HOW TO HACKZ0R YOUR XBOX!

I used a simple softmod to hack my xbox.
My xbox was purchased in New Zealand (so its PAL based) and it is a version 1.6b.
(this is not really important, this mod should work on all xboxes)

BIG NASTY WARNING!

This mod won’t cost you anything but is a little bit technical..
In saying that, I believe that if you followed the steps pretty carefully, then anyone with a limited amount of computing knowledge could do this.
It does involve opening your PC and your xbox, which will void the Xbox warranty completely, and does have the potential to fry everything.
This isn’t really very ’safe’ as you’re working with live components, but if you’re careful and not stupid it will be fine.

You may need to do a bit of research on your own regarding downloading the files you need and certain parts of the mod.

Here’s the steps I followed, after doing a bit of research on the xbox-scene forums.

Programs / Tools you will need:

• Ldot’s XboxHDM v1.9
• The Uber XBE exploit - You should probably get UXE Complete v0.2.x instead, which is found from the “usual sources” (http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/xbins.php)
• A Torx head screwdriver (I think just one will do, but check)
• A PC, with a CDRW drive and some blank cd’s.
• A personal network of some sort - either via crossover cable or with a switch etc. (so we can access your xbox and copy files / backup stuff)

Okay, so you should have all the gear now, ready to start the modding process.

Software prep:

Extract the xboxhdm zip - the key folder for us during this entire process is everything in the LINUX directory.
Extract the uxe-complete archive, and run “71-fonts-install.bat” then nkpatcher-06-install.bat.
(this is just a batch file that copies some files and does some renaming)

Copy the files in uxe-c-replace to the C directory in xboxhdm/linux/C

Once this is done, run the make-win-iso.bat file in the xboxhdm dir, which will create a nice linux ISO for you to burn to a cdrw.
Burn it!
check that everything worked by booting your PC from the cd.. if successful you should get a weird linux-y screen with a few options.
If things look good, power your PC off and pull up your sleeves.

Open your xbox!

Grab your torx head screwdriver, and prepare to void your warranty. (Woo!)
UNPLUG YOUR XBOX FROM THE POWER SOURCE!

There are six screws on the bottom of your xbox - some of these are hidden under stickers/rubber feet.

Check Here if you need help.

Once you’ve got the top off, have a look around - You should recognise a few PC-like parts :)

Its probably a good idea to unscrew the hdd tray and hard disc itself. - it makes the next few steps easier.

The softmod

Get the xbox (with power and tv ready) as close to your PC as possible.
(now for the hard/dodgy part.)

We’re about to pull out the xbox IDE cable from the hard disc - so get it ready to be removed. (unplug & replug the IDE cable a few times so you get the feel of how much you’ll need to yank it out - maybe even plug it back in quite loosely so its easier)
I’d suggest you get the xbox hard disc all the way out of its caddy and the xbox itself, and even plug it into your PC’s power supply, to provide a proper earth. Leave it plugged into the xbox IDE cable for now.

Make sure you dont have your fingers touching anything dangerous, and plug your xbox back into the power source. (dont turn it on JUST yet)

Get everything ready.. PC ready to be turned on, xbox ready, hard disc power plugged to PC and IDE to xbox, ready to be removed..

Power on your PC & Xbox.
Your PC will boot the linux cd and wait at the prompt - dont press anything yet!
Take a quick breath, because the next few steps need to be done reasonably fast. (Don’t rush though)

The xbox will make the startup noise and JUST BEFORE the Microsoft logo appears, pull out your xbox IDE cable.
I found that pulling the cable out just as the startup noises were ending was the most successful.
(this bit is hard to get right - it takes a couple of tries sometimes)

What we’re doing is making the XBox unlock the hard disc - as it does every time it boots - but as soon as it is unlocked we want to remove it from the IDE cable and while it is in an unlocked state, plug it into our PC.

So now your xbox hdd is unplugged from the IDE cable and still running.
Your xbox might do some weird stuff once you unplug the IDE cable, but it is ok.
Plug your xbox hdd into your PC’s IDE cable, and choose option 1 from the linux boot menu (if you get problems with option 1, try 2)

You might get a few error messages that scroll past, and it might take awhile to finish, but once everything finishes loading, you should be presented with a linux prompt

- type xbrowser and hit enter.
(If you don’t get this far, you’ve messed up, you’ll need to power off your xbox & pc, plug the hdd back into the xbox and try again)
In Xbrowser (also known as Midnight Commander, for all the linux fans) you should be able to see your xbox hdd on the right hand side (called /PriMas) and the linux cd on the left side.
If you aren’t seeing this, your xbox hdd didn’t unlock properly. (doh - go back!)

Hit TAB to access the xbox hard drive, and hit the DOWN ARROW to highlight /E, then hit ENTER.

Hit F7 to create a new DIR on E , name it ORIG_BACKUP. Then hit TAB to return to the CD side of xbrowser.

Now highlight the /.. and hit ENTER. Hit the DOWN ARROW until the /PriMas is highlighted then hit ENTER.

Highlight the /C and hit F5, this will bring up the copy dialog, just hit ENTER to begin the transfer. This will backup the complete XBOX C into the folder E:\ORIG_BACKUP\C.

Now hit F10 to drop you back to the prompt.

Exploiting!

Type xboxhd and choose option 2

wait for this to complete, and when completed, press 8 to go back to the prompt, and type “poweroff” (to shutdown your PC)

You’ve just completed the Exploit! Before you celebrate, lets finish some backups.

EvoX and backing up your eeprom

Turn off your xbox, plug your xbox hdd back in, and power it back up.
You should get an EvoX screen. If you don’t - something is fucked, so go back to the start :)

If successful, Scroll down to to SETTINGS in the evoX menu and choose BACKUP. This will copy your xbox eeprom to a backup folder.

Connect your xbox to your network, and ftp to the xbox (EvoX will tell you the IP it has in the settings menu somewhere)
(username and password is xbox / xbox by default)

Browse to the C/ and then fonts/dashboard/backup (i think) and download everything that is in there.

Copy all that stuff to the xboxhdm eeprom directory (xboxhdm/linux/eeprom/) on your PC.
Check that you have 4 .bin files in there, delete the old linux.iso that was created, and re-run the make-win-iso.bat file to create your new iso with the eeprom on it.

Erase your CDRW and burn the new linux.iso.

Now you can use the unlocking tools provided, so you don’t need to do the dodgy IDE hotswapping anymore.

Just unplug the xbox hdd, connect it to your PC and then boot the linux CD - choosing the unlocking option from the first linux boot menu. (not the dos one)
Once unlocked you can reboot your PC and access the xboxhdm stuff again, but before you use the hdd in your xbox again you have to lock it.
Boot the cd and choose the unlocking option - and then follow the prompt instruction (lockhd -a from memory)

You can download various applications and add them to your xbox hdd via FTP now.
These are all at the “usual sources”
I run Xbox Media Centre as my dashboard, which is much nicer than evox.
:)