PBL with a TSOP Flashed XBOX

[mwaterbu]

Hi, I have a 1.4 XBOX with my TSOP flashed with X2 4981. Newer versions are unsupported since they are too big for a TSOP flash (TSOP is only 256k).
However, I want to be able to use X2 5035, and was thinking Phoenix Bios Loader is the way to do this, but I don't really know much about it.
From what I have read, I can load any bios from my HDD with this tool.
Hoping someone here can elaborate on its use.

Will I be able to do this with my setup (TSOP 4981 loading 5035)?
How does this work? Can I make it load the 5035 bios as soon as my XBOX starts (similar to what a softmod does)?
Do custom bios configs work when I do this (loading from x2config.ini)?

Thank you for the help!

[Heimdall]

Hi, I have a 1.4 XBOX with my TSOP flashed with X2 4981. Newer versions are unsupported since they are too big for a TSOP flash (TSOP is only 256k).

Nonsense. iND-BIOS.5003 and Evox M8+ are both newer and both 256k.

Why do you want to run X2.5035?

[mwaterbu]

Hi, I have a 1.4 XBOX with my TSOP flashed with X2 4981. Newer versions are unsupported since they are too big for a TSOP flash (TSOP is only 256k).

Nonsense. iND-BIOS.5003 and Evox M8+ are both newer and both 256k.

Why do you want to run X2.5035?

I was talking about newer X2 versions. Technically, there is 4983, but it really doesn't matter since I want to use 5035.

5035 is pretty customisable and I wouldn't have to reflash to make changes since it uses a config.ini file.

[Heimdall]

iND-BIOS.5003 also uses a config file. It's worth a look.

You should avoid X2.4983 - it can't be edited, and it doesn't support an on-disk partition table.

If you want to use PBL then it's really easy. Grab metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1.zip (from the usual places). Make a copy of your current dash .xbe, in the same location as your current dash, but with a different name - I used root.xbe. Extract metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1.zip to your PC, and use evtool (the version from the metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1.zip pack) to edit the Metoo-M8plus_16-06.bin BIOS so that the first entry in "Boot Partitions And Executables" points to the root.xbe you just created, and save the BIOS. Copy

boot.cfg
default.xbe
Metoo-M8plus_16-06.bin (the one you just edited)

to a temporary directory on your Xbox, and run default.xbe. It should load your temporary dash.

Once you've done that you just need to find a BFM version of X2.5035. I'm not at home at the moment, so can't confirm if one exists, but a bit of searching on Xbins should help you. If you find one, put it in your temporary folder, edit PBL's boot.cfg to point to the X2.5035 BIOS, and put x2config.ini on the root of your E:\ partition, edited to point to your temporary dash.

Once it's all working you put your preferred dash in a new location, edit x2config.ini to point to this new location, then move the three PBL files to the location of your current dash, renaming the xbe to have the same name as your current dash.

BUT, before you do any of this, make sure that you have a reliable, working boot/rescue disc that gives you FTP access, so you can recover if anything goes wrong.

[mwaterbu]

iND-BIOS.5003 also uses a config file. It's worth a look.

You should avoid X2.4983 - it can't be edited, and it doesn't support an on-disk partition table.

If you want to use PBL then it's really easy. Grab metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1.zip (from the usual places). Make a copy of your current dash .xbe, in the same location as your current dash, but with a different name - I used root.xbe. Extract metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1.zip to your PC, and use evtool (the version from the metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1.zip pack) to edit the Metoo-M8plus_16-06.bin BIOS so that the first entry in "Boot Partitions And Executables" points to the root.xbe you just created, and save the BIOS. Copy

boot.cfg
default.xbe
Metoo-M8plus_16-06.bin (the one you just edited)

to a temporary directory on your Xbox, and run default.xbe. It should load your temporary dash.

Once you've done that you just need to find a BFM version of X2.5035. I'm not at home at the moment, so can't confirm if one exists, but a bit of searching on Xbins should help you. If you find one, put it in your temporary folder, edit PBL's boot.cfg to point to the X2.5035 BIOS, and put x2config.ini on the root of your E:\ partition, edited to point to your temporary dash.

Once it's all working you put your preferred dash in a new location, edit x2config.ini to point to this new location, then move the three PBL files to the location of your current dash, renaming the xbe to have the same name as your current dash.

BUT, before you do any of this, make sure that you have a reliable, working boot/rescue disc that gives you FTP access, so you can recover if anything goes wrong.

I did use iND-BIOS for a while, and i really liked how much it could be customised. It had the most options I have seen out of a lot of bios's, and it was small enough for a TSOP, but the bugs in the latest version just wouldn't cut it for me. I want something stable. Unfortunately, that bios will just turn off my XBOX when I press Back+White...

Right, I decided against 4983 for those reasons. While 4981 is older, it is stable, and could be easily edited, which is why I stayed with it. But I would like to be able to try other bios's (mostly 5035 so PBL sounds cool).

Thanks a ton for the detailed info on how to do this! I won't be able to test for a couple days as my Xbox is in storage, but when I do I will post back here. You rock lol.
I did a quick look, but wasn't able to tell if 5035 can BFM. I will look some more though. Once I run this, how can I tell which bios is running (to check if it worked)? XBMC can read the bios, but I think it only gives the bios on the actual chip, not the one in memory.
Last question, any reason you chose that version of PBL? I have seen so many versions out there. I found PBL-lite, PBL 1.4.1, easy PBL, etc. Not a big deal, just wondering.

[Heimdall]

I can't remember if BIOS detectors check the running BIOS or the one on the chip. However, the easiest way to tell is during testing. Just temporarily point x2config.ini to a completely different dash (e.g. evox), and set it to change the LED colour. If Evox runs and the LED changes colour then you know that X2.5035 is running, if not then you know that PBL has had a problem and just restarted your original dash.

I chose that version of PBL because I know it works! I think it's also the version used on Frosty's Rescue Disc and HeXEn, but I can't check at the moment.

Yes, the black+white reset bug in iND-BIOS.5003 is a real shame, because apart from that I never found any real problems with it.

[mwaterbu]

I can't remember if BIOS detectors check the running BIOS or the one on the chip. However, the easiest way to tell is during testing. Just temporarily point x2config.ini to a completely different dash (e.g. evox), and set it to change the LED colour. If Evox runs and the LED changes colour then you know that X2.5035 is running, if not then you know that PBL has had a problem and just restarted your original dash.

I chose that version of PBL because I know it works! I think it's also the version used on Frosty's Rescue Disc and HeXEn, but I can't check at the moment.

Yes, the black+white reset bug in iND-BIOS.5003 is a real shame, because apart from that I never found any real problems with it.

That is a very good way to check! Thanks!

[mwaterbu]

Is there something special I need to do to make this tool work? I just get a black screen when I try to launch it...
It is just running from E:\pbl with no changes to my boot xbe files yet because I just wanted to make sure it would launch, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Edit: to clarify, I am running the metoo edition with the included m8+ bios. I also tried adding my eeprom key, although it said it wasn't necessary.

Edit 2: I turned on the debug log and here is the output

Code: Select all

Phoenix Bios Loader - The Metoo Edition
Loading Rom: \Device\Harddisk0\Partition1\metoo-m8plus-v1.4.1\Metoo-M8plus_16-06.bin
Setting video
 * Keeping current screen
 * No saved data, so blanking screen instead.
Metoo BFM 2bl footer detected
Allocate 2bl mem
Copying 2bl
Patching kernel param string
Parameter string: " /SHADOW /HDBOOT"
Calculating 2bl entry point
Calling 2bl:
 * EntryPoint2BL 804035b0
 * PhysicalRomPos 02f01000

[mwaterbu]

Bump?

Would love to get this working...thanks guys!