As hacks will become a bit easier to implement, I think it's time we here people's suggestions for new BIOS hacks.

The idea I had is one that eliminates the clock check, or presets it if it's invalid.

I'd also like a BIOS that forces a boot to DVD no matter what (X2 BIOSes seem to have problem with this) - especially if there are problems with the HD

Thirdly, a BIOS shouldn't care if the EEPROM is hosed. The Debug BIOS boots fine with hosed EEPROMs, it's time we had a mod BIOS that did the same.

All three of these ideas are to minimize the many problems modders face using the current batch of 256k BIOSes. Now that code exists to implement patches and test more goodies, perhaps we'll see new BIOS hacking groups emerge on the Xbox Scene.

Oh... also, compatiblity with the Phoenix Loader for future BIOS releases... at least as a secondary release or a simple PPF patch (or maybe a tool?)

FTP server built into the bios... have a bios setup screen, kinda like on PCs. You could do all the XB-Tool stuff off of your xbox (i can't see this working with anything but the pheonix bios loader though). I'll post again when I think of more.

QUOTE (muerte @ Jul 22 2003, 06:06 PM)

FTP server built into the bios... have a bios setup screen, kinda like on PCs. You could do all the XB-Tool stuff off of your xbox (i can't see this working with anything but the pheonix bios loader though). I'll post again when I think of more.

That bios editor on xbox seems nice!

I wondered if ftp could be built into the bios. That would be an amazing dev if its possible. No more need to put this in dashboards. Great ideas BJ!!

QUOTE (Xeero @ Jul 22 2003, 03:26 PM)

Similar to how the X2 BIOS patches XBEs with media checks on the fly, it would be nice if it would patch XBEs that attempt to connect to Live in the same manner.  It would be nice if it would display an error notifying the user, then load the dashboard.....of even just load the dashboard.  That would be sufficient, and I can't imagine it would be that difficult.

Especially with Live Aware coming out. Who knows how that will work "behind the scenes". I wonder when the time will come when people will need a second Xbox just for Live. I know I am glad I already got that.

There was a discussion a while back on making a BIOS hack that wouldn't boot from DVD first, however this would cause problems if the harddisk boot failed.

It would be really good if the BIOS would boot to say dvdboot.xbe instead of default.xbe so that a boot disk could always be made...

Final point though, it might be a good idea that whovever creates this hack, be it XbTool or by Xecuter team, decides on what the boot name is. That way we all have the same boot name for our bootdisks.

Also, a more stable - reliable IGR that just returns to Evox.

QUOTE

Also, a more stable - reliable IGR that just returns to Evox.

Have you tried X2's?

How about:

IN GAME SHUTDOWN.

We have IGR, but how about a controller combo that shuts the xbox power off? That would be awesome. (I don't want to do a controller mod, fixing a power switch, etc.)

connects to my fridge and a robot that work together to bring me beer

bootloader ,to chose dashboard
kinda like linux

QUOTE (feflicker @ Jul 28 2003, 07:12 AM)

How about: IN GAME SHUTDOWN. We have IGR, but how about a controller combo that shuts the xbox power off? That would be awesome. (I don't want to do a controller mod, fixing a power switch, etc.)

Is it so hard to do a IGR and then select shutdown from the dashboard you are using ?

QUOTE

When ever you load an xbe from the ms dash, it is automatically mounted as the D: this is to make it easier for the programmer, (those legal one's) any way

I think its msdash "security" but maybe this is bios bound? so i posted this in the bios forum, if someone cann tell me its not bios at all, then i will remobve.

the reason i dont want the MSDASH to mount every program it loads to D: drive, is because when i load EVOX from the ms dash, and i try to backup a game, instead of D: drive being the Disc, its the "EvoX" folder contents.....

QUOTE

I think its msdash "security" but maybe this is bios bound? so i posted this in the bios forum, if someone cann tell me its not bios at all, then i will remobve.

i dont know if its security but its a pain in the arse.

Even loading from nexgen, evox is mounted as D:

QUOTE (vtex @ Jul 23 2003, 09:11 AM)

There was a discussion a while back on making a BIOS hack that wouldn't boot from DVD first, however this would cause problems if the harddisk boot failed. It would be really good if the BIOS would boot to say dvdboot.xbe instead of default.xbe so that a boot disk could always be made...

Use XBtool that can edit what file the xbox looks for on the cd

muthafucker hehe. come on u super nerds fix this lol.. jk

bios loads a list to select what bios would you like to load from the hard drive
keyboard and mouse
replace boot video
replace the cd rom no need to keep original hooked up
allow xbox to run like pc and think the video card is geforce fx
cpu and video card over clock hey it could happen one day lol
maybe bios support to run just like psx or dream cast
hehe i can go on forever

QUOTE (ZASADAR @ Aug 1 2003, 07:21 AM)

bios loads a list to select what bios would you like to load from the hard drive keyboard and mouse replace boot video replace the cd rom no need to keep original hooked up allow xbox to run like pc and think the video card is geforce fx cpu and video card over clock hey it could happen one day lol maybe bios support to run just like psx or dream cast hehe i can go on forever

Most of your ideas only make sense to YOU!

QUOTE (ZASADAR @ Aug 1 2003, 07:21 AM)

replace boot video

There's some work being done on this.

QUOTE

replace the cd rom no need to keep original hooked up

X2 BIOS already allows you to remove the DVD-ROM drive and successfully boot. Adding another HD to that IDE channel and using both is a huge BIOS hack.

QUOTE

allow xbox to run like pc and think the video card is geforce fx

What does this even mean??

QUOTE

maybe bios support to run just like psx or dream cast

Why in the world would you want to reduce the performance to that of a PSX or DC?

I would love a bios that turns off the screen (or loads a simple screen saver) after about 5m of playing a game if no buttons are pressed. XBMP and EVOx have this feature, but built into the bios would be ideal in my eyes.

A bios that allows dynamic switching of drives based on shortcut commands givin by individual applications/programs. Basically a built in switch for extra harddrives and dvd drives would be really really sweet.

QUOTE ((>Stormy<) @ Aug 5 2003, 03:05 PM)

A bios that allows dynamic switching of drives based on shortcut commands givin by individual applications/programs. Basically a built in switch for extra harddrives and dvd drives would be really really sweet.

This would require additional hardware augmentation, as well.

Yes, it would. It would require a custom IDE cable right? But still, the ability to switch dynamically in the bios would be cool would it not?

could save states support for xbox games be built into the bios?

Donno about the possibility, but wouldn't it be nice to access your bios like on a pc, to disable/enable or change certain features? I know it can be done by creating a new one but it would be nice if you didn't need a to flash your bios anytime you want to change a feature.

How about changing logo and letters??

QUOTE (billybobz0r @ Aug 6 2003, 08:13 PM)

Donno about the possibility, but wouldn't it be nice to access your bios like on a pc, to disable/enable or change certain features? I know it can be done by creating a new one but it would be nice if you didn't need a to flash your bios anytime you want to change a feature.

I guess you don't understand the nature of a flash ROM. You need to flash it to make alterations.

Screen capture when play a game. Like evox do, but with a combinaison of buttons

The ability for the BIOS to read certain settings off an ini file on the hard drive, so that it would be possible to modify the actions of the BIOS without reflashing each time.

QUOTE (blaze_all_day @ Aug 7 2003, 11:44 AM)

Screen capture when play a game. Like evox do, but with a combinaison of buttons

You can already doing that using a debug bios.

Do a search if you're really interested in it.

seriously though, why haven't they added this into x2 bios (making it 512 instead of 256 if it's too big)?

QUOTE

Is it so hard to do a IGR and then select shutdown from the dashboard you are using ?

Actually, YES! I use the MS$ Dash. I haven't ever seen a "Shutdown" option
I only use other dashes off of disc, when I need them. (My preference)

As for the shutdown option, if you are running the game off a disc, IGR will not bring you back to the dash, it will simply restart the game.

One feature that i would love to see, is being able to boot an xbe from a memory card. Slap your dash on a card, no worries about xbox live checking the hard drive. Would also be nice for those who have trouble getting evox installed due to crappy dvd drives. They could get a friend with a modded xbox to load evox on a card for them.

QUOTE (heinrich @ Aug 14 2003, 06:12 AM)

One feature that i would love to see, is being able to boot an xbe from a memory card. Slap your dash on a card, no worries about xbox live checking the hard drive. Would also be nice for those who have trouble getting evox installed due to crappy dvd drives. They could get a friend with a modded xbox to load evox on a card for them.

Or those who have an X-key device would be one step closer to getting EvoX to boot if none of their CD-RWs and CD-Rs will boot in their Thomson. ::shrug::

wish there was a way to do IGR with remote.

possibly make an original ms bios, so if we accidently select live it doesnt ban, but contains the features of a modified bios, dont no if possible, just suggesting as the forum suggests, btw, i have evox on my box booting from hdd, and my cousin has a box with the same xec2 lit chip, y3t his igr doesnt work, but mine does, he boots nexgen from cd, but i put evox on to test and no working, y does it work on mine and not on his, exact same chip, diff hdds, same bios y

QUOTE (damatrixz @ Aug 15 2003, 05:13 PM)

possibly make an original ms bios, so if we accidently select live it doesnt ban, but contains the features of a modified bios, dont no if possible, just suggesting as the forum suggests, btw, i have evox on my box booting from hdd, and my cousin has a box with the same xec2 lit chip, y3t his igr doesnt work, but mine does, he boots nexgen from cd, but i put evox on to test and no working, y does it work on mine and not on his, exact same chip, diff hdds, same bios y

I dont think it would be possible, or in the interest of the bois makers to make a bios that lets you get on live. As for your IGR questions, i would start a new thread and ask, and keep this one on topic.

Another feature, that I would think would be easy to implement is EJECT_FIX_DISABLE similiar to the IGR disable file that you can use with x2 bios. This would be ideal for matrix users that use mode 3, they can still use the latest and greatest bios without the problem of not being able to use mode3. Right now, its not required, as they can just use 4976.02, but would be something to look into for future versions.

How about IGR Disable.

Have it so that if you hold down a certain button while powering the unit on it will disable the IGR feature in the bios. (Much better than creating/deleting a file on e: all the time...)

A built-in cheat system (i.e. the ability to stop a game, search for a cheat, start it up- repeat until value is found) would be awesome; it'd be like the GS Pro on the PSX. Implementation of another FS (such as NTFS or, even, an actual BIOS implementation of FATX-2) would be cool; no more worrying about filename lengths. I understand Avalaunch solves this problem already, but it's kind of just a hack; it's not a real FS, in its own right.

Since the BIOS settings can't be easily changed when the BIOS is on the mod chip, it would be nice if there could be an optional XML file that could be placed on a specific partition. For example, the BIOS could have all its default features, but it could also check the XML to modify these features. E.g.:

CODE

<x2_settings>  <igr>off</igr>  <ejectfix>on</ejectfix> </x2_settings>

Now that we have ftpd in the bios, it would be nice to see SITE commands to format the hard drive

ok ive got one! how about a bios that will let you fix a 100% bad tsop? the matrix tsop bios only lets you fix your tsop if you still have a working 256k left.

It's been mentioned before but I would kill for keyboard and mouse support. Not sure how possible it is though.

QUOTE

Have it so that if you hold down a certain button while powering the unit on it will disable the IGR feature

Well, we know it is possible to detect a button press during bootup (with the release of x24978).

QUOTE

Since the BIOS settings can't be easily changed when the BIOS is on the mod chip, it would be nice if there could be an optional XML file that could be placed on a specific partition

That is a good idea as well, but I think they can change the bios once it is on the chip, at least that is how it seems now that x24978 has been released with an xbe embedded in it.

That reminds me, why not embed shutdown.xbe so we can shutdown from the controller now without a hardware mod

A bios that would enable virtual memory on the HDD.
That way, anyone could have a 128MB (or 256, or 512... ^_^) Xbox.
But I'm not sure if that's possible at all !

Things I want to see is:

1. SMB/CIFS-shares mapped to devices (F:, G: etc).

2. Sleep state with wake-on-keypress (Just like on PC)

3. Real embedded FTPserver, the way it is in X2-4978 just isn't impressive. Embedded (for real) would enable you to ftp in during gameplay or whatever.

4. Configuration via www and bios-setup screen on the actual xboxen. (Really the only thing I can think of where a xbe inside the kernel could be usable).


And I really want this in a 512K bios. I'm using the TSOP with two 512K banks. retail + retail + X2 + X2. 1M isn't interesting. Then I'll just stick with 4977. Perhaps a modular design?

Cheers

- Booting selected dashboard when pressing some button - A - launches evoxdash.xbe, B - launches avalaunch.xbe etc.
- possibility to boot console with erased/ fucked EEPROM
- VGA mode and normal TV mode buit in
- FTP mode built in but with booting an *.xbe within (boot Ms Dash with additional sections with FTP from the bios within)


I got flamed for it in that '4978 bios' topic .

Axelsson touched on this a couple of posts earlier, but how about a global SMB connection being established at bootup.

QUOTE (Patchinko @ Aug 23 2003, 03:50 AM)

A bios that would enable virtual memory on the HDD. That way, anyone could have a 128MB (or 256, or 512... ) Xbox. But I'm not sure if that's possible at all !

The thing is, every application would have to be aware of this swap file, or it wouldn't be used.