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Flashing a Sharp TSOP


Dphirschler
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Flashing a Sharp TSOP - Everything you need to know to flash a Sharp TSOP Xbox.  

meme.jpg.546f25d9d4fb2b58a6927042c00714c6.jpg

There are a bunch of tutorials out there explaining how to flash TSOP, but not much info on flashing a *Sharp* TSOP.  Because of this I feel it is my duty to write down my experience flashing my Sharp TSOP Xbox.  The Sharp TSOP is not easy.  It requires more soldering, more software, and more steps.  Hopefully, this tutorial will make it a bit easier for you.

THIS TUTORIAL ONLY COVERS SHARP TSOP!  If your chip says 'ST', that does NOT mean "Sharp Technologies".  If your chip does not have the SHARP logo on it, don't follow this tutorial. 

Sharp TSOP.jpg

OK. BEFORE YOU CONTINUE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALREADY SOFTMODDED YOUR XBOX!

The Xbox is easy enough to softmod.  Softmodding is not covered here.  You should also be familiar with FTPing files to and from the Xbox, burning Xbox DVDs.  These topics are not covered here.

 

Step 1 - Figure out what version Xbox you have.
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I found my serial number on the bottom of the case and looked it up online.  It appeared to be a v1.1.  This was good news since the v1.6 cannot be TSOPed.  If you have a 1.6, stop now.


Step 2 - Open it up and see what TSOP chip you have.
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I opened up my Xbox and discovered I had a 1MB TSOP chip.  Good news again, I think.  1MB sounds better than 256KB, right?  But it was also a Sharp LH28F008SCT-L85 chip.  Sharp TSOPs are the most difficult chips to flash.  That's not good news.  But it can be flashed.

mobo.jpg


Step 3 - Start downloading your software.
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Download the following Xbox tools:

  • Hacky Rehash
  • EurAsia
  • Hexen Shambles Edit 2017

 

Step 4 - Take your motherboard out.
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Carefully disconnect all the cables and remove the eleven screws holding the mobo down.  The power connector was the hardest one for me.  Apparently, you need three hands to do it.  I used a Starbucks card to shove down into the molex connector to free the clips.  Even then, it was a pain to remove.


Step 5 - Soldering.
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I am not gonna lie.  The soldering is not easy at all.  It's not for the faint of heart.  It's the tiniest soldering I have ever done.  I've soldered on old Atari 2600's, TI99-4/A computers, and modchipped Gamecubes.  The Gamecube was by far the smallest soldering I had ever done, and prepared me for this task.  Get yourself comfortable doing small soldering before proceeding.

I am no pro, but I have some experience and I have accumulated some gear that I would consider essential in getting this soldering done.  You will need the following:

  • A magnifier.  Mine is a visor type magnifier that I got on Ebay for around $15.
  • 30 AWG jumper wire, and a suitable wire stripper. 
  • A small 1" scrap of stranded wire.
  • The finest tip you can buy for your soldering iron.

It will also be helpful to have some electrical tape, some flux, some small tweezers, very small cutters, very small needle nose pliers, a small vice or helping hands, some experience doing small soldering, and a very steady hand.

1. Solder the jumper wire on the bottom side of the mobo.  Add some solder to the via and the pad.  Don't hold the iron too long on the pad or it will come off.  For the wire, I used 30 AWG jumper wire.  Cut it to length, tin it, and tape it to the mobo in position.  Use tweezers to hold it while you solder it down.

solder bridge and 5v jumper.jpg

2. For the solder bridge, pull out a single strand from a stranded wire, get about an inch.  Add solder to the pads.  Tin the wire.  Hold it with tweezers and heat it while you press it down into the melted solder.  Once it's dry, snip off the excess wire.

3. Solder about 8" length of jumper wire to the pads on the top side of the mobo, but don't connect them.  This is so that you can put the Xbox back together and join the wires after it boots.

bridge wires.jpg

NOTE - If you boot up your Xbox with the wires connected (or jumped), it will just give you a black screen.  You must boot up with the wires disconnected, then connect them after the Xbox has booted.  It might be helpful to solder jumper pins on the ends so you can just place a jumper instead of twisting the wires together.

bridge jumper.jpg

4. Inspect your soldering closely.  Gently tug on the wires.  Take high res photos of it and inspect the photos on the computer.  Tape the wire to the mobo so it doesn't come loose.

Once you are happy, put your Xbox back together.  Just use one screw for the mobo.  Don't plug power all the way in, just make it snug without clipping it down.  Leave the two wires hanging out of the case.  Leave the top lid off too.  You won't need it until you are done.


Step 6 - The software tools.
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To flash your TSOP, you will need a bios file, and a tool to flash that bios file.

1. Bios file - It was recommended to me that I use the x2.5035.137.bin.  This is a 1MB bios file that supports large hdds.  I found this bios file (and a bunch of others) on the Hacky Rehash bios flashing disc.  You can browse the disc on the Xbox or launch the disc and select "Copy BIOSes to E drive" and then FTP the bios file to your PC.  Hexen also has some BIOS files.

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2. Flash tool - For Sharp, it erases using a "Winbond" method which is block erase.  That also suggests it will be using Raincoat to do the actual flashing.  Raincoat is the tool that is used on EurAsia, and Hacky has the EurAsia tool on it. 

NOTE - It is not enough to just get the Hacky disc.  You'll also want to get the EurAsia disc so you can make your bios disc.

3. Make the bios disc.  In the EurAsia zip file, there is a folder called bios_disc.  Copy that folder and name it something like My_Sharp_bios_disc.  Next, copy your bios file (for me, it was x2.5035.137.bin) into the folder, then rename it to bios.bin.

bios disc directory.jpg

Next, you will want to edit the bios.txt file in that directory.  I made mine say this:

     EurAsia TSOP bios disc
     
     This flash disc is for a Sharp TSOP.  
     The bios.bin file is: x2.5035.137.bin

Now, burn those files to a DVD using the ISO 9660 standard.  Now you have your bios disc.

NOTE - There is a README file in the EurAsia zip.  You should read it too.  It was gobbledeegook the first time I read it, but after a few failures, it all made sense.


Step 7 - Time to do some flashing.
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Power on your Xbox using the small button.  Let it boot up, then connect the wires (or attach the jumper).  Put the Hacky disc in, then launch the disc.

In the Hacky's menu, select "Winbond" (not "1mb flash").  It will tell you to have your bios disc ready.  At this point, just follow the directions.  Don't lose power during the flashing or you will probably be bricked.  Flashing will take approximately two minutes.  Not more than five.  It should first erase, then program, then verify.  When it is done, it will eject the disc tray.  Remove the disc and left it shutdown.

Hacky_launch Eurasia.jpg

EurAsia gets launched.

Eurasia_01.jpg
Eurasia_02.jpg

I burned the bios disc improperly the first time and Eurasia rejected it.  But Eurasia waited for me.  It just kept looking for a disc and then ejecting the tray while I was busy burning a new bios disc.  When I had a good bios disc burned, I waited for the tray to eject and then placed the disc in there and waited again for it to close.

You can see the text from my bios.txt file here:
Eurasia_03.jpg
Eurasia_04.jpg

Erasing, Programming, Verifying...
Eurasia_05.jpgEurasia_06.jpg

When it boots back up, you should see the new boot animation.  Congrats!  You are now TSOP'ed!

Xecutor2 config live loading.jpgXecutor rox my box.jpg

Xecuter logo in place of the Microsoft logo confirms it is booting your modded bios.

 

Edited by Dphirschler
Cleaned up some typos, better wording, and added photos.
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  • 3 months later...
  • 5 months later...

Okay, I have successfully flashed my first Sharp bios. Funny story, I didn't even know these were rare until after I was already done. This was simply the first console in a stack of a half dozen or so I had to do tonight. I just googled how to flash a sharp tsop and away I went.

I was never able to get a proper disc working for use with the Eurasia tool. I ended up using the Hexen disc to flash it. I had to manually copy over the 1mb bios file over using the file manager inside Hexen first, then it was pretty much straight forward after that.

Fun fact: Gentoox didn't like my 1st party S-controller at first. Found out it was the USB stick I had plugged into it. (my controller has a usb socket wired into one of the memory card slots, where I keep my softmod files on a thumb drive). Once I  removed it. Gentoox worked just fine. 

I have one more version 1.1 motherboard with a Sharp TSOP bios chip on it, if anyone else would like it. It's not modded yet. I'd be happy to trade it with someone for another motherboard and some additional value - maybe a 128mb memory upgraded mobo?

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  • 10 months later...
On 12/19/2018 at 7:07 AM, Viggen66 said:

Can anyone upload the 1mb bios? I own a model 1.1 with windbond tsop, and using hexen can brick my console

First make sure your xbox is 1.0 or 1.1 or post a picture of the motherboard so we can help you identify it, Xecuter 5035,67  this one download link down is 1 megabyte only for 1.0-1.1 xbox,( winbonds came in 1.2-1.5 xbox versions  not 1.0-1.1 and winbonds tsop are 256k in size),first extract the zip win 7 zip or winrar.

 

Xecuter 5035.67, 1 mega (1).zip

Edited by dark
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  • 2 months later...

some information that was not talked about or shown which would have helped me. 

 

you need the files listed. if your using this flash method you probably have a 1M Tsop. 

 

burn the "HACKY_REHASH_BIOS_FLASH_DISC_1" then shove in your custom bios disc containing: 

  1. bios.bin (the bios you want to use) 
  2. bios.txt (does this even do anything...)
  3. dummy50mb ?
  4. raincoat.cfg

the topology for the burned disc must not be cd-r and I suggest imgburn, because windows will not make the disc the way this picky flasher wants. place all files on root directory of disc. no folders!

I installed the "Xecuter 5035.67, 1 meg" to my tsop however having updated my softmod to rocky 5's I had to also add a "x2config.ini" to my E partition. THEN CHANGE WHERE MY DASHBOARD WAS.... this was kind of important.... since nothing in the xbox scene has any regard to organisation and naming conventions good luck... I've spent over 24 hours getting all the files, soldering the necessary points and fixing the dashboard. I sadly still do not have the ability to boot without the disc drive attached.... 

; do dvd drive check
doDvdDriveCheck = 0

 

appears non functional

 

to add a custom image name a file x2logo.bmp and it must be  180x50 place this in he E drive as well. E:\ x2logo.bmp

 

 

Edited by Tom_Neverwinter
stuff
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On 12/19/2018 at 7:07 AM, Viggen66 said:

Can anyone upload the 1mb bios? I own a model 1.1 with windbond tsop, and using hexen can brick my console

Why do you say that?  Hexen 2018 specifically has a menu selection to flash an Xbox with a Winbond TSOP.

It's not a v1.1 motherboard if it has a Winbond W49LF020T (256KB) TSOP flash memory chip but a 1.2. What video encoder does it have - Conexant or Focus?

Is the TSOP a W49LF080T (1MB)?

Update: In the wrong thread too as this one is titled "Flashing a Sharp TSOP", not "Flashing a Winbond TSOP".  Many others have posted under the wrong thread too.  

Edited by KaosEngineer
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On 3/6/2019 at 9:36 PM, Tom_Neverwinter said:

you need the files listed. if your using this flash method you probably have a 1M Tsop. 

 

burn the "HACKY_REHASH_BIOS_FLASH_DISC_1" then shove in your custom bios disc containing: 

  1. bios.bin (the bios you want to use) 
  2. bios.txt (does this even do anything...)
  3. dummy50mb ?
  4. raincoat.cfg

You don't need any of that to flash a TSOP. Just put the BIOS file you want in C:\BIOS and then run XBlast OS to flash it. If you're flashing iND-BiOS or X2 5035, you also need C:\ind-bios.cfg and E:\x2config.ini, respectfully.

If you really must use a disc for some reason, then use HeXEn, but really, just use XBlast OS.

Edited by Forlorn Penguin
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  • 9 months later...
  • 2 years later...

Getbox does not see bios C:/BIOS/bios.bin. Tried everything and even net flashing, cd doesn't want to see the files. xblast os generally turns off the box at startup... I tried different ways, it doesn't want to and that's it... everything is soldered right... I don't understand what is the reason... box 1.1, bios sharp

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12 hours ago, Slavik916 said:

Getbox does not see bios C:/BIOS/bios.bin. Tried everything and even net flashing, cd doesn't want to see the files. xblast os generally turns off the box at startup... I tried different ways, it doesn't want to and that's it... everything is soldered right... I don't understand what is the reason... box 1.1, bios sharp

If the console is currently softmodded with Rocky5's Xbox Softmodding Tool, you need to run NKPatcher Settings before uploading the bios.bin file to the C:\BIOS subfolder.  The Xbox Softmodding Tool uses a ShadowC drive that protects the realC drive's content so the user doesn't mess up the softmod.  When you run the XBE version of XBlastOS to flash the TSOP it accesses the realC drive's content, not the shadowC drive where you uploaded the bios.bin file to if you did not first run the NKPatcher Settings app.  You will know if you are FTPing the file to the realC drive if there's a folder named - Do not touch anything in here.

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13 hours ago, KaosEngineer said:

If the console is currently softmodded with Rocky5's Xbox Softmodding Tool, you need to run NKPatcher Settings before uploading the bios.bin file to the C:\BIOS subfolder.  The Xbox Softmodding Tool uses a ShadowC drive that protects the realC drive's content so the user doesn't mess up the softmod.  When you run the XBE version of XBlastOS to flash the TSOP it accesses the realC drive's content, not the shadowC drive where you uploaded the bios.bin file to if you did not first run the NKPatcher Settings app.  You will know if you are FTPing the file to the realC drive if there's a folder named - Do not touch anything in here.

Thank you very much. Now about burning discs for the sharp firmware... do you need to record not as for xbox, namely 9660???

1.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Is it required to remove the jumper on the bottom of mobo once flashed, or can it stay there?

Same question regarding the wires used to "jump" the connection (on top side of mobo) once the box is on; can they stay jumped indefinitely?

Just wondering if there's a long term issue with leaving them there, as it's still connected on mine and seems to function fine.

I found the process laid out here to seem very involved, but maybe the HEXEN 2018 I used came out after this was created. I just did the bottom of the board jumper and solder bridge, added wires to the top side (same as tutorial), but instead of all this other stuff, I just used the Hexen 2018 disc which has options and utilities for Sharp TSOP flash. Just clicked my way through (after a first failed attempt because I didn't connect the topside wires together once the box was on. The 2nd try was a breeze!).

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28 minutes ago, nerdbombing said:

Is it required to remove the jumper on the bottom of mobo once flashed, or can it stay there?

Same question regarding the wires used to "jump" the connection (on top side of mobo) once the box is on; can they stay jumped indefinitely?

Just wondering if there's a long term issue with leaving them there, as it's still connected on mine and seems to function fine.

I found the process laid out here to seem very involved, but maybe the HEXEN 2018 I used came out after this was created. I just did the bottom of the board jumper and solder bridge, added wires to the top side (same as tutorial), but instead of all this other stuff, I just used the Hexen 2018 disc which has options and utilities for Sharp TSOP flash. Just clicked my way through (after a first failed attempt because I didn't connect the topside wires together once the box was on. The 2nd try was a breeze!).

They can stay.  If you remove them, you won't be able to flash a different BIOS until you add them back.

Which tutorial were you following? Was it Flashing a Sharp TSOP - TSOP Flashing - OGXbox.comTSOP Flashing Tutorial (biline.ca)Original Xbox TSOP flashing guide - William Quade or another one?

 

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36 minutes ago, KaosEngineer said:

They can stay.  If you remove them, you won't be able to flash a different BIOS until you add them back.

Which tutorial were you following? Was it Flashing a Sharp TSOP - TSOP Flashing - OGXbox.comTSOP Flashing Tutorial (biline.ca)Original Xbox TSOP flashing guide - William Quade or another one?

 

Roger, that's what I had thought, but I'm glad you were able to confirm!

thewheelman282's video loosely covered it as far as tutorials that I actually followed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjgIuvQWrgM  He's mainly focused on Winbond reflash, but covers the others too. I found his description of the Sharp flash adequate, simple, and easiest for me to try. Same solder points as any other Sharp reflash guide, and only requires the Hexen 2018 disc; TSOP "SHARP ONLY" option that uses Gentoox (within the CD). With the exception of the extra jumper on bottom side, and matter of touching the topside wires, it was as easy as any other reflash I've done (Hynix, and a few ST TSOP console based reflashes under my belt with Hexen 2018 at this point). The only difference besides those I mentioned, is that with Hexen 2018 I only have one bios option, EvoX I guess (that's what shows in the top left of flubber anim).

Thanks again for the help oh wise one ;)

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