Cowjam's completed projects

xBox Softmodding
Unlocks your xBox so yo ucan run downloaded and copied software as well as play dvds from any region without the appropriate dongle

What you Need
An xBox.
A USB memory thingy. List of compatible devices.
An xBox to USB cable. eBay usually have some.
Splinter Cell (original, not the value one or any sequels), Agent Under Fire or Mech Assault.

Software to Download
Before we get on with it you need to download some software.
Download a copy of Action Replay from here and install it.
Download a copy of USBView.exe from here (right click, save as) and keep it handy. It doesn't need installing.

Next you need to go onto IRC and join an EFNet server. Go in to the #xbins channel, it'll be fairly obvious how to get a log-in for their FTP server (need help? Try here). When you get on their FTP server head straight to /XBOX/exploits/_Packages/Softmod Installer Deluxe/ and download Softmod.Installer.Deluxe.v2.0.Xbox-Hq.rar. You can download up to 30 files a day, so while you're there you may want to grab a couple of games. Quake 2 is fun.

What to Do
While it's off, plug your USB thingy into the cable and plug the cable in. I've heard a rumour the best port to use is the third one, but that may have no scientific basis at all. Turn your xBox on without a disk in and go to the memory manager. It will tell you there was a fault with the memory card in the third controller and it has been erased. This is a good thing! It has formatted your USB thingy into xBox format.

Take the USB thingy and plug it into your PC. Do not format it. Most of the time it'll just treat it as an unformatted hard drive, but if you are asked for drivers tell it you will select from a list, then that you have disk. Point it towards your where you installed Action Replay , you will find a drivers directory (probably C:/program files/action replay/drivers ). This should install ok.

If it doesn't ask you for drivers: Go to Device Manager (windows key + Break, Hardware tab then click Device Manager). Look for a mass storage device under the Universal Serial Bus Controllers at the bottom. Go to it's properties and update the driver, tell it you will select from a list, then that you have disk. Point it towards your where you installed Action Replay , you will find a drivers directory (probably C:/program files/action replay/drivers ). This should install ok.

Now run USBView.exe. Find your device (on the left). From the details that are shown on the right make a note of Product ID and Vendor ID - just the last four digits. Go to the directory where you installed Action Replay and open xbreader.inf which you will find in the Drivers directory.

Look for [_Devices] - underneath you'll see some lines that look somewhat like this:
     %S_DeviceDesc1%=_Install1, USB\VID_040B&PID_6520
You need to put in the vendor and product ids in the first line (which are the numbers in bold in the example above). Save and exit.

Run Action Replay. This say 'memory card' in the left hand section. Uncompress the softmod rar file you downloaded earlier. Extract the two appropriate .zip files (I used a British copy of Splinter Cell so I used SID.Splinter.Cell.v2.0.Xbox-Hq.zip and SID.Splinter.Cell.v2.0.PAL.Xbox-Hq.zip). Drag them (individually, you can't drag them both at once) onto the memory card part of Action Replay.

You're done with your PC now. Remove the USB thingy and plug it back in to your xBox. Copy the two save game files from the USB thingy on to the xBox. Put your game in and it'll load. The following is specific for Splinter Cell though it'll work in the same way for the other two games.

Select Start Game and press A. Select the Linux savegame and press A. Select Check Points (don't select Levels) and press A. Your screen will go blank for a moment and...

...it's running linux! Don't get too exited though, you need to do some stuff before you can play. Select Create MS Backup. Once that's done select Create Mod Backup. Then select Install Softmod. Then select Install Evox. Once that's done, reboot your xBox and you're done!

So, what exactly do I do with it now?
Plenty! Straight up you will be able to play videos from any region. While you were in #xbins you may have noticed something about XBMC - download it. This is the xbox media centre and it's rather nice. It will play music, videos and display slideshows over a network. Which reminds me, plug your xbox into your network and ftp to it, it's username and password will be xbox (you'll have to check your settings to see what its IP address is). e is the drive for putting all your stuff in - there are game and app directories already there.

Try googling for xbox mod stuff, there's loads out there. Have fun!

Bootnotes
Using the open tray button to turn the xbox on will boot to the menu you got when you did the save game exploit. This will let you restore your xBox to how it was. Don't go on Live! with your xBox modded.

I made this howto because it took me ages getting the data onto the USB thingy, nowhere did it give me all the information I needed. I brushed over the IRC but because you probably know how to do that anyway. Getting Action Replay to actually work is a different issue.

If you're having problems google for xbox softmod and whatever part you're having difficulty with - it will most likely throw up some helpful results.

If you know me then get in touch and I'll lend you the necessary equipment including a USB thingy with the data on, which will save you a load of time and effort.

miscellany

Created: 4 December 2005

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