Topic: Eeprom Questions (Read 78 times)

Bomb Bloke · « **on:** June 20, 2008, 10:11:00 AM »

To my understanding, yes, it is the EEPROM that determines this save game locking. The question is which part. I've always assumed it to be the HDD key, but who knows if that's the case...

1) Choose the system that'll provide the "master EEPROM" which'll be used in all systems.
2) Load ConfigMagic up on that box and tell it to save a backup. That'll go on the root of E:, copy it to your computer and name it something distinctive.
3) Repeat for all other consoles.
4) Copy the master EEPROM to all systems.
5) Load ConfigMagic on each box, unlock the HDD if need be then load the new EEPROM over the old.
6) If any given box is softmodded you will NEED to relock the drive straight after loading the new EEPROM or the system will no longer boot.

EEPROMS aren't compatible between console versions, but ConfigMagic'll re-write them to fit... With the exception of the 1.6 EEPROMs. They must only be written to 1.6 consoles, and likewise, 1.0-1.5 EEPROMs must only be written to 1.0-1.5 consoles.

It may be possible to use a hex editor to copy'n'paste the HDD key from the "master EEPROM" into your 1.6 EEPROM, then write that to the console. But I dunno if that'll work; the system might not boot up if you try it. It would still be quite fixable if the box has a mod-chip that can be flashed without booting the console itself, or if you build an EEPROM reader (which also functions as a writer), but you'd still be risking a bit of hair-pulling.

On the other hand, as I mentioned before I'm not even sure if the HDD key is the relevant bit of data here...

obcd · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2008, 06:24:00 AM »

Hi,

check the eeprom.bin file with the liveinfo beta 3 program. It will show all the relevant information that is in the eeprom. It can convert the different type of eeproms.

You have the 1.0 type that only works on 1.0 xbox revisions.
You have the 1.1 - 1.5 type that is interchangable between those xboxes.
You have the 1.6 - 1.6b type.

Besides the hddkey, the eeprom also contains the xbox livekey, which is also unique for every xbox. You also have the serial number which is unique for every xbox.

I think the eeprom also contains the ethernet adapter mac adress of the xbox. If those are the same on all your xboxes, you will have network troubles.

So, you will need to find out what information of the eeprom is used to link the gamesaves to a specific xbox.

regards.

Movax · « **Reply #2 on:** June 21, 2008, 06:46:00 AM »

Liveinfo is the way to go if you want to experiment and figure out which element of the eeprom the game is checking.

But to add to the previous post, do not trust liveinfo to convert the eeprom by simply changing the version of a loaded eeprom and saving. I've found it doesn't convert properly. Always save the eeprom as the same version you loaded it as. You can indirectly convert an eeprom by loading (for example) a v1.1 eeprom, then cut and paste the values from a v1.6 eeprom, and save.

I hope that makes sense. Be very carerful that you are flashing the correct eeprom version - bad eeprom recovery is a headache. And as was said, the MAC address is saved in the eeprom, and will cause networking problems if you have two or more the same.

Movax · « **Reply #3 on:** June 21, 2008, 07:11:00 AM »

QUOTE(Crispy3000 @ Jun 21 2008, 09:27 AM)

Does this mean Liveinfo is a PC based program where I use my backups as a source

Yes.

I'd recommend opening two liveinfo apps at a time and copy/paste from one to the other. Also, play it safe and save your eerpom in a folder like version1.6 or the like, so you don't flash the wrong one to the wrong box.

obcd · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2008, 08:28:00 AM »

I think you can go to a field and click it. If you press the down arrow key on your keyboard, you will see the list you expect when you click the pull down symbol.

The confounder? Never found a description of it.

regards.

Crispy3000 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2008, 10:47:00 AM »

Confounder must be linked to the HDD Key as it changes too.

Well did it thanks all

. The games saves I've came across so far were purely locked to the HDDKEY.

NOTE SIDEAFFECTS:
Some apps, progs seem to use the hddkey to store individual settings for your xbox. I noticed this so far with UnleashX its lost my screen calibration details. No big deal but something to keep eye out for.

Its something I wish I knew while ago as I kept getting another xbox->copy games saves->keep playing other stuff so my saves are a bit out (can't remember which xbox I plaid them on) but now I can start fresh with my current saves on my master box.

When I've got my backup/synching stuff matured I would like to make it more public for people to use (perl scripts running under linux but can run from windows I guess) any suggestions which forum/topic/site/repository would be best for that?

Crispy3000 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 23, 2008, 03:43:00 AM »

After doing these changes you need to use the retail bios (or some other method) to set up your screen size, audio, timezone etc. The daylight saving time is very important if you use a timeserver to set time on your xbox (and if your trying to match save game times even more so) as it will put your xbox 1 hr out.

Bomb Bloke · « **Reply #7 on:** June 23, 2008, 05:33:00 AM »

Retail BIOS? Do you mean the green menu system that unmodded X-Boxes boot into when there's no disc in the tray? That's a dashboard (I usually call it the MS Dash).

Crispy3000 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 23, 2008, 11:14:00 AM »

Eecck your quite right just my brain not working right when I was typing.

Dashboard not bios.

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