peterpop

Correct...

No. I don't have one. Is there any way to flash it from a softmod?

Yes, I figured that much out. It was simply to follow the guide KaosEngineer linked to to completion to rule that out. But it doesn't change the fact that when the xbox tries to boot from the chip it'll frag. And I can't figure out why.

If I also do the step that says connect D0 to ground, I get a black screen and fragging with or without the chip.

That made a difference. Now when I turn on the xbox with the chip in, the led on the chip will flash a couple of times, and the the xbox will frag. If I remove the chip it boots from stock.

I've just tried to install the chip using this guide: https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:Aladdin More precisely I soldered the pin header and the 3.3V, LAD0, LAD1, LAD2 and LAD3. I made a blunder and ruined the trace by R7P4, so needed to reroute it. I would have routed through the hole at the chip pin, but the hole had solder in it that I haven't been able to remove, so I resorted to the hideous mess you can see on the picture. I have checked all the connections with a multimeter. There is 3.3 on pin9. LAD1-3) I have checked as much as I could by putting one of the multimeter probes on the tip of the pin and the other on a point on the trace that is not the solder point directly. In other words, I am reasonably sure that the soldering is "ok" I also cut the L trace because the MrMario2011 video said so. But when I booted only a black screen would show and FRAG. So I restored the L trace to be able to boot into stock BIOS. Now I can only boot into stock. Am I missing something? Have I done something wrong? What can I check? The chip lights red whenever power is plugged into the xbox. I noticed that if I put the chip in with the BT not soldered on the chip the led would dim slightly whenever the xbox was turned on. After I soldering it, it would not dim. Don't know if it means anything. Just mentioning it.

I have tried to research the connector. I think most refer to it as a JST (like you just did) 3-pin connector, but I think it's actually a PicoBlade 3-pin with 1.25mm pitch. Like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134886687394 The red/green/gray could be bought years ago: https://web.archive.org/web/20111210215747/http://secure.llamma.com/catalog/xecuter-26-x3-d0-red-gray-green-wire-bundle-with-connector-p-488.html Another question: On the Xapt3r there is a wire going to D0. I have read somewhere that that is used to tell the system to read the bios onboard or via lpc. Do you know if when the D0 is connected from the Xapt3r instead of from the chip board means that the bios on the mod chip is always used. I don't know anything about the X3 but I would guess that it's user configurable whether the Xbox should use onboard or modchip bios.

I think I got lucky. I was looking for an Xbox below 1.6 to do a RAM upgrade on. I found one with the X3 front switch panel for the same price as any old Xbox without it. Just got it and it turns on. The chip turned out to be the newer CE version. But it's installed with the Xapt3r adapter. In https://command-tab.com/static/x3_ce_v10_v16.pdf there is an image of the standard kit: The parts that came with this Xbox are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7. If I want to solder it I will need 9 also. That I can make myself from one of the scrap headers I have. But what is 8 and 10? My guess is that 10 is irrelevant. Is 8 for some drive activity led flashing? Is it available to buy somewhere?

Well, I asked Discord and because I don't have the SATA adapters yet, I just chose the hybrid one. It works flawlessly. I did run into some problems right after flashing where I booted to a black screen. Popping in the tools cd (to get ftp access) and clearing out the C drive solved it. I guess it's something to do with shadowc (which I don't really know how works/what is). But it's working now. So I have moved on to the first xbox, and I actually noticed a patch of dust around the capacitor. I can't see anything on the cap itself. Anyway, the cap is removed, I cleaned the area and the box boots fine. So now it's on to modding that one too.

It IS a lot to take in. But when you're not in a hurry and can take your time reading up on stuff it's a lot of fun. I'm learning all sorts of new stuff. E.g. I didn't know that ATA drives had built in security. I thought it was MS specific to the XBox. Finding the right ressources is quite the adventure. If I go to the XBlast-only links the first one links to an NTSC version. I never really said that I'm on a PAL system, sorry . And the second one (from Dark Destiny) has two dead links. So I used the 1fichier one and downloaded OGXBox XBlastOS MC TSOP Flasher v2.1.0 8MB BASIC (07.12.2023).rar, extracted until I reached "OGXBox XBlastOS MC TSOP Flasher v2.1.0 8MB BASIC\Flasher\21585554\000000000000\XBlast\XBlastE\XBlast". Ftped that folder over and started default.xbe from there. I just need to be sure that that is the correct version. On my screen I see this: The web form (when started of course) asks for the bios file, but also for a name. What is the name used for? Can I write anything there?

Ok, so now I've made the TSOP writeable. I checked with the XBOX Bios Checker 5.0 which says the chip type is ST yadayada (TSOP?). But now I don't really know how to best proceed. According to https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:TSOP_Flashing#Flashing_with_XBlast_OS_.28recommended.29 the recommended way to flash is with something called XBlast OS. It instructs me to use the XBlast OS application XBE. I have no idea where to find that. I could also go the utility disc way, but there's a big fat warning to not use the DVD drive. I also used the bios checker by copying it just like NokSueCow wrote in the post above about the extras disc. So I wan't to be a good citizen and do what's recommended, but I find the instructions a bit lacking. When I figure that out (that is, when someone tells me how ) the next thing is the bios. How on earth am I supposed to pick a bios? https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:BIOS_Features lists a lot, but I have no clue what to choose. Some are for modchips I guess. Those are not applicable to me right now since I'm going to TSOP flash it, right? The page links to a chart on archive.org from 2016. Even for Xbox modding I think that's a bit old. So are there any general guidelines I can take when choosing a bios? Or maybe a newer up-to-date comparison chart? Or maybe I am so lucky that there's only one obvious choice that everyone is using nowadays?

I softmodded it already. And copied the files over ftp. This already gives me some peace of mind. Out of curiosity: how do you reverse the process. I.e. remove the softmod to get back to how it was originally?

Ok, so I removed the cap from the second Xbox and turned it on. No problems. So with that Xbox I'm at step 3. My understanding is that the easiest way to backup the hdd is to mod the Xbox first. If I softmod it, what modifications will it make to the hdd and eeprom? I have searched for articles about it, but I'm only finding howtos. I would like something that explains the modifications at a lower level. I could maybe also use the hotswapping method to backup the hdd. That way no modifications would be made to the hdd, right? And for the eeprom I saw this video from Tech Hoarder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSe89adGfR0. I guess that would extract the unmodified eeprom? Edit: It seems most softmodding tools make a backup of the eeprom. If this is a backup of the original eeprom, then that takes care of this. So, is it a backup of the eeprom before the softmod modifies it? But is it just too much hassle for something that's ultimately unimportant? I have revised my gameplan to also include TSOP flashing the two oldest Xboxes. I have an Aladdin XT Plus2 that I am thinking of putting in the third Xbox (the v1.6 one). And then I think I am getting a version 1.4 with an Xecutor 3 chip in it if everything works out. That one seems like a good candidate for the RAM upgrade. (This 3 posts a day limit... is it lifted at some point, or do I have to be a paying member?)

Yeah, I know about this. Pretty amazing that that community is so strong. I have never participated in it, but I have lingered since sbc.pippin.us through steelbattalion.org, lineofcontact.net and now Discord.

XBox2: