Error Codes Explanation Listed here you will find a list of all known error codes that the original Xbox will display along with a brief explanation of what causes the error and typical solutions on how to resolve them. These error codes appear when the Xbox experiences problems during its boot sequence and cannot continue to start. When this happens, an error code will be displayed in the upper left of the screen along with green text over a black background saying "Your Xbox requires service. Please call customer support" in various languages. SATA Adapter Important Note If your Xbox is on the error screen and you're using a SATA to IDE adapter, read the following to save yourself wasted effort. If you're using a SATA to IDE adapter for your hard drive, make sure you're using an 80-wire IDE cable. The Xbox comes with a 40-wire IDE cable so you will need to acquire an 80-wire IDE cable and install it in place of the stock cable for your hard drive to work. This isn't always the case but it is common after changing to a SATA drive. Left: 40-wire cable | Right: 80-wire cable Error Code 02 Problem: EEPROM check failed. This error is triggered by the bootloader and as a result does not display an error code on screen. You will see the Xbox rebooting and flashing red and green lights (FRAG). Cause/Solution: You flashed something wrong or caused a short somewhere on your motherboard (possibly while soldering). If you're using a modchip and you just flashed it, try again using a different BIOS. If you recently did some soldering to your Xbox, check for any stray solder balls that may be present and carefully remove them. Error Code 04 Problem: RAM check failed. This error is triggered by the bootloader and as a result does not display an error code on screen. You will see the Xbox rebooting and flashing red and green lights (FRAG). Cause/Solution: RAM chip failure. This could be from pins on the RAM chip(s) becoming bridged, possibly from an accidental splash of solder or a failed 128MB RAM upgrade. Remember, electrostatic shock can sometimes damage integrated circuit chips like RAM chips, so even if you can't see a problem, the RAM could still be fried. Replacing the RAM chips could be a solution but is risky and time consuming. Error Code 05 Problem: Hard disk drive (HDD) not locked. Cause/Solution: If you have not replaced your Xbox's BIOS via a modchip/TSOP flash, then your HDD needs to be locked using a special password that is generated based on your Xbox's EEPROM, which is unique per each individual Xbox. Microsoft designed it this way to prevent people from being able to plug the drive into a computer and have access to its contents and thus hacking it. Virtually all non-retail BIOSes (including modchip/TSOP) will not require the hard drive to be locked in order to start. If you're seeing this error on a non-retail BIOS, then chances are your modchip/TSOP flash process had issues and for some reason you are now using a stock BIOS which is now requiring a password-locked hard drive again. If you're seeing this error and your Xbox has been softmodded (through gamesave/font/audio expoits), then you just need to lock your drive again. Hopefully you have your EEPROM backed up at this point because if not, things get a lot more complicated. If you unlocked your HDD on the Xbox itself (using ConfigMagic for example), chances are the app you used made a backup of your EEPROM for you and it's now sitting on your E:\ drive called "eeprom.bin" or something similar. You can plug the HDD into a computer at this point and use an Xbox hard drive explorer program like "Xplorer360" (Windows only) to view its files to copy your EEPROM backup. There are multiple ways to lock a HDD, one of which is by using XboxHDM by author ldotsfan. XboxHDM runs on a PC and one of its features is the ability to lock hard drives if you have an EEPROM backup. Choose option "3" from XboxHDM and follow the on-screen instructions to lock the HDD. Error Code 06 Problem: Incorrect hard drive password. Cause/Solution: The hard disk drive (HDD) is locked but it is locked with a password that belongs to a different Xbox. You will need to unlock the HDD and then re-lock it using the correct password. As stated above, each Xbox is locked using a password that is generated based on each Xbox's unique EEPROM. Assuming you have the EEPROM of your Xbox backed up, you will just need to unlock the drive and re-lock it using your EEPROM backup. See the solution for error 05 for more info. Error Code 07 Problem: Hard drive timeout / HDD took too long to become ready. Cause/Solution: The Xbox seems to know the HDD is present but it times-out waiting for the drive to become ready and respond to commands. This is probably due to a loose connection or faulty wire. See the solution for code 08. Note: If you're using a SATA to IDE adapter, it's possible that the adapter you're using is not compatible with the drive you're using or isn't compatible with the Xbox at all. Try another SATA to IDE adapter / HDD combination. Some "green" drives are temperamental with certain SATA adapters. Error Code 08 Problem: No hard drive found. Cause/Solution: The Xbox can't find the hard disk drive (HDD) while booting up. Try the following: Make sure the IDE ribbon cable (flat grey cable) is securely connected to the HDD, the DVD drive, AND the motherboard itself. Check the IDE cable for signs of damage. If the cable looks like it has been scraped or has evidence of any damage then replace it. Check the HDD's power cable and make sure it's securely plugged in. If you can wiggle the HDD power cable around and make the Xbox work at certain times, then the leads coming from the power supply are loose and the power supply should be replaced. Take the HDD out and make sure the jumper is set correctly. There should be a diagram printed on the drive's label that shows how the jumper should be connected. Make sure its set to Cable Select (CS), Master, or isn't present at all. If the drive is set to Slave then you will run into issues! If all other cables are in fact securely connected and not damaged, you can try replacing the IDE cable any way. It's possible that it is damaged in a way that isn't visible and IDE cables are cheap to come by. If all else fails, your hard drive is probably to blame and is faulty and needs to be replaced. Error Code 09 Problem: Hard drive parameters are missing or incorrect. Cause/Solution: Very uncommon error. The hard drive might be in the wrong transfer mode (PIO/DMA) or, if it's a debug console, the size isn't correct (minimum size is required for debug). Replace the hard drive. Error Code 10 Problem: DVD drive timeout. Cause/Solution: Similar to error codes 07 and 08, this is usually caused by a loose/faulty cable. The Xbox seems to know the DVD drive is present but it times-out waiting for the drive to become ready and respond to commands. Check the yellow DVD cable running from the motherboard to the DVD drive. If all else fails, replace the DVD drive. Error Code 11 Problem: No DVD drive found. Cause/Solution: The Xbox cannot find the DVD drive. Similar to error 10, this is usually from a loose/faulty cable. See solutions for error 10. Note: many non-retail BIOSes can configured to skip using a DVD drive entirely. Error Code 12 Problem: DVD drive parameters are missing or incorrect. Cause/Solution: Not very common. Try solutions for error 10. Error Code 13 Problem: Dashboard failed to launch due to missing/bad key, or anything else that would prevent it from running and the dashboard didn't specify why it failed. Cause/Solution: This can be caused by a kernel version issue but is a lot less common in recent years. Make sure you're running the latest kernel. If you're using a softmod, make sure your dashboard and softmod files are installed correctly. You might have luck using SID5 as your softmod installer if you're using something else currently. Error Code 14 Problem: Dashboard failed to launch (generic error). Cause/Solution: Same as error 12 basically. This can also result from changing names of files or messing with files on the HDD without knowing the repercussions. A common cause is from changing the boot orders or names of startup files on the HDD. It can also happen when you are rebuilding your HDD with a Slayer CD and the power was cut. Error Code 16 Problem: Internal clock cannot be set. Cause/Solution: This happens when the Xbox tries to boot to the stock dashboard in order to have you set the current date/time but fails to load the menu. This happens people that erase their HDD or stock dashboard files and afterwards don't immediately install the HDD but instead leave the Xbox without power for longer than 5 hours. The Xbox has capacitors in it that allow it to keep its clock set but it only has enough charge for about 3-5 hours before the clock clears and it asks you to set it again. This used to be a more common problem before people figured out how to get around it in later years. Virtually all modern (made after 2005) softmods and non-retail BIOSes will account for the clock reset problem. To fix this, try putting the stock dashboard back on your HDD's C:\ partition. After the Xbox boots up and is able to set the clock successfully, then you can continue on. If you DON'T have an eeprom backup and can't access the hard drive from a PC to put the stock dashboard back on it, then you can do a hotswap to gain access to the drive and continue with copying the stock dashboard over. Once you fix the issue, update your BIOS or softmod to a more recent version to avoid this in the future. Error Code 20 Problem: Dashboard failed to launch. Cause/Solution: It was a cold boot, and the dashboard didn't specify why it failed, but it needed to be noted that the DVD passed the challenge/response authentication during boot. Error Code 21 Problem: Unspecific/generic error. Cause/Solution: The Xbox was instructed (possibly by an XBE you launched) to reboot the Xbox and display this error. This occurs frequently when the Xbox is unable to boot due to dashboard changes being made (i.e. an XBE hasn't been signed correctly OR parts of the stock dashboard (C:\) are missing. Also, if you're using XbeShortcutMaker and seeing this error code then you might try regenerating the shortcut XBE file as it could be corrupted. Credit: OCnewB [Xbox-Scene forums] & Superfro [Xbox-Scene forums] for compiling the list. deezp1 [Afterdawn forums] for more compiling and organization. GoTeamScotch [xbmc4xbox forums] for clean-up.
This post is based on the famous AfterDawn thread. I've seen this same post from AfterDawn pop up for years now. It's the top result on google for anyone looking for OG Xbox error codes. The post has broken bbcode, spelling/grammatical errors, assumes you're using Slayer/modchips, etc. It's super old now. I've rewritten it and added some insight from my own experiences but I'm sure I've missed a few points. Feel free to reply with corrections.
