Hi guys. I have an opportunity to get a low cost Xbox and i thought about throwing in a modchip and NetBSD, but there seems to be little or no info about it. Does anyone know about it? Thanks in advance!
I'm just curious, but why are you trying to run NetBSD on an original Xbox specifically? I unfortunately don't have any information other than what's easily pulled up on Google, which I assume you've already looked through. A quick search on xbins for "netbsd" didn't pull up anything. I ran Debian on my Xbox briefly, but the hardware is so dated I didn't see a point in doing anything with it. Just seems more efficient to get a cheap PC if you plan on using it as a file server or similar.
Well, NetBSD should be faster than Debian, since it's a stripped down *nix system, and it should run pretty fast. It's not in xbin form. It uses a custom kernel which the Xbox is assumed to load at startup... The binaries are the i386 standard ones afaik. I'm a retrocomputer collector and i love Unix... i thought i could merge retrocomputers and consoles, things i both love.
Perhaps there was a miscommunication...The speed would not be a problem, just the practicality of it. I understand that you enjoy retro-computing though, and I do as well. No further explanation necessary.When I referred to xbins, I did not mean some type of file format. Xbins is where people from "the scene" used to go to acquire XBOX software. As far as I know the site only carries NFO files now. I haven't done this sort of thing in years so there may be somewhere else you can look. Sorry I can't be of more help. Best of luck to you.
That won't be practical maybe, but it's still better than some setups i have in my room ^^, and it will be a great challenge to me. I mainly collect workstations, and to me it seems that the Xbox is a capable i386 system, and if NetBSD runs on it, the question is not "Why?" but "Why not?" Sorry for Xbins, i thought it was some kind of executable binary or such. That means i'm a total newbie to the Xbox world, of course. I'll try to figure out something, and i'll report here if i succeed in running BSD on the Xbox! Thanks!
ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/jmcneill/xbox/ That's a start. You'll need Cromwell to boot it, either as a bios or xbe if you don't want to flash your modchip. I suggest you start using cromwell's xbe and then move to bios if you want a faster boot into NetBSD. Cromwell cannot boot Xbox executable btw.
Thanks! I'd prefer not to flash my modchip, so i'll stick with xbe. What's the best chip out there? Also, do i have any hard drive limitation? I wanted to convert an old USB hub to Xbox controller port, can i put the entire hub on one port or i'll need to put just one USB for Xbox port? Afaik it's pretty easy to make an adapter, so my only concern is the Xbox connector. I'd love not to make a permanent mod, so i can revert the box to its original state.
I'd have to say mine once it's released but SmartXX chips are great. Note that finding modchips other than Aladdin XT or DuoX3 will require you to check BST sections of Xbox enthusiast forums. 2TB is the max you can fit without wasting space. You'll need a SATA-IDE adapter and not all combination of drive+adapter will work. There are multiple places on the internet where it is discussed (check Xbmc4Xbox forums for a start.) Plugging a USB hub into a controller port will work just as intended in linux/netBSD. I don't know how it's going to be handled in Cromwell. Note that Xbox controller ports are USB1.1 so make sure the hub you use supports it. Also, don't cascade multiple hubs (a hub plugged in a hub); it tends to not work well(MCPX limitation again) so do not use keyboards or devices that integrates USB sockets to plug things into.
Can i preorder it? ^^ I can beta test if you want, when is it going to be released? i'll stick with 60-200gb IDE, that's enough for me. Sure. Thanks for the info! It's better if the alimentation is external, right?
Sorry, no preorder. I'm not close enough to a release. Also, about the USB hub, externally powered is good but the Xbox supplies enough current for most USB peripherals. Maybe a HDD or high-power wifi adapter.
I should get my box soon! That's a pity... And that's good! So what other chip can i use to boot HDD backups and an OS?
Any one should do it - The important bit is the BIOS you flash on it. There's a handful that need more space than some chips have available, but if you just want to run unsigned code I believe you don't need to care about those.
Nice, so can I get that cheapo Aladdin from Bad_Ad64 and wait for bennydiamond to release its own? Yes, my biggest purpose is to run unsigned code and to put in a ~120GB HDD without TSOP mod, if possible.
My Xbox arrived! I've decided not to use a modchip but just to softmod the Box. Any advice on what firmware to use ecc.?
