X-box mod for Mame help (Also Best Console Game Ports)

[jukingeo]

$10 shipped USPS first class would cover it, although I am sure you could do the same thing yourself...just look for an older camera with a removable SD card to try it...doesn't cost anything.

Oh, so the adapter you set up for an SD card?  I thought it was set up for USB?  At any rate, I only have an old Sony Cybershot camera and it appears on the 'don't work' list.  So if your adapter is set up for SD, then it probably will not work in my case.   I had the Cybershot for years and there is no other digital camera in the house.  I am not sure if you can buy SD memory with that low capacity nowadays.  I could ask the computer guy that fixes our computers at work.  He might have something that is old. 

At any rate, I was ready to order the chips from Divineo since they take a credit card...but on their site they said the chip is on pre-order.  So I contacted someone and they basically said, that they are expecting them in, but have no idea when.  Needless to say, I didn't like that.   The guy got back to me from Xbox scene (Dynatron) this morning and he does have them in stock.  So I am going to go that route.

Geo

[DillonFoulds]

If that falls through, there's also Eurasia. A Competant site that is well respected in the xbox homebrew scene.

[jukingeo]

If that falls through, there's also Eurasia. A Competant site that is well respected in the xbox homebrew scene.

Actually Divineo looks like a really nice well set up website AND they also accept credit cards.  It was just for the DuoX chip, I found the Pre-Order designation a bit peculiar.  To further that, they said they had no idea when they are going to get them back in.  So that wasn't reassuring.  So I fell back on my first lead and went with Dynatron.  He doesn't take credit cards, but he does take everything else. He has the chips in stock.

So I am just going to hang loose for a while until the chips come.

Slightly off topic:

Thanx,

Geo

[DJ_Izumi]

I'm sure xboxHDM has tools to do it in dos as well, as long as your have your motherboard's hard drive key.

There are multiple ways to dump the EEPROM from your Xbox, I found that most softmodding tools did eeprom backups as part of their process.  So just extract that BIN by FTP from your softmodded Xbox, the EEPROM will include the key to use on the HDD.

You can then use an automated tool and prepair an XboxHDM liveCD preloaded with a dashboard and such.  I just dumped everything off an 8GB Softmodded Xbox and used that as the tempate for preloading, toss in the EEPROM BIN from the target Xbox and boot the live CD on a system with your new larger HDD.  The menus are pretty straight forward and it'll create you a nice formatted HDD for your Xbox and you then just have to lock it with the appropriate key that it can pull automatically from the eeprom.  Then just swap the drives in the Xbox.

I find it's a lot easier than the hotswap method and there are no concerns with electrically shorting the HDDs

I havn't done it myself in a few years but it wasn't that hard, I have an 80GB Soft modded Xbox I'm watching episodes of Good Eats on right now.

[jukingeo]

UPDATE:  Got the chips!!

Hello all,

I just figured I drop everyone a line and mention that I did get the chips from Dynatron today.  Tightwad did you get your chips too?  I ordered mine after yours, so I would figure you should have yours by now too.

At any rate, as of now I can't do anything because I though the instructions would be enclosed with the chips...they weren't, so I emailed Dynatron for that info.

The chips are DuoX2-GS.  They do have the pin header, so I guess in my case with a Version 1 Xbox, this should install pretty easily.

Anyway, if anyone has a source of the installation instructions, could you please post the link here?

Thanx,

Geo

[HaRuMaN]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=DuoX2-GS&l=1

[jukingeo]

Hello all,

OK, after many delays and set backs, I finally found some time again and performed the hard mod on my X-Box.

SUCCESS!!  The Xbox now boots up to a blue(ish) screen that says Xbox Cromwell Linux version 2.32.  Then there is a list of the Xbox stats.

So I am taking it that this is a good sign and that the mod chip installation went fine.

So now the Xbox is asking for a disc...what do I need to do now?  Would I install CoinOPs-Ignite?

Thanx,

Geo

[crashwg]

First thing you'll need to do is flash the bios.  IIRC, you do NOT have a 1.6 right?  This means that you do NOT need a 1.6 bios.  For example, when it comes to EVOX BIOS, there is EVOX M8+ and EVOX M8+1.6.  This leads us to the question of which bios to choose.  Personally, I use EVOX M8+, hence why I used it in my example.  Here's a comparison chart so you can make your own decision...

http://www.xbox-scene.com/bios_retail.html

Whatever you choose, figure out how to get into XBINS (google it) and you'll find the BIOS there.

Knowing nothing of the other BIOSes out there I'll stick to what I know for the rest.  If you're going to get M8+, you will also want to get EVtools.  It is a BIOS editing tool that allows you to customize many aspects of the boot process like what it will look like and what exactly it is that you will be booting.  In there you will tell it where to look for your dashboard (which could be CoinOps if you so choose).

Here's some info on how to get the BIOS onto the chip once you decide the one you will be using.
http://www.modchipstore.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=87

After that you'll want some sort of XBOX auto-installer.  You should be able to find one on most torrent sites.  Even if you only want Coinops on the XBOX and choose to use it as your dashboard, you'll still need an alternate dashboard to do things like FTP all your ROMs to the XBOX and auto-installers make this super simple.

[jukingeo]

First thing you'll need to do is flash the bios.

I need to do that even though there is a bios already there on the new chip?  So that one that comes with it isn't good?

Edit:  Ok, answered my own question why here:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=89346

Next to the bullet starting with "Cromwell".   Yeah I noticed that right off the bat too that I couldn't play an Xbox game with the mod chip.  I thought that if you push the eject button (to turn the unit on) the chip gets bypassed?  It seems like it starts up with the Cromwell bios either way you turn on the Xbox.  So then the Evo-X Bios allows the use of a bootable dashboard (among other things).

  IIRC, you do NOT have a 1.6 right?  This means that you do NOT need a 1.6 bios.

No, I have a 1.0 unit.  However I did initially have a 1.6 unit, but the drawer was broken on it, so I returned it back to the store.  While I was a bit peeved that they gave me a much older unit for exchange, it turned out to be a blessing because I read the version 1.0 units are the easiest to hard mod.  So I took advantage of that and decided to go hard mod.   So yeah, the unit is a 1.0.

For example, when it comes to EVOX BIOS, there is EVOX M8+ and EVOX M8+1.6.  This leads us to the question of which bios to choose.  Personally, I use EVOX M8+, hence why I used it in my example.  Here's a comparison chart so you can make your own decision...

http://www.xbox-scene.com/bios_retail.html

Whatever you choose, figure out how to get into XBINS (google it) and you'll find the BIOS there.

Ok, so I went to Xbins, and there are three choices for EVOX M8+, which is the one I need (and HOW do I get it, I don't see a download link)?

http://www.xbins.org/index.php?action=search&searchtxt=evox&Submit=Search

I also noticed that it says "PC" for the platform.  Does that matter?

Edit:  I found this procedure for installing EvoX:

http://www.xboxhackz.com/tutorials/evox.htm

You approve of this method?

Knowing nothing of the other BIOSes out there I'll stick to what I know for the rest.  If you're going to get M8+, you will also want to get EVtools.  It is a BIOS editing tool that allows you to customize many aspects of the boot process like what it will look like and what exactly it is that you will be booting.  In there you will tell it where to look for your dashboard (which could be CoinOps if you so choose).

That sounds good, I believe I found it and I downloaded it. The file is: EVtool_1.0.9.rar. Is that the correct one?

Here's some info on how to get the BIOS onto the chip once you decide the one you will be using.
http://www.modchipstore.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=87

Aww, crap, I think now I figured out why the Eject button bypass doesn't work.  The instructions I got were from the guy that sold me the mod chip.   In his instructions he has point BT tied to a pin on the header and not going back to the front panel...of which is the eject button.  Apparently his instructions bypass the option to boot the Xbox up without the chip enabled.

I found that out here:

http://www.duomodchip.com/english/install/duox2_white/duox2_white_v1.0.jpg

Oh, I do get that "Duo X Mode" screen on the left.  As it shows in the picture I can only select the DVD icon.  The computer icon next to it is grayed out (also as shown in the example).  Is that icon for the network connection?

After that you'll want some sort of XBOX auto-installer.  You should be able to find one on most torrent sites.  Even if you only want Coinops on the XBOX and choose to use it as your dashboard, you'll still need an alternate dashboard to do things like FTP all your ROMs to the XBOX and auto-installers make this super simple.

Ok, I still have to look into that one.  It is getting late and it is time to hit the hay.

Thanx,

Geo

[jukingeo]

Hello All,

Ok, I realized that I am going to have to put my Xbox now near my PC so I can start to do the necessary tasks to prepare it for Mame.  I do have an extra monitor and it is already set up near my PC.  However, now I need an Xbox to VGA cable so I can hook up the Xbox to the monitor.

Since I was putting together an Amazon order already, I figured I would order the cable through there.  Much to my surprise just about all of the cables that come up are adapters to connect the Xbox 360 to a VGA cable.   Can I use one of these cables?  Does the XBox 360 and the original Xbox use the same output connector?

Thanx,

Geo

[HaRuMaN]

No

[ark_ader]

I use a Kworld 1440 and it just looks stunning on the LCD, plus you can hook it up to your Xbox 360 and have picture in picture of your xbox Fable while playing fable 2 .  I have to admit I haven't tried that yet...

You could just look on ebay for that xbox vga adapter, but to be honest it isn't worth it.

Probably be cheaper buying a el cheapo LCD TV and going that route.

[jukingeo]

No

Yeah, found that out later on today when examining the pinouts of the video connector on both units.  I am surprised that when the Xbox 360 came out, all of a sudden all support was dropped for the original Xbox.

I use a Kworld 1440 and it just looks stunning on the LCD, plus you can hook it up to your Xbox 360 and have picture in picture of your xbox Fable while playing fable 2 .  I have to admit I haven't tried that yet...

That is an interesting piece of hardware, I will look into that one more.

You could just look on ebay for that xbox vga adapter, but to be honest it isn't worth it.

Probably be cheaper buying a el cheapo LCD TV and going that route.

Perhaps, but I already have the monitor and it is already sitting next to my main PC.

Ok, while we are on a roll with what I need.  I know that sometime, someplace, I am going to have to burn a disc.  From the suggestions it is recommended that I burn a DVD.   So I guess it would be wise to put everything on one DVD, correct?

If so then I am probably going to need a list of everything I need.  So far I need the EVO-X 8M+ Bios, the EVtools, CoinOPS Ignite.   I take it that I should put my Mame roms on there too, BUT let me know what I can do via the ethernet connection.

Thanx,

Geo

[jukingeo]

First thing you'll need to do is flash the bios.  IIRC, you do NOT have a 1.6 right?  This means that you do NOT need a 1.6 bios.  For example, when it comes to EVOX BIOS, there is EVOX M8+ and EVOX M8+1.6.  This leads us to the question of which bios to choose.  Personally, I use EVOX M8+, hence why I used it in my example.  Here's a comparison chart so you can make your own decision...

Ok, I am back, I had a bit of a time finding out all the information to use mIRC and to FINALLY get on to Xbins FTP.

I managed to download:

1) EvoX M8 Plus Bios
2) EVTool_1.0.9
3) Slayers_Evox_Auto-Installer 2.6
4) UnleashX_0_39_0528A
5) MAMEoX_v0.84.b3
6) XBMC 2-18-2009

Knowing nothing of the other BIOSes out there I'll stick to what I know for the rest.  If you're going to get M8+, you will also want to get EVtools.  It is a BIOS editing tool that allows you to customize many aspects of the boot process like what it will look like and what exactly it is that you will be booting.  In there you will tell it where to look for your dashboard (which could be CoinOps if you so choose).

I did try to look for CoinOps while I in Xbins, but it wasn't listed...so I am probably going to look for that elsewhere. (Come to think of it, I think I might have downloaded it already on my other computer...I have to check).  While I was in Xbins I did download XBMC, UnleashX & MAMEoX (dashboard/emulator for future use perhaps).

Here's some info on how to get the BIOS onto the chip once you decide the one you will be using.
http://www.modchipstore.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=87

Much of this page really isn't clear (outside of chip installation), it directs you to several other sites.  Now one thing that has me confused (what's new right?) is that they say say that the bios is only around 256k and that you have to "double up" on it to get 512k.  WTH?

Anyway out of the links posted I found this one somewhat helpful:

http://www.duomodchip.com/english/install.htm#4

According to this I do need some kind of flashing utility?  I didn't mention this and at first I thought that was part of the "auto installer".  Goes to show you how much I know.   The link above recommends Eurasia?  

In the instructions for the Bios that is to be flashed, it says that you need some kind of 'dummy' file on the disc.  Again another WTH?

After that you'll want some sort of XBOX auto-installer.  You should be able to find one on most torrent sites.  Even if you only want Coinops on the XBOX and choose to use it as your dashboard, you'll still need an alternate dashboard to do things like FTP all your ROMs to the XBOX and auto-installers make this super simple.

Yeah, I did get the link for a torrent site for the Evo-X Auto Installer, so I still have to set up a torrent downloader to get that file. BUT I have the link so that is a start.

So all in all it looks like the only things that I still need to get started are CoinOPS Ignite and also a flashing utility, correct?

Thanx,

Geo

[crashwg]

So I guess it would be wise to put everything on one DVD, correct?

I might be wrong but I think you'll need to go with two discs...  One with the BIOS and the "dummy file" and one with the "auto-installer."  Once you've used the "auto-installer" you will have FTP access to the XBOX and will never have to burn another disc.  Just connect your XBOX to your computer via a router or crossover cable and use your favorite FTP program.  I like FileZilla myself since it's free (legitimately) and works well with the XBOX.  FYI, there are FTP programs that don't work well with the XBOX since it's filesystem has different limitation than a PC including file name length and rejected special characters.  Some FTP programs choke in various ways.  YMMV.

I managed to download:

1) EvoX M8 Plus Bios
2) EVTool_1.0.9
3) Slayers_Evox_Auto-Installer 2.6
4) UnleashX_0_39_0528A
5) MAMEoX_v0.84.b3
6) XBMC 2-18-2009

That's a great selection of stuff to have downloaded, especially 1, 2 & 3!

they say say that the bios is only around 256k and that you have to "double up" on it to get 512k.  WTH?

When you edit the EVOX M8+ BIOS file with EVTool, there's an option in there to specify the output size of the BIOS file.

According to this I do need some kind of flashing utility?

The screen you see when you boot your XBOX should have a flashing utility built in.  There should be some sort of option like "install bios from disc" or something like that.  The flashing utility should be looking for a file called "bios.bin" if I recall correctly.  If someone else could confirm that I'm sure it would ease jukinego's mind...

In the instructions for the Bios that is to be flashed, it says that you need some kind of 'dummy' file on the disc.  Again another WTH?

The BIOS file is so tiny that if it's the only file on the disc, the XBOX might not see it.  You can put any file on the disc as a "dummy".  Just pick some random large file and place in onto your compilation before the BIOS file so that the BIOS file is located a little ways from the inside of the disc.

[jukingeo]

I might be wrong but I think you'll need to go with two discs...

No, you are correct...I did read that too, but naturally as you might have noticed, I don't take anything at face value.  So the question "why?" will always come up in cases like this.  The reason I ask why is once the flash software is loaded, how come it can't access the Bios file on the SAME disc?

Edit:  I added a comment below on flashing bios, but while doing that I think I came to answer my own question in regards to WHY having two discs.  IF the Cromwell Bios is looking for a Bios.bin file then more then likely you have to have it in the main directory.  The thought did occur to me that if other stuff was on the disc, you probably couldn't access it because every time Cromwell sees a Bios.bin file, it is going to attempt a flash.   Would that assumption be correct?

Like anyone in these economic times, I DO like to save a disc, especially since I have learned that Xbox's don't read CD-R's very well and thus I must resort to burning a DVD-R instead.

One with the BIOS and the "dummy file" and one with the "auto-installer."  Once you've used the "auto-installer" you will have FTP access to the XBOX and will never have to burn another disc.

Ok, so then the Auto-Installer IS also the program needed to flash the Bios?  They mentioned using Eurasia as a program to induce a flash.  Is Eurasia also a program of the "auto installing" variety?

Edit:  Looking over the flash directions again (duomodchip.com)...it looks to be contradictory.  The first part mentions the recommendation of using a flashing utility such as Eurasia, BUT then further down they say to put the bios disc in when the Xbox opens the DVD drawer.

I guess it can't hurt to try stuffing a disc with the bios on there right?  Then if that is the case then I wouldn't need the installer.

Just connect your XBOX to your computer via a router or crossover cable and use your favorite FTP program.
 I like FileZilla myself since it's free (legitimately) and works well with the XBOX.  FYI, there are FTP programs that don't work well with the XBOX since it's filesystem has different limitation than a PC including file name length and rejected special characters.  Some FTP programs choke in various ways.  YMMV.

Ok, I don't have a favorite FTP program.  So I guess what works for you should be good enough for me.  Is Filezilla a program or is that the FTP access.  So yeah, I am going to need to know that too.

While we are on the subject, at what point can I use the Xbox for doing downloads (so I don't have to burn too many discs.  AND while we are on the topic of burning disc, are there programs I can group together.  Obviously once I get the Xbox running I AM going to archive those discs and save them for future use.

BTW, I had noticed that EVTool was under the "PC applications" listings within Xbins.  Do you use EVTool within the PC or the Xbox?  I figured it would be used in the Xbox right?

I managed to download:

1) EvoX M8 Plus Bios
2) EVTool_1.0.9
3) Slayers_Evox_Auto-Installer 2.6
4) UnleashX_0_39_0528A
5) MAMEoX_v0.84.b3
6) XBMC 2-18-2009

That's a great selection of stuff to have downloaded, especially 1, 2 & 3![/quote]

LOL!  Well, the first three were your recommendations.  The next two were Mame applications that I have seen outside of CoinOPS Ignite (or Reignite).  And of course the last one we have been discussing.  I have all of the above programs except for the Evox Auto-Installer.  Xbins didn't have the full program and only provided a link to the torrent.

they say say that the bios is only around 256k and that you have to "double up" on it to get 512k.  WTH?

When you edit the EVOX M8+ BIOS file with EVTool, there's an option in there to specify the output size of the BIOS file.

Ok, so how does that work when you have a 256k file (well EVOX M8+ is really 252k, but I get the point)?  Do you just specify 512k and then you are good to go?

What is the deal with "Bank0 and Bank1"?  Apparently that is what I came across when I wanted to look up the function of that switch on the DuoX mod chip.

The screen you see when you boot your XBOX should have a flashing utility built in.  There should be some sort of option like "install bios from disc" or something like that.

Nope!  I just checked.  I have the Cromwell Linux Bios on my Duo X.  What happens is that I get a system check and there is some information listed about the Xbox.  Then there are two options that come up on the bottom, one is a Disc icon that is highlighted and it says "Please Insert Disc (hdb)".  The other option is a grayed out computer icon that looks like it is connecting to a network.

The Xbox then opens up the disc drawer on it's own.  Simply put the thing is asking for a disc that is plain and simple.  But it doesn't explicitly say it is looking for a Bios disc.

Could it be some kind of auto-installer?

The flashing utility should be looking for a file called "bios.bin" if I recall correctly.  If someone else could confirm that I'm sure it would ease jukinego's mind...

Don't have to, I KNOW the file is called Bios.bin.  I have the EvoX M8+ bios already (as I mentioned above).  However I have not burned it to a disc yet because I would like to put other files on the disc too.

The BIOS file is so tiny that if it's the only file on the disc, the XBOX might not see it.  You can put any file on the disc as a "dummy".  Just pick some random large file and place in onto your compilation before the BIOS file so that the BIOS file is located a little ways from the inside of the disc.

Ahhhh, so if I put my folder on the disc that contains all my roms and screen shots for Mame on the disc that folder would be large enough to trigger the Xbox to read the disc.  That is weird...I wonder why they didn't say that in the first place!  Just make sure to burn a disc with other files on it. Heh!

Oh!  I wanted to ask you about the hard drive in the X-Box.  There was some crap on it from the prior owner, I would like to erase that before I start loading the new programs on it.   Once the EVOX-M8+ Bios is installed, it will allow access to the hard drive, right?

Thanx,
Geo

[crashwg]

It's about time for bed so I'm not going to do the whole -quote & answer- thing.  I hope you can line up all my explanations with your questions.  If not let me know and I'll try to fix it a little tomorrow...


Before I get to all that though I would like to ask if you know what optical drive you have in the XBOX.  If it's a Samsung there's a good chance it will read CDRs so you might want to go that route for the BIOS flashing.  It won't do you much good I don't think for the auto-installer since I believe those are more DVD-sized anyway.

The Auto-Installer is NOT what you will use to flash the modchip with a BIOS.  You will need to flash the BIOS first, then the Auto-Installer will install files to your hard drive.

As for the modchip not looking for a BIOS.BIN file, try flipping the switch on the modchip.  I'm not an expert on the Duo chips but if I recall correctly, they usually come shipped with a cromwell BIOS and a FLASH BIOS.  If that doesn't work I'm afraid someone else will have to step in here and try and help because I know nothing about Eurasia.

When it comes to FileZilla I'm going to have to point out that you're getting a little lazy here I think.  You could have Googled that...  If you did, you would have found this: http://filezilla-project.org/  DL the client for whatever platform you're on.

In order to use the "Xbox for doing downloads" as you put it (most would call it FTPing to the XBOX) you will need your modchip flashed with a BIOS that will load a dashboard be it XBMC, Unleash or one of 5 or more other ones that are probably out there.  Once you have the XBOX running a "dashboard" that supports FTP access (like XBMC and UnleashX do) you will figure out what the XBOX's IP address is and log in to that with FileZilla in the format of
SITE:the XBOX's IP
USERNAME: XBOX
PASSWORD: XBOX
Once you've done that you can drag and drop almost anything to the XBOX from your PC.

EVTool is used on the PC.  Start EVTool, select "Open BIOS file" (I believe that's what the button says) then navigate to wherever you unzipped the EVOX M8+ file to and select it.  Now you can make all sorts of changes to the BIOS file including the size it will be upon output and where it will look for your dashboard.  There are 4 selections of where it will look for your dashboard by the way.  Write those down for when you install the dashboard via the Auto-Installer to make sure it's installing the dashboard in the right place so the BIOS can find it.

[jukingeo]

Before I get to all that though I would like to ask if you know what optical drive you have in the XBOX.  If it's a Samsung there's a good chance it will read CDRs so you might want to go that route for the BIOS flashing.  It won't do you much good I don't think for the auto-installer since I believe those are more DVD-sized anyway.

Hello Crashwg,

Ooooo, I am not sure what DVD drive I have in my Xbox, however, on that note, I do believe I am going to HAVE to open up the unit.  Last night I was carefully going over the directions AGAIN, and I believe I made the discovery that the second bank...bank1 has the FlashBios on it and via that BIOS I will NOT need the Flash utility.  If I was going to use Bank0 which has the Cromwell Linux BIOS on it, then yes, I would need the utility.  So making that discovery in addition to wanting to move the BT wire over to it's appropriate location by the eject button AND now wondering what DVD drive I have in the unit, this is going to warrant my holding off until this weekend when I can open up the Xbox again and make those changes.

The Auto-Installer is NOT what you will use to flash the modchip with a BIOS.  You will need to flash the BIOS first, then the Auto-Installer will install files to your hard drive.

I kind of gathered that after figuring out the above.

As for the modchip not looking for a BIOS.BIN file, try flipping the switch on the modchip.  I'm not an expert on the Duo chips but if I recall correctly, they usually come shipped with a cromwell BIOS and a FLASH BIOS.  If that doesn't work I'm afraid someone else will have to step in here and try and help because I know nothing about Eurasia.

Ditto the above.  At first I was wondering why they made the DuoX with the two banks, but then it became clearer...and that is the legal issue.  Basically if the BIOS is a Linux based distribution (which is free), then the company that makes the DuoX will not have legal problems.  So they cleverly designed the chip with two BIOS modes the second one being a Flash Utility.

Here is the BLURRED screen for that:

http://www.duomodchip.com/english/install/duox2_white/Flashbios.jpg

That was really the whole problem in a nutshell was the blurred screen, I really couldn't make out the selections on the bottom, but when you mentioned that there should be a load from disc option, I started to look closer at the Bank1 option.   Of course the big bold words that said "FlashBios" were a big help too! LOL!

When it comes to FileZilla I'm going to have to point out that you're getting a little lazy here I think.  You could have Googled that...  If you did, you would have found this: http://filezilla-project.org/  DL the client for whatever platform you're on.

Nothing to do with laziness, but just a lack of time.  I spend most of my day on search engines and every now and then I like things spoon fed.   Heck the best thing would be a step by step list (with no gray areas).  But apparently there are so many chips out there and so many different ways to 'skin the cat', that it isn't going to work in this case.  So basically I am just going to have to do each step as I go along.

In order to use the "Xbox for doing downloads" as you put it (most would call it FTPing to the XBOX) you will need your modchip flashed with a BIOS that will load a dashboard be it XBMC, Unleash or one of 5 or more other ones that are probably out there.  Once you have the XBOX running a "dashboard" that supports FTP access (like XBMC and UnleashX do) you will figure out what the XBOX's IP address is and log in to that with FileZilla in the format of
SITE:the XBOX's IP
USERNAME: XBOX
PASSWORD: XBOX
Once you've done that you can drag and drop almost anything to the XBOX from your PC.

Oh, got it...so FileZilla will work much in the same way as the FTP connection part of what I did to get to the Xbins files. (Meaning after you get the login information from the MIRC part).

EVTool is used on the PC.  Start EVTool, select "Open BIOS file" (I believe that's what the button says) then navigate to wherever you unzipped the EVOX M8+ file to and select it.  Now you can make all sorts of changes to the BIOS file including the size it will be upon output and where it will look for your dashboard.  There are 4 selections of where it will look for your dashboard by the way.  Write those down for when you install the dashboard via the Auto-Installer to make sure it's installing the dashboard in the right place so the BIOS can find it.

Oh, man...thanx a bunch!  I would have totally missed that part.  I was under the impression that you use EVTool AFTER you get the Bios loaded and not before, THAT is why I was confused that EVTool was listed under PC tools for the Xbox.  Well, I guess in that way I have something to do before I open up the Xbox again.

Well, it is snowing here and it looks like I am going to be home today (work is probably shut down) so time to load up EVTool and check it out.

Thanx again for the info.

BTW, what happened to Tightwad?  As I recall he ordered his chip before I did.  I have not seen him on these boards since.  I believe he has a Version 1.6 unit.  I am wondering if he perhaps got discouraged in regards to the soldering.

Being an experienced tech I will say that the D0 connection wasn't hard for me.  The hardest part of the install was the pin header.  All the solder holes were filled in on the motherboard and I had a tough time to 'properly' clean those connections up.  Even armed with a solder wick and an air compressor to blow out the holes, I was VERY concerned about heat damage.  The average 'Joe' tinkerer would certainly damage the board.   I would say that right now for any person that wants to solder the pin header on such a board the best thing is to remove all the pins from the header and solder each one individually on the board using the existing solder in the holes.

Anyway, I am off, I am going to check out EVTool now.

Edit:

Ok, I am in EVTool now, and have a couple of quick questions.  You mentioned making a note of the locations that the BIOS points to in regards to the Dashboards.  Right now in the list (with the EvoX M8+ bios loaded) I have:

DVD:  default.xbe
1st C:\  evoXdash.xbe
2nd C:\ AvaDash.xbe
3rd C:\ neXgen.xbe

Am I correct in assuming that I shouldn't touch the first one DVD: default.xbe?  Now since I will not be using any of these, I do have to change them...more then likely they will be UnleashX, XBMC, and CoinOPS Ignite.   Now what of the xbe extension?  Is that the actual dashboard executable?

Any particular setting for the "LBA support and partition table options" drop down box?  It is right now defaulted to "Partition 6 Takes Rest of Drive".

There is the section on logo colors and importing a logo.  My guess is that is if I want to have a custom start up logo I would click on the import EvoX logo?

Other than that everything else is self explanatory.  I DID see the check box you were talking about for the file size and I set that to 512k.  So I should be good there.

Ok, at least there isn't too much to deal with here.

Thanx,

Geo

[ark_ader]

I got CoinOPS Ignite R3 Showcase and it now supports trackballs and mice.  

So many features to mention like autofire and cheats.  Still works with .84 ROMS.

Looks like arcade ambient sound works too.!  Edit: I have arcade ambient sounds playing right from the front end.

There is an overclock mode to speed up the slowmo CPS2 games, and it can rotate for verticals.

Guess that MAME box will one day be a cocktail cab....

I got it working with the Xarcade after trial and error and its sweet!

BTW if you are going to softmod and dump this onto DVD - DONT!  Install to hard drive and pick out the games you WILL play.

Eggs and Bacon all day!

[jukingeo]

Hello all,

Just a quick update.  I had a longer update but my session timed out and I lost my WHOLE post!  Needless to say I am pissed off about that.

So here is the shorter version (which you guys probably will appreciate more).

I re-opened my Xbox today and made the necessary changes.  So now the Eject button works the way it should in disabling the mod chip.  I have set the switch to Bank 1 and now I get "FLASHBIOS ver 3.0.3" coming up on screen.  Now I get a set of choices to flash the Bios.  The highlighted on is C: Drive, there is the option to Flash from the DVD Rom and the last option is the one that caught my attention: "Enable Network Connection For BIOS Flash".  So this sounds cool!  I guess that means I should be able to connect the Xbox to my computer and Flash the BIOS that way?

EVTool is used on the PC.  Start EVTool, select "Open BIOS file" (I believe that's what the button says) then navigate to wherever you unzipped the EVOX M8+ file to and select it.  Now you can make all sorts of changes to the BIOS file including the size it will be upon output and where it will look for your dashboard.  There are 4 selections of where it will look for your dashboard by the way.  Write those down for when you install the dashboard via the Auto-Installer to make sure it's installing the dashboard in the right place so the BIOS can find it.

Ok, this is where I have a couple of questions:

In the area you mentioned there are a few preset dashboard options:

DVD: = Default.xbe
1st C:\ = evoXdash.xbe
2nd C:\ = AvaDash.xbe
3rd c:\ = neXgen.xbe

So, would I need to know dashboards I am going to use prior to flashing the BIOS?

I took a look in my folder for UnleashX since I downloaded that and there is indeed a file named "Default.xbe".

Also there is a selection in the bottom left corner for setting the partitioning on the hard drive.  What should I set that too?

I got CoinOPS Ignite R3 Showcase and it now supports trackballs and mice. 

This was pretty much the version that I would be content with:


However, I am not 100% sure if it supports trackballs and mice.  I do know that the Showcase is better though:



It is just that I really don't need the full game play action.  I would think it is an awful lot of work to set up the screen demos.  Let alone the space that would take up on the hard drive.  I guess I can see it for a system that has less than 100games, but mine will have over 200 games. 

and it can rotate for verticals.

Guess that MAME box will one day be a cocktail cab....

Yes, I believe the regular version of Ignite supports screen rotation as well.

BTW if you are going to softmod and dump this onto DVD - DONT!  Install to hard drive and pick out the games you WILL play.

Oh, no I wouldn't PLAY the games from the DVD.  I would just use the DVD as a medium to get the files all into the hard drive.  However, I am now wondering if I even have to burn a DVD at all because if I can flash the BIOS from my computer, then that is at least one DVD burn I DON'T need to do.

I placed a good sized Amazon order a couple days ago in which I ordered several things for the Xbox.   I looked into that 1440 control box you mentioned, but it is no longer available from the company.  But I did find something similar from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001463UNI/ref=oss_product

It has inputs for: Computer (VGA), composite, S-Video, and component.  It also handles switching the audio from a computer to a game console.  So really I only need ONE monitor...but I am going to use two anyway so this way I don't have to switch the monitor and can see what I am doing on both machines at the same time.

I didn't receive my component cable yet, but I DID get my S-Video cable (for TV hookup).  Already I notice a tremendous improvement over using composite.  But with that cable in hand I can set everything up near my computer.

So that is it!  I am pretty much ready to go and flash the bios.

Geo

[ark_ader]

Oh, no I wouldn't PLAY the games from the DVD.  I would just use the DVD as a medium to get the files all into the hard drive.  However, I am now wondering if I even have to burn a DVD at all because if I can flash the BIOS from my computer, then that is at least one DVD burn I DON'T need to do.

Uhhh...I would not deviate from the tested and tried method of getting your soft-mod to work and have everything installed.

If you have evox on and you can FTP - great.  Now get the last version of AID and burn to a DVD.  Follow the prompts.  Make sure you install the Avalaunch front-end or have it on your drive somewhere.

After that FTP and install what you want on, but I don't think you can do everything you mentioned above without resorting to an AID image.

By all means do what you want, but it be a wasted effort and tears if you brick your XBox for just saving a 5p/10c DVD. 

Also I found out that CoinOPS ignite can be displayed in 720p....Now to find the component cable on ebay.... 

[jukingeo]

Uhhh...I would not deviate from the tested and tried method of getting your soft-mod to work and have everything installed.

Soft-mod?!?!  I gave up on that ship and it sailed long ago.  I have the DuoX2 chip installed now, thus I am ready to flash the Bios, that is what I was asking about.

If you have evox on and you can FTP - great.

No, it isn't on yet.  I was asking about settings options within EVTool to properly set Evox M8+ (the Bios I intend to use for the mod chip).  However I had noticed that the FlashBios that came in Bank 1 of the mod chip does have an option for selecting "Enable Network Flash Bios" and that did get me to wonder if I even need to burn a disk, perhaps I can flash the bios right from my PC via a direct network hookup.

  Now get the last version of AID and burn to a DVD.  Follow the prompts.  Make sure you install the Avalaunch front-end or have it on your drive somewhere.

After that FTP and install what you want on, but I don't think you can do everything you mentioned above without resorting to an AID image.

That is what I am thinking.   But I have to get past the first step with using EVTool and setting those path settings for the dashboards I intend to use.  That is where I am a bit clear. 

By all means do what you want, but it be a wasted effort and tears if you brick your XBox for just saving a 5p/10c DVD.  :'(

Well, yeah, that is why I want to get the flash done right.  But the website for EVTool is down, so I really don't have instructions.  I am hoping Crash logs back in soon as I went with his recommendation to use EVOX M8+ for the BIOS on the mod chip.

Also I found out that CoinOPS ignite can be displayed in 720p....Now to find the component cable on ebay.... 

All of my displays are 4:3 and that is what I intend to use for an arcade cabinet as well.  As for the cable, I ordered mine through Amazon.  So you don't have to bother with Ebay for that:

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-XBOX-Component-Cables-HDTV-High/dp/B000F2JUOK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266078082&sr=8-1

Thanx,

Geo

[jukingeo]

Hello guys,

Another update:

I still have big problems finding documentation for the proper way of setting up the Bios to flash to my Xbox.  I spent DAYS scouring Xbox-scene and my main discovery is many broken links that go to either the websites for teamxodus or teamexecutor.   Also, as I mentioned before, the website for EVTool is also down.

In terms of the question I had in regards to setting up the LBA48, it doesn't seem like it is that critical at all in lieu of what this thread says:

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=457547

It seems that I can just reformat the drive with Slayers.

I am NOT going to change the hard drive though.  I am going to leave the original 8gig drive in the unit.  I don't need a drive that is bigger than that for now.  However, a question did come to mind is if I have to reflash the bios if the hard drive is ever changed down the road?

I have now set up my Xbox to (bank1) which has the FlashBios 3.0.3 on it.  This Bios does have a network flash available for it, I figure I am best off going that route so I don't have to burn a disc for the bios.

I finally found some instructions to do that here:

http://www.team-xecuter.com/flashbios/http.htm

However, this flashing procedure is for the Xecutor chip and not the DuoX2.  The Xecutor chip asks for a 1M bios...so I am hoping those are the ONLY differences.

I tell you, once I get through this, I am most certainly going to write up a new tutorial.  The stuff over at Xbox-Scene is severely outdated and many of the links do not work anymore.  So finding info has been very difficult.

So I am crossing my fingers that I don't end up "bricking" the Xbox.

Geo

[crashwg]

When I've set up my XBOXes in the past I've always gone with the "Partition 6 Takes up to 137GB / Partition 7 Takes Rest" option just so if/when I do upgrade the HDD it's ready to go.  Partitions 6 and 7 are F: and G: by the way.

I'm planning on doing a reinstall on on of my XBOXes tonight to refresh my memory.  I'll hopefully get back to you tonight.

I really can't comment on the network flashing of the DuoX2 chip.  I've only ever flashed a DuoX2 with a disc.  I have flashed a few Xenium chips through their web interface but that's a whole different animal I believe.

[jukingeo]

When I've set up my XBOXes in the past I've always gone with the "Partition 6 Takes up to 137GB / Partition 7 Takes Rest" option just so if/when I do upgrade the HDD it's ready to go.  Partitions 6 and 7 are F: and G: by the way.

Ok, that sounds good enough for me.  As it is, I don't think I am going to upgrade it, but in the event the drive breaks then I can update it then. 

I'm planning on doing a reinstall on on of my XBOXes tonight to refresh my memory.  I'll hopefully get back to you tonight.

Ok.   What should I set the paths too?  Do they have to be set to something or should I leave them as is?

I really can't comment on the network flashing of the DuoX2 chip.  I've only ever flashed a DuoX2 with a disc.  I have flashed a few Xenium chips through their web interface but that's a whole different animal I believe.

I am going to try it out.  It seems like the earlier (blue) versions of the DuoX2 didn't have the capability to flash from the network...so I guess this is a newer option.  I have not seen it covered that much either in terms of documentation.   But I did find that one document, but it was based on using the FlashBios with the Xenium chip.

Now for the Slayer's Installer...is that a windows application or is that for launching in the Xbox only?

Thanx,

Geo

[crashwg]

Arggg...  I didn't have time to do the reinstall tonight.  I really hope to get it done tomorrow though.  I should be able to give you a definitive answer on where to set the paths to tomorrow after I run the auto-installer.

The Slayer's Auto-Installer you downloaded is a self extracting file.  You have to run it on your PC.  It will ask for a password which is supposedly available HERE: http://slayer.xbox-scene.com but that link get's me nowhere.  I was however able to locate the password elsewhere and it is "sevx2.6" without the quotes.  If you're worried about it being a virus or anything like that, I scanned it with ESET NOD32 and it came back clean.  It will self extract to wherever you direct it to, an ISO (the auto-installer itself), a few images and a PDF with all sorts of useful information.  Unfortunately it doesn't list the install locations of the things that it installs so I'll still need to do this myself to refresh my memory if I'm going to be any help to you.

I suggest you run the SlaYers_EvoX_Auto-Installer_v2.6_FINAL.exe that you've downloaded and read a little of the PDF.  Of course I'm the type that wants to know why I'm doing the things I do and not just follow blindly a set of directions.

Please be patient with me in trying to assist you with this though.  I really do need to reinstall to one of my XBOXes and this is a perfect excuse to do it now, it's just I'm right in the middle of moving.  Half the apartment is in boxes and add to that my incapability of remember the simplest of things...  I WILL get to this tomorrow!

[jukingeo]

Arggg...  I didn't have time to do the reinstall tonight.  I really hope to get it done tomorrow though.  I should be able to give you a definitive answer on where to set the paths to tomorrow after I run the auto-installer.

OK

The Slayer's Auto-Installer you downloaded is a self extracting file.  You have to run it on your PC.  It will ask for a password which is supposedly available HERE: http://slayer.xbox-scene.com but that link get's me nowhere.

Believe it or not, I actually did click on it when I saw it had a windows icon for the .exe file.  However, I got the "password" request too and I thought that was rather unusual.  I figured perhaps you needed to run the Auto-Installer on the Xbox.

I did try to follow that link myself and low and behold, what else is new?  ANOTHER dead link!  As you can see the troubles I am mostly running into is not that I can't FIND the info, but that I am presented with dead link upon dead link.  If Xbox-Scene was really THAT useful of a site, then stuff for modding should be stickied and regularly updated so this way newbies know where to go to get the most current info.  Sure they do have stickied info, but again much of it references dead links.

  I was however able to locate the password elsewhere and it is "sevx2.6" without the quotes.  If you're worried about it being a virus or anything like that, I scanned it with ESET NOD32 and it came back clean.  It will self extract to wherever you direct it to, an ISO (the auto-installer itself), a few images and a PDF with all sorts of useful information.  Unfortunately it doesn't list the install locations of the things that it installs so I'll still need to do this myself to refresh my memory if I'm going to be any help to you.

Great!  You found the password.  That is a big help right there.  I can play with this then a bit on my break at work tomorrow (it is getting to late now and I need to get some shut eye).

I suggest you run the SlaYers_EvoX_Auto-Installer_v2.6_FINAL.exe that you've downloaded and read a little of the PDF.  Of course I'm the type that wants to know why I'm doing the things I do and not just follow blindly a set of directions.

Will, do.  I am the same way...especially if I know that if I do something wrong I could loose my flash bank or worse, brick the Xbox.

Please be patient with me in trying to assist you with this though.  I really do need to reinstall to one of my XBOXes and this is a perfect excuse to do it now, it's just I'm right in the middle of moving.  Half the apartment is in boxes and add to that my incapability of remember the simplest of things...  I WILL get to this tomorrow!

No problem, I know what moving can be like.  I moved into an apartment into a house, out of said house and now back into an apartment.  I also moved 3 companies (almost every job I had moved).

I do appreciate your help very much.  As I said, I would do much of the research on my own, but lately with all the dead links and dead ends, I am at a loss.   It seems like all the tools and modding info is still out there, but the directions and proper procedures are not.  It is all in little bits and pieces all over, and then there are some contradictions too.

As of now I don't want to go too crazy.  I just would like a 'basic' Xbox system that will run Mame games, that it is my MAIN goal.  If I can add other things like XBMC later on, then that is fine.

Once I do get something solid, I think I will have a sticky made for it here considering that it is somewhat related to Mame and building your own controls.  I think it would be easier to update the info here than it would be on Xbox-Scene.  Sorry to say, while the site is a wealth of info, it is also a huge mess.   It is just too outdated.

Anyway, time to hit the hay for tonight.

Thanx again!

Geo

[jukingeo]

I suggest you run the SlaYers_EvoX_Auto-Installer_v2.6_FINAL.exe that you've downloaded and read a little of the PDF.  Of course I'm the type that wants to know why I'm doing the things I do and not just follow blindly a set of directions.

Hello Crash,

I did go though most of the document today as you suggested and I must say this 'Slayer' guy is the first one that has really explained a TON of information in regards to properly setting up the Xbox.   Many of my questions were answered in regards to the setting of the LBA48 setting as well as the path settings.   The installer will install EvoX as the main dashboard.  While I wanted UnleashX that is ok with me as it is just a dashboard.  But the bonus is that the installer also allows the install of XBMC.  So really after using the installer the only thing I need to do is install CoinOPS Ignite.

Again, I have not gone over everything in that document, but many 'would be' questions have been answered.  For example, the reason for locking and unlocking the hard drive.

I have also noticed that the installer can also Flash the Bios, so in the event I blow the Flashbios Bank I can still reload a Bios using the Slayer's disk.

The main variable though is IF a burned media will be read by the Thomson drive I have.  Supposedly this is the most picky of all the Xbox drives.   

I think in terms of the BIOS I would like to try the ethernet method.

So if you could go over this with me that would be great.  It looks like I should set the LBA48 to the last setting just to 'prepare' the Xbox for a future drive upgrade.   It also looks like I should leave all the path settings alone if I am to accept the Slayer's install options for EVOX as EVtool is already set up to the defaults.

I am curious to know what version Xbox you are using to do this on your end?  If you have a version 1.0, I would like to know what brand disc works with the Thomson drive...that sure would save some headache in finding media that will work.

Anyway, thanx again for your help.  I just can't wait to get this going.  Once it is fresh in my mind, I am going to buy a couple more Xboxs and mod them right off the bat.  This way I will have a couple 'waiting in the wings' for future Mame projects.

Question:

Since DVD-R reading ability of the Thomson is a big question mark, I was wondering that if I DID make a USB memory stick adapter (as per soft mod but not use it as such), could I use that as a way to get data into/out of the Xbox?  Should I ever install the Xbox into a cabinet, a network connection may not be convenient, but a USB memory stick surely would.

The good thing is that I kind of know already what I want out of Mame.   I got all the roms I would ever need or use.  I don't particularly like the new arcade games, so I don't see updating the Xbox often once it is set up.

The joy for me for Xbox Mame is that all I have to do is hook up a Mamed Xbox and I am good to go for classic arcade games.   And should I build a cabinet, I can just drop an Xbox in as the main engine.   It is just so simple once an Xbox is set up for Mame.  All I have to do is mod some old controllers to arcade controls.

It it just the road to getting to a modded box that is taking a while to get to my destination.

Anyway, I do appreciate everything you are doing and I am taking careful notes of everything.  Once I get something that works, I will post the results here and hopefully get it stickied.

Thanx,

Geo

[northerngames]

A.I.D. 3 swamps slayers just so you guys know  

EDIT: O wow it's up to 4.3 now

3 was way better then slayers but this new 4.3 makes anything on slayers way old & out dated and it proabably only has a 1/4 of what the new aid has to offer.

[crashwg]

A.I.D. 3 swamps slayers just so you guys know  

EDIT: O wow it's up to 4.3 now

3 was way better then slayers but this new 4.3 makes anything on slayers way old & out dated and it proabably only has a 1/4 of what the new aid has to offer.

Good to know, I'll have to look into that...

I'm sorry for this being so late.  I've had network issues today and haven't even been able to get on the internet for more than a couple seconds until now.  I did however reinstall to the XBOX in question today.  It is a 1.0 by the way, not that that matters in particular since it has a samsung drive in it.

This is going to be one of those bad news good news sort of things.  Lets start with the good news:

I popped in an old drive that I had lying around and restored it to "factory" settings.
I installed XBMC as my main dashboard.
I installed CoinOPS Ignite and was able to run it from XBMC.

The bad:
When I installed CoinOPS as my dashboard it just would not boot.  I have no idea why.
It's been so long since I've done an install with Slayer's I had forgotten that I don't like where it installs things to and I ended up using the Slayer's disc as nothing more than a boot disc that enabled FTP access.

There is however some additional good news.  The process I went through is fairly uncomplicated and I think in the end is a good choice for you.  Here's what I did.  If you think it sounds like a good idea I will go into further detail so you can follow my steps exactly.

I set up my BIOS to load in the following order, E:\DASH\default.xbe - E:\XBMC\default.xbe - E:\avalaunch\default.xbe.
I flashed my modchip with that bios
I loaded up Slayer's with the XBOX connected to my network
I logged into the XBOX with FileZilla
I copied the contents of the (insert random dashboard here) folder to E:\DASH\
I copied the contents of the XBMC folder to E:\XBMC\
I didn't get to installing something into E:\avalaunch\ because really this is just a backup for the backup

What this will do for you is this:  The bios will first attempt to load whatever dashboard you have installed to E:\DASH\  If it doesn't find that it will go to E:\XBMC\ as a backup.  Since you have XBMC as a backup, even if you screw up the install of the dashboard you really want to use, XBMC has got your back and gives you a way to reinstall.  Really you can put anything as your backups (I would stick to something with FTP access like XBMC, Evox, Avalaunch) when you create your BIOS as long as you remember where you're telling the BIOS to look so when you install it later you put it in the right place.  Even still, the BIOS will always look for D:\default.xbe first so all you'll need to do is insert an auto installer of some sort and you'll be able to have FTP access to fix your mistakes.

I hope I wrote that all in an easily followed way...  It made sense to me but then again, I just did this so I can picture it all.

As for your drive reading the discs, you can use an IDE PC drive you might have lying around if your drive won't read CD-Rs or DVD-Rs.  Here's what you need to do:

1. Open the XBOX case. 
2. Place your PC optical drive on top of the XBOX's optical drive. 
3. Remove the IDE connector from the XBOX's drive and attach it to the PC drive. 
4. Supply power to the PC drive.
5. not really a step but DO NOT remove the yellow wire from the XBOX's optical drive

Step four is usually the tricky one.  In the past I've used a 4 pin Molex "Y" splitter, a spare PC power supply which has been jumpered to turn on and a power supply that I happen to have that is designed just to power IDE devices externally.  I suppose you'll probably be limited to the first two options though.  I think I got the Molex "Y" from Radio Shack for a couple bucks.  Jumpering a PC power supply to turn on is super simple, all you do is jumper the GREEN wire to any of the BLACK wires. 

[jukingeo]

A.I.D. 3 swamps slayers just so you guys know  

EDIT: O wow it's up to 4.3 now

3 was way better then slayers but this new 4.3 makes anything on slayers way old & out dated and it proabably only has a 1/4 of what the new aid has to offer.

Thanx for the info, I will wait until Crash chimes in and see what he thinks about it.

I'm sorry for this being so late.  I've had network issues today and haven't even been able to get on the internet for more than a couple seconds until now.  I did however reinstall to the XBOX in question today.  It is a 1.0 by the way, not that that matters in particular since it has a samsung drive in it.

That's OK, I had a late night last night as well and didn't even get to go on my computer!  So you have a 1.0 with a Samsung drive?  I thought only the Thomson drives were standard on these?

This is going to be one of those bad news good news sort of things.  Lets start with the good news:

I popped in an old drive that I had lying around and restored it to "factory" settings.
I installed XBMC as my main dashboard.
I installed CoinOPS Ignite and was able to run it from XBMC.

Question:  If XBMC is a dashboard, then what would something like UnleashX or EvolutionX  have over it?

The bad:
When I installed CoinOPS as my dashboard it just would not boot. I have no idea why.

Uh Oh.  So basically it would run as a dashboard selection, but not as a dashboard itself.   That COULD be a problem in the event I want to JUST have the Xbox installed in a cabinet.

It's been so long since I've done an install with Slayer's I had forgotten that I don't like where it installs things to and I ended up using the Slayer's disc as nothing more than a boot disc that enabled FTP access.

Well, just let me know how you went through it and I just will follow suit.  Since you mentioned you don't like where Slayer's installs things, did you look over AID as Northerngames suggested?  Perhaps that might be more to your liking.

There is however some additional good news.  The process I went through is fairly uncomplicated and I think in the end is a good choice for you.  Here's what I did.  If you think it sounds like a good idea I will go into further detail so you can follow my steps exactly.

Ok, sounds good.  Just for re-itteration, you ARE using a stock 8gig hard drive?

I set up my BIOS to load in the following order, E:\DASH\default.xbe - E:\XBMC\default.xbe - E:\avalaunch\default.xbe.
I flashed my modchip with that bios

Do you have the DuoX modchip?  How did you do the flash?  Did you do network flash or the flash on Slayer's?  If the latter, did you use Bank0 or Bank1?

I loaded up Slayer's with the XBOX connected to my network
I logged into the XBOX with FileZilla
I copied the contents of the (insert random dashboard here) folder to E:\DASH\
I copied the contents of the XBMC folder to E:\XBMC\
I didn't get to installing something into E:\avalaunch\ because really this is just a backup for the backup

Ok, I am actually one step ahead here and I already have downloaded versions of XBMC, CoinOPS, and even UnleashX.  BUT if it is easier to set up using Slayers, then by all means I will go that route.

As of now the setting for the DVD is DVD: Default.xbe.  I guess I leave that be?

What this will do for you is this:  The bios will first attempt to load whatever dashboard you have installed to E:\DASH\  If it doesn't find that it will go to E:\XBMC\ as a backup.  Since you have XBMC as a backup, even if you screw up the install of the dashboard you really want to use, XBMC has got your back and gives you a way to reinstall.

Ahhhhh, OK.  So basically if I WANT XBMC, then I shouldn't put anything into E:\DASH\.   So E:\DASH\ would be for if I want to boot directly to a dashboard of my choice, like CoinOPs for instance.

  Really you can put anything as your backups (I would stick to something with FTP access like XBMC, Evox, Avalaunch) when you create your BIOS as long as you remember where you're telling the BIOS to look so when you install it later you put it in the right place.  Even still, the BIOS will always look for D:\default.xbe first so all you'll need to do is insert an auto installer of some sort and you'll be able to have FTP access to fix your mistakes.

Ok, so that then answers my question in regards to the setting for the DVD, leave that at the default then.

I hope I wrote that all in an easily followed way...  It made sense to me but then again, I just did this so I can picture it all.

So far I am following.  But just tell me what I should set ALL the settings for EVtool though so this way I know I don't make a mistake there.  And also tell me how you flashed (using FlashBios 3.0.3 or the Slayer's Disc).

As for your drive reading the discs, you can use an IDE PC drive you might have lying around if your drive won't read CD-Rs or DVD-Rs.  Here's what you need to do:

1. Open the XBOX case. 
2. Place your PC optical drive on top of the XBOX's optical drive. 
3. Remove the IDE connector from the XBOX's drive and attach it to the PC drive. 
4. Supply power to the PC drive.
5. not really a step but DO NOT remove the yellow wire from the XBOX's optical drive

Step four is usually the tricky one.  In the past I've used a 4 pin Molex "Y" splitter, a spare PC power supply which has been jumpered to turn on and a power supply that I happen to have that is designed just to power IDE devices externally.  I suppose you'll probably be limited to the first two options though.  I think I got the Molex "Y" from Radio Shack for a couple bucks.  Jumpering a PC power supply to turn on is super simple, all you do is jumper the GREEN wire to any of the BLACK wires. 

Ok, I will keep that in mind, but I am HOPING that I dont really have to use the drive, but if I have to I am HOPING my DVD-Rs will work.

Anyway, thanx again, so far I am following you.   I am NOT dead set on any particular version of CoinOPS Ignite, so if you find one that DOES boot to dashboard then let me know.

Thanx,

Geo

[ark_ader]

I have XBMC as a dash and it works very well with emulators and games.  I have the old Xbox 360 mod for XBMC, perfect for joystick navigation.

[jukingeo]

I have XBMC as a dash and it works very well with emulators and games.  I have the old Xbox 360 mod for XBMC, perfect for joystick navigation.

Well, according to Crash, the good thing is that I can use XBMC as a 'fallback' dashboard.  So I am under the impression that by setting up the E:\DASH\ directory, I can use that for whatever I want to boot as my main dashboard or directly go to CoinOPS.

I really can't wait to get this going.  I had seen some of the dashboards for the Xbox and they are downright gorgeous.  The Xbox sure is a multimedia marvel, huh?

While I am on the topic of multi-media (going a bit off on a tangent now).  Could the Xbox be used to string multimedia events together like say for a home movie theater style presentation?  I.E. running ads, trailers, trivia slideshows, and then start the main movie that is sitting in the DVD player?

Thanx,

Geo

[crashwg]

A.I.D. 3 swamps slayers just so you guys know 

EDIT: O wow it's up to 4.3 now

3 was way better then slayers but this new 4.3 makes anything on slayers way old & out dated and it proabably only has a 1/4 of what the new aid has to offer.

Thanx for the info, I will wait until Crash chimes in and see what he thinks about it.

I will certainly check it out.  I would like to take this opportunity to say, don't think that because I know more about this subject than you that I'm some sort of expert.  I'm far from it.  For the most part my knowledge of XBOXes is limited to XENIUM modchips, XBMC and following tutorials to do things like softmodding.  With that said, I can understand where you're coming from not wanting to take everyone's advice especially with how many opinions will differ on the subject.  I suspect that northerngames' advice is sound and I look forward to checking out the AID.

So you have a 1.0 with a Samsung drive?  I thought only the Thomson drives were standard on these?

It probably had a Thomson in it at one point in time...  I'm not familiar with restrictions on what drives may have come with what revision of the XBOX.  What I do know is that you can swap any optical drive into any XBOX though.  I don't recall the circumstances exactly but I imagine the samsung must have come from one of the many broken XBOXes that have come through my house over the years.

Question:  If XBMC is a dashboard, then what would something like UnleashX or EvolutionX  have over it?

It's really all about preference.  When I modded my first XBOX I went with EVOX (EvolutionX) and I liked it a lot.  It was a simple interface in which I would scroll to my list of installex XBOX games or an emulator and it would run from there and I was happy.  Later on when XBMC was developed a bit further I was reading all over the place how awesome it was so I checked it out.  At that time I was using it not as a dash but as an application that I would launch from EVOX and the only thing I used it for was playing video and music from my network.  It grew on me and once I figured out how to get the links properly set up to my installed XBOX games and emulators (it was a pain at the time) I never looked back.  Now I use my XBOXes 99% of the time for watching videos and music over the network and 1% of the time for emulation.  Yep, I don't even use my XBOXes for XBOX games...  Go figure.

The bad:
When I installed CoinOPS as my dashboard it just would not boot. I have no idea why.

Uh Oh.  So basically it would run as a dashboard selection, but not as a dashboard itself.   That COULD be a problem in the event I want to JUST have the Xbox installed in a cabinet.

That's pretty much the gist of it.  I will continue to try and figure this out though.  I too would like to use an XBOX in an arcade project down the road and I think having to select CoinOPS from a dashboard would detract from the overall feel.

Just for re-itteration, you ARE using a stock 8gig hard drive?

Well, no.  I don't think I have an 8GB drive lying around anywhere.  What I did was this though:  I installed a 20GB drive into the XBOX, ran the Slayer's disc and chose the option to restore a factory (8GB) drive back to factory settings.  What this did was created all the partitions on the drive at the sizes they would have come from the factory at and placed all the required files into them.  It also created an F: partition with the remaining 12GB of space I had on the HDD but I did not use that in my install. 

Do you have the DuoX modchip?  How did you do the flash?  Did you do network flash or the flash on Slayer's?  If the latter, did you use Bank0 or Bank1?

Unfortunately I do not have a DuoX chip.  Someday I have got to pick some up seeing as though they seem to be perfectly capable and inexpensive chips.  I would love to just have some lying around for future projects.

What I have in the XBOX in question is a Xenium Gold chip.  The cost was somewhere around $50 shipped a few years back and as far as I can tell the only place to find these nowadays is from private sellers.  I really like them for a couple reasons.  If you start the XBOX with the eject button, they have a built in FTP server, you can flash the BIOS over the network simply by entering the IP address of the XBOX into a web browser and there's even a HDD upgrade option where you would connect your new HDD where the optical drive goes and it will transfer everything from the old to the new.  Would I recommend them.  Yes but it really comes down to cost.  If I could find one for $25 I'd go for it.  Much more than that and the price would outweigh the benefits. 

A couple years back I did a mod for a guy who was giving the XBOX to his 10 year old son.  For obvious reasons I had to remove access to some of the more powerful functions that could render the XBOX useless.  Doing that in the dashboard is relatively easy but I don't know of any way to turn of the modchip's operating system that would run when you power on with the eject button.  There's some options in there that could easily mess up the XBOX to a point that the kid's dad would have to come back to me for repairs since he didn't really want to learn the ins and outs of XBOXes.  For that reason I installed a MuppetX chip in his XBOX.  I haven't heard from him in a while so I can only assume that it has been without trouble.  I guess it could be that his son moved on to a next gen console of course but I like to think it's the former.  If you're still on the boards Ed and you've got the XBOX sitting in a closet some where I'll give you $30 for it! 

What this will do for you is this:  The bios will first attempt to load whatever dashboard you have installed to E:\DASH\  If it doesn't find that it will go to E:\XBMC\ as a backup.  Since you have XBMC as a backup, even if you screw up the install of the dashboard you really want to use, XBMC has got your back and gives you a way to reinstall.

Ahhhhh, OK.  So basically if I WANT XBMC, then I shouldn't put anything into E:\DASH\.   So E:\DASH\ would be for if I want to boot directly to a dashboard of my choice, like CoinOPs for instance.

That's pretty much it.  One caveat though.  One of the main reasons for having a "backup dashboard" in your situation is that you might want to be trying out other dashboards.  When you try them you will be putting them in the DASH folder.  Lets say you're trying out XBMC.  I would recommend you have XBMC install to BOTH the DASH folder and the XBMC folder.  This way you will do any fiddling that you think you want to do with the XBMC that's installed to DASH and if you screw something up to a point where XBMC won't load, under certain circumstances it will fall back on the one installed to XBMC.  If you mess with a dashboard that doesn't have a backup, well there's no backup.  Of course the BIOS will always look to D: for a default.xbe first, so as long as you have an auto-installer of some sort you should, in theory, be able to load that up and FTP back into your XBOX to correct any mistakes you might have made even if you delete the entire contents of the HDD. 

Ok, so that then answers my question in regards to the setting for the DVD, leave that at the default then.

Yup.

I hope I wrote that all in an easily followed way...  It made sense to me but then again, I just did this so I can picture it all.

So far I am following.  But just tell me what I should set ALL the settings for EVtool though so this way I know I don't make a mistake there.  And also tell me how you flashed (using FlashBios 3.0.3 or the Slayer's Disc).

Let me check out the Auto Installer Deluxe.  If it's something I might end up recommending the EVtool settings might change entirely.

[jukingeo]

I will certainly check it out.  I would like to take this opportunity to say, don't think that because I know more about this subject than you that I'm some sort of expert.  I'm far from it.  For the most part my knowledge of XBOXes is limited to XENIUM modchips, XBMC and following tutorials to do things like softmodding.  With that said, I can understand where you're coming from not wanting to take everyone's advice especially with how many opinions will differ on the subject.  I suspect that northerngames' advice is sound and I look forward to checking out the AID.

I never said otherwise, but as of now I have heard of many different ways and even some things that were old and outdated.  Given the issues I had with trying to find information, at this point I would just rather stick with someone that has done this before and can get me through it.  So while you might not consider yourself an expert, you are certainly several noticed up on the pole from where I am standing.  I was not sure if you had seen or used AID before, but if it got your thumbs up as well, then I certainly would get it. 

So you have a 1.0 with a Samsung drive?  I thought only the Thomson drives were standard on these?

It probably had a Thomson in it at one point in time...  I'm not familiar with restrictions on what drives may have come with what revision of the XBOX.  What I do know is that you can swap any optical drive into any XBOX though.  I don't recall the circumstances exactly but I imagine the samsung must have come from one of the many broken XBOXes that have come through my house over the years.

If you could swap ANY optical drive into the Xbox...could it also support burners?

When I modded my first XBOX I went with EVOX (EvolutionX) and I liked it a lot.  It was a simple interface in which I would scroll to my list of installex XBOX games or an emulator and it would run from there and I was happy.  Later on when XBMC was developed a bit further I was reading all over the place how awesome it was so I checked it out.  At that time I was using it not as a dash but as an application that I would launch from EVOX and the only thing I used it for was playing video and music from my network.  It grew on me and once I figured out how to get the links properly set up to my installed XBOX games and emulators (it was a pain at the time) I never looked back.  Now I use my XBOXes 99% of the time for watching videos and music over the network and 1% of the time for emulation.  Yep, I don't even use my XBOXes for XBOX games...  Go figure.

Well, I was doing some research on XBMC today and I discovered that it has a playlist editor and that raised my eyebrows in regards to another project I am working on which is regards to home theater.  Right now I am using a computer to run a big screen projector for my home theater project.  I am wondering if an Xbox with XBMC and playlist capability could replace that computer.  That project would certainly require an Xbox with a hard drive for sure.  So I am much more open minded about putting XBMC on the box with CoinOPs because I want to check it out now.

Uh Oh.  So basically it (CoinOPS Ignite) would run as a dashboard selection, but not as a dashboard itself.   That COULD be a problem in the event I want to JUST have the Xbox installed in a cabinet.

That's pretty much the gist of it.  I will continue to try and figure this out though.  I too would like to use an XBOX in an arcade project down the road and I think having to select CoinOPS from a dashboard would detract from the overall feel.

Right.  I would think it would be best in that case that once you turn on the Xbox that it boot right to CoinOPs Ignite so you are presented with that nice gamer's interface.  Then you just select your game and go.  It would be much like a 'front end' on a PC/Mame machine.

I don't think I have an 8GB drive lying around anywhere.  What I did was this though:  I installed a 20GB drive into the XBOX, ran the Slayer's disc and chose the option to restore a factory (8GB) drive back to factory settings.  What this did was created all the partitions on the drive at the sizes they would have come from the factory at and placed all the required files into them.  It also created an F: partition with the remaining 12GB of space I had on the HDD but I did not use that in my install. 

Oh, I see.  So basically you set an upgraded drive with factory default settings so that the Xbox 'thinks' the original drive is there, but in reality it is a bigger one. 

Unfortunately I do not have a DuoX chip.  Someday I have got to pick some up seeing as though they seem to be perfectly capable and inexpensive chips.  I would love to just have some lying around for future projects.

What I have in the XBOX in question is a Xenium Gold chip.  The cost was somewhere around $50 shipped a few years back and as far as I can tell the only place to find these nowadays is from private sellers.  I really like them for a couple reasons.  If you start the XBOX with the eject button, they have a built in FTP server, you can flash the BIOS over the network simply by entering the IP address of the XBOX into a web browser and there's even a HDD upgrade option where you would connect your new HDD where the optical drive goes and it will transfer everything from the old to the new.

Well, it appears that the DuoX2 has FlashBios 3.0.3 which ALSO offers the flash from network option.  My guess is that they must have only recently added this feature as quite a few people (experienced modders I might add) don't know about it.  THAT makes my job a bit more difficult because that makes fewer people out there that actually used it.  I DO want to try it this way though.

That's pretty much it.  One caveat though.  One of the main reasons for having a "backup dashboard" in your situation is that you might want to be trying out other dashboards.  When you try them you will be putting them in the DASH folder.  Lets say you're trying out XBMC.  I would recommend you have XBMC install to BOTH the DASH folder and the XBMC folder.  This way you will do any fiddling that you think you want to do with the XBMC that's installed to DASH and if you screw something up to a point where XBMC won't load, under certain circumstances it will fall back on the one installed to XBMC.

So you can mess around with XBMC so much that you can actually blow it out of the partition?

 

If you mess with a dashboard that doesn't have a backup, well there's no backup.  Of course the BIOS will always look to D: for a default.xbe first, so as long as you have an auto-installer of some sort you should, in theory, be able to load that up and FTP back into your XBOX to correct any mistakes you might have made even if you delete the entire contents of the HDD.

Well, the HDD right now has quite a bit of crap on it from the previous user, so I do want to give it a fresh start.

Let me check out the Auto Installer Deluxe.  If it's something I might end up recommending the EVtool settings might change entirely.

Ok, so as of now I am ready and waiting.  I have my Xbox booting to the Flashbios 3.0.3 bank.  I finally got all my cables too so I can hook up the Xbox to my second available monitor.  I think what I would like to do by the weekend is see if I CAN access the Xbox via the network and if the Xbox can see the bios file.  I guess in the meantime I will wait for what you have to say about AID and we can move from there.

Thanx,

Geo

[Hoopz]

Your Xbox along with XBMC can replace the computer that you have hooked up to your big screen tv.  I have my Xbox attached to my network at home and I stream videos, music, and pictures to it without any problems.  Granted it's not HD but that doesn't bother me at all.  Your essentially swapping out a computer for a computer.  The new one just happens to sit in your Xbox.  It works extremely well.

[jukingeo]

Hi Hoopz!

Your Xbox along with XBMC can replace the computer that you have hooked up to your big screen tv.  I have my Xbox attached to my network at home and I stream videos, music, and pictures to it without any problems.  Granted it's not HD but that doesn't bother me at all.  Your essentially swapping out a computer for a computer.  The new one just happens to sit in your Xbox.  It works extremely well.

That sounds REALLY good.  My indoor 'big screen' is really a temporary set up that I set up in my living room (or my parents living room) from time to time.   So the rig is somewhat portable.   Even though the computer is a small desktop, the problem is that I have to drag both a mouse and a keyboard with me to work the interface.

The computer's job is to basically run trailers, ads and movies much in a traditional way you see in a movie theater.  For this purpose the interface I am using is VLC.  For the most part VLC is a playlist player.  Basically what VLC does (for me) is gather up all the "pieces" for my show.  So basically I have a short trivia or a picture slideshow that goes to music first.  This part is the 'pre-show.  Next comes some old concession stand clips, no cell phones, no smoking...theater policy basically.  Next comes a few movie trailers and usually I use old 50's B movie trailers.  Then comes a short (usually a cartoon or something from the Little Rascals) and finally the feature presentation.   All of these little clips and the movies themselves are files on my computer.  So I pre-program a playlist with VLC and it SEAMLESSLY plays all the clips one after the other.  Once that is stored on my computer, I can easily boot my machine up and then just click on my playlist and boom, it runs!

The mouse is the only thing I need to interact with VLC, but the computer goes nuts if you don't have a keyboard hooked up to it.   So all in all, it is a cumbersome setup.

Now if the Xbox can do all I described above under XBMC, then yeah I am CERTAINLY interested in that.  For one I would be down to a single small hand held controller and an overall much smaller (and lighter) computer package.

I think I am already sold on XBMC and it is most certainly going on this Xbox I am working on now, but I do believe that I am probably going to buy a second Xbox soon (as I do have another mod chip) and set that one up specifically for multimedia with the installation of a larger hard drive.

Thanx,

Geo

[ark_ader]

There are so many skins you can use on the XBMC that make the Xbox look like a $1000 home theater setup.  My Mum is not good with remotes so I have a simple skin that just goes to the NAS and pulls up the movies available.  Works with the Xbox remote and is incredibly simple to operate.

There is a mod to turn your XBMC into a Apple TV clone.

[jukingeo]

There are so many skins you can use on the XBMC that make the Xbox look like a $1000 home theater setup.  My Mum is not good with remotes so I have a simple skin that just goes to the NAS and pulls up the movies available.  Works with the Xbox remote and is incredibly simple to operate.

There is a mod to turn your XBMC into a Apple TV clone.

It sounds great, but I am curious about how the playlist feature operates...Meaning if I select a trivia slideshow, then a few movie trailers, a cartoon short and finally a main feature, would it play them one after the other seamlessly like you were in a movie theater?  If so then boom!  I now have another good reason to use a modded Xbox.

As of now I am already sold on XBMC and Crash is working on something right now with a setup for me.   Supposedly he wants to have XBMC as a 'backup' dashboard.  The main dashboard would obviously be editable to whatever I want to put there, but for testing XBMC I can default it there too.  So that should be interesting.

But more then likely down the road I will set up a second Xbox with a bigger hard drive in it just for multi-media work.

BTW, can the Xbox do Wifi for the internet connection?

Thanx,

Geo

[DrumAnBass]

For wireless, use a wireless bridge, or mod a cheap router with DDWRT (http://www.dd-wrt.com/) to turn it into a bridge. The Asus WL-520gc works nicely: http://is.gd/8HD48

Man reading through these posts reminds me of what a pain in the ass it was to mod my XBOX's years ago. But once you do it, they will work rock solid for a long time!