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Linux On Unmodded Xbox, Improved
An anonymous reader writes "It looks like pSyCo from XEmulation.com Has found a way to boot Xbox Linux Live on an unmodified Xbox with nothing but an Xbox and Linux PC (no memory card of any kind, etc). Also a guide to using this method to flash your Xbox's onboard TSOP with the bios of choice, making the Xbox modded without an actual mod-chip. $5 to rent 007 to mod my xbox sounds nice =) Check it out at: XEmulation.net Forum or XboxHacker.net BBS. *Wonder what the DMCA would think about this...*" This builds on the "007"-based method discussed earlier. Update: 04/15 01:11 GMT by T : XEmulation.com, not .net. Sorry.
I think the first link should read Xemulation.com and point there, too.
C'mon editors - don't you check your stories and links before you post?
[Connection closed by foreign host]
SAVE THEIR SERVERS: Ok, I've never written a tutorial of any kind in my life... so if this is posted anywhere, you can edit it (to a point ... keep the main writing.. but adding photo's, etc are fine by me,
just give me a lil credit) And with that said .. I'll start...
/usr/src and
extract. This should leave you with a folder named "linux-2.4.20".
Next, get the "Kernel" folder from the Xbox-Linux team's CVS
*sourceforge tells you how to get on their CVS server... just user
kernel as the module name*. After doing so, move the contents of the
"kernel" folder to the "linux-2.4.20" folder.
... but seriously, if something goes wrong here, you can
be left with a bunk HD if you don't have a backup!*
/mnt (I used /mnt/xbox myself). Now, look
in the /dev folder, you should see "hda50 hda51 hda52 hda53, etc..."
*it may not be hda, it could be hdb, hdc, or hdd...*. After seeing what
block device it is, type this command into console" /dev/hda50 /mnt/xbox" ... if it works, you will see
no error message. Go into the folder in which you mounted the partition
to, and guess what! You should see TDATA and UDATA folders!
This tutorial will explain how to go about mounting your Xbox HD's game save partition under Linux on a PC, in order to get habibi_xbox's 007:Agent Under Fire game save along with raincoat and your bios of choice onto the Xbox's HD, eliminating the need for a Mega-X-Key!
What you'll need:
Xbox
PC running Linux (distro of choice)
Linux kernel 2.4.20 source ( http://www.kernel.org )
"Kernel" folder from xbox-linux's CVS ( http://xbox-linux.sf.net)
007: Agent Under Fire retail DVD
Soldering Iron + Solder (and torx screw drivers)
*Warning... i installed a fresh copy of Slackware Linux on an old PC just to do this, following this tutorial can cripple your linux system if you don't revert back to your old kernel... or compile a new one... unless you know what your doing*
1st things 1st! Now you must open up your Xbox *which I don't think I need to explain how to do*, take out the motherboard, and solder the 2x2 jumpers (one's on top, ones on the bottom of the mobo) pictures: http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/tsop.php . Now put everything back together, but leave the case top off, and keep the Xbox near your pc!
Now, download the Linux 2.4.20 kernel source from http://www.kernel.org *look in the archives!*, move the tar.gz or tar.bz2 file to
Go into the linux-2.4.20 folder and read the README.xbox file! Follow it's instructions to the point right before compiling the kernel! Next, run "make xconfig" or "make menuconfig" in console while in the folder. Configure the kernel as you normally would *I assume you have some knowledge about Linux*, remove USB support, and turn off all Xbox specific functions... Make sure to leave FatX support in though! When done, run *without quotes* "make dep ; make modules ; make bzImage ; make modules ; make modules_install ; make install" This will automatically do everything needed. Next, shutdown, and use the Xbox HD swap trick to unlock your Xbox's HD and connect it to your PC (Turn on your pc, wait for it to boot RIGHT BEFORE it gets to your Linux boot loader screen press the Pause / Break button. Turn on Xbox, wait for it to boot to the dash, unplug IDE cable from Xbox, connect an IDE cable from your PC into the Xbox's HD and press any key. Your pc should boot as normal, into Linux... except now it see's your Xbox's HD!
*NOW, BACK UP YOUR XBOX HD! MAKE AN IMAGE FILE OF THE HD!!! I don't know the command do to so under linux, but I used HDD Driver under windows to do it
Now, make a new folder in
mount -t fatx
that you still can't use the xbox to play unsigned code without modifying it. So yeah you can boot linux, but I can't just bring some software I wrote over to my friend's house and pop it in and show him. He needs to have it modded which is still a big problem.
NJ Local Music Scene
No, you misunderstand.
You can run Linux without flashing the TSOP.
You flash the TSOP so you can put on the hacked BIOS to play pirated (excuse me, "legitimate backups").
The BIOS is write protected, and can be made flashable by bridging a couple of solder points. This wont be overcome with any sort of sofware trick or backdoor. The BIOS just aint writable.
Of course, all you budding warez kiddies (excuse me again, Linux enthusiasts) need know that if you leave it bridged, your bios can be flashed at any time, like say from some joker who puts bios-destroying code in a file called "Halo 2.ISO" and uploads it to your favorite gene6 ftp.
If all you want to do is run linux, all you need is a copy of 007, and do the trick every time. Or, you can flash the linux bios onto the TSOP.
A smart person would realize that constant updates to the TSOP for different linux bootloaders is just asking for trouble. One bad flash and your xbox is a brick. You're much better off getting a mod chip, which required no soldering, or very dead-simple soldering to the LPC points (preferred, the no-solder ones jiggle loose).
Then you can switch it off.
Anyways. Dont think the majority of the chatter on these forums is really about running linux. It's about using linux as a "legal" front to getting a hacked bios on the box that allows warezed to be played. There are "fair use" backups, sure. You can use linux, sure. But 99.999999% of the posts on the forums are of the nature of "how do u copy renterd gamez?"
Oh yeah, buy a copy of 007 NOW if you want to do this, as an updated version of the game will no doubt be silently released (if it hasnt been already).
You can do it without modifying it, but you need a memory card to store the code that executes the exploit. Also, the memory card trick works ONLY for running Linux, not other games or Xboxmediaplayer :(
See this link for more.
(Score:-1, Wrong)
Of course, all you budding warez kiddies (excuse me again, Linux enthusiasts) need know that if you leave it bridged, your bios can be flashed at any time, like say from some joker who puts bios-destroying code in a file called "Halo 2.ISO" and uploads it to your favorite gene6 ftp.
So you should unbridge it once you are done with the flash?
Although everyone yells "warez" when they here about something like this, and it's probably true, there are some legitimate uses. Independantly written software is one of them, look at the Dreamcast. Though, yeah, the Dreamcast is well known for allowing copies to run with no mods. I own one, though I don't have any pirated games, I run Linux and other free software on it. I would have to say the PSX was the most popular machine for playing copied games.
--Drunk as in Beer
"Why Xbox Linux?" Well I have a legitimate reason for wanting Linux on an unmodded Xbox.
My Xbox is going back to MS as they have attempted to fix a problem several times and have so far been unsuccessful. This time, they're considering swapping systems for a new one, which I'm fine with except for one thing: Loss of saved games.
They will not just swap drives as it would save them at least 5 minutes of work, so I will lose all of my info on the HD.
With Linux running on my unmodded Xbox, I could possibly FTP the data elsewhere and restore it on the new system. This makes so much sense to me that I wonder why there is no way of doing it by default.
Microsoft's idea is to purchase their Memory Units and backup this way. Problem is, since each Xbox comes with a hard drive, no developer tries to make the smallest possible size save file. I would need several MUs to backup my data. Plus, some files cannot even be copied to a MU which means they cannot be backed up at all.
I hear so many people talking about the TSOP. "the TSOP this," "the tsop that" - TSOP stands for Thin Small Outline Package.
It's just a flash chip. You can get much more than memory in TSOPs.
Why don't people call it what it really is?
How about "the flash chip" or "the firmware chip"?
Desperation is a stinky cologne