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HDShadow

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Everything posted by HDShadow

  1. HDShadow
    ^ I've often thought about getting one of those types and I actually have a Xbox related job where being able to clone the HDD directly to another could be useful.
  2. HDShadow
    I don't think is a specific USB3 issue; if the housing/adapter uses a particular chip you can have problems with certain attached storage devices whatever the USB version. My previous primary USB housings (which are not Startech) which are USB2.0 dual IDE/SATA refused to work with a Crucial MX500 SSD so I never even had the chance to test it with FATXplorer. I bought a very basic Startech SATA > USB3.0 adapter (USB3S2SAT3CB) and used with the same SSD it worked perfectly and I cloned my desktop's primary HDD to it successfully. Not tried it with FATXplorer but I thought it might be worth a go as they appear less sophisticated than the combi-type you're using and pretty cheap too. However something I noticed just now, when checking its spec, and the advice provide is that particular adapter will only work with 2.5" drives of any sort, SSD or HDD. Why is not explained but for both 2.5" and 3.5" SSD/HDD Startech themselves point potential buyers at the SATA only USB312SAT3 adapter rather than the USB3SSATAIDE one the OP is using. That will of course depend on whether he is using a a SATA or IDE HDD but I'd guess it is most likely now we are talking here about a SATA HDD. Whether it works, judging from Startech user feedback, with particular combinations of equipment appears to be a matter of suck it and see. Not very helpful.
  3. HDShadow
    The red one on top of the the MB? As I mentioned in the previous post that's only used with a v1.6 Xbox which needs a separate 5v power supply. If you look at the pic above which shows the underside of the Xecuter 2.6 CE you can see printed on the PCB itself (in red) an arrow and info about that 5v connection being only for v1.6 Xboxes. BTW I found a YT guide where a guy was replacing a Xecuter with an Open Xenium on a v1.6 and he actually removed the Xecuter's LPC board and used the supplied Xenium one which, presumably, includes the additional v1.6 5v connection. Should I need to dump my Xecuter in the future I'd want to avoid having to do that which is why I asked about whether it was possible to use the Xecuter LPC board with the Xenium. That must surely require a separate, wired 5v connection too - is that possible to do with the Xenium? The YT video guy mentioned the Xenium comes with some Kynar wire so I was wondering if that is why it was supplied.
  4. HDShadow
    Well that's comforting :(. Photos of chip/MB etc. Apologies for average quality but I do not have a close-up lens for the camera I was using so had to use digital zoom. However I think they show the sort of detail required. I was hoping when I flipped the MB over I'd see an obviously disconnected or loose wire (D0 perhaps) but just like the soldered wire on top of the MB, which I think is the v1.6 5v supply, the soldering on the three wires underneath still look bright and clean with the connections very firm. So whatever the problem is it doesn't seem likely to be a simple loose connection issue. Did a bit of cleaning afterwards and put the whole thing back together just to check it was still functioning as before and...............................the damned thing booted perfectly using the primary bank (Evox logo). I did not want to stress it by trying a reboot or shutdown and restart, I was just glad it was working OK again. However I did take the opportunity to re-backup the eeprom although I have plenty of full backups of it and C:\, E:\ drive content archived, somewhere. Should it fail again similarly I think the best thing would be to get a replacement chip. If I can find an Open Xenium or similar can I just swap in that without having to do any rewiring or are some of the Xecuter 2.6 CE connections (see pics) chip specific?
  5. HDShadow
    ^ ^^Thanks for the response. As I've just posted in message to someone else here, the Xecuter 2.6CE chip, so I've read, needs special treatment. You can't just flash one bank with a new BIOS. The info I have is that you need to create a single 1MB file made up of 2 x 512KB BIOS and flash both the banks together in one go. I neither know how to create that 1MB file nor care to risk blitzing the existing BIOS particularly when the evidence suggests that both the BIOS are OK. I'll try to get some pics up once I've unscrewed the MB and had a look underneath tomorrow.
  6. HDShadow
    I've had a Xecuter 2.6 CE chip fitted Xbox v1.6 since around 2005, bought pre-installed and flashed with two banks each a custom Evox M8+ BIOS I've never needed/wanted to change. AFAIK the second BIOS is exactly the same but with the logo removed. All was working fine until last summer when I started to get occasional fragging on reboots/restarts. I found that if I swapped the banks it would usually boot correctly for weeks then suddenly the problem would reappear. I'd swap to the second bank and that would get it working again. So both BIOS are working but something else must be going on to cause this trouble. Fast forward to last weekend and after six months without a repeat the problem has reappeared but this time nothing I've tried to fix it has worked, at least not fully. I left it for several days and I was surprised to find on restart it booted as normal but when I used the IGR the fragging started again. I've dismantled the Xbox but haven't taken out the MB yet. The chip is surprisingly clean, almost dust free and seated firmly on the LPC. The top of MB soldered connections look perfect and are very firm and clean too. So maybe it is one of the underside connections. Is there anything with those connections I should be looking for that might cause this behaviour? It seems reasonable to think it could be a partially broken connection. Maybe a soldering point has dried out/cracked but if so why, until now, did swapping the BIOS banks get it working again? It is getting on for 19 years old and has had a lot of use and I'm worried that the chip itself might have developed some serious problem. Should also mention that with the chip off the Xbox boots without issue to an error 05 as you'd expect with an unlocked HDD. So that is more evidence it is just the chip.
  7. HDShadow
    I think it worth making this clear in case other coming here make the same mistake of misunderstanding the XBPartitioner Xbox drive information:- STANDARD PARTITIONS Partition 1 = E:\drive Partition 2 = C:\drive Partition 3 = X:\drive Partition 4 = Y:\drive Partition 5 = Z:\drive X,Y, and Z drives are for temporary cached content, typically it will allow you to skip long intros in some games which otherwise take their time (re)writing it to X, Y or Z. They will be over-written by any other game that use X, Y or Z for that purpose so can not be used for anything else. Also be aware that XBMC and its variants will not show X, Y and Z in the file manager without enabling them each as a Source. EXTENDED PARTITIONS Partition 6 = F:\Drive Partition 7 = G:\drive Any other partitions listed are said to be for attached external storage. However, contrary to the wiki info, I have found neither official memory cards or <4GB USB flash drives display in XBPartitioner v1.3. That is not on any Xbox I've used to test such things. https://consolemods.org/wiki/Xbox:XBpartitioner Clarification about this, from those who know more, would be interesting and possibly useful.
  8. HDShadow
    The existing thermal paste used by the manufacturers is meant to be rock hard at room temperature as others here have said. I've done test case thermal paste replacement and seen no significant improvement in the real or reported temperatures. I only trust XBMC and its variants; UnleashX and EvoX are both unreliable in that respect but still can inform you reliably if there is some unusual temperature rise from whatever 'normal' range you get. That varies with ambient temperature, console location and Xbox version. If you do decide to replace the paste for whatever reason then use guides for PC CPU chip heat sink thermal paste application. Basically you need two ultra clean surfaces and minimum thermal paste use. The recommendation is a small pea size blob in the centre of the chip but there are various alternatives methods that can work as well. Tinting, which is applying a thin pre-coat of paste on the chip and heat sink contact plate then wiping it off not using any cleaner is said to help fill the imperfections in the two contact surfaces better. It is debatable whether it has any significant effect but I do it anyway. Main thing is not to use too much thermal paste however it is applied. So if it squirts out around the edges of the heat sink then you're using far too much. If the paste is a conductive type, just like solder splatter, that can be bad for the same, obvious reason.
  9. HDShadow

    aladdin-chip

    HDShadow replied to dad12rob's topic in Modchips

    In either case and I'd guess the Xbox front panel LED, anything that is flashing green/blue means it is customised in some way and it could mean anything. What we need to know is whether the chip is booting and what is happening on screen if anything. Wild guess is that the LED is actually flashing green and red (general hardware problem) and either the OP is partially colour-blind or the originally red LED has been replaced with a blue one.
  10. HDShadow
    Are you using CerBIOS?
  11. HDShadow
    You're talking about the difference between a redump ISO and a XISO. What you're doing when you use ExtractISO or XDVD Mulleter is extracting the game files from the redump which is a bit by bit copy from the original game disc media. When you have the game files you can either use Qwix or the C Xbox Tool to package them as disc burning, Xbox friendly XISO file or you can FTP the game (in a or to a named folder) direct to the Xbox instead. With the right tools on the Xbox you can also instead FTP the XISO disc image file and get that to play directly too. Never been sure why people want that option but it is possible. Google for a fuller explanation.
  12. HDShadow
    It is the classic clock setting error most feared by softmodders - it can't find a dashboard to set the time but you need a dashboard to set the time. But with a chip, if you have a functional disc drive, you might be able to cold boot an installer disc. Failing that formatting/installing a dashboard on PC with FATXplorer should work.
  13. HDShadow
    You're saying that with FATXplorer you can now create a 2TB F:\drive rather than, previously, when you had to spit it equally between F:\ and G:\, yes? I too was going to suggest backing up the existing F:\ drive content to PC first and then transferring it back once the drive was correctly partitioned but assumed prtscn did not want to do that as it would take a donkey's age to do.
  14. HDShadow
    Hope I have not misunderstood but you are likely going to be unhappy if you do what you said in that final sentence. AFAIK you cannot extend F:\ without wiping its content. Maybe on PC with FATXplorer but I do not know about that. Maybe if you have the, apparently, magic CerBIOS it might be different but in all other cases a 2TB HDD has to be formatted to have less than 1TiB in both the extended partitions ie. F:\ and G:\. n other words it must be split equally. What I do not know also, because I haven't done it myself, is what happens if you clone a 1TB HDD then reformat the clone to create a new G:\ drive in the free space. Whether it reformats both extended partitions and wipes the content of F:\ I have no idea but I think it might do. In short I'd be interested in an authoritative answer too.
  15. HDShadow
    It means it was modded at some point but was reverted to 'stock' for sale. It might have network connections but in 'stock' form you cannot FTP to see what is on the HDD. What you're seeing are the left over UDATA/TDATA configuration/settings files for dashboards, apps. emulators etc which the original owner forgot or couldn't be bothered to remove. I'm assuming there are no softmod exploit and installer game saves, most likely from either Splinter Cell or 007 AUF, or Mechassault. Interesting they would remove those but not the other stuff. That could suggest the Xbox was actually chipped or TSOPed. It might be worth opening up the Xbox to check for evidence of that. You might even find a nice chip in situ that needs very little work to get it up running again.
  16. HDShadow
    ^ Degrees Centigrade or Fahrenheit? My experience with replacing the thermal paste is that it made little difference to the reported temperatures in °C. You risk damaging the CPU/GPU chip getting the heat sink off and plenty of people have broken the irreplaceable plastic heat sink retainers too. So all in all you have to have extraordinarily high temperatures, you're certain is caused by ageing thermal paste, to make it worth the risk. Some people suggest that the hardened, bubblegum-like consistency of the paste MS used in the Xbox is an indication it is old and needs replacing. They're wrong - the thermal paste used is a "phase change" type which is behaving just as intended ie. hard and glue like when at room temperature but softens with heating. That is why you MUST only attempt to remove the heat sinks when they're warmed up.
  17. HDShadow
    If .cut is what the shortcut is using as an extension I have no idea if those suggestions of mine will work. That is an Odamex specific extension and, as I said, emulators often have their own protocols. But those examples you provided are not quite what I meant. I think, if it is going to work, it should be like this:- Shortcut path: Odamex Shortcuts\Alien Vendetta\default.cut TBN image path: Odamex Shortcuts\Alien Vendetta\default.tbn I'd try that with a "default.jpg" instead of the TBN if that doesn't work but I've no confidence either of those will. You really need advice from an Odamex user on this matter.
  18. HDShadow
    For emulators this may not apply as they have their own file structure but for shortcuts which are just XBEs to get artwork to display for individual XBEs with XBMC or any of its variants you will likely, not 100% certain, need to add individual images manually. TBH I'm not quite clear about exactly how you want this to work and what it is you're trying to do so apologies if this doesn't apply:- For folders containing an XBE or a playable file type eg. MP3/4 you need to use "folder.jpg". I believe it must use the JPG extension but the file itself can be PNG or, I think, BMP too. It may also work with "default.jpg" and, possibly, "default.png" too but as the file type is practically irrelevant it is better to keep everything with a JPG extension. If the shortcuts are 'loose' ie. not in a named individual folder then you probably need to use "name".tbn ie. exactly the same name as the XBE with a TBN extension. It may also work with "default.tbn". Again the actual images can be JPG, PNG or, possibly, BMP too.
  19. HDShadow
    To swap the Xbox region, hard of softmodded, you should use the Enigmah Region Changer app which is usually a default app provided with most dash installer or softmod packages. It literally takes just a few seconds to change PAL to NTSC and as long as your TV supports NTSC external input (most PAL TVs have for decades) and a ED/HD AV cable you should have the 480p, 720p and 1080i provide in the video settings menu.
  20. HDShadow
    I've been using chipped machines and softmods since 2005, never had a problem caused by the softmod. Most softmod problems are caused by user mistakes and third party, usually kids, fiddling. I use a Xecuter 2.6CE chipped Xbox as my primary games playing machine and a softmod, probably my most used Xbox, as a kitchen media player, mostly for music. I have two other Xboxes set up for Aladdin chip use but with only one currently installed the other is HDD locked so I can use it softmodded without the chip needing to be fitted. I also have a TSOP. In short my experience is that they're all equally good and reliable, depending on your needs and situation.
  21. HDShadow
    Had a quick scan through the replies so maybe I missed it but couldn't this problem be, possibly, because technoob is not using an 80 wire IDE cable? It fits the evidence: PATA drive works perfectly, switch to SATA + Adapter and there's a problem. It has to be either the cable or the adapter or both.
  22. HDShadow
    The IEC C7 'Figure 8' also known, apparently, as 'Shotgun' or 'Infinity' is a ubiquitous power cable type used for almost everything with a power draw of <500W. They use, typically, a pair of 0.75mm² core wires and in the UK are fitted with mains plugs with a 3 Amp fuse. Watts = Amps x Volts so that means it should be good for up to 750W equipment but you should [b]always[/b] play safe and never use it for more than 66% of its rated fuse capacity. 0.75mm² core wire itself is rated for 'up to' 6 Amps but this rating varies with length and use conditions but it is generally stated as being OK for up to 1440W equipment. In short with the original Xbox's <100W power draw the cable is, assuming it is of good quality and meets the specified electrical standards, is actually way over spec. The replacement MS Xbox power cable, issued to all Xbox owners who applied at the time is even more over spec. The UK/EU version does include a useful inline switch which may or may not have a circuit breaker/RCD function too. The only problem I've had with any Figure 8 cable is when the connector plug itself is badly manufactured and does not locate firmly enough in the receiving socket. That can lead to it becoming loose and electrical arcing a possibility.
  23. HDShadow
    I wouldn't be; I've had some stuff in the XBMC\System\python folder that refuses to FTP as well as other in both the plugins and the script\.modules folder too despite having the Auto FATX limiter, found in the XBMC Network settings menu, enabled. It can get really annoying when FTPing direct between Xboxes using UnleashX's File Manager FTP client too; it will consistently fail on certain XBMC files/folders and that can include some which have already been FTPed from PC to the first Xbox OK. BTW isn't the OP using XBMC4Xbox ie. vanilla XBMC already? The Auto FATX limiter is usually enabled by default in the XBMC/XBMC4Xbox downloads I've used but still worth checking that.
  24. HDShadow
    It may be an individual file that is causing the problem - I'd suggest trying to FTP it one folder at a time and try to identify the culprit that way. Try CoreFTP if you have some problem with FileZilla; that has always worked when I've had trouble with the latter but I do find it noticeably slower.
  25. HDShadow
    As I said on another forum where the OP posted this too: most DVD drive issues are due to ageing and not to do with software or BIOS being used.

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