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Guide: Common ways to ghetto “repair” the Red Ring of Death on the Xbox360

2010-01-27T23:37:00.000+11:00

Guide: Common ways to ghetto “repair” the Red Ring of Death on the Xbox360

1.The hot towel trick.

How: Wrap the console in a towel to insulate it and block off the air vents while running it until it gives you 2 red lights.

Common theory to the repair: Apparently it uses the heat from the CPU/GPU to soften the joints and cause a mechanical join on the GPU / CPU / RAM. In fact there is no evidence to support that this is little more than “shock therapy”, besides the fact that sometimes the console sometimes runs again for a few more minutes or weeks.

Does it work? Temporarily a desperate attempt that can cause permanent damage.

2.The heat gun trick.

How: Take a Heat gun and remelt the GPU/CPU and RAM joints

Theory to the repair: The heat gun remelts the solder joints. In fact there is no evidence to support that this is little more than “shock therapy”, besides the fact that sometimes the console sometimes runs again for a few more minutes or weeks.

Does it work? Temporarily a desperate attempt that can cause permanent damage.

3.X clamp replacement or silicone spacers

How: Use various methods to re-brace the motherboard around the RAM GPU and CPU.

Common theory to the repair: To create a mechanical join over the cracked solder.

Does it work? Temporarily. This seems to have been in the past the most effective ghetto method of bandaging the problem, but again is only a temporary fix.

4.Fan mods and / or liquid cooling

How: Increase the fan speed, use an after market add on fan, or liquid cooling.

Common theory to the repair: The problem is obviously heat related, so any sort of extra cooling should be good right?

Does it work? As a prevention this is a good band aid, but overall not very successful as a mainstream solution as these fixes are almost never correctly thermal controllered. Besides, there is nothing "wrong" with the xbox360 cooling system.

5. Replace the lead free solder with lead based solder.

How: Remove the processors and change the the lead free solder joint composition to a more flexible lead based composition before replacement.

Common theory to the repair: Lead free solder is not very tolerant to heat fluctuation. Replacing with lead based solder should allow the components to flex with the board as it endures heat stress.

Does it work? Temporarily, it will buy you some time while the motherboard continues to flex and damage other parts.

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Correct repair of the Xbox360 does not employ any of these ghetto backyard “fixes". :D

Guide: How to crash an Xbox360 CPU on demand with an “un-hackable Xbox360”

2010-01-25T23:48:00.000+11:00

How?

1.Get some Xbox360 homebrew (Viper360 or Xexloader 0.26 or kiosk disc mod, or whatever)(correctly compiled, but unsigned code none-the-less) and copy it to your memory card or 360 orig HDD so that it can execute on a J-tag hacked console via the “Game Library”.

2.Take the HDD off the exploitable console and place it on a console that is not exploitable and try to execute it via the “Game Library”......but don't just try to execute it as normal... mash the 'a' button as fast as you can to force it to load before the console works out that it it not signed.

Result:

Full CPU Crash!

Symptom:
X = Console still outputs a “locked / Crashed video” but is oblivious to any input/output additions or alterations.

Tested:

Adding and removing controllers = x (with the exception that the light goes out on removal)

Tapping any or all buttons on the remote or usb controllers = x

Unplugging the HDD and/or AV leads = x

Switching from Composite to Component on the fly = x

Hitting the power button = x

...................................We would post a screen shot, but all it just looks like is a frozen screen. :P

Potential new exploit or just a crash?

Time for people to check out the new plugin for IDA! The results are interesting to say the least (Thanks LS for the reverse verification :D )

-Crash found and documented by LittleJonny of Team Symbiote

Tutorial: How to extract ISO files to run from a HDD on J-Tagged Xbox360

2010-01-23T19:58:00.000+11:00

Prelude: Team Symbiote in no way endorsed piracy. The assumption of this tutorial is that you have already made a backup of your game, you own the original and for whatever reason you can't put the original back in your game console (dead 360 laser, missing key or no DVD ROM are acceptable reasons).

1.Download Xbox 360 Backup Creator
2.Go to the Image Tools tab then to Image Browser

3.Click on File>Open Image File. Select the backup xbox 360 iso file. Image browser will show the iso contents

4.Right click on the iso and click Extract.

5.Select the folder to extract the files to and click ok. The process will take 5-10minutes depending on your computer.
6.Once the process is complete copy the folder to your external SwissKnife formatted Fat 32 HDD's Games folder.

Tutorial submitted by "b1gA2xl3n"

Tutorial: How to copy a game to your xbox360 USB HDD and play it using XexLoader 0.26

2010-01-09T11:29:00.006+11:00

Disclaimer:

HDD Loading is a highly experimental project created by thier respective developers. I will not be held responsible for anything you do to your Xbox or HDD or PC or anthing for that matter. Use this tutorial at your own risk.

Edit: Its worth pointing out that you do need a console that is already setup with XBR homebrew enabled (exploitable consoles on only http://symbioteorg.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-run-games-or-homebrew-off.html)

Preparing your USB HDD (Only needs to be done once)

1. Since windows does not allow you to format a large USB HDD to any size that is useful You will need a tool called SwissKnife Format Tool to get the job done. You can get it here Mirror: http://www.cavernimports.com/downloads.jsp. Get this file and install it to your Win XP computer.

2. Insert your USB HDD to your Win XP computer (switch it on if it is not self powered) and take note of its drive letter allocation in "My Computer".

3. Open SwissKnife and use it to delete any partitions on your USB Drive. Create a new Primary partition with the maximum size limit in FAt32 (Warning: Do not choose the active option! Make sure it's your USB drive your formatting and nothing else as formatting a drive also erases its contents!).

4. Unplug the USB HDD from your PC and plug it into your 360.

Using XexLoader to copy a game to the USB HDD

1. Ensure your xbox3260 USB HDD is formatted in Fat32 and plugged into the 360 USB port (switch it on if it is not self powered)

2. Turn the console on with the power button (not the eject button, if there is a game in the draw wait for the console to turn on fully and then hit the eject button to open the tray to stop the game from loading)

3. Once the console is on and the XBR Dashboard is loaded navigate to the Game Library (Directional Pad "up", "right", "right") and select XexLoader with the "a" button on your controller, then press "a" twice more to load the "game" (application). Variation: If you are using the live CD/DVD then put XexLoader Disc in your console and launch it just like running a game.

4. When XexLoader opens for the first time you will see virtually a blank screen as there is no games on the USB HDD, so hit right on the D Pad to enable detail mode.

5. Press "x" to bring up the storage device selection screen, navigate to Usb0: (assume you only have one USB storage device plugged in) and hit "a" on the controller to select it. (Warning: Do not select any other storage area other that USB unless you know what you are doing!)

6. Now that the correct storage drive is selected, press "y" to open the actions menu, navigate to "Create" and select it with the "a" button. Use the virtual keyboard to make a new folder called "Games" (Warning: It must be called "Games"! and this step only needs to be done once)

7. Once the "Games" folder is created then it will appear on the screen, Navigate to the "games" folder and press the "a" button to open it.

8. Now that you have your games folder is made, press "y" again to open the actions menu, navigate to "Create" and select it with the "a" button. Use the virtual keyboard to make a new folder called "Game Name" (You may call the folder anything you like but remember you cannot change the name afterward without using your PC or deleting the folder).

9. Once the "Game Name" folder is created then it will appear on the screen, Navigate to the "Game Name" folder and press the "a" button to open it.

10.Now that you have your games name folder is made, press "y" again to open the actions menu, navigate to "CopyDVD" and press "a" to select it. Put the game in the tray, shut the tray and press "a" to confirm the install.

11.Repeat Steps 4-7 to add more games or hit the Green "Home" button to exit to dash.

Using XexLoader to play a game from the Xbox 360 USB HDD

1. Ensure your xbox3260 USB HDD is formatted in Fat32 and plugged into the 360 USB port (switch it on if it is not self powered)

4. If all is good then you will be greeted with a game list, use the analog stick to scroll and press "a" to select the game of your choosing (Warning: Accidentally hitting the D Pad right will toggle detail mode, hit it again to re-enter Game selection mode)

Tutorial written by LittleJonny of Team Symbiote - Feedback to be sent to jon@cavernimports.com

Quick Guide: How to mod a 360 to run homebrew and backup games off a USB HDD

2010-01-07T14:23:00.003+11:00

The skinny version in a nutshell for those that want to know but don't need 20 page tutorial.

1.Make sure you have an exploitable xbox360 to start with. To do this, on a console manufactured prior to July 2009 check your dashboard kernel and the number, if you are lucky then it will start with 7xxx or lower if it can probably be done. If you have been playing any of the latest games like CODMW2 or Assassins Creed 2 or have used Xbox Live in the last 4 months, then don't bother checking, your console cant be hacked and your SoL!

Remember: If you console is manufatured prior to July 2009 and the Xbox360 dashboard number starts with 7 or lower (not 8 or 9), then your good to go.

2.Grab a ~~J-Tag device~~ Edit: SPI Flasher (although we used a USB J-Tag emulating and SPI Flasher), wire it in and extract the firmware. Take a hacked firmware (XBR_Xenon_8955_3 in my case) and copy the security keys and config data from the extracted firmware to the hacked firmware and then flash it back to the xbox360.

3.Install a few bits of wire and a couple of diodes to bypass one of the security checks and make the Jtag exploit work, bolt the xbox back together and your ready to rock. Your console is now fully capable of running unsigned code. Epic!

Get a professional to do it for you: http://www.cavernimports.com/ :D

New “non-stealth” Lite-on firmware test results for Xbox360

2010-01-01T20:52:00.003+11:00

A few days ago Arakon leaked a very special version of the i-xtreme firmwares for the Xbox360.

We can confirm that although the firmwares were made by an anonymous? person the firmwares are indeed legit and work fantastic!

Initial testing (on the lite-on version at least) show the firmwares quite happily blindly load whatever backup disc you put in without the requirement of “stealth” patching or an “activate.iso” boot disc. Given that stealth patching is a load of rubbish this is a very good thing and about time.

We tested one on a 7x series lite-on drive and another on a 9x lite-on drive. The two lite-on drives with the 'non-stealth' hacked firmware ran smooth with no noticeable issues. The only downside is that the firmware headers are still all wrong (not that thats hard to fix)..... but what the hell, is boots all the backups with out any issues.

It is highly recommended that every one with the “stealth” firmwares get upgraded to the new non-stealth variety to avoid issues games not working properly due to unnecessary build restrictions and disc checking.

….......an remember what we have always said: “There is no such thing as 100% undetectable firmware. If you really want to use Xbox Live with zero ban risk.... don't get your console modded”.

All Xbox360 DVD-ROM's to date can now be hacked

2009-12-11T16:05:00.000+11:00

Here is a quick visual of how we are extracting the firmware from the new Lite-On 83850c v2 and 9x series drives.

Do not try this unless you have attempted successfully multiple times on a drive that you dont really care about.

Noteworthy also: Some commercial key extraction devices are confirmed to do damage to some of these drives when used with jungle flasher.....be warned. If in doubt get a pro installer to do it for you, at least then they will buy you a new one or fix it if they make a mistake or the hardware fails in the modding proccess.

-LJ

Running homebrew and retail games on the Xbox 360

2009-12-11T09:47:00.006+11:00

LittleStevie has been doing a bit of work getting thing up and running with loading retail games imported games and homebrew software directly from an internal sata HDD on the exploitable version of the Xbox360.

We will post some pictures and more detail on this soon. Stay Tuned.

In the mean time... a timely reminder..........if you have not run the Xbox on Live or accepted a game update in the last few months then don't if you ever want this on your console. This hack does not work on the newer dashboards (inc the ones that are shipped with new consoles).

The new model Xbox360's (Jasper+2) has hit the Australian retail shelves.

2009-12-05T20:41:00.001+11:00

With lower power consumption, more efficient processors and a built in memory card, this unit will likely prove to be the most reliable Xbox360 yet. I sincerely doubt that the RRoD rate within 12 month would be anything close to previous models, in fact estimating at least 50-100 times more reliable would not be an exaggeration. Get this model!

Peeps will need to note that there seems to be a very high chance that the drive will be on of the “un-moddable” (translation = more difficult and invasive to mod) lite-on drive, along with no chance of a motherboard level J-Tag hack for now. The new drives can now be hacked, however you are going to need some fairly leet soldering skills (like me).

These photos were taken last week!