Upgrading to Rocky5's softmod on hardware modded Xbox

[Rubbyboy]

Hi,
I recently purchased a used Xbox, and noticed that it had the softmod EVOLUTION X installed.
Being a very old modification, I tried to update it using the "Xbox Softmodding tool Extras Disc", but when I launch the Xbox softmodding tool, a screen appears with the words ''unofficial/hacked bios mode'', and does not allow me to update it!
I searched online, and it seems caused by the fact that there is a modchip installed on the console.
Not knowing anything about modding Xbox (I come from that of the Nintendo consoles), I do not know how to act, not wanting to like... corrupt the bios or things like that.
Could you help me in any way?
Thank you very much.

PS: among my ideas, I thought of removing the modchip and then, using True Hexen 2021, restore the system to its original condition, but I wouldn’t want to do any damage...

 

[master801]

Do you have a modchip installed or something?

If not, the BIOS might've been TSOP flashed, if it's not a 1.6.

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:TSOP_Flashing

You shouldn't be using the softmod if your console is hard modded, by the way.

It's redundant and won't work with any other dashboard other than Microsoft's because it exploits a bug in the official dashboard.

 

[Rubbyboy]

Do you have a modchip installed or something?

If not, the BIOS might've been TSOP flashed, if it's not a 1.6.

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:TSOP_Flashing

You shouldn't be using the softmod if your console is hard modded, by the way.

It's redundant and won't work with any other dashboard other than Microsoft's because it exploits a bug in the official dashboard.

Now that you mention it, there is probably no modchip installed, I apologize for the error.

What do you mean I shouldn’t use the softmod? If I remove the welded jumpers on the motherboard I should be able to reinstall the stock bios via True Hexen, right?

 

[master801]

Now that you mention it, there is probably no modchip installed, I apologize for the error.

What do you mean I shouldn’t use the softmod? If I remove the welded jumpers on the motherboard I should be able to reinstall the stock bios via True Hexen, right?

The jumpers for TSOP allows for flashing.

You shouldn't remove them if they already exist.

 

[Rubbyboy]

The jumpers for TSOP allows for flashing.

You shouldn't remove them if they already exist.

Ok so... what do you suggest me to do?

 

[master801]

Ok so... what do you suggest me to do?

Flash the Cerbios BIOS.

Use Pandora to download it.

https://github.com/Team-Resurgent/Pandora

I strongly suggest not going back to a Microsoft BIOS since you already have a custom BIOS flashed on it, since the HDD key is probably nulled and your hard drive is also likely to be unlocked.

 

[Rubbyboy]

Flash the Cerbios BIOS.

Use Pandora to download it.

https://github.com/Team-Resurgent/Pandora

I strongly suggest not going back to a Microsoft BIOS since you already have a custom BIOS flashed on it, since the HDD key is probably nulled and your hard drive is also likely to be unlocked.

Ok, so after I downloaded the new BIOS, how can I flash it to the Xbox?
Can I still install the Rocky5 softmod afterwards?
Sorry for bothering you...

 

[master801]

Ok, so after I downloaded the new BIOS, how can I flash it to the Xbox?
Can I still install the Rocky5 softmod afterwards?
Sorry for bothering you...

Flash with XBlast.

https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:TSOP_Flashing#Flashing_with_XBlast_OS_(recommended)

Why do you insist on using the Rocky5 softmod if your console is already hardmodded?

It's completely redundant and asinine.

 

[RHOPKINS13]

Evolution-X is not a "softmod" or "hardmod", it's a dashboard (well, it's a bit more complicated than that, there is also an EvoX BIOS...) My point is, just being your Xbox boots to Evolution-X doesn't necessarily mean your Xbox is hardmodded or softmodded.

At this point, you need to open it up and figure out definitively whether you're softmodded or hardmodded. If you open it up and see a modchip soldered to the motherboard, you're definitely hardmodded. You might not see a modchip, but just see some extra cables soldered, in which case your Xbox has probably had a "TSOP Flash." Which is more or less like a hardmod, but flashed directly on the Xbox, rather than a modchip. It's a little more risky, if you mess up flashing a modchip, you still have a good working Xbox, but mess up with a TSOP flash, and you're left with a brick, although with the right tools it can still be repaired.

@master801 has a good point, if your Xbox is hardmodded, it doesn't make sense to softmod it. You SHOULD however, update your BIOS to the latest version of Cerbios.

If it's softmodded, you'll want to mod it to use the latest version of Cerbios BFM (Boot From Media).

 

[Rubbyboy]

Oh ok I understand, I insisted with Rocky5 's one only because I heard it's one of the latest mods online, but your point is true.
One last thing, the BIOS flash is like for a security enhancement or something else?
By the way, thank you all for the help.

 

[master801]

Oh ok I understand, I insisted with Rocky5 's one only because I heard it's one of the latest mods online, but your point is true.
One last thing, the BIOS flash is like for a security enhancement or something else?
By the way, thank you all for the help.

Custom BIOS lets you load unofficial dashboards and offers some enhancements for loading games from the internal hard drive.

It'll also let you load unlocked hard drives. If you tried using the Microsoft BIOS, it will refuse to boot if the hard drive is not locked with the HDD key.

 

[RHOPKINS13]

To expand a little on that, Cerbios is a relatively new Xbox BIOS (first released in 2021) that added some really cool features. You can now use hard drives up to 16TB in the Xbox, where previously we couldn't utilize more than 3TB. You can even use two hard drives if you want now! It also allows us to use CCI (Cerbios Compressed Image) images for storing games. Compression ratios always vary, but from what I've heard it's not uncommon for a game to take a third of the space when compressed in CCI format.

 

[Rubbyboy]

Wow very interesting, but I heard that it's incompatible with insigna

 

[RHOPKINS13]

That's not true at all, it works fine with Insignia. But it is worth mentioning that Insignia won't work if you've nulled your hard drive key, which used to be a pretty common thing to do to make it easier to replace your hard drive.