Xecuter 2.3b lite Fragging on Boot

[Raidernick]

1 hour ago, Bowlsnapper said:

Well, the startech can do UDMA 6, but 5 is still pretty damn good.

I haven't actually tested udma6 with it yet, I just assumed it wouldn't work. I should probably do that.

[Bowlsnapper]

6 minutes ago, Raidernick said:

I haven't actually tested udma6 with it yet, I just assumed it wouldn't work. I should probably do that.

Hell I do it every time by default, just cuz I can

[Mittyoz]

Just checked my adapter.  It has the same R4 spot (why didn't they just solder one on there? WHY??? LOL).  

That might be a bit beyond my soldering skills.  BUT.  I wonder.  What if you just bridged those two points?  

BTW with this current adapter, when booting with any variant of Cerbios (no matter what UDMA setting) I eventually get error 9, and it just keeps rebooting into Safe mode.  Seems for others it works, but it's just slow, but I'm not even getting that.  

Edited December 2, 2023 by Mittyoz

[Bowlsnapper]

5 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

Just checked my adapter.  It has the same R4 spot (why didn't they just solder one on there? WHY??? LOL).  

That might be a bit beyond my soldering skills.  BUT.  I wonder.  What if you just bridged those two points?  

BTW with this current adapter, when booting with any variant of Cerbios (no matter what UDMA setting) I eventually get error 9, and it just keeps rebooting into Safe mode.  Seems for others it works, but it's just slow, but I'm not even getting that.  

I wish I could come over and solder the resistor for you. I could do it in 30 seconds. Lol. Yeah, startech sounds like an improvement... Which adapter is this again?

[Mittyoz]

R4 - Imgur The R4 spot.

It's just so bloody tiny.  

I've got this controller board from an old dead hard drive I just chucked out.  I wonder if there's a resistor on there.  

[Bowlsnapper]

4 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

R4 - Imgur The R4 spot.

It's just so bloody tiny.  

I've got this controller board from an old dead hard drive I just chucked out.  I wonder if there's a resistor on there.  

I could solder that... But I have tools And juuuust enough experience. Which SATA adapter is it? And where are you again? Australia?

[Mittyoz]

^Melbourne   

It's the same as this on Amazon:  NFHK SATA Disk to IDE/PATA 40Pin Motherboard Converter Adapter PCBA for Desktop & 2.5 3.5" Hard Disk Drive : Amazon.com.au: Computers

Like I have to use my phone to look at it, it's that tiny.  Basically how I soldered the pinheader onto the xbox was I mounted my phone on a gimble I have, and carefully aimed/zoomed in on the spot so that I could see what I was doing.  Even with my glasses on I can barely see what I'm doing

Even if I had the right resistor, I think my soldering iron is a bit big for the job.

[Bowlsnapper]

8 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

^Melbourne   

It's the same as this on Amazon:  NFHK SATA Disk to IDE/PATA 40Pin Motherboard Converter Adapter PCBA for Desktop & 2.5 3.5" Hard Disk Drive : Amazon.com.au: Computers

Like I have to use my phone to look at it, it's that tiny.  Basically how I soldered the pinheader onto the xbox was I mounted my phone on a gimble I have, and carefully aimed/zoomed in on the spot so that I could see what I was doing.  Even with my glasses on I can barely see what I'm doing

Even if I had the right resistor, I think my soldering iron is a bit big for the job.

Dang the lpc isn't THAT small! I think you told me that startechs are super expensive there And I wanted to offer to buy one of these, solder the resistor, test it and then mail it to you, but I just don't know if it's worth it. I have no idea how to ship to other countries and do it cheaply. The option is on the table depending on what you want to do. 

Plus... It may not even solve the problem in the first place. I don't want you to waste your money.

Are you Able to invest in an inexpensive microscope? Maybe a digital one? Those aren't too much and can enable you to do a lot of your own work

[FrostyMaGee]

3 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

^Melbourne   

It's the same as this on Amazon:  NFHK SATA Disk to IDE/PATA 40Pin Motherboard Converter Adapter PCBA for Desktop & 2.5 3.5" Hard Disk Drive : Amazon.com.au: Computers

Like I have to use my phone to look at it, it's that tiny.  Basically how I soldered the pinheader onto the xbox was I mounted my phone on a gimble I have, and carefully aimed/zoomed in on the spot so that I could see what I was doing.  Even with my glasses on I can barely see what I'm doing

Even if I had the right resistor, I think my soldering iron is a bit big for the job.

It’s much easier with a hot air rework station but it can be done with a soldering iron and a small chisel tip (I preferred this one when I had the room) or conical tip. That’s how we used to do it back in old laptop hardware repair days. You can usually heat up both sides and kind of push the resistor off or use tweezers in tandem with the iron. After that you can try placing the new one on with tweezers and using any remaining solder on the pads. Another route is to clean the pads off then use flux and the pre-tinned areas of the resistor to do a dry tack then come back with a little solder to make it nice. I would highly suggest a magnifier or at least a pair of wearable magnifying glasses though. Much easier. When I was in my 20s I could do it without those but no longer. Lol. It looks more daunting than it is though. If you’ve done any soldering before there will be a small learning curve but you should be able to get it in a few tries.  

[Bowlsnapper]

2 minutes ago, FrostyMaGee said:

It’s much easier with a hot air rework station but it can be done with a soldering iron and a small chisel tip (I preferred this one when I had the room) or conical tip. That’s how we used to do it back in old laptop hardware repair days. You can usually heat up both sides and kind of push the resistor off or use tweezers in tandem with the iron. After that you can try placing the new one on with tweezers and using any remaining solder on the pads. Another route is to clean the pads off then use flux and the pre-tinned areas of the resistor to do a dry tack then come back with a little solder to make it nice. I would highly suggest a magnifier or at least a pair of wearable magnifying glasses though. Much easier. When I was in my 20s I could do it without those but no longer. Lol. It looks more daunting than it is though. If you’ve done any soldering before there will be a small learning curve but you should be able to get it in a few tries.  

Yes sir. A little practice and it becomes second nature. Magnification is essential though. A few spare resistor wouldn't hurt either

[FrostyMaGee]

10 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

Yes sir. A little practice and it becomes second nature. Magnification is essential though. A few spare resistor wouldn't hurt either

True. If you had a little junk PCB around to practice on first that would be beneficial. I had a baptism by fire with it back in the first year of college and had to learn on the actual motherboard that needed repair. Lol

 

It also occurs to me that we have other members on the forum that live in Australia. Worse comes to worse one of them might be able to assist with the replacement of that resistor if possible.

 

Edit: Remember it doesn’t have to look perfect on the first one you do. Lol. It just needs to connect with no shorts.  

Edited December 2, 2023 by FrostyMaGee

[Raidernick]

As said above you could try getting a cheap digital microscope with a large lcd screen on it, or somehow rig your phone up on a stand and zoom it in as far as you can. You will need to get a 0603 100ohm resistor for this(resistor should say 101 on it). Those are really still pretty large and easy to solder if you have the right tips(I use a angled/bent conical tip for this type of soldering). If you want to talk about difficult smd component work try soldering some 0201 or 01005 components used on the newer consoles.

[FrostyMaGee]

@Raidernick I forgot to mention the angled tip. Good call!

 

@Mittyoz Basically any of the three types of tips mentioned will work. It will all come down to comfort level and what works best for you. 

[Mittyoz]

Cool, I'll see if I can find one somewhere.  worth a try!  Otherwise I'll be ditching this (albeit free) adapter and just grabbing a startech.  

[Mittyoz]

Little update:  Got hold of a Startech today.  Worked first go.  I've put in an old 320GB laptop drive I had lying around for the moment.  Now it's just a matter of getting it setup the way I want.  Startech cost me $34 AUD.

[Bowlsnapper]

11 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

Little update:  Got hold of a Startech today.  Worked first go.  I've put in an old 320GB laptop drive I had lying around for the moment.  Now it's just a matter of getting it setup the way I want.  Startech cost me $34 AUD.

Told ya.

[FrostyMaGee]

23 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

Little update:  Got hold of a Startech today.  Worked first go.  I've put in an old 320GB laptop drive I had lying around for the moment.  Now it's just a matter of getting it setup the way I want.  Startech cost me $34 AUD.

Awesome! Glad you got it working dude. 

[Mittyoz]

Oh and it works with the original IDE cable (I just tried it for shits and giggles).  I assume speeds won't be as good though but I haven't really tested it.  The 80 wire cable I got also works fine but isn't long enough.  But for the moment everything is fine.  Now I need to get a HDMI cable/adapter as I only have an RF/Composite cable at the moment.  Any recommendations?  As much as I'd love to do the proper HDMI upgrade I think that really is beyond my abilities/budget. 

I'm using a 2.5" laptop drive, I wonder if I can mount this under the DVD drive somehow, if there's room?  Seems like the only way the cable I have would fit.  Will do a bit of experimenting.  

Thanks for all the advice/assistance (and yes Bowlsnapper I should have just got the startech to begin with... at least I found one for a reasonable price from a local PC supplies store, ebay is daylight robbery!)

Edited December 11, 2023 by Mittyoz

[Bowlsnapper]

1 hour ago, Mittyoz said:

Oh and it works with the original IDE cable (I just tried it for shits and giggles).  I assume speeds won't be as good though but I haven't really tested it.  The 80 wire cable I got also works fine but isn't long enough.  But for the moment everything is fine.  Now I need to get a HDMI cable/adapter as I only have an RF/Composite cable at the moment.  Any recommendations?  As much as I'd love to do the proper HDMI upgrade I think that really is beyond my abilities/budget. 

I'm using a 2.5" laptop drive, I wonder if I can mount this under the DVD drive somehow, if there's room?  Seems like the only way the cable I have would fit.  Will do a bit of experimenting.  

Thanks for all the advice/assistance (and yes Bowlsnapper I should have just got the startech to begin with... at least I found one for a reasonable price from a local PC supplies store, ebay is daylight robbery!)

Wasn't tryin' to give you a hard time. I know they were expensive for you.  You will be limited to UDMA-2 with the stock cable. Use this cable, as it is oriented properly and is an 80-wire. Fitment should work fine. And it's an AU ebay link.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/264927666468?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0&ssspo=PmV78DG2QwG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=YA80bnobRsW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Don't worry about the HDMI encoder. You will have a solution soon.  And for a decent price. Open source is king.

If you want one now, the XBOX2HDMI for Electron Shepherd works fantastic for an analog to digital solution. Not true HDMI, but looks AMAZING. I have one and am impressed by the conversion quality.

[FrostyMaGee]

2 hours ago, Mittyoz said:

Oh and it works with the original IDE cable (I just tried it for shits and giggles).  I assume speeds won't be as good though but I haven't really tested it.  The 80 wire cable I got also works fine but isn't long enough.  But for the moment everything is fine.  Now I need to get a HDMI cable/adapter as I only have an RF/Composite cable at the moment.  Any recommendations?  As much as I'd love to do the proper HDMI upgrade I think that really is beyond my abilities/budget. 

I'm using a 2.5" laptop drive, I wonder if I can mount this under the DVD drive somehow, if there's room?  Seems like the only way the cable I have would fit.  Will do a bit of experimenting.  

Thanks for all the advice/assistance (and yes Bowlsnapper I should have just got the startech to begin with... at least I found one for a reasonable price from a local PC supplies store, ebay is daylight robbery!)

You’ll probably run in to space issues trying to mount underneath the dvd even with a 2.5”. Chip on the lpc taking up room plus (depending on you motherboard version) up to three tall caps towards the front if I remember correctly. Also you’d have to thread the ide underneath and get power over there. I’m not saying it’s impossible but man I think it would be a tight fit. What about doing some modifications to the hdd caddy so you could side mount the hdd a little further back on the caddy side closest to the dvd? I wasn’t sure how long your cable is though or if that would even help. 
 

If you end up getting an error 08 at some point that’ll be because of the stock cable. Just a heads up in case that happens. 
 

Glad the startech adapter solved the issues.  I am still curious if that mod to the cheap one would’ve fixed that problem. I may just have to get one and play around with it to see. Lol

[Marty]

You can get cheap 24"+ IDE cables on Ali for less than $10....

[Mittyoz]

47 minutes ago, Marty said:

You can get cheap 24"+ IDE cables on Ali for less than $10....

duh.  why didn't I think of that.  Here's one:  Replace Data Cable for Microsoft Xbox Classic 3 Port Ultra ATA UDMA 100/133 40P 80-Wire 3.5 IDE HDD DVD-Rom 2-Drive 50/65/95cm - AliExpress

[Mittyoz]

Hm haven't ordered this yet.  Which length of the three do people think is correct... 50cm, 65, or 95?  Looks like with the 95 if you route it underneath the caddies and up through the front into the HDD Caddy, which kind of makes sense for this kind of cable, long as it doesn't foul anything underneath.  

Edited December 15, 2023 by Mittyoz

[Marty]

51 minutes ago, Mittyoz said:

Hm haven't ordered this yet.  Which length of the three do people think is correct... 50cm, 65, or 95?  Looks like with the 95 if you route it underneath the caddies and up through the front into the HDD Caddy, which kind of makes sense for this kind of cable, long as it doesn't foul anything underneath.  

64cm is close to 24" so I'd go with that. Lots of opportunity for folding and cable management.

[Mittyoz]

On 12/16/2023 at 9:39 AM, Marty said:

64cm is close to 24" so I'd go with that. Lots of opportunity for folding and cable management.

Little update post.  Yep that's what I went with.  Was able to route that cable under the DVD caddy (used tape to make sure it didn't foul anything on the motherboard, and route up through one of the holes in the HDD caddy.  At the moment my 2.5" 320gb laptop drive using the Startech Adapter is reversed to the normal drive orientation, and working fine.  I might upgrade to a bigger drive later on.

Also purchased one of these from Ebay https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/335166995200?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-154756-20017-0&ssspo=gMavJ63SSze&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Works great, doesn't need a separate USB Power Supply.  Might not be the best but it's far better than the composite cable I was using previously!

Now I just need to get the HDD setup the correct way with dashes etc, and choose which one I want to use.  I'm thinking it'll be XBMCforGamers but not 100% sold on that yet.