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[Grospolina]

I think ldots has done an excellent job is releasing Xbox HD Maker (xboxhdm), so I wrote a little FAQ to try to convince people to use it.  I know that a lot of people are wary of using Linux, so this should answer some questions and clear up any misconceptions.

Please read the topic Xbox Hd Rescue/(re)builder Cd. All-in-one Package for information on what this tool is for and how to use it.


1. Do I have to install Linux on my PC?

No, you can boot it directly from a CD.  In fact, you don't even have to have your PC hard drive connected (unless you want to copy files from it).


2. Do I need to unlock/hotswap my Xbox drive first?

Yes.  You either need to unlock the drive and disable the password with either UnLockX or hdunlock/hddisabl (both programs are provided on the CD), or you need to hotswap the drive.  However, if you choose to hotswap, then be aware that there are some file operations that you shouldn't do (check the readme).


3. If I have my Windows hard drive connected, will I be able to use it?

Yes, xboxhdm has support for both NTFS and FAT drives.  You only need to mount them with the correct command.


4. If I don't have my PC hard drive connected, how do I copy the files I need (e.g. Dashboard 4920)?

Burn it onto the xboxhdm CD.  Place the files in the \linux directory (or a subdirectory of it), and then build the ISO.  Building the ISO is simply a matter of double-clicking a batch file.  If you want the files to be automatically copied onto the hard drive when using the "build new drive" option, then place the files in the C and E directories.


5. Is there something Windows-based that I can use to access my Xbox hard drive instead?

Yes, but none of them are very reliable.

HDD_Driver MAY allow you to access your Xbox, but it is very buggy.  To work around the bugs, you may have to use a sector editor on your hard drive (risky), or you may have to back up and restore your hard drive several times (takes a LONG time, and takes a lot of disk space).  Even if you CAN get HDD_Driver to work, it doesn't even let you create directories on the hard drive!

The other Windows utilities available (e.g. Fat-X-Plorer, HD fatXbox Explorer) always seem to crash on startup.


6. What do I need to know if I don't know Linux?

Not very much.  You can run 'xbrowser' for a nice semi-graphical user interface, or you can learn a few Linux commands (which is similar to using a DOS command prompt).



7. What kind of file operations can I do?

Pretty much anything that you would need to.  You can copy and delete files, move and rename files, create and remove directories, or even clone an entire drive.


8. What about xlinux?

Xbox HD Maker is like an expanded version of xlinux.  It has more features, is more customizable, and is more user-friendly then xlinux.  It does take some of its parts from xlinux, so it's similar in many ways too.  If you know how to use xlinux, then you already know how to use xboxhdm.

This post has been edited by Grospolina: Apr 27 2004, 04:10 PM

[ldots]

Thank you very much Grospolina. This was needed! I only tried to document xboxhdm but didn't do any direct comparison with the other xbox HD tools. I agree with you on all points mentioned above

[Flashepix]

Hi this post was all i needed to make my mind up on using it. After finding out it was linux based I was weary if I should use it or not. I read alot about it and to me anything new is scary... lol I know dos pretty good but not linux. Iam going to give this program a shot and see what happens.. I also know if i need help I can read these great forums or post for help. Thanks

[mkjones]

Cool Post

Just wanna say, im FAR from a Linux guru and I managed to use this tool very well indeed

I now have 120gb to play with thanks to this

Great tool! Sure there are other ways, but for me, this seems to be the best!

[clogicgmather]

I recently downloaded this for use with locking harddrives because i wanted to upgrade a couple of xbox's that had the lpc connector soldered in (and so couldnt use my bootchip) Now i have a cd which contains an entire image of an upgraded harddrive with the xboxdash + font hack. This cd has made my life so much easier as well as removing my dependence on a modchip for harddisk upgrades.

Cool program and easy to use!


regards, guy

[mbriody]

This looks great. Can someone just confirm my understanding what I'd need to do to create a new large HD from scratch with game save exploit built in?

My attempt would be:

1. create CD containing backup of original C drive in linux\C and
the relevant directory containing the game save under linux\E\UDATA.

2. copy eeprom.bin to linux\eeprom.

3. connect new hard drive to PC and boot CD.

4. run xboxhd and select option 1.

5. reboot and repeat for step 2 of option 1.

6. select option 5. Copy down the unlock key.

Now  is where I become a bit hazy. I know that the drive has to be locked before it will work in the XBOX and that I can create unlock keys from the 'backup' command inside evox (this is how I got the eeprom.bin file). So why this step?

I'm guessing that next I need to boot to floppy and run the lock program before I install the drive in the XBOX?

Is that correct?

[ldots]

Your recipe looks correct.

You do 6) to get the unique hdd key for your new HDD calculated from your eeprom. You will need this to lock the drive with this key, and it is not the same key as you got from using Evox backup option on your old drive (different keys for different drives).

If you want to add another functionality to xboxhdm before burning the CD, you could get the softmod package from 'the usual places'. Typing 'softmod' when running xboxhdm will install the Mech font and audio exploit, as well as PBL and Evox (you need a kernel below 5530 and dash 4920). Check last link of my sig. for more info.

[mbriody]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

[pyro_2006]

Im having a bit of trouble getting into xboxhdm. I ran the make-iso-win and it made a .rar file (310mbs) and i burnt that on a data disc using nero. Then i booted my comp with the cd drive as primary slave and my new xbox hard drive as primary master. I typed xboxhd, xboxhdm, and just about everything else i could thing i could think of and it just says invalid command.

I then did the bootable data disc option in nero and used a floppy with hdlock/unlock on it. Now i can boot the hdlock/unlock of the cd but still not xboxhdm.

Im i just not using the correct prompt or is there another way i have to burn the cd?

Any help would be great.

[blingbling]

I have successfully unlocked my hard drive using this, but i need to restore the c-drive and it just wont let me run 'xbrowser' or 'xboxhd' it says that the linux cd cannot be found? what the?

[pyro_2006]

I redid the make-iso-win thing and now i have a linux.iso file.

How should i burn this on a cd?

I tried using nero and burning it as a data disc but then my comp says insert proper boot media. It also has a warning about not burning then image of the iso but the iso itself, what exactly does that mean?

I would really like to use xboxhdm if i could only figure out how to get into it.

[total_ass]

dude an iso is a compressed form of a disc, you can't just burn it as data you need to tell the burning app that it's an iso. nero has an option called 'burn image' in the main program. or in nero startsmart you can just click 'burn image to disc' i think and then just choose the iso.

it's well easy.

[pyro_2006]

thx, its working now.

[qhema]

Great article!!!

[DaddyJ]

Yes Ldots rocks, and so does XboxHDM, it should be mandatory, to make a XboxHDM restore cd.