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[xboxdweeb]

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place.  As you can see from my number of posts, I'm a noob.

I just went through the process of installing the 79 Passkey on a Hitachi 79FL drive and ran into some snags that I didn't see documented anywhere, so I wanted to share my experiences to help others avoid the problems I ran into.

First off, the Passkey comes with the chip, the ribbon cable and one connector.  There is nothing else - no wire; no instructions.  You'll need to download the manufacturer's tutorial, which they link here: http://rapidshare.com/files/45042230/79Pas...torial.pdf.html

You'll need a heat gun to soften the epoxy that covers the pads you need to access on the drive's circuit board and then carefully remove the epoxy with an x-acto.   I set my heat gun to low so maybe a hair dryer on high would work, but I didn't try that.  To avoid heating more area than necessary, some aluminum foil with a hole cut in it works as a heat shield.  When picking off the epoxy, the key is to not cut any traces on the board while getting all the epoxy off the solder pads that you will be working with.  This process would be extremely difficult without first heating the epoxy.  I took my time and had to reheat it several time during the process.  If you have something to magnify your work, it will make things easier.

You'll need some solder wick (to absorb excess solder).  The connector would be extremely difficult to install without it.  Follow the directions the tutorial provides carefully.  I have a good soldering iron with a sharp tip and at first I thought I could solder the leads one at a time instead of just blobbing on a bunch of solder and then wicking it off like the instructions say, but I was wrong.  The blobbing/wicking technique worked way better.

The connector idea was not implemented very well because other components on the board interfere with positioning it.  Attach the cable to the connector before you position it, otherwise you won't be able to insert the cable after the connector is soldered on.  Like most ribbon cable connectors, you need to pop out the front section of the connector with your fingernail a couple millimeters before attempting to insert/remove the ribbon cable.  Once inserted, push the front section back in to lock in the connector.

The connector has to be mounted at an angle where the tips of the leads contact the solder pads and the front of the connector is lifted a little off the board due to the location of an existing component.  Once positioned, tack down some of the leads with a soldering iron to hold it in place.  If you have flux, apply it to the leads/pads at this time.  Follow the directions from the manufacturer for the soldering.  Once the connector is installed, there's only one additional wire that you need to install, but that's easy.  The instructions say to add some glue to the connector.  I did that on my first attempt, but it didn't help prevent what happened next.

DO NOT RE-ASSEMBLE THE DRIVE CASE YET.  You can screw the top portion of the case back on, but if you very carefully position the lower section, you'll see that the indented portion that surrounds one of the mounting screws makes full contact with the corner of the connector you just soldered on.  If you go ahead and screw the lower case on, you will rip the connector right off the pads and potentially damage the connector and the pads on the circuit board, not to mention have to re-do all your work.  (Guess what happened to me.)  Because of this, using wires instead of the connector might be a better choice.  I did not attempt using wires primarily because I didn't have any thin enough and it would have been a lot harder to solder wires on those pads than the connector.  You can now connect the drive to the Xbox/PC, but WITHOUT the lower portion of the case installed.

When you power up the Xbox 360, you should see the blue LED on the 79 Passkey light up for a couple seconds.  The drive doesn't actually immediately go into Mode B.  You must first eject the tray and push it back in, then it goes into Mode B where you can start the flashing process as if it were a 78.

When you're finished flashing, you have three options on what to do with the bottom portion of the drive case: Leave it off, desolder and remove the connector, or cut the area of the case out that contacts the connector with a Dremel tool like this guy did: http://www.boxxdr.com/79passkey/index.html

Also, a lot of people ask where to buy the 79 Passkey.  Since no one seems to answer that question, I suppose it's against the rules so I'll just say if you're in the states, you'll probably get it fastest/cheaper if you look for a seller in Canada.

[Carlitosbaby]

you do know there are like 100 tutorials on how to install and flash 79 with passkey right? think before posting my friend.

[Perplexer]

Lighten up, Francis.

This was a great detailed post from someone who hit a few snags and wants to help others out.

Think before posting, my friend.

[geezermdk]

I agree as any info in preventing snags like xboxdweeb encountered is very helpful to any1 attempting this.

[damadman]

Great post xboxdweeb

[thepiecesfit]

good post , but i want to add on an issue and a resolution i experienced.

The blue LED on my modchip did not light on.  But the mod was done correctly. I read on some website if the dvd drive ejects then its fine and suggests to use slax to get into mode B.

I performed the slax 2.1 procedure got into windows and dumped my key and updated perfectly !

[Questi4110]

QUOTE(thepiecesfit @ Nov 22 2007, 02:17 AM)

good post , but i want to add on an issue and a resolution i experienced.

The blue LED on my modchip did not light on.  But the mod was done correctly. I read on some website if the dvd drive ejects then its fine and suggests to use slax to get into mode B.

I performed the slax 2.1 procedure got into windows and dumped my key and updated perfectly !

He is right, mine didn't have the blue LED on the modchip light up but it was installed correctly.


Great tutorial.