MakeMHZ project stellar

[PRince404]

Man I'd love to see an open source Xedusa.

[GoTeamScotch]

23 hours ago, eeksdee said:

Just curious what feature you're wanting them most that isn't already there?

Network loading of ISOs/virtual HDD images over LAN

>128mb RAM support

Xbox gamepad support was added a few weeks ago, so that one at least is crossed off.

In general, I was also expecting by now to see more features added. It's presented as a platform, not just a way of running a modified BIOS. This should allow for new fancy features we haven't seen in other modchips. Things like multi-tasking, for example, where the onboard CPU can run background processes, maybe leading to something like an in-game dashboard (similar to Xbox 360's). Like even a simple music player would be an awesome new addition. The Xbox gamepad and 1.4ghz updates have been nice additions to see. I guess I was just expecting a bit more by now, a year later.

[Bowlsnapper]

1 hour ago, GoTeamScotch said:

Network loading of ISOs/virtual HDD images over LAN

>128mb RAM support

Xbox gamepad support was added a few weeks ago, so that one at least is crossed off.

In general, I was also expecting by now to see more features added. It's presented as a platform, not just a way of running a modified BIOS. This should allow for new fancy features we haven't seen in other modchips. Things like multi-tasking, for example, where the onboard CPU can run background processes, maybe leading to something like an in-game dashboard (similar to Xbox 360's). Like even a simple music player would be an awesome new addition. The Xbox gamepad and 1.4ghz updates have been nice additions to see. I guess I was just expecting a bit more by now, a year later.

It has 128 support. It sees MY 128. The menu says 136MB, from the 8MB onboard. 

But I wanna see what's up with that 256. There is no explanation for how that would be accomplished in the first place and it perplexes me.

I can definitely appreciate the CPU support. I wish I could do a CPU upgrade! I think it's time for one!  I'll also try out the controller support.

 

  

8 hours ago, nikeymikey said:

The open source competitors seem to be getting there now with the HDMI mods. Now if we can get an existing modchip like openXenium or similar (or even an outright Stellar alternative) to beat the feature set that Stellar offers (even if some of it is non existent) then the scene will have triumphed. If that happens Stellar and everything that comes with it can then fade into obscurity for good, only coming up in the pages of Xbox history

That is what I would like to see!  Here's hopin!

[GoTeamScotch]

22 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

It has 128 support. It sees MY 128. The menu says 136MB, from the 8MB onboard. 

Notice the ">" in my reply, meaning greater than 128mb

I'm not sure what the plan is to achieve that. Maybe stacking RAM chips, like with v1.6 motherboards. That would be handy for emulators/Linux/XBMC.

[dtomcat]

2 hours ago, Bowlsnapper said:

But I wanna see what's up with that 256. There is no explanation for how that would be accomplished in the first place and it perplexes me.

He has hinted to the fact they are custom ram chips that will replace the factory ram

[Bowlsnapper]

2 hours ago, GoTeamScotch said:

Notice the ">" in my reply, meaning greater than 128mb

I'm not sure what the plan is to achieve that. Maybe stacking RAM chips, like with v1.6 motherboards. That would be handy for emulators/Linux/XBMC.

Oh.

I think the stacking works because the chips are able to be switched to using connections that are thankfully still present. The pads were removed being the only difference with 1.6 that I could see. But like @Dtomcat18said, maybe it could be done with different chips altogether? I wonder what would have to be changed... if it could be done with software or if different hardware is necessary along with bigger chips.

[GoTeamScotch]

Oh yeah, that would be much more straightforward. I was assuming the chips were an unusual/outdated standard.

[nikeymikey]

7 hours ago, Dtomcat18 said:

He has hinted to the fact they are custom ram chips that will replace the factory ram

If that is the case then it will no doubt be another way of locking people into his product. 

[Bowlsnapper]

11 hours ago, nikeymikey said:

If that is the case then it will no doubt be another way of locking people into his product. 

... I hadn't thought of that... Maybe that is the reason it hasn't been mentioned in a while. Maybe like when the HDMI encoder was used to raise money for the Stellar, maybe both are being used to raise money for a custom RAM package?

[nikeymikey]

20 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

... I hadn't thought of that... Maybe that is the reason it hasn't been mentioned in a while. Maybe like when the HDMI encoder was used to raise money for the Stellar, maybe both are being used to raise money for a custom RAM package?

I know it shouldn't wind me up but it does as Stellar could of been such a massive thing for the Xbox scene and could of opened up so many possibilities. But hey ho. Its creator is an asshat and has taken a huge curly wet turd on his own products potential. So fuck him and his product lol

[GoTeamScotch]

16 hours ago, nikeymikey said:

If that is the case then it will no doubt be another way of locking people into his product. 

For the record, Dustin claims the XboxHD+ change (making it reliant on Stellar) was due to parts shortage a while back. I asked about it in their Discord the other day and he replied:

"This is one of the many backorders I made for the part. Ordered in April of 2021 and it didn't ship until April 2022."

source (via Discord)

So when he couldn't source the STM microcontrollers for HD+, he dropped the requirement for that part and made Stellar handle the workload. I guess instead of supporting two SKUs of HD+ once parts stabilized, he made a separate add-on board that adds back in the STM chip for non-Stellar users.

Apparently, project Tepache, was in the works prior to XboxHD+ Legacy being announced. Folks noticed that MM's flashing guide (available on the MM website) could be applied to any off-the-shelf STM32 board, which of course sparked controversy because MM didn't want his firmware he developed for his Legacy product to be used elsewhere, as mentioned in the license for the firmware. This lead to MM sending a DMCA takedown notice to ConsoleMods and their hosting provider, Cloudflare.

Speaking of licenses, according to Milenko, the XboxHD+ firmware was originally licensed under GPLv2, but that was later changed (and apparently history of the change was scrubbed?). More info here.

Also, just want to add that being "locked in" to only using Stellar OS is a bit disappointing, but I also get why they don't put time into supporting other BIOSes. If your goal is just to load Cerbios, Stellar is overkill. Doing so would negate the work done that lets Stellar operate the way it does; injecting kernel patches on the fly instead of just loading a baked BIOS image, also negating the need for the ARM processor that's on board. Hopefully we see more features in the future that take advantage of its hardware capabilities, like the SD card slot and the HS expansion port.

Btw Cerbios is compatible with Stellar when using its BFM mode. So you're not totally locked in, thanks to the work done by the Cerbios team.

On a separate note, they released firmware v1.4.0 today. This adds support for unlocking locked hard drives without needing their original keys, which is nice.

For folks who want to recover locked drives without using Stellar, Harcroft has been spearheading (along with Skye and Siktah) a method to recover drives using drive commands that should be out soon.

https://x.com/OGX_Harcroft/status/1740869258060415280?s=20

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by GoTeamScotch

[Bowlsnapper]

32 minutes ago, GoTeamScotch said:

For the record, Dustin claims the XboxHD+ change (making it reliant on Stellar) was due to parts shortage a while back. I asked about it in their Discord the other day and he replied:

"This is one of the many backorders I made for the part. Ordered in April of 2021 and it didn't ship until April 2022."

source (via Discord)

So when he couldn't source the STM microcontrollers for HD+, he dropped the requirement for that part and made Stellar handle the workload. I guess instead of supporting two SKUs of HD+ once parts stabilized, he made a separate add-on board that adds back in the STM chip for non-Stellar users.

Apparently, project Tepache, was in the works prior to XboxHD+ Legacy being announced. Folks noticed that MM's flashing guide (available on the MM website) could be applied to any off-the-shelf STM32 board, which of course sparked controversy because MM didn't want his firmware he developed for his Legacy product to be used elsewhere, as mentioned in the license for the firmware. This lead to MM sending a DMCA takedown notice to ConsoleMods and their hosting provider, Cloudflare.

Speaking of licenses, according to Milenko, the XboxHD+ firmware was originally licensed under GPLv2, but that was later changed (and apparently history of the change was scrubbed?). More info here.

Also, just want to add that being "locked in" to only using Stellar OS is a bit disappointing, but I also get why they don't put time into supporting other BIOSes. If your goal is just to load Cerbios, Stellar is overkill. Doing so would negate the work done that lets Stellar operate the way it does; injecting kernel patches on the fly instead of just loading a baked BIOS image, also negating the need for the ARM processor that's on board. Hopefully we see more features in the future that take advantage of its hardware capabilities, like the SD card slot and the HS expansion port.

Btw Cerbios is compatible with Stellar when using its BFM mode. So you're not totally locked in, thanks to the work done by the Cerbios team.

On a separate note, they released firmware v1.4.0 today. This adds support for unlocking locked hard drives without needing their original keys, which is nice.

For folks who want to recover locked drives without using Stellar, Harcroft has been spearheading (along with Skye and Siktah) a method to recover drives using drive commands that should be out soon.

https://x.com/OGX_Harcroft/status/1740869258060415280?s=20

 

Sounds good.  But if there was a parts shortage... there were enough parts to put it on the stellar... and the legacy modules... Hmmmm.

I did see the firmware update posted. Good to see some progress being made. I'll update when I can.

 

  

4 hours ago, nikeymikey said:

I know it shouldn't wind me up but it does as Stellar could of been such a massive thing for the Xbox scene and could of opened up so many possibilities. But hey ho. Its creator is an asshat and has taken a huge curly wet turd on his own products potential. So fuck him and his product lol

Thank you for letting me know that I'm not crazy. I really do just hope that this is going to change and that they will try to work with the community instead of doing things this way, but thankfully open-source is addressing it and like I've said before: "Life will find a way." New options will be developed out of necessity.

[GoTeamScotch]

7 minutes ago, Bowlsnapper said:

there were enough parts to put it on the stellar... and the legacy modules

The parts on Stellar are different. It has an FPGA and an ARM processor, not an STM32 (I'm not sure which of these handles communication with the HD+ board). And the Legacy addon is a recent addition, so maybe parts have stabilized since then?

If the old HD+ were changed back to having the STM32 onboard again, while Stellar is fully capable of doing that workload on its own, it would be sort of redundant.

[Bowlsnapper]

12 minutes ago, GoTeamScotch said:

The parts on Stellar are different. It has an FPGA and an ARM processor, not an STM32 (I'm not sure which of these handles communication with the HD+ board). And the Legacy addon is a recent addition, so maybe parts have stabilized since then?

If the old HD+ were changed back to having the STM32 onboard again, while Stellar is fully capable of doing that workload on its own, it would be sort of redundant.

Ah okay. I see. Well then yes, either way, if they threw that thing back on the HD+ we would all love it and appreciate it!

It wouldn't be redundant if it means it liberates the HD+ to be used with any setup, providing the bios supports it, of course. But if used with the Stellar, then yes, it would be redundant. It would be a fantastic show of good faith to either pay the extra cost and have it on there regardless or to just have two designs, one with and one without at different costs. But I don't run a modding business, so what do I know about costs?

I think it would be nice though if the STM32 module board project was left alone and allowed to be used since it uses makemhz firmware anyway? I understand why they're pissed... but hey, the community had a response and it didn't have to do with making money since the dev board can be used and that info was released to us all for free. So the intentions behind it were fair, in my personal opinion. But maybe they're taking it a bit personally.

I dunno... I don't have the energy anymore to be a fighter about it. Twitter may be a good place for that but I've said enough on this forum when it comes to absolutes, you know? I don't want the "fight" to be here. Just a place of attemptingly neutral opinion and facts.

[lowtolerance]

I’ve been playing around with Stellar web installer and it’s… interesting. Not surprisingly, it violates GPL, but getting MakeMHz to respect other programmers’ licensing is a lost cause, which is a big part of the reason why I won’t buy Stellar. Anyway, that’s beside the point. 

Normally, you need to have Stellar hooked up to your PC for the installer to do anything, but it’s trivial to override the JavaScript that checks for this and proceed to the part where the installer asks you to “upload” the 5838 BIOS image. The BIOS is then “unpacked” and the kernel decrypted, uncompressed and extracted, and that unmodified kernel is what gets flashed to Stellar, where it is presumably patched and assembled into a valid BIOS. It’s possible to add a few lines of JavaScript to save the kernel as a file instead of sending it directly over USB and see exactly what gets flashed to Stellar, but I’m hesitant to provide any such code given MakeMHz’s tendency to abuse DMCA claims.

When it was first announced, the press release claimed that StellarOS uses a “reimplemented” kernel, but I fail to see where “reimplementation” comes into play. To me, this implies that MakeMHz built the functional equivalent of Microsoft’s kernel using none of the original code. Patching code into Microsoft’s kernel or utilizing any portion of Microsoft’s kernel code to build StellarOS disqualifies it as a reimplementation of the kernel, in my opinion. And I’m not a lawyer, but it doesn’t seem super legal on MakeMHz’s behalf, either, to claim and utilize Microsoft’s code as their own. The press release shames the shit out of other BIOS makers for using source code stolen from Microsoft to produce their BIOS, but using Microsoft’s binary code is fair game? It makes very little sense to me. 

It’s entirely possible that I’m missing something, so hopefully someone with more knowledge than me than can clarify. 

[RMM]

18 hours ago, lowtolerance said:

I’ve been playing around with Stellar web installer and it’s… interesting. Not surprisingly, it violates GPL, but getting MakeMHz to respect other programmers’ licensing is a lost cause, which is a big part of the reason why I won’t buy Stellar. Anyway, that’s beside the point. 

Normally, you need to have Stellar hooked up to your PC for the installer to do anything, but it’s trivial to override the JavaScript that checks for this and proceed to the part where the installer asks you to “upload” the 5838 BIOS image. The BIOS is then “unpacked” and the kernel decrypted, uncompressed and extracted, and that unmodified kernel is what gets flashed to Stellar, where it is presumably patched and assembled into a valid BIOS. It’s possible to add a few lines of JavaScript to save the kernel as a file instead of sending it directly over USB and see exactly what gets flashed to Stellar, but I’m hesitant to provide any such code given MakeMHz’s tendency to abuse DMCA claims.

When it was first announced, the press release claimed that StellarOS uses a “reimplemented” kernel, but I fail to see where “reimplementation” comes into play. To me, this implies that MakeMHz built the functional equivalent of Microsoft’s kernel using none of the original code. Patching code into Microsoft’s kernel or utilizing any portion of Microsoft’s kernel code to build StellarOS disqualifies it as a reimplementation of the kernel, in my opinion. And I’m not a lawyer, but it doesn’t seem super legal on MakeMHz’s behalf, either, to claim and utilize Microsoft’s code as their own. The press release shames the shit out of other BIOS makers for using source code stolen from Microsoft to produce their BIOS, but using Microsoft’s binary code is fair game? It makes very little sense to me. 

It’s entirely possible that I’m missing something, so hopefully someone with more knowledge than me than can clarify. 

Stellar uses Microsoft code to work.  That is a fact beyond dispute.  If MakeMHz is claiming its OK to use someone else's code to make their product work wouldn't the same apply to someone making an HDMI board using MakeMHz code?  which was supposed to be open source in the first place.  You cant even say owning an Xbox means you own the 5838 BIOS that is used in the Stellar because the 5838 BIOS was released for the Xbox v1.6 so anybody using that code on anything but their Xbox v1.6 is violating even more copyright laws not that using Microsoft's code for their Stellar modchip is legal in the first place.  

[lowtolerance]

34 minutes ago, RMM said:

Stellar uses Microsoft code to work.  That is a fact beyond dispute.  If MakeMHz is claiming its OK to use someone else's code to make their product work wouldn't the same apply to someone making an HDMI board using MakeMHz code?  which was supposed to be open source in the first place.  You cant even say owning an Xbox means you own the 5838 BIOS that is used in the Stellar because the 5838 BIOS was released for the Xbox v1.6 so anybody using that code on anything but their Xbox v1.6 is violating even more copyright laws not that using Microsoft's code for their Stellar modchip is legal in the first place.  

MakeMHz claims that it's not OK to use someone else's code, actually. But in reality, his code is heavily dependent on the work of others. There is a certain level of cognitive dissonance necessary to support MakeMHz and attack the people attempting to duplicate his efforts.

[Karmig]

I have a problem with my xbox..

It has project stellar installed with the latest bios and xbox hd+

games like dead or alive 3 of RTC wOLFENSTEIN don't run

Please can somebody help?

[MadMartigan]

1 hour ago, Karmig said:

I have a problem with my xbox..

It has project stellar installed with the latest bios and xbox hd+

games like dead or alive 3 of RTC wOLFENSTEIN don't run

Please can somebody help?

Start a new thread for help.