andoryuu3

Said it in the Scene News thread, and I'm going to say it here too: FANTASTIC work guys. Thank you so much for this update. The Xbox 360 may be aging, but it's still my favorite console. Happy to see it get a little more love from Phoenix.

I can't say that anyone in Phoenix is working on it (most likely aren't), but someone else who recently posted on these forums says he's going to try to translate to Arabic. Hands down, the fastest way to make Arabic localization possible is to try and help create it yourself. I don't recommend doing it alone-- the best way is to team up with the community (or some of your personal friends) and work together to get it done. You can find a lot of useful resources for this here. Personally I would love to see a Japanese localization done, but I'm afraid it won't be done unless I step up to the plate and do it myself. I actually did translate a LOT of Aurora to Japanese, but a lot of my Japanese friends were too busy to help out. That being said, my translation is on hiatus. I'm just not quite proficient enough with Japanese to handle the more advanced technical vocabulary. I'm a perfectionist-- I want the translations to appear natural... But maybe someday I can complete a very rough localization. That just might be enough to generate interest in it, and hopefully someone will want to step in and correct my mistakes. Lol

Haven't been on these forums in a good while due to a new job (keeps my hands tied most of the time), but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for this release. Long live Phoenix! Thanks for the amazing work guys.

Just saying, but I could easily compare Aurora to iOS too. Simplicity is a feature when executed correctly, and I personally believe both Aurora and iOS nail it. Only difference is, I have to jailbreak iOS to customize it. I know I'm really going off topic here, but both iOS and OSX are much more than how they appear on the surface. Until you play with the filesystem and system files, you've never truly explored an operating system.

+1 to that, QuattroGam3r. Not to mention all dashboard features are literally one button away... This alone is a godsend. FSD made me irritable at times with how cluttered it felt. I liked FSD and still have it for the same reasons as you, it just isn't and won't be my default anymore. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know I just have learned how to dodge the bugs (usually I close and reopen before doing anything new), and occasionally use the CR3/CR4 rater option. I really liked Auto-GG when it came out (jam packed with features!) but I guess some of the features are broken now (ones that relied on a specific server).Can xebuild-gui perform nandpro operations? Last time I used it was for the current latest dash and never checked. From what I recall it only builds/rebuilds NAND images. And btw, beautiful GUI-- unfortunately my netbook (where I usually do my NAND stuffs) doesn't display properly on my very limited resolution. Though, now I could probably migrate to my MacBook Air... I feared this would be the case :/ Guess it's time to move on! Besides, after my slim Trinity died on me, I switched to an awesome CR4 clone. No need for rater now I suppose...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for putting this together! I'm a Mac user too actually. I use Windows only for Xbox 360 tools and other miscellaneous things. Have you tried making J-Runner Mac compatible? It would be a great addition to this list! Thanks again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Major kudos to you sir! I admire your efforts and encourage you to continue as best you can. I wish I could offer you pointers or advice, but I only know intermediate level Java programming... Lately though, little projects like this have made me wish I knew C! I also agree with moses_373-- Aurora and XBMC together on my 360 would be heavenly. Content scraping FTW! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you tried running SlaYer's/Superdisc on a different console? I mean, with the HDD intended for the devkit installedSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Atifkazia, if you read what Swizzy said about fakelive carefully, you will see that he actually DOES NOT recommend fakelive. Please disable fakelive and let us know if that solves your problem. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, you definitely need an OS/Dashboard. I'm afraid that XboxHDM doesn't install one though. If I remember correctly, it's a free/open source app and likely doesn't install the dashboard files due to copyright concerns. That's why I keep recommending either SlaYer's or Superdisc-- it'll partition hour drive AND install dashboard files (as well as other apps if you choose not to use the option for a stock install). I really recommend the modded install, especially if you're eventually going to restore the dev tools later. That way you can utilize the homebrew apps that may be of use to you until then. The auto installers shouldn't mess with the eeprom, so no worries. Correct, good sir I forgot all about the jumper settings, but I distinctly remember having to change my PC IDE drives from Master to CS. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Heh, well no widespread issues with OG Xboxes overheating, I just used the Iceberqs to accommodate for the slimmer case (one of the original heatsinks was too tall). The small copper heatsink was just an extra.. More influence from Llamma--heatsink whatever you can lol. I thought about doing the 128MB upgrade, but I think I may have read somewhere that it interferes with retail games. Aside from that, I didn't have the tools necessary at the time... Though, I did have the RAM chips Why are you wanting to dump the eeprom from a random hard drive? Note that you don't need to reprogram a HDD's eeprom to get it to work with an Xbox. The only eeprom that matters is the one on the Xbox motherboard (just for lock/unlock purposes; I know we established that the devkit eeprom doesn't seem to lock/unlock anything we know of) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I'm back and with pictures-- I know you seem to have changed your mind on which TSOP split to do, but I already took apart the slimbox. Who knows, maybe someone looking for the 4 way TSOP mod will end up here from Google? Kinda hard to see what's going on, but the black wires are going to what I believe is ground, yellow wires going to the pinheadder pin, then one striped wire to each via point. Also kind of hard to see, but it seems the striped wire goes to the center of the switches, ground to one side, 3.3v to other side. Zoomed out view of motherboard and how I routed the wires (underneath the LAN port) And lastly, all closed up, showing position of switches outside of case. I can't remember which position banks 2 and 3 are, but they are either ON-OFF or OFF-ON. Bank 4 is ON-ON (ON = 3.3v), bank 1 is OFF-OFF (OFF = GND). And yes, my soldering sucked back then lol. That was 10 years ago, when I was barely still in high school . Yes, I colored the wires with a black sharpie-- that's why the color is faded on the "black" wires.... Ah... It was cheap anyway. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm fairly sure that's exactly why it won't boot. Usually a retail Xbox boots xboxdash.xbe, and a hacked retail will boot from either evoxdash.xbe (typically 1st), avalaunch.xbe, unleashx.xbe, xbmc.xbe, uix.xbe (rarely; usually must be configured), or xboxdash.xbe (as a fallback if no hacked dashboards can be found). So if he puts a modchip in and gets something like UnleashX or UIX booting, he can probably work with it from there. I'm unaware of the XDK dash is on xbins or not. Might be worth checking out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, before we get too far ahead here, I have a question for you: Have you tried booting your Devkit with a harddrive yet? This is sticking out to me like a sore thumb after viewing a previous post where you showed the boot process. The flubber animation is perfect. No glitches, no oddities. Remember that the OG Xbox relies heavily on the HDD. Case in point, every OG Xbox has them. This is where the dashboard is located-- no HDD means no dashboard to boot to, which (IMHO) perfectly explains why you're getting a blank screen after the animation. You may not need to split the TSOP after all (though I stand by my willingness to assist with that if necessary). Also, the benefit of a 2 way TSOP split is being able to utilize larger 512k bioses. In the case of Xecuter 2 bioses (which were made to work with all modchips), that would enable a stock Xbox v1.0/v1.1 user to TSOP flash the latest and final X2 bios (which comes with extra features I currently can't recall). You will LOSE access to being able to use a 512k bios while running a 4 way split... Seems a lot of the devkit bioses want 512k storage, so it's something to keep in mind. Should also keep in mind that the bios I had recommended (as well as the others in that folder) advise against flashing to TSOP. I would heed this warning considering you don't have a backup of your original bios (yet?). Personally I think your first priority is to revive a stock console (with a modchip), and rebuild a HDD via SlaYer's or Superdisc. Once you have the HDD rebuilt, ensure the HDD is unlocked from the stock console you built it on. Swap it into your devkit Xbox and (with a modchip) lock the HDD to the devkit (if possible). Even if it can't be locked, you're at least one step closer to getting the devkit working as the partition layout is intact. Then (assuming this truly will work) restore the devkit with the XDK you found. If it requires Xbox Neighborhood to complete, then download the UIX dashboard for that as I believe this was the only homebrew dashboard to utilize it. This is kind of off topic, but FSD reminds me very much of UIX. Both were created by repurposing and reusing elements of the official dashboard (ignoring NXE anyway). The most feature rich dashboard is UnleashX. Don't be seduced by EvoX-- it had a lot of hype, and was probably the most popular, but it was severely lacking in features. In any case, I will (reluctantly...) disassemble my slimbox and get those pictures for you. (it's only a pain because I didn't/couldn't design it to be easily disassembled)

No problem. Glad to hear I explained it well enough (I was having trouble finding the best way to describe it, lol). If you give me a few minutes I'll edit my post with a link to a TSOP tutorial. Not for the sake of flashing, but more for the sake of accessing those other banks. I know of an old guide written by Tizz from Llamma... But actually I think his switch diagram was wrong lol. Definitely should try the 1 switch (2 512k bank) method first. EDIT: Yes, QuattroGam3r is right-- I'm definitely referring to something like that. I do know for certain I used two SPDT switches for mine, however I cant find that guide anymore. I did find this one, which is similar to the one QuattroGam3r mentioned. This one uses an SPDT switch and splits the TSOP into two banks: http://xbox-scene.com/articles/tsop-live-1mb.php If I can find the 4-way method using SPDT switches, I'll give it a post. Alternatively, if you're really dying for the 4-way method, I can see about posting images of my slimbox (xbox slimmed down w/o dvd drive) that I performed this mod on. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I did some light research on this... And unfortunately I can't find any way to back up the TSOP. I thought you could using a homebrew app (you can at least back up the eeprom this way), but it appears that there are only flashing utilities and no dumping utilities. As for a hardware method to dump it... Well, back then there wasn't much of a reason for retail users to dump their own bios, so no solutions like NAND-X or SD tool QSBs were ever developed. The only hardware way I can think of is removing the chip and connecting it to a reader/programmer. I think it would be very difficult to pull off. On the other hand, there's good news about having a v1.0. It's the exact same as a v1.1 except for the USB daughterboard (the board the controller ports plug into; later revisions removed this). The feature you probably would be most interested in is, your motherboard has a 1024k flash. Since Xbox bioses are typically 256k, they "extend" the bios with four copies of the same 256k bios, thus creating a 1024k flash image. This is a beautiful thing for modders-- you can actually install a switch (or two) to split the TSOP into two banks of 512k (or four banks of 256k). On a retail Xbox, this means no need for a modchip. On your debug, your situation will require one initially. If you can find a good devkit bios that is safe to flash to the TSOP, then you can also pull off a multi bank mod. If you're interested in this later down the road, it would require two solder bridges (to disable write protect), 3-6 wires and 1-2 SPDT switches. EDIT: if you imagine your TSOP is a four 256k bank chip, it's possible the first bank got corrupt somehow... It doesn't boot, right? In that case, installing switches can allow you to test the other three banks. If bios corruption is the reason for no boot, then switching to another (hopefully non corrupt) bank could save the day... Just an idea to try. EDIT2: Typo. Meant to say 3-6 wires. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay cool. This is a little off topic, but if you want to find out what motherboard revision you have, you can follow Xbox-Scene's picture guide here. The good news is you don't have a v1.6 motherboard-- these require an LPC rebuild in order for a modchip to work (v1.6 always have Xcalibur video encoders). Aside from the LPC pinheadder, you will only need to solder one wire to the d0 point. If you're lucky, you might have a v1.1. These are the most feature packed motherboards the OG Xbox had to offer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I took a look at the readme files and sizes, and it seems the only one you can use with your current chip is the last one: Debug-bios-256k-Gueux_Net-V2.rar The other ones are 512k bioses, which likely will not fit on what you have. Keep in mind you should only flash your modchip with this-- do not flash your TSOP (onboard bios chip) with it, as per the readme. If you want a 512k modchip, I could probably find one for you, as well as where to buy one. EDIT: what video encoder do you have? It's the chip closest to the AV ports. You'll need either a Focus or Connexant encoder for it to be compatible. Make sure to flash the appropriate bios file for your chip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks . Lol, you know, back then I did the same with my thermal paste (except I used a credit card to spread). It was how the Head Llamma used to do it too! I miss them too actually. If it wasn't for them I would have never gotten into Xbox modding and the like. It's a shame they went down. Probably poor sales due to the shift in modding from case mods to controller mods. Our forum community collapsed a little before that due to out of date software and addons. Every day I used to remove 10-15 spam posts a day... Ah, the good ol days... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Both, actually. I haven't checked Xbins for a while, but there might be a dev bios on there. Even if there isn't, you can test with a hacked retail bios to see if it boots that way. Whatever your result may be, the beauty of the OG Xbox's LPC based modchips is, you can simply unplug it when you don't need it. (Assuming you do the recommended pinheadder install method) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Since it seems to be a fairly old Xecuter chip, you'll likely need to use a 256 bios (either an Xecuter X2 bios or Evox M8... Or an iND bios, if you want to swing that way) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did you read my earlier posts in this thread? I know you mean well, but this is clearly going to steer him in the wrong direction. Spend a decent amount of time on any overclocking forum, and you'll find that spreading the thermal paste is a very outdated and inefficient way to handle it. It creates air bubbles in the thermal paste, causing performance loss. It's significant enough to negate the benefit of using a quality paste. Even Xbox-Experts revised their tutorials to reflect the inefficiency of spreading, insisting to use either a pea sized amount or a grain of rice amount (depending on the shape of the surface; square vs rectangular). I don't particularly care if people use my recommendations for paste, but I have a very strong stance on the application method. I was introduced to IC Diamond 7 about 4-5 years ago on Overclock.net (OCN), posting as timxirish (this is also the name I administrated on Llamma.com as). Innovation Cooling gave free samples of their product to 100 members of OCN in return for at least three comparisons between competitor paste and their (then, unreleased) product IC Diamond 7 Carat. This means I was to make six total applications (three with competitor paste, three with ICD7) and stress test my system to find both idle and load temps for each. We were instructed to try different methods of application-- spreading, making an X pattern, rice grain, small pea dot, etc. My competitor paste was AS5. I and many others tried spreading, pea/rice method and the X pattern (I did 2x spread, 4x pea dot; half for AS5, half for ICD7). What we found was that the pea/rice method created a vaccum between the heatsink and the CPU, whereas the spreading did not simply because of the air bubbles. Less air bubbles means maximum thermal transfer-- this should be very easy to understand considering you are specifically using a thermal compound for the exact purpose of transferring heat. Case in point, try applying your heatsink with only AIR inbetween your CPU and Heatsink. I don't think I have to explain why the results will be piss poor. Air is an inferior heat conductor to thermal paste, especially diamond and liquid metal based pastes. If you'd like to continue spreading your pastes, that's perfectly fine. I'm just saying it should not be anyone's top recommendation, especially since a proven superior method been long known and shared. All I'm saying is let's try not to confuse anyone new to this process. It's a compound from a Japanese chemical company that usually provides thermal paste solutions for big companies like Honda. They don't advertise much at all, but they still have products developed for computer application. In some cases, they also provide paste to be used in OEM applications. The lowest performing paste in their lineup is advertised under the Masscool brand, but the paste I'm talking about is Shin Etsu MicroSi X23-7783D. You can read more about it here.

Personally I never use Arctic Silver 5 anymore-- I just recommend it because it's easy for noobies to apply effectively. Thicker pastes are more prone to air bubbles if applied incorrectly, and Arctic Silver 5 is just thin enough to make this less of an issue. Antec NDF7 should be pretty similar to ICD7 considering they're of the same base component. So don't get me wrong-- Either one is a better choice than AS5 for experienced users. Shin Etsu MicroSi (my favorite) should be reserved for extremists. It surpasses ICD7, however it comes out like hard clay. Great performance, just a terrible choice for noobies! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gotcha. I thought that may have been your reasoning. In case anyone else reads this and tries to replace their thermal paste anyway, keep in mind that how you apply paste makes a significant difference (1-3 degrees). It should be applied in a pea sized amount on the center of the CPU/GPU. Let the heatsink spread the paste-- air bubbles can and will cause performance loss. Letting the heatsink spread the paste is the only way to avoid this. Using too much paste will also cause performance loss. Last advice I'd give to anyone who dared to change their thermal paste for the first time is, if it isn't broken, don't fix it. But if you've already removed the heatsink (such as a Corona v3+ user, installing postfix adapter) don't reuse the same paste. Clean it up with 99% alcohol and use a quality paste to replace it (Arctic Silver 5 or IC Diamond 7C) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk