Hard modded XBOX SATA 1 TB upgrade problem

[wchusky]

Hi All,

I hope someone can help me because I been playing around with this last few days and can't seem to get it to work.

I have a hard modded XBOX. I just flashed it using Slayer 3.7 to BIOS M8+ 16 07 for the E and F drive partitions. Currently, it has a 250 GB Hitachi IDE drive and it is working fine.

I am trying to update to 1 TB Western Digital SATA drive. The model is WD1002FBYS WD RE3 drive. I checked the XBOX HDD compatibility list and someone got this working once so I am assuming this drive is good.

I have tried 3 different SATA to IDE converter including the Sabrient one everyone seems to agree on. So far, I have no luck. Here is all the tests I did:

1. I did not touch any jumper on the WD SATA 1 TB.
2. I configured the SATA to IDE converter to SLAVE since the Hitachi (currently in the box) is set to master. I do this via the jumpers on the SATA to IDE converter.
3. I boot up Slayer 3.7 disc
4. Run CHIMP 2.6 from HDD (option 7B)
5. I run Scan IDE drives and it recognizes Hitachi as /dev/hda and Phillips DVD reader as /dev/hdb
6. WD drive is being powered by another XBOX's power cable. I also tried using a Y power splitter and the result is the same.
7. I took the IDE cable from the DVD on the XBOX and plugged it into the SATA to IDE converter.
8. I do an IDE scan again and it does not seem to see the new drive. It still sees Hitachi 250 GB as /dev/hda and Phillips DVD as /dev/hdb
9. I do scan master on the CHIMP and it sees Hitachi 250 GB. I do a scan slave on CHIMP and it recognizes WD 1 TB drive.
10. I tried option 2 on CHIMP to clone MASTER to SLAVE and nothing happens. Screen just comes back to the main menu.

I also have an Hitachi 1 TB that I run the same procedure above over with the same result.

I also tried to make the WD 1 TB master, unplugged the Hitachi 250 GB, plugged the IDE cable into WD 1 TB directly, and boot. The XBOX would give that SERVICE NEEDED screen so for some reason it does not see the WD 1 TB as a XBOX drive.


Is there another BIOS I can flash to make this work? Why can't CHIMP scan IDE device see both drives? I don't have a problem if I plugged in another IDE drive with this hot swap method.

Please help and let me know if there is something else I should try.

Thanks!

[Rocky5]

See before you load up Chimp take out the DVD IDE & plug it into the slave HDD, then press (A)

Your meant to swap the HDD before the gentoox loader appears or it loads the linux distro.

[wchusky]

See before you load up Chimp take out the DVD IDE & plug it into the slave HDD, then press (A)

Your meant to swap the HDD before the gentoox loader appears or it loads the linux distro.

You are a life saver! That did the trick. You have to unplug the IDE cable from the DVD right before you launch Chimp off the HDD. Now Chimp sees the second drive. However, when I tried to clone it, I am getting "drive not ready for command" error all over the screen. Does this has something to do with the SATA IDE converter or is this another problem I am unaware of.

Update: It seems the drive not ready for command error was due to second XBOX I am using to power the new 1 TB HDD. The second XBOX would time out and power off, which probably caused the error. I used a Y splitter power cable to power the second drive and it is cloning now as I am typing this. It says it will take 4 hours. I will report back if it is successful or not.

Thanks again for the help.

[Rocky5]

No problem hit the thanks button

[wchusky]

No problem hit the thanks button

I thanked you for the advice.

FYI, the drive cloned successfully. After the clone process, I did the following:

1. Shut the system down.
2. Changed the DIP switch on the SATA IDE converter to MASTER.
3, Reboot

Unfortunately, new drive does not boot. I get that SERVICE screen error.

Changed the dip to CABLE SELECT or SLAVE, I get the same SERVICE screen error screen.

Changed back to original 250 GB HDD, it boots fine.

Any other advice to get the WD 1 TB to boot properly? Is there something else missing?

Thanks in advance.

[Rocky5]

Try locking the drive with chimp, set it as a slave & then use the option to lock slave drive.

I know your hard modded so unlocked drives should boot, but you never know.

I also assume your using an 80 wire IDE cable?

Also what error screen is it? (Number)

[wchusky]

Try locking the drive with chimp, set it as a slave & then use the option to lock slave drive.

I know your hard modded so unlocked drives should boot, but you never know.

I also assume your using an 80 wire IDE cable?

Also what error screen is it? (Number)

There are some jumper settings on the drive, I have tried to set them but they don't seem to make any difference. See http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/det ... 335#jumper

I am using the same IDE cable that's on the original XBOX. I am assuming that's 80 wire IDE cable?

I have tried to go into Chimp to lock use the motherboard option. After locking, I went into check slave drive security status but it shows it is not locked. Not sure what can I do to get the thing locked.

Drive is still booting up to the service screen. Very strange.

My current drive is huge so it takes a long time to clone. I will rebuild a smaller drive to see if I can get this thing cloned and boot up. I will report back once I try this.

Any other suggestions?

[wchusky]

Just tried to do the same thing with a Hitachi Ultrastar 1 TB Model HUA721010KLA330 and same thing happened. I was able to clone the drive but when I tried to boot off it, I get the nasty service screen. For whatever reason, I guess this thing just does not like the SATA to IDE converter with a 1 TB drive.

[Rocky5]

For sata adapters to work with the xbox you need to use a 80wire IDE cable, the original one that's in the xbox is only a 40 wire & isn't adequate. You will run into issues as your are already.

ATA-100 or more is what you want, there cheap as chips.

[clay.r.08]

i have only seen 1 hard modded xbox, i guy brought it to me, he told me must of accidently erased something that made it stop booting

the xbox was not booting so i could not tell it to back up epprom from his motherboard so i took out the hard drive and and hot swapped it to my xbox or thought that i hot swapped it, anyways i remember i was able to see the hard drive from my computer thru FTP filezilla, and i remember there was no epprom or backup info about that time i started to relised the customers xbox must have a chip inside and this must be because of the mod chip

he had a 500gb but i ended up just cloning my 320gb to it and it worked, and i gave it back to the guy and he was happy

that is the only experience i have with chipped original Xboxes

about jumper settings on hard drives i have only used ide 320gb's, i always leave them on cable select when using them for xbox, only time i would change it, is to change it to master for hd maker on my old computer but it has been so long ago since i used hd maker i might of just been leaving the setting on cable select


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I just learned about other people using ata 80 pin cables, now there is something called ata 100 ?
http://www.mp3car.com/general-hardware- ... cable.html
i read part of that thread, i am left wondering if the number 100 just has something to do with speed

I was just posting in the SATA Adaptor Compatibility thread
http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... f=13&t=612

I saw that another person had problems with the same sata/ide adapter I had problems with 1 year ago the first and last time I tried messing with ide to sata for xbox

then I saw another guy mentioning a different sata/ide adapter that worked good for him but it was big, I ended up buying one instead of messing with my same old sata/ide adapter again and i will have it in a few days

if i have to start buying 80 pin cables than i will but i am trying to go the cheapest way, i plan on buying and selling many Xboxes just trying to find the cheapest way first

[wchusky]

For sata adapters to work with the xbox you need to use a 80wire IDE cable, the original one that's in the xbox is only a 40 wire & isn't adequate. You will run into issues as your are already.

ATA-100 or more is what you want, there cheap as chips.

Rocky5 - Thanks again for the great tip. The 80 pin IDE cable was the issue. I was able to connect the 80 pin and whoa now my 1 TB is booting fine.

I flashed my XBOX using Slayer 3.3.7 to M8+ 16.67 so I can access the G drive. I also used Slayer to install apps and emulators onto the HDD.

Here is the problem, when I booted up hard modded XBOX with Unleashed X, I was not seeing all the files on F drive. I used CHIMP to prepare the extended HDD partition on the 1 TB and was able to see the 822 GB on it.

However, the problem is now when I copy files onto the G drive (822 GB), files would disappear and Unleashed X file explorer see it first and then it does not see it anymore. I copied about 150 GB of data onto G and Unleashed X seem to think they are in use with now about 622 GB free, but I can't see any of the files on the partition.

Am I doing something wrong with the extended partition for G and F? How do I get it to work properly? Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

[wchusky]

i have only seen 1 hard modded xbox, i guy brought it to me, he told me must of accidently erased something that made it stop booting

the xbox was not booting so i could not tell it to back up epprom from his motherboard so i took out the hard drive and and hot swapped it to my xbox or thought that i hot swapped it, anyways i remember i was able to see the hard drive from my computer thru FTP filezilla, and i remember there was no epprom or backup info about that time i started to relised the customers xbox must have a chip inside and this must be because of the mod chip

he had a 500gb but i ended up just cloning my 320gb to it and it worked, and i gave it back to the guy and he was happy

that is the only experience i have with chipped original Xboxes

about jumper settings on hard drives i have only used ide 320gb's, i always leave them on cable select when using them for xbox, only time i would change it, is to change it to master for hd maker on my old computer but it has been so long ago since i used hd maker i might of just been leaving the setting on cable select


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I just learned about other people using ata 80 pin cables, now there is something called ata 100 ?
http://www.mp3car.com/general-hardware- ... cable.html
i read part of that thread, i am left wondering if the number 100 just has something to do with speed

I was just posting in the SATA Adaptor Compatibility thread
http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... f=13&t=612

I saw that another person had problems with the same sata/ide adapter I had problems with 1 year ago the first and last time I tried messing with ide to sata for xbox

then I saw another guy mentioning a different sata/ide adapter that worked good for him but it was big, I ended up buying one instead of messing with my same old sata/ide adapter again and i will have it in a few days

if i have to start buying 80 pin cables than i will but i am trying to go the cheapest way, i plan on buying and selling many Xboxes just trying to find the cheapest way first

I am assuming that Sata to IDE adapter is a bad idea? Just stick with IDE drives? What is the maximum size for IDE drives? 500 GB? To go beyond that, you almost have no choice but go SATA to IDE. I am able to get the 1 TB to boot now with the SATA to IDE, but now I am having problems finding files on it with unleashed X.

[wchusky]

I have used XBPartitioner 1.3 to put all 900 GB on F drive. It seems ok so far. I am dumping huge amount of files onto it as I am typing this. Hopefully, I won't run into all the issues like I did earlier. I will report back once the files are moved over.

[bigkidoz]

Original xbox ide cable is fine for most drive / adapter combinations, stock cable with seagate 2tb hdd working fine for over 2 years.
I prefer to build a new drive than clone the old one, gets rid of any clutter you may have.

[unimatrix725]

I just learned about other people using ata 80 pin cables, now there is something called ata 100 ?
http://www.mp3car.com/general-hardware- ... cable.html
i read part of that thread, i am left wondering if the number 100 just has something to do with speed

I was just posting in the SATA Adaptor Compatibility thread
http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... f=13&t=612

I saw that another person had problems with the same sata/ide adapter I had problems with 1 year ago the first and last time I tried messing with ide to sata for xbox

then I saw another guy mentioning a different sata/ide adapter that worked good for him but it was big, I ended up buying one instead of messing with my same old sata/ide adapter again and i will have it in a few days

if i have to start buying 80 pin cables than i will but i am trying to go the cheapest way, i plan on buying and selling many Xboxes just trying to find the cheapest way first

I would not worry about ATA100. That is a drive Specification for speeds. Not the number of pins in a IDE cable. AFAIK there are 40 or 80pins. Everything you need to know and more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA

I have used XBPartitioner 1.3 to put all 900 GB on F drive. It seems ok so far. I am dumping huge amount of files onto it as I am typing this. Hopefully, I won't run into all the issues like I did earlier. I will report back once the files are moved over.

I don't know where my old acct went, but anyways Internet been out for 2 days. Glad you got it working!

I have a soft-modded xbox. I used Xbox Deluxe Installer via Mech-Assualt Linux exploit. I use Avalanche? or Avalaunch Dash? I always give the bulk of my space to the F drive. That was the solution I was going to recommend, but you figured it out. I cannot recall what all the partitions were originally for probably just proprietary M$ crap.

How well is the system running and is there any difference in Speed? Which adapter did you settle on? I am asking as I am considering upgrading as well.

I freaked out about a week ago, when powering my bedroom unit on. I saw the dreaded service screen. Yanked the case off and started looking about. I found out it was a short in the hd power cable on the unit. I twisted and taped it. lol I have a WD320GB drive currently. I was wandering about the SATA->IDE stuff. Large IDE drives are still expensive! Thought they would go down, but its like DDR2 RAM! I am debating forking out the $ for a Adapter &drive, or just getting a Remote & BCM70015 card for the MacMini. I would definately install XBMC linux on it too.
The biggest thing i can think of other than costs is that I would actually be able to use my Amazon Prime Streaming in the bedroom as well as having a fully working computer. I hope that this new Beta I am installing has a option for it or at least fixes bluecop repo plugin? That would require me to also "Take Back" moms monitor, as Id have to move my 26"Vizio LED to bedroom. I have not found a cheap alternative to hook the mini to a crt either. I love my old crt tube tv 20", swear the quality cant be beat! As it stands I have a RCA 2 Coax box in there now for the xbox. I got one of those Xbox Advanced HD AV Packs, but is useless really. The surround sound is on its last legs also. A 60$ investment from Walmart @least 8yrs old. I got the xbox @ a pawn shop about a year before the sound system. It is the BEST 50$ I ever spent! Thanks to XBMC4XBOX.

[xman]

Original xbox ide cable is fine for most drive / adapter combinations, stock cable with seagate 2tb hdd working fine for over 2 years.
I prefer to build a new drive than clone the old one, gets rid of any clutter you may have.

Same combo I have always used and never had an issue until I tried using NO DVDplayer with a NO DVDplayer bios. This machine with NO DVDplayer is still running perfectly today once I added a DVD board to fool the thing into thinking it still had a DVDplayer in it. I have done about 6 machines of these machines since, both 1 and 2TB in size with no DVDplayers since and probably twice as many using a DVDplayer in them and they are all using the original 40 wire stock XBox cable. I think if the 80 wire cable is required, it is an adapter issue that is requiring it. One of our very long term mods, HeimDall, tested these cables in a straight up 40 wire VS 80 wire in a very exhaustive set of tests to actually see if there was any difference in boot times or performance improvements and come to the conclusion there definitely was not.

[Rocky5]

The 40 vs 80 wire is due to the adapter, not the Xbox, every adapter I have got works with the 40 wire as long as I don't have the DVD drive plugged in, as soon as I plug it in, it boots fine but it stops reading discs & the drive sounds like its dying make horrid noises when a disc is inserted. Replace it with an 80 wire & no such issue, works like it should.

Now most sata adapters will tell you in the description what ATA speed there compatible with & most modern ones are ATA-100+ Also look for LBA48 support for full compatibility, some don't work with HDDs over 500GBs.

This adapter is the best one I have purchased, its so good I bought 6 lol just in case they change something & it doesn't work the same.
http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... =40#p22734

[spicemuseum]

i have only seen 1 hard modded xbox, i guy brought it to me, he told me must of accidently erased something that made it stop booting

the xbox was not booting so i could not tell it to back up epprom from his motherboard so i took out the hard drive and and hot swapped it to my xbox or thought that i hot swapped it, anyways i remember i was able to see the hard drive from my computer thru FTP filezilla, and i remember there was no epprom or backup info about that time i started to relised the customers xbox must have a chip inside and this must be because of the mod chip

he had a 500gb but i ended up just cloning my 320gb to it and it worked, and i gave it back to the guy and he was happy

that is the only experience i have with chipped original Xboxes

about jumper settings on hard drives i have only used ide 320gb's, i always leave them on cable select when using them for xbox, only time i would change it, is to change it to master for hd maker on my old computer but it has been so long ago since i used hd maker i might of just been leaving the setting on cable select


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I just learned about other people using ata 80 pin cables, now there is something called ata 100 ?
http://www.mp3car.com/general-hardware- ... cable.html
i read part of that thread, i am left wondering if the number 100 just has something to do with speed

I was just posting in the SATA Adaptor Compatibility thread
http://www.xbmc4xbox.org.uk/forum/viewt ... f=13&t=612

I saw that another person had problems with the same sata/ide adapter I had problems with 1 year ago the first and last time I tried messing with ide to sata for xbox

then I saw another guy mentioning a different sata/ide adapter that worked good for him but it was big, I ended up buying one instead of messing with my same old sata/ide adapter again and i will have it in a few days

if i have to start buying 80 pin cables than i will but i am trying to go the cheapest way, i plan on buying and selling many Xboxes just trying to find the cheapest way first

I am assuming that Sata to IDE adapter is a bad idea? Just stick with IDE drives? What is the maximum size for IDE drives? 500 GB?

750. Some adaptors work quite well, but for reliability (esp. during booting) I always use original IDE drives.

[PaulGT4RC]

For sata adapters to work with the xbox you need to use a 80wire IDE cable, the original one that's in the xbox is only a 40 wire & isn't adequate. You will run into issues as your are already.

ATA-100 or more is what you want, there cheap as chips.

Rocky5, just signed up to thank you!

I've spent the last two evenings battling to clone a soft modded hard drive to a new SATA and faced nothing but problems. I've done plenty of IDE drives both soft modded and chip over the past 12 years but never installed a SATA.

Chimp not seeing drive - changed jumper on IDE to SATA adapter to slave.. sussed that one!

Slow copying and when it did copy I was getting error 13!

I tried three different ide adaptors and several attempts at cloning the drive, as well as trying a different SATA drive.. But getting error 13 every time!!

So after a bit of Googling I found this thread and your comment on using an 80 wire IDE cable.. well I plugged one of those bad boys in and bam!! All sorted! Both drives working a treat!

Thanks!