# Got an original xbox for free. How to I get it working, and how do I mod?



## codezer0 (Jun 1, 2016)

So, simply, always wanted an original xbox, in part because of all the good stuff you could do once modded. While obviously late in the game, I encountered one I was basically given for free, because it "couldn't read discs". Far as I know, that could be anything from as simple as a need for cleaning the disc drive assembly, to needing to replace the entire optical drive.

So, with that said, while I figure out how to get it open (since it seems like it's basically been untouched/not modded in any way), what should I look out for while getting this thing back in fully functioning order? If I do need to replace the DVD drive at all, is it a case like the 360 where the drive is married to the console motherboard? And where would I be able to find a working one to put in it if I can't repair it?


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## Viri (Jun 1, 2016)

It's pretty easy to softmod an OG Xbox. 

https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-softmod-the-original-xbox.385064/


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## codezer0 (Jun 1, 2016)

Viri said:


> It's pretty easy to softmod an OG Xbox.
> 
> https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-softmod-the-original-xbox.385064/


Thanks for the link. I'll definitely need to look at that, once i can verify what's wrong and if I need to do any repairs. Looking internally, the thing's freaking immaculate, which is a shocker to me.

Does soft-modding the console need a specific dash at all? my only experience being with what was needed for a 360, I have genuinely no idea if the original Xbox needed any specific dashboard(s) or updates. And whether I could update to the last available dashboard/firmware for the OG thing.

I also recall there were differences based on the motherboard revision. Where would I find that on this thing?

Couple things to share, if this will help in terms of helping me get it repaired. Hard drive is a Seagate U series 5.


> 16,383 Cyl -- 16 HDS -- 63 Sect -- LBA 19,541,088



As for the DVD drive, it states...


> Thomson OKMCO Shenzen Co., LTD.
> 
> DVDROM Reader TGM600


I know on the Xbox 360, the DVD-ROM drive is pretty much married to the motherboard. is that the same case with an original Xbox as well?


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## Chary (Jun 1, 2016)

You need a DVD drive, iirc, in order to boot Splinter Cell. You'll also need a memory card and USB to Xbox Memcard adapter.


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## Armadillo (Jun 1, 2016)

Chary said:


> You need a DVD drive, iirc, in order to boot Splinter Cell. You'll also need a memory card and USB to Xbox Memcard adapter.



You can mod with a dead DVD drive. Just have to use the hotswap method instead of a game save exploit.


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## codezer0 (Jun 1, 2016)

Well, a quick test fire shows that it does turn on, but didn't have a controller to manipulate the menu. Still don't know how to tell what revision motherboard I have in this unit, but it looks like might as well be immaculate on the inside. I'm guessing it's either just been flawless internally, or it's simply been officially serviced, since there was no dust at all, and all the warranty stickers _were_ intact before I did my inspection. 

One quickie thing I remember that was done for improving performance was giving the system an 80-pin IDE cable. Considering this thing seems like it was never opened except for warranty service, I'm guessing it's still got a 40pin IDE, right?


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## DinohScene (Jun 1, 2016)

It's got a 40 pin IDE yes.

If you need to identify your Mobo revision, take a look here


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## codezer0 (Jun 1, 2016)

DinohScene said:


> It's got a 40 pin IDE yes.
> 
> If you need to identify your Mobo revision, take a look here


Is there any difference in modding capability/options based on motherboard or dashboard revision?

Also, are original xbox dvd drives married to their motherboard the same way that a 360's is?

At least following that link, it identifies that this is a v1.0 motherboard. Are there any things I need to look for that are specific to this board? I recall reading something about a clock capacitor that could leak and ruin the board.


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## DinohScene (Jun 1, 2016)

Nope, 1.6 can just be as easily modded as a 1.6.
Difference is that 1.6 doesn't have a writable TSOP.
1.0 and 1.1 have a 1MB BIOS and 1.2-1.5 have a 265kb BIOS.

You can swap out any DVD drive.
They don't have DVD keys.

Yep, remove it asap.
It will leak and the only thing it does is keep track of the time for... 3 hours/days after it's unplugged.


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## codezer0 (Jun 1, 2016)

Still trying to find out the location of said clock capacitor though. Also need to find an original xbox controller, as all I have on hand are meant for the 360.

What few motherboard pics I find referencing the subject of the clock capacitor doesn't seem to match my v1.0 motherboard.

**UPDATE**

Found the clock capacitor, and promptly removed it.

Undid the heatsinks on the CPU and GPU. Cleaned off the thermal pads and the bare chips with some ArctiClean solution, and assistance from a razor blade to help clean it off completely, and visibly. Applied Antec Formula 7 on the GPU (since it has a heatspreader), and Arctic Silver 5 on the CPU because it's a bare die.

Found an 80-pin IDE cable, and noticed that the stock 40-pin cable has its connectors (relatively) upside down. But some finagling got everything connected.

Turn it on, and so far all _that I can test_ still works. I just still cannot get past the screen to go set the clock because I currently don't have a controller to use with it.


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## codezer0 (Jun 3, 2016)

Okay, finally picked up a controller. Set the time and date, and...

Holy **expletive** this thing's on its original dash... 4034!

Holy **expletive*!* Disc drive seems to actually work, too!  Oh my god, yes! 

Okay, I guess now I need to know what the crap I need to properly mod it. Once that's up and running, I can then see about getting a nice and big hard drive to put in it. I might even start asking about the CPU/RAM upgrade mod(s) that were avaialble for the thing, but just gotta take it one step at a time. 

Just feels really good to have it up and running.


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## DinohScene (Jun 3, 2016)

Sweet.
If possible, dump a savegame exploit on it and exploit it that way, backup the C drive and if you want to, send me a copy pls.

I'd go for a TSOP flash.
Easier to swap harddrives + kinda brick prevention (hdd brick)

CPU/RAM upgrade...
You'd need to be extremely comfortable with soldering.
RAM upgrade is still doable but CPU upgrade is a whole nother story.


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## Jayro (Jun 3, 2016)

Yeah, the Xbox uses a customized Celeron processor, based around the Pentium III. And since it's custom, I don't think it can be messed with at all. :/


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## DinohScene (Jun 3, 2016)

You can get a 1.4Ghz Tualatin working on the Xbox.
Tho it requires a switch to make it clock back to 733 Mhz for when you're running games and what not but for XBMC, it works perfectly.
There's quite a few people with upgraded CPU's.
Someone over at assembler is currently still doing CPU upgrades iirc.


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## codezer0 (Jun 5, 2016)

Okay, well, the dvd drive _sorta_ works... Sonic mega collection loads up fine, but the thing just struggles with my copy of Chaos Theory.


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## GuyInDogSuit (Jun 5, 2016)

Be prepared to spend money for this. You'll need Splinter Cell and Action Replay with a USB adapter. These days it probably will be hard to find, and not cheap.


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## codezer0 (Jun 8, 2016)

I still need an action replay unit for the soft-modding process? I thought that guide said I only needed that Xbox to USB adapter cable...

Also, about the DVD drive...

It does seem to _kinda_ work. Out of the games I do have for the original Xbox that were BC with the 360, Sonic Mega Collection loads fine for the games. However, it seems to have a lot of trouble loading and playing _Chaos Theory_. I usually have to try a couple of times before it will even load a stage; most of the time it then gives me the disc read error.

So, for this, would it be more cost effective to replace/repair the laser, or to simply get another drive? Amazon and ebay are both being difficult to find one, and my next payday should be tomorrow.


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## Armadillo (Jun 8, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> I still need an action replay unit for the soft-modding process? I thought that guide said I only needed that Xbox to USB adapter cable...



You can always use the hotswap method, don't have to buy anything then.

Some of the stuff is out of date (pretty sure there is a newer ndure package now), but process is still the same.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?/topic/496263-ndure-softmod-through-xboxhdm/

Technically there is a risk of damage with this method, although despite the scaremongering some people (probably resellers of ar/splinter cell) do over this method, as long as you use a ground strap between pc & xbox it's pretty minimal.


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## Lumstar (Jun 9, 2016)

Action Replay specifically isn't needed. Some USB flash drives are recognized by the Xbox.
If you can find one, it's just a matter of formatting and writing the data to it.

The USB cable is the easy part. They're sold pre-made.


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## DinohScene (Jun 9, 2016)

I'd say just hotswap it quickly.
You can kill your drive but if you do it correctly, it should be minimal. indeed.


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## vb_encryption_vb (Jun 9, 2016)

Depending on version, TSOP flash it and hotswap.


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## Daggot (Jun 9, 2016)

You don't need action replay. I used an Xbox to female USB adapter (you can buy one on ebay for $3 or make your own) and a compatible usb 2.0 flash drive with my copy of splinter cell(only certain USB devices will work and in my case I was able to use a PSP which will only substitute as one with a memory stick thats 2gb max). I hacked my console with just that and installed a new dash/began burning things. Then after that I TSOP flashed it when I wanted to replace the HDD with an 80gb one because I felt like it was less effort than upgrading the HDD with CHIMP and I was going for the clock capacitor anyways(don't remove it on a v1.6 xbox). A good reason for upgrading the HDD is the fact that you can keep all of your homebrew and games running straight from the internal hardrive. The only burnt software I keep around is my copy of Hexen boot disk these days.

Listed below is the type of cable I used and the type of disks you should burn corresponding to the DVD drive your xbox has.












Samsung Drive: 
Reads all CD-R/RW 
Reads all DVD-R/RW 
Will not read DVD+R/RW 

Thomson Drive: 
Will not read CD-R 
Will only read SOME (generally expensive media) CD-RW 
Reads all DVD-R/RW 
Reads all DVD+R/RW 

Philips Drive: 
Will not read CD-R 
Will read SOME (generally expensive media) CD-RW 
Reads all DVD-R/RW 
Does not read DVD+R/RW


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## codezer0 (Jun 9, 2016)

Out of need to take it apart to apply fresh thermal compound and remove the clock capacitor, I know it is a Thomson drive. But the problem is it's being a real brat about even reading some of the games I have, that work just fine on the 360 (as they are BC with it).

I'm going to have to look at this hotswap thing more.


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## vb_encryption_vb (Jun 9, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Out of need to take it apart to apply fresh thermal compound and remove the clock capacitor, I know it is a Thomson drive. But the problem is it's being a real brat about even reading some of the games I have, that work just fine on the 360 (as they are BC with it).
> 
> I'm going to have to look at this hotswap thing more.




It's not too difficult, it's a pain in the ass though.


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## codezer0 (Jun 9, 2016)

Okay, but what is TSOP, and how do I flash that?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Armadillo said:


> You can always use the hotswap method, don't have to buy anything then.
> 
> Some of the stuff is out of date (pretty sure there is a newer ndure package now), but process is still the same.
> 
> ...


According tot hat, I can't use it at all on 4034. and from what I last saw, it's on kernel and dash 4034, and I don't have any games that have asked or attempted to update it.


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## vb_encryption_vb (Jun 10, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Okay, but what is TSOP, and how do I flash that?
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...


You bridge 2 points, still need to hotswap though. I've done it many times back in the day.


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## codezer0 (Jun 10, 2016)

So... stop enables being able to backup and restore firmware?


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## DinohScene (Jun 10, 2016)

TSOP flashing basically means you're replacing your BIOS with a hacked one that allows the booting from (re)writable CD/DVD media and it removes the need for a HDD key.


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## cracker (Jun 10, 2016)

Get yourself a bigger hard drive too. It's been a while since I have done anything with the original but I believe a 500GB should work. You will need to hotswap, obviously as you need the old drive to unlock and new drive to lock. XBMC4XBOX is the best launcher to install since it gives you the media player, game launcher (with trainers if you care about that), homebrew, plugins, etc. Go to XBOX-Scene and #xbins on Efnet for guides and everything you need, respectively. Have fun!


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## rasputin (Jun 10, 2016)

clean dvd lens, hotswap it and slap the files on, done. cost nothing


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## 05sonicblue (Jun 10, 2016)

You don't need the AR, you can just get a usb to xbox controller adapter. I made my own. When you have this, you can actually just plug the controller into the PC and then a memory card into the Controller. It will get picked up as a USB storage device. You can then use the AR software to transfer. It's important to note that the AR USB Drivers (needed for this method) aren't supported on x64 Operating System, so it will need to x86 based to work. I keep a cheap Windows 8 Tablet for this that has an x86 version of Windows on it.

If you don't want to go this route then the hotswap method will work as well, but you will still need a usb-pata adapter and I'm not sure about driver compatibility. Ever since SATA, I've always went with the AR Drivers/Application method.


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## DinohScene (Jun 10, 2016)

Why get a windows 8 tablet, why not install a virtual machine which carries a 32-bit Win xp.


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## codezer0 (Jun 10, 2016)

rasputin said:


> clean dvd lens, hotswap it and slap the files on, done. cost nothing


I did manage to open the DVD drive and used some 91% alcohol + a q-tip to swab the lens. At present, I only have four legit original Xbox games on hand:

Sonic Mega Collection Plus
NFL 2k5
XIII
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
At present, it seems to be having the most trouble by far with Chaos Theory (how ironic, as I think about it while typing this).

Since I also just recently was gifted a multimeter (my first ever, really), I was wondering if it might be possible to tune the pots, or however it's called. And what I would need to look for in such a situation.


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## DinohScene (Jun 11, 2016)

You can tweak the pot of the DVD drive but do know that the DVD drive will burn out quicker (not that it matters much anyway)

You only need to turn it a milimeter to decrease the resistance.
You'll need to check the amount of resistance that's going through it.


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## codezer0 (Jun 21, 2016)

Well, to help the hotswap go easier, I went and ripped one of my game soundtracks onto the Xbox hard drive. But as I was going around town, went to one of my more favorite shops and found the original (non-Platinum Hits) _Splinter Cell_ available for it for $6.

So, I guess I'm halfway there for either path.

Far as the TSOP, I was watching some YouTube tutorial videos about it and they were saying that since I have a v1.0 board, I could even have up to four full BIOSes flashed on it once I'm able to put them in. Though it also states that once TSOP'd, I'd pretty much have to erase the softmod to continue. Does that still hold true?


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## codezer0 (Jun 24, 2016)

Oh no...

I was just getting everything ready for the hot swap. At first, thinking I was going to be in trouble cuz my older systems' board only has one pata plug on it, and those are usually taken up by the DVD drives on it. Then I recalled that it has the VIA card in for the 360 firmware writing. So I'm getting everything ready, having the xbox plugged in  after taking apart enough to get free access to the hard drive, reach over to grab one of the molex's from the tower in question, and then before I could react, the circuit breaker in the apartment trips. I look down and see the hard drive from the xbox on its power supply and smoke coming from the back where it was plugged in.

Now, the xbox system in question won't turn on anymore.

How boned am I?


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## codezer0 (Jun 29, 2016)

So, curiosity begged enough to open the system up again for an autopsy of sorts to figure out what blew up and if it is at all salvageable . Thing is, not knowing what to look for, I can't see what got damaged, or how extensive the damage is. Uploading these pics to hopefully have some experienced eyes that might know what to look for. I just know I did see some smoke coming from around the power supply, but don't know if it would have damaged other parts.



Spoiler: DVD drive











The uhh... circuit board that connects the controller ports to the main motherboard, I believe. Not sure what the name for it is.



Spoiler: Controller Circuit Board











A close-up of the motherboard, around the primary power connector from the PSU board.



Spoiler: Motherboard - PSU connection area











CPU and GPU close-up(s).



Spoiler: CPU and GPU heatsinks











Area around the A/V out port.



Spoiler: Motherboard - A/V out area











The uh... TSOP chip, I think?



Spoiler: TSOP area











Chipset and RAM.



Spoiler: Chipset and RAM area











Clock Capacitor area. Still looking as clean as when I first got it.



Spoiler: Clock Capacitor











And now for the PSU itself, up toward the front.



Spoiler: PSU front











Rear part of the PSU; this is where I did recall seeing some smoke, but I can't see anything obviously burst, busted, or broken here.



Spoiler: PSU Rear - top side











Underside of the PSU. Sadly, not knowing what to look for, I can't see any obvious damage here, either.



Spoiler: PSU Rear - Under side











Another shot of the PSU's underside.



Spoiler: PSU Circuits - Front











One last shot of the power supply board, hopefully giving some better view of what might have been affected here.



Spoiler: PSU board - near power connector











I hope this will help someone be asble to tell me what, if anything, was damaged, and if this Xbox can be saved.


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## DinohScene (Jul 14, 2016)

Excuse me for the awfully late replies but...
I can't see any damage.
Traces look fine as well.

If the Xbox doesn't turn on at all anymore then it's probably dead.
Without proper inspection of the motherboard (components, resistors, traces) there's nothing you can do.
Best to just salvage components and get another 1.0/1.1 (if you plan on adding a BIOS switch if you TSOP flash it) or a 1.2-1.5 (if you just TSOP it)


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## codezer0 (Jul 14, 2016)

Given the lack of physical damage, and that so far my attempts to find another have been... difficult; I'm debating whether to simply just get another power supply board, since - as I said previously - I only saw smoke leaving the power supply area.

At least recently was able to test the hard drive and confirm that is still working, even though it seemed to love to grind the PC that I was intending to use with it to a screeching halt. Seriously, just putting that hard drive from the original Xbox ended up making my boot times in the 30+ minute range, what the crap?

Anyways. After removing the board and looking at the underside as well, I couldn't see anything wrong there, either. Problem is, trying to find one inexpensive enough. Amazon just flat out will only refer me to the power bricks for a 360 or an Xbone, and eBay is just full of scalper links, and of the models made for newer model units.


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## DinohScene (Jul 14, 2016)

HDD of the Xbox is locked.
PC tries to unlock it but it fails as it doesn't have the key.

Maybe hunt down a christmas lighting 1.0 xbox?
Would be the only "cheap" way of fixing it.


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## Armadillo (Jul 14, 2016)

If you just want to test and have a standard atx supply laying around, you can bodge that to work on the 1.0-1.1 boxes fairly easy with only a few components.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?/topic/536915-pico-psu-to-xbox-v10-quick-tut/

Cleaner version of the same diagram is 2nd post down here

http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=101


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## codezer0 (Jul 15, 2016)

Armadillo said:


> If you just want to test and have a standard atx supply laying around, you can bodge that to work on the 1.0-1.1 boxes fairly easy with only a few components.
> 
> http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?/topic/536915-pico-psu-to-xbox-v10-quick-tut/
> 
> ...


Oh, wow. I didn't even know that was possible. I guess  looking at these, I would need that tool I remember using back in community college that would let me pull the individual wires to do this; usually used to be able to extract each for individual sleeving jobs, but this is cool stuff.


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## codezer0 (Jul 23, 2016)

Okay, an update on my end.

Did some checking, and while I do have a spare ATX PSU lying around, trying to find the tool I would need to bodge the wires in order to use it in the meantime was proving difficult, and at least from what I saw, ordering it online, I wouldn't have saved any money versus simply buying a replacement v1.0 PSU off ebay. So, I went with the latter. Still waiting for it as I type this.

In the meantime, one of my friends had a spare Xbox they weren't using anymore, since they claimed it was having a hard time reading discs... and sent it my way.

At least from opening it up to check things out, and using that xbox-scene process to identify it, it is a v 1.6 model; not 1.6b. Newer kernel and the desirable dash for that softmod process. The mindblowing part to this reveal, is that this one is the famed Samsung DVD drive that was supposed to be the best model for the original xbox. So I'm also wondering if it's something repairable to get it fully operational again, if it is indeed having trouble with discs?

While I try to formulate a gameplan to do the hotswap mod with this unit that doesn't result in a repeat of what happened to the original 1.0 unit I started with, I'm just wondering what I could do with this unit, and if it's possible to TSOP it at all, for instance, if not more...?


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## Armadillo (Jul 23, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> I'm just wondering what I could do with this unit, and if it's possible to TSOP it at all, for instance, if not more...?



Can't tsop flash a 1.6. Options for it are softmod or chip.


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## codezer0 (Jul 23, 2016)

Okay, I get that. So... with the 1.6, what are the things I can do once it's soft-modded? Is giving it a larger hard drive possible? I know with the 1.0 system, I was even entertaining getting one of those Seagate Hybrid hard drives since they seem to go for about ~$110 USD at Fry's Electronics for a 2TB model, plus the cost of an appropriate PATA<->SATA adapter. Would that be possible with the 1.6 unit?

At least this one seemed to successfully hotswap mod. Redoing it as I type this though, since I think I accidentally set it to enable VGA mode, because when I booted up afterward, the LED on the front of the console started flashing from green and red and the output of the dashboard was very, primarily green. Whoops  that said, it was responding, and implied successful soft-modding.


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## Armadillo (Jul 23, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Okay, I get that. So... with the 1.6, what are the things I can do once it's soft-modded? Is giving it a larger hard drive possible? I know with the 1.0 system, I was even entertaining getting one of those Seagate Hybrid hard drives since they seem to go for about ~$110 USD at Fry's Electronics for a 2TB model, plus the cost of an appropriate PATA<->SATA adapter.



Once modded you can do the same as any other version.

Only differences the 1.6 have are the lack of being able to tsop them and at one point the xcalibur video encoder having issues with 480p on a couple of games and homebrew, I think that's been sorted out now though.


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## codezer0 (Jul 23, 2016)

So, if I wanted to, I can actually give this thing a larger hard drive? If so, sweet!

I guess now the question is, this unit was given to me because its prior owner was having difficulty with getting it to load their games.

Provided that is still the case with me and my collection of (at least) retail games, what are my options? This 1.6 has a Samsung drive in it. I still haven't yet tested to see what exactly is the issue with it.


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## Armadillo (Jul 23, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Provided that is still the case with me and my collection of (at least) retail games, what are my options? This 1.6 has a Samsung drive in it. I still haven't yet tested to see what exactly is the issue with it.



Clean it, if that doesn't work, pot tweak. Other than that, then it's replacement drive/laser time. Drives aren't locked to consoles, so you can put any xbox drive in, but to read retail discs you need a working xbox drive, no way around it.


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## codezer0 (Jul 23, 2016)

Okay, now that I actually got to sit down with it a little bit... it's weird. I pop open the tray, drop in a disc and it's like it goes in a constant cycle of eject->load->eject->load...

Only game out of my collection it didn't do this with right away, was Sonic Mega Collection Plus. With anything else I have on hand, it does this. What would be the cause of this? Considering it is a vaunted Samsung drive, I would think there would be some kind of repair, right?


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## Armadillo (Jul 23, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Okay, now that I actually got to sit down with it a little bit... it's weird. I pop open the tray, drop in a disc and it's like it goes in a constant cycle of eject->load->eject->load...
> 
> Only game out of my collection it didn't do this with right away, was Sonic Mega Collection Plus. With anything else I have on hand, it does this. What would be the cause of this? Considering it is a vaunted Samsung drive, I would think there would be some kind of repair, right?



Never seen one do that. Samsung drives do have a habit of open/close issues. Normally it's just they are dirty and the belt is stretched and slipping. Try give it a little nudge once it shuts. If it stays in, it's problably just not closing fully, then not opening fully so you get the open->close stuff and a clean and new belt should sort it.


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## codezer0 (Jul 25, 2016)

Armadillo said:


> Never seen one do that. Samsung drives do have a habit of open/close issues. Normally it's just they are dirty and the belt is stretched and slipping. Try give it a little nudge once it shuts. If it stays in, it's problably just not closing fully, then not opening fully so you get the open->close stuff and a clean and new belt should sort it.


Hmm. Tried that with a couple of games. When I inserted NFL 2k5 it tried to kick it back once, but keeping my finger on it, it eventually started loading.

Chaos theory, again, proved to be the most difficult game to get running. It tried kicking it out several times before it would finally load.


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## codezer0 (Jul 25, 2016)

Another update. New power supply arrived, and the 1.0 system works again.

Did the hotswap installer softmod with it, and everything seemed to be working fine. Put it back together, fired it up fresh, and now it's showing me Error 21. What?


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## DinohScene (Jul 25, 2016)

Dash loaded but spew out an error.
Possibly a file is missing or hasn't been replaced with a correct modded one or the modded files are incorrect.


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## 05sonicblue (Jul 25, 2016)

I prefer the action replay driver route. You can get a controller to usb adapter, plug it in to your PC, load the drivers, and transfer the save file. Note that Action Replay came out for Windows XP and was only released under 32-Bit drivers, so it will only work with x86 version of Windows. There are no x64 drivers that I could ever find. I keep a cheap Lenovo Windows tablet running x86 Windows 10 just so I can use it with my controller to transfer save files, if ever needed.


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## codezer0 (Jul 25, 2016)

Okay, weirder still.

Turned it off, rebooted, and it boots up now.

So, now, both are on UnleashX. From what I could tell, plugging in the ethernet died fix the clock portion now, which is good. However, at least on the system with the Thompson drive, it refuses to copy the game to the drive or even load it. Using the dash's inbuilt auto-update, it will sometimes throw an error, and just as often say there is an update available, but fail to get the data needed.

I also recall something about a soft-reset possible, that so far I haven't been able to see or do. With the original MS dash, the thing would simply soft-reset back to the dashboard if I eject the disk. Now it just tries to keep running then throw a dirty disc error. And I then have to power off and back on. I read before it was like L+R+back+black buttons, but that doesn't seem to do anything on any game I've tried so far.

Now that 1.0 is soft-modded, I recall being told to backup the EEPROM; how would I do that on this UnleashX dash? I currently see no apps or games installed, either. Or tools, for that matter.

I suppose up next is replacing the thermal compound on the 1.6 unit (for reference, 1.0 idles at 44C GPU, 49C CPU, while 1.6 was notably higher). As well as cleaning and seeing if I could fix or replace the drive belt on its DVD drive. Are the dvd drive belts a standard size, or do they need to be specific to the Original Xbox DVD drive? I'm half tempted to yank one out of a DVD burner I have found that had a failing laser to sacrifice for repair duty.

**UPDATE**

Okay, took apart the samsung drive in the 1.6 and used some canned air to clear out the built up dust and stuff in it.

After reassembly, the 1.6 system is running markedly cooler as well. However, it's exhibiting an aggravating habit where it refuses to keep its dvd drive closed. It keeps just eject->close->eject for several cycles, then forcing itself to stay open. Needless to say, I can't work with it like this.


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## codezer0 (Jul 25, 2016)

oh boy...

Okay, was getting ready to do what I needed in terms of soldering for the TSOP flash on the 1.0 system.

Just when I think I got everything, and then try to put it together to turn it on and stuff, I then get it basically power on, immediate off, power on, cycles off, then power on and flashing red and green at me.

I could use some help to figure out how to fix it.



Spoiler: Pictures



Top Side Soldering






Underside Soldering







I'm wagering that I did well enough for the under-side portion. But something just wasn't going right to try to join the top side one. So, can someone help me out? what do I need to clean this up and save this system?


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## DinohScene (Jul 26, 2016)

Desolder it and try again if it boots.


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## codezer0 (Jul 29, 2016)

Okay, an update.

While doing some pokemon go, headed to where I found the 1.0 and found another Original Xbox in the parts bin, and decided to pick it up. if for no other reason than to see if maybe at some point I can part out where I need to. Or, as a form of insurance policy, if I am simply unable to get the 1.0 unit to work again at all.

This one also seems to be a 1.6 unit. Having never been opened before, I decided to open it up for some hardcore cleaning. Unlike the first, this one was just caked with dust bunnies, everywhere. If I have to resort to this one, it will be in dire need of cleaning.

Anyways. As stated, it still had its warranty stickers intact. But when I boot it up to see what was wrong, I get an error 16. At present, the only other working console, is the soft-modded 1.6, so I'm not sure how to proceed.

So, to help avoid confusion, it'd probably be better if we could refer to them as follows:

"1.0" the first one in the OP. Attempted TSOP unlock soldering, but it currently doesn't want to boot at all, just goes cycle-cycle-frag, as I heard it described in some youtube videos.

"1.6-1", meaning the first 1.6 unit, currently seems to have a frustrating problem where it keeps ejecting its DVD-ROM drive even when I don't want it to.

"1.6-2" is the most recent acquisition. Its warranty stickers _were intact_, implying that it'd never been physically modded or repaired. But it's throwing up an error 16.


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## Armadillo (Jul 29, 2016)

On the tsop pic, it looks like r7 d2 is damaged. Should be like r7d1, but looks to have been knocked and rotated 90 degrees. Picture is a liltte blurry though, so hard to make out.

Error 16 is because it can't find the dash file to set the clock. If it's not been modded, then it could be the hdd is dieing and the file is corrupt. It could also be someone failed at softmodding (hacked gamesave method as that would leave no trace) or messed around with their dash files. You can attempt to deal with it in three ways:

Hotswap it and rebuild a clean retail C using xboxhdm. Timing can be tricky when it's throwing that error
Chip it and use a bios that will ignore the error and boot the box anyway.
Build an eeprom reader, dump it and pull the hddkey, then build a new drive with xboxhdm and lock it with the key you now have.

If the drive in the new 1.6 works, I'd swap it into the one that keeps ejecting. At least you'll have one working box while you deal with the others.


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## codezer0 (Jul 29, 2016)

Well, unfortunately, it looks like 1.0 is dead. Tried to clean it  up, and the solder points at both ends are now visibly damaged. where's that head smacking against the wall gif when I need it? 

So guess that leaves me with 1.6 #1, and 1.6 #2.

Both have Samsung DVD drives, and the same WD hard drives. So similar, it was hard to tell them apart when trying to do the DVD drive swap.

At least in the working 1.6, with the second unit's DVD drive, it kind of has the inverse problem. DVD drive not wanting to eject out. But when I stick a game in, it does load readily. At least once I get the tray open, I can load a game.

Gave the first attempt at trying to copy a game disc with Chaos theory, and then with XIII. Chaos Theory seems to give an error 112 in the dash almost immediately. But XIII copied and loaded fine.

I guess now I need to know what I have to do if say, I want to use a 2TB hard drive in either of these. And would a hybrid hard drive, or even an SSD work in one of these systems, I wonder?

I also remember reading something about backing up the EEPROM. How would I do that in one of these systems?

Since I basically could scavenge from the 1.0 system, would I be able to use the soft-modded hard drive from the 1.0 system (since it had 10GB instead of 8) on 1.6-2 to get it to boot properly?


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## Armadillo (Jul 30, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> At least in the working 1.6, with the second unit's DVD drive, it kind of has the inverse problem. DVD drive not wanting to eject out. But when I stick a game in, it does load readily. At least once I get the tray open, I can load a game.



Clean and new belt. Unfortunately samsung drives have a habit of getting some sort of eject issue & there's not much you can do other than clean and change the belt & hope it sorts it . Leaving a disc in often lets them eject fine for whatever reason as well.



codezer0 said:


> Gave the first attempt at trying to copy a game disc with Chaos theory, and then with XIII. Chaos Theory seems to give an error 112 in the dash almost immediately. But XIII copied and loaded fine.



112 means there is not enough space for the game. XIII is smaller than Chaos Theory.



codezer0 said:


> I guess now I need to know what I have to do if say, I want to use a 2TB hard drive in either of these.



Two options on a softmodded console.

Chimp, runs on xbox and you have both hdd hooked up at the same time and it will clone it for you. You basically hook both drives up to the box at the same time, once it's booted. Here is a basic tutorial

http://www.xbox-hq.com/html/xbox-tutorials-260.html

Although it says for 1.0-1.5, chimp has since been updated, so as long as you grab version 2.6 something, you'll be fine. Only reason 1.6 was different before is you had no video output and had to telnet, 2.6 fixes that.

Xboxhdm.

Dump eeprom, copy C: and E: from xbox. Build xboxhdm image including your C:, E: and eeprom. Have xboxhdm rebuild the drive, it will use your files (so the softmod) and then you can lock it using the eeprom image.

Either method leaves the original drive intact, so anything goes wrong you can just start over.




codezer0 said:


> And would a hybrid hard drive, or even an SSD work in one of these systems, I wonder?



I've seen people say they have used them fine. Once you go over to SATA drives, there are no guarantees though. You'll need an adapter that works with the xbox and fits (xbox can be fussy over them for some reason), & supports locking/unlocking the drive.



codezer0 said:


> I also remember reading something about backing up the EEPROM. How would I do that in one of these systems?



Config magic can dump it.



codezer0 said:


> Since I basically could scavenge from the 1.0 system, would I be able to use the soft-modded hard drive from the 1.0 system (since it had 10GB instead of 8) on 1.6-2 to get it to boot properly?



No. Drive is locked. You'd need to remove the lock and then lock it with the key from the 1.6 before it would take it.


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## codezer0 (Jul 30, 2016)

Is there something specific I need to look for, in order to use a SATA drive & adapter to replace the internal PATA drive? Annoyingly, SATA at least seems to be about the one real choice I have, in part because no local stores even offer or sell PATA drives anymore, and what few I can find online are at best around 200GB, when I could see myself using 1TB, if not more. 

And if it comes to needing a modchip, are there even any being made anymore, much less at a reasonable price? A part of me has to wonder that any left would be furiously marked up.

Funny thing is, I remember buying a pack of drive belts that helped get a second-hand 360 up and running, and had plenty left over. They probably would be the right size as a drop-in replacement for the Samsung DVD drives. I was tempted to snatch the belt out of the Thomson unit, but upon getting to see it, realized it was much longer than the belt in the Samsung units. I just wish I could find it right about now so I could at least try, without having to try to buy another set.


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## Armadillo (Jul 30, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Is there something specific I need to look for, in order to use a SATA drive & adapter to replace the internal PATA drive?



Not really. There is nothing to look for that will say X will work, while Y won't. Xbox can just be fussy, that's all. You are either best going with the cheapest you can find, incase it doesn't work or buy one others report to work. There is a big thread here (still being updated even now), with compatiblity of the adapters.

http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/v...id=1451e509dc61edcfca3a6ba0f1a908c6&start=160



codezer0 said:


> And if it comes to needing a modchip, are there even any being made anymore, much less at a reasonable price? A part of me has to wonder that any left would be furiously marked up.




Yeah, you can still get them. 

http://www.eurasia.nu/shop/product_info.php?cPath=47&products_id=266

They aren't really marked up, because of softmods. There's very little chips offer over softmod (booting with a blank/unlocked hdd is it really).


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## codezer0 (Aug 3, 2016)

Well, at least for the one that currently is giving Error 16, it does seem like it would be far faster to get it up and running, if I had one of these modchips.

That said, one thing I definitely have been running into with either remaining xbox... I was initially trying to get them to all be using the 80-pin EIDE cables. However, even with the one that was the longest and most capable of reaching each, I found that in every case, the uh... connectors, as it were, are almost always upside-down to how the DVD, Hard drive, and board connectors are. And only one seems to be loing enough to actually _reach_ all points on the original Xbox components. So, the question is, is there anything I could do, or is it a case where the benefits of going to an 80-pin not enough to warrant trying to hunt down some compatible cables for each?

Also, now that I am aware of these apps to run on the Xbox, how exactly would I get them on there? since I don't have one of those Xbox-to-USB adaptors, I'm guessing I need to FTP it somehow? To where, though?

I apologize ahead of time for sounding very newbish, but this more or less my first round with a working Xbox. Just trying to gauge how much I actually can do with this UnleashX on it. It is curious how the maker of the dash is saying it's not an actual soft-mod. So, what would that be?


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## Armadillo (Aug 5, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> That said, one thing I definitely have been running into with either remaining xbox... I was initially trying to get them to all be using the 80-pin EIDE cables. However, even with the one that was the longest and most capable of reaching each, I found that in every case, the uh... connectors, as it were, are almost always upside-down to how the DVD, Hard drive, and board connectors are. And only one seems to be loing enough to actually _reach_ all points on the original Xbox components. So, the question is, is there anything I could do, or is it a case where the benefits of going to an 80-pin not enough to warrant trying to hunt down some compatible cables for each?



If you intend to use an SATA adapter, you'll have to hunt for long enough cables as most of the SATA->IDE adapters, don't work with a 40pin cable. As for the end of the cable being upside down compared to the connector, you just have to try to fold it, much like the original cables to get it the right way around. They are pretty tough, so you'd also be fine just twisting the cable to get it the right way around.




codezer0 said:


> Also, now that I am aware of these apps to run on the Xbox, how exactly would I get them on there? since I don't have one of those Xbox-to-USB adaptors, I'm guessing I need to FTP it somehow? To where, though?



FTP. The alternate dashboards have an ftp server in built in. UnleashX (which seems to be what you have) definitely has one. Most dashboards look for apps by default in E:\apps and F:\apps. So you would ftp in and put them in one of those folders (you can create them if they are not already there).



codezer0 said:


> Just trying to gauge how much I actually can do with this UnleashX on it. It is curious how the maker of the dash is saying it's not an actual soft-mod. So, what would that be?



UnleashX is just one of many replacement dashboards for the xbox. The softmod is ndure and is invisible to the end user once installed on a box.


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## codezer0 (Aug 8, 2016)

Okay, very much appreciated for the info thus far. Still, one thing you said brought up another question, however.





Armadillo said:


> UnleashX is just one of many replacement dashboards for the xbox. *The softmod is ndure* and is invisible to the end user once installed on a box.



In that event, would that mean that (say, if crunched for space like I currently am), I would be able to use CD/DVD backups for the original Xbox games on the system in question? Granted, I know I should probably make sure I get that DVD drive working first if I'm going to start using burned discs en masse like that.


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## Armadillo (Aug 8, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> I would be able to use CD/DVD backups for the original Xbox games on the system in question



Yeah, you can play from disc if you don't have space on the hdd. 

Only thing I can't remember is if it will if it's in the drive when powered on (say if you left the game in the drive when you last finished playing & powered off), but it will definitely play burnt discs if put in the system once booted up.


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## codezer0 (Sep 5, 2016)

Okay, this is weird.

So I have config magic on there at least already. Saw an option to be able to lock or unlock the hard drive along with backing up the EEPROM.

It did occur to me that maybe I could try unlocking the hard drive so that I could maybe do something about the other 1.6, so I had that set up to ask on here beforehand.

However, now when I start up said system, I get an Xbox error 05. To be fair, I hadn't swapped over the hard drive yet. This is just on the same 1.6 that I successfully soft-modded.

So, uh... what do I do? and would unlocking said hard drive and migrating it over actually be something I could do to at least get the other one operational?


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## Armadillo (Sep 5, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Okay, this is weird.
> 
> So I have config magic on there at least already. Saw an option to be able to lock or unlock the hard drive along with backing up the EEPROM.
> 
> ...




Error 05 is hdd not locked. Sounds like you must have unlocked the drive accidentally already when you were in config magic.

As for what you can do, if you backed up up your eeprom, then you can use that and xboxhdm on pc to relock the drive for that xbox. If you have no eeprom backup, then the only options are chip or build an eeprom reader (search xbox eeprom reader, as there multiple designs), not too hard and dump the eeprom using that, then xboxhdm and lock the drive.

As for the other question. A softmodded box can't be booted with an unlocked drive. It has to have a drive that has been locked to that system with the correct key (key is in the eeprom). Only a chipped or tsop flashed xbox can run with a drive that isn't locked to the xbox.


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## codezer0 (Sep 5, 2016)

Okay, the EEPROM backup is on the xbox hard drive's contents, would xbox hdm be able to read that?


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## Armadillo (Sep 6, 2016)

codezer0 said:


> Okay, the EEPROM backup is on the xbox hard drive's contents, would xbox hdm be able to read that?



For locking/unlocking, xboxhdm has to built with the eeprom.bin in xboxhdm\linux\eeprom. I think it has a file browser (been a long time since I used it), that would let you retreive it, copy it somewhere else, then rebuild. But would mean having to make two copies of xboxhdm.

Xplorer360 (as the name suggests, designed for 360, but fatx is fatx) can read the fatx file system. So you could use that to browse the unlocked drive, extract the eeprom bin then use it and xboxhdm to relock the drive.


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