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Important!

Software and Hardware needed

Software :
Python and Pyton Crypto
Impact (from Xilinx Lab Tools)
NandPro (>= v2.0e)
360 Multi Builder v0.7

Hardware :
USB SPI Programmer to dump/flash the Xbox360′s NAND or LPT SPI cable.

or

If you have a Cygnos360v2 you can find guides on my site describing how to install the Cygnos360v2 board to any 360 console.

Any Reset Glitch Board. Examples Matrix Glitcher or Coolrunner are most popular.

Soldering material & Soldering experience

Dumping the NAND

Step 1 : Download this:
File name: nandpro with extras.rar File size: 1.99 MB
and install “libusb-win32-filter-bin-0.1.12.1.exe” and “port95nt.exe”
Step 2 : Use the following diagram to Solder your USB SPI Programmer to the Xbox 360 Slim motherboard

And use this diagram to solder the LPT SPI cable to the Slim:

Use this diagram to connect the LPT SPI Cable to your Fat360:

Step 3 : Open windows command prompt and launch NandPro.
Step 4 : Dump your nand twice by using the read command for 16MB NAND for USB: nandpro usb: -r16 nand1.bin
or for LPT use: nandpro lpt: -r16 nand1.bin
and if using a Cygnos360v2 board you must use: Cygnos360 V2 Toolbox

Step 5 : Compare the two dumps with the following command in command prompt (you can use md5checksum too) : fc nand1.bin nand2.bin
You should have something like FC : No difference found. If the two dumps dont match, do a new dump and check again

Installation of Python and Python Crypto
Download here:
File name: Python support install files.rar File size: 15 MB
Step 1 : Install Python 2.7 (32bit!) with the default settings :

Step 2 : Install PyCrypto 2.3 with the default setting :

Creating the Hackimage

Step 1 : Download this:

File name: 360_Multi_Builder_v0.7.zip File size: 16.47 MB

Step 2 : Put your original NAND dump in the folder: “\360_Multi_Builder_v0.7\Data\my360″

Step 3 : Then Double click “Run.exe” in the \360_Multi_Builder_v0.7\ directory
and select the Console you are Glitching

Then you will see this message below:

press any key to continue.

The file image_00000000.ecc is located in the “\360_Multi_Builder_v0.7\Data\” folder now.

Step 4 : Copy this file into your nandpro folder and navigate to the folder via commandpromt again

Step 5 : Use the following command to flash the image to your console’s NAND.
for usb it is: nandpro usb: +w16 image_00000000.ecc 
for LPT it is: nandpro lpt: +w16 image_00000000.ecc 
and for Cygnos360v2 users you must flash the ecc file directly to the nand image so use a copy of your original nand dump and with nandpro use this command to write it to the nand image: nandpro nand1.bin: +w16 image_00000000.ecc , nand1.bin being the name of your nand image. Then use Cygnos360 V2 Toolbox to write the image to your Cygnos360v2 nand.
/!\ Pay attention that you have to use the +w16 switch and not the -w16 one /!\

The flashed file has a size of 50 blocks so you should see 004F when the flashing is over.

Programming the Glitch Board
Download and Install these:
File name: jedfiles.rar File size: 12.45 KB

File name: Xilinx_LabTools_12.2_M.63c.1.1.tar File size: 792.15 MB

Step 1 : Power your Glitch Board with 3.3V on VCC and GND on GND point of glitch board. There are many solution to do this … here are some of them : Use an old DVD drive supply cable by cutting 5 and 6 cable (3.3V and GND) and connect it to the a CK or the motherboard drive socket

Solder the VCC (3.3v) to the J2C1.8 point of the motherboard and (GND) to a point of the motherboard (metal shielding of video connector), or any ground.

Step 2 : Grab your LPT/USB XilinX JTAG programmer cable. If you don’t have one, you can use GliGli’s schematic to build a LPT JTAG Programmer. Connect the cable to the PC and the Glitch Board.

If the schematic you made from GliGli does not seem to be working then you can try this one below as a last resort. It has worked for many but we recommend the one from GliGli be tried first.

Step 3 : Launch “iMPACT” (from XilinX Lab Tools) and let’s start the programming with your JED Files you downloaded earlier (jedfiles.rar) … just follow the images.

The Glitch Board wiring:

Matrix Install on a Slim:

Thanks to DazEB for the 270uF capacitor wiring pic, and to hundshamer for letting me know to add this. Also for the timing fix (Size Matters) on Slim says to use 50cm of 30awg stranded wire. You may have to tweak this as it seems different for everyone at the moment. I used 30awg Solid wire and length of 32cm. I had to wrap my “CPU_RST” wire around the CPU fan to get mine to boot right because it didn’t want to work. hundshamer also informed me that you can use 40pin IDE Ribbon as it is 28 guage and is what he used. Also GliGli used IDE ribbon in his original mod. This is for point “A” on the Matric Glitch Board.

Matrix Install on a Fat360 (Zephyr, Falcon and Jasper):

If you did everything right you should be able to boot to “Xell-Reloaded” within 5 to 120 seconds. If you are able to you are ready to create your ggBuild image for Freeboot Homebrew Dash. You will need to get your CPU Key and DVD Key from the Xell-Reloaded Screen for the next steps.

Building the Freeboot image and flashing back

Step 1: If you use the donor banned KV you will need to update the DVD Key to match your correct DVD Key or else you wont be able to play games from discs on the hacked dash. You can do this with KV Editor included with the KV Download. You basically open the Kv Editor app and click “Load KV” then “ok” to the message about your CPU Key not being valid and that you can open only decrypted KV files, Then select the type of KV you will be using, “KV_dec_ver1.bin” is a Type 1 Keyvault and works with consoles zypher and Falcon. “KV_dec_ver2.bin” is a Type 2 KV that works with Jasper and Trinity (Slim). Once you have it open you will change the DVD Key to your correct DVD Key and click “Set” then click “Save Decrypted” and save the KV.bin file to your folder of files for the ggbuild tool. The KV is now ready to be added to your folder with nanddump.bin and cpukey.txt to make your image. make sure to name it KV.bin though in the folder for it to use it. 
**UPDATE** It was brought to my attention that the KV Editor does not have all the drive models in it for you to properly edit the KV Type 2 so it will work correctly. If you change it to “Unspoofed” it does not require a drive model but it will also change the KV to Type 1 and make the Xbox360 Slim boot to a black screen and not go any further. iLLNiSS Tested changing the KV in hex editing software and was able to change the model that way. I am in need of more drive model Hex code from KVs so I can add more Type 2 Keyvaults with the correct Drive models. I am going to update the rar file as I get them. If you want to help let us know. More info is at the bottom of this post one what we will need as quoted from “iLLNiSS”. If you can send me the info I will make the KV Type 2 you need and add it to the guide for all. If your drive model is not listed and you are using a KV Type 2 make sure you dont change the Model only the DVD Key and that you are using the KV that has the correct model already modified for you.

Here is the KV Editor and Banned KV Type 1 and Type 2 for Fat and Slim xbox360s:
**UPDATE 10-29-11** Added New KV with Drive Model: HL-DT-STDVD-ROM DL10N 0500p1(?
**UPDATE 10-29-11** Added New KV with Drive Model: PLDS DG-16D4S 0225p1&?
**UPDATE 10-30-11** Added New KV with Drive Model:PLDS DG-16D4S 9504p1&?
**UPDATE 11-12-11** Added New KV with Drive Model:PLDS DG-16D4S 1071
**UPDATE 11-18-11** Added New KV with Drive Model:PLDS DG-16D4S 0401
**UPDATE 12-9-11** Added New KV with Drive Model: PLDS DG-16D4S 0272p1&?
**UPDATE 12-16-11** Added New KV with Drive Model: HL-DT-STDVD-ROM DL10N 0502
**UPDATE 12-16-11** Added New KV Type2 for Fat360
If using the banned KV Type 2 on the Slim (Trinity) make sure you use the correct model of KV type 2 file. It should be same model as what is printed on the drive. If I dont have it then you will need to open your original nanddump.bin file in 360flash tool and extract the KV and open the decrypted KV_dec.bin file in a hex editor and send me the model info as stated below so I can help create another for you or you can make one. If you have a drive model from one of the fat360s I believe the drive model can be updated correctly in the KV Editor included. If not let me know. Also the Slim KV I have included that “cadillaccamaro” donated for all of us will enable the 4GB port on any Slim Trinity for the Internal memory unit.

File name: Keyvault-Editor-0.1b WITH TYPE1 and 2 deccrypted KVs_F.rar File size: 1.33 MB

Step 2 : Create a text file named cpukey.txt and save your cpu key in this file only. Put your original NAND dump and cpukey.txt and KV.bin in the folder: “\360_Multi_Builder_v0.7\Data\my360″

Step 3 : Then Double click “Run.exe” in the \360_Multi_Builder_v0.7\ directory
and select the Console you are Glitching, then you will see this message below:

then

press “1″ then hit enter.
Then Select if you want Dashlaunch to be installed with a default INI file with predone settings or option 2 lets you set the paths and settings yourself.

If you wish to do the custom INI file that you setup yourself the pic below shows what you will see.

The file nandflash.bin is now created and is located in the “\360_Multi_Builder_v0.7\Data\” folder now.

Step 4 : Copy this file into your nandpro folder and navigate to the folder via commandpromt again

Step 5 : Use the following command to flash the image to your console’s NAND.
for usb users : nandpro usb: -w16 nandflash.bin
for LPT users: nandpro lpt: -w16 nandflash.bin
and for Cygnos360v2 users you will need to use Cygnos360 V2 Toolbox to write the image to your Cygnos360v2 nand.
/!\ Pay attention that you have to use the -w16 switch and not the +w16 one /!\

After you have this file written back to your nand you should be able to power the Console and have the Freeboot Dash and can now load homebrew.

I have had a few people ask how they can load the Freestyle Dash Automatically. Well I made it very easy. Dashlaunch is already installed by the 360 multibuilder app so download this file below:
File name: Dashlaunch and FSD v2.2Final.rar File size: 33.15 MB

Now Extract those files and place them on the root of the internal hard drive connected to your Reset Glitch Hacked 360. Launch.ini from this archive is not needed if you setup the ini with 360 multibuilder. You may need to rename the FSD Folder to whatever you have setup on the 360 Multibuilder 0.7 paths that you did when creating your image. Dont forget to put the fsd folder were you have the path setup on the launch.ini file from 360 multibuilder.

After you have completed the steps above you may notice that Avatars and your Kinect may be asking for an update. You will still need to run the official 14699 update**REMEMBER THIS UPDATE IS USED IF YOU ARE USING 14699 OF THE RGH** Here is how to run the update and the download for it:

Unrar the archive below on the root of your HDD or USB Drive and then restart your Xbox360 JTAG/RGH console with the Kinect and all attachments connected for the update to complete.

File name: 2.0.14699.0.rar File size: 87.83 MB

Thats it! Have fun!

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Continue reading »]]> Though not supported officially by C4EVA, it’s fully possible to burn XGD3 backups on cheap media dyes such as  RICOHJPN-D01-67 and CMC MAG-D03-64 had almost 100% success rate but also a higher price)

First of all, you must get a Lite-On iHASx24 DVD burner (or their clones such as ASUS DRW-24B3ST, MSI DH-24AS B and so on) and flash iXtreme Burner Max firmware.

If you want a lower speed, say 2.4x, on some media, to increase success rate, click Here

After flash, run ImgBurn 2.5.6.0 (future higher version will also do).

0.Turn on or off Tools -> Settings -> Write -> Perform OPC Before Write, different disc will have different success rate with this option on or off.

1.Select “Write image file to disc” as usual.

2.Click “Advanced Settings” button in bottom right corner. (Marked red in screenshot)

3.Open Lite-On panel in Advanced Settings. It is required to click the individual “Change” button if you changed any setting item and a “Success” message will pop up to confirm the change.

- Turn on Online HyperTuning

- Turn on SmartBurn

- Turn off OverSpeed

- Turn on or off Force HyperTuning (same reason as OPC mentioned in step 0)

Now you are ready to go! Enjoy XGD3 backups.

Note that in our tests, some discs won’t work at all even with all settings done!! Please try and buy another brand of disc if you encounter this.

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If you are using cheap media and cant get 2.4x burn speeds then try this

WARNING: Using patched firmware might damage your drive and will void your warranty. You do this at your own risk

PreHacked Burner Max FW

RITEK S04-66 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note: No Longer supports RITEK D01-001)

RICOHJPN-D01-067 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note: No longer supports RICOHJPN D00-001)

MBIPG101-R10-65 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note: No longer supports RITEK D01-001)
Thanks Voc1967 for this disk info 

MBIPG101-R12-000 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note: No longer supports RITEK D01-001)

CMC MAG-D03-64 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note: No longer supports CMC MAG D01-00)

UMEDISC DL1-064 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note:No longer supports ISSM D00-001)

RITEK D03-130 x2.4
IHAS 124 – 624
FS
RS
(Please Note: No longer supports ISSM D00-001)

PM me with requests, Please include the media ID of the disks you are using 

Massive thanks to C4eva for providing the Burner Max FW 

First off you need to start by downloading and opening MCSE
FS - http://www.fileserve.com/file/AekCY4…eSpeedEdit.zip
RS - https://rapidshare.com/files/2389662…eSpeedEdit.zip

Once open you need to load the Burner Max firmware for your drive

Once you firmware has loaded you will see all the speeds/media types supported by your burner
You need to double click the name of the media you would like to change (your disks)

Then you will be asked to select a media type to replace
Choose 1 with a 2.4x speed and click ok (NOTE: The Media you take the speeds from will no longer be supported on your burner)

You will then be presented with this: Click yes

Your selected media now has 2.4x
Click save and when prompted to continue click yes
Save the modified firmware and flash to your iHAS burner as normal

Continue reading »]]> This guide will show you how to easily update a Liteon iHAS 124-XX B DVD Writer to the iXtreme Burner Max Firmware

This tutorial works with all the compatible iHas-B drives, however we chose the 124 as the base guide as that it was the hack was originally designed on and its the cheapest / easiest to get drive.

First of all you need to make sure your drive has the latest stock firmware before flashing iXtreme Burner Max. This is so the EEPROM is fully updated. iXtreme Burner Max does not update the EEPROM. (This is for those of you who ask, “Why do we need to put the latest LiteOn firmware on it if we are just going to replace it?”)

For example the Liteon iHAS124-XX B that we got from xconsoles.com or amazon.com had a stock firmware of AL0R which is from July 2011. However there was a firmware update in September 2011 which is the AL0S and that is the fw that iXtreme Burner Max was based on, so you first need to make sure that you get the correct stock firmware that matches the iXtreme Burner Max firmware and flash that first.

LiteON iHAS124-XX B (Download Stock Firmware – AL0S)
LiteON iHAS224-XX B (Download Stock Firmware – GL0A)
LiteON iHAS324-XX B (Download Stock Firmware – AL1B)
LiteON iHAS424-XX B (Download Stock Firmware – GL1A)
LiteON iHAS524-XX B (Download Stock Firmware – AL2A)
LiteON iHAS624-XX B (Download Stock Firmware – GL29)

(Note: The XX value varies and is of no consequence. The important value is the firmware version B which is the chipset. Versions A and Y will NOT work).

Requirements:

iHAS DVD Writer (Buy Here)
Any SATA Chipset (NON-AHCI Mode) or XECUTER X360USB PRO
iXtreme Burner Max Firmware (Hotfile) (MediaFire)
EEPROM Utility v6.2.0 (Download)
Verbatim MKM-001 (2.4x) or Verbatim MKM-003 (4x) Blank Media (See XGD2 v XGD3 Info at the end of this guide)

1. First you need to connect the drive to your PC. You can use onboard SATA (make sure that it is on a port that has AHCI disabled as there have been many reports of failures if you use an AHCI enabled port), a SATA PCI card, an external USB to SATA 5.25 enclosure or you can even use an Xecuter X360USB PRO. I’m not going to explain to you how to connect a power and sata cable to a DVD drive. If you can’t do that then you should get another hobby 

Ensure that the DVD drive shows in device manager and is listed in Windows with a drive letter.

2. Now you need to make sure your drive has the stock firmware version that matches the version of the Burner Max firmware. To check which version your drive is simply run the EEPROM Utility.

1: Model Number
2: Chipset Version
3: Firmware Version

As you can see this shows we have an iHAS124 Model, and a B version chipset with firmware version AL0R. Now the Burner Max version for this drive is AL0S so we will first need to update to that before we do anything else.

3. Download the correct stock firmware for your drive. In this case its the AL0S.EXE for the iHAS124B. The download links are listed at the beginning of this guide. Open the file and there will be a popup throwing out some drive info. Make sure it is the correct iHAS version that matches your drive before continuing. Read the instructions and then click YES.

4. Make sure that the correct drive is selected and that the source and destination firmwares match up to watch you require. In this case we want to upgrade an iHAS124B from AL0R to AL0S. Click Update.

5. Once completed you will be asked to reboot your PC. You MUST DO THIS before you continue so click NOW. (Make sure that you save any other work that you had open before rebooting).

6. Now you are back in Windows you are ready to flash the drives firmware. Open up the Flash Utility and make sure the correct iHas drive version is showing along with your new updated stock firmware. Now dump the flash to make sure everything is working correctly. Click Read Flash.

7. Save the dumped firmware. You can use this as your stock backup.

8. OK now lets flash the Burner Max firmware. Click the Write Flash button.

9. Read the instructions carefully. If everything looks good to you click YES.

10. Select the correct Burner Max firmware for your driver version and click OPEN.

11. As the pop up says, last chance. Make sure everything looks good then click YES. We recommend you do not touch the mouse or keyboard while the drive is flashing.

12. Flashing…..

13. Success !!! Click EXIT and you are done. Now reboot your PC and you will be ready to rock 8.7 GB burns 

Extra Info Regarding XGD2 v XGD3

14. There are only two types of disc that this hack officially recognizes. The Verbatim MKM001 (2.4x) and the Verbatim MKM003 (4x). You can easily see which media code your Verbatim disc is by inserting a blank disc into the burner and starting up the latest version of IMGBURN.

15. In order to get MKM003 discs to burn at 4x you must set the OPC option in IMGBURN. Goto the menu and click Tools > Settings and hit the Write tab. Make sure box is checked next to “Perform OPC Before Write” Then click OK. Note: This option should be used for Verbatim MKM003 discs only. If you use any other disc then you should disable this option by unticking the box.

In order for XGD3 games to be burned properly, the new firmware utilizes every possible spare area on the disc which causes the burn to be very close to edge of the disc. This area is where the dye (the material where the data resides) is the most inconsistent. The stock firmware in DVD burners has been coded to stop burning well short of the edge of the dye. Here’s an image to illustrate this.

A rip of an XGD2 game is 7,838,695,424 Bytes (7.8 GB); A rip of an XGD3 game is 8,738,846,720 Bytes (8.7 GB).

The difference is about 191 MB that gets cut off at the end if you do not use the Burner Max firmware. Keeping this chunk of data intact on the backup is what the iXtreme Burner Max was created for. If you compare the 2 backups, notice how much area the additional 709 MB requires (difference between XDG2 and XGD3 images).

Cheaper, lower-grade discs have greater areas of inconsistent dye at the outer tracks than higher-grade discs, such as Verbatim do. This isn’t an opinion; it’s not debatable; it’s a fact so live with it. This is why c4eva has reported that only Verbatim discs have been burning consistently error-free. The statement, “But, my cheaper discs have always worked fine,” is irrelevant as you will be burning them with a capacity they were never designed for. Don’t be a cheap *** and use 6x-8x Verbatims (These will be MKM003′s though you will be burning at 4x)

For those of you who wonder why bother with a Burner Max drive for XGD3 games when they have been working fine so far: let’s hold a contest to see who can guess the exact number of new security checks that fit inside the 191 MB getting truncated by not using one. The winner gets a freshly-banned console as well as discs that no longer boot; the runner-up gets a profile that’s suspended until 12/31/9999 and a pile of coasters.

EEPROM Utility Tweaks

There are also a number of options you can tweak using the EEPROM Utility. Some users have reported better results with these options enabled, some better when disabled so its simply a matter of preference for your own setup.

The options we recommend you try out are Smart Burn, Force Hyper Tuning & Online Hyper Tuning. You will find that Smart Burn is enabled by default.

Once you have burned your disc you really need to test the quality. Due to the very low margin of error you now have to follow these guidelines and use a tool called KPROBE2 to test the true quality of your discs. A simply verify by IMGBURN is no longer sufficient. Use these guides to help you through the process. After enabling those settings your backups may work with lower grade discs such Aone Dual Layers, but this is no guarantee.
Credits: Ubergeek on behalf of Team

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Continue reading »]]> Getting Inside the Slim Xbox 360

To get into the Xbox 360 you’ll need pretty much the same tools you needed to get into the old one. A flat head screwdriver helps, preferably one with a long, thin stem (a tiny flathead is also useful in getting the heatsink clamp off if you want to go that far). You’ll need a torx driver with T8 bit. A phillips head screwdriver if you want to remove the fan on the heatsink and a selection of thin/flat tools to help you pry bits of the case apart.

The bad news is that the new Xbox 360 is not really any simpler to disassemble than the old one. I’ve included photos of the process here but for larger versions and even more than what I’ve included inline, check out the gallery below. As always, proceed at your own risk – we’re not responsible for any damange to your console that happens as a result of following these instructions. Also know that proceeding with this will surely void your warranty from Microsoft.

To start you’ll want to first remove the hard drive. Next we have two plastic grates on the left and right of the system that pop right off. They are attached using clips along their edges so work one part out with your flat head driver and just pull the rest off.

The side without the hard drive is a bit more difficult. I crammed a plastic tool between the chrome casing and the plastic grate to pull it off and then wedged my fingers in there to get the entire piece off.

This next part is the first of two hard parts, and I’m not sure there’s a way around this. Removing the two plastic grates will reveal two more black plastic covers. You can wedge your flathead between the plastic cover and the rest of the system and pry it off.

The cover is attached to the system by several plastic stands that fit through little holes behind them. The stands are wider at their outer most edge than they are at the base, too wide to just fit through the hole. In fact, removing these plastic covers will break part of the stands off. It looks like Microsoft did this to make opening the new 360 something that could only be properly reversed at Microsoft itself. Thankfully doing so doesn’t fundamentally ruin the system.

Stick your screwdriver in one of the cutouts and pry away. You’ll see a lot of flexing and then hear a pop, once you hear one move to the next portion of the plastic cover. Do this around the edge until the entire cover is removed. Repeat for the other side of the 360.

Now you’ve got line of sight into the system itself. Great.

At this point you can also remove the 802.11n card which is held in place by a single screw. Remove the T8 screw and the card slides right out. It is just plugged into an internal USB port.

Now we have to remove the two chrome surrounds on either side of the system. These are attached via clips that can be tempted loose using that trusty flat head screwdriver. Wedge it between the clip and the rest of the chassis and push away from the chassis:

Some clips will give way easily, others will take some coercion. Some of the clips are only accessible via a very tiny, very long flat head. Start with the clips you know you can get off and then try to pry the tough ones later.

You’ve got 6 on one side and 5 on the other chrome lip, the shots below should help you.

With the two chrome surrounds removed we’re now at the second most difficult part of dissecting the new Xbox 360. Remember these little things:

Yep, they’re back, and even more of a pain.

Lifting The Covers

On the old 360 you at least had a removable face plate and some insight into what was going on at the rear of the system. This time around you can only look in at the sides which makes this next part quite frustrating.

Thankfully I know exactly how many clips you have to break free: three on the back and eight on the front.

I started on the back, got the clips loose then moved to the front. You need to access clips at both the left and ride side of the Xbox 360. A flashlight can be very handy here. Remember you’ve got clips at both the top and the bottom of the Xbox to work free at the front. Unfortunately during the process I managed to snap a few of these clips, not to the point where the system couldn’t be put back together thankfully.

The only advice I can give you here is to be patient, persistent and have a good flathead screwdriver at your side. Once you’ve pried these clips free the front will separate from the rest of the system. If you’re trying to do it without breaking any clips, good luck, if you don’t mind then be prepared to put some force into the process.

Be careful when removing the front of the system. There’s a ribbon cable that connects the 360‘s power button to the rest of the system, you have to remove it before you can proceed. In my original teardown the ribbon cable just ripped right out of its connector without any problems so if this happens to you, you should be ok.

The ribbon connector attaches here

With the front removed, separate the clips on the back and the top cover of the 360’s should lift right off exposing what we have below:

From this point on you’ll need your T8 bit. Start by removing the two screws that hold the front panel PCB in place. With the screws removed the PCB pulls straight out:

Now look at the side of the Xbox with the white sticker on it, there are 12 x T8 screws that you need to remove here to take the whole thing apart. If you just want to get the cover off I believe you only need to remove the 5 black ones.

The 12th screw is actually hidden under the white Xbox 360 sticker. It looks like Microsoft has done a lot to figure out whether or not you’ve opened this thing. Modders don’t make Microsoft happy. RRoD didn’t make me happy. Modders ftw.

The DVD Drive & Motherboard

I pulled all 12 screws out but left the four heatsink screws in place since I wanted access to the motherboard. With all four removed I could pull off the bottom cover leaving me with this:

The DVD drive lifts right out and you can disconnect the power and SATA cables from the unit easily just like on the older models.

This is a newer version of the Lite-On drive found in the newer Jasper Xbox 360s. They use the DG-16D2S while the Valhalla uses the new DG16-D4S.

Microsoft also outfitted the drive with a strip of rubber to help dampen vibration:

You can also remove the CGPU heatsink fan shroud at this point, it is a snug fit but it should lift straight off:

The piece of aluminum shielding in the lower left of the picture above lifts straight out, you can remove that if you want to pull out the motherboard.

The black piece of plastic in the upper right hand corner of the picture above is the HDD carrier. It’s actually mounted on a flexible mount to allow for some vibration dampening and shock resistance. There’s a single large T8 screw holding it in place, remove this screw.

The drive tray isn’t completely free yet, there’s one more T8 screw at the back of the Xbox 360 that has to be removed. It was hidden by the casing but with that off you can now access it. Remove that screw and the drive tray is free:

THANKS : AnandTech.com

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Continue reading »]]>  Speeding up Windows XP in Ten Steps

1) Our first tweak will involve reduction of parts of the heavy GUI themes that windows XP makes use of as default; we will disabling some of the visual effects, to do this:

>Open The System panel (Windows Key & Pause Break)
>Click on the advanced tag
>Select settings from the performance section
>Select Adjust for Best performance
>Reselect Anything that you think is essential for your self

2) For this section, you may have to make some sacrifices, this will involve changing your default Windows XP Theme to the classic one, if you really don’t want to change the default theme then you can skip this step but, here is how to do it:

>Right click on your desktop, then select ‘properties’
>From the theme tab, select windows classic.
>Apply and Exit

3)Windows XP has many things going on in the background at once, these are known as processes. Here we will be changing the windows & folders process from ‘explorer.exe’ to a separate one, this will increase system stability. To do this:

>Start windows explorer, for example ‘MyComputer’
>Go tools, then to folder options
>Scroll down and select “launch folder in separate process box
>Apply and exit

4)Here we are going to be turning of the ‘indexing service’; the indexing service is a part of XP that indexes (stores) in a certain way that it’s easier to find when you are searching for it through windows search. To do this:

>Click start, run [windows key & R]
>Type in ‘services.msc’ and click run
>Scroll down and find the indexing service
>Right click, properties
>Change the startup type to disabled(windows won’t be able to start it) OR Manual(Windows can start it when it needs)
>Stop the service if it’s currently running by clicking ‘stop’
>Apply and exit

5)Here we will be disabling the ‘background intelligent transfer’ service which, really isn’t intelligent. This service is used by MSN explorer to transfer files and information in the background. For 90% of people, this service isn’t really required; therefore you can disable it. To do this:

>Click start, run [windows key & R]
>Type in ‘services.msc’ and click run
>Scroll down and find the Background intelligent transfer
>Right click, properties
>Change the startup type to disabled(windows won’t be able to start it) OR Manual(Windows can start it when it needs)
>Stop the service if it’s currently running by clicking ‘stop’
>Apply and exit

6) Here we will disabling the remote registry service, this service is designed to allow remote users access to your registry (where your software information is stored), For PC’s that aren’t well maintained this can cause a huge security exposure and risk t your system. To disable:

>Click start, run [windows key & R]
>Type in ‘services.msc’ and click run
>Scroll down and find the Remote Registry Service
>Right click, properties
>Change the startup type to disabled(windows won’t be able to start it).
>Stop the service if it’s currently running by clicking ‘stop’
>Apply and exit

7) Here i will be showing you how to disable the ‘Remote procedure call locator’ NOT the ‘Remote procedure call’. This service is unnecessary, unlike the ‘Remote procedure call’ service, which is vital to XP. To do this:

>Click start, run [windows key & R]
>Type in ‘services.msc’ and click run
>Scroll down and find the Remote Procedure call Locator service
>Right click, properties
>Change the startup type to disabled(windows won’t be able to start it).
>Stop the service if it’s currently running by clicking ‘stop’
>Apply and exit

If you never use

Windows Messenger, which is old and slow but, it always starts up and slows down your PC, then here’s how to disable hat service. This is how:

>Click start, run [windows key & R]
>Type in ‘services.msc’ and click run
>Scroll down and find the Messenger service
>Right click, properties
>Change the startup type to disabled(windows won’t be able to start it).
>Stop the service if it’s currently running by clicking ‘stop’
>Apply and exit

9) If you don’t like the prospect of many items starting up when your PC does then, here i will be showing you how to disable their startup in a very simple way; this will hugely decrease your PC startup time. We will be using ‘MSCONFIG’, here’s how:

>click Start
>click Run
>Type in ‘msconfig’ and click ‘run’
>Click on the startup tab
>Now remove as many entries as you wish, but be sure NOT to remove the startup of your firewall and Anti-Virus. If you’re not sure “google” the ‘.exe’ names of your firewall and anti virus.

10) Defragmentation, may not be in every ones heads when it comes to PC’s but, ‘defragging’ on a daily basis can hugely speed your PC up. Defragmentation is the process where files on your hard drive are rearranged so that they can be accessed quicker, doing this will increase your general PC speed, here how to do it:

>Start
>Run
>Accessories and click ‘System tools’
>Select ‘Disk Defragmentar’

When running this, first analyze your disk to see if defragmentation is required. If it is click ‘defragment’.

That it…Thanks for reading this tutorial. If you have any problems please refer to our Forums where you can get advice on just anything.

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Continue reading »]]> The Problem: You have an HDMI enabled Xbox 360, but no way of getting 5.1 Dolby Digital (DD) via HDMI. You therefore need an optical connection from your Xbox 360, but no apparent way to do it.

When an HDMI cable is plugged in, how do I get optical out?

Firstly, it is worth noting that some HDMI cables are thin enough to fit at the same time as the component/VGA connector which has an optical out port, so if you can find one of these, that is a suitable solution. If you want to use a thicker HDMI cable, then the solutions are below:

The Official Solution

There is a dongle available for the Xbox 360 which fits in the AV out port while an HDMI cable is attached. This dongle has three audio out connections: an optical out for 5.1 DD, and 2x red and white RCA connectors for stereo.

This dongle is available 2 ways:

- In the Official Microsoft HDMI cable package, the dongle is supplied in addition to the HDMI cable. Link

The Unofficial Solution

You can also modify the component cable so that it becomes slim enough to be attached to the console at the same time as an HDMI cable. This involves removing the plastic casing at the connector end of the cable that attaches to the Xbox 360, as shown in the image below.

Continue reading »]]> Using a Cheap 320GB/250GB/120GB/60GB/20GB Hard Drive for your 360

As of the 20/09/2011 a 320GB security sector has been dumped, this will allow you to make your own 320gb hard drives. Just follow this tutorial and use the 320gb security sector, instead of the 250gb security sector if you wish to make a 320gb drive

After having a 20gb drive for the last 4 years and getting annoyed about having to constantly delete stuff I did something about it. I purchased a nice 250gb laptop hard drive for £30 and used hddhackr on it to enable the 360 to use it.

I think doing your own drive is the way to go as Microsoft charge £89.99 just for the 120gig drive here in the UK, at that price I could make 3x 250gig drives for the same price!

This guide will show you how I did that, its worth mentioning that you can also hack a 20gb, 60gb and 120gb drives, however i think doing a 250gb is the best value for money.

If you have an Xbox 360 slim you can also hack a hard drive using this guide and connect it directly to the console, have a look at the end of the guide for information on how to connect your hacked drive to an Xbox 360 slim.

Ok lets get started, first you will need to buy a hard drive to use in the Xbox 360.

Hddhackr will only work with the following Western Digital Drives:
- WD Scorpio Series BEVS/BEAS
- WD Scorpio Blue Series BEVS/BEVT/BPVT
- WD Scorpio Black Series BEKT/BJKT
- WD VelociRaptor Series
- WD AV-25 Series BUDT

As of version 1.30, Hddhackr now works with all sizes and versions of the Western Digital Scorpio Series.
You can not use another make of hard drive for this hack, it has to be one of the supported Western Digital drives.

I purchased a 250gb WD Scorpio Blue Series drive (WD2500BEVT) for around £30 at CCL Computers.
For those of you who live in the States, you can get the same drive for around $47 at Newegg.

I would highly recommend you also purchase a Western Digital Scorpio Blue Drive, you have nothing to gain by buying a more expensive drive.

A compatible drive

The first thing you will want to do is create a bootable USB drive, for this I used a tool called Bootable USB Drive Creator Tool.

Download Bootable USB Drive Creator Tool

Unzip and load the program, be sure to right click and run as an administrator.

Select your USB drive
Set the file system as FAT
Tick quick format and Create bootable drive
Select the box with 3 dots and choose the USB Drive Boot Files\MS-DOS folder as the location.
Hit start and you will have a bootable usb drive within a few seconds.

Now Download Xbox 360 320GB Hard Drive Security Sector

Or the Download Xbox 360 250GB Hard Drive Security Sector and Download HddHackr v1.30 Build 20110303

For anyone who wants to hack a diffrent size drive here are the security sectors that can be used for a:
20gb drive
60gb drive
120gb drive

Unzip both to the USB drive you just made bootable

Be sure to rename the HDDSS_250GB.BIN to HDDSS.BIN if you are hacking a 250gb drive or HDDSS320.bin to HDDSS.BIN if you are hacking a 320gb drive.

The end result should be something like this, don’t worry you will not have an UNDO.BIN yet.

You will need to shut down your pc now, I would advise you disconnect all the other hard drive in your computer just to stop you accidently hacking the wrong drive!

Now connect the hard drive you want to hack to your computer

Power your computer back on, before you carry on it might be an idea to enter you bios configuration and ensure the SATA operation mode is set to ATA or disable AHCI depending on the options you have. On some motherboards this can also be called legacy or enhanced, if you are presented with this you want to set it to legacy. This will vary depending on your motherboard / bios.

The above appears to be the most common cause for people not been able to flash there drives.

Now tell your computer to to boot from the usb drive, this will be different depending on your motherboard, on my pc I have to press F11 then select the drive I wish to boot from.

You will find yourself at a dosprompt, type hddhackr and press enter.

All been well hddhackr will have listed all the drives in your system, in my case the drive I want to hack is number 5.

After entering the number you will be asked if you want to dump, flash or restore the firmware, select F to flash.

Type in the name of the security sector you want to flash, this will be HDDSS.BIN if you have followed this tutorial.

You will get a message saying that the information in file HDDSS.BIN does not match the drive’s firmware info. Do you want to flash the Xbox 360 compatible firmware.

Say yes to this:

You will then be asked if you also want to create partition 0/2/3

Again say yes to this, you drive should now be hacked, congratulations!

An UNDO.BIN will have been saved on your USB drive, keep this safe as you will need it for if you ever want to restore the drive back to normal.

Opening the 360 drive enclosure

Now you need to open your Xbox 360 hard drive, you will need a Torx T6 screwdriver to do this.

You can now remove the top, the mechanism to lock/unlock the HDD-bay on your Xbox 360 console might fall out… don’t worry it’s easy enough its put back together, just look how it is in my photo below.

Now you have 4 more screws to remove, these require a Torx T10 screwdriver, you can then remove the metal case.

Now you can unplug the power and sata cable from the drive, then slide it out pulling the drive gentily up as you do so.

You should now have your original drive

If you want to restore the Xbox 1 emulator to your newly hacked drive or your save games you will need to connect your old 360 drive to your computer and boot windows.

If you dont have an old hard drive or simply want to save some time you can download a copy of Hoffmans partition 2 which he uploaded here

Download Xplorer 360 Extreme.

Now unzip and right click and run it as administrator.

Select Drive > Open > Harddrive or Memorycard

We are going to backup the Xbox 1 emulator so you will still be able to play Xbox 1 games on the 360.

To do this select Drive > Backup Partition 2 and save the backup.

If you want to backup your profiles, saves, arcade games, demos, dlc and videos you basically want to dump your Partition 3 > Content folder, I had to dump a few folders at the time because Xplorer 360 had random crashes for me.

Now shutdown windows, disconnect your original 360 drive and connect the hacked 250gb drive.

When windows has loaded up again load Xplorer 360 Extreme again, remembering to run it with administrator rights and select Drive > Restore Partition 2 and select the backup you made from your old 20gig drive.

It is important you just close Xplorer360 after that, massing about with anything else will corrupt Partition 3.

Now Download Xplorer 360 250gb Edition, this works fine with Partition 3 on 250gig drives, however trying to modify anything on partition 0 or 2 will just corrupt the drive!! Trust me save yourself some time and don’t do it.

If you are hacking a 320gb drive then you want to Download Xplorer 360 320gb Edition.

Also don’t use Xplorer 250gig edition on any other sized drive either, it will just corrupt the drive, same with the 320gig edition.

If you do corrupt you drive just connect it to your Xbox 360 and format it.

After you have restored any content you can now shut your pc down and put the 250gig drive in your 360’s drive enclosure, it might be an idea to test everything is working correctly before re assembling the enclosure.

The hacked drive:

Connecting to the Xbox 360 slim:

It is also possible to use your hacked drive in the new Xbox 360 slim, with the slim you are not required to insert the hard drive in any enclosure, you can simply connect it to the console.

If you want to buy an enclosure for it have a look on Deal Extreme at the HDD Hard Disk Drive Case for Xbox 360 Slim, if not just read below and connect the drive directly to your 360 slim.

First open the panel at the side, the entry way is on the right side as you look at the Xbox. If you look towards the end of the right side of the Xbox you can see 3 vents you can pull to remove the cover.

If you have the 4gb model, there will be no hard drive in this area. This is the Western Digital Scorpio Blue 250gb hard drive inside the Xbox. Be sure to make sure it’s seated. It may take some time to get it perfectly fit.

The Sata and power connections inside the slim you need to connect the drive to

A Western Digital Scorpio Blue 250gb installed in a 4gb Xbox 360 Slim:

The new 4gb Xbox 360 slim with a nice 250gb hacked drive installed:

Credit to Digiex member Nsab3001 for the slim information and photos.

Hopefully I have covered everything you should need to know to do this hack yourself, if not feel free to ask and I will try and help.

FAQ:

HDDHackr doesn’t work for me:
99% of problems are caused by the SATA chipset on your motherboard or BIOS configurations such as Legacy IDE not been enabled, AHCI been enabled or Raid been active.

If you still have problems try using another computer with a different SATA chipset. It might also be an Idea to check the official Hddhackr release thread on Xbox Hacker too.

HDDHackr still doesn’t work for me, can i try anything else?
You can have a look at Harcrofts tutorial on How to Flash Your HDDSS.bin in Windows. Read the tutorial very carefully and do so at your own risk.

Some of my save games no longer work:
The easy solution to this is to move the save game on to the memory card from the old hard drive, if it will let you. Not all saves let you move them between storage devices.

DrDrrae has posted a solution that doesn’t require a memory card, Link.

I have attached CONcept and Hash Block Calculator which he says are required. Ive not tested that myself as all my game saves appear to work, fine however people have stated it works perfectly.

I restored my data back however the Xbox 360 doesn’t see it?

Have a look at my post here, that explains where your files likley ended up and a solution to get them in to the folder you want.

I want to be able to drag and drop files with Xplorer 360

UAC has to be switched off for this to work, simply running the program with admin rights doesn’t work.
To do this in Windows 7 go to Control Panel\User Accounts and Family Safety\User Accounts and select “Change user account settings” Now slide down to never notify and hit ok. You might need to re start your pc for the changes to take effect. Remember to enable UAC again when you are finished.

I lost my undo.bin, do you have one i can use?

Using an Undo.bin from someone else is very risky, your drive must be the exact same as the drive the undo.bin is from, otherwise you risk bricking it. undo.bin files for various drives: Download Western Digital Undo.bin collection.

Thanks to DIGIEX.NET

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