVE IN 4 SIMPLE STEPS!


OK. If you have come this far then well done. Now I will give you a very easy method of how to put in a spare or brand new PC hardrive into your xbox and make it work.


!!!!WARNING!!!!

In order to make a regular PC hardrive work in your xbox it is going to require you to format the hardrive so you must either make a backup of the hardrive if you have any needed things on it or use a brand new one.

Also you are doing this at your own risk and i will not accept any blame for any stupid mistakes you make. However i can tell you that if you follow this tutorial word for word then i am pretty certain that nothing will go wrong and if it does i will try my best to give u all my help


OK, So here we go again.


Using this method you will not need to do anything to your original hardrive which means that if anything does go wrong you will still have an xbox :-)


Needed Equipment/Software:

xboxhdm 1.9 (Found in usual place) (/XBOX/Operating Systems/linux/distributions)

Torx 10 And Torx 20 Screwdrivers - To Open XBOX

A Spare/Blank PC Hardrive (Can be anything from 10gb to 10000gb i think)

FTP Program (AceFTP, SmartFTP etc.)

Formated Floppy Disk

A blank CD-R/W


Steps:


1. On your xbox's evox dashboard go to system utils and select backup. Once this has complete, on your PC run the desired FTP program and access ur xbox. Go to E:\ and download a file called 'backup_linux' to your PC hardrive.
Then go to the root of your xbox and download the full folders of C:\ and E:\ (You can use F:\ to if you want it) to your PC's hardrive.

Now extract all files in xboxhdm 1.9 to your PC'S hd and open up the folder 'linux' in that folder is a folder called 'eeprom' Inside the backup_linux folder you download earlier is an eeprom.bin put that into the eeprom folder in xboxhdm. Now go back and put the C:\ and E:\ which were downloaded earlier from ur xbox into the xboxhdm\linux folder and overwrtie the ones already there.

(This method is for if you want all your files (evox, gamesaves etc.) from your original xbox hardrive on your new one. If you dont then there is no need to put the C:\ and E:\ folders into the xboxhdm\linux folder)

Now in the root of xboxhdm are two files named 'make-dos-floppy' and 'make-iso-win'
You must run make-iso-win and wait for it to finish once it has finished.
Now run make-dos-floppy and insert a formated floppy disk.

Now burn the .iso which was created to a blank cd-r/w using nero or alcohol etc. When burning is finsihed shutdown pc.


2. Take out all other hardrives leaving a CD/DVD drive in and put in the hardrive you wish to make an xbox hardrive and set it to be the primary master. Boot up your PC and as it is loading press escape and set your PC to boot from CD. Now reset your PC and put the cd-r/w with the .iso you created on it, in the cd/dvd drive.

It shud come up looking like this:

_ __ __ _ __ __ ______ __ ___ __
| |/ // /_ ____ | |/ / / / / / __ \ / |/ /___ _/ /_____ _____
| // __ \/ __ \| / / /_/ / / / / / /|_/ / __ `/ //_/ _ \/ ___/
/ |/ /_/ / /_/ / | / __ / /_/ / / / / / /_/ / ,< / __/ /
/_/|_/_.___/\____/_/|_| /_/ /_/_____/ /_/ /_/\__,_/_/|_|\___/_/
__
____ _____ ____/ /
/ __ `/ __ \/ __ /
/ /_/ / / / / /_/ /
\__,_/_/ /_/\__,_/
__ __
________ _________ _ _____ _______ __ / /_____ ____ / /
/ ___/ _ \/ ___/ __ \ | / / _ \/ ___/ / / / / __/ __ \/ __ \/ /
/ / / __/ /__/ /_/ / |/ / __/ / / /_/ / / /_/ /_/ / /_/ / /
/_/ \___/\___/\____/|___/\___/_/ \__, / \__/\____/\____/_/
/____/

1) Boot VGA console with xbox-drive utilities (default)
2) Boot text-console with xbox-drive utilities
3) Boot linux with locking/unlocking utilities
4) Boot to DOS with HD unlock tools
(use with caution. Passwd log-files are not saved after reboot)


Choose Option 1 and press enter.

When it asks you for a login type xboxhd.

Now you will see this:

__ ___ _ _______ ___ ___ _
\ \ / / | | | | | _ \ | \/ | | |
\ V /| |__ _____ __ | |_| | | | | | . . | __ _| | _____ _ __
/ \| |_ \ / _ \ \/ / | _ | | | | | |\/| |/ _' | |/ / _ \ '__|
/ /^\ \ |_) | (_) > < | | | | |/ / | | | | (_| | < __/ |
\/ \/_.__/ \___/_/\_\ \_| |_/___/ \_| |_/\__,_|_|\_\___|_|


You have the following options :
1) Build a new Xbox HD from scratch
2) Rebuild C-partition on existing Xbox-drive
3) Clone existing Xbox HD
4) Install F-drive
5) Wipe current fatx partition table
6) Generate HD Key (requires eeprom)
7) Make DOS floppy with HD lock/unlock tools
8) Quit


Choose option 1 again and it will begin to format and write the partiton table etc.

If you put your C:\ and E:\ onto the CD then when it asks you about them type yes and when it asks you if you would like an F select yes, it is all pretty self explanatory.

When it has finished and is back at the option choosing screen choose option 6 '6) Generate HD Key (requires eeprom)' when it loads write down the hdd pass. !!!

DOUBLE CHECK YOU HAVE WRITTEN DOWN THE PASSWORD CORRECTLY!!!


Alternativley you can choose option 3 at the main selection screen - 3) Boot linux with locking/unlocking utilities
Then type hdlock
!This will require your eeprom being on the xboxhdm disc and it will look at the eeprom and automatically lock your hdd for you! :-)

If your still a bit unsure then continue to the begining of step 3 and lock it using the password which you wrote down ;-)

Now quit and turn off the PC.

You now have a brand new nearly-usable xbox hard drive if this worked


3. OK now for the hard part which is easy to mess up so be careful!

Shutdown the PC and insert the floppy which you put the bootable dos floppy files on.
Boot the PC and wait for it to load. Now type in hdlock and when it asks for a password type in the password which you wrote down earlier from the option 6 on the CD. It should lock the hardrive and save the hddpass to the floppy.

3A. If u wish to go for an easier way and put the eeprom.bin on the cd instead of loading the floppy up and typing in the hdd pass load the cd and on the first option screen of the CD pick option 3 '3) Boot linux with locking/unlocking utilities' Type in lockhd

It will now search for the eeprom on the CD and will automatically lock the hardrive.

The master password is set to XBOXSCENE
You can use this to unlock the HDD if you loose the eeprom password you your eeprom gets lost. Boot the xboxhdm to DOS (option 4 '4) Boot to DOS with HD unlock tools') and run the atapwd tools to unlock using Master passwords.

!!!I suggest that you do not use this method as i cannot garuntee that it works as i didnt use it and am not sure if it works as i have only read about it!!!

Now Turn off the PC and take out the hardrive when it has finished locking.

WELL DONE YOU NOW HAVE A BRAND NEW CUSTOM XBOX HARDRIVE!!!


4. Now use the link below to open up and remove your original xbox hardrive and replace it with the brand new one (You must remove the black casing around the hardrive to put a new one in)


http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/open1.php

Put in your brand new, custom hdd in place of your old one.
Load up your xbox and have fun!
That Is ALL! Simple As!


Thanxs Goes To:

ldots
xboxhdm Team
xbox-scene



HOW TO BACKUP XBOX GAMES

!!! DISCLAMER!!!

In no way do i endorse or allow the right to use this method to produce copies of xbox games which are not legally yours. I have written this tutorial for people who wish to make a backup of thier own xbox games because they may get misplaced or damaged and do not think its right that they should go out and spend money to buy a new copy when they already own a copy but they can now not play it!


There are 2 ways to backup an xbox game both of which require you to have either a software modded or a hardware modded xbox. Here are the 2 ways:

1. Backup xbox game to xbox hardrive.
2. Backup xbox game to DVD.

I will now explain how to do these 2 ways.

1. In order to backup a game to your xbox hardrive you can either put complex tools onto your xbox and use that. The application is pretty self explanatory but if you do need help just reply to this topic or PM me. This app can be obtained from the usual places.

If the first way did not work for you then you may wish to take this longer way. Insert the game into your xbox disc drive. Connect to your xbox via FTP and download all the contents of the disc to your PC hardrive (The dis drive is D:\ on your xbox)
When you have all the files on your PC hardrive you must then transfer all the files into E:\games or F:\games and create a folder with the name of the game e.g E:\games\Halo or F:\games\Halo and copy all the files from you PC hardrive to that folder. That is all.


2. In order to backup an xbox game to a DVD you must own a DVD writer and a blank DVDR.
Insert the game into your xbox disc drive. Gain access to your xbox via FTP and copy all the contents of the game onto your PC. You must now run Qwix (Get it at the usual places) In Qwix choose create iso and choose local folder. Now browse to the game folder and select it. (If the games contents are not in a folder then you must create one)
Now click create iso and name it.
Once it has finished you must use stomp recordnow max (You may use another iso burning program like nero or alchol 120% but i can garuntee that stomp recordnow max will work and its free )
In recordnow max select image (top left) and then select add file. Now browse to the .iso which you created using Qwix. Now press the red button and it should start recording.

SIMPLE AS THAT!!!

If either of these methods didn't work for you look around on here:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=107130


Thanxs to:

HSDemonz
Stomp Recordnow Max
Qwix
#Xbins

This post has been edited by LostKoRn: Oct 1 2004, 09:51 PM

[krayzie]

Uhm sorry it might be a good tut but i found it very hard to read so I stopped at the beginning. Too much text at once and there is little info what exploit are used and such. Also the man is called ldots with an L and NOT idiots.