tmcwboards

Thanks yet again. I kinda thought it was as you've explained. I guess over the years, the description of the whole procedure/hardware/software has assumed its own way of describing itself, that its description has deviated from its actual meaning. No, there is nothing on the drive that can't be restored from elsewhere, except maybe some game saves. I've already prepared a fresh drive for this unit, and it has a dash on it, ready for populating. If I really wanted to, I suppose I could unlock the hard drives, and then lock with a eeprom for a different Xbox, and use them in there, or transfer anything I needed out. Or I could just TSOP (!) all my Xboxes, and use any hard drive as I see fit. Just to add to your post #20, thanks for the info there, but that sounds a bit beyond my skills and equipment, so I reckon I will just leave it as it is for now. Main thing is that it works again, thanks to all the help here.

Thanks for the info. I tried that option, but I get a failure message saying... "Batch process failed. The last item was: No TSOP / chip dash found.. Action: rename" I guess I don't fully understand what's going on, is the modchop acting as a TSOP or BIOS, or are they the same thing?

If you have a multimeter, best to start at the PSU I think. With the power cord plugged into the wall socket, then plugging it into the back of the Xbox, you should be able to hear a low "thunk" sound (I think the transformer makes this this noise when it becomes energised). If it doesn't, try another power cord (fuse could be blown in the plug), then there is probably a fuse near the AC inlet on the PSU board, might look like a regular fuse, or like a small red cylinder. Also, don't know your PSU type (have been looking at a Foxlink myself in recent days, and it doesn't look like that), but some types had issues with the solder in the power input pins. If that all checks out, check for your standby voltage on the PSU<->Xbox connector. You should be seeing 3.3V on the brown wire.

Yes, it's been softmodded before. I'll have a go with the Hexen disk to see if I can figure that out, I've found that the processes from those disks are usually very straightforward. One thing I noticed is that when the screen goes blank and the light goes solid orange, if I open the DVD tray, the Xbox will then go to the Xbox menu screen (memory, music, live, settings menu). Then putting in a disk will boot the game ok. Is this normal behavior? I have a few more questions, if you don't mind. I'm very curious about what went wrong. Based on what's been described, is it possible to know what exactly went wrong with this unit? Is it the BIOS, or TSOP that has gone bad? Also, is it possible to reverse what went wrong? What I'm wondering is if the BIOS or TSOP chips have corrupt data, can they be restored with new data, and the modchip and D0 wire removed? Or is the BIOS or TSOP chip irreversibly damaged? And what would have caused the chip or data to go bad in the first place? Thanks to everyone who helped here. It's great to see the unit come back to life, I thought it was curtains for it for a while.

On a whim, I put in a few disks, and the Xbox is booting the games fine, it seems, and it is also pulling game saves from the hard drive. Any idea why it's not booting into UnleashX? Will I have to prepare new disks for it with the modchip installed?

Thanks for looking and helping. It seems I misunderstood an installation guide I was reading. I connected the D0 to a ground, and the Xbox is booting, but not quite there yet. The splash screen is the usual Xbox one, but with an Evo X icon in the top left of the screen. However, after it goes through the splash screen, the screen goes blank, and the light on the front is solid orange. And it's a blank screen, not no signal. It also seems that if the power has been disconnected for a short while, and the Xbox rebooted, when the screen goes blank, the light will cycle through all three colours, but if it has been powered up, and switched off, and switched on again, solid orange light and blank screen. I disconnected the hard drive and got that service screen with error "07" displayed. I tried with another hard drive I have for this Xbox, and it gives the same results. Any idea what might be wrong now?

Yes, but it seems to behave the same as before, 2 attempts to start, then flashing red and green.

Ok, I got an Aladdin Advance today, and followed the instructions for installation. Had a bit of a job clearing the LPC pads of solder, but got there in the end. Soldered in the header pins, the D0 to the LAN LED, and the BT jumper on the modchip, but the Xbox is still fragging. I've uploaded a few pictures of the work. Anything there I should be suspicious of? Also, is there a guide for checking if the continuity is ok? For example, I'm getting continuity between pins 2 and 12 on the LPC header, but don't know if that is normal.

Thanks for the help and info. I'll have a look around and see where I can get a modchip from. Is there anything specific I should be looking for, or avoiding, given the state this unit is in?

Alright, I managed to follow the tutorial for all 3 combinations, but it didn't change anything. Though the soldering was tough, I triple checked the jumper before and after, and fairly certain that the work was ok for all 3 combinations. Am I right in thinking that if this didn't work, a modchip is unlikely to resurrect it either? And that the problem lies elsewhere? Unless the TSOP is completely borked, but what are the chances of that? If the TSOP is corrupted, is it possible to flash to it when the Xbox is in this state?

Thanks for that. I've tried linking to the A18 solder point, but it didn't change anything. I found it very tough soldering to that pad. Are there any other points, for instance, directly on to the BIOS chip that can be soldered to?

Thanks for the input. So I shouldn't worry about the voltages? The unit is soft-modded, no mod-chip, and never flashed. It's a v1.0, so it has the 12 pin power connector, PSU is the Foxlink FTPS-0002 Rev. B. I don't have a great camera here, but I've included a couple of closeups of the clock cap area and cpu area. The caps look ok, but I know that doesn't always mean they are ok. I have a v1.2 that had bulging and leaking caps (below the CPU, 3 IIRC), but it was working fine before and after they were replaced.

Hi, I have a v1.0 that has recently started fragging, tries to start 3 times, and on the 3rd attempt, flashes red and green. No video. The hard drive spins up. A few weeks ago, it fragged a few times, but eventually it did start up, but now it won't. I got it about 10 years ago, clock cap had leaked, so it was removed, and the board was cleaned up with vinegar and IPA. No damage to the traces as far as I could tell. It performed well in the years since. I've tested it with a second hard drive that was prepared and works in it normally, but same result. I have tested the voltages on the 12 pin connector, and I'm only getting 11.49V on the 12V line. Also, seeing 2.54V on the PowON pin when the Xbox powers up; apparently it's supposed to be 3.3V. Other voltages are ok, 4.98 on the 5V, and 3.27 on the 3.3V. Would these abnormal voltages cause the Xbox to FRAG? Does anyone know what the PowON pin/line is for, is it a voltage from the mainboard back to the PSU?