Advice appreciated, as I'd like to move forward.

[achung23]

Sorry for being vague in the subject title, but you all have been so especially helpful and generous in these forums that I would appreciate some advice. Your tutorials and reading the various threads here, I was able to update to the latest stable build of XBMC on my softmodded Xbox. I had not touched my Xbox in years, one which I softmodded with an AR and Splinter Cell many, many years ago just to play upscaled DVDs. Seriously. Anyhow, I previously had an Xbox with this following info: Kernal 1.0.4817, bios 4817, and XBMC build 1.1.0 After some reading here and making some judicious decisions, I now have 3.3.3 loaded and running on my machine.

So my question is, should I rebuild this xbox and start anew. I don't remember what I did way back then, and for that matter, I don't know what is going on in this Xbox of mine. I've been so faraway from this scene....and I'm wondering if just installing the new XBMC may suit most of my needs, but may cause little problems and headaches along the way as I continue to expand and build upon it. I love everything that you all have created here and how the XBMC has evolved. Amazing stuff here. Please share your thoughts and opinions on this...or even tips on how to clean up my machine.

[sahib12]

Why would you want to start anew? Your xbox sounds fine and has the latest stable build. You dont need to rebuild it. The only thing i would do if i waa you is to update to 3.5 beta 2 , but i dont see the need for you to redo the softmod

[Heimdall]

He may need to redo the softmod for the reasons he detailed:

"... had not touched my Xbox in years, one which I softmodded with an AR and Splinter Cell many, many years ago

..... I don't remember what I did way back then, and for that matter, I don't know what is going on in this Xbox of mine."

@achung23: Updating your softmod is easy.

Grab a copy of HeXEn (Google Heimdall's Xbox Engineering Disc), burn it to DVD-R at 4x or slower, cold boot with it, and use it to install a clean copy of Krayzie 1.1.1 - option 2.2.4 or 2.2.7 depending on whether your Xbox is PAL or NTSC. Once it has installed, reboot with HeXEn and select option 4.1, install XBMC on E. Next, get hold of the latest XBMC, unzip it, and use FTP to delete XBMC from E:\Apps\XBMC\, then copy the new XBMC folder to E:\Apps\ (i.e. you should end up with E:\Apps\XBMC\, under which you will have 12 folders (from "credits" to "web"), plus 3 files (copying.txt, default.xbe and keymapping.txt))

[achung23]

I thank you both for the advice...but because I want to truly understand what is going on under the hood, I believe that I will do as Heimdall has suggested. I have the software ready to go, and now I have to go out (once this vicious snowstorm passes) and get myself a DVD-R disc. I am looking forward to the process, and really coming to enjoy this hobby and all the work that you fine people have done.

If I could ask another question...part of the reason why I want to re-do this entire process, is that I want a clean and tidy HD. Granted I am still rocking a stock HD, I was wondering if I could format or do a similar type thing prior to using the HeXEn disc...or there is a feature to clean the HD prior to re-initiating this process. Thanks again in advance.

[Heimdall]

If there's nothing on there that you want, then cleaning the hard drive is easy. HeXEn reformats the C partition when it installs the softmod (along with the X, Y and Z partitions), and once that's done cleaning up the E partition is a relatively simple manual task. I'll write a quick tutorial this evening when I get in from work.

[sammy_510]

Hello

sorry to jump in here but is there a working link to Heimdall's Xbox Engineering Disc? as i went to the iso zone and the iso version never starts to download. only the hard drive version downloads. and on torrent sites there are no seeds.

thanks
sammy

[Xphazer]

Use the link in my signature.

[sammy_510]

Many thanks M8

Getting it now. I had been searching for 2 days without finding this

thanks
sammy

[Heimdall]

If you want a completely clean system, here's what you do - but you have to be absolutely certain, because this will get rid of all apps, gamesaves, etc. from the hard drive.

Boot with HeXEn. the Xbox boots, the LED turns red, ~40 seconds later the menu appears. Select option 2.2.4. PAL Xbox, SC gamesave, or option 2.2.7. NTSC Xbox, SC gamesave, depending on where in the world you are. Follow the instructions, including removing the HeXEn DVD and rebooting. Confirm that the Xbox will now boot into the softmod normally.

So far your softmod is properly rebuilt, but your E partition still has all of your old apps, gamesaves etc., so now it's time to get rid of them.

Insert the HeXEn DVD again, and reboot. The Xbox boots, LED turns red, menu appears after ~40 seconds. Select option 8. Xbox Admin, then System - Format Menu - Format E Drive. Confirm that you want to proceed. Once that has finished (it only takes a couple of seconds), select option 2.2.4 or 2.2.7 again (whichever you picked previously), and follow the instructions as you did first time around. Once you have followed all of the instructions and rebooted, you have a completely clean Xbox with a new softmod.

Now for the final step. Reboot with HeXEn, and select option 4.1, install XBMC on E. Next, get hold of the latest XBMC, unzip it, and use FTP to delete XBMC from E:\Apps\XBMC\, then copy the new XBMC folder to E:\Apps\ (i.e. you should end up with E:\Apps\XBMC\, under which you will have 12 folders (from "credits" to "web"), plus 3 files (copying.txt, default.xbe and keymapping.txt)).

Congratulations, your Xbox is now back to a clean, vanilla state with XBMC as an application. If you want XBMC as your dashboard, make sure it works first, then select Xbox Admin - Switch Dashboards. The LED will turn red, UnleashX will restart, and you select Switch to XBMC on E. Once it's finished, reboot and you will have XBMC as your dash.

[Smiff]

Heimdall you're really good, do you have all this stuff written up on a site or wiki somewhere?

[Wacky_35016]

This is just what I needed I did the xbox hdm soft mod years ago just noticed that my video output is grey'd out. Can't choose 480 720 or 1080 so I guess automatically it is using 1080 and I get a lot of addons that don't work even though others say they do. Hope this fixes my problem will find out later tonight when I finish my research and make sure I've done my research which I believe this is what I need.. I'm not using a hd tv at the moment but plan on getting one soon so I guess 480 resolution till then but may try 720 just to see but I already know 1080 is not good fo xbox hardware limits..... Ty so much