OK, so...I'm having some SERIOUS issues getting MXM to run some backup games off of DVDs... and having read some posts I MAY have some up with some answers, however, before burning another 3 dollar coaster, i thought perhaps i would run some questions through you guys.
My problems have been as follows.
When loading, MXM will lock up just AFTER loading the initial menu. I see a dark screen with the label of my DVD, MAIN MENU and a slightly off-black box (presumably the selection box) however, it has totally locked up. There have been several instances where, when i burn a compiled DVD, some games refuse to load.
and no matter what i do, it seems as if i am completely unable to have a different skin other than the matrix skin....even if i put a different one in the DEFAULTSKIN folder...
Questions being...is there a limit to the length of the Description that you can give for each game? (I like to take mine directly from xbox.com and thus they are usually pretty lengthy) the next would be....does Snapshot size matter? (most of mine are in the neighborhood of 1200x800...while i realize this is excessive....i'm experimenting)
The last compilation included the following three games:
BlackStone
Bloody Roar Extreme
Burnout 2

the only oddity that i can see with these is that Burnout 2 has a dashboard updater in it.... Should this be taken out, can it be taken out, or doesnt it matter?

This is the MXM.xml
<Config>
<Main>
<DiscTitle>DVD B1</DiscTitle>
<DiscSubtitle>Games</DiscSubtitle>
</Main>
</Config>


and this is a generic MXM_Entry.xml
<Config>
<Item>
<Title>Burnout 2: Point of Impact</Title>
<Description>Race through six U.S. locations and 30 stages with 14 all-new vehicles, including modified Japanese cars, pickups, SUVs plus unlockable rides such as police cruisers, classic '50s hot rods, and stockcars. "Learn to burn" at the Burnout Driving School in Offensive Driving 101, and post your top scores online! </Description>
</Item>
</Config>

Directory Structure is as Follows:
default.xbe (MXM's default .xbe)
MXM.XML
/Defaultskin
/BlackStone
/Bloody Roar Extreme
/Burnout 2 Point of Impact

All ISOs are extracted using XISO, set up, then the full directory is rebuilt with XISO, I use Alcohol 120% or Nero to burn (Alcohol was used on the last attempt). They are burnt onto Imation DVD+Rs (I have Fujifilm DVD+RWs...but they dont work in the XBox)....BIOS is Xecuter2 4976.02 MultiVer 256k (4x flash onto TSOP)

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated...If more info is needed...just ask and i will tell

One last thing...anyone having problems getting Brute Force to boot (From a direct burn from the ISO)?

1) make sure your video's are 640x480
2) must be encoded with WM ver 8.0

here is your biggest problem why NOT to use xiso

QUOTE (phigmeta @ Jun 11 2003, 09:31 AM)

1) make sure your video's are 640x480 2) must be encoded with WM ver 8.0

UM....by snapshots, I in no way meant VIDEOS...thus the idea of it being a SNAPSHOT......it is a picture, a single scene...a MOMENT in time..... blowup, close-up, image, likeness, mug, photo, pic, picture, pinup, pix, portrait, positive, print, shot, slide, snap...get the picture?

As far as the other post...DAMN, i never knew XISO was sucha buggy program....this makes me feel the need to go back and re "acquire" all of my old games.....

Or you can use Craxtion, which is a nice little program. Make sure to also have the latest MXM.

And for the snapshots. you dont need that big resolution. the whole screen is 640*480. And if you have a small preview-box in the skin you are using it will just be unneccessary. big space, and it will be more choppy, you wont notice anything since it's a small jpg, but if it would have been a video you should have.

Snapshot size can matter.... 1200x800 is awefully large, and consumes a LOT of video memory, which is a limited resource on the Xbox.

Also, if those snapshots are PNG files, and you've prepared them in Paint Shop Pro, they may not work (they'll lock up the system - nothing I can do about that either ). The MS libs do not like 'invalid' image files very much.

You should test your stuff on the hard drive - you don't need the actual game, you can use a couple small apps to simulate the games in a directory with MXM. This will insure that everything works.