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Can I Swap a Softmodded Xbox 250gb for Another 250gb Ide Drive?


C64MidRezzie
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Hi - I softmodded my xbox original five years ago and didn't use it much because of a house move.  I took it out last night and realised that the upgraded 250GB drive is very noisy and sounds like it is dying.  I upgraded before using Chimp.  I am wondering can I use Chimp again with another 250GB hard drive or does the next hard drive have to be bigger than the 250GB drive?  I have looked for an answer on google but all search returns related to upgrading to a larger drive from the stock drive - there doesn't seem to be anything about swapping a drive for another drive that is equal in size.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

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Just an update - found a 300 GB PATA Maxtor drive so I'm going to try that over the weekend.  I stripped down the console tonight and it was filthy - I plan on washing and polishing the case after work tomorrow.  It will be prob be Sat before I put it all back together and hopefully it will still work.  Then I'm going to attempt to upgrade the drive on Sat/Sun - can't wait to get this project up and running.

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Okay so my xbox was soft modded and the hard drive upgraded to 250GB  4/5 years ago - should I just use the version of Chimp I used back then or is it better to use a more recent version?  If so could you recommend a recent version?  Or is it a case of if it ain't broke then don't fix it - just stay with the version I have as I know it works?

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

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3 hours ago, C64MidRezzie said:

Okay so my xbox was soft modded and the hard drive upgraded to 250GB  4/5 years ago - should I just use the version of Chimp I used back then or is it better to use a more recent version?  If so could you recommend a recent version?  Or is it a case of if it ain't broke then don't fix it - just stay with the version I have as I know it works?

Okay - update here - going to try to update my already softmodded xbox to rocky 5 softmod - if it works then that update contains a newer version of Chimp so I should be good to go.

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

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To be fair the correct route would be the latest version.

That said if it worked 5 years ago it will still now, its not like the Xbox can see the internet and “decide” M$ style that you need to upgrade.

 

Recently I used my Chimp disc from the early 2k’s and it worked just fine.

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Early versions of chimp DO STILL WORK but I'd strongly recommend using CHIMP 261812. https://github.com/Rocky5/Chimp261812

 

All the instructions you need to get it up and running should be there. When you FTP, make sure the "Transfer Type" is set to Binary or it might crash.

 

Fundamentally we're talking about the same app, but 261812 has some additional niceties, is way easier to use, and also has some nice features to prevent making mistakes like unlocking your master hdd on accident. I once killed a 750GB IDE by hot swapping at the wrong time using the earlier version. 261812 makes this nice and easy by giving you an INSERT SLAVE DRIVE NAO screen that lets you know exactly when to do it.

 

EDIT: Haven't tested this too in-depth, but never noticed a negative difference in startup times using a SATA HDD, so long as you've the right adapter and 80-wire cable, but you're a lot less likely to just have all three of those lying around.

Edited by Magicaldave
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9 hours ago, C64MidRezzie said:

Okay so my xbox was soft modded and the hard drive upgraded to 250GB  4/5 years ago - should I just use the version of Chimp I used back then or is it better to use a more recent version?  If so could you recommend a recent version?  Or is it a case of if it ain't broke then don't fix it - just stay with the version I have as I know it works?

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

The newer version makes swapping the DVD and new HDD easier.  

Download and use the updated version of Chimp, 261812, from Rocky5's github repository.  The application itself is in the E Partition subfolder.

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Thanks guys - I found another softmodded xbox with a broken dvd drive to play around with before I begin work on the one mentioned above this weekend.  

 

I had previously softmodded this other console and upgraded the hard drive to a 40GB IDE with both Coin Ops 6 lite and Visionary lite on it.  I updated the console to Rocky 5 softmod and everything seemed fine.  However, when I looked in my emulators folder Visionary lite is not longer there - thankfully Coins Ops 6 lite is still there and works perfectly.  Any idea why Visionary Lite isn't appearing on the dashboard?  I followed a video on upgrading an already softmodded Xbox to Rocky 5 softmod.  Any help greatly appreciated.  Thankfully I didn't do this on the xbox I tore down to clean last night as it has both Coin Ops 6 full and Visionary full on it.

 

 

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I started cleaning the motherboard last night - I went over it a few times with alcohol and cotton swabs - it was filthy - no gunk but just very dirty for some reason.  I discovered a tiny fan screwed on to the large sliver type grill (Sorry not a clue what the proper name for this is) - I'm now beginning to wonder if this is the source of the noise and not my 250GB hard drive.  Obviously someone but this extra tiny fan on years ago as the screws are just held in place my the gaps between the grills.  Does this mean that if I take this fan out the board will over heat and die?  Only thinking of taking it out to avoid noise.  Any help greatly appreciated - I have upgraded many xbox originals over the years but I have never noticed an extra fan beween the large silver grills before. 

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4 hours ago, KaosEngineer said:

You have a v1.0 Xbox there.  It has a fan on the GPU heatsink.  And, the main fan at the back of the case to pull in cool air and exhaust it after heated inside the console.

v10_01.jpg

Source: https://www.eurasia.nu/wiki/index.php/XboxVersionTable

Originally from the now defunct Xbox-scene.com.

Excellent - thanks - so is the extra fan the reason it sounds so noisy or is it just a noisy hard drive?  Thanks!

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1 hour ago, C64MidRezzie said:

Excellent - thanks - so is the extra fan the reason it sounds so noisy or is it just a noisy hard drive?  Thanks!

Probably a bit of both. Those GPU fans installed on the early consoles are insanely loud. You could just try to unplug the fan and see if the noise is still happening. Console might overheat after a bit but it'll just shut down for a bit.

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3 hours ago, Magicaldave said:

Probably a bit of both. Those GPU fans installed on the early consoles are insanely loud. You could just try to unplug the fan and see if the noise is still happening. Console might overheat after a bit but it'll just shut down for a bit.

That sounds good - thanks for that - It might mean that my 250GB hard drive is perfectly okay which would be good because I could probably just get another xbox main unit softmod it and upgrade it to that drive.

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Okay so I did the following

1. stripped the Xbox - including removing front facia - no stone left unturned.

2. Cleaned everything with alcohol and a tips - both fans were disgustingly dirty as was the main board and power supply - worst I’ve ever seen

 I reassembled it today and noted the following:

1.  Machine fans running very smoothly and no disturbing noises from either of them - very easy to live with sound

2. Hard drive crunches and grinds every time I move to a different game on the list of my coin ops simulator

 

It seems to me that if I change the drive it will run pretty quiet or shoukd I just sell this 1.0 and get a version that diesn’t have two fans?

 

Have many people just abandoned the v1?

 

thanks

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29 minutes ago, Ging3rguy said:

If it ain’t broke why change it. I like the V1 because of the bios options and the extra fan should keep the gpu cooler.

Just needed reassurance that they don't have any other problems under the hood - that sounds good - I'll try and upgrade the hard drive later or tomorrow.  What program do you guys use to FTP - It is literally years since I added Coin Ops6  and I can't remember what I used.  I have a PC and a Mac - is it even possible to FTP from a mac to xbox original?  Thanks - you guys have been an amazing help so far.

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