Cheers, I'll give that a try when I get home.

i followed the directions and was able to softmod my xbox on the first try... i did it without grounding.. piece of cake... great easy to follow instructions.. if you have any questions just ask.. the process was so friggin' easy.. and im not an expert in hardware by any means let alone software..


just burn the iso unhook your primary harddrive and hook it to your xbox harddrive while an audio song is paused run the linux install and your good to go.. easy as key lime pie

Could somebody please explain method 1 & 2 a little more please? I am new to the Modding of my Xbox, (yes I am a "N00B" When it comes to Modding) I don't understand how it is that I am supposed to connect the Xbox and the PC!! so if anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it!!
Methods 1 & 2.
Method 1: You have both the Xbox and PC hooked up as normal. You will use the Xbox power supply to supply the power to the Xbox hard drive. In order to make up for the floating point ground, you will connect a wire with alligator clips from the PC metal case chassis to the metal Xbox chassis to short out any possible extra voltage and keep them equal.

Method 2: You have a 4-pin molex power cable in your PC long enough to reach the Xbox. So you hook up the power cord from the computer into the Xbox hard drive. So therefore, the computer’s power supply is supplying the power to the Xbox hard drive. This way, there is no floating point ground (because the hard drive is connected to the computer’s power supply) and you don’t need the chassis connecting wire.

eh my supposed to connect them like they're connected it the XBOXHDM FOR DUMMIES post?
( http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=244043 ) is that the right one to do? please help me!!!

Necris, basically what that is saying is you either need to 1) ground your XBox using a wire connected to the Xbox chassis and PC chassis or if you dont want to do it that way you can 2) unplug the power supply from your XBox Hard Drive and use the power supply from your computer if you have an available connector. When you turn on your computer, the computer would power the Xbox Hard Drive and ground it properly.

However, some people choose not to use either method and skip this step entirely. The problem with doing this is you risk damage to your Xbox because its not ground properly. Most people dont have this problem but it is an issue that could occur.

Alright here's a tricky one for ya'll...
I installed ndure on my stock HD. Ran UnleashX and configmagic beautifully.
Now I wanted to upgrade the HDD.
So I've followed the directions to do so, but when I load up the new HDD into the xbox, it will go through start-up and even give me the orange signal light (from unleashx) but will not load the dashboard. If I open the CD tray I will bounce out to the M$dash. The HDD sounds like it's suck in a loop, repeating the same read head noises.

So obviously, my new HDD is locked/unlocked correctly right? (b/c of M$ dash loading?)
But maybe I need to modify the contents of xboxhdm C and E?

In my ISO these are simply duplicates of my existing HDD, minus a few large UDATA and TDATA folders and showdowc/fillers.

Is it possible to us Xboxhdm to unlock both new and stock drive then clone and then lock drives? Would this not work?

Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Hmm, prolog, first time that has come up in here.

You are right about the hard drive, it is definitely locked. If it wasn't, you wouldn't be able to load the MS Dash.

I believe you can use XboxHDM to clone the drive. To unlock the stock, I would stick it back into your Xbox and unlock with ConfigMagic. To unlock the new one, use Option 4, type atapwd, unlock with master password: XBOXSCENE, disable with master password: XBOXSCENE.

Try that, it should work. Just remember to re-lock your new hard drive (and old one if you want to).

Textbook,

Are the all the files in the UDATA and TDATA folders needed in the ISO, or can those be FTP'd later?
Also, same question for the shadowc files (img and fillers)?

Thanks for your quick help. I'll test tonight when home from work.

Good tutorial, very clear, leaves little doubt. One thing I'd like to know though: should the original 5960 dash be in linux\C\ or not? If I don't put them in there, is my original dash "gone"?

@Prolog, yes shadowc, fillers, TDATA etc can be ftp'd later..

@zzattack, you should use the backup option to create a backup of your dash.. If you already have 5960 dash ( if not then update) you can boot to your ms dashboard with eject button.

It worked! I'm a happy camper!

I think that was by far the easiest way to upgrade HDD's when after you've completed the mod with the stock HDD.

If this helps anyone in the future to upgrade:

Starting with an unlocked new HDD

1: I simply unlocked my stock HDD with config magic on the xbox.
2: Connect new HDD to computer on secondary slave (anything but primary master should work)
3: Load Xboxhdm boot CD into drive and boot to CD.
4: Perform hotswap of stock HDD from Xbox to Computer, connecting to primary master.
5: Select 1 at main menu, then type xboxhd, then select clone Xbox hard drive.
6: Select your Source drive. (Your stock Xbox HDD) It should be hda.
7: Select your Destination drive. (Your spiffy new bigger better HDD) Should be hdd.
8: Then as the instructions prompt, have a beer and wait a long while. the clone tooke about 1 hour for me.
9: Shutdown. Remove old Xbox HDD, set aside.
10: Move New HDD to Primary master. (remeber to switch jumpers if need be)
11: Restart. Load Xboxhdm.
12: Chose option 3 at main menu.
13: Type 'lockhd -a' at prompt. (answer yes if correct)
14: Shutdown. Remove New HDD from computer and install into xbox.
15: Boot and enjoy.

Hope this helps someone down the road....

It's probebly asked before, but I don't have the time to read all the 24 pages at this moment . The question is: how can I play/update/content Download on Live without being banned?

Thanks,
Jeroen_JRP

You don't have to read 24 pages, just reading the FAQ would have been enough.



Just boot your Xbox up with the disc already in the drive and play/download to your heart's content.

Oops, I missed that bit , thankyou

Jeroen_JRP

Ok so I have been trying to do this softmod all day yesterday. I understand what I am supposed to do and what it is doing. My problem is that after I do the hot-swap, I hit option 1 on the XBOXHDM screen and it does the scrolling text and then goes and sits at a black screen. When I do option 2, it does the scrolling text and stops with the following:

..MP-BIOS bug: 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC
...trying to set up timer (IRQ0) through the 8259A ... failed
...trying to set up timer as Virtual Wire IRQ ... failed
...trying to set up timer as ExtINT IRQ ... failed .
Kernel Panic: IO-APIC + timer doesn't work! pester mingo@redhat.com
In idle task - not syncing

I have tried all methods of hot-swapping (i.e no dvd ide, audio track copy, then play from hd,), I tried it with the Xbox connector plugged into the HD as well as my PC connector. I have the Primary Master open for the Xbox HD with nothing else connected. And my dvd player is connected to Secondary Master with nothing else on that one as well. I have my S-ATA drive disabled and all other drives set to None. Nothing is connected Via USB, and my ethernet cable is in.
K:1.00.5838.01
D:1.00.5960.01
The tutorial is very straightforward so I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I suspect that my xbox HD is not unlocking, but I tried everything that was suggested here and other places for hot-swapping. I have a 300gb hard drive ready here to switch once I can get this softmod to work. I was also wondering if there is anyway to use other Linux unlocking utilities/tools to unlock this drive. Thanks in advance.

I am using the Ndure 3.0 installer with recommended options enabled. I don't have the .67 enabled as I will do this the next time around when I upgrade to the bigger HD. I tried using the updated Ndure script as well as the older one to no avail.


PC SPECS:
AMD Athlon 64 3700+ processor
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe mobo
2 GB OCZ DUAL Channel DDR400 PC3200 memory
Plextor Dual Layer DVD burner
Seagate S-ATA 250gb HDD
ATI Radeon x800XL PCI-E 256MB gpu with third-party drivers (omega drivers)
Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS Platinum (KX project drivers)
Windows XP Pro SP2

Sounds more like an XboxHDM bug than anything else. I would recommend using a different computer or trying XboxHDM safe-mode. I have no idea what any of those error messages mean, so I don't know how to solve that. It definitely looks more like an XboxHDM problem and not the unlocking/hard drive problem.

hey there,

I have used XBOXHDM to create a backup of my current xbox to the linux ISO. I am running XBMC(xbox media center) as a dash but did the backups via evox beforehand(all softmod, no hardware mods in this one). After making the cd and running it on my compatible 40gig HDD, doing all the necesarry procedures that it still wouldnt work in my xbox. I kept getting the error screen with the dash error numbers, i then by accident managed to get a game to load!(could get this to work every time just by putting the game disk in at the right time) guess what,it was splinter cell which could read the original savegame backup off my newly made HDD. Got into the linux softmod and copied the backups for the evox dash over FTP and then restored the dash. And voila, working HDD!

Anyone know if i can use live with this HDD or will it get me banned from live?It has been locked using the eeprom from my old HDD. The dash i have at the moment allows me to run games on live without being banned as long as the game is in the drive before coldstart, i just wanted to know if this was still the case with the new hdd as i dont want to be banned

Cheers

OK so i've followed all of the steps and i can't get this to work, i can't get the CD to boot and when i go to look at the CD in the explorer it says it is empty, the ISOrecorder program didn't work it came up with an error when it started burning so i used nero instead, nero said that everything burned succesfully.

if there isn't any way to get this working is there any other way to mod my xbox through hotswapping?

YOU WILL BE BANNED!

Sorry, didn't mean to yell, I just don't want you to get banned. Read the FAQ about upgrading the hard drive and using Live. Because of the marriage theory, you will need a new, virgin EEPROM. You can usually buy one in the B/S/T forums here.



I use Nero and it works fine. In Nero, I go to Recorder, Burn Image in Nero Burning ROM. When you put the disk in Windows, it should show all the data on there. There is no other way to mod your xbox through hotswapping if you can't get XboxHDM burned correctly. Well, there is, but they are much harder to do and are very buggy. XboxHDM is the only thing I would ever hotswap with. Try making the ISO again and burning it. How big is your ISO by the way? Perhaps it is too big?

Update: Ok well I figured out that my problem was a BIOS setting in my PC. Under power there was something that was related to that APIC thing and I disabled it and then i got it to load no problem. After a few hours of running into all kinds of problems, I managed to get everything the way I wanted. I upgraded to a 300gb hdd and its running smoothly. I just have a few questions:

Where do I put my backed up games? What format do they have to be? and Can I use the F: drive for storage of games?

Can I tell the Xbox to boot directly to XBMC instead of the default UnleashX?

When I try to click on MS Dashboard it tells me that the file C:\xboxdash.xbe cannot be found. What should i do? or should i not worry about this because I don't plan to do anything with XBL?

Thanks in advance.

Tranceaddikt

The ISO is around 400 MB so that can't be too much for the CD or anything could it? I've tried doing the CD on two harddrives (i dropped the 1st 1 i used while putting it back in)

I have definately followed the intructions exactly so i don't get whats going wrong.

I have had a look in the iso file and this is what is inside it, is this what should be inside or is there anything missing?

OK so i managed to get the disc working, it burned properly this time. and i tried the hotswap thing and it didnt work for me it sad multiple things 'cause i've tried it multiple times, it said it could not find a harddrive the last time and now i've put my hd back in my xbox and im getting error 7.

Have i broken my harddrive or is it likely that its someting to do with me installing the mod wrong?

You are the third person to ask those same questions, so I decided to add this information to the FAQ.



As for your games, they can be backed up to the F: drive. Make a Games folder and put them in there.



Most likely the hard drive was still locked and that's why it wasn't working. As for your error code 7, make sure your IDE cables and power cables are plugged in completely to the hard drive. If they are, it is possible that the hard drive died.

@TranceAddikt,.. good to see that mod is installed.. now if you want to install xbmc.. delete everything from E:\dash\ folder and copy all the xbmc files and folder to E:\dash\ ( the release usually contains a folder called XBMC, copy the contents of XBMC folder to E:\dash\ not the XBMC folder itself).. and about not finding xbox dash.. you need to copy a fresh copy a xboxdash in C.. but its no problem if you dont want to use xbox live..

@derenkirby,

is the hd jumpers set in correct .. make sure its set to master.. if that doesnt fix your problem then may be you gota broken hdd.

edit: looks like Textbook already answered..

haha King, beat you to it

Also, I wanted to ask you, is there any chance on getting Dr Oldschool's version 7 VGA Patch into the next update? (for the Conexant users)

Thank you both very much. You hard work is greatly appreciated.. You guys keep up with the topic very well. I will try those suggestions out tonight when I get a free chance.

Keep it up..

tranceaddikt

I have to ask xman.. if he can intigrate the patch then I will definitely add this.. Right now i am fixing some errors and adding some features in the xboxhdm script. new features are:

* chechks for backup and if not there then create a backup first before starting to copy files
* copy the ms dash files from backup to shadowc.
* checks for ms dash ver. 5960, if 5960 dash not found then ask user whether to continue or abort softmod.

hopefully copying ms dash to shadowc will solve the unwritable shadowc problem and cannt find ms dash in unleashx problem..

I cannot copy eeprom using ConfigMagic but sucessfully backup eprom after running /e/ndts/default.xbe

and

I failed in step 4, to copy /c/shadowc/filler1.img and /c/shadowc/shadowc.img.
Is there anyway to copy these two files?

jempol, the eeprom backup should be good, it doesn't matter what you use as long as you have it. For the filler files, you already have them on your computer or XboxHDM disc that you used to softmod the Xbox.

Hello everyone!

I've been out of the modding scene for a while but just recently bought a 160gb hard drive for my xbox. I used xboxhdm to build a default xbox hard drive on the new stock hard drive. After removing the hard drive from my PC and trying it in the xbox, I soon found out that I forgot to lock the hard drive after building it. So I locked the hard drive and it worked perfectly in the xbox.

What I'm a little nervous about is that now that the new hard drive is locked, is it possible to unlock it using xboxhdm's unlocking tools so I can install Ndure through xboxhdm? Or am I going to have to unlock the drive using the xbox and fiddle with switching the IDE cable from my pc to the hard drive? I would prefer not to have to switch IDE cables while my xbox and pc are both on as I'm afraid of nuking my hardware.

Note, I took extra careful efforts to make sure i wrote down the hard drive key's perfectly. Can I use these keys to unlock the hard drive through xboxhdm, install Ndure, and then relock the hard drive?

Thanks!

Edit: Also, if anyone has any other suggestions as to how I can go about modding my newly built 160gb xbox drive, it would be great to hear them!

@angrysoul, ldots made it easy. No hotswapping required. When you use XboxHDM to lock a hard drive, it sets a master password to XBOXSCENE. So just hook it up to Primary Master in your computer (with it locked, no hotswap needed). Boot up XboxHDM and choose option 4 (Boot to DOS). After the scrolling text is finished, you should get a flashing A:/. Type in 'atapwd' without the quotes and you will go to a menu. The top hard drive in the list is Primary Master. Select your drive from the list, security command set, unlock with master password: XBOXSCENE. Select your drive from the list again, security command set, disable with master password: XBOXSCENE. Now the drive should be unlocked and you can do whatever you want with it.

P.S. - This tutorial is for softmodding with a clean, unmodified C drive that is working normally (retail) in an Xbox.

@Textbook

You seriously rock! Thank you for your help!

FINALLY!!! man! I finally MODDED it!! it's MAD easy actually! a guy helped me with the connecting of the PC & xbox!! and it works!! Kickass! Textbook you frigging Rock man!! Mayor PROPS!! only thing is... my Gamertag is Gone and so is all my Music!! well I guess it's Gone now!! anyways Thanks Man!!

wow, i must say, what an excellant guide. I am a total newbie and this is really in depth, but I have a few problems;

1. When i get to the first screen BEFORE i connect the hd, but AFTER i boot with the iso disk it sits for about 30 seconds, until moving on, which is a pain, but i managed.

2. AFTER I connect the hd for hotswap I press 1 as told, then it does some stuff anbd ends up at the screen that I should. Now I type xbrowser and it searches, but it doesn't go to the screen that you said it should. It says disk not found, and searches my drives, and still finds nothing. I beleive this is due to the primary ide cable attached to the wrong drive or something. I have a slightly above average computer knowledge, but how do I know what drive is where, can i tell if I load my bios on my comp?

those are the only problems. Thanks so much for all this great info!

Great tutorial... great package. I can't believe how far this has come since I did my first 29-wire chip. This was the easiest thing I think I've ever done with an Xbox.

A couple things to note:

On my PC (which may be related) VGA mode on the XboxHDM disc didn't work. It would load the kernel and then stick on a blank screen. Text mode worked just fine.

I also saw the "unable to open:" message during the ndure install script. I used the emergency backup thing that you guys said was related, but you'll probably have to answer fewer questions if you mask it.

Also, related specifically to this tutorial, it wasn't clear how the steps with the ndure script went. For me, I used option 4 to backup the data, and then it gave the complete message, and the script ended. I had to start it again with commander and then do the install option, which wasn't how I interpreted the process from the instructions.

Fantastic work. Thanks guys

@bill nye, you hotswap wasnt succesfull, thats why you are getting the message.. primary master should be connected to xbox hard rdive..

@goatlord, the xboxhdm kernel is almost 2 yrs old and xbox-linux team didnt release new kernel for a long a time, thats why it gives problem with some computers.. I agree on the script exiting after single process, it will be gone in th enext release..

ok, so i tried the hotswap again, and this time i know i used the primary master ide slot.
so i get to the point to typ xbrowser and do so, and hit enter. then it says

harddrive found
now looking for xbox partitions

no xbox partition table found

what does this mean? is it not unlocked?

edit: i am very certain that the hd was not unlocked. i will try a different method of unlocking. please give me any feedback on whether you beleive it is locked or not.

I installed this using this guide, and all was well, until the actual copying of the files.

It went well, but it gave me disc space errors, and said it couldn't copy a few files.

However, when I rebooted the xbox, like someone said earlier in this thread, it booted to unleashx, but without any applications, etc.

What could have caused this, and is it a problem?

It's not a problem. It means that you are softmodded completely and successfully. During the softmod installation, no applications are installed. Just the main softmod files, the default dash (UnleashX), and the Ndure Toolset. You will have to install any Applications manually by FTP'ing them from your computer. I would recommend dvd2xbox and XBMC, both are amazing programs. As for your disk space errors, check the FAQ for the "unuseable C drive" after getting disk space errors. It may apply to you. Other than that, everything should be working correctly and you're softmodded. Check the FAQ for any problems you run into and don't hesitate to ask a question if you're stuck or don't understand something.

Okay, thanks.

Agh.

When I click on the button to boot the original Xbox dash, it gives me an error, saying the xbox dash file isn't found.

edit: and my xbox led glows orange when i'm in unleashx, but that's not that big of a deal.

The guide is so usefull. I have moded two of my friends xbox using this Ndure. It works perfectly. When I tried using a PAL region game xbox hung. xbox k ver = 5838 and d ver= 5960. In xbrowser started ndure after backup i selected the second option replace the c drive with ndure then followed by Install uddae. before making the iso file, i have copied the xbmc folder to the appl folder.
I tried to enable the PAL in video setting and still it hangs. Help me who ever come acrosss. what could be the reason. Thanks.

ok, so I was finally able to softmod my xbox, thanks so much!

but now i have another problem, I am installing a 200gb hd and your short guide is very good and to the point, but can you tell me how to extract my eeprom using UnleashX, all the guides I found use Evox instead. Thanks!

Gotta Read the FAQ's



I'm pretty sure thats normal. I beleive its a visual on the xbox to tell you that you are running in a modded state and not to go on XBL. (Yellow = Caution)

PureThermite, look here:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=&...dpost&p=3497792

saravan, can you switch video modes in ms dash?

@bill nye, run E:\ndts\default.xbe. Now to go misc. option and choose "Install Evox". Retsrat your xbox, go to unleashx application menu, run evox and there will be a option to backup. You will find eeprom in E:\apps\evox\backup\ folder. Or you can install configmagic and backup a eeprom. Unleashx doesnt have eeprom backup option.

Wow, I just got 5 email notifications that people have posted in the thread. So...I come here and start with PureThermite's post. Read it...ok, easy enough...next post. By the time I get done reading all the new posts they have all been answered by Jrracinfan8 and kingroach. Great job guys, it really says something about our Xbox-Scene when some people need help and the original poster can't even get there fast enough to help them. You guys are amazing, thanks for helping out everybody. I love this place

@PureThermite,



If that doesn't work, follow the link that kingroach gave you in the post above this one.

The orange light is normal like Jrracinfan8 said.

@saravan, it might be the virtual eeprom not letting you change the video region

I'll wait until kingroach says this is the problem or not, I wouldn't want you messing something up if I told you how to disable the virtual eeprom

@bill nye, follow kingroach's instructions

Thanks for the info.

One more problem:

I wanted to add a 60gb hard drive to the xbox. I followed your guide on the first page, and made the ISO. The only problem is, it was 2 gigs. I tried to burn it to a DVD, but i just got errors. : /

Is there anything I can delete to make it smaller, or anything i'm doing wrong?

Delete TDATA and UDATA folder from the iso.



That might be the problem.. Make a backup of eeprom using evox/xonfigmagic. Now copy the eeprom into C:\shadowc\ folder.

Thanks kingroach!

Thanks to you guys, I now have a working, softmodded xbox with a 60 gig hard drive. ^^

I'm dumping all my media to it as i type this.

Right guys I am looking for a definitive answer to my theory. I will try to be as concise and to the point as possible, here goes.

My friend attempted to mod an xbox for me (version 1.6 with kernel 5838, dash 5960) but he buggered it up and now all the xbox is doing is booting straight to "trying to update xbox live" then all you can do is cancel or try again.

From reading around it seems like the only answer is to buy a chip for it and that will let me get into it to set it up.

I don't have the eeprom for it.

heres my theory.

Hotswapping with ndure 3.0 and xboxhdm 1.9.

Reading around, there are conflicting opinions on when to swap during the hotswap, but I have read that you can do it when the white MS logo appears when you first boot up as the drive is unlocked briefly at this point. (is the drive unlocked whilst it is trying to connect to xbox live?)

if I can do this then I can connect the drive to the pc and see it on xboxhdm and build the drive and when I power of again the drive will lock itself again.

basically, is it possible to do the hotswap when the drive isn't letting me into ms dash or showing me any error codes but booting into "trying to update xbox live" by swapping during the white MS logo?

another thought is, as you do not need the eeprom to hotswap can I use a disc I made up with xboxhdm for another xbox with a built drive on it to build the C: and E: on THIS drive? I obviously can't use the eeprom on the disc but could I use the structure and exploit on it and when I power off, the drive will lock itself anyway, because I am using the hotswapping technique.

Hope this makes sense.

Cheers!!

can anyone upload there folders on there modded xbox so i can downloadthem?