Hacking XKey help for an inherited xbox 360

[Brian Turner]

Hi,

An acquaintance was getting rid of a couple older consoles, so I ended up with an older XBox 360 (fat, no HDD, but with updated dashboard). I was looking around and think something like XKey would be best. It also came with an SD card taped to it with files like key.bin and lite_CFW.bin, so I am assuming the DVD has been flashed. I also suspect it has been banned from Live, but that doesn't bother me. I do like running off hard drives, since I live in a dusty area and the heads of optical disk readers keep getting dirty.

My primary question is, are these the files I need to be able to install an XKey?

A secondary question is does this seem like the best mod for a box like this used just to play local games?

Thanks

 

[DinohScene]

Yes you need those.
But you'll need to spoof your drive keys to a stock firmware suited for your drive (you can obtain those via Xbins)

Best option for you is a RGH.
Ability to load everything off off the internal drive (you can get a HDD caddy from DealXtreme and a 1TB 2.5inch HDD from your local PC store)
360/Original Xbox/DLC/XBLArcade/XBLindie/emulators/homebrew etc.
It's also cheaper then an Xkey.

 

[Brian Turner]

Thanks for the suggestion. When I get home, I will research the RGH, and write down my unit and dashboard version.

Thanks

 

[DinohScene]

Aye aye
If it's a non HDMI model from 2005 then stick with the Xkey (also compare your PSU as it might be an Opus)

 

[Brian Turner]

I checked, I have a Jasper unit (dated 2009-07-28) which does have HDMI. Dashcode is 2.0.8955.0, which is too new to JTAG, but old enough for just about anything else.

If this all works, I may want to get a kinects and get to a kinects dashboard (not a big metro fan).

 

[DinohScene]

Update to 14699 (last dash which can be used on RGH1)
Then RGH it ;]
Install FSD if you want the look and feel of an old dash (or with custom skinsto make it better)

Also, I'm not entirely sure anymore but it could be possible that you'll have to flash your DVD drive back to stock due to 13xxx reflashing it to a new FW.
CFW drives then will halt the installation of the new dash

 

[dbspanks]

I have had my xkey since they were first released. I switched over from customer firmware. I love my xkey, It is really easy to use and install. No soldering needed and it plays everything I have thrown at it.

 

[DinohScene]

Xkeys are honestly only useful for keeping XBLive.
If one is not bothered by it then a RGH is the best option out there.
Usually also cheaper then a Xkey as well.

 

[Brian Turner]

Hey again,

I had time to reflash my DVD (after much searching for instructions), and updated the dashboard to 14699 as recommended.

I do have a question about the RGH. I see that you need something like a coolrunner (rev C), but I also see other options, like the reset cleaner and multi-cap addon. Are these items worth it? and is there any other items needed?

Thanks

 

[DinohScene]

Only if your experiencing boot difficulties.
Take in mind that it can take up to 20 seconds before it glitches.
Give it a minute or 2 before rebooting/modifying your wires.

 

[Brian Turner]

I have a coolrunner on order, hope it will be here within a week. What about a programmer (like a J-R Programmer), or a QSB. It sounds like you don't need the programmer if you use an LPT port, but my PCs no longer have parallel ports, so I may need something. The QSB sound like something to make the installation easier for us with little soldering skills.

just trying to get organized, thanks

 

[DinohScene]

Better do straight wires.
Their easier then QSB's unless you have a fine tipped soldering iron.

And yes, you do need a JR Programmer/NAND-X.

 

[Brian Turner]

Greetings again,

I have been slowly working my way through the process. I have my CPU key and created the XeBuild Image with J-Runner. Since I have 14699 loaded is that the same dash version I should use in J-Runner? The reason I ask is the FSD says it assumes you have version 16537.

BTW: how do I know if the RGH worked? XBox booted up and it looks like normal.

Update: I installed FSD with 14699 dashboard. Everything looks good. Now I am just configuring my unit, trying to copy my game disks to my hard drive, set up a media player, thing like that.

Thanks for the advice
-

 

[DinohScene]

Well you already figured it out for yourself but yes you can ;p

 

[Brian Turner]

One more thing (well, maybe one more, but it is really close now).

I went and got a kinect since everything was working well, and a couple games to go with it (kinect sports and dance central 3). For kinects sports, I used the "Extract DVD", everything works great. But the Dance Central does not work. I did a little research and saw a note that that game requires dash 15574 or greater, but I am running 14699.

What is the correct thing to do in this case? Do I use J-Runner and select a higher dash? is there a patch for the game? or can this not be played on an RGH unit?

The last thing after this is to try to hook up a network storage unit, and maybe get a better media player working (the standard one won't play .mkv files).

I'd appreciate your advice, Thanks.

 

[DinohScene]

You can update it with JRunner to the 16547.
I wrote a tut on it as well ;]

That must be set up with SMB share iirc.
But honestly, just upgrade the internal drive, far quicker and easier then networking and USB ;p
As for the Mediaplayer.
XMPlayer might work.
It's homebrew so don't expect a lot of support.