Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 09:35:00 AM
I just joined and have been searching for some detailed info on the onboard BIOS of thest two budget chips but I am still unclear about their out of box functionality.
I have been using softmods for some time (NKPatcher with UnleashX dashboards) and am for the most part happy with them but I would like to hardware mod one of my boxes so that hopefully I will be able to run unlocked hard drives.
From what I have read with the DuoX 2 Lite I would need to flash the BIOS to get it to work right with my 1.0 version boxes and provide the ability to run hard drive backups of my games. I would really like to stay away from flashing if at all possible. Would the Aladdin XT ship with a BIOS that will allow me the flexibility I have with the softmods with the addition of being able to use an unlocked hard drive?
Basically, I would like to do what I am doing now with the softmods: Copying my game disks to the hard drive to run them from there, running UnleashX as my dashboard, and hopefully do this with unlocked hard drives for convenience.
Many thanks to all that understand this stuff and are willing to share!
Post by: Julius Pleaser on March 20, 2006, 09:45:00 AM
Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 10:02:00 AM
I would like to be able to just buy a chip that will allow me to run an unlocked hard drive out of the box and was wondering if one of these two will allow me to do that.
I will worry about the rest.
Post by: wup on March 20, 2006, 11:02:00 AM
Post by: Chancer on March 20, 2006, 11:07:00 AM
However it is not advised to run a 1.6 bios long term on any other version so if the chip you choose has a 1.6 bios on it you will have to re-flash it but the 1.6 bios wil allow you to boot and will work short term.
Post by: u_n_s97 on March 20, 2006, 11:12:00 AM
regards, Stephen
Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 11:31:00 AM
I guess the reason I was looking for a chip that has a good BIOS out of the box is because it seems that a lot of them are intentionally hard to find for legal reasons.
For example, if I ordered either of these chips where would I go to find out which BIOS I should download, where would I download it from, and would proper instructions be available for the procedure?
Thanks for taking the time to help with this, I am not looking to do this on a regular basis, I just want to do it right the first time.
Hoyt
Post by: u_n_s97 on March 20, 2006, 12:02:00 PM
regards, Stephen
Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 12:30:00 PM
I did however manage to download the HackDaBox Reflash CD. Would this have the flasher and some BIOS files in it? If so that would be great as packages like this seem to really help the new folks get started.
Thanks again for all the info.
Post by: Chancer on March 20, 2006, 12:38:00 PM
Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 01:10:00 PM
I guess now the only question remains is which chip to order.
Divineo seems to be a good place to order from what I have heard. Do y'all have any other recommendations as far as suppliers? Any that accept PayPal would be great, but I haven't seen any yet.
If the Duo X2 is the best choice (I have heard a lot of folks say they really like it) which would be better suited for my basic needs, the Lite or Cromwell Edition?
Thanks again for all the replies. I know that this knowledge is hard earned.
Post by: gjm on March 20, 2006, 01:46:00 PM
The DuoX2 Lite comes pre-flashed, and it has only one bank.
The DuoX2 Cromwell comes flashed with FlashBIOS/Cromwell so you have to flash it yourself (note you would not be able to use the HackDaBox CD with FlashBIOS/Cromwell but it is easy - you can flash via HTTP) - also it has two banks. This is a real plus if you manage to mess up one bank as you can always have another go at flashing with the other bank, and flicking the switch to flash over the bad bank means you can take as many goes as you need to get it right!
I always use DuoX2 Cromwell's personally as i like to flash all chips so i know exactly what's on them - that's just personal preference though.
This post has been edited by gjm: Mar 20 2006, 09:48 PM
Post by: Julius Pleaser on March 20, 2006, 02:19:00 PM
I love that bios and you will have no troubles with it as long as you don't flash it to a clone..... which divineo does not try and do.
Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 02:49:00 PM
I guess from what I have learned I could order the Aladdin XT and flash it with the HackDaBox cd I already have downloaded, or get the DuoX 2 Cromwell and flash it myself in case I ever learn more and can take advantage of the 512K BIOS.
If I did get the DuoX 2 Cromwell how would I go about making sure I have the correct BIOS downloaded? You have mentioned the X2.5035 BIOS. Who makes this BIOS? I have heard of Xecutor, is this the company? If I do download it, how does the http flashing method work? Do I just point the browser of a computer on the network to the IP of the Xbox and follow the prompts?
Also, will the Cromwell chip allow a normal Xbox hard drive to boot as it is so I know the install went OK, or do I have to flash it before the box will work at all?
Thanks again for all of your help, it is at least starting to make some sense to me now.
Post by: funnyperson1 on March 20, 2006, 03:32:00 PM
http://www.teamxecuter.com/flashbios/
The X2 bioses are made by Team Executor. Just make sure you don't get a BFM bios and you should be alright with using FlashBios, the HTTP method is insanely easy.
DuoX2 bios flash tutorial:
http://hackdabox.com...2_Flashing.html
Post by: Chancer on March 20, 2006, 03:54:00 PM
Post by: Hoyt on March 20, 2006, 08:02:00 PM
I am still a little confused on the flashing of the DuoX 2 chip as far as what utility to use. I couldn't find anything called FlashBIOS on Xbins but I did find a file called FlashBIOS Cromwell which appears just to be a .bin file which am I correct in thinking that it is just the BIOS file which needs to be renamed bios.bin? To start the flashing process (http) for the DuoX I would still need to download a flashing utility of some kind? If so what utility would y'all recommend?
Also there may be an easy way out for me to flash the DuoX 2 (y'all let me know if I am right). A while ago I downloaded and burned SlaYers_EvoX_Auto-Installer_v2.6_FINAL and it has a flashing section in it. I see a ton of X2 BIOSes in it, one of them is the X2-4981.67 EVX. Can I flash the DuoX (or Aladdin XT for that matter) using this bootable utility disk?
Again I want to thank all of y'all for your assistance. I feel like I just got lucky in finding the guides for the softmods I have done up to now because for the most part I got them right on the first try just reading up on things. The only glitch I ever had was just that Crimson Skies would not run due to the PBL thing and once I redid the drive with NKPatcher it fired up without a hitch.
Post by: Chancer on March 21, 2006, 01:59:00 AM
You need a hacked bios like X2 4981 (don't use this on a 1.6). the bios has to be 512k in size on a DuoX 2.
You would make up a data disc which has on it your hacked bios (e.g 4981) named BIOS.BIN on the disc. It also helps to add a dummy file which can be anything of around 100 to 200mb just name this aabbcc.dat
When you boot up the box after fitting the chip you will be greeted by the flashbios screen.
One of the options on the screen is to flash from your bios disc, so you simply insert the disc push the A button on the controller and it will flash your new hacked bios to the chip.
Post by: gjm on March 21, 2006, 02:41:00 AM
QUOTE(Hoyt @ Mar 21 2006, 03:09 AM) 
To start the flashing process (http) for the DuoX I would still need to download a flashing utility of some kind? If so what utility would y'all recommend?
On the DuoX2 cromwell/white, the flashing utitlity is FlashBIOS. It's a BIOS that is used to flash another BIOS to the chip, and that's what the white's ship with. As Chancer mentioned previously the DuoX2 blue ships with hacked BIOS' already on it.
Post by: Hoyt on March 21, 2006, 06:08:00 AM
From what I can find on Divineo the DuoX 2 GS - Import Version is the one with the two hacked BIOSes already on it, so I ordered that one. Hopefully this is the "Blue" chip chancer is referring to. I have seen the regular DuoX 2 Lite install video and if this is similar it should be easy to install, I still hope it comes with instructions though.
The box that I am installing this chip on will not boot from it's own BIOS; it just give the "Your Xbox needs servicing" error without a number after the flubber screen, so this is the main reason I wanted a cheap chip to experiment with. If this chip gets it going I will probably try to find out how to wire the chip "always on" so it will boot straight into the hacked BIOS (even if the onboard BIOS didn't have problems I can't get broadband where I live so Xbox Live would never be a concern). If this box does not work (I picked it up broke and cheap at a flea market) I have another I can try later on.
Also, have y'all noticed that sometimes Divineo will have items appear and then disappear on their site? I was going to bundle a particular adapter with the order that was there a couple of days ago and now its gone. Might be a stocking issue I guess.
Thanks again for all your help, now I just gotta get some wire and wait. Would a single strand from a CAT 5 cable work, or should I specifically purchase stranded 30 gauge?
Post by: gjm on March 21, 2006, 07:18:00 AM
Oh yeah the install for the dual bank chips is identical to the Lite.
This post has been edited by gjm: Mar 21 2006, 03:19 PM
Post by: Chancer on March 21, 2006, 07:38:00 AM
QUOTE
I still hope it comes with instructions though.
Just click the install link in my signature I did a step by step guide on installing DuoX 2
Post by: Hoyt on March 21, 2006, 08:32:00 AM
Also, if my suspicion is correct that the onboard BIOS is trashed and I need it to boot into the chip every time, do you know how I can wire it so it boots into the chips BIOS every time?
Thanks again.
Post by: Hoyt on March 21, 2006, 09:55:00 AM
http://www.fixnchipz.../wpf187d8e4.jpg
all I have to do is run a jumper wire between the BT pad and the pin header that is shown to get it to turn on every time. Does this sound correct?
Also, if I ever install this chip on a regular undamaged Xbox, will it go into the chip BIOS with the press of the eject button and normal boot with the power button or the other way around?
Post by: Julius Pleaser on March 21, 2006, 10:39:00 AM
Post by: Hoyt on March 21, 2006, 11:01:00 AM
Thanks again, you folks have been great.
Post by: Alex548 on March 22, 2006, 01:17:00 AM
QUOTE(Hoyt @ Mar 21 2006, 07:39 AM)
Thanks a lot for the link. I used CutePDF to print it to a file so I can take it home. I'll definitely try to get some of that wire when I go into town.
Also, if my suspicion is correct that the onboard BIOS is trashed and I need it to boot into the chip every time, do you know how I can wire it so it boots into the chips BIOS every time?
Thanks again.
If you have a 1.0 motherboard, you will see the "your xbox requires service" message without error codes.
If you see that message, then your motherboard has successfully booted the BIOS, but something else is causing an error.
Could be a bad dvd drive, corrupt files on the hard drive, dead hard drive, etc....
Your problem IS NOT a bad BIOS on your motherboard. It's something else, but a modchip will definitely help you diagnose the problem.
Post by: Hoyt on March 22, 2006, 08:30:00 AM
This is a 1.0 motherboard. The DVD drive works fine in another unit. From what I understand there is no easy way for me to obtain the hard drive password since I never was able to boot the box and run Config Magic so I can not lock another drive to this boards password.
So I think what I need to do is install the modchip so that this machine can boot from a known good hard drive that is unlocked. At this point could ConfigMagix extract the password from the motherboard and save it as a file so I can repair/replace the drive and lock it with that password?
Thanks again, all of you have been a great deal of help!
Post by: Hoyt on April 01, 2006, 03:11:00 PM
I just wanted to give an update to the modchip/dead box goings on.
I got the DuoX 2 GS installed easily and set it to boot with the Xecuter2 BIOS (1.0 box).
It still would not boot unless I used another hard drive. I unlocked the original drive using a Slayers disc and ran Western Digital hard drive diagnostics on it. Sure enough, the drive was bad. So I tinkered with other drives to get used to how the chip works and have found the box to run fine.
I must say though that I was spoiled rotten with the ease of use of the UnleashX dashboard of my soft modded box. This chip boots up with Slayers Evo-X v.2.6 dashboard. I guess this was loaded into the BIOS because I have never installed it on this drive as far as I know.
Does anyone know if I can get this chip to work with the UnleashX dashboard natively? Also this chip seems to be too new for any of my current utilities to identify exactly what BIOS is on the chip. Are there any newer ones that may say (it's not really that big of a deal to me unless I find that I need to reflash the chip for some reason)?
Again I would like to thank everybody for all the help you have given me. This has been a good learning experience that I know is far from over.
Hoyt