Gaming Attempting to JTAG my xenon

[ZombiePosessor]

I know I have all the software, what I'm more concerned about is my resistors and such.

I have the things necessary to build my own LPT cable, but do I need to put resistors on the DB25 connector end AND soldered to the motherboard or do I just need one or the other?

The resistors I'm using for the LPT wires are these 100Ohm 1/8th watt carbon film resistors. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...rodsInSession=1 like those but 1/8th watt.

For the JTAG wiring, I'm using these 1N914/4148-Type Diode http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.js...oductId=2062576 I know I also need one of these for the LPT cable too. I also know which ends to solder to the board, I just want to make sure I have the correct diodes and resistors for everything.

I've read/seen on videos that some people use 330Ohm resistors. Should I worry about using those? Most guides I've read say 100Ohm for LPT is good, and a switch diode for jtag wires also.

I'm following this guide to dump my NAND and install xellous. I have all the software and files needed. For those who have JTAG'd their system, is this a reliable guide? I also am referencing this guide for materials.

Some of this stuff is confusing, mostly the software part. I understand the hardware modifications, and have good enough soldering skills to do this without screwing up the motherboard. The questions I have are mainly because of differing information from one guide to another. One guide mentions something, and another guide leaves out what the other guide mentioned, or vice versa.

Anyone with experience in this, your help would be appreciated.

I have a xenon mobo, 2006 mfr date, kernel 7357.

 

[FAST6191]

The guide you used to get it all set up is fine, others opt either for the play it very safe variety or they just happen to have parts sitting around and use them instead. Some guides might have also taken the alt SMC route but we will ignore that for now.

I know you already have this but for the sake of clarity diodes are one way devices (the end with a stripe is the cathode http://www.tps.ac.th/~panya/class/electro-...mage/diode2.jpg and from that guide you linked http://i.imgur.com/Fdjmi.png you now have everything you need on that front ), resistors are not.

As for what end to solder things at those diagrams appear to just be made for easy reading- you are not playing at the voltages/currents, wire densities, speeds and accuracy requirements to have interference and the like trouble you so whatever feels best. I do like to have diodes on top of the board if I can (plenty of holes to throw wires through if needs be although current xenon wiring does not need that it seems). The only thing I will say is use wire to connect things as soldering stiff legs onto static points is generally not a good idea for a temporary device you are going to be pulling around unless you like lifted pads and trace repair.

The guide itself is fine in as much as it will get it working although most people use freeboot now (it is the only one that has been updated to the latest dash- games do not need it yet but they will sooner or later, it does not need a dual nand any more (the main reason XBR was made), it is probably more stable, has a few more features and it is the only one to have patches like system link ping limit removed (a measure of internet play)).
Guide to installing/building the image is here in the NFO for the release:
http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo1827.nfo (1bl key is the first bootloader key and is common to all 360s so just search for it)

To this end you can even ignore the XBR steps in those guides if you want.
It will require an original NAND dump unlike XBR so that one you make with your parallel port- hang on to it (see note below on just dumping the first 2 vs dumping the entire thing)

As for software I too run into this problem when trying to learn something new.

What is happening in that guide is

You are dumping the first part of the nand (some might do it all at this stage, especially for freeboot- "r2" becomes "r16" all without quotes).
The process is not flawless so you do it several times and hopefully get a good result (fc is the command line for file compare)
A simple check to see you really can exploit it (will probably pass but checking is simple so we do it anyway)
You get the keys use them to inject the xellous install into the NAND (this is what the JTAG triggers)
Once you are in xellous you can dial in from your PC over the network and just download the files you need from the server xellous sets up.

 

[ZombiePosessor]

You're the man FAST, I was hoping you would reply with your bounty of knowledge. I've seen all the help you've been giving on other 360 threads, thank you very much. I'll post in here later today if I run into any problems... thanks a ton

 

[ZombiePosessor]

FAST6191, I hope you can graciously help me out again!

OK! So I successfully JTAG'd my box! Now I'm stuck on how to get anything running from it. I see this XEXMenu stuff and Freestyle Dash.

Basically I just want to run games from a USB drive. I'm talking regular 360 games as well as XBLA stuff & DLC. I know that XBLA can only be run from the 360's HDD, but I have NO IDEA how to get anything working. I don't have a working optical drive, so I'm assuming I have to take apart my official 360 HDD and hook it up to my computer, then add something such as xexmenu to it? I have been searching the internet for a few days, and I keep coming up short...

I installed XBR, but I want to use freeboot, is it too late to do that now that I have XBR installed? I assume not, I'm guessing its just a matter of using flash360 and installing freeboot. But I can't get flash360 to run, I tried using a USB stick and placing the correct files there, to no avail, and sometimes to an E71.

How do I run homebrew off of this JTAG'd xbox?????

I was trying to follow this guide on using my JTAG'd box, but it says the "without DVD" option I need a transfer cable to transfer stuff to my 360's hard drive. Is this not true if I take apart my 360's HDD and hook it directly up to my computer?

 

[FAST6191]

Edit: sorry for the delay, I typed it out and then wandered off.

Congrats on the JTAG box, apologies for the upcoming linkfest/term spamming, as per usual xbins (easy xbins http://www.360mods.net/index.php?file=deta...;name=downloads ) is the site/network of choice for most things 360 related.
USB loading from the menu is not going to happen easily so it is homebrew, jumper/shortcut container or nothing really.
If you use the 360 HDD then you can just make a GOD install (ISO2GOD is the program of choice or for NXE hard drive installs NXE2GOD that runs on the 360 as homebrew is the choice program).

You can burn the initial xexmenu to a (single layer) disc if you lack another way to get it there but in your case rip apart the hard drive (it should only be torx but it might be security torx and attach it to the sata)
Once you have xexmenu/similar loaded you can use the onboard FTP server to do as you please (much like the original xbox FTP is the main method of doing anything). xexmenu and most other "dash" type homebrew feature FTP too so just about everything works here. Programs like dashlaunch can jump you into them from power on if needs be. You say no DVD which is fine but I will say no keys on a drive can still play DVDs and hopefully run self burned updates (which is the loophole of sorts this will "exploit") so if you have any one you might be able to work it that way. Option 2 is if you have a memory card (which is harder to access than the hard drive come to think of it) then you can get something working with one of them, I mention it as you might just be able to pull something off with the new dash (which you effectively have) and USB reading although I have not kept up with that (FTP and all).
Option 3 is a network load from xell(ous), I am not sure how they rigged this one up.

The USB loaders do not work with isos so you will need to extract the iso or if it is on disc rip it (the menus have long had the functionality), older software would need patching too but modern versions do it all for you. There are differing things you can do here- you can launch from just about anywhere with a file browser but the menu applications will check/parse and otherwise do nice things to files in given directories (that differ from the stock 360 directories although they are usually good as well).
exiso (I like the command line myself but there is a GUI http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/Ek...yVpYzEydbZW.php ) and maybe xextool are the choice applications here.

As and when you get bored and decide to truly hack isos then le fluffie is a good application and you will want to read http://www.se7ensins.com/forums/topic/4008...ning-explained/

XBLA and DLC (XBLA from USB is possible but not DLC from USB if memory serves). XBLA rarely exceeds a gigabytes and usually tops out at around 200 megabytes so I do not tend to go in for loading it from USB.

http://360.kingla.com/ has a list of folders where everything is but XBLA and DLC from a 360 hard drive is just a matter of copying it to the hard drive at the given directory (be aware some groups have packaged an entire "tree" where only a couple of folders were needed but that should be obvious when you see it)

DLC will require current updates but http://xbuc.clanvids.net/ (back from hiatus but down at time of posting) has them. XM360 has a nice list of things and verification/XBLA patching options.

 

[mocalacace]

Basically I just want to run games from a USB drive. I'm talking regular 360 games as well as XBLA stuff & DLC. I know that XBLA can only be run from the 360's HDD, but I have NO IDEA how to get anything working. I don't have a working optical drive, so I'm assuming I have to take apart my official 360 HDD and hook it up to my computer, then add something such as xexmenu to it? I have been searching the internet for a few days, and I keep coming up short...

Since you are on XBR (8955) you cannot run games off of a usb drive, and since you dont have a working DVD drive you will have to open up your hard drive to install XEX Menu

QUOTE(ZombiePosessor @ Jul 21 2010, 12:40 PM) I installed XBR, but I want to use freeboot, is it too late to do that now that I have XBR installed? I assume not, I'm guessing its just a matter of using flash360 and installing freeboot. But I can't get flash360 to run, I tried using a USB stick and placing the

Alternatively you can easily update XBR to FreeBOOT. You can create a FreeBOOT NAND using your original NAND in the FreeBOOT toolbox maker. Then you will need to update XELL to Xellous. Simply put the Xellous update on a USB drive and rename it updxell.bin and boot into XELL (turn on your Xbox using the eject button) and it will install the update. Once you updated to Xellous you can flash your NAND from your USB drive. Rename the FreeBOOT NAND to updflash.bin, put it on a USB drive, boot into Xellous and it will write the NAND with your FreeBOOT image and now you will be on 9199.

Once you are on 9199 just format a USB drive with the xbox and you can install XEX menu on the USB and you can move it over to your hard drive.

Hope I helped.

 

[FAST6191]

Thanks for the contribution mocalacace (always good to have more knowledgeable people around this place) but later that night/day ZombiePosessor jumped on IRC and we got it pretty much all sorted out.
Xexmenu added via hard drive as you say, added xellous somewhere along the line (if not originally) and updated to freeboot via xellous.

While I was at it (I meant to type this up earlier as I have not seen it elsewhere) I also managed to update my zephyr that lacked a stock dump (no donor options available or indeed support for them) to freeboot- 360 flash tool 0.95 unlike earlier versions worked with my XBR nand dump and can extract (the extract button on the main screen- select all the options bar raw nand) the relevant files and meta data as well.

I will say though I did manage to get some stuff loading from USB with XBR and xexmenu although with GOD installs as easy/useful as they are and taking about as many steps I did not take it very far.

 

[ZombiePosessor]

Everything's working great, but I have a question before I install a shitload of things onto my 360's HDD. I swapped a PS3's 60GB HDD into my 360's enclosure, everything works fine on that end. My question is, will Freestyle Dash be good for booting 360 games and XBLA from this 1TB USB drive i have sitting around doing nothing? I know it has to be FAT32 and all, but will FSD be enough to just run everything off the USB drive without using XeXMenu to transfer the games to HDD or do GOD installs? Sorry to ask so many questions, I'd just love to use this 1TB USB drive to launch everything off of. I don't mind if i have to install DLC to the 360's HDD, mainly concerned about USB loading of everything else. Sorry for asking so many questions. I'm re-reading your reply (the one starting with "Edit: sorry for the delay) to see about USB loading, but man is it overwhelming. If the answers to my questions are already in that reply of yours, just tell me and I'll re-read it over and over until I understand it.

I also don't have any avatar data, its just a silhouette. I have the $SystemUpdate_Fall09_8955 zip file, but I didn't remove the ridiculously tiny resistor... RT63 I think, nor did I bridge my UT6 whatever. Since my JTAG'd dash is 9199, will the fall09 update only grab the needed avatar files and not blow my fuses? I don't really care about avatar data, but I'm a completionist, and would LIKE to have it, just so it looks normal, but if installing the avatar update will ruin my JTAG, screw it.

Your help has been GREATLY appreciated...

 

[FAST6191]

One of the first things a rebooter does is set up "virtual fuses" so the 360 thinks all is good (easier than patching out fuse checks all the time) and as such you should be safe to install avatar data. The resistor thing is not mandatory but mainly for those who are paranoid (indeed certain setups would see you needing the resistor back for whatever reason).
Just stick the update on a USB pendrive or something and it should sort itself out/ask you to press OK a few times.

FAT32- not sure about FSD but xexmenu did add HFS+ (one of the apple file systems) somewhere along the line but as file sizes will probably not be exceeding FAT32 limits for games alone (if you decide multi gig MKV videos are in later in life then things might change) I say stick with that just to make life easier.

"but will FSD be enough to just run everything off the USB drive without using XeXMenu to transfer the games to HDD"
Not entirely sure what you mean here
xexmenu has a disc to hard drive install option (although you lack a disc drive so this less important) if that is what you are on about, otherwise it is just a simple hard drive explorer* with FTP support and code launching features.
*if this is all you are using it for just use a computer instead- mouse support and that operating systems are built for this sort of thing makes life so much easier. The only time xexmenu/FSD will modify game files is when you do a disc install.

Similarly FSD has everything xexmenu has (including FTP if you were only using xexmenu for FTP and it also has 360 side file copy/move support) and more but xexmenu was around first and is small, quick (being largely text based unlike the nice GUI FSD sports) and once you know what you are doing fairly hassle free so many people opt for it- there is no technical/feature related reason to prefer xexmenu over FSD.

USB loading in one line steps
As far as the 360 is concerned the files it sees just come from a drive- dvd1:\file.xex and the like.
The main reason we have somewhat nonstandard iso files for disc based launching is sticking the files in a folder loses valuable data that is required at various levels for the stock/DVD hacked 360.
Obviously the main dash will not support it as we might like but as far as technology goes dvd1:\ is no different to usb0:\ , hdd1:\ or even flash:\ (this sort of thing is how GOD/NXE installs work).
Such a "feature" is exploited in a JTAG box with programs like freestyle dash and xexmenu.
Piling everything on the root of the drive will obviously lead to a very messy situation but that is OK as we can use subdirectories for this.
The 360 does have directories for itself- this is the /partition3/content/0000000000000000/ stuff you would have seen with GOD installs, XBLA and DLC.
Xexmenu and FSD (and probably the other dashboards) will also parse the folders "GAMES", "APPLICATIONS" and "EMULATORS" (no quotes, folders on root of given drive) when they run to detect games for their quick launch panels.
You can just as easily browse to a folder on the drive and launch from there if you want though.
The trick comes in pulling the iso apart into the files it contains, exiso (gui version linked in a second) being the application of choice for most people: http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/Ek...yVpYzEydbZW.php
If you had a working DVD drive xexmenu and FSD do have their own ripping features but having something as an iso is no real trouble.
Depending on versions/games/launcher used you might also have to patch the xex file to remove "media limits"/run from USB/hdd or something (technologically it is no different but there is tiny sliver of "protection", xextool can do this http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo1659.nfo
After this it is just a matter of transferring your files to the hard drive you want to launch them from and launching them.

Do note there is another option to launch from the NXE dash and not as a GOD install if you so desire: http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo1773.nfo

XBLA from USB is not something I tend to go in for, le fluffie can extract files though and then you can run them (although it might be in demo mode) and apparently some of the other dashboards parse it automatically ( 360Dashit / kiosk 2.1).

 

[ZombiePosessor]

Thanks FAST, you answered everything. I have all my games, XBLA, and DLC working exactly how I want it thanks to you. You're the best.

 

[redact]

Hi, just wanted to ask a questuon concerning what moccalacase said...
Right now i have freeboot 9199 and no usable disk drive
I formatted my 8gb usb drive with the 360 and was wondering how i go about putting xexmenu on the isb to be able to run it from nxe

 

[FAST6191]

disk drive=DVD drive I take it (also looking at your other thread), if not then there should be an iso you can burn instead.

Easier way would be if you had the dash launch 2.0 plugin installed and then it would boot that instead of NXE unless you dropped down/bypassed it. To dodge the catch22 xell(ous) should be able to flash your NAND with the relevant updated image if you did not build it that way originally- you want dash launch anyway as it is needed for stuff the controller remapping patches and ping limit removal patch to work.

Option 2 is boot xellous and load it from there- xell/xellous do load homebrew.

Back to your original question I am not sure you can* (at least from "stock" dash)- the 360 formatted USB drive is a slightly different beast to your standard USB drive (fat32 formatted and what not) so you will have a big file on there which contains the regular dash files (live, pirs, con and what have you) and if it were to work you would have to inject xexmenu into that image.
There are tools to read and manipulate these USB container files though (xtaf if memory serves)- I jumped on the JTAG bandwagon just before that all kicked off so I ignored it and what it could do.

*I have done it from a 360 memory card and I guess it acts in the same way.

As it happened in this thread ZombiePosessor had a hard drive so he added xexmenu via PC (even if you lack an adapter you can too if you just pull the case apart as it is a standard sata laptop drive).

 

[Armadillo]

You can stick xexmenu on the the usb stick. Once it's formatted by the 360 it acts the same as the hdd. You just use xtaf to explore it.

Use xtaf and simply open the usb stick, browse to content/0000000000000000, then hit inject folder and point it at the C0DE9999 folder that's in the xexmenu live version folder.

If there's no 0000000000000000 on the stick (there won't be unless there is demos or similar on there), then just make a folder on the pc called 0000000000000000 (that's the correct number of them, so just copy it), stick the C0DE9999 folder in it. Then browse to the content folder on the stick with xtaf and inject the folder there.

Then xexmenu will show up in the game library.

 

[redact]

when i open the usb drive in xtaf there is a data partition and a cache partition, would i put the 0000000000000000 folder in the data partition or make a content folder within that data partition and put the 0000000000000000 folder in there?

edit: nvm, just tried both cause i figure one way will work
xexmenu shows in nxe now

 

[ZombiePosessor]

when i open the usb drive in xtaf there is a data partition and a cache partition, would i put the 0000000000000000 folder in the data partition or make a content folder within that data partition and put the 0000000000000000 folder in there?

edit: nvm, just tried both cause i figure one way will work
xexmenu shows in nxe now

I was gonna say, 0000000000000000 goes under "Content" folder.

 

[redact]

the only reason i asked that question (where the answer would seem fairly obvious) is because i had tried data:Content/0000000000000000/ first and it hadn't worked so i thought i may be doing it wrong but i guess that was just me putting the wrong number of zeros... :x

when i tried both, i copied the zeroes from armadillo's post so i guess that's why it worked that time