FrostyTheSnowman and Xman954's VGA Boot Disc v1.0 Options

[joesnose]

hello again, not sure if this belongs in this thread but i w didn't want to start a new thread.

so i'm using frostys boot disc and followed textbooks tutorial and built a vga cable, all works fantastically exept when i run damn small linux the screen is tinted green. I have done some searching and from what i can gather linux needs a 1+3 mode cable and textbooks tutorial is for a 2+3 mode cable. i found this post from frosty:-

Here's the information you need:

--- MODE 1+3 ---

Short Pin 5 to Pin 17
Short Pin 7 to Pin 19

--- MODE 2+3 ---

Short Pin 6 to Pin 18
Short Pin 7 to Pin 19
NOTE: Pins 5, 6, and 7 are all just common ground pins.

So basically, in order to have a switching VGA cable, you can do is this:

-----------------------

Short Pin 7 to Pin 19 permanently, and then wire up a double-throw (3 pin) switch like this:

Left Pin goes to Pin 17 on XBOX A/V, Center pin goes to Pin 6 on XBOX A/V, Right Pin goes to Pin 18 on XBOX A/V.

By wiring it like this, the cable will be a 1+3 cable when the switch is switched to the left side, and the cable will be 2+3 when the switch is switched to the right side.

NOTE: Leave the RGB, and H/V signals the way they are. All you need to do to change the 'mode' type of the cable is to flip this switch. (The wiring for RGB and H/V are the same on both cables.)

NOTE: NOTE: Make sure the XBOX is off when you switch between 1+3 and 2+3.

i just wanted to know if i could apply this to textbooks vga cable

[joesnose]

couldnt find the edit button sorry.

or could this switch setup be edited to use one three pole switch to switch between 1+3 and 2+3?

http://www.360mods.net/modules/coppermine/...05/image312.jpg

[joesnose]

ok im a bit confused now, i have this booting on my pal xbox!

i wanted to get linux working so i tried this, pins 13 and 14 always connected, mode 3 then i have a 3 pole switch with the middle pole going to pin 12 and left pole going to pin 11 and the right pole to pin 9, which i thought would give me the option of selecting between modes 1 and 2.

now if i boot my xbox as ntsc with mode 2+3 the dashboard (unleash) has a green tint but games load fine but if i boot in pal i have the right colours in my dashboard and games boot fine, in both pal and ntsc i cant select 480p or 720p, and if i boot in 1+3 modes i get nothing.

i was trying to enable 1+3 so my linux would not boot with a green tint, but ow linux wont load at all green tint or not? do i just have to have 3 switches? and use a different ground for each switch?

im very confused right now!

[joesnose]

i just added 3 switches in the end, was being lazy, its sorted now.

[yaywoop]

If anyone cares, I finally got around to finishing off my internal sync mod for perfect VGA on every screen.
there are a few things to note that got this mod working
I powered the 74HC14 from 2.4V at that voltage the trigger for the HC14 is just under 1.5V so it gets the maximum voltage possible for compatibility with most screens. I got this voltage from the 3V pin on the power connector and dropped it across a diode (3 - 0.7drop = 2.4) with a resistor to load the circuit to keep it at 2.4V
i fixed the lines going down the screen by adding filter capacitors across the power for the 74hc14 so now its flawless (a 10uF and a 1nF capacitor in parallel did the trick)

and I am using Frostys vga bios (the BFM version from the boot disk) of course. thanks Frosty. I decided not to flash the bios cos I am using a TSOP mod and I want to be able to dual boot retail and a non multiversion bios. so I have a 4973 bios booting directly to the BFM bios to load up VGA.

if there is any interest in this cheap but difficult mod, tell me and i will post schematics and stuff in the hardware > Audio/Video Technical section

[FrostyTheSnowman]

Hell yeah! Nice job yaywoop!

I would love it if you could post some schematics, i've been wanting to do the internal sync mod for a long time, i've just been waiting for both the internal sync mod and VGA BIOSes to mature to the point that it would be worth doing.

But now with the new X2 5035 VGA BIOS and your internal sync mod, we practically have 100% native VGA on the original XBOX.

See that Microsoft? Just TRY and tell us what we can or can't do with our consoles! I dare you!

This post has been edited by FrostyTheSnowman: Oct 2 2007, 04:10 PM

[urbigbro]

I would love to see those schematics also! I can think or plenty of xboxes that I could add this to. A tutorial with pics and big arrows pointing to what and where to solder would be nice too!

@Frosty- BTW did you ever get the opportunity to test out your VGA disc with the set-up I'm using to see if you got the same results I and DeadPrez have gotten?

Thanks to both of you!

[FrostyTheSnowman]

@Frosty- BTW did you ever get the opportunity to test out your VGA disc with the set-up I'm using to see if you got the same results I and DeadPrez have gotten?

Okay, let's start from the beginning because it's been a while since we last talked...

1. Is your XBOX NTSC or PAL? (I mean when it was stock, before it was modded...)

2. Are you 100% sure it is booting the actual disc? It might not even be booting the disc at all...

3. Have you tried blind-launching the disc from within your dashboard instead of cold-booting the disc?

4. Have you tried making the x2config.ini point to a different dashboard or application? (you could try pointing it to a game or an emulator too)

5. Is your DVD drive healthy?

6. Are you using either an HDTV cable or a 2+3 VGA cable?

Also, could you PM me your entire x2config.ini file? It would help me with debugging.

[yaywoop]

alright I will put up some schematics and pictures. I don't really have time to write a complete tutorial, its quite a task.
btw its not an easy mod. and you have to be good at soldering and have a steady hand
thats the hardest part. look at where you have to solder to
http://members.cox.net/sandman1687/con3e.JPG

[yaywoop]

Ok I wrote a guide
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=624248

[urbigbro]

Hi Frosty! I was wondering if you had a chance to review my config.ini file or set-up an xbox with the krayzie softmod and test it yourself. I would love to use it for all my friends that have the same mod as me, but only use VGA periodically. I understand if you don't want to look into it further as it appears that the issue affects only this softmod. Thanks for your time.

[urbigbro]

@Frosty
Well it seems as if it is not Krayzies ndure softmod that is the problem, but something else I have yet to track down.

I used this on a Ver. 1 box with the same softmod and got it to work. It had a Focus encoder which is different from the encoder in my ver 1.1 box. Of course, before I can guess that is the problem I have a lot of other things to check first.

Also I noticed that the G drive was no longer accessible once in the VGA mode the disc initiates. I would guess I need to change that part in the .ini file to yes or enabled?

Thanks again for this awesome software. I will update once I get the problem tracked down on the 1.1 box.

P.S. I had planned on using your softmod on the ver 1 box, but due to it having the 3944 BIOS I tried your boot disc. Thanks to you guys I can have VGA on any xbox now!

This post has been edited by urbigbro: Jan 29 2008, 09:59 AM

[urbigbro]

Update on G drive inaccessibility. I'm still using Krayzies Mod 1.1.1. The G drive is fully accessible if I don't use the VGA boot disc.
I changed the unleashX dashboard setting to enable the G drive, but it still will not show. I tried loading other apps such as XBMC, Avalaunch. They also didn't show the G drive. Is this a built in limitation that can't be changed in a setting? I also tried looking for a setting in the config.ini , but there didn't appear to be any setting that could be changed in relation to this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

[HiTMaN-239]

Update on G drive inaccessibility. I'm still using Krayzies Mod 1.1.1. The G drive is fully accessible if I don't use the VGA boot disc.
I changed the unleashX dashboard setting to enable the G drive, but it still will not show. I tried loading other apps such as XBMC, Avalaunch. They also didn't show the G drive. Is this a built in limitation that can't be changed in a setting? I also tried looking for a setting in the config.ini , but there didn't appear to be any setting that could be changed in relation to this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

First time poster here.... hi to all (I always read, but never really posted)
Urbigbro, I have the same problem as you, xbox 1.0, with connexant, same softmod, with my xbmc in the e:\dashboard\default.xbe using hdtv pack with bnc connectors to my monitor LG Flatron 915FT+ ...... I have green on my montior as expected, I load the vga xbe and the xbox restarts, I hear the xbmc sounds, I know its there because I can move up and down and hear the clicks.... but the screen is blank....

Frosty, please dont abandon us............. Could it be a connexant issue? any body outhere with a xbox 1 connexant, AND a SOFT MOD got this to work?

Pleae helps

[HiTMaN-239]

Looks like I got this to work, but with one problem. Reoslution in my dashboard (xbmc) is on ly 16:9 NTSC (i.e. 480), I made sure that in the MS dashboard all modes are enabled (480p, 720p, and 1080i) before I booted the disc. When I try to get to MS dashboard after I boot the disc to make sure that they hd modes are still set, I get a blank screen.....

Without the boot disk I can set my resoltions in 480p, 720p, or 1080i no problem (with my screen green of course).... so I know my cables are good (its hd pack with compoenet going to bnc)

Any help? I really want my 720p and 1080i modes in full vga colour