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[xb2000]

Hi Guys,
I recently bought some component cables to open up my world of 720p video on my xbox.  I play a lot of rmvb videos so i've always been a huge fan of XBMC.

Anyway, my hard modded (xecuter 3) machine has been switched to 720p and its a huge step in terms of video quality.

Onto my softmod machine (007 hack), I default load into XBMC.  
I get the following when I load xboxdash.xbe:
c drive - Black screen
e drive (backup dir) - Error 21

Now i believe the xboxdash.xbe on my 'C' drive is a hack to run the exploit, so maybe it shouldn't load.  But why does my back in 'E' create a Error 21?

Please guide me along for the fix.   I just need to load the MSDash to set 720p to 'Yes'
***I've tried copying the MSdash-c.zip files from the AID disk but had no success.


Thanks.

[Heimdall]

Once again, "007 Hack" ISN'T a softmod. That's just the game you used to get access to the Xbox to install the softmod.

So, which softmod did you install? Also, is your Xbox already NTSC, or are you in a PAL region?

[xman954]

list the dir's in the C:\  

 

the orignal xboxdash.xbe will run from any drive but it need's the rest of the files to be on C:\

[xb2000]

QUOTE(Heimdall @ Nov 7 2010, 01:26 AM)

Once again, "007 Hack" ISN'T a softmod. That's just the game you used to get access to the Xbox to install the softmod.

So, which softmod did you install? Also, is your Xbox already NTSC, or are you in a PAL region?

XBOX = UK PAL region
Softmod = SID 4.0 Nknave
I used the 'Enigma NTSC-PAL video selector' to switch my region from PAL to NTSC already.

QUOTE(xman954 @ Nov 7 2010, 01:46 AM)

list the dir's in the C:\  

the orignal xboxdash.xbe will run from any drive but it need's the rest of the files to be on C:\

folders:
fonts
SID
Skins
xodash
xboxdashdata.185ead00

files:
evoxdash.xbe    (hacked to load e:\XBMC\default.xbe
xboxdash.xbe
Config.xml
items.xml

[Heimdall]

Excellent. So all you have to do is follow the instructions in the link in my signature - Enable Softmod HD Video. If your Xbox has already been switched to NTSC (do the check in step 7) then you start at step 9.

This post has been edited by Heimdall: Yesterday, 03:18 AM

[xb2000]

Heimdall,   thanks for the link/advice.   I followed the guide but still have the same problem.  What I think I need to do is try download Frosty's Rescue disk.  (Maybe its the softmod version I'm running?)
Thx

[Heimdall]

You need to run Frosty's Resue disc if your softmod supports virtual eeprom. Use XBMC to enable the HD video mode, not the MS Dash - your MS Dash is unlikely to work unless you upgrade your softmod.

[fallenangle]

I seem to to be saying this a lot here but I don't understand. I assume xb2000 is trying to get to the MS dash to change the settings to 720p.

I understand this because I've had the same problem with XBMC not giving you the 720p option even when you've enabled it via UnleashX and saved/rebooted. No idea why but going to the MS dash and changing the settings there has always worked for me.

But what is this stuff about xboxdash.xbe failing to run and resulting in a blank screen or Errror 21? As I understood it pre-softmod that is indeed the main (MS) dash .xbe but post softmod it is usually renamed to msdash.xbe or something else.

With a SID install clicking on C or E:\xboxdash.xbe (depending where it is) at least on all my machines, attempts to load an online MS or UnleashX  dash or an Online Updater not the MS dash. Only on my chipped machine using a one-click AID install is xboxdash.xbe still the MS dash.

BTW you can have two files marked xboxdash.xbe one on the C and another on the E drive which, on clicking, attempt to load two different things.  

With a softmodded machine now trying to use xboxdash.xbe will give you that blank screen, a freeze up or, I suspect depending on the BIOS, it may revert to the main dash.

What you need to look at is the Config.xml file and see right at the top what your MS dash is called and where it is located. You will then know if you actually have the  MS dash anywhere on your machine. It could be on the E:\drive rather than C:\ and, as said, most likely be msdash.xbe.  

As for the E:\Backup that is more difficult to explain.

If the MS dash backup was made prior to the softmod, as I hope it was, then the MS dash should still be xboxdash.xbe. So why it's not working is a bit of a mystery. SID should have prevented you installing the softmod without having made that backup.

If this was a clean softmod ie. virgin machine and there's been no attempted or accidental renaming of that xboxdash.xbe it should work.

I'd be interested to see a list of what's in your Backup MS and 'C' folders if available - it might help.

This post has been edited by fallenangle: Yesterday, 03:17 PM

[Heimdall]

You no longer have to use the MS Dash to enable HD modes - you can do it directly from XBMC.

Sorting out non-functioning MS Dash issues on old softmods is an interesting intellectual exercise, but is ultimately futile - some softmods simply don't support it, and that seems to include all but one of the SID 4 installation options.

Checking config.xml as a method for finding the location of the original, renamed MS Dash file is of absolutely no use. You are assuming that whoever wrote the installer made the correct change to the config (not always true). You are assuming that the SID 4 installer created the file when it did the installation (only true for one of the many SID 4 options). Worse, you are assuming that in the intervening period no-one has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or edited config.xml........!

As you can see from the file listing provided, there is no msdash.xbe on the C:\ partition. Either it wasn't installed (because xb2000 didn't select the one option in the SID 4 installer that creates msdash.xbe), or it has been deleted.

It gets worse. SID 4 installs its dash at E:\evoxdash.xbe, but xb2000 reckons his primary dash is at C:\evoxdash.xbe. Bluntly, that means his softmod isn't SID 4.

Anyway, using XBMC as described in the link I provided to the XBMC4Xbox Wiki will sort the HD modes problem out in a couple of seconds, without needing to fix the softmod. That's good, because sorting out an unknown softmod remotely is problematic, unless you bite the bullet and use HeXEn to do the upgrade simply and quickly.

This post has been edited by Heimdall: Yesterday, 04:30 PM

[xb2000]

Heimdall,  i've tried "frosty's rescue disk" with no success.  I also read about trying the Avalaunch dash but get a HDD lock error (not gonna investigate HDD unlocking as it may screw up something)
Its probably a useless task i'm trying to perform in fixing the MSdash anyway, so will now look at the XBMC route.

I'm running XBMX-T3CH  (i thik its Jul-10 update).
Where do I turn on HD mode?   I've tried switching the 480p, 720p and 1080i check boxes but they are greyed out.

*It'd be nice to get this working, but if not 'component cables' on SD is a slight improvement over composite.
cheers.

[Heimdall]

What do you mean you've "tried Frosty's Rescue Disc with no success"? What happened?

Why do you think Frosty's Rescue Disc will help you fix the MS Dash? Why are you still trying to fix it - it isn't fixable with your poor and very old and unknown softmod. Just use XBMC.

Follow the instructions in the link in my signature. If the options are greyed out then, guess what - YOU AREN'T FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS.........

This post has been edited by Heimdall: Yesterday, 05:42 PM

[fallenangle]

I'm sorry to contradict you but the problem with greyed out HD options in XBMC is exactly what I was talking about. There is a SID folder on his C:\drive which also suggests that was the method used . However I think it fairly obvious something is off if the MS backup doesn't work and the files aren't where SID should have left them.

My AID disc gives two different install options one for chipped and the other for softmods. I don't know if it is even possible but could these file location issues be the result of using the wrong one?

Back onto the XBMC probleem: I have found that when saving/rebooting with the HD options ticked under UnleashX they do not always carry over when you load XBMC. This has happened to me on two occasions.

I was assuming that something similar is happening to xb2000 but he's running XBMC as his main dash via the shortcut and apparently stuck because he has no way of altering them via an alternative dash to see if that works.

My point is I have found that if I load the MS dash and change the NTSC HD settings there those options have always become available when using XBMC too. This is what I thought xb2000 OP was all about - trying to find his MS dash .xbe to do just that.

There may well be some other simpler methods of solving this problem and, of course, Heimdall's advice should be followed first, he's the guru in these matters. But it isn't just an intellectual exercise finding/getting the MS dash to load - it can, I'm fairly certain, also be used to solve the problem.

It must be on the E:\drive if it is anywhere so why not try the .xbes there to see if any load the MS dash? If it's not there or it doesn't load my solution can't be used so you can ignore everything I've said and hope Heimdall can sort it out for you (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)  

[Heimdall]

The XBMC options are greyed out for one of two reasons:
- because his Xbox isn't in NTSC mode (he didn't bypass virtual eeprom before making the PAL-NTSC change, and didn't update or delete any copies of the eeprom before rebooting).
- because his component cable isn't connected (he is still using the composite cable), or it is a switchable composite / component cable and is switched to the composite position.

The existence of a SID folder tells us very little. Apart from the fact that it could be from an old softmod, he says he used an OLD SID version (even though the location of his dash would imply that he used a different version). If you want to understand this better, download all of the old versions of SID from 1.0 upwards, and read through the installation scripts, and all of the options in each script for each version of SID? You might then understand why you can't generalise in the way you are trying to about how "SID" works, because all versions are different. You might also understand why the MS Dash simply won't work with some softmods, nomatter what you have in the backup folders.

Saved video settings not being retained through reboots is because you have virtual eeprom enabled, and you aren't bypassing it then updating or deleting the copy of the eeprom. The XBMC4XBOX Wiki link in my signature (Enabling Softmod HD Video) talks you through dong this, step by step, for all of the current NDURE softmods.

Again, you don't need the MS Dash to enable HD video modes, and trying to enable MS Dash on an old and unknown softmod is very time consuming, and potentially futile because on some softmods it simply doesn't work. The fact that it works on your SID 5 softmod is great, but that doesn't mean it will work for all versions of SID.

This post has been edited by Heimdall: Yesterday, 10:34 PM

[xb2000]

QUOTE(Heimdall @ Nov 7 2010, 09:33 PM)

The XBMC options are greyed out for one of two reasons:
- because his Xbox isn't in NTSC mode (he didn't bypass virtual eeprom before making the PAL-NTSC change, and didn't update or delete any copies of the eeprom before rebooting).
- because his component cable isn't connected (he is still using the composite cable), or it is a switchable composite / component cable and is switched to the composite position.

Heimdall,   i think you "hit the nail on the head!!!".  I managed to sort the problem  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) .
It was probably a combination of both the above and the fact the wiki has too many steps.

I believe my softmod was 'SID4 nknave' but seeing that the wiki didn't list that, I just tried different combinations.   I think my main fault was using my ftp to delete the "backup eeprom.bin" rather than filemanager.
Anyway, i re-read the whole wiki going through each step slowly and was succesful.   Now I can watch in 720p  (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)


next project... Faster processor and additional ram?

Thanks for your help!!!

This post has been edited by xb2000: Yesterday, 11:30 PM

[Heimdall]

That wiki article doesn't have too many steps. I rewrote it into its current form to include the specific instructions for the three current softmods, and a whole pile of other minor updates, and it has no more steps than are absolutely necessary. If you can't follow 15 simple steps then you should take up a far simpler hobby. The fact that it worked once you followed it properly and slowly would suggest that the wiki is fine.

The wiki doesn't list SID 4 NKNAVE because it's a really old softmod, and I couldn't be bothered to write a detailed version for every old version of every softmod out there, and in the case of SID for every installation variant of every version of SID. It isn't unreasonable to expect people to upgrade their softmods.

It doesn't matter how you delete eeprom.bin, so long as you do it while virtual eeprom is bypassed.

This post has been edited by Heimdall: Today, 12:15 AM