[sam214]

Hi. how are you. first of all thanks for such a great forum. Sorry to bother you but perhaps anyone could help me with an issue... i.e. what useful does the 160GB hard drive gives? I m using a Western Digital 160 GB HDD but it only gives me 120 GB useful space, XBOX version 1.6, installed through Slayers 2.7. Plz help me in getting the max space out of 160GB. Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks

[sam214]

Sorry, there is also another issue with my second XBOX, Green Halo edition one... It has modchip installed but if i try to upgrade its HDD or replace its HDD with HDD of my White Crystal edition XBOX, it will give errors (different variety everytime i boot it).. I have installed XBMC on its retail HDD with Slayers 2.7, and works fine but somehow it has allergy with any other HDD I try to install... Plz help.. shall be really grateful.

[Chett]

For your xbox to recognize the remaining space on your hard drive you probably need to update the bios on your mod chip, the older ones didnt have lba48 support, capping the size at 137gb - If its a Cheapmod style chip the 256kb iND-BiOS 5003 is about the best, a good one for 512kb to 1mb chip is the X2 5035.


On your second xbox, what position do you have the jumpers set on the new HDD ?
On your original hard drive in the C/ partition, whats the name of the .xbe ? (evoxdash.xbe ?)



EDIT ; just noticed your xbox is a v1.6 console, forget the iND-BiOS, it wont work - use the Evo M8 bios instead, make sure the one you get is compatible with v1.6 boxes.

[theronkinator]

Make a G partiton with the extra space, we have a 500gb in ours. Softmodded.

[sam214]

Hi... Thanks for the help... My Crystal Xbox has Evox M8 Plus installed and it is Ver 1.6. I used Slayers 2.7 to install the HDD in it. The drive G appears in Evox Dash but not in XBMC, also when I use FlashFXP, it shows G drive if Evox Dash is running but no drive G appears when XBMC is running. When I try to access drive G, it says there is some error. please guide me how to increase the space in G, also... I have both Slayers 2.7 and Autoinstaller Deluxe 4.5... which is to be used for safe upgradation of bios and how if required.
The second XBOX also allowed me to install XBMC and Evox dashboards through slayers 2.7, working fine, it also has modchip installed. But somehow it is allergic to new HDDs no matter what jumper setting i use.

One more thing... I dont know much about the instelled chips in the Xbox but my crystal one has chip which is installed directly on top of some pins and XBMC says it SST49LF020A (dont know whatever that is but googling it shows Alladin Xt chip... which looks sort of like what my system has... same red colour), will check the details of other green Halo edition one and will tell. will post the pics too if possible.. Once again thanks for the support.

[Chett]

On your Crystal xbox :
Theres a couple of things you could try

1st - Use the Auto Installer Deluxe disc to format the G partition (its under the advanced options, password is Xbox) .... I doubt it`ll work but its possible EvoX`s .ini file says `Enable G drive = yes` but with it not being formatted XBMC cant see it.

If that doesnt work, the Evo M8+ bios you have doesnt have lba48 support, flashing a different bios to your chip should solve it (You can find bios files in the AID download and use your installed EvolutionX dash to flash your chip) If your crystal xbox has a 49lf020 chip in it, its a 256kb bios file you should use.


On your second xbox, FTP into the original hard drive and on the root of C/ what is the name of the .xbe file ?
Its possible that some config tool has been used for your bios to look for a different name or location of the dashboard (I have a couple of boxes that are set up to load their boot dash from the F/ partition).

[sam214]

thanks for the help.. I really am grateful.. will try as you advised and will inform. one more thing that I have found that the looks of the ModChip also resemble like Aladdin Advance/live as shown here
http://www.xboxscene.com/imageserver.../alive_tbn.jpg
so i am bit confused about what it is... maybe i should try pulling it out to get its real name. Also as I don't have much idea about bios upgrading, I just want to ask that is upgrading bios safe if attempted through Autoinstaller deluxe? I may not be able to do any other way. Also can we backup old bios, plus is it possible to revert back to it?

As for the Green Halo Ed. Xbox... I tried ftp but it also refuses to connect via FTP whereas the crystal one connects so easily. I'll check the files through XBMC or something and will let you know.
Thanks for your support.

[Chett]

Did you add the bios pack addon via the AID iso updater to include the bios flashing option ? ..... If so, its safe, it just launches EvolutionX to do the flashing ..... you have EvolutionX installed, you could use that to do the flashing instead.

Theres no easy way to back up your original bios, it wouldnt be of any use anyway. If things go tits up theres not much you can do about it, you`re knackered, saying that, theres not much that can go wrong if you have the correct bios for your xbox version.

If things do go pear shaped, i have a bag of sst 49lf020 chips that you could replace the one in your alladin with, pay the postage and i`ll send you one.

[sam214]

Hi... thanks for guiding me.. creating a new ISO of the AID just to be sure...
just checked the details of my Halo Ed. Xbox, it says it Version 1.4, ModChip is SST49LF020 (so I think it may be also be Aladdin), Bios= EvoX M8 (1.6). Is it that the Xbox version and the Bios Version difference the real cause of failure to install new larger HDD or HDD other than the original HDD?? If it is.. than how can I overcome this cuz I fear that one day this system may only end up as bunch of spares if its DVD failed

[Chett]

Its possible that the bios might be an issue, but i think it just has support for the Xcalibur chip found in 1.6 boxes, nothing much different about it.

Take the top off the xbox and see if theres extra solder pads for additional ram chips, this will confirm that its NOT a v1.6 ... If thats the case, id be tempted to flash the iND-BiOS 5003 to your chip, its possibly the best 256kb bios out there.
One problem though, for some reason the iND bioses aren`t included with AID

[sam214]

ok... I have opened both the boxes, pulled out the chips and found that

Crystal has Super Aladdin Live
Halo Ed. has Super Aladdin

Also, Halo Ed is not 1.6 in view of your guidance.
I have also come across something interesting which resembles issue with my Crystal Xbox at
Super Aladdin Live Re-flash With Evox For Lba48 - Scenyx Entertainment Community

but prob is that I am clueless that what they are talking about as I practically have got no experience in modding Xbox.. Plz help.. Thanks

[Chett]

It certainly sounds like they are having the same problem, it also seems that you have to keep the power button pressed for 5 seconds to enable writing to the chip.
The other stuff mentioned was just some missing code from his Evox.ini file, he`s just edited it to enable support for the sst49lf020 chip he`s using. The AID flasher launches the last version of EvoX - version 3935 - it has support for your type of chip.


As a test, just hold your power button in for 5 seconds when you boot the xbox.

[sam214]

Hi.. I made the ISO of AID, included all the 256K EVOX bioses from the BIOS folder and Evox M8 from the Add-on folder. Now when I try to flash the bios, it says "error reading Bios" on Evox M8+ 137(and few others) but on M8+ bios but on "Evox M8+ FC 137" it says "press Y to flash". What can be the reason for this and can I use the Evox M8+ FC 137 or any other BIOS you suggest which can give LBA48 instead of M8+ 137? Is there any difference between them?

EDIT: Just browsed whole AID files and have no EVOX M8+ 137... however the name appears in the list in manual... getting really out of my mind and don't know what to do? Also there is something PBL METOO.. Can you plz tell me what it is and if it can be of any help for my prob?

Really sorry to cause you all the trouble... Thanks for the great support.

[Chett]

Ive noticed that myself, i think some of the bioses dont match the MD5 sum in the .ini and dont work.
The Evo m8+ FC 137 one will work fine, that one just looks for the dashboards default.xbe file on the F/ partition first, if it doesnt find anything there it`ll look for a dashboard on the C/ partition. Just use that one.

[Chett]

PLB is the Pheonix Bios Loader, its just a little tool that will allow you to run a different bios from the one on your mod chip, for example : if you run a hacked bios on your chip to enable running of homebrew you could launch PBL to load a debug bios if you fancy doing a bit of coding - it was also used in early versions of softmods.

[sam214]

Thanks.... going to try to use that bios.. lets hope it works fine.. will let you know as soon as I am done.

[sam214]

YES!!!! first milestone achieved!!! I have installed the new bios you advised, Xbox is booting up normally but labelling the bios as unknown (both in Evox and XBMC).. Also the G drive is still showing "0" (Zero) space.

Am I doing alright so far or there is an error due to which bios name is not appearing? XBMC says something about adding something called MD5 to XBMC. Also how will G drive start showing more space?

EDIT: Alright!!!! Got it! formatted the G drive with UnleashX and it is now giving new size of about 21+ GB!!! BEAUTIFUL!!! TOTALLY THANKS TO YOU for bearing up with me and guiding me through this task!!

So can I use the same method on the other Green Halo Ed Xbox with a new HDD to make it work? Also how can I make the name of the BIOS to appear correctly?

[Chett]

Im pleased to hear things are working as they should, well done.

To be honest, i wouldnt worry about the correct bios name not appearing, its working fine just the xml file for XBMC and the ini file for EvoX are missing the name and MD5 Checksum values to correctly identify your bios.
Have you tried running the Bios Checker on the AID disc to identify the bios ?

You can use the same method on your other xbox to update its bios.

Edit : Try the X2 4981 or 4983 on your second xbox.

[sam214]

you are perfectly right... as long as it is serving the purpose i should be thankful even if its named as Bill Gates... Ha ha
to tell you the truth, all the credit goes to you that I succeeded in getting my Crystal Ed to work

The Halo Ed is funny... the moment I put in a new HDD and boot it, it doesn't shows the EvoX logo Boot Screen, no matter how long I keep the power button pressed... just plain blank screen, also the Slayer or AID also don't boot as a result I reach nowhere. If I boot it normally, it gives Error 16. Strange.. Isn't it?

EDIT: I tried one more thing.. removed the HDD jumper. previously it was set to CS. Now Evox boot screen appears, but doesn't boot AID or any other disc, and shows error 07. going to try other positions.

[Chett]

Have you set the clock to the correct date/time before swapping hard drives ?

[sam214]

Nop... Is it required??? Just tried all jumper settings... The result is same, either its no Evox display or Evox Display with error 07 and no cd/dvd booting.

[Chett]

Stick the hard drive in that works set the clock through the MS dash, then try swapping it for the newer hard drive, Error 16 refers to the clock.

[sam214]

Same result... now it gives Error 13

Again tried with all jumper settings... Same results too..

EDIT: This is after setting correct time.

[sam214]

I have tried putting new HDD, unlocked and formatted HDD that worked fine in the Crystal one, the Crystal ones original unlocked HDD in this system... However, all have met same fate... Maybe its in love with only its own HDD

EDIT: Everywhere I find that jumper should be at CS... But this Xbox doesn't even display a thing in this location when i try to boot into Evox.. Its just driving me crazy

Edit: Ok ok ok... strange thing happened.. I just pressed the eject key with power key and now it has loaded the Evox screen, alongwith slayers 2.7. Will tell you what happens next

[sam214]

YEEEEEHA!!! It has finally accepted the new HDD, softwares installed and booting to XBMC... but there is a funny part... everytime I try to boot it into Evox mode, it will show blank screen unless i press the eject button right after the power button. Happening everytime I restart it... Any clue?

[Chett]

When you had this thing set up with the original hard drive, did you just press the power button and it booted up into a modded state ?
It sounds like its wired so when you start it by pressing the power button it boots to a standard unmodded state but cant find the MS dashboard so shows a blank screen (strange theres no error code though).
When booting with the eject button it boots to its modded state and shows your modded dash.

[sam214]

Yup... with its original HDD simple pressing the power button will load MS Dash, pressing only power button for 2-3 secs will load Evox Logo startup and the dash like XBMC etc.

With new HDD, it booted the normal MS dash startup screen but didnt load dash, giving error codes 16, then 13, while pressing longer will give totally blank screen (with HDD jumper on CS) i.e. no Evox logo screen etc.

When I accidently pressed Eject button with power button (power pressed for 2-3 sec), it loaded Evox satrtup screen, picked up slayers and installed the HDD as full install of new HDD.

Now its after this that the system boots to MS Dash on simple pressing of Power button, but Evox only boots when eject is pressed with power (2-3 sec). Simple pressing of power alone for 2-3 sec will again lead to blank screen. Otherwise all functions going ok.

[Chett]

Hmmm, strange .... Id be tempted to remove the BT wire from the chip then solder a short length of wire from the BT pad on the chip to pin 2 on the header or to any ground, that way the chips always enabled no matter what button starts it.
I know its not a solution to your problem, but thats the way id set the chip up.

[limburatorul]

well guys, i have to thank you. using this thread i managed to flash my aladdin xt and now i can use my 320 gb hard drive.
great thread. keep it up