Which Should I Use, Hotswap, Or Linux Thing, sorry if its been asked before Options

[dyindemon]

Ok. i have broken down recently and gotten out my old xbox games. i do not own a x360 (too expensive for poor me) i have however learned that one game i wanted to play again (halo 2) is so destroyed that it takes 1 hour!!! to load the first lvl. this has pushed me to finally modding my xbox

I ran into a snag. No memory card, none of the exploit games, no money to get them, nothing in the way of a softmod exploit solution (that i know of, i tried reading through this site but there is WAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much to read, i stoped after like the 50th tutorial)

So i went to see if i could just hook my xbox hdd up to pc, which i have read is a no no since its locked according to most guides. ok that leaves me with a problem
do i hotswap, or do i use that xboxhdm

now let me tell you how my system works. i have a multi dvd read/writer (can ready/write all forms of dvd dvd9 and all cd types (no blue ray or hd dvd) and a hdd attacked to the only ide cable i own

now, knowing this, what should i do.

should I a: use xboxhdm by disconnecting my main hdd, and using a boot disk? if so what do i need to put on the disk and where so that i can put a mod on my xbox that will help me with my halo2 backup (i do legally own a real disk so i think im allowed to back it up (if not then remove what i just said))

or b: should i hotswap? and point me to a very good guide @_@

thank you for your help. i know this has probably been asked alot but i cant seem to find it all through the HUGE!!! number of posts @_@

oh and if it helps, im running windows xp prof eddition with a amd phenom 8250 triple core processor 2gigs of ram, 200 gb hdd, geforce 6510se.

my xbox is a old one thats all i know as the serial numbers wore off years ago. lol it has 10gb worth of music on it though from old cd's i owned, and its still got 50k+ blocks xD
anything else you need?
if this belongs else where please send it there, i didnt know if should post it here, in software, or in hdd tech

[spliff721]

ok, here is a quick guide to XBOXHDM2.2. I am writing this because the XBOXHDM2.2 thread is a bit of a read, and has no real guide on the full process of using the tool. i stole some of the text in here from the thread, tweaked some of it to be a little more newbie friendly.

XBOXHDM2.2 download

Plug the USB you are going to use into your PC and follow these steps to get it bootabale
1.Download RMPrepUSB: http://sites.google.com/site/rmprepusb/\" target=\"_blank\">http://sites.google.com/site/rmprepusb/
2.Run RMPREPUSB.exe
3.I chose syslinux boot option then 'prepare drive' - note I selected 'no' when asked any questions during this part
4.I then choose to install grub4dos using RMPREPUSB.
5. unzip and copy everything from the XBOXHDM2.2 download onto the USB.(overwrite as needed)
6.Place your "eeprom.bin" file in the "eeprom" folder located on the root of the flash drive.(if modding a vergin box, dont worry about this)
7.Populate the /hdm/C folder with the M$ Dashboard files.
8.Populate the /hdm/E folder with any chosen files (games saves etc) that you require installed.
9.Download Ndure 3.1(google it). unzip it and run the Ndure-3.1.exe
10.Checkmark the following boxes
[x]core files
Under Softmod & NKPatcher options
[x]Install Ndure basic
[x]Use NKPatcher .06 (if you have an HDD larger than 8GB or are upgrading to a larger HDD)
Under Kernel selection
[x]choose your kernel(found buy booting your XBOX and going to settings and sytstem info. let it scroll to the bottom and you will see K:1.00.XXXX.01 the XXXX being your kernel number)
[x]create XBOXHDM installer
11.Hit next and it will create a new folder called Ndure in the same directory the Ndure-3.1.EXE is in.
12.copy this new folder onto your USB in the HDM folder. there is already a folder called Ndure there, it should ask if you want to merge the 2 folders, choose yes.
10.That's it! (power off your PC and unplug your PCs HDD and DVD drive) Reboot using the USB drive and if all has gone well, you should see the (blue) boot screen. (wait to boot till you have the XBOX ready to hotswap)

HOTSWAP

At this point remove the top of your XBOX and pull the IDE from the back of the DVD drive. boot up your XBOX and as soon as you see the error 12 pull the IDE from your XBOX HDD. your XBOX HDD should now be unlocked

1. boot your PC with the USB and wait till you see the blue boot screen.
2. plug the XBOX HDD into your PC and then choose option 1. XBOXHDM2.2 & SLAX (if yoou are using this program to upgrade to a larger HDD. you should wait to plug the new XBOX HDD into your computer till after post. in my experience it is best to plug it in when the boot script pauses for the first time for about 3 seconds. this will prevent an error "the drive is frozen" later on when trying to lock the new HDD)
3.After a moment you will come to the GUI. click the black box in the lower left hand corner
4.type "xboxhd2" without the quotes and then "yes"
5.choose option 1.
6.choose option 2 Activate XBOXHDM stage 2, and type "yes" to continue
7.after a moment QEMU will open and tell you to type "xboxhd" or "xbrowser". If upgradeing to a new HDD type "xboxhd" and then choose the option to build a new xbox HDD from scratch.(if doing the upgrade, after it is done creating the partitions and formating them, choose option 8 and then type "xbrowser".) If you are doing a virgin mod type "xbrowser" to enter the Midnight Commander.
8.on the left side of the screen navigate down to the Ndure folder and press enter. then again down to the Ndure script and press enter. it will open an install menu for Ndure
9.choose option 2. replace C with Ndure. wait for it to finish all 3 steps. this could take up to 15 minutes.
10.press F10 to exit Midnight Commander.wait for it to check the file structure and then you can power off your computer(DO NOT POWER OFF THE XBOX YET)
11.unplug the HDD from your PC and plug everything back together on your XBOX. when the IDE is plugged back into the XBOX DVD drive and the HDD you can power off and reboot you XBOX.

YOU ARE NOW MODDED AND YOU SHOULD NOW BOOT DIRECTLY TO UNLEASHX.

i also suggest that you get a copy of HeXEn (Heimdall's xbox enineering disc). this has the ability to update your mod and to install a few of the best and most need apps including XBMC and XBPartitioner, also it has the ability to change your default dashboard. you can find it by googling it.