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[Bomb Bloke]

No, I mean, load a new BIOS (or the same BIOS) back into memory after doing the hotswap. That is, the console boots off it's softmod, the DVD starts, the user hotswaps and then loads a new BFM BIOS from the DVD once the switch has been made.

I'm not sure your suggestion will work based on what Movax said. If it's the BIOS that keeps track of the drive details, then it doesn't matter how long the XBE holds off on reading the drive because the BIOS has already taken a look.

Hence my idea re loading a new BFM BIOS from the disc.

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(Bomb Bloke @ Jun 21 2008, 11:19 PM)

No, I mean, load a new BIOS (or the same BIOS) back into memory after doing the hotswap. That is, the console boots off it's softmod, the DVD starts, the user hotswaps and then loads a new BFM BIOS from the DVD once the switch has been made.

Your idea sounds more promising, I can't remembered if I tried it. I'll try it first since the timer xbe is more work anyway and I'm not good with nasm  

Will report back with results, good or bad.

[Movax]

Reloading a new BFM bios might work. Good luck.

[Bomb Bloke]

I'm a bit worried in that nkpatcher won't work with an active modchip/TSOP flashed system (I think it expects a retail BIOS to be in place when it starts). Trying to load it after a softmod has already booted might present the same problem.

I really dunno what will work and what won't.

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(Movax @ Jun 21 2008, 11:50 PM)

Reloading a new BFM bios might work. Good luck.

Still blank screen after hotswapping and reloading the BFM bios.

[Bomb Bloke]

Is the BFM BIOS set to boot a dash from the DVD?

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(Bomb Bloke @ Jun 22 2008, 01:18 PM)

Is the BFM BIOS set to boot a dash from the DVD?

I believe it was.

[kingroach]

did you try booting normal unleshx with nkpatcher softmod first. Then swap the harddrives and then loading the BFM bios  

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(kingroach @ Jun 23 2008, 03:26 AM)

did you try booting normal unleshx with nkpatcher softmod first. Then swap the harddrives and then loading the BFM bios  

Not yet. I'll try it during the weekend when I have more time.

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(ldotsfan @ Jun 21 2008, 10:35 PM)

I could try to write a looping xbe with nasm with a given time interval for the hotswapping so that when this timer xbe loads from the dvd, you have some time to hotswap to the new hdd and when the dash eventually loads from this timer xbe, it only sees the new hdd and hopefully solves the earlier problems. Not sure if I'm making sense. Can somebody verify my logic?

I've finished coding the timer XBE. It's mostly code from xman954's eeprom reader except for these lines:

CODE

%define APP_PATH   '\Device\CDrom0\'; < must end with \'
%define APP_NAME   'default.xbe'
; some other code

KeTickCount     dd    0x8000009C
            dd    0     ; end of table
; some other code

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; This routine executes a timing loop
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;#### Small Wait Loop (3 min or 180 seconds) ####
    mov    ebx,DWORD[KeTickCount]
    mov    ecx,DWORD[ebx]
    add    ecx,180000
.wait_loop:
    cmp    DWORD[ebx],ecx
    jl    .wait_loop
; some other code
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
; This routine executes the XBE specified by APP_PATH and APP_NAME.
;---------
; some other code

Now I need to burn the cdrw to try it.

[ldotsfan]

Timer XBE logic is correct as without hotswapping, it will relaunch DVD after 3 minutes. But after hotswapping, blank screen after 3 minutes  

I also tried kingroach's suggestion to load plain unleashX from nkpatcher and after hotswapping, load bfm bios. Same results.

I give up since I believe I've exhausted all options.

[Bomb Bloke]

Ah well, at least now we know. Thanks man.  

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(Bomb Bloke @ Jun 25 2008, 11:19 AM)

Ah well, at least now we know. Thanks man.  

Kingroach said that it worked when he hotswapped the hdd from another unmodded xbox over to the softmodded xbox to softmod it. So that means the unmodded xbox must have initialized the hdd somehow. I'm going to try issuing some ATA low-level commands in the timer XBE to do likewise but I need to figure out the how first. I'm also going to try booting the new hdd to an error 5 but power it from an external source and see if that starts the hdd into a ready state then reboot back to the old hdd and do the hotswapping later.

I'm quite stubborn as you can see  

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(ldotsfan @ Jun 25 2008, 10:32 PM)

I'm also going to try booting the new hdd to an error 5 but power it from an external source and see if that starts the hdd into a ready state then reboot back to the old hdd and do the hotswapping later.

Eureka - powering the new hdd with an external source throughout the process and letting it boot first to an error 5 worked! After error 5 appeared, I unplugged the IDE cable and powered off the xbox. Then I reconnected to the old hdd and let the boot disc boot. This time, after the hotswapping, I was able to get the dash to boot up from DVD and do the hdd preparation on the new hdd.

So the error 5 does get the new hdd to a ready state. I'll be working on doing it from code as well.
The need for an external power source limits potential usage of this but if the IDE initialization from the XBE code works, then maybe no need for external power.

We are closer to the goal of a boot disc for softmod xbox to do hdd upgrade now.

[ldotsfan]

QUOTE(ldotsfan @ Jun 28 2008, 10:45 AM)

Eureka - powering the new hdd with an external source throughout the process and letting it boot first to an error 5 worked! After error 5 appeared, I unplugged the IDE cable and powered off the xbox. Then I reconnected to the old hdd and let the boot disc boot. This time, after the hotswapping, I was able to get the dash to boot up from DVD and do the hdd preparation on the new hdd.

So the error 5 does get the new hdd to a ready state. I'll be working on doing it from code as well.
The need for an external power source limits potential usage of this but if the IDE initialization from the XBE code works, then maybe no need for external power.

We are closer to the goal of a boot disc for softmod xbox to do hdd upgrade now.

maybe not. after locking the new hdd with evox in the same session, I'm booting to an error 6. evox must be 'seeing' the old hdd and using that to lock the new hdd. I'll need to see if the master password can unlock the hdd.