The E-folder can be left empty.
In the root of this archive (xboxhdm-folder) you find a make-iso-win.bat script. Run this script to produce a bootable iso that you can burn to a CD.
Also included is a make-DOS-floppy.bat script. This will create a DOS floppy with the unlockx,hdlock,hdunlock tools. This is the best way to run locking/unlocking tools as log files will be written to floppy on succesful locking of a drive (see warning below). If you want to make use of the automatic locking you should make the DOS floppy using the xboxhd tool after booting the xboxhdm CD (see section on the locking/unlocking tools below).

The Xboxhdm Boot-prompt
When you boot with this CD in the drive you will be presented with three options :

The first two options will bring you to the fatx-enabled linux (only difference is the layout). Option three will let you boot to linux with "automatic" locking/unlocking tools available. FreeDOS and let you use the unlockx, hdlock, hdunlock, hddisabl tools. Going from DOS to linux or vice versa you will need to reboot.

The locking/unlocking tools
WARNING! Using the locking utilities from CD the tools cannot store any log files with used passwords, as the CD is read-only. It will be stored to the virtual filesystem in RAM but is gone after rebooting. These logs are useful if you accidentially use an incorrect HD passwd. If using the DOS based locking tools (unlockx, hdlock) to lock a drive the passwd used will be written to screen and you will be prompted to write this down. If you run the locking tool from CDROM I furthermore advise you to insert a formatted floppy in your primary floppy-drive and run the command : 'savelog'. This will write the log-files from the locking tools to floppy.

Be warned that locking HDD's is serious buisness! Don't just fool around with the locking tools and always be sure you backup the passwords you use. Locking the HDD with an unknown password will make the HDD useless if you dont store the log or write down the password!

From version 1.7 you can lock and unlock a HDD from both the linux and DOS prompt.

Linux (option 3 from the xboxhdm boot menu) :

• unlockhd, will get the HDD password either from the commandline, a file or automatically generated from an eeprom. It will search the xboxhd CD for the eeprom.bin image. If not found you have the option to insert a floppy with the eeprom of define the path manually. If the eeprom is supplied the tool will unlock and disable locking using a password generated directly from the eeprom.
• lockhd, will get the HDD password either from the commandline, a file or automatically generated from an eeprom. It will search the xboxhd CD for the eeprom.bin image and likewise lets you tell the tool where to find the image if it wasn't included on the CD. When locking the password is also generated from the eeprom. Moreover the Master Password is also set to 'XBOXSCENE' (without the quotes). You can use this to unlock the HDD if you loose the eeprom password you your eeprom gets lost. Boot the xboxhdm to DOS (option 4) and run the atapwd tools to unlock using Master passwords.

DOS (option 4 from the xboxhdm boot menu) :
(The first two tools require that you have bootet xboxhdm to linux (option 1 or 2) and made the DOS floppy from the xboxhd tool.

• lockhd, will prompt you to choose a drive and will lock the HDD with the password written to the floppy by xboxhd
• unlockhd, will both unlock the HDD and disable locking with the password written on the floppy

Should the password generated by xboxhdm be incorrect (bad eeprom dump, or a bug in the password tool <- you can never rule this out completely), you should still be able to unlock the drive again with the password stored on the floppy in : input/hdpass.txt

• hdlock, Only locks a HDD
• hdunlock, Only unlocks a HDD but doesn't disable locking. The drive will relock after reboot if you only run this tool.
• hdddisabl, Disables locking. To be used after hdunlock so that locking stays off after rebooting.
• unlockx, One option locks a drive, another option unlocks and disables locking in one go. Warning! This tools has been known to not work well with some drives. I recommend hdlock/hdunlock.
• atapwd. Good for checking the drive security status. Can also be used to unlock with the Master password. If you locked your HDD using the linux tools the Master Password is 'XBOXSCENE'. If you locked it with ConfigMagic the Master password is set to 'TEAMASSEMBLY'

WARNING! The locking tools are not made by me, so dont make me responsible if something goes wrong. Locking HDD's is not without risk. Until proven otherwise I think the safest choice is to use the linux locking/unlocking tools. Even if the eeprom is bad or the password generation algorithm is wrong the Master Password is set, so you should always be able to unlock using that.

Final tips - Freeze lock!
Most PC Bioses seems to enable the Freeze Lock command on unlocked drives on bootup. I guess this is a safety messeaure since you cannot accidently lock or erase prepare a unit when it's frozen. However when the freeze lock is set you cannot relock the drive either. This is rare though and can be disabled in most bioses by disabling automatic hardware detection on bootup on the Primary channel (where the HDD is). We dont need this for booting a CD anyway.
Remember to reenable automatic detection on primary master after using xboxhdm if your regular PC HDD is on primary master and is the boot device.

Remember to reenable automatic detection on primary master after using xboxhdm if your regular PC HDD is on primary master and is the boot device.

If your Bios doesn't support disabling of the auto detection your can try to pull out the IDE cable of the HDD before booting the PC (put with the power cable in the HDD) and put back the IDE cable when you reach the xboxhdm boot menu.

The xboxhd-tool
When you boot to linux you will be told that you can start the xboxhd tool by typing 'xboxhd' and pushing enter. This should give you this screen :

As of version 1.6.1 the drive detection mechanism was improved so that you can run the xboxhd tool even if the drive is locked. You will be told that the drive is locked and only the options 6) & 7) will be available to the user. This should let you get the HDD password and generate the DOS floppy boot disk with the nessecary unlocking tools.


Option 1
Use this option if you want to build an xbox HD from a blank drive. It is two-step procedure.
First step is where the partition table is written to disk.
Second step is where xboxhd will format all fatx partitions and afterwards build the C-partition with the files your put in the C-folder on the CDROM and build the E-partition with the TDATA and UDATA folders you put in the E-folder on the CDROM. If you left the C- and E-folders empty on the CDROM (by mistake or on purpose) you will be prompted to insert a CD with the xbox system-files. The tool will then search for the files.
You can also choose option 1) for rebuilding an existing xbox HD completely.

Option 2
Choose this option if you just want to rebuild the C-partition. This could be used if some system-files have been corrupted, if you are in a clock loop or as a way to downgrade your dash. It is equivalent to the second step described in option 1) above, but only formats and rebuilds the C-partition leaving all game-saves on E: untouched.

Option 3
lets you clone an existing xbox HD onto another drive. You will be prompted which device is the source device and which is the destination device.

Option 4
Install an F-drive if you HDD is large enough - this is checked!
Note that when building a HDD from scratch using option 1) the size of the HDD is automatically checked, and if found large enough the user will be given the option to build the F-drive at that stage.

Option 5
Use this if a current partition table is corrupted and you want to rebuild the drive from scratch using option 1)

Option 6
This will let you calculate the HD unlock key. It requires that you have the eeprom.bin from Evox or ConfigMagic on your CDROM in the eeprom-folder. Current drive status and HD passwd is printed on screen and to file (hdkey.txt).
In tests this gave the correct key for my HD put write down and (or) save they key anyway so that you can always unlock your drive.

Option 7
You will be prompted to insert a floppy and push enter. A DOS floppy with locking and unlocking tools will be created.

Option 8
Quit the tool and return to the linux prompt.

The xbrowser
Most people dont like typing commands. I included tools to make browsing and manipulating files on the xbox HD more user-friendly. At the command prompt type 'xbrowser' and hit enter. This will mount the CDROM with the linux distribution (and your xbox-files) and if an xbox drive is present on the primary IDE master channel the xbox C- and E-drives will be mounted. Then a semi-graphical filemanager (Midnight-Commander) will open with a tabbed (two-window) view of you CDROM on the left and the xbox C- and E-drive on your right.
You can also start the xbrowser with 'xbrowser -HD'. It will then search for fatx drives on Primary and Secondary master and run the two panel window with one HD on each side. This allow easy HD to HD copy.

Some hint on using this tool :
- Current dir is in the top of each windows.
- Switch the curser between left and right windows with TAB
- Move the curser with the arrow-keys.
- Placing the curser on the very top dir (../) and hitting enter will go on directory up.
- File/dir manipulation-commands are issue with the F-keys according to the list of commands in the bottom of the windows.

Example : To rename Xbox.xtf to Xbox.bak in the font-dir on the xbox-drive hit:
- TAB to switch to the right window.
- down-arrow + enter to go to C-directory.
- twice down-arrow and enter to go to fonts folder
- twice down-arrow to go to Xbox.xtf
- F6 to bring up Move/rename box.
- Write Xbox.bak and hit enter to perform rename.
Simple!

The Softpack
Available 'the usual places' is the official softmod package for xboxhdm. This includes the dashboard exploits and PBL and therefore require a kernel version below 5530 and the MS dashboard version 4920. When including this package on the xboxhdm CD the user can run the 'softmod' command and will be given the options to install :

Read more about the softmod package here

The UDE package
A softmod package like the one above.
Installs the save Evox and PBL version as the softpack mentioned above, but uses the "Ultimate Dashboard Exploit". The advantages over the softpack is that this exploit has NO chance of clock-loops and it boots PBL directly when the xbox is turned on. The 'UDE' command provides install and uninstall options.
Since no M$ copyrighted code is included in this package the user has to supply the needed update.xbe (the exploitable M$ executable) themselves. The tool will check that it is the correct version, which should hopefully iliminate the chance of people getting a corrupted install.
Read more about this package here

Final comments and tips
Being a fatx enabled linux you can use this distro to manipulate xbox-drive content in any way you wish using linux commands :

TIP : Use this filemanager (xbrowser) to install softmods. Before you burn the bootable linux CD you could add a folder (hacks) to the linux directory with all the files needed for the hack (Bert, Ernie, ST.DB, PBL,....). Then use xbrowser to copy files to the xbox HD.

TIP : Hotswapping with this linux distro is easy. I recommend the following. Place your xbox so that the PC's primary master ide cable will reach the xbox HD. Pull the DVD IDE cable and boot the xbox. It will stop with error 12. At this point the xbox HD is unlocked and will stay this way. Put you xboxhdm bootable CD in the PC and boot. At the boot-prompt it will stop for 5 mins. The bios has done its hardware detection without the xbox HD attached yet - linux still hasn't. So at this boot prompt you pull the ide-cable on the xbox HD, and plug in the primary master ide cable of the PC. Then hit enter to boot to linux. After booting, execute 'xbrowser' to see if the drive was found.

For more info read the HOWTO's and ReadMe's include in the package.

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Thanx to all testers for usefull feedback and ideas.

Happy hacking - hope you dont have to use this tool too often

IMO this is the easiest way of upgrading a HDD. Much neater than hotswapping. Cheers Idots.

I think I've lost my crossover cable

Well in a perfect no tools at all are needed to recover xbox HD's
Think you misunderstand the purpose of this tool. I can be used as an easy way to upgrade, without even hooking up your stock HD to the PC. But also it provides a way to get your xbox running again even if you threw your xbox HD in the garbage can - as long as you have your eeprom. It has allready helped a couple of users getting back on track.

Games the check if your HD is retail??? Wouldn't resigning your games save for the new HD solve that problem...

Sorry I was just meaning that software modding an xbox is not as scary as the above, you can do it 100% safely without opening up the xbox

As for the above that's just signing... you have to find the check and remove it from the xbe then resign it.

EDIT

Besides the above it's a retail game and your trying to play on xbox live with your non retail drive installed - unless you want to keep swapping drives that is

Really, I dont see where you are going with this. My tutorial is not about softmodding as such, it is about building/rescuing xbox HD's.
Yes, using the audio exploit you are fairly safe and you can do it without opening the xbox (if you have an exploitable game that is!). But what would you do if your HD crapped out? On a PC you could format the drive and start all over. My tool lets you do this for the xbox. This hasn't previously been done with softmods. Also many softmodders a not satisfied with the limited storage of the stock HD

None if this is related to upgrading your HD??? The need to patch an xbe to run off HD's is also there for stock HD's. New games put a signature in the game save that depends on the unique hdd key, so resigning is needed. Also not specific to upgraded HD's. You will not be banned on xbl for using an upgraded HD. If you load a hacked bios or f.ex use hacked fonts you will be banned, but again - not related to the upgraded HD.

This was actually why I came up the the solution to boot to DOS from a CDROM. A user (tester) had no floppy drive and asked if unlockx could be put on the CD.

Making DOS boot floppies from linux is a breeze too and since the DOS image is allready in my package (with unlockx,hdlock,hdunlock,hddisabl), there is no real need to release this as a seperate download. I will just include a 'make-DOS-hdlock.bat' script in my package and endorse people to run this script to create DOS floppy.

I will still keep the option to run DOS/unlockx from the CD though for people without a floppy drive. Upon exit from unlockx I will however write the used pass to screen after unlockx/hdlock/hdunlock finishes and ask them to run a savelog.bat script.

How does that sound?
If people want to mess up and ignore all warnings they will always find a way

Toturial edited to reflect changes.

As you see, I found these changes to be worthy of releasing. I hope you will find the filemanager usefull, and with the HD key generation it should no be nessecary to boot to windows to build a new drive. Save the HD key though. I only tested this tool on my own drive - where the hd key was in agreement with LiveInfo.

Spent some time trying to lock and unlock the drives from linux, but no succes yet. Will let this be for now. Taking too much of my time
Also, a planned addition is a version of xbedump with all known public keys.

So all in all. Build this CD with working C and E files, put your eeprom.bin in the eeprom folder, and feel safe hacking...

BTW. The hd key generation also works for a locked drive.

I don't understand this part....

Do u mean that I should boot my PC with everything connected to its IDE cables, I have 2 HDD on my primary IDE and 2 DVD on my secondary.

When linux boot I should disconnect the PC primary IDE, meaning no PC HD connected in PC, and connect this IDE cable to the xbox hd?

You can still use this tool to restore your C-partition by hotswapping. Do not choose option 4) to wipe your fatx partition though. This will loose you your drive as the program will reboot your PC after wiping the partition table. On reboot the HD will relock making further hostwapping impossible.

Sorry - was a bit unclear.

I would take both HDD's on your primary controller off before booting the PC with linux CD. A boot prompt it will stay for 5 mins. Then boot xbox with DVD cable unplugged. When error 12 pull IDE cable on xbox HD and connect the PC's primary master to xbox HD. Hit enter on PC to continue booting. Run xbrowser to see if drive is found.

The font hack allows you to boot homebrew software. What you boot to is up to you. So yes - all font hacks can boot Evox.
PBL loads a bios from HD and replaces the retail bios. It allows you to run unsigned code. So if all you want to do is run Evox - dont bother with PBL. If you want to run other apps/backup then go for PBL, since otherwise you would have to sign each app with the key your font hack uses.

Nope - It wasn't supposed to format F. This could be an option of the future.
I figured that most people here would be softmodders so they would install an exploit anyway since F is only suported if you run a hacked BIOS from PBL. Formatting F from Evox is no work. Dont see why you found that tricky. Just put this option in evox.ini - click the format button and you are done. No need to use ConfigMagic or unlock...