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OG Xbox Forums => Dashboard Forums => EvolutionX Forum => Topic started by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 07:47:00 AM

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 07:47:00 AM

First the forum is great I don't post often enough, but whenever I had a problem I have had a solution in no time and you guys have been great.
So big up to the forum.

I did my best read the tuts (evox 458) sections and tried going as far back as I could on the threads, but I didn't run across a solution. I bought a Maxtor 7200rpm 40g drive. I followed the instructions as best I could.

I keep getting the red light and service menu. I tried switching the jumpers and have tried both a cd-r and cd-rw loaded with an evolution 458 iso. The same disc I used to add evox to my xbox in the first place. I tried the Xbox prep tool and tried both options. ie 4096 only and then doing the whole thing.

My question is there anything that I should look for on the disc that is maybe missing and thats maybe why my xbox is not reading it?

Secondly is the xbox always going to have the service message come up if there is no cd in the drive. According to a few other threads it looks like it is normal. But no one ever came out and specified.

And lastly do I have to do anything to the hd before I use the XboxHD prep tool. Like install the hd or format it. I mean I just bought it and popped it in there. Windows does not recognize it because its not installed, but the Xbox program does. Is that all I should be concerned about?

Thanks in advance.

I should also mention I never disconnected my enigma mod. I designed it with the 2 extra long wires on point 15 & 21. To shut it down, but never had to. I guess I should leave it connected to do this no?

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 16, 2002, 08:07:00 AM

QUOTE (tvaldez @ Oct 16 2002, 01:47 PM)

First the forum is great I don't post often enough, but whenever I had a problem I have had a solution in no time and you guys have been great. So big up to the forum. I did my best read the tuts (evox 458) sections and tried going as far back as I could on the threads, but I didn't run across a solution. I bought a Maxtor 7200rpm 40g drive. I followed the instructions as best I could. I keep getting the red light and service menu. I tried switching the jumpers and have tried both a cd-r and cd-rw loaded with an evolution 458 iso. The same disc I used to add evox to my xbox in the first place. I tried the Xbox prep tool and tried both options. ie 4096 only and then doing the whole thing. My question is there anything that I should look for on the disc that is maybe missing and thats maybe why my xbox is not reading it? Secondly is the xbox always going to have the service message come up if there is no cd in the drive. According to a few other threads it looks like it is normal. But no one ever came out and specified. And lastly do I have to do anything to the hd before I use the XboxHD prep tool. Like install the hd or format it. I mean I just bought it and popped it in there. Windows does not recognize it because its not installed, but the Xbox program does. Is that all I should be concerned about? Thanks in advance. I should also mention I never disconnected my enigma mod. I designed it with the 2 extra long wires on point 15 & 21. To shut it down, but never had to. I guess I should leave it connected to do this no?

                                    If your drive is not prepped properly or missing the right dashboard (or unlocked with the original bios) you will get the red light AFTER it tries and reboots.

Do not use the HDPREP CD, instead follow the directions in the Tutorials on Evolution-X 1.8.4xx

Yes you missed several steps.

No it should NOT go RED after a CD LESS BOOT.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 08:30:00 AM

I either misread your post or your misreading mine. I didn't use a prep cd. The only cd I have is my evox cd. The prep tool I used was the one I downloaded from the tut. (xhdprepa.exe) What steps did I miss. I feel I followed them exactly.

"Preparing Your New Hard Drive

The hard drive with which you choose to replace your Xbox’s original drive can be brand new or can already have existing data on it. There are just a few steps that you’ll need to take in order to get it ready for use in the Xbox. Thanks to Ziki, this is now a 5 minute process rather than an all-nighter…


1. Turn off your computer
2. Open up your computer’s case and find an available IDE spot
3. Connect the new HDD to an available IDE cable and an available power cable
4. Boot your computer. If you need to make any BIOS modifications with respect to the new HDD, make them now
5. Run the XboxHDPrepar utility
6. In the left hand window, select the drive that you intend to install in your Xbox

Note: Be VERY careful choosing the correct drive. If you select the wrong drive, you will almost certainly lose all system data on your computer.

7. Select the “Only 1st 4096 sectors of partitions” option in the “Zeroing” box
8. Click “Prepare” and let it do its magic!
9. Once the utility has finished, shut down your computer, remove the IDE cable and power cable from the HDD and take the HDD out of your computer case."

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 16, 2002, 08:35:00 AM

This is only "Part One!"

BTW: the "ONLY FORMAT FIRST SECTORS" is a bad idea, you need to perform a FULL ZEROING.

After you have done this, then you move on to the section about formating the partitions, etc. under the Evolution-X tutor for 1.8.4xx off the main page.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 08:41:00 AM

I know...I know, but I'm not suppose to go the next step if I keep getting the service message no? In the tut it says to back and troubleshoot if get that error message.

I mean I'm not being a ballbuster or anything, but I just wanna make sure we are on the same page. My problem is Part one. I can't get around the service message. The xbox won't read my evox cd either probably because of something related to that.

I appreciate the help...really!

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 16, 2002, 08:45:00 AM

No YOU WILL get the service message!

This is NORMAL, as your Xbox does not have it's partitions formatted until the next stage.

You boot from the Evolution-X cd again and then format each partition sequentially, do it again for good measure (yes really!) and finally copy your files back.

Yes you will be able to boot from the CD, if you get Red/Green, eject or turn off the Xbox with the CD in and try again. It will come up at some point.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 08:47:00 AM

Ahhh....thats the part the tut didn't make clear. I thought if I got the serivce light at that point b4 I started partitioning I did something wrong...Let me try. I dodn't know to ignore the error and keep going....makes sense.
T

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: erexx on October 16, 2002, 08:52:00 AM

Well I am not sure what you did exactly from the last post
and it still looks like you are missing some steps.

HDPrep. (full or short)
Format all 6 partitions
Copy OS to xbox C partition.

(HD jumper should be Master but Cable select works for a few)

If that fails try this:
Double check your install job on the new hard drive and you are 100% certain nothing is wrong then

1) Put your original hard drive back in the box and make sure you can still boot orginals, etc...
2) If it still has the same symptoms then you know its not the new hard drive.
3) If it behaves normally again then you know its the harddrive.

2) Cont. If it exhibits the same behavior with the original hardrive then the problem is some where in the xbox hardware.
Since you know it was working before the modchip, right?, then the next step is to take a closer look at the modchip install. Wiring and Bios used.

3) Cont. If it behaves normally again then something went wrong with the new hard drive install.
Instead of repreping the whole drive again
(which is what you Really should do)
You might be able to get away with:
Formating all 6 partitions with FlashFXP,
complete a re-copy of original OS to the xbox C partition via FlashFXP.
Make sure you can boot originals and backups before installing Evox.
Install Evox if everything still looks good...

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 09:07:00 AM

Ok I will try.
I just want address all the PMs as well. All I have done so far is. Back up my C & E from my old drive. Then put the new drive in my pc and ran the xbox prep tool. I now put the new hd in the xbox and turn it on. At this point- b4 I am able to use and ftp program.. before I can do any partitioning the service message appears.

Is this normal? I just want to speicfy that because I know I have not completed those other steps you keep talking about because I can't. Evox wont load...therefore I can not ftp to xbox to partition the drive. I just want you to undertsnad I can not go further. The service message appears and the xbox freezes.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 09:08:00 AM

Oh and my original hd works fine if I swap it out.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: erexx on October 16, 2002, 09:21:00 AM

Totally normal.
You must boot with EvoX next
FTP in then Format the drives
Copy over the OS

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 09:47:00 AM

ok good then. So this is part where I am stuck. I bunch of times. I can't get the cd to boot. I 'll keep trying though.
Thanks

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 11:57:00 AM

Been tying for 2 hrs. Still wont boot. I even tried making a new evox boot disk. It just wont boot evox.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: erexx on October 16, 2002, 12:18:00 PM

Check the jumper settings on the HD.
Master is the preferance.
Cable Select works for some.

I assume this EvoX disk booted without problems in the past

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 01:12:00 PM

yup

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 16, 2002, 01:14:00 PM

QUOTE (erexx @ Oct 16 2002, 06:18 PM)

Check the jumper settings on the HD. Master is the preferance. Cable Select works for some. I assume this EvoX disk booted without problems in the past

                                    Nope!

The drives in the Xbox use CABLE select, this is how they come from the factory!

You of course need to jumper them when you format the drive, then jumper the drive back to cable select before installing it in the Xbox.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 02:09:00 PM

Can't seem to get it to work. I tried RW's and Rs. I tried my old evox disk and the new one I burned with the menu.ini file in it. When I use the reg hd.. Xbox can read the cd, but it can't boot it. This is very frustrating. I must have been at this for 6 hrs now...What can cause xbox not to boot. Is my dvd on the fritz? Can it be the hd itself. Is there another format utility I can try. I tried the IBM one, but it wont work on non ibm disks.

No idea what else to try.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 16, 2002, 02:28:00 PM

The last person who reported these symptons had pushed a pin in on the DVD drive. By default DVD drives only have a single missing pin.

It could also be your mod chip or a bad flash or erroneous bios.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 02:46:00 PM

How can I tell if my mod has been disconnected?

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 16, 2002, 02:54:00 PM

QUOTE (tvaldez @ Oct 16 2002, 08:46 PM)

How can I tell if my mod has been disconnected?

It will not boot backups, and reports "disk dirty" or "unknown disk" nor will it run the Evolution-X dashboard.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 16, 2002, 03:23:00 PM

Well I have been having trouble with my backs lately. I thought it was related to that live update issue. Though when I use my regular hd the evox dash loads up just fine. The dvd did not have any bad pins. I guess the mod is working too.

Oh well..thanks for quick responses....

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: erexx on October 16, 2002, 10:23:00 PM

damn strait opjose...
I stand corrected
Both of the MS drives I have in storage are in CS mode and
I cannnot remember for the life of me just what I set the other xbox's I have done too...
I must be brain dead, I
am going to open my xbox and find out cause this will drive me nuts...

Damn it all though if I can find this a recommendation in any of the tuts I have the only ref i could find is in "MuPHuG's"

"It’s strange, some Xboxes want the HDD to be set to cable-select while others require it to be set to master"

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: opjose on October 17, 2002, 07:38:00 AM

QUOTE (erexx @ Oct 17 2002, 04:23 AM)

damn strait opjose... I stand corrected Both of the MS drives I have in storage are in CS mode and I cannnot remember for the life of me just what I set the other xbox's I have done too... I must be brain dead, I am going to open my xbox and find out cause this will drive me nuts... Damn it all though if I can find this a recommendation in any of the tuts I have the only ref i could find is in "MuPHuG's" "It’s strange, some Xboxes want the HDD to be set to cable-select while others require it to be set to master"

                                    I believe that this is a mistake.

Some drives use a "no slave" default setting that incorporate cable select capabilities. On these drives using either Master or No drive would work in a cable select situation.

I think some of the IBM drives do this, but I may be wrong.

Anyway the bottom line is that every Xbox I've opened so far came with Cable Select enabled.

If the drive is not one of the "ambiguous" ones this can be a real problem and may even account for some of the reported DVD read issues that same people are talking about.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 17, 2002, 08:30:00 AM

Wow..you guys are gonna wanna f*ck*n kill me!
I didn't realize you needed 2.2 bios in order to switch hard drives.. =)

Anyway. I have no idea what bios I have. I am going to assume I have the original bios. I have never flashed before. Anyway i did some research found out how to flash my bios. I read the tut. I soldered the 2 points I had to. Sent the bios bins via ftp to C/bios/ rebooted the xbox. I went into the evox dash menu to flash the bios, but there is nothing listed there. I didn't want to cut my wire as I did the install of enigma the ghetto way(2 wire loops sticking out of the side that I must cut. 15 & 21) unless I was certain to flash. Any ideas?

According to the tut I should see a list of whatever bios are in that folder. But the option comes up blank. Could I have to point the menu.ini to a folder? Did I name it correctly? Did I mess something up again?!

Anyway thanks for the help and not kicking me off the forum by now =)

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 17, 2002, 10:00:00 AM

HAH!
That tut was wrong! I read a few threads and the folder should be C:\roms\ not C:\bios\

OK so I flashed my bios. Back to square one!

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 17, 2002, 11:07:00 AM

OK I finally did it!
We should just change those 2 tuts.
The hd swap tut doesn't mention yoiu should have bios 2.2 or higher to swap the drive. And the Flash your bios tuts says you should put your files in C:\bios\ instead of C:\roms\. If you don't make the coorect directory your dash wont find the bins!

Other than that the tuts were great and thanks to all that helped. Just one more question since I have your attention. Which drive is now the big one E or F?
Thanks all to helped.

Back to playing Halo!
T

PS I know I can look in the dash, but I dont have a tv. i'm doing all this w/o a tv  during free time at work.

Title: Hd Swap Help
Post by: tvaldez on October 18, 2002, 11:32:00 AM

its f.
Thanks