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HDShadow

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Everything posted by HDShadow

  1. HDShadow
    Try finding the Auto Fill option (or whatever it is called on your TV) in the TV's main menu first, that is usually set as the default so it may be all you need to get an acceptable WS display maybe to use one of the the other preset display options. If you do get into the service menu: good luck but it is on your own head if you do manage to do that. Be very careful. for the reasons already mentioned, and take notes of the default/existing settings before changing anything.
  2. HDShadow
    The problem must be a game display issue if the dash is displaying correctly through the same AV cable type being used for that as for the games. A possible clue is that the audio is not affected. That is typical of a regional video format issue. It seems unlikely but there is a possibility you've just being playing regionally locked games and additionally, possibly, your TV does not like NTSC or something like that. However I'm not ruling out the softmod settings here either, it can not be a coincidence that the problem only appeared after the softmodding. The protection given by modern softmods may extend to the video output too. Perhaps ED/HD is being forced for games or something like that. I haven't used Rocky5's XBSMT since the very early days so I'm not qualified to even suggest where to look to fix this if it is that or similar but there are others here who are.
  3. HDShadow
    It should just be a TV formating issue that can be deselected if you trawl through the TV's usually ghastly Settings > Video GUI. What the option is called tends to vary and how it does it can vary too. On my newest TV it is called Auto Fill on others it might be a different name but when enabled it most typically does exactly what you've described. It incrementally stretches out a non-WS source eg. 4:3 format image from the centre so that at the edges the stretching is at its greatest. My experience is that it looks awful on some TVs but on others, which seem to do it with a mixture of zoom and stretch it looks better. Many Xbox games do not support true WS or fake it using a 3:2 format which is why you see this problem. Personally I am happy using 4:3 but on my Xbox gaming TV, a WS CRT, one of the reasons I bought it is because entering the service menu is so simple. The geometry options available are well presented and user friendly so easy to alter for just such cases. I play a lot of such Xbox games full WS with minimum distortion and no meaningful loss of picture content as the games are usually designed to allow for overscan anyway. Accessing the service menu is not recommended even if you can find out how to do that for a particular TV model. The TV manaufacturers' GUIs are variable and in two cases I have experience appallingly bad. There's also the danger that merely entering the menu will will cause a factory reset of everything too. Personally I'd love to have a TV with full geometry controls available to the user for cases like this but I doubt that is ever going to happen. We'll just have to make do with the preset video display options the manufacturers think we want/need.
  4. HDShadow
    Assuming you're using the HDD ready downloads or the extracted Redump content: more info needed about exactly how and where the games are being installed. What main dash are you using? You should not need to play the games directly from their default.xbe using a file manager. If they are installed correctly they should appear in your Games main dashboard menu entry.
  5. HDShadow

    files fail

    HDShadow replied to stephen mell's topic in Games

    If the original download files are faulty or there's something missing then FileZilla is not going to report any error when you FTP them to your Xbox. Can you post some file manager screenshots of where/how the games are installed and the content; typically that will be E, F or G:\Games\Game Name\content?
  6. HDShadow

    files fail

    HDShadow replied to stephen mell's topic in Games

    It could be a bad dump or missing files after FTPing as ^ ^^ suggested but it also could be something else quite simple like: how they were installed. From the sound of it the OP is not having the problem with just one game. I can't recall if I've ever seen an HDD installed game provoke that dirty disc error, I think not, usually you just get a blank screen and/or the dash reloads. So more information about how they were installed might help.
  7. HDShadow
    A cross-over cable is really nothing special it is simply an ethernet cable with some of the wires reverse connected to one of the plugs. You can turn any standard 'patch' ethernet cable into a cross-over by cutting off the plug one end, teasing out the sets of internal wires' twisted pairs, connecting them, opposite to opposite in a new plug you then crimp in place. DIY ethernet plugs, preferably shielded ones, are easily found online and all you need is some decent wire strippers and a good crimping tool. For some odd reason some designers of such tools use a 'comb' for pressing the plug's penetrator connectors through the wires. That means each tooth of the comb needs to be precisely position over each penetrator. In the cheapest ones there is too much play and when you crimp one, or more of the penetrators is pushed at an angle so it doesn't go through the centre of the wire or misses it altogether. I'd also recommend, if you can find them, using pass-through ethernet plugs rather than the standard, more ubiquitous sealed end ones. The pass through type have exit holes for each wire going into the plug which means you can get them straighter and flatter inside the plug before crimping. That makes it less likely you'll get a bad crimp. If the crimpers are designed for pass-through plugs they will slice off the ends cleanly as part of the crimping action.
  8. HDShadow
    Once it is modded and a dash installed all you need to swap the region is a Xbox app called Enigmah (Region Changer). It usually comes as standard with most dashboard installs but is easily found anyway. It literally takes seconds to swap between PAL and NTSC and TBH once you've swapped to NTSC you'll rarely want to or have to use PAL again as most PAL Xbox games support NTSC. However though the Xbox itself is not region locked ie. even in original retail state a PAL Xbox may be able to play a NTSC game, there are a number that are region locked both PAL and NTSC. You also need to be aware that whilst Xbox dashboards do support the higher resolutions 720p/1080i most Xbox games only support 480p. So if you have the monitor/TV set to 1080i with an HDMI adapter it will be scaling the display from 480p. Widescreen support is also an issue too - there are games that don't support it and others which use the NTSC 3:2 'WS' 720 x 480, not true 16:9. There is an ongoing project to patch Xbox games for 16:9 and 720p so Google that if such matters are of interest.
  9. HDShadow
    The material the 'belt' is made from has a significant effect on the resting diameter it needs to be. That's why I always go with, allegedly, XB360 drive belts. Materials like rubber bands are softer and stretch more so do not grip the tray drive wheels as well and will very likely stretch/deform very quickly. I tested a genuine original Xbox Samsung drive belt after hot water/cooling/drying reconditioning and that fitted over an old circular (no longer in circulation) UK £1 coin with a little stretching. That coin was exactly 22.5mm so I took it that the original Xbox drive belt was 22mm in diameter. That is the same as the 'genuine' XB360 Samsung drive belts too but I use the term 'genuine' with skepticism as the material of the ones I've bought have been softer than the definitely original Xbox Samsung ones. I'd guess anything between 20mm and 24mm diameter will work, depending on the material. But one thing I have found is that if you go tighter than 20mm, particularly with a harder, grippier material, it actually exacerbates the tray opening/closing problems. If it is too tight the belt slips on the drive drive wheels or brakes them so much you can hear it straining the tray eject/close motor.
  10. HDShadow
    I'm still interested as to why the problem occurred. I had never heard of the dd (data duplication) command line tool before this thread but it sounds like it is just a cloning tool so why didn't it work? How was the new HDD mounted during this process? The suggestion for the requested work around with the 3TB HDD in question - to flash the existing BIOS to CerBIOS is OK but a bit extreme when you can still use the 3TB HDD with the current BIOS. There's a <1TiB max size limit for each of the F & G partitions (Extended Drives 6 and 7) but this means you get significantly more than 2TB, divided equally between F and G, when using a 3TB HDD (3,000,000,000,000 Bytes)
  11. HDShadow
    UnleashX can be installed as an app very simply too. So you can keep the current primary dash then switch to UnleashX as required. I'm interested as to why the OP wants to this main dash swap. Most of my primary dashboards have been and are UnleashX for many reasons like its file manager. But a significant one is also because I've created/edited a whole load of skins for it over the years and spent a lot of time getting them as good as possible. It is an on going project I go back to regularly when I have spare time but don't fancy a game. BUT for any multi-media use XBMC is simply better. UnleashX's music player has a broken GUI so when I wanted to set up a Xbox for 'kitchen' use where music playing and the occasional DVD primarily, using XBMC as the main dash was a no brainer.
  12. HDShadow
    Random small scratches like those are clearly not concentric, as ^ has pointed out, can not be caused when the disc is spinning. If we rule out consistently poor handling by the OP then the only other cause that might produce random direction scratches is during the tray ejecting or closing/loading. Something in the tray? Grit or a raised plastic burr? How are the discs stored? In plastic sleeves or proper CD/DVD cases? Are the disc left on any surface prior loading into the tray? Are the carefully placed down into the centre of the tray or are they sometimes slid into it or the tray closed when they're not correctly positioned? I scratched my perfect condition Timesplitters FP disc accidentally just doing the latter once and whilst only the faintest, non-concentric scratch it is obviously just in the wrong place as it will not boot in any Xbox I own. I'd test a pristine, new, blank CD, just closing and immediately ejecting the tray a few times to see if that causes anything similar. I suppose it could still be the laser carriage if the tray is not going in level (unevenly worn runners?) or, more likely, is warped and the damage is occurring just before the disc is clamped and starts to spin up. But it seems very unlikely as the timing of the contact causing the scratches would have to occur for only a fraction of a second before the disc was spinning as the scratching would be concentric or partially concentric.
  13. HDShadow
    That rings a bell and certainly ^ would explain the problem.
  14. HDShadow
    I have distant memories of there being some problem with Thief Deadly Shadows PAL when installed to the HDD. Just had two ideas:- 1). try playing it in 4:3 format rather than WS. Using WS can cause some weird problems with a few games intended for 4:3 display. 2). Clear the E:\CACHE and the content of X, Y and Z drives, particularly if when you tested the PAL version you did it after playing the NTSC one. If either of those do not work:- Are we talking about from original PAL disc/installed from disc/installed from download? Is the Xbox NTSC or set to NTSC? If you swap the Xbox to PAL does the problem remain? If installed to the HDD by any method has the game been ACL (Action Control List) patched by DVD2Xbox?
  15. HDShadow
    I'd suggest you use XBPartitioner v1.3 and check that F:\ was properly formatted. If it has an ER(ror) against Extended Drive 6 (F) that's your problem. Unfortunately if either of the extended drives, F:\ (or G:\), is corrupted because of incorrect formatting that's it. You'll have to reformatted for both and that will wipe them entirely. Hope it is not this but I suspect it is.
  16. HDShadow
    That's what I have on two out of three of the chipped or TSOPed Xboxes I've done - it is a safety net. It means that if the chip fails and you can lock the HDD it will boot on the same Xbox as there is an E:\evoxdash.xbe (assuming that is your softmod of choice's primary dash's XBE). I have softmodded/locked retail HDDs for all my hardmodded Xboxes too. HeXEn's supplied BIOS are set up to use a secondary dash path that I think is the same as the softmod one E:\Dash\UnleashX.xbe it installs, probably for the same reason.
  17. HDShadow
    Maybe somebody else has said this but I'm too lazy today to check. I would have thought the problems could be explained by the OP not understanding that the HDD/SSD has to be locked to be able to use it with a softmod but not with a chip. My guess is that the SSD is unlocked and the HDD he mentioned earlier that does work is locked. It maybe as simple as that................................possibly.
  18. HDShadow

    Download Games

    HDShadow replied to PedroVski08's topic in Games

    Very few Xbox games will fit on a CD and a high percentage of Xbox fitted DVD drives don't support CD-R. The only universally compatible disc media is DVD-R, preferably burned using ImgBurn default settings. If that combination does not work then it is highly likely your DVD drive laser is on the way out. Also should mention that you can only play original MS Xbox game discs unless your Xbox is soft or hard modded. If it is modded then installing the game files direct to the HDD via FTP is the preferred option rather than burning them to disc. The DVD drive is the Xbox's weakness and bearing in mind Xboxes are 17 - 22 years old now using the DVD drive as little as possible is recommended practice too.
  19. HDShadow
    ^ Rubbish. 80% of my Xboxes' HDDs are still IDE, mostly 120GB and 160GB but one 320GB. A lot of the 160GB are ones previously used in PVRs so not genuinely new either. I've not had an IDE HDD failure yet and some have been in fairly regular use for over 12 years. I even had a stock IDE HDD in one machine which was working perfectly for over 12 years (2003 - 2016) before I replaced it with a bigger one. SATA or IDE it depends how much use and abuse they have had not their age. I'd also point out that IDE HDDs (7200rpm) often boot faster than SATA ones because the bottleneck is the SATA > IDE adapter and that applies to both HDDs and SSDs. However from the description given I would replace the HDD although I'm not convinced the problem is entirely down to the HDD. It sounds as if a cache and/or temporary file issue could be the part of the problem. I'm wondering whether the trouble might be fixed by deleting the content of X, Y and Z drives and E:\CACHE before booting the games in question. To do that I think you have a clear CACHE option with HeXEn and maybe some other modding tools packages you can install. But the easiest way is with the UnleashX dash (using its File Explorer) which can be installed and run as an app if the OP is wedded to the EvoX dash.
  20. HDShadow
    Yes, I often do that myself, using the aforementioned Qwix or C Xbox Tool. I then use DVD2Xbox to rip it to the HDD. I've actually timed it and, depending on the size of the XISO file, I've burn a XISO to DVD and installed it to the HDD in almost the same time as it takes me to set up FTP. But that is only because I do not have my primary Xbox permanently networked. I have to swap ethernet cables and change the Xbox's normal Static IP, which I use to transfer between Xboxes, to DHCP and that all takes time. Only thing to be aware of are the Xbox DVD drive disc media compatibility issues: DVD-R is the only type proven to be universally compatible; DVD+R is often OK but when it comes to CD and DVD-RW types the compatibility does depend on the drive make and sometimes even the disc media manufacturer. In short: stick to DVD-R.
  21. HDShadow
    I doubt it is even RGB because the only connection type that uses RGB is SCART and that has a unique quirk when used with the UnleashX dash. It does allow you change the resolution settings (not the actual resolution) to 480p and/or 720p and/or 1080i and save it. However if you reload/restart it reverts the settings back to 480i. This is a potentially useful feature in some circumstances but my point here is that if was RGB the ED/HD resolution options would available but in the OP the screenshot shows them greyed out, typical when using an AV Composite cable.
  22. HDShadow
    To enable ED/HD settings whatever the, not mentioned before, HDMI adapter being used allows in regards to resolution options, it is acting exactly like a Component cable. It must use the same mode select method: grounding pins 18 and 19, as the Xbox's ED/HD output options are only available, as said, when using a Component connections (see below). The adapter is surely transcoding ie. converting analogue Component output to digital HDMI. At least that is how I've always thought they worked. If they don't how does it do that?
  23. HDShadow
    I suspect the cause of you not being allowed to change resolution options with the UnleashX dash is simply because you're using an SD (Standard Definition) type AV cable ie. AV Composite or SCART/SCART RGB or S-Video which only support 480i/576i (NTSC & PAL60/PAL50). You need to be using a Component cable to get any of the ED/HD screen display options ie. 480p, 720p and 1080i.
  24. HDShadow
    Personally I've never had any problem with .XMV when using XBMC v3.5.3, in fact it is usually .MP4 stuff which is at too high resolution for the Xbox to handle that causes me problems and I have to downscale. Getting that right sometimes takes specific conversion settings (VLC) depending on the original resolution. However I've found simply using SPPV's XMV Converter tool often fixes it in one go and even if the resulting .XMV conversion is 100+MB, far bigger than the original .MP4 file size, it plays on XBMC with no problems.
  25. HDShadow
    You were doing each ie. the adapter and the IDE cable swap, separately? That would explain the problem....................................I think. I'm pretty sure that every time I've used a SATA > IDE adapter fitted HDD for a Chimp swap it worked OK with the SATA > IDE adapter pre-attached to the HDD and plugging the IDE cable into that. I would have thought that, as you seem to be saying, plugging the adapter onto the IDE cable first them plugging that into the HDD, might be the cause of problems. The adapter when connected to the IDE cable is being powered up without an attached HDD. But if that method worked for you and what I would have thought was the more usual method did not then the proof is there and can not be argued with.

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