LPC Mod Chip Installation Troubleshooter Options

[Xeero]

For those installing LPC mods, here is something of a FAQ. Check your situation based on your symptom. I may be adding to this over time.

[Xeero]

XBOX BOOTS TWICE – ON THE THIRD BOOT THE POWER LED IS FLASHING RED AND GREEN (FRAGGING)

1. Invalid BIOS. Have you already flashed your modchip with a BIOS? You must have a valid BIOS in the boot bank of your mod if it is to be enabled. Some chips, like Xecuter2 Pros, shipped blank for a period and must be flashed prior to booting the mod chip. Please follow the flashing procedures for your mod chip.
Also, be sure to use what is known as a “MultiVer” BIOS. These BIOS images will work on all Xbox versions to date (1.0 - 1.3). Otherwise, you will need to have a BIOS image that matches your Xbox (i.e., a BIOS created for a 1.0 Xbox will yield the above symptom when you attempt to boot it on a 1.1 Xbox).

2. Poor LPC connection. Double-check your LPC points. If you have a pogo-pin mod, make sure they are all aligned. If you have a soldered mod, ensure that all the wires are securely soldered. Alternatively, if you have soldered a pin header, turn the board over and inspect the LPC points. Have the LPC holes been filled with solder? Push against the pin header from the topside of the board (now facing down). Did any of the solder around the pin appear to lift off the board? If so, that’s a good signal that you should apply some flux and reheat that solder.

3. Boot Bank not selected. This is really only an issue in Xecuter2 Pro chips (where the FCC cable is damaged or not connected) and the Xecuter2.1/2.2 family (where the wires connecting the switches to the chip are damaged or not connected).

4. D0 problem. This can potentially be the worst situation of the four. A definitive way to test this is to remove your mod chip completely. If the symptoms remain, you likely have a D0 problem.
Check your D0 point closely. Are there any nearby solder splashes or spillovers that bridge any traces or vias in the vicinity of the D0? If so, use desoldering braid or a desoldering pump (“solder sucker”) to try to remove the perpetrating solder. Also, does your D0 appear to be particularly scorched? Is the board browned there? If this is the case, you may have damaged the D0 point. In this case, you can try soldering a wire from the topside D0 to the alternative D0 on the bottomside of the board. If the topside D0 is badly damaged, you may have to gently scrape the D0 trace (with a razor blade or small screwdriver) and solder to this.

This post has been edited by Xeero: Jul 9 2003, 11:35 PM

[Xeero]

XBOX BOOTS PROPERLY, BUT THE MOD CHIP DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE FUNCTIONING

The most probable cause for this is that the MS BIOS is booting and not the BIOS that is on your mod chip. This is likely to be caused if your D0 is not soldered properly. When the current running through D0 is grounded, that is the go-ahead for the Xbox to boot the BIOS from the LPC points. If D0 is not grounded, your mod chip is virtually invisible to the Xbox. Since the D0 is the smallest and arguably the most difficult point in an LPC install, try resoldering it. Make sure that the solder is actually holding it down, and not just lacquer that had melted around the wire and then hardened. If you are having difficulty soldering to the D0, you may want to consider soldering to the alternative D0 on the bottomside of the board.

If you are absolutely positive that you have soldered the D0 correctly (your DMM shows voltage when on), then you may want to check the ground connection. Bear in mind this is not likely to be the problem. With Xecutor mods, the ground will be screwed down to the nearby hole in the motherboard, so make sure this screw is tight. With the Matrix mod chip, the screw that holds the mod in place grounds it, so this is generally not a worry. With the Chameleon mod chip, the grounding is done by LPC pin 2 (the one next to the square-framed LPC pin, which is pin 1), so you will have to ensure that this point is soldered properly.

As explicitlyrics100 has pointed out, Xecuter2 BIOSes show the XECUTER2 logo beneath the X on startup, while other BIOSes, such as the EvoX BIOS, will look identical to the MS BIOS. If you are using a standard EvoX BIOS, do not make the assumption that the chip is not functioning; it is worth an extra check. Just insert a backup or your EvoX boot disc (explained here).

This post has been edited by Xeero: Jul 9 2003, 10:24 AM