Okay here is my faq part of the
basics thread. I figured this might be too long to add and the absence of the edit feature made me decide to just put it in a new thread.
The intention of this thread is to provide answers to the most common questions where starting or even more novice people may struggle with. (and hopefully reduce the amount of repeated questions that come up every day)
This FAQ is not intended to provide direct instructions of installations and/or upgrades. I will however in some cases add links to where people may find such info. If those links are not provided you can allways use certain keywords to continue your search in the pinned topics on top of the screen (all the nescesary info is there!) or use the forums search function.
I'll divide it up in different sections so it might be easier to locate the question you are looking for. Since some q's can fit into different sections it may also be wise to look in other sections if you can't directly find it.
If anyone has more input or sugestions please feel free to reply although with the lack of edit possibilities I won't be able to update it that much.
XBE EXPLOITSWhat is the best exploit?Most popular exploit nowadays is the UXE since it has no restrictions to any regions or kernel numbers.
How do I install UXE?There are various ways to install exploits/softmods
- use a gamesave exploit to gather ftp acces and ftp over the files manually.
- use a gamesave exploit that starts up an automated installer (ltools,waffletools)
- hotswap and put in the files with programs that can edit the xbox hd (xboxhdm)
What are clock loops?A clock loop is a sort of bug/system crash that occurs when using older font exploits and the xbox is unplugged for an amount of time so that the clock will loose time. It makes the xbox trying to load to the clock settings menu and then crashes since it cannot reach it's own font files causing a continuous reboot.
THE UDE(2) or UXE DOES NOT SUFFER FROM THIS BUG.
My xbox is in a clock loop what do I do?You can try to hook it up to a network and/or put in scratched audio cd's and leave it on trying to let the xbox sort it out by itself eventually but in some cases the xbox will never get out of the loop. Then hotswapping or installing a chip might be a solution.
I installed UDE(2)/UXE and now my xbox hangs at the logo screenThis happens quite frequently. Here's a quote from the fonts readme file
QUOTE
If you have done everything ABSOLUTELY CERTAINLY CORRECT (triple checked,
and triple installed) so far, and it still doesn't work (freezes in the big X
logo and white MS text under it), you may have one of the rare Xboxes that
need additional steps:
10. Copy s.xtf to C:\fonts\s.xtf (if you already didn't)
Still not working:
11. Copy s.xtf also to C:\fonts\s2.xtf
Still not working:
12. Copy s.xtf also to C:\fonts\s3.xtf
It is also recomended that you put the dashboard language setting to english
I installed UDE(2)/UXE and now I see a screen that says it's updating my dash and then cannot connect to xbox liveYour xbox still can reach it's original font files. meaning you didn't rename the fonts folder to f0nts (or whatever) or the new fonts folder doesn't contain the hacked fonts and the file takes the fonts from the root.
The exploit I'm trying to load says it will load a habibi signed xbe. what does that mean?The exploit changes the signature key in the xbox memory so it will accept a key that can easily be produced by people other than M$. The signature most used with current exploits is the habibi key. Most bios loaders and kernel patchers are presigned with the habibi key. If you alter something in the xbe it breaks the key and it needs to be signed again.
What program is used for signing xbe's?The program used for signing is called xbedump.
When I try to trigger my audio hack it says something like maximum amount of soundtracks reached.Your dashboard is too new to use the audio hack. The only dash that was audio exploitable was the 4920 dashboard. With the introduction of the UDE and later exploits the audio hack became obsolete and is hardly used anymore.
When a game (accidentaly) updates my dashboard will that screw up my exploit/xbox?The files used to update the dashboard use the font files from the xbox hd. With the UDE like exploits the fonts are replaced with hacked fonts therefore the xbox will crash or error before any dashupdate is done. So there is no way (for now) that dashboard can accidentally be upgraded.
When I try to run some OXM or official double game discs it gives me an error 21. How is that possible?The game uses the same font files as the exploit (see question above) making the system crash.
To fix this you can install the new nkpatcher with virtual C drive. You can then change the virtual C to replace the retail fonts back and the games will work again without problems.
BIOS LOADERS AND KERNEL PATCHERSWhy does my xbox only diplays 137 gigs of space while I know my hd is much biggerThe bios or kernelpatcher you are using doesn't support lba-48 or you haven't turned on additional partitions isn your dash (G drive). If lba-48 is not supported you can upgrade the bios or kernel patcher. There are different ways to divide the additional space. Either all on F or 137 on F and the rest on G.
When I press both triggers+both thumbsticks my xbox resets during a game. What's up with that?The bios you are using has IGR (in game reset) enabled on both triggers and thumbsticks. You can upgrade your bios to a version that haven't got that combination or edit the bios to turn it off completely. When upgrading the latest pbl metoo/evox m8 bios is recomended for bios loaders and bios but if you wanna use the best stuff around upgrade to the newest nkpatcher with it's shadow features.
How do I upgrade my bios?The bios can be located along the bios loader. it usually points to c:\evoxdash.xbe by default. if your dash is not located there you need to edit it with either evtool for evox bioses or xbtool for x2 bioses to point to the right dash location.
How do I upgrade my nkpatcher?If you located you kernel patcher you can place the new kernel patcher in that same location. Again the default dash location is c:\evoxdash.xbe. If your dash is not there either put it there or change the path in the nkpatcher. Remember you need to resign nkpatcher after you edited it.
What are virtual C drives or virtual eepromsVirtual C and virtual eeprom are two new features in the newest nkpatcher. It uses a secondary C partition and eeprom leaving your originals protected. It is also possible to "unmod" your virtual C so games that need the fonts to be in place (auto updating discs and some double gamediscs) actually have acces to their fonts.
GAMESAVE EXPLOITSI'm trying to load a gamesave and it gives me an error 21either the save is not on the hd or the save your trying to load is unsigned or damaged in some way. Action replay cards are known to corrupt saves and letting you boot to error 21. Original mem cards supose the be the securest way to transfer saves
I'm trying to get Krayzie UXE Installer onto my AR mem card but it says it's too big. How's that possible?Well AR makes crappy mem cards that do not only corrupt the saves in like 60 % of the cases but also they sell 8 MB mem cards that can't even fit a 7 MB save.
You could trim down the save a bit by extracting it and delete some evox skins. Mke sure you zip it up exactly the way it was though.
I don't have the save on my hd anymore and now my xbox won't boot. What can I do?There is no way you can load the save directly of the mem card you will have to open up the case and acces the hd with a pc or another (hardmodded)xbox. If you have the eeprom backup this won't be too hard, if you don't have that info you need to hotswap.
How do I get my saves on the mem card?there are various ways for that. Either through another modded xbox, an action replay or similar device or creating some kind of USB memory adapter.
What is ltools or waffletoolsBoth are exploited gamesaves that will load up some software that will install an exploit for you along with some other options. these are intended for people feeling very insecure about doing things manually or are just lazy.
HARDDISKSWhy is my hd locked and do I need to unlock it?The locking issue is a security feature M$ has put in the xbox. It prevents you from taking your hd and put it in another xbox. Locking has NOTHING to do with being able to add software to the hd. Never just try to unlock your hd. Each hd is locked with a password that can only be unlocked by the xbox with the right key which is located in the eeprom.
What is hotswappingHotswapping is a way to unlock the hd by letting it boot in the right xbox and then connecting the ide port to another device like a pc. More info can be found
hereCan I install a bigger hd and howMost popular is
XBOXHDM. It will let you set up a new hd in a pc.
There are also other ways without a pc like with another (hardmodded) xbox or with the xbox alone.
GENERALCan I go live with softmods?It is possible but requires you to place back certain key files so that the xbox will boot to an unmodded state. You will need a gamesave exploit afterwards to change the files back.
I heard that if I boot with a game inside the drive the xbox will boot up retail and I can go live safely.That's true.
I upgraded my hd and now some of my games freeze or won't work at all anymore?This is a common problem lately due to xboxhdm leaving files in the cache that interfere with some games. To get rid of the problem delete the contents of E:\cache, X, Y and Z
All these people talk about "usual places". Where are they?#xbinsMy msdash isn't working anymore after using UDE(2)/UXE.When installing such an exploit the main dashboard file and the fonts are replaced.
To make it working again you can make a COPY of the original xboxdash.xbe file and hex edit that to locate the original font files (usually change fonts to f0nts).
If you used the UXE complete package the whole msdash is removed and if you insist in getting it back you need to put back all the dash files and do the hex editing mentioned above. Remember changing the language to something other then english can make your exploit stop working.
What is dual boot?Dual boot is booting different programs/software depending on the tray state. for example boot evox with the power button and boot avalaunch with the eject button.
How do I get rid of dual booting?The easiest thing is to edit the ernie font file to look directly for the bios loader instead of the dualboot.xbe.
How do I edit the fonts or any other asm sources?This is a nice tutorial for that. You could also use this tut for example nkpatcher but remember to resign it afterwards. You could also use DaddyJ's tools to edit the ernie font.
I installed an exploit but now my screen is all scrambled.You are probably trying to load a bios that is not compatible with your video encoder. PBL metoo/evox M8 package or Nkpatcher are highly recomended since they work on every xbox.
I have no game or memory card can I still install an exploit?Yes you could
hotswapI'm using hddriver but it keeps giving me errorsDon't use that program. It's crap.
Why do many people say exploits are bad?Exploits are ways to mod without a profitable base. Therefore exploits are highly critisized by people who make money selling modchips and mostly the criticism is based on false or outdated arguments. Exploits have evolved to a secure and safe way to mod your xbox no matter what some people may tell you.
Can I change my boot logo colors with softmods?No. the patching or replacing of the bios is done after the retail bios has loaded which controlls the logo screens.
This post has been edited by krayzie: Jul 17 2005, 09:09 PM
