Hi,
I have few questions about basics of using a gamesave exploit.
I've got a Splinter Cell disc and I'm going to buy a Gamepad <-> USB cable in order to transfer the exploit into a memcard.

- What's the latest and the best exploit available ? I've got Softmod.Installer.Deluxe.v2.0.XS Filter - Links to Xbox Warez and Torrents **.rar already;
- Should I upgrade the firmware to the latest version first?;
- Can I change the dashboard later on?;
- Is this possible to install a game directly from its disc without using a computer when XBox is softmodded?

SID 2 is really old. Krayzie 1.1.1 is the best gamesave softmod.

If your dash version isn't 5960 you should upgrade to 5960 by running a post 2004 live enabled game (Halo 2 or later) and start to log on to live - the first thing it will do is update the dash.

You can change the dashboard later on. Start with UnleashX - it's got more features than Evox, including a file manager. Krayzie forces you to take an eeprom backup - make sure you copy it to your PC and back it up.

You can copy games to the hard drive using DVD2Xbox (0.7.8 is the latest version) once the Xbox is softmodded. Don't expect too much though - the stock hard drive only has 4GB on the E partition, and you'll struggle to fit even one game on there. If you want to put lots of games on there you'll need to upgrade the hard drive.

Thanks for the answer.
One more question: Is such Xbox360 cable compatible with the old Xbox's one?
Would it allow me to transfer the exploit into a memory card?

Not sure. It looks similar to the sort of cable you could use to connect your Xbox gamepad to your PC, but I'm fairly certain Microsoft wouldn't use the same cable for the original Xbox and the 360, and that one's definitely a 360 cable, so I'd guess it wouldn't work for you.

I'd use one of these or these, then use a standard USB stick to transfer the gamesave from PC to Xbox. You can also buy the cable with a compatible USB stick, so you don't have to mess about trying to find a USB stick that works (not all USB sticks are compatible with the Xbox).

One more question; Do NTSC games work on a softmodded PAL Xbox?

Yes.

I've made an USB<->Xbox controller cable following this instruction. I've tried installing XBCD and the controller works fine on my PC. However, the memory card slot doesn't seem to work. Windows has marked the device as 'unidentified' therefore I'm unable to access it via ActionReplay. Any ideas?

Don't use Action Replay, use Xplorer360 beta 6 instead.

---------------------------
Error!
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Could not find a FATX drive to open!
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OK
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Did you format the memory card in the Xbox first?

Are you sure it's beta 6, not one of the other versions?

Yes, I did. As I said, when I insert the memory card Windows tells me about an unidentified device. I guess Xplorer360 will not work if the device has no driver installed.

Quite the reverse - AR requires drivers, whereas the huge advantage of Xplorer360 is that it requires no drivers - so long as there's a FATX formatted drive attached to your PC it will detect it.

It might be worth trying a couple of different versions of Xplorer360. Beta 6 has always worked for me on a variety of different PCs, but it can't hurt to try different versions in case there's some weird interaction with different PC hardware.

Just to make sure: It needs to be formatted via Xbox Dashboard, right?

Correct. Just plug it into your Xbox controller while MS Dash is running and it will format it automatically.

Ok, I got it working.
I needed to edit the xbreader.ini file from ActionReplay and reinstall the driver.
Where can I get Krayzie 1.1.1 for Splinter Cell @ PAL ?

EDIT: I mean, could you tell me the filename, I can find it myself ;p
A link with an up to date tutorial how to do that would be also useful.

I downloaded 'Krayzie_SC-PAL_Ndure_Installer_v1.1'. I'm not sure whether it's the right one, so I hope you'll tell me ;P
I've read the README file, but I have few questions;
- Is multiboot support the only difference between minimum & basic install?
- Can I upgrade from minumim install to basic install later on?
- Does it change the dashboard by default? If so, which one?

Have a look in the usual places. Auto Xbins will help. Your AV might tell you it has a trojan, but it hasn't.

Look for /XBOX/Console Based Applications/exploits/_Packages/Krayzie Ndure Installer/

Get the 1.1 to 1.1.1 updates here.

Edit: Too slow!

Go for basic install - UnleashX Dash.

The last (hopefully ;P) question:

Is this ok to load Splinter Cell gamesaves from HDD instead of Memory Card?
Cause it doesn't seem to detect them from a memory card, but it works fine when I copy them to HDD.
I know I'm a little bit paranoid, but I like to know what I'm doing.

That's the only way to do it. As you've found, you can't load gamesaves directly from the MU.

Ok, I've installed Krayzie 1.1 and everything seems to be ok.
The only problem is that the skin changes to default every time I reboot Xbox. Any ideas how to fix that?

You have to press A twice - once to select the skin, then again to make it permanent. It's a design feature so that if you choose a skin that doesn't work you just reboot and you have your original skin back again.