Mod chip help with Debug

I tried a year or so to install a X3 mod chip to my debug and it would not boot. Do modchips not work on debugs? I am guessing that it might have to do with the MCPX 2 and not a 3.

I wanted to install the X3 control panel with LCD panel.

Last question, why did they use the MPCX 2 and not the MPCX 3? What is the difference?

Use the edit button, don't triple post!!

 

The MCPX X2 in debug Xboxes does not have the 512-byte security ROM overlay. Thus, debug systems boot directly from the high 512 bytes of flash.

I've gotten mod chips to work on debug Xboxes - to do it, you need to modify the firmware to have a copy of the MCPX X3 security ROM in the high 512 bytes. Either the v1.0 or v1.1 MCPX ROMs will likely work, unless the firmware in question is only designed for one or the other. If the mod chip has its own boot UI, that's the firmware you'll have to modify. With this modification, the debug Xbox will then boot very much like a retail system.

If the mod chip doesn't have its own Xbox firmware and instead just overrides the TSOP, then you can just use any debug firmware, provided the chip supports 512 KB or 1 MB images.

There are other caveats to this, though. The EEPROM key is inside the encrypted 2BL. Mod chips with their own firmware might only understand the retail EEPROM key, and thus in some situations may be unable to unlock the hard drive. But you shouldn't need to lock the hard drive to use a debug firmware, anyway.

What are you trying to do?

 

I wanted to have the debug totally stock with the X3 installed. This way only when I enable the chip I can run any bios that I want to and then slip back into total stock mode.

 

Does the X3 have its own user interface when you boot an Xbox with an X3? I'm wondering whether it has its own Xbox-side firmware like the SmartXX menu does.

 

Yes it does, while holding down WHITE. It has an EVOX like menu called "Config Live"...

 

The easiest way to get these firmwares working on a debug kit is to patch the high 512 bytes to be a copy of the retail 1.0 or 1.1 MCPX ROM. However, if the firmware is encrypted to try to prevent cloning, that could be difficult.

 

There's an unlock X3 bios hanging around on eurasia.

 

Doing the same thing here, but with chip disabled at the moment.
Any further info appreciated.

 

By "high 512 bytes", I mean the last 512 bytes of the firmware. This is because the last 512 bytes get loaded at the highest addresses in memory, FFFFFE00-FFFFFFFF.

I don't know what the X3 firmware looks like, so I have no idea whether the X3 firmware is encrypted in a way that'd interfere with replacing its MCPX ROM ...underlay, I suppose you could call it.

 

I'm trying to modchip a Chihiro mobo with an MCPX X2. The only chip I have to work with is a 256KB unit...is there such a thing as a "real" debug 256K bios? If not, can anyone who posted point me towards a bios that will work?

Myria, I think I understand what you're saying but I'm not smart enough to roll my own bios.

 

You can try this.

http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo1172.nfo

Don't know if it will work.

 

"Yoshihiro debug bios 256k Kernel 2005"

Thanks for the suggestion, I just tried it...it didn't work on the MCPX X2 motherboard but works fine on my retail (MCPX X3) xbox.

Has anyone else with a debug box tried this BIOS and did it work? In reading the nfo I'm unclear on whether it's meant for retail units (to make them act like debugs) or whether it is a multiBIOS that can run on either retails or debugs.

 

Its for retails to run as a "debug"

 

Bad_Ad84: Thanks, that explains that.

Myria: I've doing the above in about 100 different ways and I still just get FRAG. Mostly I've been working with 4981, converting with XBtool to different versions (1.0, 1.1, debug, etc), and even tried embedding a retail eeprom and still nothing working.