[SOLVED] Problem with F drive on soft modded xbox

[HDShadow]

Rocky5's XBSMT is considered one of the best softmods but you'll get others suggesting one of the updates to HeXEn - I think TruHeXEn is usually recommended.

Me I stick to what I know; its old, has some minor but annoying issues but it still works well and that's SID (Softmod Installer Deluxe v5.11/12 or, if you qualify for the download, the genuine SID v6.00 which fixes at least one of those problems). Its big sister AID (Auto Installer Deluxe) is designed for both hardmod dash installs and softmodding using SID. SID is probably the nearest thing to what you're using now but that's not necessarily a good thing.

I don't use any of the softmod protection options it it includes (unlike others it is your choice - yay!) but I do have everything backed up, often twice and in two cases I can just put in a mirrored HDD if something ever goes wrong. Sixteen years of SID/AID use and, fingers crossed, never had to do that.

 

[KaosEngineer]

2 hours ago, Lo2301 said:

Which alternative softmod would you recommend ?

I don't understand clearly one thing : what's the risk if i remove the ndure softmod (there is an option to do it on xcaliburc cd). Will i loose all i have on f partition ?

I still have some hope though since I have an answer from gueux-forum.net. It's not the kind of answer that I expected though. They send me back to the Xcalibur Manual.

So I'm explaining to them step by step everything I do to install Xbmc, give them the xbmc.log and expect from them to tell me what I'm doing wrong and more importantly what I should do to make it work.

I think you've tried this before but it should do something, not nothing different if done at the right time:

Hold down both thumbsticks (clicked) when launching or booting XBMC.

[HDShadow]

Yes, he tried XBMC Error Recovery Mode (White/Y) and UserData Reset (L3/R3) on Monday - no joy with either.

Also did CACHE and X/Y/Z TMP file delete later too.

[Lo2301]

I have big news !

I managed to make XBMC boot.

I don't remember how exactly, but I've found this thread : https://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3969&p=37966#p37966

There, they explain to create an advancedsettings.xml file  with the code :

<advancedsettings> <powersave>false</powersave> </advancedsettings>

I did it on the copy of xbmc on f and it works !

I think this is related to the high temperature of my box (CPU: 61°C ; MB: 58°C).

So now I'm wondering why the temperature is so high.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Lo2301
added information about temperature

[KaosEngineer]

4 hours ago, Lo2301 said:

I have big news !

I managed to make XBMC boot.

I don't remember how exactly, but I've found this thread : https://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3969&p=37966#p37966

There, they explain to create an advancedsettings.xml file  with the code :

<advancedsettings> <powersave>false</powersave> </advancedsettings>

I did it on the copy of xbmc on f and it works !

I think this is related to the high temperature of my box (CPU: 61°C ; MB: 58°C).

So now I'm wondering why the temperature is so high.

Great! Not sure why that would fix it but very interesting.

Let's try something else with the E drive install.

For XBMC there, create an advancedsettings.xml file with a higher debug level enabled:

<advancedsettings>
  <loglevel hide="false">2</loglevel>
</advancedsettings>

Does this installation of XBMC4Xbox now start?

Post the log files to pastebin and add the links to them in a reply.

[Lo2301]

1 hour ago, KaosEngineer said:

For the XBMC on your E drive, create an advancedsettings.xml file with a higher debug level enabled:[...] Does this installation of XBMC4Xbox now start?

This one doesn't start. FYI, to follow the procedure of xcalibur disk, I removed the 3.5.3. version of xbmc from the E:\Apps\Xbmc folder and let Xcalibur do the installation (the goal is to set it as a dashboard and i don't know how without Xcalibur at this point). The problem is that i have now the version 2.0.1. installed. Perhaps this version doesn't take into account the powersave entry of advancedsettings.xml. There is another procedure in Xcalibur to update xbmc (not sure it will work though).

Here is the xbmc.log : https://pastebin.com/KFngQfeH

and xbmc.old.log : https://pastebin.com/EuVcWjDw

Edited August 12, 2022 by Lo2301
typo

[Lo2301]

I could not find the way to update xbmc with the Xcalibur procedure. So I removed all files from E:\Apps\XBMC and uploaded there the version 3.5.3. downloaded at Digiex. I created the file advancedsettings.xml with the items <powersave>false</powersave> & <loglevel hide="false">2</loglevel>. and uploaded it to E:\Apps\XBMC\UserData\.

Now it works. As an application and as the alternate dash (I know how to exchange principal and alternate dashes if I want).

Here are the logs :

xbmc.old.log (as an app) : https://pastebin.com/GaiLa8yW

xbmc.log (as the alt. dash) : https://pastebin.com/v83X8Mk7

 

[HDShadow]

Sounds like a really obscure problem but glad to read its now sorted.

[KaosEngineer]

4 hours ago, Lo2301 said:

This one doesn't start. FYI, to follow the procedure of xcalibur disk, I removed the 3.5.3. version of xbmc from the E:\Apps\Xbmc folder and let Xcalibur do the installation (the goal is to set it as a dashboard and i don't know how without Xcalibur at this point). The problem is that i have now the version 2.0.1. installed. Perhaps this version doesn't take into account the powersave entry of advancedsettings.xml. There is another procedure in Xcalibur to update xbmc (not sure it will work though).

Here is the xbmc.log : https://pastebin.com/KFngQfeH

and xbmc.old.log : https://pastebin.com/EuVcWjDw

 I find it odd that the xbmc.log file doesn't have a problem loading the French language file but the xbmc.old.log file does.

Quote

1. From xbmc.old.log:
2.  
3. 13:51:08 M: 48721920 ERROR: unable to load Q:\skin\Project Mayhem III\language\French\strings.xml: Failed to open file at line 0
4. 13:51:08 M: 48721920 ERROR: unable to load Q:\skin\Project Mayhem III\language\English\strings.xml: Failed to open file at line 0

Start UnleashX then delete the log fiiles for the E drive install of XBMC.

To upgrade XBMC 2.0.1 to XBMC4Xbox v3.5.3, first run UnleashX then you can delete all of the files and folders in the /E/Apps/XBMC/ subfolder then upload the file set for XBMC4Xbox v3.5.3 into it.

[KaosEngineer]

2 hours ago, Lo2301 said:

I could not find the way to update xbmc with the Xcalibur procedure. So I removed all files from E:\Apps\XBMC and uploaded there the version 3.5.3. downloaded at Digiex. I created the file advancedsettings.xml with the items <powersave>false</powersave> & <loglevel hide="false">2</loglevel>. and uploaded it to E:\Apps\XBMC\UserData\.

Now it works. As an application and as the alternate dash (I know how to exchange principal and alternate dashes if I want).

Here are the logs :

xbmc.old.log (as an app) : https://pastebin.com/GaiLa8yW

xbmc.log (as the alt. dash) : https://pastebin.com/v83X8Mk7

 

Oops, I needed to read the next message before I replied to the previous one telling you how to upgrade XBMC 2.0.1 to XBMC4Xbox v3.5.3.

You already figured out how to do so.

Good job!

[KaosEngineer]

2 hours ago, Lo2301 said:

Here are the logs :

xbmc.old.log (as an app) : https://pastebin.com/GaiLa8yW

xbmc.log (as the alt. dash) : https://pastebin.com/v83X8Mk7

While running XBMC4Xbox, FTP to the console.

What subfolders and files are present in the Q:\language\ subfolder?

 

Edit: Had you mentioned before which version of Xbox you have? 

If you had or had not, answer now please, which version it is?

[Lo2301]

6 minutes ago, KaosEngineer said:

What subfolders and files are present in the Q:\language\ subfolder?

No file, only folders :

 

[KaosEngineer]

2 minutes ago, Lo2301 said:

No file, only folders :

KE - Image deleted to save space

Okay.  What files are in the English and French subfolders?

[Lo2301]

2 minutes ago, KaosEngineer said:

What files are in the English and French subfolders there?

langinfo.xml & strings.po in each subfolder.

[KaosEngineer]

Okay, thank you.  I added a question to a previous post.  I should stop doing that as they are easily missed.

Which version is your Xbox?

What Operating System (a.k.a. BIOS/kernel) version is shown on XBMC4Xbox's System Info > Summary page?

 

[Lo2301]

31 minutes ago, KaosEngineer said:

Which version is your Xbox?

1.4

31 minutes ago, KaosEngineer said:

What Operating System (a.k.a. BIOS/kernel) version is shown on XBMC4Xbox's System Info > Summary page?

1.0.5101.1

 

I'm at 100% CPU Usage. Always.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Lo2301
added screen capture

[KaosEngineer]

1 hour ago, Lo2301 said:

1.4

1.0.5101.1

Ok, this may be the final question.

Was XBMC 2.0.1 starting? 

You probably already mentioned that in an earlier post.

XBMC4Xbox v3.5.3 Freezing - The Fix(es)

From what I've found some Xbox's freeze with XBMC4Xbox without disabling the powersave (HLT) feature of the latest releases.

Adding the option to disable it in the advancedsettings.xml file allows the application to run. Why this is so has not been determined.  Some Xbox's freeze  when starting XBMC4Xbox while others have no problem running it.

For now, leave the powersave option set to false and change the loglevel to 1.

 

Edit: Oh, I did say fixes - plural - didn't I, I will leave that for another day ...  

 

[spoiler]Sorry, I got nothing for another possible fix.[/spoiler]

 

 

 

[KaosEngineer]

2 hours ago, Lo2301 said:

I'm at 100% CPU Usage. Always.

That's exactly what Gandalph posted in the forums at xbmc4xbox.org.uk when they disabled  - set to false - the powersave setting in advancedsettings.xml.

And, another person, immune, had applied new thermal paste to the CPU only to now see 100% CPU usage on XBMC4Xbox's System Info screen.  They did not state what it was before applying the new thermal paste. And, I don't know if they had set the powersave option to false or not. 

Edit: Conclusion - Maybe there are some bad solder joints to the CPU causing the HLT instruction to no longer work (edit: or no way to exit the HALT state to continue program execution); therefore, the CPU hangs when it is called/executed. 

Pulling the heatsink off of the CPU to apply new thermal paste may have cracked/broken some of the solder joints to the CPU on immune's motherboard.

Edit:

From the IA-32 Intel® Architecture Software Developer's Manual, Volume 2: Instruction Set Reference published in 2001 on page 3-317:

HLT — HALT

Opcode    Instruction     Description
F4        HLT             Halt

Description

Stops instruction execution and places the processor in a HALT state. An enabled interrupt (including NMI and SMI), a debug exception, the BINIT# signal, the INIT# signal, or the RESET# signal will resume execution. If an interrupt (including NMI) is used to resume execution after a HLT instruction, the saved instruction pointer (CS:EIP) points to the instruction following the HLT instruction.

The HLT instruction is a privileged instruction. When the processor is running in protected or virtual-8086 mode, the privilege level of a program or procedure must be 0 to execute the HLT instruction.

Operation

Enter Halt state;

------------------

What does this all mean?

Well, from the sentence I underlined above, I believe it means that an external interrupt source has to signal the CPU to resume execution of the program.  Where that signal comes from ???.

 

[Lo2301]

7 hours ago, KaosEngineer said:

Was XBMC 2.0.1 starting? 

When I tried it yesterday, no. It freezed, got stuck.

A long long time ago Xbmc (i don't remember the version) was running from 2008 to 2018 more or less). Then i tried the xcalibur 3.4 upgrade of my system (maybe in 2018) and xbmc was not runing anymore. Then i made that mistake with the unlock of the drive and it became worse. I didn't touch my xbox during several years and now i come back to it.

[Lo2301]

Hi KaosEngineer and hdshadow.

I guess the subject is closed now.

Thank you very much for your support !

Lo

[KaosEngineer]

Problem 1: For some unknown reason, XBMC4Xbox refuses to start on some Xboxes. It freezes after the splash screen is displayed.

Solution 1: In the advancedsettings.xml file in XMBC4Xbox's UserData subfolder add the following configuration option:

<powersave>false</powersave>

If you don't have an advancedsettings.xml file, make one in a text editor then upload it to XBMC4Xbox's UserData subfolder then restart XBMC4Xbox (e.g., power cycle the console).  The content of the file is as follows:

<advancedsettings>
    <powersave>false</powersave>
</advancedsettings>

Cavaet: Many people have reported that once you set the powersave option to false on XBMC4Xbox 's System Info page the CPU utilization is always 100%.

Problem 2: Everything lost of the F drive.  

Solution 2: Before you upload too much data to the F drive, run XBPartitioner v1.3 to make sure the extended partition 6 is formatted using the correct cluster size.  If you see ER to the left of partition 6's size, it was not.  Download all of the data from the partition (F and/or G drive) then reformat it to use the correct cluster size.  There is no data-safe method to change the cluster size to correct the situation.