Changing Xval Flag?, Is there any hope. Options

[Sun_Lizard]

So I used Redline99' Xval tool to figure out if my Jasper (non-Jtag) flag had been set. I don't game on Live! but I do occasionally hop on to get Title-Updates / Expansions etc.

After waiting out the flurry of activity I put LT+ on my LiteOn. Everything was hunky dory.

Younger members of the family are particularly hard on original disks (hence the reason to keep backups around) but I reckon there was a Kreon ripped copy of AC:B around somewhere (ie non-patched, or at least not properly so) and it got put into the console.

To make a complex story short - I think that's how the Xval Flag got set.

The (hopefully) good news, I keep the family settings on the console turned on and don't allow the kids to do any online stuff without me around, so between the LT+ and my discovery of the issue, the console hasn't connected with live.

So now the question:

Is there a way to re-set that Xval and thereby enable the console to go back on line for TU etc, etc?

or, is it doomed to be banned the next time I hope on Live?

[Ketchup_Bomb]

Have you actually checked if it's flagged?

The only way to clear out the potential flag is to dump the NAND, find a clean secdata.bin, restore it, flash back to console. There are tutorials out there to do this.

But if all you want are TU's, you can grab those from TU database sites.

[boflc]

Have you actually checked if it's flagged?

The only way to clear out the potential flag is to dump the NAND, find a clean secdata.bin, restore it, flash back to console. There are tutorials out there to do this.

But if all you want are TU's, you can grab those from TU database sites.

i thought that secdata.bin was console specific and without an original dump (and what % of folks who don't have a tag actually dump their nand?), you couldn't fix this problem. (ie, i thought basically it was encrypted and thus couldn't be mucked with without the key -- unless you could flash a pre-banned image you had dumped back out to the nand.)

am i incorrect here?

[Ketchup_Bomb]

It is console specific, but you can dump the NAND on any console, at any time. It is not encrypted either.

You can easily grab it, patch it, and flash back. No JTAG or other mod required.

Edit: When I say it's not encrypted, I am referring the area where the secdata.bin is stored. KeyVault's are encrypted, yes.
But this mod does not require anything related to the KeyVault.

This post has been edited by Ketchup_Bomb: Dec 8 2010, 08:59 PM

[boflc]

It is console specific, but you can dump the NAND on any console, at any time. It is not encrypted either.

i knew this.

You can easily grab it, patch it, and flash back. No JTAG or other mod required.

ok, i didn't know this. that you could patch a post-mod'ed secdata.bin back to normal state.

[Sun_Lizard]

I do have a SPI USB lying around, so I guess I could dump my NAND, but I thought writing it back wasn't possible with non-JTAGable consoles... Perhaps I have a hole in my knowledge.

Also, even if I were able to dump the NAND and write it back, wouldn't I still need a clean secdata.bin to write back to my dumped image?

I didn't have the foresight to do a NAND dump (of my non-jtagable console) prior to it getting flagged.
... prospects are looking pretty grimm....

Thanks for the responses though boflc & Ketchup_Bomb

[boflc]

I do have a SPI USB lying around, so I guess I could dump my NAND, but I thought writing it back wasn't possible with non-JTAGable consoles... Perhaps I have a hole in my knowledge.

Also, even if I were able to dump the NAND and write it back, wouldn't I still need a clean secdata.bin to write back to my dumped image?

I didn't have the foresight to do a NAND dump (of my non-jtagable console) prior to it getting flagged.
... prospects are looking pretty grimm....

Thanks for the responses though boflc & Ketchup_Bomb

you can read & write the nand on any 360. -what- you write back, tho, is extremely constrained if you're not tagged;

ketchup would better illuminate the secdata.bin, but i think what he's saying is that you can actually modify it in the nand b/c it itself is not encrypted, and write the whole thing back to your nand. (ie, read, modify, write).

he'll provide affirmation next time he sees this thread, i'm certain.

[Ketchup_Bomb]

You're both somewhat correct.

Microsoft implemented backups of secdata.bin within the NAND image itself. Once you are banned (or flagged for a ban), it marks one of the secdata.bin's but not the others. This hack cleans a secdata.bin and restores it, effectively clearing your flag. Meaning you do not need an original backup of your NAND**.

After dumping the NAND, you find and clean a secdata.bin, restore it, then flash back to the console. There's already a tutorial written here on Xbox-Scene so I will refrain from duplicating information.

That thread is a few months old, so I would read through it all to see if there are links to new tools which can help you in this process. I heard of a program that will locate a clean secdata.bin for you and automate almost the entire process, but I cannot remember the name or author. Sorry.

he'll provide affirmation next time he sees this thread, i'm certain.

**After a while, the backup secdata.bin can be lost but this is after heavy use of the console; usually many months of constantly playing new games.

Edit: Found a news item on X-S that might be handy. Take a look.

This post has been edited by Ketchup_Bomb: Dec 9 2010, 02:03 AM

[Sun_Lizard]

Well that is good news.

Thank you both, kindly, for your time.

So just to restate the facts (to ensure I understand properly.)

On my Non-Jtag'd Jasper, (assuming sufficient skill and correct tools)

1) I'll be able to dump the NAND.
2) Use FindSecData and SecDataScan to identify a backup copy of a clean SecData.bin within the NAND image itself
3) Use the old SecData.bin to overwrite (copy over) the flagg'ed SecData.bin("Did Not Pass AP25 check" Flag in Redline99's Xval tool)
4) Flash the 'fixed' NAND back to the console and be able to go on Live! (with the assumption that the flag was set off-line and the console has remained off-line until now.)


As long as I don't play a bunch of games in between now and when I do this, the backup (clean) copy of the SecData.bin should be still there.

I'll have to wait to give it a whirl until this weekend but I'll definitely post back with the outcome.

Once again, Ketchup_Bomb and boflc, I appreciate the help.

[Chrushev]

Sorry for bumping such an old topic... is this still the best way to do this? has there been an easier guide released since this? Or do I still need to do soldering and dump NAND etc?

I am interested in clearing AP2.5 failed check from Xval. Everything I can find requires an old printer port. I got 3 PCs at home and none of them have those anymore :/

This post has been edited by Chrushev: Dec 16 2011, 11:08 AM

[AZImmortal]

Soldering is definitely required to read/write the NAND. As far as not having a parallel port goes, you can use a USB NAND reader instead.

[Chrushev]

Soldering is definitely required to read/write the NAND. As far as not having a parallel port goes, you can use a USB NAND reader instead.

Hey thanks for the update. Any chance there is a guide out there that is somewhat up to date with step by step instructions on doing this via USB reader?

I was also wondering if its still possible with the latest dash?

PS - I also read somewhere that since xval is stored in some sort of backup nand that overtime it can get erased on its own.. how much validity is there to these claims?