Topic: Duox2 Questions... (Read 91 times)

Chancer · « **on:** March 04, 2006, 03:53:00 AM »

Of the 3 chips in the Duo range the DuoX 2 (Blue ) is favourite. It already has a hacked bios and it has 2 banks.
It will save you flashing the chip (Its not difficult to flash it but some seem to struggle)
I would always say do a wire rebuild. If you mess up the soldering with a rebuild board its harder to remove and back track. the D0 (LFrame) connection is still the same size what ever you solder it to.
If your soldering is going to cause problems due to unsteady hands etc. Why not just get someone to solder it in for you. There is bound to be someone near to you on here.

gjm · « **Reply #1 on:** March 04, 2006, 04:28:00 AM »

I'll just elaborate a bit on what Chancer has said..

1. Lite: Only has 1 BIOS bank. I wouldn't bother with this, the tiny saving isn't worth it. DuoX2 and Cromwell are the same chip but the Cromwell will need flashing before it can be used to boot a dashboard etc.

2. The general opinion of most people on this forum is do NOT use rebuild boards. As Chancer said they are very difficult to remove and if they don't work first time, near impossible to debug, as you can't actually see the connections under the board.

3. If you get the DuoX2, you won't need to flash the BIOS as it comes pre-flashed. If you get the DuoX2 Cromwell, you will need to flash the BIOS. There are 2 flashing tools that come with the Cromwell chip, one on each bank. Only one of these - 'Flashbios' - is capable of HTTP flashing. However Flashbios can have problems booting on a 1.6 Xbox - so you may end up having to use the other bank (Cromwell) and flash with a tool called Eurasia, which will require 2 discs to be burnt. Plenty of info on that out there.

If you do have to flash a BIOS yourself, I would use EvoX M8 Plus 1.6 version.

Hope this helps

Julius Pleaser · « **Reply #2 on:** March 04, 2006, 09:25:00 AM »

Take Chancers advice and don't use the rebuild board. There is nothing more annoying than trying to remove a rebuild board, or try and find what is causing a frag when you have a rebuild board installed. Doing the wire install will take you a max. extra 30 min (most likely an extra 10-15 min.) and will save you hours of problems if it frags and you used the rebuild board.

Julius Pleaser · « **Reply #3 on:** March 04, 2006, 01:04:00 PM »

Oh god, don't use it. It creates an electric arc to generate the heat. And I don't know about you but I don't trust putting an arc against a computer component.

gjm · « **Reply #4 on:** March 05, 2006, 01:53:00 AM »

QUOTE(goombakid @ Mar 4 2006, 06:47 PM)

To be honest with you, I've had massive trouble modding my PS2. You know, soldering wires to the little points on the board.

Modding an Xbox is far, far easier than modding a PS2. The 1.6 is the most challenging due to needing the LPC rebuild but the components are nowhere near as small on the Xbox as a PS2. If you've managed a PS2 you will have no trouble with an LPC rebuild.

Cold heat soldering tool - a big no no

A bog standard 15w iron is all you need.

spartan105 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 06, 2006, 07:01:00 PM »

30 awg should be a good size, although you might manage with something slightly larger. The smaller the better for the rebuild.

Also, for the LPC, i disagree with the others, I say pin header install is the best. Its easy and relatively removable if you have any reason to (to check your soldering, for example). Also, when mounted, it wont fly all over the place, wont short to other parts, and wont require any kind of electrical tape/shielding to prevent shorts. Its also easier; solder male to motherboard, solder female onto chip separately, then connect; no constrictions to the length of your wires.

Julius Pleaser · « **Reply #6 on:** March 06, 2006, 08:00:00 PM »

Spartan I think you misread everyone. No one is saying not to use a pinheader. On the contrary, I think every install including a 1.0 should have a pinheader. We are talking about the rebuild. And yes 30 gauge is the way to go.

goombakid · « **Reply #7 on:** March 13, 2006, 03:17:00 PM »

Update:
So about 3 hrs or so later, I have successfully installed a DuoX2 in my 1.6 XBox.

The fun part of the install was the LPC rebuild. I took everyone's advice from my last post and rebuilt the LPC with wires instead of the rebuild board. I wasn't as hard as I though it was, but it was just the tight soldering conditions that made me take my time.

So yeah, I was able to boot it up, EvoX Icon pops in the corner, I'm all smiles. Just to be sure that I had properly installed it, I popped in a DVD+R I burned a while back (sources withheld...HL2 if anyone is curious), and BAM! Loads up like a charm.

I figure people are tired of reading about problems, so I thought I should at least share one success story here.

I'd like to personally thank HackDaBox and the great tutorials he provided. I'd like to also thank Xbox-Scene (forum members Chancer, Julius Pleaser, the tutorial writers, et al) for being there for n00bs as well as being patient with my n00b self.

Now, I just have to figure out the emulation thing....Anyway, thanks again!

Julius Pleaser · « **Reply #8 on:** March 13, 2006, 04:09:00 PM »

This is what we like to hear....... That you got it working in the end. Who cares how long it took you, all that matters is that you did a good job and got it working. Congrats!!!

goombakid · « **Reply #9 on:** March 13, 2006, 06:08:00 PM »

Thanks.

I have to admit though, after reviewing some things, I noticed that I soldered the pinheader in backwards. I soldered the smaller part that was supposed to go on the LPC on the DuoX 2 itself and the connector that was supposed to be soldered to the chip itself on the LPC...I guess it really doesn't matter since it still boots up and all. Just thought I'd point that out.

gjm, you were right. This was easier than modding a PS2.

Author Topic: Duox2 Questions... (Read 91 times)