SmartXX V2 Modchip and big Hdds (2TB drive)

[valdan]

I'm having the same issues as OP. Drive reads discs fine with original drive, new drive + 80pin cable (Manhattan) + IDE2SATA (Startech) makes the disc drive whir and not read the launch disc. I put the OG hard drive back in, it's fine. Have tried multiple drives from 1 TB Blue, 2 TB Green, and another 2TB Surveillance drive to no luck.

Setup: SmartXX modchip on 1.0 box.

I've checked the cables and jumpers several times, but I'm going to order another Startech and see if that works. I'll also load up the Cerbios6 for 1.0 in the interim. 

Any other things I may have missed along this journey??

[Bowlsnapper]

On 10/2/2023 at 6:02 PM, valdan said:

I'm having the same issues as OP. Drive reads discs fine with original drive, new drive + 80pin cable (Manhattan) + IDE2SATA (Startech) makes the disc drive whir and not read the launch disc. I put the OG hard drive back in, it's fine. Have tried multiple drives from 1 TB Blue, 2 TB Green, and another 2TB Surveillance drive to no luck.

Setup: SmartXX modchip on 1.0 box.

I've checked the cables and jumpers several times, but I'm going to order another Startech and see if that works. I'll also load up the Cerbios6 for 1.0 in the interim. 

Any other things I may have missed along this journey??

Format the drive with FATXplorer first, Cerbios formatting. THEN put it in and run the installer.  Don't get another StarTech. It'll do the same shit.

I had the same dumbass problem with the DVD drive flipping out after the LED turns red and the box loads the BFM. That solved it for me.

Incorrect: Set the jumper to slave. Jumper only needs to be Master if the HDD is the sole device on the the IDE bus and there is no DVD ROM drive present.

Edit: This is not accurate. The jumper must be set to master. The HDD is usually cable select, but since 80 wire IDE cables are not designed for use in the Xbox (which uses upsidedown and backwards connectors, and are technically proprietary cables) the Cable Select function does not work properly, and device priorities must be manually set. HDD is master, and DVD drive is slave.

On a separate note, Cerbios UDMA 6 should work just fine

[sweetdarkdestiny]

23 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

Set the jumper to slave. Jumper only needs to be Master if the HDD is the sole device on the the IDE bus and there is no DVD ROM drive present.

The jumper on the SATA adapter has always to be master. 

[Bowlsnapper]

5 minutes ago, sweetdarkdestiny said:

The jumper on the SATA adapter has always to be master. 

? I thought the DVD ROM drive was the Master? I have used both positions and both have worked, but I was following what I thought @SS_Dave Told me when it comes to the master jumper when no DVD drive is connected... Or was it @KaosEngineer? One of the two.

Maybe I'm remembering wrong? 

Anyway, preformatting with FATXplorer with Cerbios setup is what got the installer to boot for me:)

[sweetdarkdestiny]

DVD is always slave and HDD always master since for ever. @KaosEngineer already told you that in your troubleshooting topic with your adapter. 

[Bowlsnapper]

Just now, sweetdarkdestiny said:

DVD is always slave and HDD always master since for ever. @KaosEngineer already told you that in your troubleshooting topic with your adapter. 

!!!! Well shame on me!

[Bowlsnapper]

@sweetdarkdestiny I guess the HDD is usually CS, which is basically Master if only given a choice between slave and master. 

Hopefully I won't forget in 2 weeks. How hard did I hit my head, anyway?

[sweetdarkdestiny]

1 hour ago, Bowlsnapper said:

@sweetdarkdestiny I guess the HDD is usually CS, which is basically Master if only given a choice between slave and master. 

cable select is cable select and not basicly master. Thats why you you have MA/CS/SL. 

[Bowlsnapper]

Just now, sweetdarkdestiny said:

cable select is cable select and not basicly master. Thats why you you have MA/CS/SL. 

Just going by stuff like this. I'm not a guru by any means. I'm still quite fuzzy on how the IDE bus works and how devices are assigned.

"it wouldnt really matter for either or, cable just selects it for the first open spot, so therefore it would actually be setting it to master. "

https://forums.afterdawn.com/threads/xbox-hard-drive-master-cable-select-settings.296418/

 

[KaosEngineer]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:02 PM, valdan said:

I'm having the same issues as OP. Drive reads discs fine with original drive, new drive + 80pin cable (Manhattan) + IDE2SATA (Startech) makes the disc drive whir and not read the launch disc. I put the OG hard drive back in, it's fine. Have tried multiple drives from 1 TB Blue, 2 TB Green, and another 2TB Surveillance drive to no luck.

Setup: SmartXX modchip on 1.0 box.

I've checked the cables and jumpers several times, but I'm going to order another Startech and see if that works. I'll also load up the Cerbios6 for 1.0 in the interim. 

Any other things I may have missed along this journey??

Is the Startech adapter set to MASTER or Cable Select?  If Cable Select, set it to MASTER.

[Bowlsnapper]

Just now, KaosEngineer said:

Is the Startech adapter set to MASTER or Cable Select?  If Cable Select, set it to MASTER.

Facepalm! I forgot the startech even had a cable select! I've been looking at so many of these cheap ass adapters with only master and slave...

[FrostyMaGee]

On 10/2/2023 at 9:02 PM, valdan said:

I'm having the same issues as OP. Drive reads discs fine with original drive, new drive + 80pin cable (Manhattan) + IDE2SATA (Startech) makes the disc drive whir and not read the launch disc. I put the OG hard drive back in, it's fine. Have tried multiple drives from 1 TB Blue, 2 TB Green, and another 2TB Surveillance drive to no luck.

Setup: SmartXX modchip on 1.0 box.

I've checked the cables and jumpers several times, but I'm going to order another Startech and see if that works. I'll also load up the Cerbios6 for 1.0 in the interim. 

Any other things I may have missed along this journey??

In addition to what @KaosEngineer suggested checking on the sata adapter the 80 pin cables can sometimes be faulty. I’ve run in to that a couple of times. It looked fine but replacing it with another 80 pin fixed my issues. Anyway, I just thought I’d throw it out there if the sata adapter isn’t the issue. 

[Bowlsnapper]

I'm tellin' ya, format the drive with Cerbios formatting in FATXplorer first. I could not boot a BFM based installer without doing so first, no matter what cable I was using or Jumper setting I had the startech on. Had the same symptom of the DVD drive flipping out infinitely with no boot ever happening...

Very, very weird cause, but it fixed the problem nonetheless.

[sweetdarkdestiny]

pls delete

Edited October 4, 2023 by sweetdarkdestiny

[Bowlsnapper]

Just now, sweetdarkdestiny said:

pls delete

I shall not!

[KaosEngineer]

On 10/3/2023 at 10:53 PM, Bowlsnapper said:

Facepalm! I forgot the startech even had a cable select! I've been looking at so many of these cheap ass adapters with only master and slave...

Unless you buy an 80-wire 40-pin IDE cable made specifically for the Xbox, CABLE SELECT will not work.  

Which connector you plug into the device determines its function:

• host controller
• master, or 
• slave drive

However, with a PC-compatible cable the host controller connector gets plugged into the hard drive and the MASTER (hard drive) connector into the host controller port on the motherboard.  Therefore, you must set IDE-to-SATA adater to MASTER instead of trying to use Cable Select.  Cable Select is defeated when you have to connect a standard IDE cable end-over-end.

From wikipedia.com:

Quote

Parallel ATA interface > 80-conductor variant

80-conductor cables usually come with three differently colored connectors (blue, black, and gray for controller, master drive, and slave drive respectively) as opposed to uniformly colored 40-conductor cable's connectors (commonly all gray). The gray connector on 80-conductor cables has pin 28 CSEL not connected, making it the slave position for drives configured cable select.

 

[valdan]

On 10/3/2023 at 3:54 AM, Bowlsnapper said:

Format the drive with FATXplorer first, Cerbios formatting. THEN put it in and run the installer.  Don't get another StarTech. It'll do the same shit.

I had the same dumbass problem with the DVD drive flipping out after the LED turns red and the box loads the BFM. That solved it for me.

Set the jumper to slave. Jumper only needs to be Master if the HDD is the sole device on the the IDE bus and there is no DVD ROM drive present.

On a separate note, Cerbios UDMA 6 should work just fine

This was the correct answer. My Xbox 1.0 with SmartXX v2 says the hardware and bios do not match, but it works regardless. I've downgraded to UDMA 5 and same results.

Jumper is on Master, but the formatting did allow the drive to be read. If its unformatted/initialized first, that seems to choke up the disc reader a lot.

Thanks!

[Bowlsnapper]

9 hours ago, KaosEngineer said:

Unless you buy an 80-wire 40-pin IDE cable made specifically for the Xbox, CABLE SELECT will not work.  

Which connector you plug into the device determines its function:

• host controller
• master, or 
• slave drive

However, with a PC-compatible cable the host controller connector gets plugged into the hard drive and the MASTER (hard drive) connector into the host controller port on the motherboard.  Therefore, you must set IDE-to-SATA adater to MASTER instead of trying to use Cable Select.  Cable Select is defeated when you have to connect a standard IDE cable end-over-end.

From wikipedia.com:

 

NOW I understand what cable select means. Theoretically, with an 80 wire, 40 pin cable hooked up for use in a PC, you could have both drives set to cable select and they would each assign themselves based on the position on the cable. However, since the aftermarket cable is typically run backwards, this defeats this functionality and priorities must be set manually. Correct?

I have now updated my post to something more accurate up there.

How difficult would it be to build a custom IDE cable? Can these connectors be crimped onto a cable with any accuracy? Are parts and tools to do so even available? Using upsidedown, backwards IDE cables is both difficult and messy, making for a pretty tough fit.

7 hours ago, valdan said:

This was the correct answer. My Xbox 1.0 with SmartXX v2 says the hardware and bios do not match, but it works regardless. I've downgraded to UDMA 5 and same results.

Jumper is on Master, but the formatting did allow the drive to be read. If its unformatted/initialized first, that seems to choke up the disc reader a lot.

Thanks!

Glad it worked.

[KaosEngineer]

On 10/6/2023 at 4:07 AM, Bowlsnapper said:

However, since the aftermarket cable is typically run backwards, this defeats this functionality and priorities must be set manually. Correct?

Yes

[FrostyMaGee]

On 10/6/2023 at 5:07 AM, Bowlsnapper said:

 

How difficult would it be to build a custom IDE cable? Can these connectors be crimped onto a cable with any accuracy? Are parts and tools to do so even available? Using upsidedown, backwards IDE cables is both difficult and messy, making for a pretty tough fit.

I remember making them back in the day with ribbon cable. You basically just cut your ribbon cable to length then used the two part end to make each connector. One part secured the end and the actual connector end had little teeth that bit in to the cable and made the connection to the wires. We had a crimper to help with this but it could usually be done without one. I haven’t made one in many years but I’m pretty sure you can still buy both cable and ide connectors. Oh and when you made a secondary connection on that cable you just crimped in place obviously. It’s actually all pretty easy. The biggest thing you had to worry with is making sure the connector was aligned correctly on the ribbon cable before you crimped/pressed the connector on. That and straight cuts on your cable (assuming you didn’t need a special angle or something). 

Edited October 9, 2023 by FrostyMaGee

[Bowlsnapper]

39 minutes ago, FrostyMaGee said:

I remember making them back in the day with ribbon cable. You basically just cut your ribbon cable to length then used the two part end to make each connector. One part secured the end and the actual connector end had little teeth that bit in to the cable and made the connection to the wires. We had a crimper to help with this but it could usually be done without one. I haven’t made one in many years but I’m pretty sure you can still buy both cable and ide connectors. Oh and when you made a secondary connection on that cable you just crimped in place obviously. It’s actually all pretty easy. The biggest thing you had to worry with is making sure the connector was aligned correctly on the ribbon cable before you crimped/pressed the connector on. That and straight cuts on your cable (assuming you didn’t need a special angle or something). 

The cramping tool aligns the connectors to the ribbon, correct? I've disassembled a 40 wire before and I can't imagine doing it by hand with dependable accuracy.

[sweetdarkdestiny]

8 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

The cramping tool aligns the connectors to the ribbon, correct? I've disassembled a 40 wire before and I can't imagine doing it by hand with dependable accuracy.

 

[FrostyMaGee]

28 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

The cramping tool aligns the connectors to the ribbon, correct? I've disassembled a 40 wire before and I can't imagine doing it by hand with dependable accuracy.

No. You just line it up in the connector. It’s really not too difficult after you do a couple. The ends make it much easier to line up than you’d think. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by FrostyMaGee

[FrostyMaGee]

11 minutes ago, sweetdarkdestiny said:

 

Thanks for that video post Sweet! That helps illustrate it much better than my description. Seeing that brought back some memories and reminded me of also making old coaxial network cables and serial cable pin outs for old TI systems. Lol. Good lord that was a long time ago now. 

 

 @Bowlsnapper This is what I was referring to in the first post. You can see what I was talking about with alignment. It’s really not too difficult. 

[Bowlsnapper]

1 hour ago, FrostyMaGee said:

Thanks for that video post Sweet! That helps illustrate it much better than my description. Seeing that brought back some memories and reminded me of also making old coaxial network cables and serial cable pin outs for old TI systems. Lol. Good lord that was a long time ago now. 

 

 @Bowlsnapper This is what I was referring to in the first post. You can see what I was talking about with alignment. It’s really not too difficult. 

I'll try to build a few. Ide cables are fucking expensive. Lol. I tried some 3 dollar ones from Ali and they are NOT working out at all. Just unusable.