A noobs guide to flashing your BIOS
(v0.1)
Tutorial
written
by : Unreal7000
Last edited:
August 22, 2003
Requirements:
-Xbox
with an
installed
mod-chip
- X2,
Matrix,
etc
-XBTool
(here)
-Evo-X
Dashboard
- installed
of course
-BIOS
that you
want -
I used
X2 4976.02
but you
can use
whatever
you want,
can't
tell you
where
to get
it sorry
(X2 4977
is the
latest
at time
of writing
I recommend
getting
that)
-Punching
Bag (Optional)
- Don't
worry
this is
only if
something
goes wrong.
WARNING:
If you
do this
wrong
you could
ruin your
mod-chip.
Neither
I nor
xbox-scene.com
or any
affiliates
are responsible
for the
damages
that could
take place.
Now
that we
got that
out of
the way
we can
get to
the fun
stuff!
This
is the
story
of how
I flashed
my mod-chip
(X2 lite)
from BIOS
X2 4973
to X2
4976.02.
My mod-chip
maybe
different
than yours
so research
is always
your best-friend.
Once
you have
downloaded
your BIOS
(.BIN
format)
you will
want to
open it
up in
XBTool.
First
thing
that you
will want
to do
is verify
the BIOS
MD5. This
is located
at the
top of
the program.
To do
this look
go to
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?act=ST&f=38&t=43437
see if
the BIOS
you are
using
has the
same numbers
and letters
as the
one on
that site(I
think
they're
HEX).
So lets
say you
have a
virgin
1MB X2
4976.02
BIOS,
make sure
the hash
marks
are identical
(usually
if the
first
5 or 6
numbers
match
then your
golden,
but just
make sure
they all
match).
From here
you are
free to
change
the colors
or remove
animation
etc in
XBtools.
These
are completely
optional
and I
recommend
NOT doing
these
options
the first
time,
unless
you just
really
want to.
Its your
own funeral.
If you
are making
NO changes
(Means
BIOS is
the correct
SIZE and
everything)
then you
dont need
to save
it.
Once
you have
made the
wanted
changes
make sure
you match
the "file
size"
with the
maximum
that your
mod-chip
supports.
Example:
The X2
comes
with a
1MB BIOS.
But the
Matrix
comes
with 256K.
You can
see what
size your
BIOS supports
here:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/modchips3b.php
Once you
have double
checked
everything
hit "Save
As"
and name
it something
so that
you will
remember.
Example:
"Xecuter
4976.02
Orange
NoAni
1MB"
(Orange
Boot up
and No
animation)
or "Xecuter
4976.02
Virgin
1MB".
Again,
if you
are making
NO changes
(Means
BIOS is
the correct
SIZE and
everything)
then you
dont need
to save
it.
Now you
will want
to FTP
into your
Xbox and
go to
the C
drive,
if there
is not
a folder
called
"Bios"
then make
one. Once
thats
done put
the BIOS
that you
will use
into that
folder.
Check
your evox.ini
file to
make sure
you have
somthing
in the
"Menu"
part that
looks
like this
Item "Flash
BIOS",ID_Flash_Bios.
Section
"System"
{
Item "Settings",ID_Settings
Item "Flash
BIOS",ID_Flash_Bios
Item "Backup",ID_Backup
Item "Skins",ID_Skins
}
Item "Reboot",ID_Quick_Reboot
Item "Power
Off",ID_Power_Off
If the
the "Flash
BIOS"
turns
red and
won't
let you
access
it, then
change
it to
Item "Flash
BIOS",@1
The next
part is
optional
but i
highly
recommend
it.
If you
look around
in the
evox.ini
file you
will notice
some lines
that look
SIMILAR
to this:
[BIOS]
#
ROM =
"Bluecop
4627 Debug",0x844ff9e0fc7f7bd01ec5e75b10aece62
ROM =
"CPX
1.02 Debug
no ani",0xAC65F68F2706235A578FE1C5FB1E41B1
ROM =
"CPX
4034",0xcf36ad116e2404aff022533b07b11004
ROM =
"CPX
v1.0 Debug",0xfd1ac8ba0033df93e2da2a23009272e4
ROM =
"CPX
v1.0",0x4132e24c64b7a8d4ea34ff448051e923
ROM =
"CPX
v1.02
Debug
no ani",0xAC65F68F2706235A578FE1C5FB1E41B1
ROM =
"CPX
v1.02
Debug",0x8E5C811CCC3C6875FD90C4D0ED6A8ABF
ROM =
"CPX
v1.02
kina",0x84efef3ee91ac320dab4778881108938
#
This
is a database
of how
EvoX recognizes
what BIOS
you are
using.
I recommend
going
back to
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?act=ST&f=38&t=43437
and
copying
all of
it and
replacing
it with
what was
in [BIOS]
or you
can add
it to
what was
already
there.
However,
lets say
you customized
your BIOS
and it
doesn't
match
any of
them that
are in
the list.
You can
make your
own. Heres
how:
ROM =
"BIOS
Name",hash
where
"BIOS
Name"
is where
you fill
in what
you want
evo-x
to say.
Example:
"Xecuter
2 4976.02
blue noani
1MB"
Hash is
the hash
of the
BIOS.
To get
this fire
up XBTool
and open
your customized
BIOS and
copy down
the BIOS
MD5 hash.
(No need
to save
since
you aren't
making
changes)
Make sure
you put
the 0x
in first.
Now Evo-X
will recognize
what BIOS
you have
and will
display
it in
the settings.
On a
side note
some people
have told
me that
you may
also need
something
like this
in your
evox.ini
file (check
and see
if something
similar
is there):
Flash
= 0x01d5,"AMD
- Am29F080B",0x100000
Flash
= 0x04d5,"FUJITSU
- MBM29F080A",0x100000
Flash
= 0xadd5,"Hynix
- HY29F080",0x100000
Flash
= 0x20f1,"ST
- M29F080A",0x100000
Flash
= 0xbf61,"SST
- 49LF020",0x40000
Now comes
the worst
part of
all. I
do not
recommend
doing
this during
a storm,
rolling
blackouts,
or whenever
there
is a chance
of the
power
going
out. If
for some
reason
you turn-off
or lock
up the
xbox while
it is
flashing
or erasing
the BIOS
then you
will need
the dreaded
Punching
Bag.
Go to
your xbox
and turn
it off.
Open it
up and
disable
the flash
protection.
For Matrix
owners
put it
in mode
4, both
dip switches
OFF. Put
xbox back
together
and turn
on. Now
go to
"Flash
BIOS"
and hit
X. you
should
see your
customized
BIOS.
Hit X
and then
it will
say something
on the
screen
that says
"Press
Y to flash"
press
Y and
ONLY press
Y if you
have double
checked
and researched
everything.
Once you
hit Y
it will
go through
the process
of erasing
and installing
your new
BIOS.
The whole
process
takes
about
20-30
seconds.
Afterwards
it will
say "Your
Xbox will
power
off"
Wait till
it powers
off and
with fingers
crossed
turn on
your Xbox
and you
should
see that
it is
working.
If not
pull out
Punching
Bag and
hit repeatedly
until
you feel
somewhat
better.
If for
some reason
a bad
flash
did occur
and you
own a
X 2.X
lite/lite
plus your
not all
that much
out of
luck,
for around
15$ you
can buy
a programmer
that hooks
up to
your PC
and allows
you to
flash
it from
there.
http://shop.system-mods.com/product.asp?3=95
If for
some reason
you get
an error
when you
try to
flash
or it
locks
up in
the middle
of the
flash
process,
there
is a 99%
chance
you forgot
to remove
the flash
protection.
I can't
tell you
how many
time people
have instant
messaged
me with
this question.
If it
is booting
up then
go to
the settings
of Evo-X
and scroll
down to
see if
it recognizes
what BIOS
you have
installed.
If it
says "Unknown"
then you
can either
ignore
it or
you can
read what
i wrote
above.
I like
to have
it display
my BIOS
that way
if I forget.
Now you
can open
back up
your xbox
and put
the flash
protection
back on
(dont
want little
kids accidently
flashing
your BIOS
now do
you).
You can
either
keep the
Bios that
you put
in your
Bios folder
in the
C drive
of your
Xbox for
future
use or
you can
delete
it. It
is no
longer
required
for your
Xbox to
work.
I recommend
reading
this thoroughly,
and doing
some research
for your
mod-chip.
Did someone
say Google?
Please
do not
instant
message
me asking
for the
BIOS because
im sick
of responding
to those
messages.
Thanks
to Dink
for telling
me about
the Flash
part in
the evox.ini
file.
Thanks
to Katana-Sama
for filling
me in
on information
about
the Matrix
mod-chip.
Happy
Flashing
Samuel
Dockery
(Unreal7000)
Tutorial
written
by : Unreal7000