XboxMon

I use the StarTech adapter per recommendation by others in this topic. I wouldn't trust the cheaper chinese SATA-to-IDE adapters described in this topic. The StarTech worked fine in my OG Xbox. You pay a little more but get extra reliability.

Rocky gave me a link to a batch file XVM conversion program on reddit called Convert to XMV. Maybe he wouldn't mind sharing the googledrive link to it here. I use a program called Boilsoft Video Splitter to cut out sections from longer videos (ie YouTube). Seems like these would be good tools to make XVM files. I wonder why some XVM & WMV files play fine in XBMC4Gamers/XBMC while others don't. I even created an WMV test file since I heard that format is more compatible with XBMC and got the same choppy preview in XBMC4GAMERS.

Update: I was going to do this 360 cable mod but was in the process of moving at the time so never got around to it. Then I had the opportunity to buy a used monster cable component cable for og xbox for only around $12 (USD) so I went with that option instead. Now I've gone back to the idea of having a digital audio out port on the og xbox itself and will be attempting to solder an RCA panel jack to the 6 & 5 pins on the AV connector on the motherboard itself. It won't be optical but it will be digital coaxial that I can connect to my AVR's coaxial digital in for true Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Has anyone here done this?

*groucho voice* 750 xbox games!!!? Hey, I like my cigar too but I take it out of my mouth at least once in a while! *groucho eyes & eyebrows* I have a modest collection of about 50 games that I ripped from my discs to my HDD. I really like this XBmc4gamers app and I wish I could replace the default boxart wheel view with a video wheel like in XVGM but the author originally wrote it for his kids so they could have multiple accounts and it took on a life of its own. Maybe someday

Ahhh, the mystery is finally solved. So slow xvm video playback is typical for this resource pack and XBmc4gamers and it's not my setup after all. Thanks for clearing that up. I have a crossover cable connected to my Xbox so I can FTP stuff over from my PC (which has wifi). Can I use this to enable internet access for my OG Xbox like I can for my Sony Playstation 3?

I posted about an issue I'm having in another topic but since I'm using this resource pack I'll briefly mention it here in case anyone else has the problem. Most of the movies (preview.xmv) play in slow motion with sometimes stuttering sound if I call up a video in the Synopsis menu in XBmc4gamers. These same movies play perfectly in VLC so I know it's not the previews themselves. Anyone else have this problem? XBmc4gamers

As a last resort, I'm going to attempt to mod a coaxial digital audio output on my Xbox 1.6 using your diagram (thx btw). Though I'd rather not be soldering stuff directly onto the pcb of the underside of the motherboard, if I'm successful I'll have a nice digital audio out on my OG Xbox. However, doing further research, I seem to be getting from different people different pins I should be connecting to. This guy's video on youtube starting at 3:40 for example claims that just pin 6 (digital out) and pin 5 (left ground audio) can be used. Has anyone on this forum actually done this mod and had success with it? Before I go monkeying around with soldering points on my pcb I'd like to get further opinions. There's mention in the video about bridging something or grounding a pin that the guy in the video didn't have to do but that other's might. This worries me. lol.

The Amp 2 preview.xmv is an example of a media file that plays slow within XBMC4Gamers on my Xbox v1.6 when I launch it from the Synopsis menu. It plays normally in VLC. I also have that Xbox Video Museum Skin installed and all the xmv files play normally in that app. Normally I wouldn't consider this a big deal if it was just one xmv file that is troublesome but it seems to effect most xmv files in XBMC4Gamers on my system using the xmv files in that resource pack.

Using latest versions of XBmc4gamers, have an issue with many of the movie previews playing choppy or slower than they should play. I checked these particular movies with VLC and they play normally otherwise. Other movies play normally under XBmc4gamers. I'm using the resource packs found in another topic. Many movies play okay while many others don't. Is there a fix for this?

Another update: alas, I had to give up this method of enabling 5.1 surround sound on my system. I'm getting severe and constant cut-outs of the audio now. It's surely caused by the fact that I can't push the 2.5mm male adapter all the way into the optical/digital 2.5mm female jack on the Monster Cable component cable. Why it won't go all the way in I have no idea since the original 2.5mm male Monster Cable toslink adapter/dongle looks identical in the pics to my 2.5mm adapter and seems the same length. The guy I got this trick from on Reddit said his fits snugly. There must be a defect in my Monster Cable's optical port or perhaps something broke off inside by the previous owner (I bought the component cable used). So I now have no digital audio. Back to square one

Okay, I found the view that enables background art. Looks great. Thanks for your patience.

Well, I ran the updater, copied the content of the "update-files" folder to the "xbmc4gamers" folder then FTPed it to my Xbox, overwriting everything. Didn't appear to change anything. The boxart wheel shows up (I installed that resources pack to each game in my Games folder) but I don't get that nice background art for each game I stop on. Do I have to install those manually? I just get a blue background.

As usual, I always have trouble installing these things. So I downloaded and created Rocky's XBMC4Gamers folder from his zips, FTPed it over to my OG Xbox's Applications folder, created a profile, ran it, it detected my games, and I got the horizontal boxart wheel of all my games with a bunch of blurred coverart and a blue background. How do I get it looking like dimfil's setup in an earlier post in this topic? I have the Resources4XBMC.rar with all the game stuff, but where do I extract it to?

No, I installed Chimp in the wrong folder so it didn't show up in Applications. Once I did this it loaded and ran properly. Great work, btw. It cloned and partitioned my 1TB HDD perfectly.

I have an issue with the new version of Chimp. After disconnecting my DVD drive and connecting the 1TB drive, when I run Chimp it briefly shows the Chimp splash screen, then reboots my Xbox (I think) and of course I end up getting the "Service Required" error because no DVD drive is connected. Is there a fix for this?

Update: I cleaned the laser lens with 91% Isopropyl alcohol but it didn't work. My Samsung can't read discs. It's weird because sometimes it works fine other times not at all, and this usually happens after I've opened my OGXbox up for whatever reason then reassembled it, Sometimes I'm not even touching the DVD drive aside from maybe taking it out of the case before putting it back. My DVD drive may suddenly work... or not. I have nothing to lose now since its so unreliable therefore I'd like to try the pot adjustment. Only problem is that the video tutorial on youtube (a link to it is posted on this forum) is not in HD and the camera is not close enough. Where exactly on the pot are the contacts to use with the ohmmeter?

Hi, Rocky. I have a OGXbox that's been soft-modded with UnleashX. It's currently installed on a 100GB Maxtor IDE drive, along with all my Xbox games, UnleashX skins, settings, emulators and ROMS. I want to transfer/clone everything to a Seagate 1TB using CHIMP and have it exactly like my current setup but with the extra hard drive space fully recognized for future installing of Xbox games and other data. When I use Chimp, which option for Selective Clone should I use?

I first saw this on youtube. It's a useful tutorial except for the fact that the camera is not close enough to see exactly where the contacts are on the pot to test with your ohm meter. Anyone have a closeup pic of where the contacts are for the Samsung 605 drive? I think I'll attempt this since cleaning the lens didn't work.

Well, that definitely points me in the right direction. I figure I should select the "split space evenly between :F & :G" option then I'll have plenty of room for future games and that massive XVGM skin with all the media files I recent;y downloaded

Yeah, that first sector-by-sector Chimp 261812 option is what I did and I ended up with a 1TB HDD basically the same size as my Maxtor 100GB. That selective clone option seems promising. Has anyone here used it to transfer their data, games and files from a much smaller HDD to a much larger one and still managed to have the extended partition recognized without FTPing everything over?

Thanks, I'll try the alcohol cleaning thing first. I must say, I've been burning myself out with refurbishing my old Xbox lately. It's become an obsession with me. lol. Recently attempted to upgrade the HDD from a completely filled Maxtor 100GB to a Seagate 1TB and it's not going smoothly. Unless I can figure out a way to keep all my old Xbox games (which I spent hours and hours FTPing to my OGXbox five years ago) and emulator stuff when making the transference and extending my partition so I can get 1TB, I'll probably be taking a break. I just don't have the patience anymore to reinstall everything on a new 1TB HDD and start afresh.

Update: Your sticker fix worked perfectly! The Samsung now opens and closes normally 100% of the time. I added a new belt just to make it extra reliable. However, I have a new issue: I'm getting lots of instances where DVDs can't be read. Other times it works and launches game DVDs fine. Could it be the laser? This guy on youtube used a multi-meter to see if the laser pot needed adjusting. Do you think this will help if I attempted it? I think his is a Thompson but I assume the procedure is the same.

I successfully cloned my 100GB Maxtor to a Seagate 1TB drive using CHIMP. All my data, games, skins, etc were intact on the new drive. Then I went to use CHIMP to extend my partitions on my master drive (the Seagate) so it would recognize all 1TB but much to my chagrin when I rebooted I seemed to lose everything, including my skins, my emulators, and my Xbox games (there were about 100GB worth). The menu shows the categories and a barebones UnleashX skin but nothing inside them. How do I extend my partitions on my cloned drive so I get the full 1TB without losing my current UnleashX setup?

Nothing fancy. Just a low end Denon AVR with a pair of Sony Cores for front L & R, a Polk for Center, and a pair of inexpensive Monoprice speakers (sound surprising good for $40/pair) for rear L/R. No subwoofer right now because the landlord's office is directly below. The 5.1 system is Dolby Digital 5.1.

Final update: using a pair of regular audio adapters (stereo 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female and a stereo male 3.5mm to RCA phono female) with an RCA male to RCA male audio or video cable plugged into my coaxial digital-in on my AVR worked. I'm now getting perfect Dolby D 5.1 surround sound for my original Xbox. It's a great cheap fix for those wanting to use the digital optical jack on their Monster Cable Component cable for their OGXbox without having to buy Monster's optical cable with the proprietary dongle, which can run $30 to $100 (!) on eBay. No soldering or figuring out pin layouts needed. The only problem is the 2.5mm adapter only goes half-way in the digital optical jack on the monster cable and you may have to jiggle it a bit to get the sound to kick in but, hey, it works. Sooo nice to hear digital music and audio coming from my OGXbox with absolutely no hiss. Put on MechAssault and have a blast with 5.1 surround sound in all its glory!