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[-Gadget-]

i presume you are softmodding ? and i also presume u hav'nt got 2 xbox's ...
both would make ya job MUCHEO easier ...

Mick ...

[Lone Programmer]

I am upgrading my hard drive with only a softmod.  I successfully did the softmod on the retail hard drive which in turn let me make the XboxHDM disc with all the necessary stuff on it.

How will having two Xbox's help me?  I already know that upgrading a hard drive with only a softmod is not the easiest, but I don't think I need two Xbox's.

-Gadget-
Do you know how to help me resolve my problem?  

I am really frustrated because I have tried several different ways to lock my hard drive and none of them seem to work out correctly.  The most common way I see people using is the simple "lockhd -a" method which for some strange reason gives me my error.

I have tried:
- Hotswapping to lock with my softmod dash
- XboxHDM
- Hotswapping to lock with ConfigMagic on my softmod dash


I know my hard drive is lockable.  It is just not locking correctly.  I always either get error code 5 or error code 6, both meaning I am not locking correctly.

Please if anyone knows the answer please post.

Thanks,
The Lone Programmer

[obcd]

Hi,

are you sure that your pc cdrom is connected to the slave ide controller and the disk to the master? (2 different cables going to the pc motherboard. You can use the lifeinfo program to find out your disk password when you have your xbox eeprom file. You can also use some dos tools to lock and unlock a disk. Just make sure you know what password you used, as once locked, you are in trouble unlocking it without password. I believe they are atapwd.exe hddlock.exe hddunlock.exe and hdddisable.exe.

The problem with the dos tools is that you have to give your password manually. If you miss a digit, your disk is locked with another password. I do think that the tools save a file on the dos boot floppy with the password they used to lock the disk. If you lock a second time, you overwrite that file. So, make sure you save it first, and only use the hddlock.exe on a unlocked disk. Don't blame me if you end up with a locked harddisk of which you don't know the unlock password. You are warned!!

regards.

[-Gadget-]

ok softmodded does make it alot harder, but of course still very doable
reason i asked about 2 xbox's, as it make my method easier !

ya see, i used to do alot of modded, but now xbox's have die'd down, and is all now 360's, or just fixing xbox's ! and if peeps want there xbox modded they want it done cheap !
so fixing xboxs, and softmodding has now become my art !

ok, now this is the easist way for u to get what ya want done ... althou maybe abit bit cowboy /risky but it DOES work

-ok . so atm u have a normal softmodded xbox ..
-now what u need to do is either get a power/molex splitter so that u can power two HDD's, or slide ya PC close enough to use that as a powering device ..
-fire up ya xbox,  along with the drive that u wanna put in (making sure that its jumpers are all configured correctly, normally cable select)
-U need to have evox, unleashx, or XBpartioner ... well a app that is able to set up and partition ya HDD, and also ya need config magic (for locking)
-now with said app running u then hotswap in your new HDD,
-now set up the partitions (now setting up of partition u may wanna do on ya PC its upto you)
-once the partitions are set up, FTP into the drive and  transfer all the needed stuff over (thats ya softmod and all files that ya wanna put on)
** now if u set up the partition on PC or via another xbox etc, u will see all the files still listed from the original drive, just ignore this and transfer overwriting anything that it ask's) *** also u may need to do the partitioning, and FTP transfer seperatly (power cycle and reswapping)
-now u need to run configmagic for locking, again this may need to be done seperately after a power cycle reswap, remembering to run the app BEFORE hotswaping!
-lock the drive
-reboot and if all went well ya new drive is in and sorted !

i find this method much easier than messing around in dos ...

Mick ...

[Lone Programmer]

I tried your method before Gadget, but I thought I would try it again for the hell of it.

It still failed.  This is what I did though.

1> Boot Xbox with original hard drive in
2> Open ConfigMagic
3> Let it load and show me my current hard drive stats
4> Hotswap my stock hard drive with my new 80GB drive formatted with XboxHDM
5> Hit start button
6> Lock

It says its locking the hard drive and at the bottom it says backing up eeprom.  It takes about 10 minutes and then it says:
"Hard Drive Already Locked ??"

It brings up the stats list again and most of the fields have weird characters, but there is a lock code at the bottom for this new hard drive.  It does not match my other hard drives code.

I press start and go to unlock, but it just fails.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks
The Lone Programmer

[-Gadget-]

well by the sounds of it, the  hdd int configured right, as in jumper wise
and thus conflicting with the dvd rom etc ...

try what ya did just (if ya confident that the file stucture, and files u want are on there ok)
but with a dif jumper set up ...

ya could try starting up the xbox with ya new drive in, and see what error u have also
as if its saying error 5 (not locked) then ya jumpers are more likly to be right
but if its a say error 7 or 8, then its cause the HDD int found and thus jumpers are wrong ..

Mick ....

[Lone Programmer]

The only errors I ever get are:
- Error code 5
- Error code 6

I end up with error code 5 when I try to do the hotswap method.

Error code 6 when I try to lock from my computer.

Tried different jumper setups but no luck.

The Lone Programmer

[-Gadget-]

well when it says erro 6, its cannot unlock HDD, meaning youve used the wrong lock code ...
code 5 is that its not locked, meaning its found it ok, but as its not locked, the dash wont run (so that means its got as far as running the dash etc !

so from the code  can determin what to do ....
not really sure what to suggest ! ..
as im not thre to see exactly what ya doin wrong, as we can only go by what u tell us etc ..

Mick ....

[Lone Programmer]

When I hook my Xbox hard drive up to my computer and run: LiveInfo Beta 3 it gives me a hard drive password.  I write down this password and I plug in the hard drive I wish the make my upgraded hard drive.  I use LiveInfo Beta 3 and get its password.  Even though the drive is unlocked it comes up with a password that does not match the Xbox's password.  I go to lock the new hard drive with my Xbox password and it says the drive becomes locked.  I confirm with LiveInfo Beta 3 and it confirms it.  The problem is that the password has not changed when I use the tool.

When I run LiveInfo on both drives should both drives match each other?  If they should and mine don't, what should I do to resolve the issue?

I am just trying to get the the bottom of why I cannot seem to be able to lock my drive with the proper lock code.  I have tried many different ways and many different codes provided by eeprom programs, but none seem to work out.


Any new suggestions?

The Lone Programmer

[obcd]

Hi,


Liveinfo needs 2 things to calculate the right password you need to lock your harddisk.

1. The eeprom.bin file of your harddisk. Check the serial number in there and compare it with your xbox serial number. Both should be the same. The Eeprom contains the unique HDD Key which is needed to calculate the harddisk password. This is what makes it impossible to switch harddisk's between xboxes. The key is different for every xbox.

2. The harddisk itself. The disk must be connected to your pc. If you have more than 1 disk connected, make sure you select the right disk. (Not the one with your os installed on it, from which you started the liveinfo program in the first place.) It is sometimes difficult to change the drive with your mouse in the program. Go to the field, hit enter and use the up/down arrow key's to select the right drive.

The Calculated Password is the one needed to lock your drive. It is that one your xbox will use to unlock it. If you locked your drive with a different Password, you will get a error 6. If it is unlocked, a error 5.

You will get a different Calculated Password for every different disk. The algoritm uses the HDD model number and HDD serial number to calculate the Password. That's why the disk must be connected if you wan't to use the liveupdate program. The disk information is read from the disk.

I would first connect the original disk, get it's password with liveupdate, and verify that it is locked.

I would then connect it (alone) to the pc, boot dos from a floppy and use the dos tools and password from liveinfo to unlock the disk. If that succeeds, you are sure that you are using the correct eeprom.bin file in liveinfo.

You could than connect your upgrade drive, and make liveinfo calculate the password for that drive.

You can now lock the drive with that password. Using the dos tools is one option, using the lockhd -a in xboxhdm is another. The second is more safe as it also sets a master locking password to the disk. That one can be used to unlock the disk without the knowledge of the other password. I usually put the eeprom.bin file on a floppy. The location mentionned in many xboxhdm tutorials to place it doesn't seem to work with my version.

regards.

[Lone Programmer]

I like your instructions in your last reply, but can you redo them and make them a little more clear.  The steps seem a little skippy.

I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
The Lone Programmer

[obcd]

Hi,

I assume you wan't to use the liveinfo program and the dos tools. You have the liveinfo program already. You will need the atapwd.zip and the hddunlock.zip dos tools.

1. Unzip the tools and put them on a bootable floppy.

2. Connect your original xbox drive to your pc. You can use the ide cable and power connector that goes to your dvd drive or cdrom drive. It is best to connect it to the secundary ide controller of your pc board. If the flatcable of your dvd drive goes directly to you pc board, than it is connected to the secundary ide controller. If your pc harddisk and dvd drive are connected to the same flatcable, than you should set the jumper on the rear of your xbox harddisk to slave mode. You will find the possible settings of that jumper on the top cover of the harddisk. Sometimes, it is also printed on the pcb of the harddisk. MS stands for master, CS for cable select and SL for slave. The original xbox harddisk normally comes with the jumper in the CS position.

3. Start your pc in windows. Run the liveinfo program. Click the Load Eeprom button and load the eeprom.bin file of your xbox.

4. Click on the IDE Device window, and hit enter. You should see a list coming up with the 2 drives connected to your pc. Select the xbox drive. On the bottom line HDD Status you should see that the disk is locked. On the line just above, you can see the password that is needed to unlock that disk.

5. I usually take a snapshot of the program (PrtScr) and paste it into paint. That way, I can print all the information on a page of paper.

6. Shutdown your pc, and disconnect the original harddisk. Connect your xbox harddisk instead. Make sure the harddisk jumper is in the master or cable select position. Put your bootable floppy in your pc and boot it from there. Try the hdunlock and hddisabl programs to unlock the xbox harddisk. Use the atapwd program to check the actual status of the disk.

7. If you can unlock the harddisk that way, than you are using the correct eeprom.bin file.

You can now start over from step 2 with your new larger harddisk.

8. Step 6 is different, you will lock your harddisk with the hdlock program. The program will write a file to the bootable floppy with the password you entered to lock the harddisk.

!!! Do not execute the hdlock program more than once, as it will overwrite the password file on the floppy. !!!

Always copy that file to a safe location before you use the hdlock program again. If you can't remember the password you used, you can't unlock your harddisk again. It is like locking your car and trowing away the key.

The locking password for your new harddisk will not be the same as the one you got to unlock your original xbox harddisk due to the fact that the Model Number and Serial Number are different.

Before you try to lock the harddisk, put it in the xbox first. If you get a error 5, you are ready to start. If you get a error 6, it means that your harddisk was locked with a wrong password. You will have to unlock it before you can proceed.

hope this helps.

If you still have problem in understanding some of the steps, just give a yell.

regards.

[Lone Programmer]

OMG it works.  That method actually worked for me.

I now have an 80GB hdd in my xbox now.

I have two problems which I think I will be able to resolve on my own.

1> The softmod did not transfer over.  I only have the M$ dash.
2> When I try to erase all the soundtracks on the drive it erases, but when I reboot my xbox it is still there.

Hopefully after I re install my softmod I can just erase the soundtracks from the mod.


OBCD you were a big help.  I appreciate it.


The Lone Programmer

[obcd]

Hi,

maybe your softmod dashboard is on the E drive. Did you transfer the E drive contents from your original drive? If you transfer your stock disk C and E partition, the softmod should work again. I copy the information in the xboxhdm\linux\C and xboxhdm\linux\E before I make the iso. If you leave the soundtracks out of your copy before you make the Iso, you will not find them on your new prepared disk.

regards.

[Corvillus]

Actually, if he used NDURE (and from the sounds of it he did), you can't ever see the real C partition, only a fake retail one (aka, the Shadow C). The real C partition is unmounted and the shadow image mounted in it's place in order to prevent applications (like say, dashboard update patches) and/or users from trashing the mod.