How to Softmod Your Xbox Using XboxHDM (Ndure)

This tutorial was written by Textbook and uses tools that Textbook did not make. He takes no credit for any of these, and gives full credit to the authors. All Textbook did was re-write the method involved in softmodding the Xbox using certain tools. This method would not be possible if we didn’t have many dedicated people in the Xbox-Scene. Although there are many people who helped this method become possible, the big names stand out and I feel they need to be credited. A huge thanks is given to ldots, kingroach, DaddyJ, eh/ndure protagonist, Cio, Krayzie, angerwound, pedros pad, devz3ro, and any other softmod people I missed. Without them, this would not be possible.

First of all, it is HIGHLY recommended that you read the following threads:

The Art of Hotswapping (DaddyJ)

XboxHDM For Dummies (Kingroach)

**NOTE – The creator of this tutorial, Textbook, nor www.xbox-scene.com or any of its members are responsible for any damage that may be caused while attempting anything in this tutorial. If you attempt in doing this, you do so at your own risk. If something gets broken, it’s only your own fault and you should not blame anybody. Please notice that according to ANSI standards, hotswapping is not considered safe and is therefore only recommended if you can’t find another way to modify your Xbox. For more information on the technical details and safety of hotswapping, please DaddyJ's FAQ titled "The Art of Hotswapping" **

Alright, let's get started...

Note: It is recommended to update your dashboard to MS Dash version 5960. While this may not be necessary for everybody, this tutorial will not work for people who have the 4034 dash. To avoid any and all problems, upgrading the dash to 5960 is highly recommended because nobody should have problems if they are running that dashboard. This softmod works perfectly with the 5960 dashboard version.

To update your dashboard, you can use any newer (post-Halo 2) retail Xbox LIVE game. You don't have to have Xbox LIVE, you don't have to have an internet connection, and you don't even have to have a network cable plugged into the Xbox. Just load up Halo 2 or any game made after that, select Xbox LIVE, and it will proceed to upgrade your Xbox dashboard.

Kernel/Dashboard Version

The first thing you need to do is find your current retail Xbox's Kernel and Dashboard version. To do this, boot up to the MS Dashboard, go to Settings, and the System Info. After the scrolling text, you should see this at the bottom.

K:1.00.XXXX.01
D:1.00.YYYY.01

XXXX is the Xbox kernel version and YYYY is the Xbox dashboard version.



In this example, my kernel is 4034 and my dashboard is 5960
Write your numbers down and remember these two numbers, you will need them later.

Materials

Desktop PC
Xbox
CD Recorder in your PC
Blank CD-R
ISO Recorder v2 (Right click, save target as/save link as)
WinRAR
XboxHDM v1.9 (Right click, save target as/save link as)
Kingroach's NDURE 3.0 (Available at Xbins, in /XBOX/exploits/_Packages/Kingroachs Installer/)
Torx 20 Screwdriver for opening the xbox
Whatever is needed to open up your computer case
Some intelligence and patience

Download the necessary files from above. Install ISO Recorder and WinRAR. After WinRAR is installed, use it to extract xboxhdm.

Edit Timeout Value To 10 Minutes (This step is completely optional, it changes your hotswap "window" from 5 minutes to 10 minutes)

Next, we will increase the amount of time that XboxHDM will stay at its menu. By default, it is only set to stay at the menu for 5 minutes before defaultly entering into VGA Mode. We will increase this time to 10 minutes. To do this, locate the following file:

- xboxhdm/linux/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

Right-click on this and choose to Open with... and choose wordpad. Change the timeout value from 300 to 600 like the picture below.



Now it is time to set up NDURE. When you downloaded NDURE from Xbins, it should have been a RAR archive titled “NDURE-3.0”. Use WinRAR to extract this archive. When extracted, there should be 4 files ( Ndure 3.0.exe , Ndure Installer 3.nfo, Ndure Installer 3.txt, and a Readme.pdf ). I highly suggest reading the Readme, as most of this tutorial is based off of Kingroach’s provided information in that Readme.

Double-click on the Ndure 3.0 with the Xbox 360 logo to run the program, and hit Next. You should see this screen.



Now, here is where you can customize your install and choose the installation that is right for you. There are different features that can be enabled/disabled, but I’ll run you through the install I performed, which should work out good for most people. Again, this is my personal preference, so you can change some stuff around if you know what you’re doing. If you have no idea what each thing does, just do it my way.

Ndure Options

First, I will briefly explain what each option does.

Basic Files - These are the basic files and are required for the softmod to function.

Retail Files - These are the files necessary so that you can have MS Dash access. Most people should leave this checkmarked, the only people who would not need this are people who do not have Xbox LIVE and have no need for the memory and music functions of the MS Dash. You don’t gain anything by leaving this box unmarked, so you might as well include it.

Shadow C - Recommended for all users, because it prevents your Xbox from dash updates overwriting the softmod.

NKPatcher Options

NKP .67 - Use this if you have a hard drive over 200 gb, this will create a G partition.

NKP RGB - Use this if you are going to use the Xbox primarily with VGA output on a computer monitor (Only works with Focus video encoders)

NKP Progressive - This forces 480p for anything that attempts to run in 480i.

Kernel Specific Fonts - These fonts are designed to work exclusively with a certain kernel version. It is recommended to use a kernel specific font, as it should prevent any problems and provide an incredible level of stability.

Default boot xonlinedashconsole - Enabling this option will set up the dualboot feature. When the Xbox is powered on by using the eject button, and the softmod detects an open disc tray, it will boot to the Xbox LIVE Online Dash. In this screen, you can manage all of your network settings, as well as manage Xbox LIVE accounts.

UDDAE - This is a “backdoor” rescue dash that is based off of the Easter Egg Exploit, the uberdash, and an audio exploit. The thing about UDDAE is it allows you to completely turn off your softmod, going to a retail, unmodded state. Now, once your softmod is deactivated, how are you going to activate it? In order to switch it back on, we need to change some files around on the Xbox, and we can't mess with the files in an unmodded state. Basically, the problem lies in we need to have it modded in order to 'turn on' the mod. Which really makes no sense. This is where UDDAE comes to the rescue. Even with the softmod deactivated, we have a way to run homebrew code through a set of actions in the MS Dashboard. While this is a great feature for advanced users, it will not be used by the average user, but it doesn’t hurt anybody by installing it. If you are interested in this, you can read up on SCEEE HERE and UDDAE HERE.

Ndure Toolset - This is a set of tools designed by kingroach to help with your EEPROM backups and other maintenance. It is basically a simple menu that helps you to protect your softmod and keep it running smooth and provides you with the information needed to save your Xbox if anything goes wrong. Just another way kingroach looks out for his users and wants to make them feel safe. While I have never personally used this, I would recommend installing this.

Create XBOXHDM Installer – Obviously, we want this enabled, as this entire tutorial is for installing NDURE with XboxHDM.

My Preferences

My Setup goes like this: (X equals a checkmark)

X Basic Files
X Retail Files
X Add ShadowC
+ Kernel Specific Fonts
X 4034 (You would choose the number of your kernel that you found using System Info at the beginning of this tutorial – I told you to write it down)
X Default boot xonlinedash console (because I have Xbox LIVE)
+ UDDAE
X Add UDDAE
+ Select Kernel Specific ST.DB
X 4034 (You would choose the number of your kernel that you found using System Info at the beginning of this tutorial – I told you to write it down)
X Add NDURE Toolset
X Create XBOXHDM Installer



WARNING: DO NOT COPY MY PICTURE EXACTLY, IT IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE

Under “Kernel Specific Fonts” and “UDDAE’s Select Kernel Specific ST.DB” , I chose 4034 because that was my kernel version when I looked it up in the Xbox System Info. Please select your own Kernel versions for these options, because picking the wrong version will result in a nonworking Xbox.

After selecting all the options correctly, hit Next and you will be asked where to save your NDURE folder.

You will want to save it to /xboxhdm/linux/ , which is wherever you extracted your Xboxhdm ZIP archive you downloaded earlier. Hit Install and wait for it to finish. When it is finished, the last line will say “Completed” and you can hit Next, then Finish to close out of Ndure.

Now, just to make sure, browse to where you extracted Xboxhdm. Enter the Linux folder and there should now be a folder inside there titled ndure. If so, then you’re ready to make your ISO and burn it to a CD-R.



Installing Updated Backup Script

First, you must download the updated script. Right-click HERE and save as. Left-clicking will just bring up a weird page. You have to right-click and save as.

When you hit Save As... it will ask you where you want to save the file and what do you want to name it. It may add a .txt or .htm file extension to it, so you will have to delete the file extension so it is just ndure Save this updated ndure script file to the /xboxhdm/linux/ndure/ folder. Since there is the old script already in there, it should ask if you want to overwrite. Say yes. If it doesn't ask you if you want to overwrite, please check the /xboxhdm/linux/ndure/ folder and make sure you named it just ndure and not ndure.htm.

Create the ISO and Burn It

Go back to the main xboxhdm folder and you will see a bat file titled “make-iso-win”. Run this, and wait for it to finish making the ISO. You should now have a new ISO file in the xboxhdm folder titled “linux”.

You should have already downloaded and installed ISO Recorder v2. If not, right-click HERE and save target as/save link as and install the program.

All you need to do is insert a blank CD into your CD Recorder and right-click the “linux” ISO File and hit “Copy Image to CD”. Just hit Next on the burning screens and wait for the recording to finish.



Force the PC BIOS to Boot From CD

Now that your CD is burned, it’s time to do the actual softmod. First thing you want to do is check to make sure your computer’s BIOS is set to boot from CD first. I believe it is set to boot from CD first on most models, but it’s always best to make sure. To check this, restart your computer. When it starts up, you will have to hit a key in order to enter the BIOS configuration screen. Usually it will say on screen to “Hit key to enter Setup”. Watch for this. If you can’t see it anywhere, I have listed the following BIOS config keys for some computers.



Most PC BIOS Screens will look similar to this one:



You will need to make sure the BIOS is set to boot from the CD first. Usually this can be found in the BIOS BOOT menu, CMOS Menu, or Advanced Menu. Just make sure that CD-ROM is the top of the list, so that it will look for a bootable CD before booting any hard drives.

Xbox and PC Preparation

Now, since you are hotswapping, you will need to have your Xbox very close to your computer.

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.

Method 3: You don’t have a wire with alligator clips to short out the extra voltage and you don’t have a PC power cable long enough to reach the Xbox hard drive. Although not recommended, you can still try the hotswap. You can try it by hooking up the Xbox and PC as normal and not using a ground wire. According to ANSI standards, it won’t be as safe as method 1 or 2, but I have never had a problem with it. Use at your own risk.

The important part comes in your IDE configuration of your drives. You will want your CD/DVD drive anywhere but the primary master. Some people have said they have problems with their CD drive hooked up to to primary slave. I personally use mine hooked up to secondary master and it works fine. Leave the primary master vacant, as this will be the connector used during the hotswap to connect the Xbox hard drive to your computer.

Checklist

Ok, we are almost ready. Please run down this checklist and make sure everything is perfect. If just one thing is incorrect, you will run into problems, your setup has to be exactly like this.

--My PC BIOS is set to boot from CD-ROM before anything else.
--I have a safe way to connect the Xbox hard drive to the PC
--My IDE cable that will be used for hotswapping is connected to the primary IDE channel
--My CD/DVD drive is connected to anywhere but the primary IDE connection
--My primary master IDE connection is vacant, as this is the one I will hotswap the Xbox drive to

Only if all that is correct can you proceed. It is very important that you can answer “yes” to every statement. Skipping a step will only lead to more problems later.

Softmod Time!

Make sure your XboxHDM disc is inside your CD/DVD drive. Boot up your Xbox and PC at the same time.

Your Xbox should go to the MS Dashboard.

Click For A Picture If You Need It

Your PC should go to the XboxHDM main menu.



For a hotswap to be successful the Xbox hard drive needs to be unlocked. So determining when the Xbox hard drive is unlocked is of great interest. The answer to this question can be found in daddyj’s hotswapping FAQ:



Because you changed the timeout value from 300 to 600, you have ten minutes to make the swap. Please make sure the drive is unlocked when you make the swap. Many people who encounter problems with this particular mod are trying to hotswap into a locked drive, it just doesn’t work.

After making the swap, type 1 on the keyboard to enter the VGA console. (1 and 2 are basically the same thing) After the scrolling text, you should eventually end up at a screen like this.



type xbrowser and you should see a screen that looks like this



Enter the ndure folder and you should see this screen:



Hit enter on the *ndure script and you will be presented with the NDURE Installer Menu.
(still need to get a screenshot of the installer menu, should get it soon)

First, you will want to backup your C drive. This is very important. So choose Option 4 to backup your C drive to E:/backup. It may take awhile, but let it finish. When it's done, it should go back to the installer menu. Now, we're ready to install Ndure. Select option 1 to install ndure. It will proceed through the 3 parts. Be patient, this process takes a long time (around 15 minutes or more). Part 2 takes the longest. Even if you think it might have frozen, let it go. There have been many times where I was wondering if it had froze, and then just see it finish up. After all 3 parts, it should give you a message saying “Done, now exiting.” At this point, you can turn off your computer and turn off your Xbox. Connect the hard drive back into your Xbox, and if everything went well, you now have a softmodded Xbox running Kingroach’s NDURE 3.0. And the best part about all of this is it was free!

F.A.Q.

Q: How will this affect all of my saved games, profiles, and music?
A: The softmod does not affect these in any way at all. All of your Xbox saves and music are saved in the Xbox hard drive's E:/ partition, while the MS Dashboard is saved on the C:/ partition. The softmod only makes changes to the C:/ partition, and adds an alternate dashboard to the E:/ partition. This is the only change that occurs on your "saves" drive. You will not lose any information if you follow the tutorial correctly.

Q: What if I have so-and-so version Xbox?
A: This softmod is Ndure, the most current (and probably last) softmod for the Xbox. It will work with any and all versions of Xbox, no matter what hardware revision, video region, or kernel version. It is highly recommended to update your Xbox dashboard to version 5960 before installing this softmod. This softmod should work with every Xbox you try it on, if you follow the tutorial correctly everytime.

Q: What will I be able to do with this particular softmod?
A: You will be able to do anything any other modded Xbox can do. You can play backup games, run homebrew software, use XBMC, etc... It's the same thing as a gamesave-softmod, just a different method of installing it.

Q: Can I still play on Xbox LIVE after installing this softmod?
A: Yes, just like with any other (current) softmod, you can coldboot your retail games and play them on Xbox LIVE. This works because the softmod does not load unless a retail disc is not found. When you coldboot your games, the retail disc is found and loaded. Your softmod never loads, so it looks like a normal Xbox.

Q: Do I have to use ISO Recorder?
A: No, you can use any recording program that can record ISO image files. Other popular burning programs that do this are Nero, Roxio, and DVD Decrypter (DVD Decrypter only works with DVD Recorders)

Q: How do I unlock the hard drive?
A: There seems to be a confusion about this, and for good reason. There are so many different methods of unlocking your hard drive. Some may work for you, while others won't. So, just try all of them listed here.




Q: My computer won’t load the XboxHDM bootdisc.
A: If you created the ISO and burned it correctly, then there is just one other thing it can be. In order to be able to boot from CD, the setting must be enabled in the computer’s BIOS menu. While booting up your computer, you are usually shown a title screen with your computer manufacturer’s logo. On this screen, look for “Press key for setup” or something along those lines. Once in the BIOS menu, look for your Boot options. Set it so that the computer’s CD drive is the first thing on the list (normally, you use the + and – keys to move things up and down). Remember to save and exit.

Q: This isn’t working. I have tried everything.
A: If all else fails, Here are a few suggestions.

1. Try on a different computer, preferably a custom-built AMD computer. With these, you are less likely to run into frozen drives and BIOS issues. Sometimes switching computers works just fine for people.
2. Cio suggested these possible problem-solvers that would otherwise cause XboxHDM to lock up.

3. If you feel it is XboxHDM that is causing your headache, you can try XboxHDM safe mode. Musashi wrote a little guide for that Here.

Q: Help, I really fux0red something up and my Xbox is broke now. Why is it broken?
A: I guess I could just say it's broken because you didn't follow directions, but that would be too easy. The Xbox hard drive has a primary (important) partition which is the C:/ drive. This important drive contains the operating system, just like your computer’s C:/ drive does. A softmod will overwrite files in this C:/ drive and basically do it’s own thing, renaming folders and creating new ones, deleting stuff. In other words, whether you did the softmod correctly or your xbox is broken, your C:/ drive is nothing like it was before. If you want to get your Xbox working again, you will need a completely retail C:/ drive that has not been modified in any way. You can get this off of a SlaYer’s disc. The SlaYer’s torrent file can be downloaded at the usual place. After downloading the torrent, use bittorrent to download SlaYer’s. Once SlaYer’s is downloaded, you will notice it is actually a self-extracting archive. It is password protected, so enter this password: sevx2.6. It should extract an ISO file. To get the C files from the ISO, use Qwix to extract the ISO and your files are in /SYSTEM/ALL/C/. Yeah, I know – it’s a lot of work, but it has to be done if you want a completely retail C drive and you didn’t make a backup of yours.


[color=#3333FF]Q: I think everything installed correctly, didn't get any errors, but when I turn it on, I get the MS Dashboard or clock setting screen?
A: It's telling you that the clock needs to be set, set the clock correctly, then press the A button (green) so the settings will save
then do "In Game Reset" or power cycle.

Q: What must I backup after I have softmodded the Xbox successfully?
A: Basically, everything. First, launch EvoX, go down to System Util, and hit Backup. It will look like it didn’t do anything, but rest assured that it did. Now, FTP into your Xbox and backup your entire C and E drives to your computer and keep it safe.

Q: How can I change the default dashboard?
A: The default dashboard is launched from E:/Dash/. To change to a new dashboard like XBMC or Avalaunch, FTP in, delete everything in E:/Dash/ and upload the new dash files. Double check to make sure there is a default.xbe in E:/Dash/ after transferring. If there is, you should be fine.

Q: Why can't I launch the MS Dashboard?
A: The MS Dashboard is normally loaded from C:/xboxdash.xbe. Well, if you take a look in your C: drive, it's empty. That means the ShadowC is working correctly. Copy all the MS Dash files into the C: drive (from your backup or from an extracted SlaYer's) and the MS Dashboard should work.

Q: Softmod went fine, but I can't change my video settings using the MS Dash. They change fine, but after I reboot, they go back to normal. WTF?
A: This is caused by a safety protection called Virtual EEPROM. In order to make your settings "stick" do this.


Q: Can I use the empty C drive/why can't I use the empty C drive?
A: Yes you can, for whatever you like, as it's not the real C drive (that's hidden). If it doesn't let you AND you got a disk space error during the install, then try this:


Q: How can I upgrade the hard drive with this softmod?
A: I'll give you the answer, but I'm going to throw up some red flag warnings here, just so I don't get flamed.

If you have Xbox LIVE, you CANNOT just upgrade the hard drive. You will be permanently banned from Xbox LIVE if you do that. The reason being is Micro$oft matches/pairs your Xbox's EEPROM to your Hard Drive's Serial Number. Your EEPROM is your Xbox's unique ID, your "fingerprint" persay. It contains all the information like your serial number, mac address, region information, video settings, and hard drive settings. Now, if your Xbox has ever been on Xbox LIVE, your EEPROM has been married to the hard drive. If the marriage is broken (EEPROM changes or hard drive is replaced), then the Xbox gets banned from Xbox LIVE. You can read more about the marriage theory Here.

The only way to upgrade your hard drive and still be able to go on Xbox LIVE is if you buy a new EEPROM that has never been on Xbox LIVE. After upgrading your EEPROM, you will be able to logon to LIVE with a new hard drive because the Xbox appears to have never been on Live, and the hard drive has never been on Live. In MS's eyes, you are a brand new Xbox connecting to Live for the first time.

You can buy a new EEPROM in the B/S/T forums. I have bought from Zodiiak before and recommend him.

If this is something you want to do, post in the thread before doing it, we will give you instructions.
(I may include the EEPROM upgrade instructions in the FAQ later on, but for now, I feel it would hurt more than help, as EEPROM editing is dangerous if you don't know what you're doing)

Oh yeah, the question....


A: Thanks to wivenhoe for the quick tutorial.


Q: Xboxhdm is telling me my drive is frozen, what can I do?
A: This seems to be a BIOS issue and happens more frequently on store-bought Intel-based computers. If your drive is showing up as frozen, do this. When you’re booting up your PC, hit the Pause Break button on your keyboard. Now - boot up your Xbox, let the drive unlock, and do the hotswap. Hit the Pause Break key again and it should work fine.

Q: How can I uninstall the softmod?
A: Since you backed up your C drive before installing the softmod, you can "reload" the backup and go back to a retail state. To do this, launch Ndure Toolset and choose Restore From HD Backup.

not bad at all,

good quality, and should help many people....

Well looks like I will be one of the first testers...... left my xbox in NZ when I moved to the uk so just ordered a new one from play.com. Was going to use your old tutorial but will go thru this tonight or tomorrow..

Thanks for your great work and I will let you know how I get on

outstanding tut!


i used TEXT's other tut last night (uxe with hdm) and it worked fine!

i wont get into it, but not soon after i fragged my drive (error 21)


a quick question in this thred: can i use this method of soft modding to mod a brand new retail hd?

i have another box thats chipped..


what would be my best option?

Excellent tutorial
Just one question before I give it a go:-
in your checklist you say
--My CD/DVD drive is connected to the primary slave IDE connection.

Will it not work with the cd rom connected to the secondary master or slave as this way leaves my IDE cable rather short.

you take spoon-feeding to the new level..

temp pinned and submitted to tuts topic. Great tut once again.....

Great work Textbook!

{&
Re. your xonlinedash console preference; renaming E/boot1.bin afterwards switches it to the regular MS dash (and vice verca) ... another really nice feature kingroach added.

Re. UDDAE; IMO its major benefit is when Ndure is disabled/de-activated (via the Toolset for full, normal retail MS dash usage) it provides a way back to the softmod without needing to re-open the console (nor needing a game save exploit).
&}

Excellent tut textbook. Great to see its been pinned aswell!. I only did my first softmod a few weeks ago using your uxe tut, but then just started again and figured out how to install ndure. Its very simple once you understand the hotswap, xboxhdm, and read the readme's of any release.

Thanks mate

Hmm, good question. I've only tested this install on a hard drive with the stock 5960 dash already on it. I'm not sure what you would do with a clean hard drive. I'll go home and format a hard drive and test it. Thanks for asking this, I didn't even think about it. After I test it, I'll post back or somebody smarter than me will give you the answer before I can.



Oops. I guess I got a little carried away with making the requirements. You can have the DVD/CD drive anywhere but the primary master. As a matter of fact, every time I have used XboxHDM, my DVD drive was connected to the secondary IDE channel. I've asked HSD for editing control for this thread. If he gives it to me, I'll change that.



Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for Ndure 3



Thanks Krayzie.



I didn't know about that boot1.bin changing the dualboot to the MS dash. Very nice tip, and thanks to Kingroach for adding it.

Oh yeah, forgot that's what UDDAE's main use was for. I still haven't even used UDDAE yet, and it's been a long time since I've used SCEEE, so I forgot exactly what it was.

is it okay to not choose any of the nkpatchers?

and also, my kernel: 5659 is not on the kernel list.. should i not use this method of modding my xbox then?

If you don't choose any of the nkpatchers, nkpatcher is installed, but without looking it up, I can't remember which version.

If you kernel is not listed, you can choose generic for generic fonts. I remember reading somewhere that kernel specific fonts aren't always needed for all installs.

Hope this helps.

5659 is your dashboard version.. look under dashboard version in xbox infor panel to find out the kernel.. it shoudl look like this : K: 5859.01

Thanks for the tutorial, Textbook! I updated mine just now and it worked perfect. I re-installed the retail first according to the XBoxHDM thread (wasn't sure if I'd get the correct Kernel version on a previously modded box).

You might want to add a note on the end that the XBox light will be orange when running in the modded state and green when running from the tray boot state. It might save you some headaches trying to explain it to new people (like me but I searched for the answer).

Also, you might want to warn new people that you won't see you C drive in the modded state (at least I'm pretty sure, since I don't see the contents of mine).

Anyways, thanks again for the tutorial!

{+ Re. Option 1 and UDDAE; currently at least, Option 3 is also necessary (to put the ST.DB in place). +}

Well got my brand new xbox from play.com yesterday.. and after ensuring it worked out of the box I promptly took it to pieces....

Kernel - 5838 and hotswapping doesn't work unless you do the audio track pause etc....

Everything worked okay, but on Part 2, it complained about about a directory being copied as a folder and then said there was no space left on device.....

I'm not 100% what apps it is suppose to copy, but when I rebooted my xbox to start again it booted in unleashx and all was okay, minus any apps etc (Which I installed myself anyway)

But other than that I am a happy owner of a new soft modded xbox thanks to you and the other great contributers

Great TUT...he's right about the spoonfeeding....

I modded my 4920 dash with out a problem using Ndure 3.0 and XboxHDM...But when It came to my newer box K: 1.00.5838.01
D: 1.00.5960.01
I Did the same thing once with generic fonts(worked with my other box), and again with the kernal specific fonts...Upon completion and reboot of my xbox, I was greeted by the pesky error 21.

I was thinking about hotswapping in a game expoit and then coldbooting the game of chioce?....Is that possible.

Also was thinking of hotswapping and returning it to its retail state. I was reading that I need Slayers 2.6 to obtain the original M$ dash...would someone be able to help me restore it back to stock so I could go about trying to mod it another way!?!?!

anyhelp is great...

GOD bless people like Krazie, and Kingroach for coming up with this stuff!!!...Moddern day Robin Hood is what I say.

And thanks for VERY in depth TUT....its sometimes nessesary to be spoon fed!

Many thanks for the tutorial there sir. You have inspired me to not spend out money and softmod it myself.

I am no newbie to modding, but it's my first foray into XBox modding, so please bear with me. I have read an enormous amount of information, and I'd like for you to clear something up for me if you wouldn't mind.

re: Doing the NDure softmod onto a fresh drive - I may well be trying this this weekend. Bearing in mind my limited practical knowledge - here's my thoughts. Refute and laugh at if possible so I don't make a mess of my XBox. I have a new, untouched XBox. If I do the Ndure mod on a totally fresh and clean IDE hard drive, the eeprom will be missing, right? So here's my question - as hotswapping locks the Hard Disk on reboot, will this put the eeprom file on the new hard disk when inserted into the Xbox and rebooted? I'm thinking not, so the only problem with doing a new hard drive is getting that blasted eeprom on there.

If all the above is correct, then I have walked through my method of softmodding a new, retail xbox and upgrading the hard drive - can someone tear it apart or let me know if my logic is sound?

1) Using NDure hotswap method (without .67 addition), softmod original Xbox drive successfully.
2) Backup eeprom using ftp
3)Create NDure ISO disc with .67 addition, placing eeprom in correct area on CD (and any other game saves wanted etc)
4) Use NDure ISO, softmod new 250gb hard drive
5) Lock hard drive with Xboxhdm using inserted eeprom
6) Install new hard drive and we're rocking, right???

Thats seems to make sense to me.

Majik

Kernel - 5838 and hotswapping doesn't work unless you do the audio track pause etc....

I don't know about that....My box was 5838 and since I have an error 21 goin on, I have to Hotswap right when I boot the xbox(after the Big X but before the white MS)

anybody wanna make a tut on how to restore your hard-drive to retail if you've softmodded and something went wrong Ex: Error 21. If this is even possible....Ive read posts where people say you can, ive also seen posts saying that I have to now get a mod chip...

Man I wish I knew how to get ahold of Krazie or KingRoach right now! haha

can you boot any burned games in your ver. 5838 xbox ? if so then it might be problem with copying dash.. other than that you have two option:

use the script and use option "1".. it checks every file needed for mod and copy them on eby one..

get clean C drive from slayers disk, use ndure installer patching option on the C drive files and thyen using xboxhdm go to "xboxhd" option and use the option that says "recreate C drive".

@MajikNWA,

when you upgrade the xbox.. it better if you just copy all the contents from your hard drive's C partition and anything needed from E partition ( dash folder). Use xboxhdm and just create a whole hd from scratch. That way all the files from your old harddrive will be there and if you made any changes then they will be there too.

D'oh. Good call. Thanks brother.

Following the method above, does that seem fine for upgrading the Xbox?

Majik

Soullar already made one, specifically for error 21. Click HERE. Thanks Soullar.




Yup, looks good, you obviously did some reading before signing up to post in the forums. Congrats to you, as many people do not do that. After having the stock hard drive successfully modded, it is a lot easier to just clone your hard drive. But remember, this softmod installs a Shadow C drive. Your "true" C files are hidden, so if you ftp'ed over while NKPatcher (the softmod) is running, it won't copy everything correctly. So, in order to see all the hidden files, launch the Ndure Toolset before FTP'ing into your Xbox. The Ndure toolset will give you full hard drive access and let you backup every file.

Also, another note. After upgrading the hard drive with .67, you will have an F and G drive. But your G drive will say 0 hard drive space. This is because XboxHDM does not have the ability to format the G partition. So in your dashboard, look through the settings to make sure "Use G drive" is enabled. Then, use UnleashX to format the G drive, and you should have your free space on there.

Good luck to both of you.

You are a legend sir. I'll let 'all know how it goes. May even document it incase anyone cares

Majik

ok i followed this guide, and it worked. my box is modded. But how do i remove the hack completely and make it normal again?

Okay - had a go at this tonight (posted in other thread) and return here to see if you can help me out.

The installer just won't write anything to C:, I keep getting "unable to open *whatever* during option 1. And "no space left on device".

Does this simply mean I haven't unlocked my drive successfully? I'm doing it blind, you see.

All files transfer to f and e with no problems, and I can even boot into UX, but due to C being empty, it's somewhat limited, as you can imagine!

Any ideas?

Majik

I had problems with no space left on my drive too... are you hotswapping to do this?,...if so then once your in xbroxser, you've unlocked your HD.

Yeah - hotswapping. Think I've sorted the space problem (didn't have av cable in...) But still can't ftp or write anything to my c drive.

Majik

hey , same thing happened to me(cant write to c drive...but i did have av cable in..) , and also, i cant see files on c drive, or write to c drive. I think its a safety feuture of ndure, or something. Wont let us mess with c drive, so we dont ruin anything. its just a theory.

also, im still confused...why did it say no space left on device? the hack worked...but is it bad that it said that?




anndd... how do i remove this hack completely, and make my xbox normal again?

{!
It's not a safety feature ... the error message indicated there was a problem during the install.

If Option 4 (Backup) was wisely and successfully performed ... then Option 5 (Restore) can be used to revert the real C.
!}

Hmm, that's weird. I have never seen XboxHDM say "no space" on C drive. Maybe it's a little bug Kingroach has to work out. I know the backup C drive option doesn't work, at least with my build, and he said he was going to be fixing that and some other things. I'll let Kingroach handle this question, because I've never seen this and have no idea what it could be.

As for not being able to write files to the C drive after the softmod, that is a safety feature. If you want to write files to the C drive, launch Ndure Toolset.

As for uninstalling the softmod and going back to normal, there are a couple ways to do that. If you made a full backup of your C drive before installing the softmod (probably not, because I didn't tell you to) then you can restore that using either Ndure Toolset or XboxHDM. The other way would be using NDURE toolset and FTPing in, deleting everythign in the C drive and FTPing over a stock C.

NOTE: Kingroach, I tried restoring the C drive from SlaYer's and got a few errors halfway through, not sure if this was known or not, but it was really weird.

By the way, to all the people asking if you can use this tutorial to install on a completely fresh, brand-new hard drive: I tried today installing on a freshly formatted hard drive and I couldn't get it to work. No matter what I tried, nothing was working without the stock C files already on the drive.

SIDENOTE REQUEST: HSD gave me edit abilities, so that I could maintain this tutorial, and I plan to do so. But I have a question for all you smart people. When I initially posted the tutorial, I posted it as three posts, one right after another. It combined these three posts into one post for some reason, not sure why. Well, that's fine, but now I can't edit it. Whenever I go to edit the post, and hit submit, it says there are too many images (which there are, that's why I wanted it to be 3 posts). So how can I edit my tutorial?

{^ Re. the unwritable C, if I've understood correctly, they're referring to the virtual-C though... ^}

Textbook, re. the backup option not working, does it if you first use xbrowser to create the /E/backup directory?

}: I'm unable to try any of this, as I can rarely use "my" Xbox now! :{

I'll try it when I get home, I'll continue updating this if it needs be. I check this thread everyday, so all your questions/suggestions/comments will be read by me. Anything you and Kingroach can do to help out with the tutorial is appreciated. You guys are the brains behind this, I just know how to use what you guys make, lol.

Thanks Textbook for your tutorial. I have successfully soft modded by xbox using xboxhdm and hotswapping. Everything is working as it should be except one thing! Your tutorial is great and was able to mod the xbox in about 2 hours...I had little trouble hotswapping (my harddrive won't unlock if I wait too long.)

OK. I admit, I screwed up and I need your help. The only reason I softmodded was to turn XBMC (which is great by the way.) I don't play any games. After I soft modded and running XBMC, I got the hidef AV pack and tried to change the resolution settings to enable 480p and 720p. I could change it in the xboxdash but the settings won't stick after the reboot. I got frustrated by trying different things. I tried to copy eeprom.bin to C:\, E:\, E:\shadowC folders with no success. No matter what I do, the settings won't stick after the reboot. I don't know how I did it but I managed to screw up the default MS DASH. It won't launch now I get the "service required" error when I try to launch. To make matters worse, I did the softmod again which I think took the bad M$ DASH and patched it again. I don't really care about the M$ DASH but for hi-def resolution settings. Is there a way to set the hi-def resolution without going thru the M$ DASH? If not, what is the best way to recover it. I can boot to EVOX and XBMC but I understand that I can't overwrite the files in C drive. I have a backup of EEPROM.bin and HDD key (if that matters.) I also downloaded MS DASH files from somewhere...

Sorry for the long message. Please be patient with me as I don't want to make things worse by doing something without checking with you experts. Thanks a lot...

Thx for the nice guide

I did get the No space on the C thingy on my 1.6 Xbox, but it still moves on to part 3, and then replied done.
After that I removed the drive from my pc and inserted it back into the Xbox, and the softmod worked as a charm...(Backup, XBMC and emulators with no problems)
I can also see that the C drive still have around 320mb left, so I don't see why the error appears.

problems with shadowc occurs when xboxhdm mess up file permission in shadowc file.. however file premissionshould not work with xbox..

anyway I actually fixed all the issues (backup/option 2, file permission) in xboxhdm script few days ago.. but this is spring break week so I have been busy.. I will test the script after this weekend and will release asap..

Textbook, did the backup option work for you (when the /E/backup directory was created first via xbrowser)?

Sorry, the only working spare hard drive I had was uber-locked (no eeprom, no password, and there wasn't a master pw - tried XBOXSCENE or TEAMASSEMBLY). I was going to test it on that one, because the hard drive that I had in one Xbox broke (recently started clicking). I was going to use this one spare stock that I have left, but it is locked. I know llamma reported how to unlock any stock xbox hard drive without eeprom/hddkey/master pw. Since mine is the WD hard drive, I hooked it up, atapwd, Erase Prepare Unit, and Erase Unit like the tutorial says. It says command rejected by drive. I couldn't unlock the drive like the tutorial said it would, and since that is my only hard drive, I couldn't test it out yesterday. I'll try and stop by my friend's house today after work and see if he has an extra stock (unlocked) that I can have. We're always giving each other xbox guts to borrow.

So if I get a hd today, I'll test it out.

hi textbook and np.. here is the new updated script.. I tested with backup option and it does work .. now I didnt test file permission error on shadowc.. will do soon.. so if any of you guys test.. use this script:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6qvmn/mn/ndxdm.zip

This is probably a noob question, but I'm new to modding.

Is there anyway to use this mod to get Xbox Media Center on my xbox?

Sorry about the double post, its not letting me edit my post.

I answered my own question, I wasn't aware that XBMC is an app you FTP over to the xbox.

YES!! finally, something new and fresh. I was just about to spend money on action replay but i thought of reading something in here and i found this :D. Its 2:41 am now and ima gonan try this first thing in the morning. Thanks!

Did you test it without the /E/backup directory already being there (is a `mkdir -p` not needed)?

{# Re. permissions I doubt it's that ... but if it is, wouldn't mode 777 be better than 755? #}

ysorry for being late.. yes.. I have tested it with without any "backup" folder on E drive.. mkdir -p is good but not really needed.. both gets the job done..

chmod 777 is better than 755.. again I didnt yet tested this.. but on ldots xboxhdm script, he used chmod 755 after building the C drive.. so thats what I have used.. for the next update.. I am also planning on adding a debug option on ndure.. seeing few people wants it..

Working on an FAQ, but without ^^ that ^^ question being answered, I'm not sure how I'll be able to add it. PS - Thanks Kingroach for the backup script.

{...
Let us know if that script's backup option works for you, without the /E/backup/ directory already existing.
...}

kingroach, re. a couple of minor problems mentioned in this thread, would this remedy them?

Instead of "boo1":

Include the following in Option 1: {^ and change Option 3 likewise ^}

hi i want to thank all involved with this great mod i love it when you can do things like this and it dose not cost a dime ok i have a couple of questions before i start this little project
first my xbox is a older one k=1.00394401 d=1.00403401 i'm having freezing problems on the stock harddrive its just old so what i want to do is completly replace it with a larger drive proably a 160 or 300 gig now am i correct in assuming that all i have to do is copy my original xbox hd via ftp and move the files to the new drive after creating the disk using Kingroach's NDURE 3.0 or can i just use the Kingroach sw and creat a disk from scratch?
second i already have another modded xbox with a chip is it going to be like that one where i can copy games to the hd and play them without the disk? also can i use the chipped xbox to help out on the non modded xbox in creating the new harddrive thanks once again for all your help

Well, in order to get your eeprom and backup all of your data (saves and music) the Xbox will have to be modded to begin with. An unmodded Xbox can't FTP. So, use this tutorial to mod your original Xbox to your specifications. Get it set up just how you want it. In order to backup your EEPROM, use Evox and hit the Backup option to backup your eeprom and hdd key to the backup folder wherever Evox is installed. After backing up the eeprom, you are ready to FTP. Put a SlaYer's disc in your Xbox and turn it off. (Yes, I know, everybody tells you not to use SlaYer's with a softmod, and you really shouldn't, but you just need it as a boot disc).

Boot the now softmodded Xbox with SlaYer's and let it sit at the main menu. Don't select any options. Just FTP in and backup your entire hard drive onto your computer somewhere safe. After you have everything backed up, you can move on to the new hard drive. Because you have a chipped Xbox, it makes it really easy and we'll take advantage of that. Plug in your new hard drive into your chipped Xbox and boot with a SlaYer's disc. Choose to format the hard drive as a large hard drive, and it should create a big F drive. After it's done formatting, FTP in and transfer your entire backup onto the new hard drive. Make sure all your files transfer correctly, in the same locations that they were before. It is very important. Make sure you don't delete the backup on your computer. Keep it there because you still need it and it's a good idea to have a backup at all times anyways. Now, you will have to burn another xboxhdm disc but this time include the eeprom.bin (from your backup) in the /xboxhdm/linux/eeprom/ folder. Plug the new hard drive (that you just formatted and FTP'ed your backup to) into your computer. You don't have to hotswap or anything, because the hard drive is already unlocked. Boot with Xboxhdm, choose option 3 - Lock HD with Linux, and type "lockhd -a" without the quotes.

NOTE-I think I read somewhere that you can use an xboxhdm disc with no eeprom and put the eeprom.bin on a floppy and read it from there, this would save you having to burn another disc, but I've never tried it

Once the new hard drive is locked to the eeprom, turn off your computer, unhook the drive, and hook it back up into your Xbox (the unchipped one). If everything went well, it should boot up to UnleashX and you have a modded Xbox that does everything your chipped Xbox can do.

thats the typo.. I dont know why.. whenever I try to think about boot1.bin for dash switching.. unintentionally I write boo1.bin.. but this wasnt causing problem.. the problem was caused by a missing "\n" letter that joined option 2 and 4. So, whenever you run option 2 , it actually gives some error and runs option "4".. but thats fixed.. and I tried backup option again and it works without having a "backup" folder because in the beginig of script it creates a backup folder.