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Tosnic

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Everything posted by Tosnic

  1. Back in the day when I was using the setup without DVD-drive I had been using a modified UnleashX ("no DVD" enabled). What I did to make the LED stop flashing was to set the LED state in UX to solid green for all states But before long I returned the DVD drive into my Xbox, both for easy ripping and (mostly) to reduce the time it takes to enter the dashboard (I think I posted the measurements before in this thread). I am using one of the noname SATA adaptors mentioned in my tests. As for HDD, I am using a 2,5" Samsung 500 GB with 80-wire IDE cable.
  2. Agreed. @TEK Nemesis: I noticed that you shorted two pins of the DVD power connector. AFAIK this method is supposed to trick the xbox into thinking a DVD drive is connected, which I hoped would elminate the added boot times I experienced when running the XBox without a DVD drive. Does your Xbox take longer to boot (or return to the dashboard) than with the whole DVD drive connected? I tried this method once, but I killed my Xbox because I shorted the wrong pins It seems to me that Tek Nemesis's adaptor would still leave room for a DVD drive.
  3. Thanks a lot, Sherlock. I was having trouble as well getting my xbox to sync time via UX. For some reason using my router as NTP server did not work, although I double checked that this router function was enabled. If anyone is wondering how to input a URL instead of an IP: either use UX's text exitor to change the config.ini or transfer the config.ini to your PC and edit it there. As a side note: you do not need to specify the actual NTP server if you are using something like "pool.ntp.org". The xbox will choose the best server from this pool by itself.
  4. After testing different Xboxes with different IDE cables I came to the conclusion that, contrary to common opinion, you may not require an 80-wire IDE cable if you are using an IDE to SATA adaptor. In most cases the stock 40-wire cable is sufficient. I am not entirely sure what determines the maximum cable length, but both Xbox I confirmed not working with the 60 cm 80-wire cables are v1.1 Xboxes. One has a 512 kB Xecuter BIOS, the other one has a 256 kB EvoX BIOS. Both BIOS's are from the 2017 HeXEN disc. My main Xbox is v1.0 and has EvoX BIOS. It works with the 60 cm cables. As a side note: using an IDE to SATA adaptor did not make any difference: the stock IDE HDD was recognized the same as the SATA HDD. I also compared the loading times with either cable: GTA:San Andreas took the same time (33-34s) on both configurations from launch to the beginning of the intro. Therefore I put up this thesis: Xbox v1.0 with EvoX BIOS runs with cable lengths up to 60 cm (80-wire) XBox 1.1 with any BIOS runs with cable lenths up to 50 cm (80-wire) My overall suggestion at this point: Try your original 40-wire cable before buying a 80-wire cable. It might work just as good. Keep in mind that you probably need to reseat the middle connector on bought cables to match the drive position of the Xbox.
  5. Tosnic

    Aladdin XS

    I went ahead and reballed the solder joints on my Aladdin XS. At 400°C the solder iron seemed to melt the chip's board pretty fast O_O. Anyway, the chip seems to boot reliably now. Does anyone know how I can enable the chip to always run? With the Aladdin XT you would connect the "BT" solder point with another point on the chip. But I do not know what to do for the Aladdin XS. In my xbox, "BT" is currently connected to a tiny SMD resistor (labeled R3G6) in the front top of the mobo, while the modchip itself is below the mobo. Getting those German tutorial files to display required me to host them on my web server. For your convenience I converted that web page to a PDF: link
  6. Tosnic

    Aladdin XS

    I have a v1.6 xbox with this chip, and it is giving me headaches. Most of the time, the xbox would only briefly turn on with the chip enabled. So like this: I turn on the xbox, it runs for 1 second, turns off, then turns on after 2-3 seconds on its own, with the chip disabled. Maybe I just got some loose solder connections? Sometimes the xbox would successfully boot with the chip enabled; mostly after disassembling the xbox. But only a few times. At least the xbox can boot into the softmod if it cannot booth with the modchip enabled. Therefore I assume the LFRAME trace is not cut. Might this aspect be the culprit? I could not find a resource on the possible malfunctions that thewheelman282 mentions in this video. TLDR: I prefer having a pre-1.6 xbox with a TSOP flash to a 1.6 modchipped xbox. Keep in mind that a modchip is another thing that can break.
  7. Does anyone know of a location that has all known widescreen hacks? I only know ps2wide.net and Esppiral's thread on the assemblergames.com forums (soon in obscuregamers.com's archive). Each of them lists games you cannot find on the other website. Back in the day I would have expected to find this kind of stuff on xboxscene (R.I.P.). Nowadays this knowledge is shattered all over the internet and it is pointless to only consult one website. As a European citizen I can only patch a handful of the listed games, since the patches are not "region-free". I.e., the US hacks will not work on the PAL version of the same game and vice versa.
  8. Some ppl do not know: you can indeed swap the 80-wire IDE cable around, like KaosEngineer said: The Mobo connector would then go into the HDD. I found this tutorial on youtube: how to fold an Xbox IDE cable (if using it reversed). @ OP: For something as simple as an IDE cable, I do not recommend looking for brands etc. Just buy one that fits the specs (80-wire, not too long). Actually, the best cable would be the same lenght as the original cable and let you assemble (crimp) the middle connector yourself. That way you could use the IDE cable the correct way around instead of reversed.
  9. I recently received another IDE to SATA adapter from Aliexpress. See pictures below. It is ca. 2 mm broader than the recommended cheapo adapter, but much more flat. I think this one would fit better into the XBox's HDD-case when using a 3,5" HDD, because the IDE power cable of the xbox does this 90° turn upwards out of the adapter into the top of the case. I think the case is in the way for the recommended cheapo adapter. The black insulation had been attached out of the box, which is nice to see. There is a jumper on the board. Apparently, removing it puts the HDD into slave mode. I just noticed there was a review of this item on Aliexpress by someone who used this adapter to clone their Xbox HDD. As for boot times: it is the same as the other adapters I tested. I only tried my config (on DVD drive + EvoX M8 BIOS), though. Since the boot time is identical to the recommended cheapo adapter, I assume it scales the same with all configurations (see my comparison above). Link to Aliexpress
  10. thx I did test different BIOSs with my DVD-less config and a few with the default config (IDE + DVD drive), as posted above. AFAIR, I found that with the default config as far as boot times are concerned: X2 (256 kB): 18s EvoX M8+: 20s X2 (512 kB): 27s The boot time for each BIOS grows for using a SATA HDD (with DVD drive), and for not having a DVD drive connected, (E.g., EvoX M8+): IDE HDD w/ DVD drive: 18s SATA HDD w/ DVD drive: 27s SATA HDD w/out DVD drive: 33s (all numbers are from the top of my head)
  11. Hi folks. I made a quite elaborate comparison of boot times for different scenarios and using 3 different adaptors with or without the stock DVD drive (only the HDD connected). All adapters gave me the same boot times, but the cheapo adapter with SMD capacitors made the Xbox's power LED blink green all the time. Therefore, those are the same to me. I also tried my other 2 cheapo adaptors of the same make. All have the same boot times. So no "lottery": confirmed. Pls keep in mind that some adapters are said to be more compatible to HDDs than others, Startech being most compatible. I cannot confirm that. All tests were done using an 80-wire SATA cable. The IDE HDD was 3,5" wtih 120GB. The SATA HDD was 2,5" with 500GB. The BIOS was EvoX M8+ v1.00.5838.01, modified only to disable the DVD drive Check. (orientation value): IDE HDD & DVD drive installed, IDE: 18s IDE HDD & DVD drive installed, SATA via cheapo adapter: 25s IDE HDD & DVD drive installed, SATA via Startech adapter: 25s Only HDD installed, IDE: 27s Only HDD installed, SATA via cheapo adapter: 31s It made not difference whether the HDD was at the end or middle of the IDE cable when using only the HDD, nor was there a difference when using my super-short IDE cable with the end cut off. You can compare the 2 cheapo adapters I have with these pictures. The first two pictures are the ones with SMD capacitors, which are not recommended by others. Mainly, because they offer no jumper for switching between Master and Slave mode (top left corner in pic 3). Interesting detail: their IDE ribbon cable connector is reversed, which allows for slightly easier installation using a normal 80-wire IDE cable in reverse (blue plug in the HDD).
  12. Ah, I thought so. I get that time, too. But only when I use an IDE HDD w/ DVD drive. The boot speed difference seems like there is an adapter "lottery": some adapters are fast while others are slow. Or the HDD makes the difference. I use a Samsung 2,5" HDD. I thought that the 5400 RPM should not impact the loading, because even the fastest IDE standard is slower than the HDD's transfer speed. It might also be the cable, but I use a very short 80-wire IDE cable. I should try different cables and other adapters of the same make (I have 3 lying around each).
  13. I bought mine (working) at Aliexpress MrMario over on Youtube also links to different places for the adapters and other related hardware: link Alternatively, you can search for "sata ide adapter" on Aliexpress or Ebay. I have the large ones with the fat Molex power connector directly on the board and the 2 non-SMD (throughhole) capacitors. The cheapo-adapters cost around 2.5 $. Maybe someone wants to try one of the slim ones that imitate the startech adapter. However, you should make sure you buy one with a 3.5" IDE connector, since the 2.5" IDE connector is different!
  14. What, it boots instantly? Like, 1 second until dashboard? I think of "booting time" as the time for the xbox to reach the dashboard (e.g. UnleashX) menu. My xbox setups boot right away, but booting takes ca. 30s. I am not sure if we are using the same terms for the same meanings.
  15. Does anyone know if the Startech adapter has different (better?) compatibility for different HDDs? Is that even a thing? Or do all HDDs work with any adapter (if the adapter works at all).
  16. Ups. Yeah, I meant X2. The 256 kB version I used was x2.4981.06 (on HeXEN 2017) Now I would really like to edit my posts This will confuse ppl a lot.
  17. There is a video on youtube comparing the loading speeds:
  18. I cannot edit my preivous post, so I must double post I tried some different BIOSs yesterday: IndBIOS and EvoX. The stock EvoX M8+ BIOS will always freeze at the flubber animation. IndBIOS (standard) does boot sometimes times, but the flubber animation will play choppy. I ended up modding the standard EvoX M8+ BIOS to disable the DVD check. Now the flubber animation runs choppy, but out of 5 tires the xbox booted every time, taking ca. 33 seconds. Before, I had the M.2 BIOS (512 kB), which played the flubber animation perfectly, but took 40s to boot. I also tried the 256 kB M.2 BIOS, which did not like having the DVD drive disconnected, resulting in a freeze during the flubber animation. According to XBtool the DVD check is disabled by default in the 256 kB M.2 BIOSs and cannot be enabled. Strangely enough, the DVD check is enabled in the 512 kB M.2 BIOSs and may not be disabled in the BIOS file. Yet it worked fine on my Xbox without DVD drive. All above tests were done with only the SATA HDD connected, without a DVD drive. Of course, all BIOSs boot normally when using both the IDE HDD and DVD drive. "standard BIOS" refers to the ones coming with the HeXEN Boot disc 2017. I only used the "xbox 1.0-1.5" && "only F drive" BIOSs.
  19. Î just bought a startech adapter to see if it improves the boot times as compared to the cheapo adapter. But the xbox still takes the same 40s to boot. Using an IDE HDD the boot time was ca. 25s. I noticed something interesting: I use the Full System UX skin by neverwill. After booting into UX, the animation will play very choppy and navigating is quite sluggish for the first 5s. Thus I guess the xbox uses a lot of CPU time on boot and therefore takes that much time. Additionally, I did not notice any difference in boot times comparing an almost empty HDD (no games etc.) and 250 GB filled with games and emulators. I use a 500 GB 2,5" harddisk. I also opted to remove the DVD drive to make room for a top-blowing 120mm cooling fan, which makes the xbox more silent than my PS3 slim, but that is another topic. The takeaway is that you can indeed use a TSOP-flashed xbox without DVD drive; no shenanigans required. If you have issues getting a sata drive to boot, make sure your IDE cable is 80-wire and as short as possible.

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