ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Discussion about Modding the XBOX, including hardware and software hacks.
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GoTeamScotch
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ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by GoTeamScotch »

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Intro - What is ConfigMagic?
ConfigMagic is an Xbox application that locks/unlocks Xbox hard drives and allows the user to manage their Xbox's EEPROM easily, including altering it, backing it up, and restoring from a backup. This application does not require a hard-modded Xbox in order to run. Through it, you can do a process known as "nulling" (aka "zeroizing") your Xbox's unique hard drive key. This makes the need of having EEPROM backups and using proper hard drive passwords irrelevant because there is then only one key you need to keep track of and it can be the same on all of your Xboxes, hardmodded or softmodded. If a drive fails or the softmod breaks, gaining access to the drive is a piece of cake. Just drop the drive in a hardmodded Xbox or connect it to a PC to fix the softmod.

ConfigMagic was created by TeamAssembly. It was later modified by Yoshiro to include Xbox v1.6 support.

Image

Changes
  • New UI images
  • Fonts size adjusted. All text now fits on screen. Font colors altered to help differentiate between different elements.
  • Size reduced from 7.93MB (5.2MB compressed) to 3.12MB (1.0MB compressed). This makes it much easier to bundle ConfigMagic on a stock Xbox memory unit (8MB). This was my primary reason for modifying CM to begin with.
  • Videos removed. Credits retained and put on end "sponsor" screen.
  • Some messages altered to look more user friendly or become more legible. Less use of ALL-CAPS. Message added for softmod users to remember to lock the drive before rebooting. Other minor string changes.
  • default.tbn XBMC Icon
    Image
All in all, this is largely a cosmetic mod with a couple minor tweaks to make it look more modern and user friendly. I started out just wanting to make CM smaller so it could fit on a memory unit so could bundle it along with a softmod installer which I customized for my modding process. My installer now includes ConfigMagic and Xbox Partitioner. Maybe Chimp will be next.

How To Zeroize
Important: If you're on a softmodded Xbox that uses a virtual/shadow C drive, disable the virtual/shadow C drive first. It's also a good idea to backup your EEPROM first in case you need to restore it later for some reason. To backup, select "Create Backup Files" in CM, quit CM, and FTP your EEPROM backup files from E:\Backup to your PC for safekeeping.
  • In ConfigMagic, press the Start button on your controller and select "Unlock HDD" from the list. Once done, press A to return to CM's main screen.
  • Press start again and select "On-The-Fly Edit EEPROM".
  • Press down on the d-pad and select your "Unique HDD Key". A keyboard will appear.
  • Press left on the d-pad and select "Del". Repeat until your current HDD key is blank.
  • Go up to the top left and select 0 (zero) repeatedly. You'll need to enter 32 zeroes. Just keep pressing A on zero until it doesn't let you add any more zeroes. When done, select "OK" from the keyboard. Note: Using 32 ones allows for compatibility with Insignia. See section below before continuing.
  • Press Start and select "Update Xbox EEPROM". After a few seconds, your Xbox's EEPROM will be updated with your new zeroized HDD key.
  • If your Xbox is hardmodded (modchip/TSOP flash) the rest is optional because hardmodded consoles don't require the HDD to be locked.
  • Press Start and select "Load XBOX EEPROM".
  • Press Start and select "Lock HDD".
Insignia Compatibility
If you intend on using your Xbox with Insignia, the community-driven Xbox Live replacement for Original Xbox, then your hard drive key CANNOT be set to all zeroes. Insignia requires a "valid" hard drive key, and all-zeroes is not a valid HDD key. Your HDD key just has to be something else than all-zeroes. For example, all ones is fine. So, on step #5 above, press 1 (one) repeatedly until you have 32 ones.

Download Links
Xbox application:
ConfigMagic-XBOX-GTS - 1MB (Google Drive)
(The file with "PSD" in the name is a ZIP file containing the source Photoshop files used in this mod)
Last edited by GoTeamScotch on Wed Sep 22, 2021 12:23 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Remember kids, always zero-ize your HDD key!
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by shloader »

Awesome. This for the HeXEn 2018 disc.
I make a conscious effort to use terms that can be googled.
Xbox modding is really about understanding the nomenclature, and a good HeXEn disc.
Drinking while posting happens. It's not like drinking and driving; try to be understanding.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by professor_jonny »

If in future if the smart guys get Xbox live working then zeroing the HDD key could cause issues as it was part of the algorithm to uniquely define your console.

It is not something that is needed these days as most tools set a master unlock code the can unlock the HDD regardless of the user passcode.

on another note it is good to know there is an update available to this old app :-)
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by GoTeamScotch »

professor_jonny wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:21 am If in future if the smart guys get Xbox live working then zeroing the HDD key could cause issues as it was part of the algorithm to uniquely define your console.
You're referencing the Xbox source XBL project? I imagine that would use the online key instead and not the hdd key wouldn't it? If it does break something, I'd just like to point out to everyone that I said...
GoTeamScotch wrote:It's also a good idea to backup your EEPROM first in case you need to restore it later for some reason
and I hope it's not too late to put a disclaimer on this post: I'm not responsible for any nuclear fallout that occurs from using this app! ;)
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by professor_jonny »

Originally with xblive on the original console it used all the keys and hardware fingerprint from what i believe, if you connected to xbox live it used your hdd key and serial number in some way as if you replaced your hdd then connected to live you would get banned even if it was in no way modded.

As the xblivedash is hardcoded on the cd of each game cd you neverKnow what may be required
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

Just used this ( was recording a video ) but I did notice that it no longer creates backups of the eeprom when updating/locking the xbox eeprom/HDD.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by xboxmaster »

Rocky5 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:57 am Just used this ( was recording a video ) but I did notice that it no longer creates backups of the eeprom when updating/locking the xbox eeprom/HDD.
Hi Rocky 5 ,the virtual eeprom is necessary to disable it before changing the hdd key to zeroes?
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

xboxmaster wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 4:00 am
Rocky5 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:57 am Just used this ( was recording a video ) but I did notice that it no longer creates backups of the eeprom when updating/locking the xbox eeprom/HDD.
Hi Rocky 5 ,the virtual eeprom is necessary to disable it before changing the hdd key to zeroes?
Yes, always disable the virtual eeprom before using configmagic.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Geeba »

"If in future if the smart guys get Xbox live working"

Eh? Xbox Live? on OG Xbox? :?
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by GoTeamScotch »

Rocky5 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:57 am Just used this ( was recording a video ) but I did notice that it no longer creates backups of the eeprom when updating/locking the xbox eeprom/HDD.
Sorry about that. It was due to the default backup path switching to "E:\Backups\", but if you don't have that path created then it just fails silently. This folder is on all of my xboxes so that's why I didn't catch the glitch. I've since reverted it back to just "E:\" so the problem should be resolved now. The download link in my 1st post is up to date.
Geeba wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 3:15 pm Eh? Xbox Live? on OG Xbox? :?
Yup. There's a small group of folks trying to recreate the servers that the original Xbox live had so people can play online again. Unfortunately, the lead person making it got a new job and apparently can't work on the project any more for some reason. Conflict of interest or something. It's still technically in development but now it's slower than before, and it was already a fairly slow and complicated development process to begin with. Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One X console is going to have support for original Xbox games and maybe they'll bring back online gameplay officially somehow.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

GoTeamScotch wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:05 pm
Rocky5 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:57 am Just used this ( was recording a video ) but I did notice that it no longer creates backups of the eeprom when updating/locking the xbox eeprom/HDD.
Sorry about that. It was due to the default backup path switching to "E:\Backups\", but if you don't have that path created then it just fails silently. This folder is on all of my xboxes so that's why I didn't catch the glitch. I've since reverted it back to just "E:\" so the problem should be resolved now. The download link in my 1st post is up to date.

Code: Select all

CreateDirectory("E:\\Backups", NULL);
also on a side note, your source code edits should be public :D

also do you mind if I add this to my extras disc?
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by GoTeamScotch »

Rocky5 wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:33 pm
GoTeamScotch wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 8:05 pm
Rocky5 wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:57 am Just used this ( was recording a video ) but I did notice that it no longer creates backups of the eeprom when updating/locking the xbox eeprom/HDD.
Sorry about that. It was due to the default backup path switching to "E:\Backups\", but if you don't have that path created then it just fails silently. This folder is on all of my xboxes so that's why I didn't catch the glitch. I've since reverted it back to just "E:\" so the problem should be resolved now. The download link in my 1st post is up to date.

Code: Select all

CreateDirectory("E:\\Backups", NULL);
also on a side note, your source code edits should be public :D

also do you mind if I add this to my extras disc?
I actually just hex edited the xbe (string edits) and the rest is just image and config file changes so I didn't actually build from source. Otherwise I would've shared. I did share my Photoshop files at least :lol:
I started to get a dev environment setup but got snagged on missing references. I do have plans of revisiting this and building from source so that I can add more features. I have two goals: 1) add a "zeroize" button, which does the whole unlock/change/update/lock process for you and 2) automatically load from the xbox's eeprom after updating eeprom. Idk why it doesn't.

Yes. Feel free to bundle it with your disc.

Kind of an unrelated topic.. XBMC uses ConfigMagic's code for getting eeprom info and doing backups. Too bad we can only read eeprom info from XBMC and we can't write it.

Code: Select all

//very XBOX specific funtions to read/write EEPROM from hardware
void XKEEPROM::ReadFromXBOX()
{
  XKUtils::ReadEEPROMFromXBOX((LPBYTE)&m_EEPROMData);
  m_EncryptedState = TRUE;
}

void XKEEPROM::WriteToXBOX()
{
  //if we are writing the EEPROM to the XBOX, make sure it is encrypted first!
  if (!m_EncryptedState) {
    //if the EEPROM is not encrypted and we failed to encrypt,
    //bail out before we do any damage
    if (!EncryptAndCalculateCRC())
      return;
  }
  XKUtils::WriteEEPROMToXBOX((LPBYTE)&m_EEPROMData);
}
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

The zeroing part is exactly what I have done for my softmod, that's how I found out your mod didn't backup files properly.



Only issue doing it this way is it removes the video mode, language, time format e.g... from the eeprom. So the next time you launch the MSDash it will go through the setup process :shock:

Havent worked out why it's doing that yet :?

Seems to do it when you update the eeprom via configmagic also.

When the time comes to change the HDD key all you need to do is:

Code: Select all

m_pXKEEPROM->ReadFromXBOX(); // this reloads all info, what you would call after the update function
m_pXKEEPROM->SetHDDKeyString("00000000000000000000000000000000"); // stores the new key in memory until you write it to the Xbox
So unlock the drive, null the key ( above ) write the eeprom, then lock the drive again. You can backup the eeprom before locking but if you're just calling the menu system then you don't need to as it already does it.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by GoTeamScotch »

That's interesting that your softmod does the zeroize/null of the hdd key automatically. What app is executing the commands? Chimp?

Btw, if you want to spruce up your tutorial videos, I'd be happy to collaborate. I do graphics design and video editing as part of my job and I have an HD capture card so I could perform and record steps too. That way the quality is improved over recording with a camera and it might be easier to see the Xbox's display. I also have a really good mic & video camera to record steps in real life if that's of interest. Just let me know how I can help. ;)
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

GoTeamScotch wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:11 am That's interesting that your softmod does the zeroize/null of the hdd key automatically. What app is executing the commands? Chimp?

Btw, if you want to spruce up your tutorial videos, I'd be happy to collaborate. I do graphics design and video editing as part of my job and I have an HD capture card so I could perform and record steps too. That way the quality is improved over recording with a camera and it might be easier to see the Xbox's display. I also have a really good mic & video camera to record steps in real life if that's of interest. Just let me know how I can help. ;)
Configmagic, heavily modified for my purposes, I rebranded it "Xbox Softmod Tool Kit" since i modified it to do things it wasn't originally meant to.
  • Backing up the eeprom data ( modified a tad )
    Creating the shadowc image
    Populating the shadowc image
    Patching Unleashx xbe files on the Xbox so I don't need to have multiple copies ( with signatures so they are habibi signed )
    Lock a new HDD
    Zero the eeprom key ( unlock, lock eg... )
    Virtual eeprom installation and patching of the serial so you know you're in VE mode ( serial will show as V-EEPROM ENB )
    Reload nkpatcher settting, or any dash but I was going to use this for soft resetting out of the "move, backup or restore" menu.
    All unnecessary stuff removed ( it's now a headless app )
Each mode is triggered by a file on the HDD, so for example. NULL_HDD_KEY.enabled will only run the Zeroed HDD key code. I just create them when you launch via unleashx, when the process is done it removes them.

Here is the source, note I have cleaned it up and added to it from this commit. But due to testing I won't commit till I know it's 100% working.
https://github.com/Rocky5/Xbox-Softmodd ... onfigMagic

As for videos I can record from direct feed but it's easier for me to just fire the iPhone on a tripod :lol: but yeah when this update is done and released, if you want to do a video/s that would be great.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Coldly-Indifferent »

This is good work and I appreciate the effort that has gone into this because for years I've thought the ConfigMagic GUI was ugly and in some cases unhelpfully unclear. But I have some questions and comments.

What I was surprised by most by is that the Gunplay.xpr font set was replaced not by a new font but by a single Gunplay_16.xpr. The problem for me has always been this particular font. On a SD TV it doesn't look good and IMHO on any TV its a poor choice when you're trying to make what is quite critical information easily readable. There are far better fonts for the purpose, even bog standard Arial at the same size looks better.

Because of this I decided to replace the font in my original copy of ConfigMagic v1.6 Final long ago. But it wasn't as simple as I thought, the font(s) aren't controlled by the Skin.ini. You have to replace the old fonts with new ones and rename them to Gunplay.xpr etc or the app will stall at launch. I assume the instructions relating to the fonts are embed into the XBE and the naming is critical.

Is there a less crude way of doing this than the method I used.

Second point is a related issue. The Main Menu highlighter system has always been hideously bad. Thank the gods the design decision was taken to have the Exit main menu option as the 'home' selection. When the highlighted option isn't made clear, and it isn't, and there is no dialogue info box pop up as a safety net before you can proceed it is a mistake waiting to happen.

The trouble is how on earth do you change this?

You'd think a simple Skin.ini edit of the MenuItemTextColor and the MenuSelectTextColor would do the trick but no. What those items are I'm not at all certain. Maybe there are sub-menus where this has an effect. I'm not minded to go poking around trying out ConfigMagic's menu options just to find out.

What I did noticed is in the original ConfigMagic Skin.ini these were FF-FF-FF-FF and FF-00-00-00 (white and black) but are changed in this redesign to FF-FF-FF-00 and FF-79-C4-2C respectively. That's primary yellow and what I'd describe as Xbox yellow/ green so that change should be very obvious. But there are no colours like that being used in the Main Menu.

Is there some problem with that element of ConfigMagic menu display system? If not is there a Skin.ini tag that can be added so you can change the Main Menu text colour and selected option highlighter.

Primary yellow is a good choice for the highlighter but also using yellow/green as the text or visa versa is a design no-no. Why? Colour blindness. One of the common types of colour blindness confuses yellow and greens. Colour blindness effects up to 10% of men world wide and lets face it most of us likely to wanting to use an app like this on a retro console are going to be men.
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

Ok been doing testing for a new feature of my softmod and came across a big bug on v1.6 xbox regarding calculating the CRC for checksum3.
( if it weren't for this bug I wouldn't have found this feature )

Basically what happens is the CRC is invalid and the xbox clears all settings from this region and this isnt what we want. So to fix it you will need a fresh configmagic xbe with the value updated to produce a proper CRC for checksum3.

I can send you a new xbe if you want.

XKEEPROM.cpp

Code: Select all

	//calculate CRC's for time zones, time standards, language, dvd region etc.
	XKCRC::QuickCRC(m_EEPROMData.Checksum3, m_EEPROMData.TimeZoneBias, 0x60);
change to

Code: Select all

	//calculate CRC's for time zones, time standards, language, dvd region etc.
	XKCRC::QuickCRC(m_EEPROMData.Checksum3, m_EEPROMData.TimeZoneBias, 0x5C);
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Coldly-Indifferent »

Thanks for the reply.

The CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check - had to look that up): not really understanding but I'll happily take your word on that being the problem.

Did you mean v1.6 ConfigMagic rather than the v1.6 Xbox which is what it reads like to me?

I think that must be what you meant as I tried the edits I described to the Skin.ini and used that with both this update and my existing ConfigMagic v1.6 Final on a v1.6 and a v1.2 Xbox to see if this was another v1.6 Xbox issue. I, almost, hoped it was but it seemed not to make any difference.

So precisely how do I use that code you've so helpfully provided to update the value? Presumably it requires some other tool. I have plenty of copies of ConfigMagic so there's no problem finding a fresh XBE to play with. :)

I assume, since you didn't address the font replacement issue, that it can't be easily changed either except by the renaming method I used?
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Rocky5 »

Coldly-Indifferent wrote: Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:23 pm Thanks for the reply.

The CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check - had to look that up): not really understanding but I'll happily take your word on that being the problem.

Did you mean v1.6 ConfigMagic rather than the v1.6 Xbox which is what it reads like to me?

So precisely how do I use that code you've so helpfully provided to update the value? Presumably it requires some other tool. I have plenty of copies of ConfigMagic so there's no problem finding a fresh XBE to play with. :)
v1.6 on xbox v1.6's have this issue.

basically unlock your drive, update your eeprom, load your eeprom and the lock your drive now full power cycle and you will be in 480i mode and all time and language settings will be reset.
Now enter the MSDash and it will ask you to set the language and date timezone.

You need to edit the source code and compile a new build, so requires the source and the XDK and VS2003
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Re: ConfigMagic GTS Mod

Post by Coldly-Indifferent »

Thanks but that sounds like way too much hassle for my taste.

I can live with ConfigMagic's GUI not being quite as good as it could be. However I'm not risking messing around with an eeprom update just to be able to improve the appearance of an app I might only use a handful of times on any particular Xbox, probably less.

Thanks for the info and help.
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