help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Discussion about Modding the XBOX, including hardware and software hacks.
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jbates58
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Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:55 pm

help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by jbates58 »

hi all.

i have pulled out my trusty old OG xbox after it sitting in the cupboard for about 8 years.

i fireed it up to play some games, and some wouldnt load. so i rebooted it a few times to try other games, then turned it off thinking i will look at it later.... and then the HDD died. i have removed it and tried powering it externally, and its motor or controller board is dead.

so, fast forward to now, i have a IDE to SATA on the way, should be here in a few days, and am wanting to install a 3TB drive into the xbox (yes, i know some space is wasted, thats ok i have heaps of them in my draw)

so, here is what i have to work with.

Halo edition Xbox V1.4 (im prety sure that is correct)
AMD Duo-X2 Modship
DEAD 120GB IDE Western Digital Drive

and i am wanting to replace it with a 3TB Western Digital Drive.

but, as it wont boot and i remember the xbox having something about a HDD lock.

I have lost all the knowledge i once had when i used to play around and modify the consoles over the years.

So, i am hoping some people in the community will be able to assist me in getting it going again. I am not concerned with any of the content that was on the original Hdd, So am happy to start it all with a clean slate.

Also, is the hdd after it has been re-made to suit the Xbox, can it be read in a computer or under linux? As i have copies of all the games i want to re-install on it on my server, and it would be faster to copy them over via sata, rather than 100mbit ethernet.

thanks all.

Jason
Coldly-Indifferent
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Re: help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by Coldly-Indifferent »

3TB HDD is a no go AFAIK. Maximum size supported by the Xbox is 2TB.

With a chipped machine you can put in any unlocked HDD, format and install a dashboard. There are various ways of doing this but the easiest is to burn either a HeXEn (Heimdal'ls Xbox Engineering) or AID (Auto Installer Deluxe) disc (must be DVD-R and preferably done using ImgBurn).

Either disc will walk you through the formatting and main dash install just make sure to use the chipped Xbox not the softmod options.

Whatever HDD used you will also need to take great care to format the extended partition(s) (F:\ and G:\) correctly using the right cluster size for the size of the HDD partition(s) being used. This is best done either using the latest version of Chimp 261812 or XBPartitioner v1.3 installed as apps. If you do not use the correct cluster/partition size and your stored content overruns the supported limit for that cluster/partition size, it will corrupt

4KB clusters up to 64GB
8KB " " " 128GB
16KB " " " 256GB
32KB " " " 512GB
64KB " " " 1024GB
jbates58
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Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:55 pm

Re: help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by jbates58 »

Thanks mate

To my knowledge, a 3tb will work, but you will lose the 800go that came be allocated in the f and g partitions.

At least this is my understanding from what I have read.
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Re: help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by Coldly-Indifferent »

Yes, I've just done a bit of checking and it does seem you can fit a a 3TB HDD even if you're only going to be able to use 2TB of it.

This thread contains some outdated information but much is still relevant, particularly the later posts about SATA adapters and 80 wire IDE cables.
jbates58
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Re: help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by jbates58 »

hi all

okay, i have downloaded and installed the slayers evox 2.7 and run it on 2 different drives ( a 3TB and a 1TB)

on both of them, i have gone into the full format on upgraded hdd. but its always showing the C: partition at 0 bytes. and its the same for the other drives.

i noticed the clock capacitor had leaked and i have removed that and cleaned it up.

but i still cant get it to format and load the dashboards onto the new drives.

any help?
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Re: help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by Coldly-Indifferent »

Never used Slayers and whilst there is no reason it shouldn't still work I'd recommend AID or HeXEn instead. AID I know far better because I've used it many times for both chipped Xbox dash installs and softmods.

On a chipped machine it walks you through the initial formatting and then leaves it up to you what dash you want to install. The main menu One-Click Install chipped option works fine and I recommend you install UnleashX or XBMC in preference to EvoX or any other dash. You should be using one with a built in file manager because it is arguably the most important tool you have for fixing problems.

However even after you install the dash you still need to format the extended partition(s) F (and G). XBPartitioner v1.3 or Chimp 261812 will do that correctly depending on the partition size(s) selected.

I'd use the 1TB HDD first as a test because there should be no problem getting that to work.

It is an area I'm particularly ignorant about but the chip BIOS being used maybe a factor so you'd need others here to advise you on that and whether it would cause the issue described.

If it is not that and there still is a problem I'd suspect SATA > IDE adapter trouble or you're not using a 80 wire IDE cable. The latter is pretty much mandatory for use with SATA HDDs on the Xbox.

It is almost definitely not this but also check the jumper setting on the adapter and HDD. Sometimes a Xbox does not like Cable Select but works fine when set to Master.
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help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by MichaelErapy »

Well it must be the normal Hard Drive int this XBOX, it was 5Gb, right?
And the softmod is unleash X - Im pretty sure i got the stuff from here...

I also have another XBOX here, which was premodded it was a flea market buy with an 80 GB HD.

I try the Emualtor on this one now


EDIT

...and, Problem solved.
I installed the same Emu on the other XBOX which has EVOX and a 60 GB HD, not 80 GB, and it runs just fine. Ok, you have to set Frameskip on 1, but no its not stuttering at all.
So it seems that it was the internal HD or the EVOX, but it dosnt matter for me, cause it runs now .

So anyway, much thanx 4 the help
Sport nutrition here: https://www.sportzfuel.com/
shelby
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Re: help with fixing and upgrading dead xbox HDD

Post by shelby »

Got it! Thanks for the clarification.
Too bad I know nothing about tizbarco.com. This is really sad. I know is nothing at all. What a day!
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