Hi,

My chipped Xbox is going funky so I decided to switch to a softmod now that I can still boot the old one.

Most guides I've found detail how to softmod and upgrade HDD with no access to another chipped XBox, and requiring a PC tower, which I do not have (I only have a notebook).

I have a v1.5 chipped with X3 and BIOS 3294 and a custom 160 GB HDD with Halo 2 Dashboard in C:, but it boots from F: (using XBMC as Dash). So C: is virtually untouched. It is still operating fine so I can access everything in the HDD, lock/unlock it, read EPROM, etc.

Can anybody point me to a guide where I can see how to transfer the HDD to the new one (still virgin and unmodded) ditching the original HDD in the new one. Been looking for one, but like I said in the beginning I do not have a PC tower, but already have a chipped XBox so I maybe I can use that for some of the tampering.

Can also anyone make a list of the softmods that make any sense toady, chronologically (if time line implies that the newer one is better than old ones)? I know of SID 4.5, and have read about Krayzie's Ndure, but I do not know if the 1st one is using the 2nd one to do its job. I do not know if I should know of any other.

you must first get the EEPROM.BIN (or unique HDD Key) from the unmoded xbox
1 use a gamesave with evox (or other to do eeprom backup)
2 hotswap a exploit
then use the chiped xbox and configmagic

OR go for an easier and more time-wise method using this: CASH 1.1

Or get the eeprom backup from the unmodded box. Build the drive in the modded box. Then make sure it's unlocked. Build an Xboxhdm disk with the eeprom from the unmoded box in the eeprom folder. Then boot your PC with the disk and HDD hooked up and use the lock/unlock tools to lock the drive.
Done and it's easy.

This is the way I do upgraded hdd's for my friends but will work all the same for you.

1. Softmod your virgin xbox that you want to put the bigger hdd in.
2. Put configmagic on that same xbox.
3. Use configmagic to make a backup of your eeprom.bin.
4. FTP to that xbox and get the backup folder onto your pc.
5. FTP to your funky xbox and put configmagic on that one as well.
6. Also ftp the eeprom.bin file into your chipped box. Put the file into configmagic's data file.
7. Load configmagic on the chipped xbox.
8. Select Load xbox eeprom.
9. Then choose unlock hdd.
10. Then Load eeprom from the .bin file. (it's a menu option).
11. Select update xbox eeprom.
Now you should have the appropriate xbox eeprom but you aren't done.
12. Now select load xbox eeprom.
13. Now lock the hdd.
14. Reboot.
15. Now you need to revert the chipped box's hdd so it boots like a normal hdd to the MS dash.
16. Once you have that squared away, pop the bigger hdd into the virgin xbox and go through the normal softmoding sequence.
17. Once it's softmodded there you go!

I couldn't see how CASH could help me, so I will be going kibito87's way since it seems quite clean and hassle free. I will be using Krayzie's Endure Installer 1.1.1 unless someone recommends me otherwise.

One last note. My large HDD has a >137GB F: partition and no G:. Is that setup still possible with a softmod? (I think it did not use to be, but do not know with Krayzies' installer). If not, between which steps of kibito87's walkthrough should I format the HDD, and how?

Thanks so much for all that feedback!

Were you even reading? His computer is a laptop, and therefore he canno hook up a tower HDD to it.

Yeah, krayzie's can do that for you...(i think)

Good luck

Just wanted to get back to say that, hew! it worked like a charm!

And gosh! kibito87! Was that easy!!! Thanks 1000 kilos for your input and of course kudos to Krayzie for such a heck of an installer.

IMHO, this should explanation should get referenced in a sticky post or something, I spent countless hours looking for a solution and kibito87 is clean and EASY.

Just a pair of notes, for the sake of compleness:

Configmagic did not run on my funky XBox. It went to black and stayed there. Not that it might be important, because I was doing all this precisely because of how crazy it was going before trying anything (like booting up to the dashboard 1 out of every 5 tries; it did boot to X3's emergency mode -purple X; requires no HDD- everytime; do not know why).

X3's own "Config Live" BIOS menu can upload/download EEPROMs and lock/unlock HDD, so I did it with it.

For whatever reason, after flashing my funky XBox with the new one's EEPROM and locking the hard drive, the funky one refused to boot with the X3 disabled any more. I decided still to extract the big HDD and give it to the new XBox, which swallowed it without complaining and booted into MS Dashboard just fine.

Krayzie's installer does allow for >137GB in F: and no G:. It's not the default mod installation, though. Once the new XBox has the big hard drive in and modded, one should FTP the "Extras" folder included in Krayzie's rar to the XBox E:/Apps/ folder (username:password being xbox:xbox), rebooting, launching "Krayzie's Extras" from Applications and installing NKPatcher 06 (just like the read me says, duh!)

So, thanks again!