Simple Db-25/cat5 Lpt Nand Dump/flash Cable Tut, One cable for use on multiple 360's Options

[sabbath_dude]

I can't take any credit for this idea as I know a few other people round here already use this setup. Same goes for the info on where to solder the various wires etc. I've simply gathered all the required info and tried to put it together here in one noob friendly tut .

Anyway, the plan is to create one neat and tidy cable that can be used to dump and flash your 360's NAND by simply plugging into a specially created Ethernet port. The benefits of this are that the cable can be used on multiple 360's without the need for resoldering or messy wires hanging out your box.


What you'll need

RJ45 Ethernet Network LAN Cable Extension Adapter - I bought mine on eBay at £3 for 10
Standard Cat5 patch cable (Not a crossover cable, see HERE about the difference)
D-Sub hood 25-way - I bought mine in Maplin for about £1.60 part #FP29G
DB25 25-way male plug - I bought mine in Maplin for about £1.50 part #YQ48C

Other things you'll need are 5x100 ohm resistors and possibly some zip ties for securing your wiring.


The idea here is pretty simple. All you're going to do is match the colours marked on the Xbox motherboard with the db25 plug. But instead of going straight from one to the other you're going to have an Ethernet cable extender in the middle. This will allow you to unplug/connect you're 360 to your PC quickly and whenever you want.

Cut your Cat5 cable in half and prepare both ends for soldering. I recommend keeping the cable between your Xbox and PC as short as possible. After a bit of trial and error I found 35-40cm to be about right. The cable inside your Xbox should also be as short as possible.




Solder your wires to the Xbox motherboard following my diagram above. Find a good spot to place your Ethernet extender and secure it in place. I cut a hole in the metal shielding behind the DVD drive and hot glued the extender in place. I then cut a small hole on the outer case under the hard drive to allow easy access to the port whenever needed. When not in use the port is hidden under the hard drive.

Next you need to solder the other half of your Cat5 cable to the DB25 plug. Be careful to match up with the correct wires you soldered to the 360's motherboard!. Depending on your PC you may or may not need to install some 100 ohm resistors on pins 1,2,14,16 and 17. Some people will get away without them but in my case the NAND would not dump correctly unless I had resistors in place. You may also need to fit a switching diode to pin 11 if you are not getting the correct FlashConfig (normal config being 0x1198010). I had no issues so there was no need for me to fit the diode.

Just so there is no confusion on which pin is which.....


Fit your D-sub hood and you're all done .


*Update*
I just wanted to add some pics of the interesting configurations/variations people have come up with to dump and flash their 360's....
Reusable easy solder solution by garlon
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/3985/lptcable.jpg
My easy solder cat5 attachment using garlon's idea
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy122/s..._dude6/att3.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy122/s..._dude6/att2.jpg
http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy122/s..._dude6/att1.jpg
Super clean low profile solution by fahrenheit
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/faranheit/RJ45_PCB.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/faran...VDclearance.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/faranheit/LPTwired.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/faran...FinishedLPT.jpg
Integrated nand write protect switch by Chemodile
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/un...p-internalS.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/un...i_nwp-sideS.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/un...i_nwp-caseS.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z162/un..._swp-cableS.jpg

This post has been edited by sabbath_dude: Feb 2 2010, 01:44 PM

[4NZ33]

Similar to what I did but yours looks much more neat than mine.

Very Nice.

[Relapse75]

This is cool and all makes it easy to flash, but you do know that the new version of Xell is update-able via a USB drive. And you should never have to connect to the pc again, there is even a fail safe where you can revert from a bad update using the back usb port. I have removed the LPT flashing hardware from my boxes just because of this.

[sabbath_dude]

Similar to what I did but yours looks much more neat than mine.

Very Nice.

Thanks .

This is cool and all makes it easy to flash, but you do know that the new version of Xell is update-able via a USB drive. And you should never have to connect to the pc again, there is even a fail safe where you can revert from a bad update using the back usb port. I have removed the LPT flashing hardware from my boxes just because of this.

Yes I know Xell is now update-able via USB but If you're like me and still want to flash the original Microsoft dash back from time to time then this is very handy. My main console is PAL and there are a couple of games not available to me so it's really nice to be able to switch the region code as and when needed . The other main benefit I find is being able to use the same cable to quickly switch from one 360 to another. Before I had to desolder/resolder which was a pain in the balls and wasted time.

Besides that I personally haven't had much luck in getting Xell to update from USB. I realise it's early days yet and things will no doubt become more stable/streamlined but it's still nice to have permanent, quick and easy access to the NAND.

[Cisk]

Whoa this is impressive, just the handy idea i was looking for.


Thanks, will be doing this later.

[eyric101]

I love this, very tidy. If this forum gave rep you get + from me!

[amexie]

what i have done with mine is just put and lpt port on the back of the 360 ill tack a pic later
so much easier than making a cable aswell

[ffriozi]

First Thanks A lot !!!

i have a question... i have xbox Model JASPER 512 mb. what is this? do i need do this?



Thanks !

[Poopchute]

So is it safe to leave these wires permenantly soldered into the board? What about soldering 2 small pin headers into the 7-wire spots so a person could easily solder into the board without risking solder splashes and scratched traces?

[ffriozi]

Nvm that ohm is for Jtag exploit. !

[akirhol]

Loooove this tutorial... I did this on Sunday and it worked out perfectly. I didn't leave the coupler in the case though, just tucked the network cable in under the DVD drive.

Thanks for posting this!

I did have a question though, other tuts reference using a switching diode on one of the solder points... I did it without and it worked fine on my Xenon board... is this a requirement for later boards? Is there a specific purpose for it?

This post has been edited by akirhol: Nov 25 2009, 05:45 AM

[YaPaY]

First Thanks A lot !!!

i have a question... i have xbox Model JASPER 512 mb. what is this? do i need do this?



Thanks !

Same question here. I have Falcon board.

[ffriozi]

Same question here. I have Falcon board.

bro that is for Jtag exploit !! dont work anymore so dont worry

[Poopchute]

I don't understand why people are sayin that's for the JTAG thing don't worry... Isn't that what we're doin this for?

[YaPaY]

I don't understand why people are sayin that's for the JTAG thing don't worry... Isn't that what we're doin this for?

Confused

Should I make Jtag thing, too for hdd uncripple or not. I'm newbie and really confused. And second question which ethernet color to where. (orange-white, orange, green-white etc.)

I opened case and I'm waiting for a reply. If JTAG thing neceassary I will give up.