Xdk Dashboard, Is it possible to run on softmodded XBOX? (v1.4) Options

[rubberduck123]

Hi all,

OK, I'm a little bit of a newb when it comes to modding, So I need to know this...

I'M SORRY IF I BREAK ANY RULES, I'M NEW HERE!

Is it possible to run the XDK dashboard on a softmodded xbox? I'm running UnleashX as my main dashboard and I have EvoX and Avalaunch as secondary dashboards. Do I need to flash my bios on my xbox to run the XDK dashboard or do you need a modchip to run the XDK Dashboard? or is it like EvoX and I can just FTP it to my box?

Thanks

Joe

XBOX Spec:

Version: 1.4
Mod: Softmod
Main Dashboard: UnleashX
Secondary Dashboards: EvoX, Avalaunch, XBMC
Bios: The same one the XBOX came shipped with

[rubberduck123]

OK, I have waited ages, there have been plenty of views and not one person has been polite enough to reply, Please can you help me with this??

[obcd]

Hi,

it is possible. You will need the Phoenix bios loader.
With that, you can run a BFM debug bios
(boot from memory.)

you will need the xdk dash files. You can extract the recovery cd image for them. You should find a bios
file in it that might work as well. You only need to copy the proper files over to the xbox C and E partition.

the kingroach ndure package has the ndts folder which contains a version of the PBL. (Phoenix bios loader)

So, your xbox remains retail. You just start PBL from your dashboard. It will load another bios in your xbox ram and that one will run the XDK dash.

regards.

[bassquake]

Theres a tutorial here Retail Xbox to Debug Xbox.

Its not the clearest of tuts so if you have some trouble with it let us know.

By the way, use the older Phoenix Bios Loader v1.3.5i, the newer 1.4.1 doesnt seem to work well. But get the v1.4.1 boot.cfg and copy the codes to the 1.3.5i one.

Good luck.

[obcd]

Hi,

the tutorial is a bit outdated.
I don't know why you need to transfer the Bert.xtf and Ernie.xtf to your xbox c partition.
And I also don't know why you need to rename your xboxdash.xbe on the C partition?
This last thing might be very unhealthy if you are having a softmod.

On a modded xbox, PBL can be launched like any other xbe.
It just needs it's cfg file and the proper BFM debug bios file (most are 1M in size)

That debug bios will default launch the XDK dash instead of the normal M$dash.
They have different names, so they can coexist together on the C partition.

You will need to disable the shadowc before you copy over the xdk dash files.
The debug bios doesn't know the shadow c. It will look for it's files on the real c.

I had the Ndure softmod, and it gave me problems to ftp the files because the C partition was full with the shadowc file and the filler files. I erased the filler files and placed the shadowc on the E partition.
I modified the nkpatcher to look for the shadowc on that E partition.

regards.

[bassquake]

Hi.

I realise the tutorial is a bit old, but I couldnt find any newer ones. I use a chip-modded xbox and that tut worked fine. Is what youre describing about the shadow c primarily for softmodded xboxs? As I dont recall any mention about it before.

That debug bios will default launch the XDK dash instead of the normal M$dash.
They have different names, so they can coexist together on the C partition.

What is the name for the debug dash? The only other xbe I can see is xshell.xbe. Is that it?

Im also quite new to all this so apologies if theyre dumb questions!

This post has been edited by bassquake: Apr 8 2008, 01:24 PM

[rubberduck123]

Hey everyone, thanks for replying!

I have managed to locate the XDK files, and obviously they are not .xbe files, they are .xbx files. I would flash the BIOS but I have looked all over this forum about flashing the BIOS on a softmodded XBOX and everyone is saying not to do it as it will screw the XBOX. My box is already softmodded, and I have to say its AWESOME! (Thanks to all the people who made this possible!)

So, going back on topic, so as obcd said, a modded XBOX can run the PBL no problems, (Bear with me, I'm a little bit of A newb, I know we can be annoying sometimes!!) So to load the PBL on my XBOX i just FTP it into my apps folder and it will run without any installations or flashing required? or is it an auto installer that needs burning onto a disk? and once PBL is running, Do I just select the default.xbx file from the XDK folder?

[obcd]

Hi,

yes, PBL has a default.xbe, so you can simply ftp it to your apps folder and launch it from your dashboard.

you will need to check it's cfg file, and you will need to ftp the bios file to the same folder. Its usually called xxx.bin and has a size of 1Mbyte or 512 Kb.

The xdk debug dashboard main executable is indeed xshell.xbe. You will also find a lot of other files, of which most of them will already exist on your xbox C and E partition. The stuff that isn't there should be ftp'd over to your xbox.

!!!! Do NOT !!!! try to burn the xdk recovery disk image on a dvd and run it on your xbox. It will run, and erase your xbox eeprom and harddisk. It will try to reflash your xbox bios and generate a failure on that. After the procedure You will end up with a non booting xbox.

As far as I remember, I extracted the xdk recovery exe with winzip or winrar. The xshell.xbe should be in it.

regards.

[bassquake]

Thought Id post an update.

The old tutorial that I originally followed was unneccessary really and leaves files all over the place. A more elegant solution is to follow this tutorial Newer Tutorial. This tut also works for the latest 5933 XDK.

Just replace what it says about putting the bios on the chip, instead just use Phoenix Bios Loader as before, but the program can be placed anywhere, I have it in F/Apps and just run it from XBMC. Ensure you have the Debug BFM Bios, any should do. It will auto find the xshell.xbe residing on C drive. Also check you have the "debug" line in the boot.cfg set to "true".

Its a much cleaner solution. And the xdk has a few more options too.

[obcd]

Hi,

i think there is a small misunderstanding with the debug=true setting in the cfg file.

In my opinion, the setting has nothing to do with using a debug bios or not.
It simply makes PBL generate a log file which can be used for debugging.
So, debug=false might work as well.

Not all debug biosses work on every console. If you look at some of the latest xdk packages, you will see that even they provide more than one bios file.

With some debug biosses, it is possible to see your E partition in your xbox neiborhood on your development pc. With others, this doesn't work.

Some debug biosses are able to run retail homebrew. With others, it doesn't work.

regards.

[rubberduck123]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your help, but I'm having a problem (surprise surprise eh? lol) when PBL is FTP'ed to my XBOX, when launched it shows a a dos screen with a credit saying Pheniox Bios Loader made by some random dude (Sorry to whoever PBL belongs to I dont mean to be nasty!) and then I cant do anything except reboot my xbox and be re-united with UnleashX. Any ideas?

Joe

Thanks for all the help, you guys have been great!

[bassquake]

PBL should briefly say "Press A to choose a bios" if you dont have a bios named xboxrom.bin in the Bioses folder then you press A on your controller but if you have a remote for the xbox attached, press the OK button on the remote as Ive found it seems to lock out the controller if its plugged in. You have to be quite quick to press it on time.

If all youre getting is the credits and nothing else then it may already be trying to load a bios called xboxrom.bin which doesnt work for your box. I would just name it something else and place some other bioses in the Bioses folder and then manually choose it as described above.

Either that or you havent put the correct eeprom or rc4 key for your box in the boot.cfg. :-/

This post has been edited by bassquake: Apr 10 2008, 08:24 PM

[obcd]

Hi,

enable the debugging. It will create a debug file.
Ftp that file over to your pc and open it in a text editor.
It's information might be helpfull.

Not all PBL versions have that Splashscreen and the option to select a bios.
There is a version which I believe they call PBL lite that simply reboots another bios without hassle.

If you have the ndure softmod, and you installed the toolkit, you shoud have a ndts folder on your e partition. That one contains that specific PBL lite version.
It is used to launch the unleashx toolkit dashboard with the shadowc drive and virtual eeprom turned off.
The bios loaded at that moment is not aware of those features, so they aren't activated.

regards.