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Hardmodded XBox - Black Screen Issue


Donald_S_OGX
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Hi all,

I have a v 1.4 Xbox that was modded with the Xenium ice modchip about 15 years ago. It was in storage for several years and I just went back to using it again. It booted up just fine after all these years after I changed some bad caps and the clock capacitor. I was messing around with the various apps I had installed on it several years ago, and when using the XBMP (Xbox Media Player) app, I changed the resolution in the settings menu and when I rebooted, there was no video output - only a black screen with the "no signal" message on the TV. It looks like the XBox boots up normally (except for the black screen) because the Xenium chip's LED lights up indicating that it has loaded a custom BIOS, and I am able to FTP into the box. My suspicion is that the XBMP app changed a configuration (?.ini) file causing it to output a video signal that the TV (a Samsung flat screen TV with a 720p resolution, I think) cannot display. Can some one tell me what I need to do to get the display back? Thanks in advance for your responses.

Edited by Donald_S_OGX
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What happens if you power the Xbox on using the eject button?

And what av lead are you using composite (Yellow video) or component (Red,Blue,Green video)?

 

Cheers

SS Dave


Soft modding is like masturbating, It gets the job done but it's nothing like the real thing.
 

 

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Same effect whether I power the Xbox on with the power button or the eject button. I am using the component (RGB) cable.

 

Yes, I can FTP into the box. The IP address is set to static and I am connected directly to a laptop via a crossover cable.

 

Since my original post, I thought some config file on the hard drive was changed, so I put the original HDD in, but had the same issue. Therefore, I am beginning to think that when I made the changes in XBMP, it must have written to the EEPROM which I THINK is on the modchip itself for the following reasons:

Normally, upon power up, the Xenium chip does not directly boot into the hacked BIOS (unlike my other Xbox, with an Xecuter chip, which does). It first loads the Xenium OS which has a menu from which you can choose the hacked kernel to load. Since the option to choose the kernel is the very first one, I was able to blindly get one of the hacked kernels to load by first pressing the A button and then the down button on the D-pad etc. Even though there was nothing on the screen, I could tell that the chosen kernel was loaded because the LED on the modchip comes on with the color I have chosen for that particular kernel.

I do have the EEPROM backed up. Not sure if it is on the Modchip or on the HDD. If it is on the HDD, how do I restore the EEPROM without any video?

Edited by Donald_S_OGX
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2 hours ago, Donald_S_OGX said:

Same effect whether I power the Xbox on with the power button or the eject button. I am using the component (RGB) cable.

 

Yes, I can FTP into the box. The IP address is set to static and I am connected directly to a laptop via a crossover cable.

 

Since my original post, I thought some config file on the hard drive was changed, so I put the original HDD in, but had the same issue. Therefore, I am beginning to think that when I made the changes in XBMP, it must have written to the EEPROM which I THINK is on the modchip itself for the following reasons:

Normally, upon power up, the Xenium chip does not directly boot into the hacked BIOS (unlike my other Xbox, with an Xecuter chip, which does). It first loads the Xenium OS which has a menu from which you can choose the hacked kernel to load. Since the option to choose the kernel is the very first one, I was able to blindly get one of the hacked kernels to load by first pressing the A button and then the down button on the D-pad etc. Even though there was nothing on the screen, I could tell that the chosen kernel was loaded because the LED on the modchip comes on with the color I have chosen for that particular kernel.

I do have the EEPROM backed up. Not sure if it is on the Modchip or on the HDD. If it is on the HDD, how do I restore the EEPROM without any video?

Do you have a locked hdd or your hdd key? Try removing the chip and booting using the ms bios. Have you tried flipping the recovery switch on the chip?

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9 hours ago, SS_Dave said:

Will it cold boot a install disk(Slayer,Hexen,AID)?

 

Cheers

SS Dave


Haven't tried that yet. I have a Hexen disk. I will try that later

6 hours ago, Ging3rguy said:

Do you have a locked hdd or your hdd key? Try removing the chip and booting using the ms bios. Have you tried flipping the recovery switch on the chip?

I don't have the HDD key written down, but I can access it if I can get the Xbox to boot with a video signal that my monitor can display. Haven't tried the recovery switch on the chip. I think it is the tiny slide switch on one side of the chip isn't it? Didn't know that it was a recovery switch. Not sure how to use it. Do I just flip it and then power on the Xbox? Do I leave it in the new position or do I flip it back if it boots OK?
 

 

Edited by Donald_S_OGX
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Tried the recovery switch... no cigar. When I did this, the Xenium chip LED turned red and the eject button was blinking orange. When I flip the switch back, the Xbox appears to boot into the Xenium OS and the eject button LED is a solid green, except there is no video. I will have to figure out a way to get to the EEPROM restore setting in the Xenium OS blindly. I am trying to find the XOS menu tree to accomplish this.

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I tried the recovery switch on mine but because the Xbox I was testing it in is HDMI only so it's RGB out I got a unsupported message on the TV.

 

You could also try booting with all the drives disconnected

 

Cheers

SS Dave


Soft modding is like masturbating, It gets the job done but it's nothing like the real thing.
 

 

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Problem solved!

 

I tried the composite lead (before I read Dave's post) and got a very unstable, grey /white video, but  at least I could see the menu items in the Xenium OS. Was able to get to the "Restore EEPROM" item and once I selected it, the original EEPROM was restored and  everything is hunky-dory now. Thanks to all who responded. I am so glad I was able to get the Xbox working again.

 

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9 hours ago, Donald_S_OGX said:

Tried the recovery switch... no cigar. When I did this, the Xenium chip LED turned red and the eject button was blinking orange. When I flip the switch back, the Xbox appears to boot into the Xenium OS and the eject button LED is a solid green, except there is no video. I will have to figure out a way to get to the EEPROM restore setting in the Xenium OS blindly. I am trying to find the XOS menu tree to accomplish this.

You need to have the recovery.bin already on your e partition for the recovery mode to find. Just get a copy of xos2.3.1 hdd and ftp the recovery.bin from the recovery folder not the reset factory default folder. It can just sit on your e partition for any future issues.

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