i don't mean to keep asking how to do this, but i followed JonDante's guide step by step.
i went out and bought myself 9 Memorex MUSIC CD-RW 700 MB 80 MINUTE 4x MULTI SPEED discs.... i zipped up 84 mp3's into a file that was 248 MB and named it "AAAA.AAA.zip" (without the quotes, duh) then i took a file originally named "xecuter2_4973_xbox1.1_256k.bin" and called it "LINUXBIO.BIN"

then, in 'Nero Burning ROM' in menu: "CD_ROM(ISO)", under "Multisession" tab...
i select: NO MULTISESSION

then under "ISO" tab...
File name length: max. of 11 = 8 + 3 chars(ISO Level 1)
format: Mode 1
Character set: ISO 9660 (Standard ISO CD-ROM)
Joliet: OFF

then under "Burn" tab...
Write speed: 4x (600 KB/s)
Write method: disc-at-once
Number of copies = 1, with "justlink" box checked

click New to open the nero browser, add the two files, and click burn...

ive made 4 discs so far... one of which i finalized, the first 3 i didnt finalize. it didnt make a difference. i verified that my initial chameleon screen is correct, its displaying "please insert CD", i waited 2-3 minutes each time and then hit eject to close the tray with my cd-rw in it... the drive spins the disc up, then slows down, then spins it faster again, and then slows to a stop... all the while the message "waiting for drive" is being displayed from the MOMENT i hit the eject button to close the tray...
i cant imagine what i've done wrong...

a few things about my hardware:
DVD-ROM Drive = THOMSON-DVD (according to Chameleon boot screen as seen in
JonDante's user guide)
MODCHIP = CHAMELEON pre-flashed with Xbox Linux Clean BIOS 1.8
XBox = Version 1.0
HDD = Stock 8 GB XBox HardDrive

if theres any reason this shouldnt work, someone please tell me, otherwise im giving up, thanks for reading...

You thompson doesnt recognize that type of media..

TDK works great on my thompson.

what is TDK?

TDK = CD-RW brand???

i had the same problem my thompson drive just died it wouln't read anything cd/cd-r/cd-rw/dvd/dvd-r/dvd+r. probably your best bet is to borrow a friends xbox dvd-drive.

btw yes tdk is a brand of media and i have heard that the cd-r that look like the old vinyl records work well too.

QUOTE

"AAAA.AAA.zip"

Thanks for trying to help this person all..but sometimes you need to look at the obvious.

By naming your dummy file AAAA.AAA.zip, it still places the .zip file AFTER the .bin file. The BIN file MUST COME AFTER YOUR DUMMY FILE.

Therefore your dummy file MUST be called ONLY AAAA.AAA with NO .zip at the end.

Gee my tutorial WAS that clear.

JD

your tutorial says it can be of any file type: "It can be any file (.exe, .wav, etc.)..."
and your personal note says you zipped up some .wav files... which means you made a .zip out of it, and how does the ".zip" extension go away?

i DID rename my zipped file to just "AAAA.AAA" and double checked by right-click, properties and the file name stands "AAAA.AAA", but when i add it to my nero project, it throws the zip extension back on, reason being, im assuming, is because it knows it's a compressed folder.

am i supposed to change the name of the file once it is added to my new project in nero?
if so, your tutorial does not say to do so... "Once this file is in the same folder with LINUXBIO.BIN, you should rename the the dummy file to "AAAA.AAA"

QUOTE

your tutorial says it can be of any file type: "It can be any file (.exe, .wav, etc.)..."

Right. And?

QUOTE

and your personal note says you zipped up some .wav files... which means you made a .zip out of it, and how does the ".zip" extension go away?

You must RENAME the file to AAAA.AAA. You do this by choosing rename, and typing "AAAA.AAA" WITH THE QUOTES. (Apparently some things must be spelled out. Like I said about my tutorial, it assumes you have SOME knowlege of Windows and computers.) That will eliminate the .zip extension. Another way is to go into the Tools area of your explorer window, and in the Advanced Tab...choose to SHOW file extensions. But the QUOTE marks is the easiest.

QUOTE

if so, your tutorial does not say to do so... "Once this file is in the same folder with LINUXBIO.BIN, you should rename the the dummy file to "AAAA.AAA"

Correct...with the quotation marks.


After you do that...all will work fine...if not it is likely a media or drive problem. Trust me, I have had over 13,000 views, and not one complaint. And I have burned successfully even using generic CDRW.

JD

im not bashing your tutorial in any way, like i said in the subject of my first post, your tutorial was great. but memorex cdrw's are not working in my thomson drive, and im just trying to figure out why. by the way, i just tried another memorex and i made sure the extension on the dummy was in fact .aaa (and there was no ".zip" associated with the file anywhere) and in renaming it, it renders the file unusable for windows, it even warns you of that when you type it in to rename and hit enter.
also, i do have more than SOME knowledge of windows, im just frustrated with having the chip for over a week with no bios or dashboard on it. thanks for all the help, your tutorial really is the best i've seen anywhere, so dont get me wrong. i'll be finding myself some TDK CD-RW's...

QUOTE

and in renaming it, it renders the file unusable for windows, it even warns you of that when you type it in to rename and hit enter.

Did you try to burn the CDRW AFTER doing this? Of course it is unusable by windows. There is no such extension as AAA. That is why it is called a "dummy" file. If you burn the CDRW with this extension, Disc at Once, Joliet off, it should work for you.

Please let me know if indeed you did try the above method.

JD

i appreciate your patience with me, as i AM new to this and i'll admit i don't know everything there is to know. but i feel like you're assuming im oblivious to everything. YES, i know it is unusable to windows, and i know theres no such extension as .aaa, and i know that is why its a dummy. and... yes, i did try to burn it AFTER changing the extention to .aaa
it seems as if my drive doesnt care what the file name or extension is, it will not cooperate with a memorex cd... trust me, ive gone thru more cds than i can count...trying different methods... i understand that it SHOULD work for me, and i'll believe it has worked for others... but i'm not surprised it's not working for me... my specific drive would rather spit on a memorex cd than read it... oh well...

hey does anyone know if a sony cd-rw would or has ever worked? or even a plain old staples brand? or a maxell? or any others? i saw a lot of brands, but i preferred not to waste more money. (my nearest staples and walmart dont cary TDK)... thanks a lot

QUOTE

but i feel like you're assuming im oblivious to everything

No...it's just that your are not being specific in what you have actually done. And I refuse to assume you followed directions until you verify it. You have NO CLUE how many times people SWEARS ON THE PRECIOUS that they have followed my guide to the LETTER...just to come back a day or two later saying, "stupid me, I forgot to...".

I have two Thompsons and one Samsung. All have worked with Memorex, TDK, Imation, and some no-name brand (like AT&T or something) of CDRW. Try a different brand of CDRW media. I have not tried Maxell or Sony, but see no reason why they wouldn't work.

IF you have a DVD burner, you could try to burn a DVD-R...or DVD-RW

JD

Have you tried to burn just music to the memorex cdrw to see if your xbox will read it? I have a thomson too, and my xbox wouldnt read any of my media. I tried burning music to a memorex cdrw and my xbox read it. I have already burned my BIOS and Dashboard discs using the same CDs, I just have to wait to get my chip to try them out. Good luck.

thats a good idea, ill definitely check that out... thanks for the idea, good luck with yours as well

I found that the Samsung wouldn't read my CDRW. I held down on the top of the drive while it booted and it worked (at least long enough get format the new drive and install Evox)

Okay Fastarr. I have the same exact setup as you
1.0 box
1.8 cham with 2.27 cromwell
8 gb stock hd
and of course, the infamous, hated thompson dvd drive

I used this procedure and it worked perfectly:


Use Memorex Cd-rws
Rename the bios "linuxbio" without quotes. DO NOT put .bin on the end of it because xp already does this. DO NOT caps lock the name because nero automatically does this.
Make a new folder named dummy
inside dummy, put some movies, music, anything that takes up a lot of space, try to get it to be about 100 MB in size.
Open Nero (I dunno bout other burning software, but this is what i used and it works)
When the wizard comes up, click on CD-ROM Iso.
Go to your chameleon manual from the xodus website and modify nero's settings according to the manual.
When u have modified the settings, click new and you should get your file browsers.
Drag the bios to the ROOT
Drag the Dummy file to the ROOT
Now just hit burn cd and make the speed to a low setting (4x usually)
Burn it.
power up ur box.
wait till the drive opens and put the disc in
close the drive.
The rest is history (hopefully)
Follow JD's guide from then on.
Good Luck

And people, i dunno what this whole AAA.AAA thing is but i just name my dummy folder "dummy"