Hello all!
Well the moment is here, I am about 98% complete with the Xbox chip mod tutorial. I am right now doing some "Beta" testing on it. So here is the first part of the document. When I get the second part completed I will post it here as well. Once everything has been ironed out, I can get a sticky made for it.
Xbox Duo X2 Mod Chip Tutorial for Xbox versions 1.0-1.5
(1.6 supported but not tried out)
A) The following is a list of materials you will need to perform the modification:
1.An Xbox (preferably one that was never modified): I should mention here and now that you will need to know how to identify the version of the Xbox you have. Here is a website that shows you how to identify your Xbox version (and year produced) by using the serial number alone:
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Versions_HOWTO.In the event this website is down or no longer available you can determine your year and version just by looking at the LAST 5 digits of the serial number (after the space in the middle of the number). We are concerned with the first three numbers. The first one is the final year digit and the next two digits are the week mfg. A version 1.0 Xbox ran from 223xx-239xx. A version 1.1 ran from 242xx-303xx. A version 1.2 ran from 249xx-310xx (please note there ARE overlaps). A version 1.3 ran from 310xx-329xx. A version 1.4 ran from 330xx-415xx. A version 1.6 ran from 413xx-521xx (again note the overlap). The chart in the link above is much more accurate than this quick run down, but in the event it is down you can generally get an idea of what version your Xbox falls into. For all practical purposes try to get an Xbox with the last 5 digits starting with a 2 or 3 then you are assured of an Xbox made prior to version 1.6.
2.A DuoX2-GS ModChip: There are a couple of versions of this mod chip and you want the one with the Cromwell Linux / Flashbios 3.0.3. You can obtain the modchips from these websites:
http://www.dynatron.org/store/#IC%27s%20(chips!)
http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/hb-xb_duox2cr.htmlI had ordered my chips from Dynatron above, but I heard Divineo is also very reputable. Dynatron doesn't take credit cards though. I believe Divineo does.
3.Soldering Expertise: I will not go through what you need in terms of materials here, but you will need to do some soldering work on a very small scale, so you need experience in small board soldering and you need a soldering iron with a very fine tip. You will also need very fine wire (#30 coated copper is good) to run two wires (which will be covered later on.
4.Various On-line Downloads: You will be needing the following pieces of software below downloaded to a WINDOWS PC. Please TAKE NOTE of the versions I am using. If you use a version different than what I have listed below, there may have been changes that will not follow the instructions I laid out here.
EvolutionX M8plus Bios.rar
(bios needed to replace current bios on mod chip)
Evtool_1.0.9.rar
(edits the above bios for your needs)
eurasia_pro_generic_flash_disc_1_3.zip
(optional. But nice to have if you blow your Flashbios on your modchip)
Audio-Installer.Deluxe.v4.50.FINAL.Xbox-Hq
(just about contains everything to set up your Xbox along with many game console emulators. This is the single most important item on this list next to the bios items above).
LiveInfo_BETA_3-Xbox_v1.6-Yoshihiro.rar
(allows you to examine your eeprom contents—optional)
ms-dash-mik3h.rar
(this is an updated MS dashboard 5960—recommended if you are upgrading your hard disk drive to a larger model).
XBMC-SVN_2009-02-18_rev17820-T3CH.rar
(Media Center Dashboard, older version is already on the Auto Installer Deluxe v4.50 disc).
UnleashX_0_39_052A.rar
( Standard Dashboard—great for running emulators)
CoinOPS Reignite R5 Standalone
(A very nice Mame Emulator for Xbox, very 'pro' looking and can be set up in an arcade cabinet)
MAMEoX_v0.84.b3_updated.zip
(an alternative to CoinOPs if you are just looking for a standard mame emulator—optional).
Mame .84 romset (other versions could be converted with clrmamepro).
Xbe.Shorcut.Maker.1.0.rar
(A nice tool that makes life on the Xbox easier, will elaborate later)
7z465.exe
(With all those .rar files above you are going to need something to unzip them!)
Downloading all of the above: The most recommeded source to download all of the items above is Xbins which will pretty much have all the files above and is pretty much a 'one stop shop'. However, Xbins goes through mIRC and has a tendency to drop your connection. I wasn't too fond of Xbins. Most of the items above can be had without it with some Google searching. However, the EvolutionX M8 Plus bios I HAD to get there as I couldn't find it elswhere. They are on #xbins on EfNet. I am not going to cover the procedure for setting up Xbins on your machine here. But you can consult this tutorial:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/xbins.php Programs you will be needing to download from Xbins are mIRC and FlaxFXP.
The COINOPS Reignite R5 program will take some intense searching to find, I will provide the link to the forum where you can get some more information on it
http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31894 NOTE: As of the time of writing this document, COINOPS Reignite was up to version R8 Beta. The link for this updated version is:
Edit: It is now up to version X.
http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=31894 Read the links by the poster: 'CoinOPs Combustion' for more info.
This version R8 supports vertical rotation of the entire interface, where as R5 doesn't have this feature. R5 DOES rotate to play vertical games, but the game selection interface doesn't rotate. R8 supports full rotation of the interface as well. To upgrade to R8 just replace the Coinops.xbe and MAMEoX.xbe files.
5)A video interface and/or cable that would allow you hook up your Xbox to a TV or computer monitor. Since I have already a dual computer monitor setup on my desk I chose to go with an RGB to VGA converter such as the Mygica HD Game Box unit here:
http://www.amazon.com/Mygica-Game-Video-Converter-Switcher/dp/B001463UNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1270439793&sr=8-1B) Installation of the Mod Chip (read all of the below before proceeding):
1)The installation of the DuoX2-GS modchip are covered nicely on these two sites. Usually most sites where you purchase the chip from will have detailed instructions. But I have found out that these two instructions differ slightly.
http://www.dynatron.org/howto/XBOX/hackit/MoBo/Duo/ This site is from the same company I purchased the DuoX2 chips from, however, they do not show you the correct BT point. The correct BT point should be the top two solder connections behind the eject button, which is illustrated in these instructions:
http://www.modchipworld.co.uk/store/duo-x_2_diagrams_v1.5.html2)It is worth noting that unless you are really really good at soldering then it is worth removing the main board and using the UNDERSIDE board location. Being an experienced solderer myself, I STILL opted to go with the BOTTOM recommendation. When soldering this connection, use the recommended 30gauge solid wiring and pass it through one of the extra holes that are not being used by the mod-chip header. Also worth noting is that you should INVEST IN SOLDER BRAID! It is a must. I have found that on both version 1.0 boards I have worked on, the header location had the solder points FILLED IN, and solder braid was necessary to clear the holes to mount the header. You must be VERY careful here not to use too much heat on your soldering iron, or else you WILL ruin the board. Sometimes heating a piece of wire that will fit in the hole will help to clear it it out but using solder braid on BOTH sides should clear the holes.Make sure that you set the mod-chip's on board switch over to the other “Bank 1” position (first bank is Bank 0 which you don't want). Bank 1 has the Flash Bios 3.0.3 option and this is what we need to flash the bios later on.
C) Using Evtool to set up your EvolutionX M8+ bios:
1.On your Windows PC, open up Evtool and load in the EvolutionX M8+ bios suited for your particular Xbox version. Generally you would use EvolutionX M8+_16 for version 1.6 Xboxes and all other versions use the standard EvolutionX M8+ bios. Since I have modded two version 1.0 Xbox's that is what version I will referencing throught this tutorial.
2)With Evtool running, look to the lower right hand corner and select “open”. Navigate to the folder where your EvolutionX M8+ file is and click on that to load it into Evtool.
3)Once the bios is loaded up into Evtool look at the picture below and follow along:
4)Starting with the “Logo Colors” and “Toggles” you can make any adjustments here you like. With the setup I have here basically I have kept the original X-Box animation on start up, but the “X” has yellow and orange shadowing with a purple highlight.
5)DO NOT mess with the “Loaded Bios.bin setting” and it is recommended to keep the setting for “IGR Method” to “More Compatible”.
6)The Power LED color is also something of your choice and is self explanitory. I chose “Orange” for my CoinOPs (MAME) Xbox, and “Red” for my XBMC Xbox, this way I could differentiate the two just by turning it on.
7)“Fan Speed” and “Presets” should be left where they are (unless you overclocked your processor and then you should increase the fan speed.
“Boot Partitions And Executables” should be set as shown above (note this is the boot order for the Xbox:
DVD = default.xbe
1st E:\Dash\default.xbe
2nd E:\XBMC\default.xbe
3rd E:\UnleashX\default.xbe
It is worth noting that you should NEVER change the DVD setting from default.xbe because in the event something goes wrong with your hard drive you can still boot from a auto installer disc. The next position I pretty much left blank by labeling it “Dash”. This basically gives me an opportunity to install a 'test' dashboard at that location or use an XBE shortcut (more later). Because it is the first position it can come in handy to boot to another dashboard or program directly upon bootup. The second spot should be your favorite dashboard and without anything in the first spot (no default.xbe) then that dashboard would boot up. In my case that dashboard would be XBMC. I recommened doing the same. In the event of a failure of that second dashboard, there is a third backup. I have UnleashX here, but I would recommend EvolutionX for this spot.
9)“LBASupport...” Set this to; “Partition 6 Takes up to 137GB / Partition 7 Takes Rest” ALWAYS. Even if you want to keep the stock hard drive, you should make this setting because in the event that you do change your mind down the road, your BIOS will be properly setup and will be 'large hard drive ready'.
10) Make sure the box for “Ignore Hard Drive Partition Table” is NOT checked
11) Most important, make sure you select the BIOS “File Size” to be 512k.
12) Finally save the file using the “Save As...” button and name the file “BIOS.bin”.
D) Flashing The Bios on the Xbox
1.With the Bios set and ready to go set up the Xbox with a network cable attached to your computer or through a router. I recommend going through a router because a direct connection to a computer would require something called a “cross-cable”.
2.After the Xbox has been successfully tested and comes up to the “FlashBios 3.0.3” screen, take a look at your options for loading the Bios. By far the most easiest way to flash the bios is to select the option that says “Use Network Connection To Flash Bios”.
3.After selecting that option, the Xbox will generate an IP address. This address will have the format of 192.168.1.xxx (last three digits will differ based on what your router gives as an open address for the Xbox to use).
4.Now go to your PC and use your web browser (Internet Explorer preferred, but I tried Firefox and it works too).
5.Type the given address you received on the Xbox into the address line of your browser. Within a few seconds a screen should come up asking you to browse to the location of your BIOS file. Navigate to the bios file location and enter it
6.If everything was done correctly, you should see a progress bar come up on the Xbox screen and when that is done, your Xbox should shut itself down. Sometimes the front panel lamp will light up instead of shutting down. If this occurs, then you have successfully flashed your bios.
7.Turn on the Xbox via the power switch and look to see if your modified logo comes up and your front panel lamp lights up the color you selected. If it does then breath a huge sigh of relief because the hard part is all done IF you are using a stock drive. In the next section below we are going to backup all the data on the hard drive for safe keepin and also that information will be needed if you desire to upgrade the hard drive at this time also in the event of failure of the stock HD, you have a backup to work from.
E) Backing Up Your Data (using the Auto Installer Disc).
1)At this point we are going to create the Auto Installer Disc using Auto Installer Deluxe v4.50. This is probably the most important item you will be needing from here on in. First thing we need to do is make the disc.
2)After unpackaging AID (As I will call it from now on in) is to locate the Manual.pdf file. I highly recommend skimming through it as I there are many details I will not explain here as they are covered in that manual. However, the section(s) to read in detail to start with is “Chapter 3 – Preparing The AID 4.50 disc on your PC” as this section details on how to create the .iso file needed to burn the AID disc for the Xbox. (Note: It is highly recommended that you DO burn the disc with a 100mb dummy file. The presence of this file increases the readability of the disc via the Xbox's DVD drive.
3)The next step is to burn the disc. I recommend using only DVD-R's or DVD-RW's as many of the older style Xbox's have trouble reading CD-Rs. Even so it is recommended to use a HIGH QUALITY disc to burn AID onto. Raitek is a good brand to go with, but I have had luck with Maxell 4.7gb DVD-R's even on the older (and pickier) Thomson drives.
4)The program I used for burning the disc wasn't what the manual recommended, however it was included in the “PC Tools” directory of AID 4.50. The program is called ImgBurn (v2.4.2.0). You can really use any burner of your your choice, but I HIGHLY recommend one that can do a 1x burn. Burning this slow will insure a very accurate burn to the disc and this is what you want considering that some Xbox's might have a drive that might be 'difficult' and burning at a faster rate will just increase the chance for errors anyway. So don't rush it, just set your program to burn at 1x and then walk away (if need be). If your burning program supports file verification by all means VERIFY!!! You want to make sure that what is on your computer matches what is on the burned iso. This way you will know right off the bat if you have a problem.
5)If you are using ImgBurn 2.4.2.0 then all you have to do is:
Open the program and select the first option “Write Image File To Disc”
Follow along with the diagram below:
In the “Source” section, click the browse icon (1st on the right) and browse to the location of your iso file that you created.
In the “Destination” section, click on your DVD burner's location (J: in my case).
Make sure “Verify” has a check mark in it.
Finally make sure that under “Settings” you select 1x Write Speed.
Click the large file to disc icon on the bottom left and burn away!
6)When the above process is finished remove the disc and place it into your modded Xbox, remember to push the power button first to make sure the mod-chip is activated, then insert the disc and close the tray. Hopefully the disc will be recognized and will boot up. It does take a LONG time for AID to fully load, so have patience. On my Xbox console it takes a good 1min and 15 seconds before the AID IV screen comes up.
7)First option on the list is “Backup ? Restore HDD”. By all means that is what we came for, so click on that option.
8)Ok, so what we are presented with next is a screen that lists a bunch of backup options for drives C: E: Gamesaves, Cache, and Eeprom. The absolute most important option here is the Eeprom followed by the C drive and Cache. Click on each option and set it to save to the E: Drive. It will save your data to E:\Backup.
9)Now what we need to do is to copy this data off of the Xbox hard drive and onto your PC's hard drive and from there you could move it to a memory stick or wherever you safegaurd your data. The best way to do this is via the network cable. However, AID defaults to a static IP address and for most systems that use DHCP, we have to change this.
10) Click the back button within AID until you get back to the main screen. Select “Advanced Options”, and then “UnleashX Settings”
11) When you are in the UnleashX settings, go down to “Network” and a black box with a blue boarder will appear with all the network settings. What we want to do is change the “Type” setting from “static” to DHCP. When that is set, click the back button and SAVE the setting.
12) Exit back out of UnleashX and get back to the AID menu that has the option “Reset Network”. After several sections, the network information on the right side of the AID IV screen will show DHCP and the new IP address. Make a note of this address!
13) Now go into Windows and navigate to your “Network Places” (Start =>MyNetwork Places =>Add A Network Place
14) Choose “Another Network Location” and then click on “Next”.
15) In the text box for “Internet or Network Address” type: ftp://xbox:xbox@<IP address received above> (I.E. . ). Then click “Next”.
16) Another text box comes up asking to name the connection type “Xbox-<its IP address>”. Click Finish
17) Clicking on the new icon should bring up the drives that are on your Xbox. If the C: & E: drives come up, then you have successfully made your connection. You can now safely copy the entire contents of the “E:\Backup” folder to your PC and safeguard that data. However, if you are going to upgrade the hard drive, keep the data on your PC for the moment.
Log out of the FTP connection to the PC and you are done backing up your data.
18) On your Windows PC, unpack the LiveData application mentioned above and follow the instructions on checking your bios to make sure that it's serial number matches that on your Xbox. The serial numbers MUST MATCH in order to install a larger hard drive and 'lock it'.
19) If you have a stock hard drive you can skip the next section and begin to load dashboards and applications onto the stock hard drive. However, I know that most of you will want to put a larger hard drive into the Xbox and that is what the next section will be all about.
F) Upgrading Your Xbox To A Large Hard Drive.
1)If you came to this part without performing the above section on backing up your Xbox data, STOP RIGHT NOW and follow the section above.
2)Once you have the stock hard drive backed up, get your upgrade hard drive and make sure it's jumper is set to “Cable Select”.
3)With the power off AND power cord removed, open up your Xbox and remove the IDE and power cable from the stock hard drive. Connect the new hard drive in it's place. Put the old hard drive in safekeeping as it contains the original data, you could always come back to it later on should need be.
4)Once you made sure your connections are secure, turn on the Xbox via the front power switch and then open the DVD drawer. Once again put in the AID Installer disc.
5)AID will automatically detect that you have a new hard drive in your Xbox and it will begin several runs on setting up the partition table and formatting the hard drive. If you have a hard drive that is larger than 137gb, it will set up four partitions for you...however, the last partition (usually “G”) must be formatted manually and this you can do once AID is finished setting up the hard drive.
6)Once the hard drive setup is done and you are back at the main AID IV screen, take a look at the right side where the IP address/ drive info is. See if you have positions for C: E: F: G: They should all give some sort of xxxxxx MB free. If they come up as 0, then the drive has not been formated and you must format it using the Format / Prepare HDD selection on the main menu. (Please note that if your drive is less than 137gb then you will not see a “G” drive).
7)Once you see all your drives, use AID to once again set up the FTP (see above section) between the Xbox and your PC.
8)Copy the “Backup” directory you saved earlier to the E: drive on the Xbox.
9)Also while we are at setting up a new hard drive, we should also upgrade the Microsoft Dashboard while we are at it. So we are not going to restore the C portion of the back up, but rather unzip the “ms-dash-mik3h.rar” file which contains the updated MS Dashboard 5960. After expansion, copy the contents over to the C: drive on the Xbox. The files you should copy over are as follows:
A folder labeled “Audio”
A folder labeled “Fonts”
A folder labeled “xboxdashdata.185ead00”
A folder labeled “xodash”
A file labeled “Xbox.xtf”
A file labeled “Xbox Book.xtf
A file labeled “xboxdash.xbe”
That will take care of the Xbox 5960 dashboard.
10)Restoring the Eeprom: This will be a bit more difficult as you have to use a special program called Config Magic. This program is also included on the AID 4.50 disc (didn't I say this disc will be VERY useful?) and will handle reloading the Eeprom back on your system and it will also lock your hard drive to the Xbox.
11)Navigate to the second AID screen and select “Config Magic”. After a short warning about using the program select “Start”.
12)From the main menu, select “Load EEPROM from .bin file”. Navigate to the E:\Backup directory and located where the EEPROM was saved to and load that into Config Magic.
13)Next Click on “Update EEPROM”.
14)Once the “Current Xbox Configuration” comes up with your Xbox's info starting with the correct serial number on top (serial number of the EEPROM must match the Xbox). Now you can lock the HDD. Locking the new HDD will allow your system to appear as if it has the stock HDD. This means if you use the Xbox without the mod chip turned on, you can go onto Xbox Live without being banned. (For all practical purposes the Xbox thinks the old hard drive is still there). While you can use the Xbox without locking the drive, I don't recommend it. Best thing to do is lock it.
15)Go back to the Menu and select “Lock HDD” and follow the directions on screen. Before exiting out of Config Magic make sure one more time that the serial number matches and that the drive is indeed locked.
16)Congradulations! You now have a fully modded Xbox WITH updated hard drive that is LOCKED to the system.
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