Open Xenium Install Question (damaged board)

[calebTree 0]

Hi, I am just wondering if anyone with more experience than me can tell me how bad this looks or about any diagnosis clues I can be aware of. The first XBOX I found on ebay last year was surprisingly not modded and I guessed it might be a 1.0. Because of that I didn't want to mod it or open it so I bought another cheap one that had already been opened. I had some fun with that one then I gave it away. In the meantime that 1.0 was calling my name and I bit the bullet and opened it up. Softmod went fine of course. HDD upgrade went fine. Then I wanted to try something more interesting. I looked up the RAM upgrade and it didn't look too bad. That actually went smooth. Luckily the 1.0 is the least work to short circuit the TSOP. So TSOP flash and 128MB RAM was working. I kind of surprised myself. I was fumbling around not really thinking through things and I wanted to see if I could flash an original BIOS back to it. That was the end of the fun for me. After the flash it reboots and goes into the blinking red. I realized the BIOS probably didn't like having 128MB RAM so I used my heat gut to remove my just added RAM. That wasn't it. I knew it I had a big project ahead of me. That was when I found the Open Xenium modchip that apparently is supposed to divert the boot to it's own BIOS. Hence my question in this forum. 

I didn't see how I was going to remove all that solder from the LPC ports with a solder braid or any other way for that matter. I realized I might be able to use my heat gun again. I had some bad luck and didn't realize how hot I was getting my board in the process either. I almost lost 3 components all together but I managed to get 2 of them back on. I circled the remaining problems in my pictures below. Is any of this repairable? The Open Xenium chip makes it to a red LED but XBOX still only boots to the blinking red lights. I was pretty happy with my soldering of the wire but not so happy with my soldering of the LPC jumpers. The board took some damage. From what the pictures say is this beyond repair? If the Open Xenium chip is making it to a red LED am I close?

Thanks all you smart folks!

[calebTree 0]

Similar topic:

Xbox 1.0 FRAGing even after modchip install - Repair - OGXbox.com

Above ^ images 

• C8R2 SMD capacitor blown off by my solder gun
• LAD0 on the LPC is the worst solder joint Lpc Diagnostics (V0.1) - Repair - OGXbox.com
• R7D1 resistor off center

Edited January 6 by calebTree

[SS_Dave 633]

I would suggest you clean up where the RAM was soldered to ensure there is no shorts then try the modchip again

 

 

Cheers

SS Dave

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

 

[rjfony 1]

You should invest in a proper hot air rework station. Heat guns are not designed for removing or soldering components. There is no way to control the heat setting, and the heat disperses way too far. This can damage components that you are not intending to heat up. A hot air rework station will allow you to control the temperature and also allow you to direct the heat to exactly where you need it.

Edited January 7 by rjfony

[calebTree 0]

1 hour ago, rjfony said:

You should invest in a proper hot air rework station.

Oh wow, I didn't know those existed consumer grade. I've got some more research to do. I've got a higher end soldering iron but a nice rework station is an appealing option.

Here is a professional one: Option 1

Here is the extreme low end: Option 2

I'm sure there are many in-between too.

9 hours ago, SS_Dave said:

I would suggest you clean up where the RAM was soldered to ensure there is no shorts then try the modchip again

You're right I needed to take some more time on what I was doing. I am pretty confident in how I cleaned it up but it is still fragging and then there's the components I blew away with my heat gun.

I am working on writing about my experiences on a website here.

Rediscovering XBOX (calebdanderson.net)

 

Edited January 7 by calebTree

[SS_Dave 633]

What happens when you boot with out the DVD drive and Hard drive connected

 

 

 

Cheers

SS Dave

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

[calebTree 0]

The blinking pattern is different with my Open Xenium install attempt compared to without it. So that's interesting, what does that tell us? 

6 hours ago, SS_Dave said:

I'm not sure which either of them fit your table. Maybe 50% Green, 50% Red - digital core error?

Here is the blinking pattern with the Open Xenium install attempt:

Here is the blinking pattern without the Open Xenium:

  

6 hours ago, SS_Dave said:

What happens when you boot with out the DVD drive and Hard drive connected

Without the HDD and DVD connected the blinking pattern is the same.

I also amazingly found the tiny SMD capacitor but I put it back on and no change.

Edited January 7 by calebTree

[calebTree 0]

1 hour ago, calebTree said:

The blinking pattern is different with my Open Xenium install attempt compared to without it. So that's interesting, what does that tell us?

Without the HDD and DVD connected the blinking pattern is the same.

My statements above are inaccurate after further testing. 

Blink pattern one: solid green then turns off and on then solid green then off and on then blinks red and green.

Blink pattern two: sold green once then it turns off and on then blinks green twice then turns off and on then blinks red and green.

The blinking pattern might be unpredictable but my last test showed that blink pattern two happened when the HDD and DVD were disconnected.

The Open Xenium connected or disconnected from the header didn't make a difference.

Can someone tell me if this SMD transistor Q7R1 is facing the correct direction? This was one component that fell off after using my heat gun. I had to guess which direction it should be facing. It appears from the pictures I could find that this is correct but most pictures are quite blurry.

I also found page 78 of this old manual says that the boot behavior above is broken traces. XBOX REPAIR GUIDE (adriancallaghan.co.uk) In that case it might be impossible to find where the problem is.

Edited January 7 by calebTree

[calebTree 0]

I'm giving up on this motherboard. 

2 hours ago, calebTree said:

Can someone tell me if this SMD transistor Q7R1 is facing the correct direction? This was one component that fell off after using my heat gun. I had to guess which direction it should be facing. It appears from the pictures I could find that this is correct but most pictures are quite blurry.

Nevermind the above question, I found an image I had indicating that component was facing the correct direction. 

I have to give up on this board. Maybe I never should have cracked open this 1.0 XBOX, yet then I would never have learned these lessons.

I was triple checking the contact on D0 and I accidently ripped off the pad and some of the trace.

As an educational experience, mission accomplished. Would I have rather learned these lessons on anything other than this board? Mostly, although also I may have needed the pressure to push me forward.

Edited January 7 by calebTree

[SS_Dave 633]

It's early and I have not had my coffee so my filter is not working.

 

A heat gun is not for soldering as you have now found out.

The trace damage is repairable by linking the 2 black/white arrows

The red/white spot is also damage from using the incorrect tool for the job along with the parts that fell off

And looking at the solder on the pin header have you heard of flux?

You might as well now use that board to learn to solder.

 

Cheers

SS Dave

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

[calebTree 0]

I wanted to revert to my stock BIOS after flashing iND.BIOS because the audio for the UnleashX dashboard wasn't successfully copying from the "Softmod Extras" disk for some reason: it was giving me empty folders. XBlast OS didn't acknowledge the eeprom.bin file that "The Softmodding Toolkit" created as a valid BIOS file though. Using XBlast OS I flashed a 5713 kernel I found here: Microsoft Xbox Dashboard / Kernel 4034, 4817, 4920 and 5659 Download | Digiex. To the (I'm assuming) TSOP (because that's what to the best of my knowledge XBlast OS does) thinking that was a generic BIOS. This 1.0 mainboard was originally a 3944 kernel.

• Why didn't XBlast OS recognize the eeprom.bin file from the Softmod backup?
• In retrospect, my intuition is that I flashed a completely incompatible file to the TSOP by flashing a 5713 kernel file. Is my retrospective intuition correct?
• If so, would the correct kernel file have worked, i.e. 3944?
• My last intuition is that these kernel files are completely dissimilar from BIOS files. Is that correct?

[SS_Dave 633]

3 hours ago, calebTree said:

Why didn't XBlast OS recognize the eeprom.bin file from the Softmod backup?

I the EEprom.bin is the country zone info, DVD zone, MAC address, HDD Key, and stuff like that the BIOS is in the TSOP not the eeprom

 

 

3 hours ago, calebTree said:

In retrospect, my intuition is that I flashed a completely incompatible file to the TSOP by flashing a 5713 kernel file. Is my retrospective intuition correct?

Even on that page the 5713 is listed as the version 1.4

 

3 hours ago, calebTree said:

If so, would the correct kernel file have worked, i.e. 3944?

Yes it probably would have.

 

 

SS Dave

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

[calebTree 0]

Well, I put some time into it and did some homework.

I recommend this video to learn how to correctly empty through holes and more:

This video was also very important:

 

For reference:

my heat gun: Low - 50 - 350 C, High - 200 - 500 C, Air Flow: 450L/min

a hot air rework station: 100 - 480 C, 20 - 130L/min

 

After cleaning things up here is my result. This will still be a learning board no doubt.

(top)

(bottom)

I'll have to put a few components back on and hope for the best when I try to work around the broken trace.

Edited January 21 by calebTree

[calebTree 0]

Nope, here was my rebuild. It still does the same thing.

Now that I have these skills and experience behind me though I am brought back to my original question in a different form.

This failure happened after I flashed a Kernel. Then, I read I could bypass the built in TSOP by installing the OpenXenium. Everything that I tried in the process of attempting to override the bad flash with the OpenXenium had no apparent affect on the behavior of the XBOX. It fragged when the flash broke it and it fragged all the way through the hardware mods in attempt to bypass the bad flash.

Assuming the hardware is working correctly what could be going wrong?

 

[SS_Dave 633]

The BIOS file you flashed is from a version 1.4 and possible it was incorrectly flashed or the file was damaged.

The repair to the D0 trace should work but I would have linked it to ground (around the screw hole) and not to the modchip. 

I noticed in the previous pic the IC Q7R1 looks like it is missing, I hope you have replaced it and in the correct orientation.

 

And I am not overly happy with the solder work on the PLC pin header. One of the pins looks like it's not connecting and there is a possible short to one of the traces as well

 

Cheers

SS Dave

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

[calebTree 0]

"It doesn't look perfect" is not novel feedback for me at this point. If someone really wants to be helpful please help me find or guide me on using a multimeter on relevant test points or components such as what the continuity or resistance should be on them.

I want to reiterate that it was after a software change when the behavior in my YouTube videos above demonstrating the problem (fragging in xbox lingo apparently) started.

Edited January 22 by calebTree

[SS_Dave 633]

Inside the lime colored circle it looks like it's not soldered properly. I would suggest you re-solder all the pins.

The red lines are going to what looks like a short to the trace next to the pin.

It also looks like you need to use some or more Flux Paste to help the solder flow and hold the heat there for a fraction longer or it could be your iron is not hot enough.

 and lastly the black line is how I would have done the D0 and not to the chip. By grounding the D0 point it is forcing the Xbox to load the BIOS from the LPC port and not the TSOP chip.

 

When you have finished soldering clean the board with isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush  

 

 

Cheers

SS Dave

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

 

[calebTree 0]

Again, replies that attempt to tell me what isn't perfect in the pictures are less helpful right now.

[OGXbox Admin 189]

51 minutes ago, calebTree said:

Again, replies that attempt to tell me what isn't perfect in the pictures are less helpful right now.

We don't get to choose where the trouble lies. Telling people trying to HELP you to ignore potential hardware issues and to focus on the software is not going to help you. 

[calebTree 0]

I disagree with the total truthfulness asserted above. Rather, it is only fair to allow the troubleshooter or OP, to determine when they believe they have beat an area of research dead and when it is probably a good time to give attention to something else that  they may have missed. In my case, such as what exactly happened when I flashed the file? Therefore, I would like to explore the software end of this question which has not been thoroughly addressed yet.

As I mentioned it was after a software change when the XBOX began failing. I politely suggested the search for how I could use a multimeter in this scenario and more specifically what I might look for on specific test points. A more scientifically sound endeavor. I will suffice to add that in comparing my multimeter values on random points on the broken board with a known working board I have found all values are very similar so far.

I am attempting to source sophisticated and matured responses and information rather than immediate replies. I do not typically expect immediate replies from forum posts.

Edited January 22 by calebTree

[OGXbox Admin 189]

3 hours ago, calebTree said:

I disagree with the total truthfulness asserted above. Rather, it is only fair to allow the troubleshooter or OP, to determine when they believe they have beat an area of research dead and when it is probably a good time to give attention to something else that  they may have missed. In my case, such as what exactly happened when I flashed the file? Therefore, I would like to explore the software end of this question which has not been thoroughly addressed yet.

As I mentioned it was after a software change when the XBOX began failing. I politely suggested the search for how I could use a multimeter in this scenario and more specifically what I might look for on specific test points. A more scientifically sound endeavor. I will suffice to add that in comparing my multimeter values on random points on the broken board with a known working board I have found all values are very similar so far.

I am attempting to source sophisticated and matured responses and information rather than immediate replies. I do not typically expect immediate replies from forum posts.

Your disagreement is not well-founded. 

You flashed the TSOP with an image that isn't able to boot. Then you installed a modchip which essentially replaces the tsop if you hold d0 low (to ground). 
Assuming it is soldered correct, the chip is good, and has an appropriate and good bios on it, it would boot. It should also show the Xenium OS whether it has a good bios or not. 

If it doesn't boot, you're not yet at the software level. The bios is a rom that initializes the hardware and allows it to function. So with all due respect, you can't start looking at software issues until the hardware boots. If a bad flash indeed caused this, then SS Dave was on the right track. 

Hopefully this makes sense to you. 

I'll also say that:
1. You caused the issue
2. You don't know how to fix the issue

So don't tell people in what ways they should tell you how to fix the issue. It's the most absurd approach I've ever seen. 

[SS_Dave 633]

On 1/23/2021 at 9:01 AM, calebTree said:

Therefore, I would like to explore the software end of this question which has not been thoroughly addressed yet.

Remove the old TSOP chip and replace it with a working TSOP chip from the same version board.

 

In my view if the Open Xenium( or any mod chip) is fitted correctly it should work as it overrides the TSOP chip that has the faulty BIOS, but to me the solder work is not up to scratch. It looks like the solder joints have not been done with enough heat or the iron was not in contact with the 2 points you are soldering, That is called a cold solder or dry solder joint.

 

 

Cheers

SS Dave

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

 

 

[calebTree 0]

For those of you playing at home I continued (and I believe concluded) this question here: https://www.ogxbox.com/forums/index.php?/topic/4721-why-did-flashing-a-kernel-file-with-xblastos-break-the-xbox

 

 

Edited January 30 by calebTree