Bowlsnapper

March 10

4 hours ago, JellyMyst said:

I've recently bought a used Xbox, only to find it doesn't turn on. Plugging it in with a known good power cable, neither the power nor the DVD drive button have the console showing so much as a single sign of life. No noise, no lights, nothing.

As I was planning to mod it (and replace the capacitors) anyway, I opened it up to try and diagnose the problem. So far, however, I've come up short a definite culprit. Initially I suspected the clock capacitor, but it seems to be fine to my (amateur) eye. There are some other capacitors that look problematic, but I don't quite see why they should prevent the console powering on. There's also some goop I cannot identify on the power supply. Some people I showed it to said it could be epoxy or some other insulating material that got spilled.

I've come here to ask for opinions from people who are experienced with the console. Is replacing the bad capacitors and clock capacitor likely to bring this thing back? Is the goop a problem in any way? Is my console beyond saving? I've added some pictures of the guts below to hopefully help anyone who's helpful enough to put up with my questions.

Overview:

Closer view of the main board (mostly to show this really is a 1.6):

Clock capacitor:

Unidentified goop:

Bulging capacitors:

To close, I'd like to ask you to be patient with me. This is my first hardware project, so I'm gonna do this wrong in all sorts of ways, no doubt. I'm also happy to provide more info as requested (and as I am able to gather it).

Look into trace rot.

March 9

32 minutes ago, dtomcat said:

https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/xbox-dvd-remote-scan.5917/

I was wondering if this existed. Now I have a project! Thank you VERY much. Now, is there any way.to print the designations on the material so we know what the buttons are? That YOU know of, of course?

March 8

4 hours ago, southcamp said:

Thx for the help and the tip. That was also on my mind and also the reason why I wanted Cerbios. You all sound confident that the flash went all right and that the problem is the unnecessary softmod which gives me somehow peace of mind.

Well, that's the thing, I thought I knew what I was doing:-). But you are right, never change a working system.

It was unlocked before. Just to be sure: Is there an "easy" way to get the old HDD working with an installer? Like, fixing the c-drive?

Well, changing the bios is fine, but since you are upgrading from such an old one, it would be prudent to get a bit of an understanding about what will be different at boot. I would suggest that the flash MAY have been okay if the softmod had never occurred, since you are not getting a Cerbios bios error regarding anything related to the dash and are getting no display at all. Traditionally for me, blank screens are the result of a softmod trying to load but not functioning properly. However that was a VERY old bios, so shadow may simply be correct on that point. (not that I'm Xboxstradamas or anything!)

Use the installer disc (you may be able to at the "red LED blank screen" or at boot) To format and set up C. Try it.

-Format and Setup>Format and Setup HDD>Format Single Partition>Format and setup partition C.

Or

-Format and setup> remove softmod files. - I would be interested if this fixed the problem, but formatting C isn't gonna hurt. Those are all pretty much the same MS dash files and those will be replaced with the installer disc. Cerbios should boot your dash from E, anyway.

This should preserve all your files on E and any other partition. Any dash and data you had before should come back, as long as the dash was named "evoxdash.xbe on the E partition. Can you see if you can load a disc?

March 8

45 minutes ago, southcamp said:

So, hello there. I am new to all this, although I have had my Xbox since 2005. I got it out recently and thought I should "modernize" it - and this is where I should have stopped.

I have an XBOX modded with an X-Changer (not 2.5) and an evo x bios. It started the evolution x dash when pressing the eject button and the X-Changer OS when pressing the power button (interestingly showing two banks to boot from - one 256k and one 512k).

So, first thing I did wrong was softmodding the system with Rocky5's upgrade kit, which deleted the original MSXBOX dashboard. The system, however, continued to work fine. The second time I should have stopped.

Then, after a lot of research, I found out that there exists an updated X-Changer OS, so I updated the OS to V2.2 via network. It worked fine, but after that I could not start the bios anymore. It just circled back to the OS starting page (not showing two bank any more).

So I decided to flash a new bios via network. I chose the latest Cerbios as I read that it should run on an X-Changer. The flash worked fine, but after rebooting the screen stayed black and the light of the XBOX was red.

I guess I must have messed it up, to quote the band GusGus.

My next idea would be to boot with a TruHeXeN ROM and reflash the bios, this time to an evo x one.

So, is there anybody out there kind enough to tell me what went wrong and what I can do? Thanks in advance!

You softmodded the system. This may work fine with some bios configurations, depending on what they do with the dash, but Cerbios is trying to do something that is conflicting with the softmod. However, the specifics are speculation on my part and I do not know what I am talking about, only the basics. Never mix a softmod with a hardmod. Your Xbox is allergic to it. Either hook up the drive to a PC with FATXplorer, or find a way to run an installer disc and reinstall the proper contenrs of C.

Maybe others here can share how they modernized their systems. I simply use either an XBlast Aladdin or OpenXenium with Cerbios 2.3.2 and a 2TB HDD with Origins data on it but a custom setup. I also usually do a 128MB RAM upgrade, but that is obviously not needed.

March 7

12 hours ago, Kalpi said:

>Everyone talking RF shield, no mention of caps

OP have you checked the other capacitors on the board? Any of them bulging at all, especially around the CPU+GPU heatsinks?

Only saying as none of my boxes have the RF shielding and most of their video issues were solved by recapping (that or shoddy video cables)

Removing the bottom RF shield in my case IMMEDIATELY led to video interference in a console that was not prone to it, with caps or otherwise. Putting it back in IMMEDIATEly resolved the interference issues brought on by removing it.

Sorry for gatekeeping, but I would like to confirm that although a recap should always be done, I believe this issue will be resolved by replacing the RF shield. With caps, usually, either the video works, or doesn't at all.

March 7

1 hour ago, dmuney said:

HI @KaosEngineer I was able to source a 2 pin connector for my chip. Sorry I am a total newb when it comes to electrical components like this. When you say make the connection to ground - is there a wire I need to connect the 2-pin wires to in the xbox? Or I just twist the wires together like @Bowlsnappersuggested?

Twisting the wires is to make it simple to keep them both together. You will need to ground both. The easiest way to do it is to ground to a screw hole or one of the big, square ground pads. There should be a screw ground right next to the chip. Twist them both and then press them into the ground point with your finger. Power on while doing so. Once you've booted, you should release them from ground and make sure they don't touch anything while you do your flashing. Once you know you've flashed, unplug the wires.

March 7

4 hours ago, Blindingbeast65 said:

You can easily do so by editing your file (example.exe) into (example.XBE) and Microsoft will convert all specified files to Xbox executables

... WHAT? Are you a spam account?

March 6

45 minutes ago, Electric said:

If someone from this forum wants to sell me a bottom RF shield I would pay 15$ + shipping for it.

Sure, why not?

March 6

8 hours ago, Electric said:

I've bought a v1.1 128mb Xbox from ebay years ago with an LCD. However the seller for some reason removed the bottom metal RF shielding.

I wonder if there is a way to fix the video without buying a donor xbox (due to high shipping costs).

More on the condition of the xbox:

- Tsop flashed with a modified Xecuter X3 bios and I am afraid to change it.

- It is a PAL unit (not sure on what psu)

- Wasn't serviced except for clock cap removal and changed the HDD to a startech CF card adapter.

- Changed to 80wire ide

Why not buy an RF shield? Or I guess you could use HDMI if you wish.

Yes, the HD+ does work very well. Stellar is pretty cool too. You will either need Nemesis' STM32 dev board to use the HD+ without the stellar, or buy the standalone kit from MM. I would TSOP flash with Cerbios, which is compatible with the HD+ anyway, but don't be scared to change it. You don't have to be. But if you wait for the Open XHD, that is an option as well, and you will not need to deal with standalone STM32 horsecrap.

How does the CF work for you? Why not a SATA?

March 5

34 minutes ago, arfows said:

Thanks. Wow...those are pretty tiny. Gonna take some significant practice with my setup. Good thing there are so many. If the M03E has a different chip than the M03C that may save me melting several of these lol

Use magnification and flux. Get a set of helping hands. Use tweezers. Watch youtube clips on SMD soldering. ONce you get the hang of it, it's actually very easy.

March 5

2 hours ago, Petrolhead said:

Update: didint receive the Openxenium from wiredopposite.com (didint respond on my email either) so be careful when ordering from them.

So Ive had to order from eBay.

To be continued

I'm sorry they ripped you off. That's disappointing. If anybody here would like a Xenium, I am selling them, along with a 3d printed support and 1.6 rebuild. Ebay is perfectly safe though, I'm sure.

March 4

14 minutes ago, lopenator said:

it's this really true

Apparently it works. People have done it. It makes it faster anyway. It also enables UDMA 5 (instead of 4) in many cases.

March 4

6 hours ago, XbLuzbel said:

Hi

Solder a 100 ohm resistor to R4 and you'll get instant boots. Not necessary, but you also have a 10K resistor around, solder it to RH1.

What does adding the 10k resistor do? same thing, just more of it? Also, why TF don't they just do it at manufacturing?

March 4

8 hours ago, nikeymikey said:

Bumping this,

Currently seeded by 2 webseeds but they wont be around forever!!!

I'll start downloading. Give me a couple months. lol

March 4

11 minutes ago, amak79 said:

$80 AUD.

Jesus Christ.

March 3

2 hours ago, MadMartigan said:

Oh wow! I definitely would not turn that option down. You’re gonna be the one to push me over the edge and start looking into a 3D printer.

Look at the Elegoo Nepture 4. It's what I use and it ROCKS. Puts all others in it's price range to shame. I would get the Neptune 4 MAX now, though. Its bed is much larger and will allow you to print the "Slim" case.

Also found this for the Halo Editions:

March 3

1 hour ago, p3t3rpopp3r said:

Ah, that's great thanks yeah I can see the screen I'm getting stuck on just before it initialises the IDE devices and ejects the DVD tray.

I'm wondering if that's the cause of the problem, I hear my tray click as the bay lock disengages but as I say the drive belt is mishappen and doesn't actually eject the tray, wondering if that may cause it to hang?

I have all the IDE devices (DVD Drive and HDD) connected and powered as they should be, ie DVD Drive on first connector HDD on second. Additionally when I boot into the MS Dashboard (mod chip disabled) I can see all my custom apps and dashboards etc on the drive so it must be able to read that.

Try booting with the DVD drive disconnected and see what it does.

March 3

2 hours ago, MadMartigan said:

After much delay, I’ve finally got around to getting this beauty started. I’m a stickler for details and my OCD makes me do everything extremely slow lol. She has been fully dissembled, thoroughly cleaned, recapped and pasted, 128MB RAM, and HD+ ready. Taking frequent breaks to tackle weekend chores, but it’s happening and has been a fun time. I get way too much satisfaction taking these things apart and detailing them.

@Bowlsnapper I should probably go ahead and get a startech adapter housing from you, but I’d rather wait for the clear version also. Guess I can hold off on that one part for now as it would be the easiest thing to swap out, being right on top.

Should have a finished product tonight.

What you've done here, is basically what I want to do with a Halo Edition I have. 128MB, Nemesis Xenium Ice (I have like 3 massive bundles). Either with an HD+ or OpenXHD. REALLY nice job dude.

Translucent smoke black PLA. What do you think, Marty ( @MadMartigan)? Should I pull the trigger?

March 3

10 minutes ago, MadMartigan said:

Yes, I think I would like a clear one once you’ve perfected the craft.

I will work on it!

March 3

ENDGAME 8MB Cerbios Flasher & UX Dash Installer

I am posting a mirror of the TSOP flasher utilizing the Endgame exploit. This means that no savegame exploit is necessary. Just a memcard or USB drive with a stock Xbox. Will also Install a basic version of UnleashX to get you started with something.

Mega Link: https://mega.nz/file/lzcFBRqb#SdqDkbwJ5qQuD_Md6aXht6shgPiD1A_N27e4X7D8b9o

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Use this as a starting point to maybe run the OGXbox installer that Sweet made! Very fully featured and handy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Credit for this flasher/software goes to SweetDarkDestiny. I do NOT take credit for this.

https://www.xbox-scene.info/forums/topic/437-endgame-8mb-cerbios-flasher-ux-dash-installer/#comment-833

March 3

49 minutes ago, MadMartigan said:

Ooh, a clear could be nice. I’d love to see one if you had plans on testing it out. What makes one material better than the other when you say you resin is better? Like I said, I’m a complete noob when it comes to that stuff.

I actually don't know if I'd call it "Nicer". I still have to work on making the supports less damaging in the slicer, and I have to research ways to do that. It still looks nice, but I actually think clear PLA will turn out better. This one is deformed, but only because it was not supported very well that time. I need help from somebody who knows how to customize supports. If I make the attachment points too small to avoid leaving markings, they will not stay attached and the model will just start cooking on the vat film... which means I only see failures happen the hard way and have to remove the BS cured resin from the vat film, which almost always scratches it no matter how careful I am. So failures (in this case, caused by making the supports small enough to break off without leaving noticeable marks... TOO small) are a big pain in the ass so I'm afraid to make the support points too damn small.

This had minimal supports however, so If I use more, I may be able to make the breakoff points smaller and thus less noticeable and also have the model turn out much straighter and proper looking.

March 3

They fall off, and it's heartbreaking. Don't worry, they can be replaced. I honestly think they look better than the regular translucent white ones. You get what is pictured here in the top photo. 25 shipped.

March 3

5 hours ago, Unmutual said:

Work in games and have every generation of XDK. However the original is one I know very little about. I think I messed with it like a decade ago and got the Neighborhood set-up but don't remember anything beyond that. Does anyone have an idiot-proof guide to getting this thing running retail games? I picked a bunch of JP titles up recently and really want to try them out. Apologies for the stupid questions but it's REALLY hard to find any information these days. The SEO on old Xbox stuff is terrible. Any help would be sincerely appreciated!

Hope this helps you:

March 3

3 hours ago, MadMartigan said:

Are you currently offering black only and did you have the same issue with the adapter cable being too wide for the opening? Thought maybe it could be an easy adjustment, but I’ve never touched a 3D printer before.

I have black filament mainly, but also have white. Are you asking if there is clear? I can print clear cases with my resin printer. I think they are also nicer when resin printed. I can also get clear PLA filament. I can probably get a rainbow assortment of colors for not too much if you have another color in mind.

I'll have to mount one and see what you are referring to. It's ridiculous but I haven't actually tried one out yet. So let me do that and I'll get back to you on the dimension issue.

March 2

10 bucks shipped.

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