Softmodding without AR/mem card/gamesave
Using a previously chipped xbox
By evilomen
Posted By SmokiestGrunl
Posting for whoever wanted to know how to do this, I made this tut a long time ago and havent updated it, so forgive me if its outdated. This is how I softmod xboxs all the time:
Ok, first off, as always I am NOT responsible for ANYTHING that happens to go wrong here. If you follow my directions you will be ok. Its always best to read through the whole thing first so if you have any questions you can ask before you try it. I highly recomend this anytime you try to mod anything!!!
This is a tut to walk you through a softmod where you dont need to use a certain gamesave exploit, or hotswapping into your PC, which will &$@# up your PC and your xbox if you &$@# it up. Instead we are going to use a previously modded xbox as a medium to mod. At this point we are just going to use the stock hard drive, if you want to upgrade later there will be a tut for that, too. This is a dual boot mod so you can use xbox live without getting banned.
Here we go!!
What you need:
1-unmodded xbox to softmod (duh)
2-a previously chipped xbox (chip make doesnt matter)
3-NDure found HERE
4- Any kind of boot disk, like Slayer's/AID/ect... found on xbins
5- FTP program (I use FlashFXP and love it)
6- Networking your box and PC know-how found elsewhere
What you do:
Ok, this is going to be easy, I promise. The first thing you do is download NDure 3.0 found above. Extract the winrar file. Once extracted I highly suggest you read the read-me file as well as you can so you know what your getting into.
From here, start up your unmodded xbox to the MS dash (power on with no disk in the drive). Once there go into settings-->system info and after all the scrolling text write down your kernel number. It will look something like this:
K:5101.01. All you need is the first 4 numbers, in this case, 5101. Write this number down!! You WILL need it later.
Now we get to start the actual modding part. First, take the tops off both Xboxs, then put the boot disk and put it in the DVD tray of the chipped xbox, then shut it off. That way when we turn it back on it will boot directly to the disk instead of the HDD. Now turn them both on at the same time. The chipped box should boot to the boot disk, and the unmodded xbox will boot to the MS dash. Then we just simply hotswap. For those of you not familiar with hotswapping, basically all we are going to do is power on both the modded and unmodded xboxs, then unplug the IDE cable from the back of both HDDs, and plug the IDE from the chipped xbox into the unmodded hard drive WHILE THE POWER IS ON BOTH OF THEM!!!! This will allow the drive to unlock itself, and giveing us access to its contents!
Now here is where the FTP knowledge comes into play. Once you get FTP access, the VERY first thing you want to do is BACKUP EVERYTHING in your C: and E: to your PC. This is VERY VERY VERY important!! This way you can replace everything the way it was if something goes wrong. I ALWAYS make a copy of the backup folder to softmod, otherwise, when you do the PC instal its going to overwrite over your only copy of the backup, not a good thing. So, I have 2 folders, looking something like this:
C:xboxoriginal backup (for the untouched backup)
and
C:xboxsoftmod (for the copy to be moddified)
Ok, once you have reached this point, its all very easy. Grab whatever you wrote down the kernel number on and if you have read the read-me, go ahead and setup your NDure using the "Full retail setup" option. When you get to check the boxes, leave it all the same, except under where it says "Kernel specific fonts" select the box that corosponds with your kernel (the number I told you write down), then click on the next button. It will take you to a page asking where to instal to. Select the parent directory that you put your backup into. For example, if you put your backup into: C:xboxsoftmodC(and E, put them in a folder together), then instal your NDUre mod into the parent folder "softmod" and let it do its stuff.
What you will be left with is a moddified version of your stock C and E drives. All thats left now is to FTP the new drives over. Just delete everything on the C drive, then FTP the new one over. Then do the same with the E drive. Your xbox is now modded!!!!! But hold on, your not done yet. As soon as you have the dash on there, backup your EEPROM and FTP it back to your PC and keep that b**** safe. Without that, you cant use xbox live.
Its the moment of truth now, now you have to unplug the IDE from the back of the newly modded drive and plug its own IDE into it, then power it down. This should re-lock the drive. Now turn it back on, and if done right, it will load up to the Unleash X dashboard with the power button, (the LED on the front will turn from green to orange to let you know your in the modded state. NEVER log onto live when the LED is orange, you will be banned) and the MS dash with the eject button.
I have done this many many many times, following these exact direction and have never had a problem that wasnt easily fixed. As long as you dont get errors 6 or 7 you will be able to fix it without a chip. Some common errors and the fixes are:
Black screen when trying to boot modded dash. Not a problem, just boot the MS dash with the eject button and set the clock, then reboot.
Error 13. Again, not a problem. Just coldboot the boot disk you used in the chipped xbox for modding and FTP everything back over. That worked for me a couple times. Another common thing I have run into is on some boxs the "shadow c" file is for some reason messing it up. Just re-instal everything but leave the "shadow c" off the cheklist when doing your NDure instal. When you get it working again, just fill up your C: with anything and everything. Just make sure its full. Heres why: the shadow C is there to fill up your C: so MS cant write over the mod you worked so hard to put in, so if the C: is full, it cant write over anything, can it?
Error 21 Again, its a dashboard error, all I have done in the past is re-FTP everything over and it has worked without fail. Perhaps something got messed up in the transfer.
Well, thats all I have for now, if you have any questions feel free to ask, and Ill do what I can to help ya. Enjoy!!
