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[Katonta]

QUOTE

Mod chip On (using a Ybox type bios) and always drop to Evolution-X. The MSDASHBOARD entry MUST be disabled and be set up so that it is impossible to accidentally drop to it. Mod chip off, always drop to the MS Dashboard.

[PillMonster]

Opjose's theory is possible - but it seems far too simple to be true. We know it is now a HD file being modified - people have replaced copies of the HD - so if he is right it must be the EEPROM. Just need to find someone who backed up their EEPROM and who has later been banned. Examine their EEPROM, and a simple comparison.
Personally, I think we will not find anything. This post will probably be deleted too.

[PillMonster]

Sorry my post was meant to say "there is not HD detectection" and not "there is now HD detection".

[Spree]

Once again this is not verified as of yet, we don't know the exact cause just yet but serialz is definitely a possiblity.

[inwoosac]

hey guys, ihad to freakin sign up for the boards to post this.. but i think i can help to the cause...

- I am banned on XBOX live...
- I did a hd swap to a 120gig, but i had run backup..(because i didnt know what it did, when i had my original HD.. and saved the eeprom.bin on my harddrive.... before i ever had live...
- and i do have a eeprom.bin from the new one....

so how would i go about seeing if they are exactly the same?.. is there some CRC checking program?

[inwoosac]

ok i did some testing....
i have an openxbox mod..but somethings not right..
is the eeprom.bin supposed to be 1KB?.... if not... maybe the backup couldnt extract it or something... i thought the eeprom onboard was 1mb?...
oh well anyways... take this with a grain of salt..
i did testing of the eeprom.bin before and after...  and guess what.. the CRC's ARE different.

before: cd6a2a8e
after: 3d249a02

[inwoosac]

ok NEVERMIND.... i read some of bunny's papers...and the eeprom is supposed to be 256 bytes....and it is... window's stupid size reports back in intervals of 1kb.... but under properties it is indeed 256 bytes....and they ARE different.....ahhh what to do.. should i go out on a limb and flash my eeprom? :/

[VaporStone]

OPJOSE
were can i find the program hdlock. because i unlocked it with hddunlock and then hddisable and then i tried to lock it later with a program called unlockX and it said "this drive cannot be locked" so could u tell me if the hdlock will work and if so could u send it my way

and one more question... if you use matrix in mode 3 can u play backup games???

Thanx!!!

[PillMonster]

They will not block IPs - they WILL start to close accounts though. We haven't seen this yet, I suspect the first ones to encounter this will be those people generating funky packets - if they can link it to their account. This could start to become an even more expensive hacking hobby !

[toasted69]

i dont know if any of you guys noticed but xbl games actuall write to x y &z partitions  maybe thats where ther droped a file to block live acces cause even when i put my original hd that once connected to xbl with beta disks only  no other game still has stuff written to thoise partitions i will try formating them tonight to see if it helps

[opjose]

QUOTE (Spree @ Nov 19 2002, 07:29 AM)

Thanks for checking on that but I would still assert that there must be something altered in the eeprom.  I understand that the older eeprom isn't working but I think maybe this is something that will have to be done manually by comparison.  Unfortunately though it could also mean that it is in the prom which is usually write once only meaning that they could have blown some fuses to deactivate live although this seems largely unlikely.

                                    I've checked the EEPROM for changes, and aside from the USER area which is not important it does not SEEM that anything is changed on the Xbox once the mod chip is detected.

This would be consistent with the box subsequently "reporting in" later.

As far as the BETA people, yeah MS PURPOSELY used them to test out their own mechanisms AFAIK AFTER taking their money.

Nice guys eh?

[opjose]

QUOTE (PillMonster @ Nov 19 2002, 08:16 AM)

Opjose's theory is possible - but it seems far too simple to be true. We know it is now a HD file being modified - people have replaced copies of the HD - so if he is right it must be the EEPROM. Just need to find someone who backed up their EEPROM and who has later been banned. Examine their EEPROM, and a simple comparison. Personally, I think we will not find anything. This post will probably be deleted too.

                                    I've already been here.

1 - No it is NOT a hard disk file being modified (unless you are counting the detection update itself which I do buy).

2 - I've tried eeprom images before and after bans

Other than the non-encrypted user areas, there are NO changes.

3 - I've been able to do the EEPROM switch on non-working & working machines to ressurect a "dead" or "banned" Xbox. This works.

4 - The EEPROM switch works even if the banned Xbox's hard drive remains in the machine (after an unlock/lock)

5 - I've been able to keep a modded machine from being banned by NEVER dropping to the MS Dash while the mod chip is on.

The one and only modded machine which still works with XBLive is the one I have done this.

So this directly points to the subsequent XBLive update which is sent during the initial sessions to be the bearer of the mod chip code.

As I mentioned this is very sneaky as you do tend to drop to the dash for general "housekeeping". Once you do, with the next connection your Xbox "reports in". With the subsequent connection you loose connectivity.

Never drop to the DASH with the mod chip on, and this doesn't happen.

Very sneaky.

If you think about it, it also makes sense from their side.

This is not to say that they could not also do this at some later date via a game update sent to you via live, but to date this is NOT happening.

[opjose]

QUOTE (dvdvideo @ Nov 19 2002, 08:45 AM)

"There is no detection of extra files on the drive, a different locked drive, or the presense of F:\ by the way!" How long do you honestly think this will last?  It's just as easy if not easier to detect as a mod chip.    It' only a matter of time before MS does the same thing to mod hard drives.

                                    What they MAY do is anyone's guess.

However their current technique has certain advantages for them.

Remember that by disabling the mod you block access to F: and the XBOX cannot overtly detect it's presence (unless it starts looking for non-MS drives which is highly unlikely since the drives are not specificly modified for Micro-soft).

The "detection payload" they drop into the dash is far more effective. It can be a simple switch or status change which tells the Xbox to "look for mod chips" on the next drop to the MS dash.

One is all it takes.

Knowing this, it may be possible to spot the offending code and do something about it, preventing FUTURE machines from being blacklisted when the mod chip is turned on.

Coders time for action.

[opjose]

QUOTE (Ten98 @ Nov 19 2002, 09:46 AM)

QUOTE (RedSlug @ Nov 18 2002, 08:13 AM) Why do we need to do this if it's a server problem?  Surely just hanging on until MS fix the problem is the best way? Because it's not a server problem, MS are banning serials, Opjose just doesn't want to admit he was wrong before.

                                    Eh, no.

I backtracked on this last monday after seeing the offending code in action... FINALLY.

[opjose]

QUOTE (inwoosac @ Nov 19 2002, 07:50 PM)

ok NEVERMIND.... i read some of bunny's papers...and the eeprom is supposed to be 256 bytes....and it is... window's stupid size reports back in intervals of 1kb.... but under properties it is indeed 256 bytes....and they ARE different.....ahhh what to do.. should i go out on a limb and flash my eeprom? :/

                                    No it will not help.

Go ahead and try it if you like.

It shouldn't hurt anything if your EEPROM flashes fine.

The EEPROM CRC's change because the user area changes dynamically during shutdown/startup.

Even changing a setting will modify the eeprom contents as this is where the machines hardware configuration is kept.