Hotswap FAQ

I've seen a lot of tutorials and advice on hotswapping, and they're always different. There's a lot of conflicting information, and sometimes some unnecessary steps. I'd like to compile a proven method, and dispel some of the myths associated with hotswapping.

1. What is hotswapping?

A retail Xbox hard drive (HD) is normally locked. Whenever the Xbox boots up, it must unlock the drive with the HD password in order to use it. It will stay unlocked as long as the power is on.

If we want to access the hard drive on a PC, then we need to unlock it somehow first. If you have the HD password, then you can disable the password with either Xbox software (e.g. EvoX, ConfigMagic), or PC software (e.g. UnLockX, hdunlock/hddisabl). However, if you don't have the HD password and can't get it, then you need to hotswap it.

The term hotswap refers to "swapping" the IDE cable from the Xbox with an IDE cable on your PC, while the Xbox is "hot" (power is on) and the HD has been unlocked.

2. Why should I hotswap?

If you'd like to copy files to or from the hard drive, then you can hotswap. The main reasons for hotswapping are:
- To copy dashboard or gamesave exploits to the hard drive in order to softmod it or flash the TSOP
- To repair a failed softmod

3. Can I damage my Xbox or PC by hotswapping?

Yes. Since you are swapping cables while the power is on, this can possibly cause electrical damage. Also, there is a difference in ground voltages (this can be over 100V!). NB: A good safety precaution is to connect the metal chassis of the Xbox to the PC case with a wire (i.e. alligator clips).

If you plan to do a lot of softmods, then I recommend using a memory card and exploitable game, instead of hotswapping all the time. You can use a gamesave exploit to get FTP access to the drive.

4. When exactly does the Xbox HD become unlocked?

The hard drive is unlocked at every bootup. This happens just before the MS logo fades in under the big X logo.

5. When does the Xbox HD become locked again?

The hard drive is automatically locked when power to the hard drive is lost, or if the Xbox is rebooted. This includes some error screens, since the Xbox actually quick reboots before showing the error.

6. Do I need to wait 5-10 minutes for the hard drive to spin down?

No. This is an unnecessary step.

7. Do I need to be able to load the dashboard or a game?

No. The HD can be hotswapped any time after it is unlocked (see question 4).

8. What is the basic method of hotswapping?

Here's the method I use to hotswap. I've found this to work the best for me.

1. Open the Xbox and set it close to the PC. Plug it in.
2. Open the PC and make sure an IDE cable is free and can reach the Xbox HD.
3. Turn on the PC.
4. Before the PC BIOS looks for hard drives, hit the Pause/Break key. It should pause.
5. If you are planning to use xboxhdm, insert the CD to your PC CD-ROM drive. (Make sure you haven't unplugged the IDE cable to your CD-ROM drive!)
6. Turn on the Xbox.
7a. When the MS logo appears under the big X, remove the Xbox IDE cable and quickly plug in the PC IDE cable.
7b. If the MS logo doesn't appear, then swap just before the error screen shows up instead.
8. Hit space bar to continue booting the PC. If it takes a long time to boot (several minutes), then the HD has not been unlocked.

9. Can you hotswap in Windows?

Yes. Here's the method I use for hotswapping while in Windows. I've only tried it in XP.

1. Open the Xbox and set it close to the PC. Plug it in.
2. Open the PC and make sure an IDE cable is free and can reach the Xbox HD.
3. Turn on th PC and start up Windows.
4. Turn on the Xbox.
5a. When the MS logo appears under the big X, remove the Xbox IDE cable and quickly plug in the PC IDE cable.
5b. If the MS logo doesn't appear, then swap just before the error screen shows up instead.
6. Go to Device Manager (Control Panel -> System -> Hardware tab -> Device Manager) and go to Action -> Scan for hardware changes. If it takes a long time to detect (several minutes), then the HD has not been unlocked.

10. Can I hotswap to another modded Xbox?

Yes. I'll add in details later.

11. Can I hotswap while the Xbox is on and the PC is off?

Maybe. It may depend on the PC. I've tried it once or twice and it didn't work for me.

12. Can I hotswap after BIOS detects the hard drive?

Yes, but I find it's more reliable when the PC BIOS detects the correct type of hard drive first.

13. After hotswapping, can I access the hard drive like a Windows drive?

No. The hard drive uses a different file system called FATX. This file system is not supported natively under Windows. You need a FATX-compatible program like HDD_Driver to access it. However, HDD_Driver is very buggy and has limited functionality. I highly recommend using xboxhdm (CD-based Linux) instead.

14. What is this xboxhdm? How do I use it?

Please see this thread:
Why Use Xbox Hd Maker (Linux)?

15. What do I do when I'm done?

Shut off your PC, shut off the Xbox, and put it back together. The hard drive will automatically be locked.

Edit 1: Added question about hotswapping to another Xbox. Also added info about locking on error screens.
Edit 2: Added question about damaging the Xbox or PC.
Edit 3: Added link to xboxhdm FAQ.

---

Comments, further questions, and suggestions are welcome.

Well this is some nice usable info. I just like to add that the hd does also lock again after it goes into an error screen and not only when power gets cut off. Some people say it stays unlocked at a dvd drive error screen (the one where you unplug the dvd ide cable) but it didn't led to succes with me.
Also maybe nice to know you could also hotswap with another (modded) xbox. I used this a couple of times and saves me all the pc hassle. I just boot my modded xbox with an evoxcd and quickly hotswap the unlocked hd while the dvd drive spins on the modded xbox. This is offcourse only usable if you have a fully modded xbox besides the one you want to fix.

Okay, thanks. I've added it in. I'd like to find out a bit more about Xbox-to-Xbox hotswapping before completing it. I've heard of a couple methods with that too.

brilliant... helped me TONS...

Maybe also nice to add that you can hear the xbox being unlocked an accesed. The first accesing would be just before the M$ logo, after you hear the clicking hd noise the drive is unlocked and you can hotswap after that, if you boot into an error screen after that you can hear clicking sounds a few seconds later when it's locking again.

XBOX and PC have different electrical ground because PC are grounded whereas Xbox have a floating ground.

Because of this difference you can damage your xbox or pc when you hotswap.

Safe step to take is to connect a wire between the xbox metal casing and your PC casing when they are both switched off and only disconnect it when everything is done and powered off.

It is not the danger of accidently touching something I am warning about.

If a sizable voltage potential difference exist between your PC and Xbox ground, you risk damaging electrical surge/shock because the act of hotswapping - disconnecting and connecting IDE cable - you are actually forcing the ground to equalize between the 2 device.

So by connecting both device chassis beforehand when they are both switch off, you will ensure there is no potential difference and you can safely hotswap.

I understand your point on the potential difference but unless something is shortcircuited or elctrostacly charged the ground would be currentless so there won't be a potential difference between the two.

Great stuff Grospolina. You know your stuff, and you know how to pass on your knowledge.

This is not really on the hotswapping topic, but this could turn into a xbox HDD specific thread, so just to elaborate. :

• The HDD status is handled by the HDD firmware on a chip. Formatting at any level will not let you access the drive and "erase" the HDD password.
• Actually, the HDD will not not accept any "standard" commands unless the HDD is unlocked. That is why windows will hang for severel minutes if you try to boot with an locked HDD attached.
• Only commands the HDD will accepts are the ones in the ATA Security specifications. You can get the status/security level of the drive, and the HDD model and serial number, which luckily is all that is needed to generate the correct HDD password if you have your xbox eeprom. Credit goes to Speedbump for figuring out the HDD password generation algorithm.
• The HDD firmware will only accept a limited number off attempt to unlock the drive. After that the drive will freeze, and you cannot attempt to unlock it unless you reboot.
• Unlocking and password disabling are different things (different commands). When the xbox is running the HDD is unlocked, but locking is still enabled. Therfore on shutdown the drive will relock. The ATA specification has a command that disabled the HDD password altogether. When unlocking with Unlockx, both the unlock and the password disable command are sent to the drive. The hdunlock/hddisable tools seperate these functions.

Excellant job Grospolina! There was definately a lack of informationon Hotswapping and I think you totally cleared up all the gray area for anyone that had questions.

Well out of curiousness out of this statement you make I took out my multimeter and measured it also and was shocked to see difference of 108 VAC. Then I measured from xbox to xbox and also 108 volts.
That would Indeed mean that when you hotswap the difference in voltage is over the ground of the xbox hd feed and the pc IDE cable. I don't know the direct consequences of how the hdd react to this though. I (almost) never heard about anyone messing up their harddrives during a hotswap. Well maybe the connection from xbox to pc chassis isn't a really bad precaution if you want to be completely sure.

This needs to be added to the Tutorial thread... I tried hotswapping for two hours yesterday and I didn't get the damn thing unlocked ...but maybe these tips will help, if I try again.

It's interesting what's been said about the need for the xbox to be grounded - I was connecting the Xbox to my PC's secondary IDE cable, where I normally have my DVD and CD writer (which is dead so I don't care about having both running), but now when I connect the (working) DVD drive to the plug where I had the Xbox hotswapped to, the PC, during the hdd detection, gives an error like 'ide cable no 80 connector grounded' or something.

It doesn't matter because I can plug the DVD drive into the other plug, but would the Xbox have used that plug as a ground and fried it? The odd thing was, during my later hotswapping attempts with the Xbox connected to the (fried?) connector, it detected it in Device manager, but it wasn't unlocked because XP took ages to boot up.

So, I'm going to leave hotswapping alone because frankly I'm worried about frying both the Xbox and PC (I could just ground the damn thing, but hey), and get a mod chip. Partly because of the voltage differences but also because my dashboard is trashed and the MS logo seems to come up and half a second later the Error 21 screen comes up - there is no way I can swap the cables in this time. This is all a bit much for me...

the error might have to do with the type of ide cable. The old ones only have 40 leads and the new ones have 80 leads as wherin all of them are connected to ground seperately.

@denky:

Okay, you've convinced me. I've added a question about damage, and a recommendation in red.

@Mullacy:

As long as you pull out the Xbox IDE cable before the error screen comes up, it should be okay. It won't turn off (or even pulse) the power for an error screen, and it certainly can't reset the hard drive (since it's disconnected).

Still, if you don't think you can get a hotswap to work, then maybe a modchip is a good idea.

I'm having a strange issue with my hddriver. First of all I tried to do the hotswap with windows booted. Device Manager recognized the Xbox drive and also the hdd driver program found it but when I open hddriver a message came up "Invalid Filename Size!". This error window only have an OK button that it doesn't matter how many time you press it, it will appear again. I can access (ignoring it) the Tools tab to backup hdd or restore it BUT no access to the xbox drive, no system folder or anything. For the record I tried to back up the hd and it finished fine but hddriver, fatxplorer and HD fatXbox Explorer can't recognize my image file so i could restore an exploited version of the image. Anyone help please.

That's a very typical error with HDD_Driver. It's buggy and may require sector editing to get around. Even after you get around it, it won't let you create directories.

I recommend xboxhdm instead. I've added a link to my xboxhdm FAQ.

If you insist on using HDD_Driver, then look up the threads concerning this error. There are several.

Thanks for the awesome tutorial, it answered a lot of questions I had.

I just tried running through it several times with the linux iso from xboxhdm (pausing before HD detection and swapping drives using primary master slot [I disconnected my main drive and set the bios to boot off cd]). On the xbox I'm trying to reapir, the M$ logo does not come up, so I waited until the hard drive stopped clicking, right before the error comes up (error 16) and plugged it into my PC cable. After hitting the spacebar, my pc almost immediately recognized my xbox drive (showed the model number on the bios screen) and booted up to the cd, once I got to the screen where you type xboxhdm, the program booted and told me there either wasn't a drive installed on the primary master (it recognized it on the bootup as the primary master) or the drive wasn't unlocked.

My question is, how come my pc recognized my xbox hd at the bootup screen but not from the program? I followed the tutorial to a T, and even tried adding the drive through Windows XP, when I tried to scan for hardware changes, it didn't do anything at all. Am I missing something, or is it possible that their is a corrupt file on my HD that's preventing my xbox HD from unlocking at startup? Thanks for any insight anyone can give.

The clickin you heard probably cuz it was lockin again so you had to pull out the cable prior to that last clicking sounds. You can really hear a couple of clicking instances. Make sure you pull out the cable as soon as you first heard the drive bein accesed.

Yeah as the faq mentions it gets locked again before the error screen. I succesfully unlocked it right after the first or second clickin instance. You only have a few seconds before it locks againg though. it also helps if you first pull out the ide cable and then plug it in half so you don't have to wrestle alot to get the cable out.

when i try hdd driver with the xbox hdd not pluged in it says http://members.shaw.ca/angelamoon52/erorr.bmp ,is that normal?

No, that means you have the wrong version of the MFC42D.DLL. You need to find a different version that doesn't give you that error.

Btw, the reason you need all those extra DLLs is because whoever released HDD_Driver compiled it in Debug mode instead of Release mode. I wish people wouldn't do that. [end rant]

cool thx

BTW, the tutorial mentions if the word MS doesn't appear under the X logo to wait until just before the error screen comes up to perform the swap, which is why I waited as long as possible originally.

You can pull out the ide cable from the messed up xbox first. if you did it at the right moment and it is unlocked it will stay unlocked if the ide cable is pulled out. Then you have time to power up the modded xbox (without ide cable connected to the hd) and when you hear the dvd drive spinning quickly plug in the ide cable from the first xbox. If everything is well you can than hear the drive being accesed and you boot to evox fromwhere you have full ftp capability.

Okay I now see a little mistake I made

after hotswapping my xbox hdd several dozen times for many reasons i am fairly confident that i'm not going to fry my hdd without having a common ground, but i definatly could see how the difference in grounds could damage a hard drive. tying the grounds is probably something i will do from now on.

if i have problems with my hdd locking when it gets to the error screen i just pop in halo or another retail game. Even though my xbox gets errors, the game always boots and unlocks my hdd and i can just swap it at the game menu

i always swap in windows, i just have the device manager waiting open for me to click "find new hardware" -- if it takes more than a few seconds to find the xbox hdd, i assume it is still locked and i try again.

My CD burner is broken and hdd_driver, fatxplorer hddexplorer and all those other tools do not work for me. They used to, once upon a time, but now i either get a program fault or an invalid size error with hdddriver.

NE way i had just done a custom ude installation with nkpatcher and i had forgot to rename the dashboard xbe to what nkpatcher would launch... I started reading about the xbox file system and how its laid out, namely directory entries. I was succesful in changing the xbe filename and filename size using winhex sector editor so my xbox would once again boot.

thats my story and i'm stickin to it

Q 11: Can I hot swap while the Xbox is on and the PC is off?
If the Xbox HD is disconnected for a long time, the Xbox may eventually turn off, and this depends on the version of the Xbox. To avoid power interruption to the HD, the HD should receive power from the PC.
Boot the PC to the BIOS setup or boot with a blank floppy disk which will cause the PC to hang with an error. Now connect the power from the PC to the Xbox HD, and then turn on the Xbox. Once Xbox boots up, disconnect the Xbox IDE cable and connect the PC IDE cable to the HD. Now, the HD is connect to the PC by the PC IDE cable and the PC power. The Xboy may be turned off at this point.

Q 12: Can I hot swap after BIOS detects the HD?
Irrelevant; makes no difference whether you're using xLiunx or Win2k.

Hey Grospolina, great FAQ.
I didn't see your addition about hot swapping between two Xboxes.

The two Xboxes must have identical HD's!
The most important concern is the issue of power interruption. If the IDE cable is disconnected from the Xbox to the HD, the Xbox may eventually turn off, and this depends on the version of the Xbox, so it's better to have some external power source near by. A computer provides a reliable power source.
Turn on the PC, and connect the PC power cord to the unmodded Xbox HD. Now turn on the unmodded Xbox to unlock the HD, and once the HD is unlocked, disconnect the IDE cable. Now, you have a HD that's unlocked with a reliable power supply from the PC.
Boot Slayer's 2.5 CD on the modded Xbox. Disconnect the IDE cable from its own HD, and connect the IDE cable to the HD of the unmodded Xbox. Now, do what ever you want; FTP file transfer, format, etc. However, do *not* try to lock or unlock the HD. After it's all done, just power everything off and put everything back together.

something needs to be clearified, as the following answer is conflicting with the second quote, copied from this thread.

if you read carefully you will see a "some" in front of the error screens in the first quote. I dunno if it reboots or not but the pullout the dvd ide cable trick does work for most but not all xboxes. (dunno if it's kernel related). Anyway there are more error screens than the error 12 and the error 12 is the only known error screen where the drive might be unlocked with.

yea, Grospolina or some admin should add it to the specific question to make it more consistent:)

-ivc

The best way I have found to hotswap is to just disconnect the IDE cable going to the dvd drive. It will error on the dvd drive but leave the harddrive unlocked. This way is explained in ldots tutorial on using xboxhdm. It always works for me!

Also, I believe that I have found an important discovery. I've been hotswapping while windows is running and it works on some computers, and not on others. The thing that I found is that the computers that have Nforce chipsets need to make sure that they don't have the Nvidia Sw IDE driver installed, b/c then hotswapping doesn't work. Uninstall the driver and you should be able to hotswap just fine in windows. I've tested this on two computers with the Nvidia chipsets and found this too be true.

I also recommend xboxhdm instead of any windows file manager like FatXplorer. It just works so much better!

Anyway, good luck!

ok I have tryed to hotswap about 50 times and still dont get anyware.
I have tryed the tips in this forum and still nothing
I turn on and boot up my pc running winxp and then turn on my xbox
and let it boot to the dashboard then I pull the ribbon cable out of the xbox
and plug in the one from my pc.
then I go to device manager and scan for hardware changes, it dose not take
long (2 to 3 sec.) but still nothing. my bios finds it ok but not windows.
what am I doing wrong.
some help please.

also I am using a nvidia riva tnt video card if the a prob. let me know.

w0000t i got it on my like 4th try, rebuilding with slayers now hopefully it'll work. XD

did you fallow the tips on the forum.

sirblackguy..this off the faq on the first page of this thread.

If you boot your xbox with the dvd-ide unplugged (just the power) it should boot into a (service is required screen) error 12, at this point the harddrive is unlocked until it loses power.

Just when I thought that I was comfortable with what I was doing, you guys come up with yet another way to amaze and intrigue me!
Turning on the Xbox with the DVD IDE cable disconnected works great!
I first connected the power cord from the PC to the HD, then disconnected the IDE cable from the DVD drive, and turned on the Xbox, and I got the expected error screen, but the HD is now unlocked. I disconnected the Xbox IDE cable from the HD, and connected the PC IDE cable to the HD, and everything worked like a charm. This is much better than waiting for the MS Dash to load.

By the way, there have been a lot of postings regarding discrepant ground causing damage, but it's not as dangerous as it's made out to be. What kind of computer are you using? A generic PC you buy at a local store for personal use for home and school? Or do you have a monster, souped up, power station for critical applications? If you have a plain run-of-the-mill PC without customization, then it should be fine. If you've had a success with that PC once, then it's probably safe to continue using it. However, if you have a super PC that'll rival the NSA's computer network, then you might want to use a bit more caution regarding the grounding issue. I personally use an old PC with Pentium MMX; not even Pentium 2.

Hi

as for me this method doesn't work, i get code error 6

any help?

NAS

I dont see any info on jumper settings so i figured I add what I used. I hotswapped my xbox HDD into a PC with a single HDD. I had to set the PC HDD into master mode and the xbox into slave.

Well, I have been using the Mechassualt font exploit for all the X-mods I've done for my friends... I always tell them about the possibility of the clock loop, and how I find that having mine plugged into my home network worked to break it out everytime... When I do someone's Xbox for them, I always do three things:

1) Make a virgin backup of the both their C and E drives via Emergency Linux.
2) Use Slayer's Evox Autoinstall CD w/ the same configuration for all Xboxes.
3) Run the handy little backup program so we have their HDPW and EEPROM saved.

Last one I did, he was in a hurry to get it back (I'll let him share some of the blame, ok?), and I forgot to run Backup from Evox. Ooops.

A few days ago, his breaker tripped on his entertainment center overnight (or his brother got drunk and screwed something up perhaps. Let's spread the blame around as much as possible, shall we?) His Xbox goes into a clock loop. Audio CD doesn't break it. Waiting for hours on end doesn't break it. Ooops turns into Uh-oh.

I tell him bring it over to my house and we'll plug it into my netwrok, and it'll break out, no sweat. Every other Xbox has broken out doing this method. He and his girlfriend come over (She's to blame somehow, I just know it!) and we plug it in and wait for it to break. And wait. And wait. And wait. Uh-oh turns into holy s***!

So, I frantically start to peruse the boards here at Xbox Scene (in this story it only you kind folks who remain completly and utterly blameless) and find this info on hot swapping. Being the lazy bastard that I am (move my computer over there? find a free outlet over here?) I opted to try the hot swap to modded Xbox, seeing as how my Xbox still has it's cover off from my HD upgrade. (Please refer to lazy bastard note above...). And bless all you sinners, for it worked! I managed to use my strictly soft modded Xbox in to hot swap in the clock looped Xbox HD.

Now that I have gotten my long winded intro out of the way, (I love a good story. Next time I'll try to tell one...) here are the exact steps that I did in the hopes that it will help some other poor lost soul such a myself.

1) Turned on my soft modded Xbox.
2) Loaded Evox from the M$ dashboard.
3) Once the skin was loaded, I unplugged my HD from the IDE cable.
4) Turned on the clock looped Xbox.
5) Once the M$ logo appeared beneath the giant "X", I unplugged the HD from the IDE cable, and plugged in the IDE cable from my Xbox.
6) Ran an application that I knew was installed in the same location on both hard drives (ie, E:/Applications). In this instance, I ran Complex Tools.
7) Exit out of Complex Tools by choosing "Exit Complex Tools and Return To Dashboard"
8) Viola! The clock looped HD is then loaded, and can be accessed via Evox FTP.

At this point, how you proceed is of course of your own choosing, but to play it safe, I wiped the C drive, and restored the virgin copy I had backed up. I then powered down my Xbox, removed (formerly) clock looped drive and installed it back into it's orginal Xbox and booted like nothing was ever wrong.

Maybe I got lucky. Maybe I half way know what I'm doing. Maybe next time I'll tell people to chill, not to be so impatient, it'll be done when it's done. ("You want done, or do you want it done RIGHT?") But I do know two things for sure.

1) I don't have to buy someone a replacement Xbox.
2) His is getting the UDE now.

bravo, and great work.