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[bookishboy]

I just dug two xboxes out of a closet.  Both had been softmodded in the past.  One was mine, the other a friends.  Mine has been gotten back to modded state and I'll be installing XBMC on it shortly.  

My friend had softmodded his some time back, then tried to un-mod it by FTP'ing in and simply deleting whatever files he thought looked like the correct ones to get rid of.  Obviously this didn't work, and ever since the system will boot games but not the dashboard.

-Currently, the system will boot games.  With a game in the closed tray, the system will go directly into the game upon startup.

-The dashboard is completely unavailable.  If the system is booted with nothing in the tray, or by opening the tray, the flubber animation plays, then it goes directly to a System Error 21.

-I currently don't know of any way to gain FTP access to the system.  My preferred method was to establish a temporary softmod through a gamesave exploit.

-I have the Mechassault game (could probably pick up either Splinter Cell or 007 if needed), and the Krayzie Ndure installer 1.1 which I used to softmod the other xbox (the one belonging to me).  I have an 8mb memory card and a computer nearby with the Action Replay software.

-The Mechassault gamesave exploit doesn't seem to work if it's on the memory card.  If the card is plugged into the controller and I start up Mechassault, the game doesn't see the save on the card.  I can't currently copy it to the hdd because the dashboard won't load (can't get into memory management or system settings) and because I can't FTP it over to the machine.

-I'm planning on upgrading the hdd of my system in the near future, and possibly my friend's so a solution that involves having both systems opened and swapping hdd's would definitely be considered.... however preference is for a non-invasive solution.

-I'm unsure if the system is still "modded" in the sense that it would boot up backup copies of games or a burned install disc but am willing to try suggestions.

Thanks for any help.  The thing has been sitting around for probably 2 years in a closet and I'm hoping to give it back to my friend in working condition, possibly with a larger hdd and functioning as a media center.  I'm thinking that a solution will either involve simply regaining FTP access, or opening his system up and finding some way to install the needed files onto his hdd with a computer.

[Heimdall]

You need to use xboxhdm to rebuild your friend's disk. If your friend has a copy of his eeprom you could use xboxhdm with the eeprom to unlock the disk then rebuild it, if not you'll have to hotswap then rebuild with xboxhdm. Alternatively you could build an eeprom reader to get the eeprom, and avoid hotswapping.

[bookishboy]

Thanks for the reply.  I probably should have mentioned that he didn't back up anything unless the instructions he was following included backing up his system info to the XBox's own hdd.  He has no separate archive of his CDrive or his eeprom.

[Sobersally]

I have the same problem. I have the splinter cell exploit and the 007 but neither will work. I don't know how to get to the MS dash other than on my other xbox. I have an eeprom from my other xbox, will that work? And how do you use the xboxhdm without hotswapping the drive which is what I don't want to do. Is there any other possible way to fix this issue?

[obcd]

xboxhdm has options to lock / unlock  a drive. You need the xbox eeprom.bin file in the eeprom folder before you create the iso to burn the disk. The eeprom files are different for every xbox. You can't use the eeprom from another xbox.

That's the reason why most tutorials state that you should backup your xbox eeprom file....

An option to get that file from an unmodded xbox is an eeprom reader.
Another option is temporary installing a modchip.

regards.

[Sobersally]

So, in other words, I am screwed. I mean I can't do anything with it right other than play games from the dvd player?

[Heimdall]

One other possibility is to use a recent live-enabled game to update / restore the dash. Have a look at this post. It might not work - depends how much or little of your MS installation is still there, but it's worth a try.

If that doesn't work, you still have the three options already mentioned - build an eeprom reader, or install a chip, or hotswap.

You're only screwed if you aren't prepared to do some work!

[Sobersally]

Well, I tried the live update and it doesn't work. I did a search on eeprom reader and can't find a tutorial on it. I don't know how to solder so chipping is out and hotswapping is also problematic for me. I guess I am done for.  

[Heimdall]

Here.
Here.

[bookishboy]

Heimdall, thanks for your continued responses.  

-Today I picked up cheap copies of each exploitable game and tried firing it up, in the hopes that my friend had kept the gamesave exploit on the hdd.  Of course he hadn't  

-Tried starting the machine up with several different post-2004 games, including Halo2 and Battlefield.  Each time I tried to "create a new profile" for XboxLive, the system would connect, then freeze, then go back to a system error 21 message.

Looks like I'm going to have to get handy with XBoxhdm and an eeprom reader.  Will update if successful.

[Sobersally]

Thanks Heimdall for the link to the ebay solution. That sounds right up my alley. Also, I found someone locally to chip my box so I should be set for a while until I screw that up.   Thanks again!

[bookishboy]

SOLVED.  I was able to fix the problem without requiring the system's eeprom or any modchip, using XBoxHDM and a hdd swap method.

Heimdall, thanks for your assistance, your responses in this thread pointed me in the correct direction.  Sobersally, this may very well work for you but it's an involved process.

I followed this excellent tutorial:

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/548462

It's very clearly put together, but below are some notes on my experience with it that may help.

-To do this, you'll need:
   a Torx 20 screwdriver to open your xbox case.  
   XBoxHDM 1.9(linked from tutorial)
   a Windows PC that uses (preferably long) IDE cables for the drives and that can boot from CD/DVD
   clean 5960 dashboard files(linked from tutorial)
   a program/utility that can burn ISO's.  (Nero, Roxio, etc)
   a blank CD/DVD

-To the best of my understanding, this tutorial works by opening and booting your xbox with the hdd plugged in but the dvd drive unplugged.  This induces a system-error 12, which results in an unlocked hdd.  Once unlocked, the xbox's IDE cable is unplugged from the hdd and the PC's IDE cable plugged into it.  XBoxHDM is then able to work its magic on the hdd.

-READ THE ENTIRE TUTORIAL and make sure you're following it exactly.  I ran into problems because I wasn't paying close enough attention.  The computer must be set up so that the CD/DVD drive is the only drive connected to the motherboard up until the moment you connect to the XBox's hdd.  I accidentally left the floppy drive plugged in and the process didn't work until I unplugged it.

Hope this info is useful to anyone else.

This post has been edited by bookishboy: Yesterday, 12:04 PM