Print

[xman954]

QUOTE

it turns out the ide to sata is sending back info on the drive to early in the boot process giving me error 9

maybe you can just delay the power to the adapter or hold the IDE reset line (pin 1) low for 5-10 sec using a one shot (LM555)

[Grim187]

so if im understanding you right i would use circuit #2 on pin one of ide?

[Bomb Bloke]

I tried the delayed IDE thing with my system, didn't seem to work - Got a FRAG instead (no reboots, just the FRAG).

However, I'm not all that surprised. My BIOS is the X2 5035, which tries to access the HD from the word go. Bit of a problem there. Given it doesn't just "work" in the first place that likely means a BIOS dependant solution is out (can't really offset the drive check any earlier then "first thing").

Regarding the delay circuit:

1) I'm not an electronics wizard, but I reckon it could be made without the use of ICs. Capacitors can be used as timers. Easier to get hold of those (though if memory serves that particular chip is quite a common one).

2) I still don't like the idea of delaying power to a drive connected to a live IDE cable.

Edit:

Previously I'd been thinking that the SATA drives were too slow initialising - that is to say, the X-Box would go to look for them and they wouldn't be up and running yet. This made sense in my mind given that the things are running through adaptors (which should only serve to increase latency).

But if the drive is starting up too fast, that's an entirely different story...

There are a few "types" of SATA drives. The first ones (SATA/150) "talk" at 1.5 gigabits/s. Then you've got the SATA/300 set which does double that and a relatively new version (SATA 6Gb/s) which does double that.

As a general rule if your motherboard has a SATA socket on it it's all good, but some older motherboard types refuse to work with anything faster then SATA/150. To get around this some drive manufacturers (the big three) added a jumper which allows you to limit the speed on the drive, hence making it "compatible".

In the case of my drive (a Samsung) the only way to change the speed is to plug it into a computer and use some downloadable app on it, but it might be worth checking out the specs/jumpers on the drives you guys have. It might do the trick.

[xman954]

if you want to try the reset pin (1) i would first use a old xbox ide cable and cut pin 1 wire
check the voltage on the IDE adapter side to see if it is normaly HI or LO then try conecting it to the other state while powering on and release a few seconds later

if it does work you can use a 555 as per you posted circuit (but no relay is needed)

if logic is normaly HI
just conect pin 3 to a 10k or so to the base of a NPN, emitter to ground, collector to pin 1 IDE
a diode may be needed going forward to the IDE controller in the MB (if the xbox wants to pull that line LO)

if logic is normaly LO
then just a diode from pin 3 to IDE pin 1 (also a 2ND diode going back to xbox MB)

also you could use a RC time constant directly on the ide pin 1 but the cap would quite large

use #2 if you want interupt the power..

[run088]

I am back to the theory of the adapter itself.Here is why.

I have 3 adapters 2 of them are the exact same and 1 is of a different design.

The one of a different design worked for a week but loaded ultra slow.It no longer works in the xbox I have not tried it in a pc yet.

The 2 adapters that are the same both work.The newest one I have is 100% so far as far as loading and everything else I have tried this far.I am still building the hdd but everything that I have tried this far with it is 100%.

The older of the 2 that are exact works the same way now as it did when I got it 6 months or so ago it works at around 75% of the time.When it faults it will either boot to an error13 or will show up unavailible on f or g or both.Or sometimes give a dirty disk error when loading a game from the hdd.A quick reboot or 2 would fix it everytime but it is a pain in the ass to be honest.

The one that no longer works was the kind designed to be plugged into the ide port on the mobo.

The 2 that work are the kind that plugs into the back of the hdd.I bought both the ones that work from ebay off a company called partsdomauction.Here is a link of the adapters that I have that work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...1713.m153.l1262


The only thing I noticed about the specs on the different adapters were that some would run back to windows95 and those ran as low as a 66 bus speed.
I would figure the best results would yeild from one of these types but I was unable to find one U.S. and I did not want to wait that long unless I had to.

Others like mine very.Some may only go to win98 others 2000 or xp.Some only run at 100/133 bus speed.
These I would say are why we get the hit and miss results.I could be wrong but this is all I can come up with or explain.I do know that the little timing crystal runs red hot on all the ones I have so this part might be taking the lick running at speeds it is not intended to run at.The one that no longer works if I had to guess at a failed component I would say that would be it.

What I do know is a near 100% working xbox with a sata hdd is possible because my latest adapter is running that way on either my 1tb or 1.5tb hdd or  on any of the 3 different xboxes I have had it in this far.

[Grim187]

@xman954
from what i find there is 0.1v on pin 3 which is data7 right?

i tried grounding pin one on boot and using +5 with a 47k ohm (closest i have to a 10k), both attempts failed.

if you could tell me if im supposed to be grounding the reset (pin 1) or giving it power (and how much is to much?) then i can take it from there.



It seems like alot of you have havening problems, so far (ive had it working about a week) i haven't seen any problems other then @ boot, i have ftp'ed about 750gb worth of stuff to the hdd with only 2 interrupts (i just had to restart the ftp) and haven't had any problems with xbmc (using beta2) playing back from hdd or smb/internet.
i have a 1.0 flashed with IND bios, hitachi HDS721010KLA330 and this ide to sata board.

[xman954]

QUOTE

This adapter comes with mains to molex adpater. I powered on the hard drive using this for about 2 seconds then powered on the xbox and it worked! It works everytime once the drive is fully spun up (you can hear it when it is)

maybe you could hold the xbox in reset untill the drive spins up


@grim
pin 3 of the lm555 is the drive for the NPN for no relay

the IDE reset is pin 1 and it's inactive state is the level that you see when it's on
use 1k to 3.3k to the other (GND or +5) to test (check pin 1 with a meter to verify that it's actually changes when you connect the resistor)

[reliantkcar]

wow just get a adapter off ebay for 5 bucks use mechassault softmod then use xboxhdm and xbpartitioner to set it up and your all set. just tape the adapter close to the hardrive so the case doesn't mess it up...thats it works fine....

why is EVERYONE OVERCOMPLICATING THINGS...

[run088]

Because there are compatibility issues.There is some confusion to the exact cause of these issues and a remedy for them.This is proved to be no plug and play mod.If it was there would not be so many problems.And in my personal experiance and of some of the others who have used multible adapters to do the mod know with 100% certainty what the people who are screaming they cant get it to work are going threw because we know the different hdd;s or different adapters have yielded different results from firsthand experiance.


And FYI if your xbox is flashed or chipped the only thing required is the sata hdd,the adapter and xbpartitioner.The tape is not required on any of mine either.

[reliantkcar]

i've done a bunch of large harddrive xbox setups all with softmod and they all work fine for years...

my 1tb has a seagate and the adapter is some no name ebay crap....
works good though

[Grim187]

well i use the 1k to +5 and it still dident work.

even if the power isent connected to the adapter it will still give me 9 the first boot (after i disconnect the power) but then gos to 7 again (hdd timeout).

something weird i noticed is when the 2nd psu is connected the drive dosent actually stay on, instead during the boot process it will turn on like a normal hdd would, this leads me to believe this is actually an issue with the adapter and not the xbox or hdd.

@reliantkcar what version's have you installed them in?, what drive(s) did you use?

[minino666]

What about this adaptor?
Look at the user review

http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.12537

[witnessmenow]

Hey`guys,

One cut hand and one electric shock later I figured a way of getting working

I havent the circuitry worked out yet but it shouldn't be that hard to get going

Where the PSU connects to the Mobo there is a few diffrent coloured wires (varies per diffrent version xbox i think)

With the xbox plugged in if you get a multimeter and connect one end to the black wire of the molex and test the cables you'll find which one is carrying power. On my older version xbox it was the brown wire (3.3V) and on the newer one it a orange wire (5V)

The white one on both my versions on the xbox that carries the signal to turn the the psu to active. If you plug it out from the connector to the motherboard and connect it with the cable that it is carrying the power it will set the PSU to active WITHOUT powering on the mobo. So your hard drive is powered but the mobo isnt, if you leave it for 2 seconds then press the power button on the xbox it will turn on perfectly. the white cable needs to stay connected to the power line i was talking about

The simple way of doing this is attaching the white wire to the power cable via a switch that would be routed outside the xbox, you flick the switch on then power up your xbox a few seconds later. You would need to flick this switch after you turn off your xbox too.

The best way of doing is integrating some circuitry into the power switch to look after it for you. I'll try figure out a way of doing it during the week and I'll post back.

If anyone has any questions I would happy to try answer them, but i probably wont be able to  


EDIT: I use the adapter that Minino linked to, works perfectly on all my xboxs other than the TB hard drive. A good few of them have been DOA for me so always buy a spare one IMO

[Grim187]

that might work, you could rewire the power button (on your controller or the board) to that power on switch and then have a lm555 that activated the actual power button 2sec after it got power.

i still want to try the sata to ide that was suggested in the first post, if that dosent work then i will probably do the above.

edit:
all i could find on ebay was this from taiwan but it has the same chip as the one i currently have so i think im just gonna grab that one on dx.
i will round up the parts for the time delay and do some testing in the mean time.

edit2: for now i just wired up a long wired switch that i can keep near my controller (pic), to give power to the xbox without turning it on wire 3.3 standby to pwron; http://diy.sickmods....Supply_Pinouts/

[witnessmenow]

Apoligies for the double post but i didn't seem to have an option to edit the comment again.

It seems these forms must be slightly busier than my regular one and that image host just wont cut it
here it is again

Edit by Bomb Bloke: Please link to bigass scrollbar causing images!