Yeah, I'm posting this is newbie chat...

I recently read something about dual booting dashboards on the Xbox, and I was wondering if it'd be possible given my current situation.

I've installed my softmod through the following method.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=&...t&p=4780448

Could anyone give me some pointers as how I might be able to make the power, or tray, buttons boot to different dashes?

Here. Ignore the bit about changing to Krayzie 1.1.1, just stick with Kingroach.

For real noobs that all seems a complicated and thus potentially dangerous method of setting it up to boot an alternative dash.

Perhaps it would be worth reminding the less confident that using the UnleashX dash you can set controller button boot shortcuts for any or all alternative dashes you have on your Xbox ie. in the Apps folder.

Not as elegant as simply pressing eject of course but does it really matter much that you have to press a second button to boot to your dash of choice?

So I need to recompile the unofficial NKPatcher to do this?

It seems there were just posts linking to posts linking to posts. Nobody has ever condensed this info down anywhere?

I can't seem to find a working link to NKPatcher. But I was also wondering, how do I make sure it's compiled with all the options I currently have minus the alt. dash change?

Don't worry,it isn't overly complicated. If you are using the latest kingroach it is based on NKPatcher11_U04 according to a ldotsfan post in the other thread. You can get it from xmans954's esnips (just google NKPatcher11_U04.rar).

Esnips is a bit weird, but if you have trouble, expand the document viewer and keep clicking 'download original' you should be able to get the .rar file from it.

-Make the changes in config_runtime.inc
-Save the file
-Execute make_runtime.bat to get the NKP11_config.bin that you FTP to E:\NKP11\

I haven't done this and don't know exactly how the options work in config_runtime.inc, but you should be able to always try a new config until it works the way you want.

There isn't a tutorial because it's really simple - edit a text file, compile, rename, FTP, run - but if you feel a tutorial is needed then once you've got your dual boot working you could write a simple tutorial...

As my current config is working, but I have no idea what options are currently being used, I think I'll pass on replacing the NK file. I don't feel like having to hotswap fix the hdd if I screw it up. I have no clue what variables define the power, and which the tray.

If it were at all possible, I'd rather replace the current tray boot agent, if present, with a shortcut to the desired xbe. I don't know if I like the idea of hard coding the path in.

One final nail is that I don't know if I'd trust wine to compile this properly.

Thanks for all the help though.

You're not replacing anything. The default settings are compiled into NKPatcher, this is an additional config file that is read at boot time and can override some of the NKPatcher settings. The posts I linked you to tell you exactly which settings to alter, and how to compile and rename the runtime config, and where to put it on the Xbox. Start by changing the LED colours, just so you get the hang of it.

Alternatively, use the UnleashX controller button shortcuts that fallenangle suggested.

Yes you aren't creating any actual code. Nkpatcher will load default settings if it can't read your settings file. Nasm works fine in wine, it is a very simple console program and I've customized xman's cdrom/iso kernel patcher in linux with no problems. (And for the sake of correctness, it's not compiling, its assembling.)

So I should be able to to empty the file, leaving only the parameter I want to modify?



How do I know what path to use to use? I have no clue what the above means. It looks vaguely similar to something I've seen in DOS, or the Windows device manager with the "\Device" path thing.

Is there a way I can specify a generic path, and create a shortcut xbe at that location which can be changed from dash to dash?


I don't use UnleashX as anything other than an app for FTPing, so no I have no use for a button shortcut from it. The reason I wanted to do this was so I could let little kids boot straight into a specific emulator instead of xbmc4xbox.

Look in the config_runtime.inc:


This means

\Device\Harddisk0\Partition2\ = C:\
\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1\ = E:\
\Device\Harddisk0\Partition6\ = F:\
\Device\Harddisk0\Partition7\ = G:\


From what I understand:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;;; tray boot enable
;%define TRAY_BOOT I think you need this active.
;;; tri-boot enable < dual is default, with tray_boot enabled
;%define TRI_BOOT You may have better results with this active as well..
;;; close the tray when NOT tri-booting (faster booting then tri-boot)
%define CLOSE_TRAY_ALLWAYS
;;;---------------------------------------------------------------------------
;;; default Dashboard path (and tray boot closed) 2=C 1=E 6=F 7=G
;;;---------------------------------------------------------------------------
%define DASHBOARD_PATH '\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1\dashboard\default.xbe'
%define DB_PATH2 '\Device\Harddisk0\Partition6\dashboard\default.xbe'
%define DB_PATH3 '\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1\UDATA\4d530017\62d648ebf155\default.xbe'
;;;---------------------------------------------------------------------------
;;; tray OPEN dash, when key IS patched back (must be a MS signed xbe)
;;; MUST BE PARTITION 1 or 2
;;;
;;; use this to patch back the MS key then boot PB_OPEN_PATH
%define PATCH_BACK_MS_KEY Comment this out
%define PB_OPEN_PATH '\Device\Harddisk0\Partition2\xb0xdash.xbe' I don't think this is needed, but point this to your alt dash in case.
;;;---------------------------------------------------------------------------
;;; Dashboard path's for tray OPEN dash when using dual/tri-boot
;;; and NOT using PATCH_BACK_MS_KEY
;;;---------------------------------------------------------------------------
;;; tray OPEN dash, when key IS NOT patched back (must be a habibi signed xbe
;;; and MUST be partition 1 or 2 when NOT using OPEN_DASH_WITH_NKP)
;;;
%define OPEN_PATH '\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1\dashboard\default.xbe' Change this to your alt dash.
;;; use this to enable all of NKP (disable to boot some other HACK)
%define OPEN_DASH_WITH_NKP You want this active.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You may not need to include other options, but I would use the whole file, no good reason, as I don't think all the options are required to be included.

You have to keep the entire file, just change the options you want.

There's no such thing as a generic path - paths have to be specific. What you put there is entirely up to you, so you could easily point the NKPatcher config to a shortcut that you can change later.

The items you need to change are clearly identified in the posts I linked you to.........

Excellent, that's it. I don't know how they'd expect anyone to know that as it's not intuitive in the slightest. I'm familiar with with defined paths for hard drives, and partitions, from the older Windows 'multi(x)disk(x)rdisk(x)partition(x)', Grub's 'HDx,x', and the standard Linux 'sdxx' definitions. I read over it several times, and still didn't get it until your path example.

Any-who, thank you. I have it up and running now.