Flashy Flashy (xbox 360)

Doylers

Is there a way to flash it using laptop easily? I would pay but most want 35up and for something that takes a few min and that is easy theres no hope ill pay anywhere near that. So whats the easy way tp do it? I want parts that are cheap, I dont have the money to be buying all parts ill use once, plus I have to fix rrod on it two and that already cost me 25euro. Thanks

Myrddin

Doylers wrote: »

Is there a way to flash it using laptop easily? I would pay but most want 35up and for something that takes a few min and that is easy theres no hope ill pay anywhere near that. So whats the easy way tp do it? I want parts that are cheap, I dont have the money to be buying all parts ill use once, plus I have to fix rrod on it two and that already cost me 25euro. Thanks

Slight contradiction in your post there. The reason it's 35 euro & up is because lads offering the service HAVE invested in tools/hardware...how else are they expected to recoup the costs? If your not going to pay anywhere near that, I would expect you'll have a hard time finding someone to do it for you.

That being said, like yourself I only wanted my own drive flashed at the time & didn't want to invest too much into it. Turns out I was able to do it myself for free, after researching the procedure & having some luck with a compatable usb controller.

You'll need a standard pc though, laptops are not friendly with the software needed.

Thor

Doylers wrote: »

Is there a way to flash it using laptop easily? I would pay but most want 35up and for something that takes a few min and that is easy theres no hope ill pay anywhere near that. So whats the easy way tp do it? I want parts that are cheap, I dont have the money to be buying all parts ill use once, plus I have to fix rrod on it two and that already cost me 25euro. Thanks

The reason I and the others charge that price is because of the assurance we give if anything goes wrong.

I know alot of people that have completely screwed there xbox because they didn't know what they were doing.

Im not saying you don't have the expertise on doing it. I'm just saying you if you have a new xbox 360 you will have to spend quiet a bit on the hardware needed. Its alot easier and cheaper to get someone else to do it. Especially if you only need the one done.

Doylers

EnterNow wrote: »

Slight contradiction in your post there. The reason it's 35 euro & up is because lads offering the service HAVE invested in tools/hardware...how else are they expected to recoup the costs? If your not going to pay anywhere near that, I would expect you'll have a hard time finding someone to do it for you.

That being said, like yourself I only wanted my own drive flashed at the time & didn't want to invest too much into it. Turns out I was able to do it myself for free, after researching the procedure & having some luck with a compatable usb controller.

You'll need a standard pc though, laptops are not friendly with the software needed.

I agree they do have to recoup the costs and begin to make a profit but most of the tools I can find costs around 50ish for everything. Also its a once off expense allowing for it to be used loads of times, so its not long before there making money. My point was the actual procedure itself wasn't worth so much in my opinion.

Is there no way doing it with a laptop? My pc is very old and just booting up as an event in itself let alone actually using the thing.

I have researched the procedure and am fully confident I could do it without any hassle its buying buying everything and then basically not needing it again is my problem. Hence why I want to spend as little as possible and also I just cant afford buying much.

Thanks for taking the time to reply by the way.

Edit: Its an old xbox, bought very soon after they went on sale. Are you saying some people even offer a sort of guarantee on their work?

Myrddin

Doylers wrote: »

I agree they do have to recoup the costs and begin to make a profit but most of the tools I can find costs around 50ish for everything. Also its a once off expense allowing for it to be used loads of times, so its not long before there making money. My point was the actual procedure itself wasn't worth so much in my opinion.

Is there no way doing it with a laptop? My pc is very old and just booting up as an event in itself let alone actually using the thing.

I have researched the procedure and am fully confident I could do it without any hassle its buying buying everything and then basically not needing it again is my problem. Hence why I want to spend as little as possible and also I just cant afford buying much.

Thanks for taking the time to reply by the way.

Edit: Its an old xbox, bought very soon after they went on sale. Are you saying some people even offer a sort of gurantee on their work?

I do see where your coming from, but I also see the side where, as Thor said, there's people taking a risk of borking your Xbox & having to replace it. I think 35 quid is very reasonable in that case, & from looking at the services thread, a lot of lads do collect & deliver too which is a nice touch. Thats just the way retail works, & at that money - it's less than the price of a game.

If someone has invested in the tools & software, and has the skills required, I think it's fair they make a few quid for themselves. It's a one off cost too, so that reduces the pain

Have you a LiteOn drive in your Xbox? As far as I know you need direct SATA access, so that rules out a laptop. If your pc is as old as you imply, it's probably IDE based is it? If so, that's a new pc, a torx screwdriver kit, a usb thumb drive, a ck3 probe/LT switch & a soldering iron.....or you could just spend the 35 quid

Edit - just seen your edit there. If it's an old 360, you shouldn't need to spend a penny.

Doylers

EnterNow wrote: »

I do see where your coming from, but I also see the side where, as Thor said, there's people taking a risk of borking your Xbox & having to replace it. I think 35 quid is very reasonable in that case, & from looking at the services thread, a lot of lads do collect & deliver too which is a nice touch. Thats just the way retail works, & at that money - it's less than the price of a game.

If someone has invested in the tools & software, and has the skills required, I think it's fair they make a few quid for themselves. It's a one off cost too, so that reduces the pain

Have you a LiteOn drive in your Xbox? As far as I know you need direct SATA access, so that rules out a laptop. If your pc is as old as you imply, it's probably IDE based is it? If so, that's a new pc, a torx screwdriver kit, a usb thumb drive, a ck3 probe/LT switch & a soldering iron.....or you could just spend the 35 quid

Edit - just seen your edit there. If it's an old 360, you shouldn't need to spend a penny.

You do have a point indeed sir.

No i have a Hitachi GDR-3120L in the xbox (good thing its completely in bits in the other room to check lol).

How your mean there not need to spend a penny?? I like that comment

massy086

Thor wrote: »

The reason I and the others charge that price is because of the assurance we give if anything goes wrong.

I know alot of people that have completely screwed there xbox because they didn't know what they were doing.

Im not saying you don't have the expertise on doing it. I'm just saying you if you have a new xbox 360 you will have to spend quiet a bit on the hardware needed. Its alot easier and cheaper to get someone else to do it. Especially if you only need the one done.

+1 on this time is money and if a drive gets bricked its a new xbox its cost,s me, as you may soon find out. i bricked my first ever flash thankfully it was my own spare xbox

Myrddin

Doylers wrote: »

You do have a point indeed sir.

No i have a Hitachi GDR-3120L in the xbox (good thing its completely in bits in the other room to check lol).

How your mean there not need to spend a penny?? I like that comment

Thats the exact drive I had in my Xenon. There's no additional hardware needed to flash custom firmware. It's a rather dated drive though, & I'm not sure if the newer LT fimware is even available for it. It was mentioned in a different thread, that powering your 360 with no drive attached, raises a software flag which will likely trigger an MS check on your console. Do you use Live?

You won't do it with a latop though, so you'll need an SATA based pc from somewhere.

TouchingVirus

In order to flash any xbox 360 drive you will need an SATA controller. Old computers used ATA/P-ATA/IDE cables & controllers and thus do not have built-in SATA controllers.

If you have a computer with an SATA controller that is any way modern then all you will need to flash the hitachi drive is an SATA cable to hook it up to the computer. You can power the drive via the xbox 360 console and do not require anything else.

If you don't have the SATA controller or have an incompatible one then you will have to purchase a VIA 6421 PCI Card from ebay or dealextreme.com and put that into your computer - €10 or so. Maybe €2 for the cable if you don't have one or the PCI card doesn't come with one.

You may have the skills necessary to do whatever is required, but please be warned that if something were to actually go properly wrong before you retrieved your DVD drive key then your console is for the bin. This is the guarantee offered by flashers - if they mess up, they owe you a new drive or a new console. It's a fairly significant risk.

Also, you'll get banned for connecting to Live! with that drive after flashing it. It's so old and crap that the newest firmware, iXtreme LT is not available for it, and probably won't be for some time (if ever). The latest firmware for it is iXtreme 1.51

TouchingVirus

massy086 wrote: »

+1 on this time is money and if a drive gets bricked its a new xbox its cost,s me, as you may soon find out. i bricked my first ever flash thankfully it was my own spare xbox

Exactly my point, bricking happens. So do bad dumps. And some people (me) can even place the power cable into a drive upside down and fry the sh*t out of it :rolleyes: I just about broke even on that flash, because it cost me the same cost to buy a new drive for the guy.

Doylers

OK so everyone is saying that:

1). I am guaranteed to lose live?

2). I need to use a computer and laptop is impossible to use even with a usb to sata coveter?

I dont really use live at all really, I wont pay for that either hahahaha I sound very cheap I bet. I use it to update my gamer score and maybe to get the odd demo really, I dont play online.

My computer defo doesn't have a sata controller.

So is it possible to do then by a professional? How much could I expect to pay from people on boards? I know people are saying its a bad idea to do it an stuff but I love playing with things and learning how to do these kinda things. If it wasnt for messing around with my pc I wouldn't know how to do half the things I can. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Im in waterford also.

TouchingVirus

Doylers wrote: »

OK so everyone is saying that:

1). I am guaranteed to lose live?

Absolutely, without a doubt, yes! Because it a hitachi drive you're 3 or 4 firmware revisions behind everybody else. Your latest firmware is iX 1.51, there was a 1.6, 1.61, iX LT v1 and iX LT v1.1 but none of those are for hitatchi. Maybe the Hitachi presents a problem for the firmware creator but more likely it's a case of everybody realises the drive is crap, so why bother. Microsoft's bannings last year got people on iX 1.5-1.6. The firmware is easily detectable nowadays.

2). I need to use a computer and laptop is impossible to use even with a usb to sata coveter?

Yes, you need a computer. When you run something through a SATA to USB converter the device sits on the USB bus and not the SATA controller. This'll present problems for flashing.

I dont really use live at all really, I wont pay for that either hahahaha I sound very cheap I bet. I use it to update my gamer score and maybe to get the odd demo really, I dont play online.

If you connect with a flashed hitachi you will get your console banned. No more updating your gamerscore

My computer defo doesn't have a sata controller.

You've gotta purchase that VIA card so

So is it possible to do then by a professional? How much could I expect to pay from people on boards?

Im in waterford also.

Modding thread is at the top of the forum, look in there for average prices. €35 seems to be the average. Not only does it cover investment in tools, but time, experience but also the risk and the cost of a new drive/console if it goes wrong :P

Doylers

TouchingVirus wrote: »

Absolutely, without a doubt, yes! Because it a hitachi drive you're 3 or 4 firmware revisions behind everybody else. Your latest firmware is iX 1.51, there was a 1.6, 1.61, iX LT v1 and iX LT v1.1 but none of those are for hitatchi. Maybe the Hitachi presents a problem for the firmware creator but more likely it's a case of everybody realises the drive is crap, so why bother. Microsoft's bannings last year got people on iX 1.5-1.6. The firmware is easily detectable nowadays.



Yes, you need a computer. When you run something through a SATA to USB converter the device sits on the USB bus and not the SATA controller. This'll present problems for flashing.



If you connect with a flashed hitachi you will get your console banned. No more updating your gamerscore



You've gotta purchase that VIA card so



Modding thread is at the top of the forum, look in there for average prices. €35 seems to be the average. Not only does it cover investment in tools, but time, experience but also the risk and the cost of a new drive/console if it goes wrong :P

What a post you just have to be thanked for that.So thanks and i click it also

Ok ill start saving then lol So say I got the drive key off the dvd driveand I got you a more recent drive off another xbox could they be swapped ? Would xbox live still be available?

Myrddin

Doylers wrote: »

OK so everyone is saying that:

1). I am guaranteed to lose live?

2). I need to use a computer and laptop is impossible to use even with a usb to sata coveter?

I dont really use live at all really, I wont pay for that either hahahaha I sound very cheap I bet. I use it to update my gamer score and maybe to get the odd demo really, I dont play online.

My computer defo doesn't have a sata controller.

So is it possible to do then by a professional? How much could I expect to pay from people on boards? I know people are saying its a bad idea to do it an stuff but I love playing with things and learning how to do these kinda things. If it wasnt for messing around with my pc I wouldn't know how to do half the things I can. Everyone has to start somewhere.

Im in waterford also.

Yes, you more than likely WILL get banned with that drive/firmware combination.

You will need to use a pc, but I forgot about that SATA PCI card, once you use that you won't have an issue.

Regards sourcing someone, check out the services thread where the lads advertise. You should find someone there (pm them, the thread is only for services offered).

Regards the messing around/tinkering with things, I COMPLETELY understand that one It's the only way to learn, just take your time & double check before commiting to hitting the "go" button. That drive is probably the most easy to flash, order that PCI card that TV suggested & go from there. Ask us if your confused about something in the procedure, that's what the forum is for Oh, & more importantly....enjoy!

Myrddin

Doylers wrote: »

So say I got the drive key off the dvd driveand I got you a more recent drive off another xbox could they be swapped ? Would xbox live still be available?

Yes you can put a donor drive in, it's called spoofing (your spoofing the motherboard that the expected drive is still in the console). Once the drive key is acquired, you then write that to the new drive (it works with different vendors too). Regards Live, I'd still keep well away if I were you.

TouchingVirus

If you're confident to do it, then just go for it. As EnterNow said, it is the only way to learn. You'll only make a mistake once. My first one was putting the drive cable in upside down. I'll never do that ever again and I can be thankful at that stage I had the DVD key


Drive spoofing, that is getting a newer drive to pretend it's another drive, is a bad idea for Live! and you cannot spoof a LiteOn drive to be another drive on the latest firmware. LT stands for Lite Touch and is a firmware designed to change as little as possible from the original firmware in order to avoid detection. As little as possible does not include the OSIG/Model data

The general rule of thumb is: Flash your drive, say goodbye to Live!

Doylers

Ok so swapping drives would be a waste of time then because it would change more data then you really should, makes sense.

I do have access to another xbox suffering from rrod which I could try fix and maybe move to that one, what would be the advice on that?

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Myrddin

Doylers wrote: »

Ok so swapping drives would be a waste of time then because it would change more data then you really should, makes sense.

I do have access to another xbox suffering from rrod which I could try fix and maybe move to that one, what would be the advice on that?

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Well spoofing only really comes into play if you need to replace the whole drive in the case of failure (as mine did). It wasn't long after that, that I went down the jtag road with a different 360, that's when I fell out of touch with the firmware scene. I'm starting to really hate disc based consoles, the damn things just won't last!

If you've a salvageable spare console, then your sorted. One for Live, one for homebrew.

Now I'm going, TV has my wrist worn out. Actually....ah forget it :D

Doylers

EnterNow wrote: »

Well spoofing only really comes into play if you need to replace the whole drive in the case of failure (as mine did). It wasn't long after that, that I went down the jtag road with a different 360, that's when I fell out of touch with the firmware scene. I'm starting to really hate disc based consoles, the damn things just won't last!

If you've a salvageable spare console, then your sorted. One for Live, one for homebrew.

Now I'm going, TV has my wrist worn out. Actually....ah forget it :D

Yeah i only heard of jtag while googling all this. That looks very cool indeed. I think I will actually see what shape the other xbox is in and see if I can bring it back to life. I was sent to Microsoft twice i think and still not working correctly. Hopefully its just overheating and I'll solve that easily.

Haha u deserve to chill I think lol

Im going now. Can I just thank everyone who has commented and helped out, you were all so informative and very friendly to me. Ill repost in this thread in a week or so when I find out what state the xboxs are in. Thanks

TouchingVirus

Doylers wrote: »

Ill repost in this thread in a week or so when I find out what state the xboxs are in. Thanks

Do that, we'll be happy to help

thenightrider

35 quid is cheap ive done loads of xbox's my self but the odd time you can run in to trouble and it can take hours to flash my sata card was acting up so i was hours trying to flash the xbox but geting no were other problums can arise and then if the xbox breaks who ever was doing it would have to replace it.

It would not be worth all that risk for say 20 quid

Doylers

Hi guys just a little update. I haver the xbox working now, had to change the thermal compound and use screws instead of x-clamps but its all going again now. I looking around for process on flashing now to see whats the best deal I can get off people.

I tried to get that other xbox but the chap wants to open it up n see whats instead (breaking it p in the process is suspect) so dont think i'll be getting that one.

I know we discussed that using a laptop is out of the question but I saw this video on youtube and wanted to see what you all thought. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyH8g0o7Ptg

The laptop is a dv4 mine is a dv5 with the same express card slot etc.

Myrddin

Always hard to tell with youtube, I don't know whether it does be the stupidly loud rock accompanyments, or the blitzkrieg of google ads

He's using some kind of cardbus adapter that costs 30 dollars, maybe if you can get a used one here but it doesn't look like a free solution. The PCI adapter that TV linked to is the only man for the job in your case.

Doylers

EnterNow wrote: »

Always hard to tell with youtube, I don't know whether it does be the stupidly loud rock accompanyments, or the blitzkrieg of google ads

He's using some kind of cardbus adapter that costs 30 dollars, maybe if you can get a used one here but it doesn't look like a free solution. The PCI adapter that TV linked to is the only man for the job in your case.

True that lol well I found an adopter for a few euro on ebay http://cgi.ebay.ie/Express-ExpressCard-PCMCIA-Cardbus-Card-Adapter-USB-/390224674398?pt=UK_Computing_LaptopAccessories_PCMCIACards#ht_3868wt_911
.

I was looking in my pc the other day and found there are two sata ports on the motherboard (I never noticed them before) how do you tell if they will work? Ill have a link to specs in a min

PC info:
This is what I can find on the dell site.

1 JANUARY 45 INTEL PENTIUM 4 PROCESSOR 2.6
1 DIMENSION 4600 P4 2.66GHZ 533FSB AND 512
1 BSD MONEY OFF £50 / EURO 70 (EX VAT)
1 ENGLISH - DOCUMENTATION WITH UK POWER CO
1 512MB DDR333 DUAL CHANNEL MEMORY (2X256)
1 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE
1 64MB USB MEMORY KEY
1 40GB IDE (7, 200RPM) HARD DRIVE
1 48X DVD/CDRW COMBO DRIVE
1 SONIC SOFTWARE FOR CD/RW READ/WRITE AND
1 CYBERLINK POWERDVD V14
1 FP / MG - UK/IRISH - 17IN (E172FP) VALUE
1 ON BOARD VIDEO PLUG
1 64MB GEFORCE4 MX420 8XAGP GRAPHIC CARD
1 SPEAKER UK/IRE EXTERNAL DELL A215 STEREO
1 IRISH/SPANISH MODEM INTERNAL V.92 PCI (D
1 MOUSE PAD WITH DELL LOGO
1 DELL MIDNIGHT GREY PS/2 2 BUTTON WHEEL M
1 UK/IRISH (QWERTY) - DELL ENTRY MIDNIGHT
1 UK - WIN XP HOME SP1 WITH NORTON ANTI VI
1 ENGLISH MICROSOFT WORKS 9.0 (WORD PROCES
1 IRELAND EIRCOM INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER
1 ENGLISH - TRIAL PAINT SHOP PRO 7.06 STAN
1 ENGLISH - TRIAL IMAGE EXPERT STANDARD
1 1Y CAR (COLLECT AND RETURN)
1 BASE WARRANTY
1 WARRANTY UPGRADE NOT INCLUDED
1 DIMENSION ORDER - IRELAND
1 FREE DELIVERY - PROMOTIONAL OFFER


Edit: heres a link to the manual for the pc with more details http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/SYSTEMS/dim4600/en/4600i/sm/specs.htm#1119251

massy086

all you will need to do it from thr pc http://cgi.ebay.ie/VIA-3-SATA-Serial-ATA-IDE-Port-PCI-Card-VT6421A-CABLE-/110390374247?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_InterfaceCards#ht_2108wt_922

Doylers

massy086 wrote: »

all you will need to do it from thr pc http://cgi.ebay.ie/VIA-3-SATA-Serial-ATA-IDE-Port-PCI-Card-VT6421A-CABLE-/110390374247?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_InterfaceCards#ht_2108wt_922

Your confident that the card will be compatible ?

docentore

Doylers wrote: »

Your confident that the card will be compatible ?

should be, everything looks ok.

Good luck with your Hitachi, I hate doing those f**rs

massy086

docentore wrote: »

should be, everything looks ok.

Good luck with your Hitachi, I hate doing those f**rs

ye not a lover of them myself seeming as you have to pot tweek most of them just to read the game,s doc how are you doing the 9series at the mo just looking to see what,s my easy,st option

Myrddin

massy086 wrote: »

ye not a lover of them myself seeming as you have to pot tweek most of them just to read the game,s doc how are you doing the 9series at the mo just looking to see what,s my easy,st option

This caused me no end of pain. I thought it was a flashing/drive key issue for most of the day, adjusted the pot - worked straight away. Makes me love my jtag even more...bye bye dvd drive :cool:

massy086

EnterNow wrote: »

This caused me no end of pain. I thought it was a flashing/drive key issue for most of the day, adjusted the pot - worked straight away. Makes me love my jtag even more...bye bye dvd drive :cool:

you,s jtag boys just love rubbing it in my face dont ya,s lol ill find one soon and then hopefully see what the fuss is all about

Myrddin

massy086 wrote: »

you,s jtag boys just love rubbing it in my face dont ya,s lol ill find one soon and then hopefully see what the fuss is all about

We certainly do I blame cisk, docentore & TouchingVirus...like yourself I did it to see what all the fuss was about...cheers guys :pac: