Softmodding an XBox... deleted dashboard!

ya so I bought a 2nd hand XBox from CashGen a few months ago with the intention to SoftMod it. I took it home and noticed the back of the console had tears where the screw covers are, so I assumed it had previously been softmodded. However when booting it up it just seemed like a normal unmodded XBox so wasnt sure.

Anyway, fast forward last week a fellow member sent me the USB-XBox cable, as well as a copy of splinter cell and the SoftMod Exploit on an included USB stick. So I loaded up the LINUX Save Exploit on Splinter Cell, and it brings me to this screen

Attachment 52551
So i first choose backup eeprom = im following this guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJOEen1-234) and choose to Install Ndure softmod. At this point it gives me an error, so after a bit of research I figure out my XBox Dashboard isnt at a high enough firmware, so I go out and buy Halo 2 to upgrade it as per the above video. Only problem is I had the ethernet cable connected to the XBox while trying to update it via the Halo 2 main menu, which apparently is a big nono.

So it just restarts back to Halo 2 instead of the 'Updating XBox' screen and that confuses me. So I take out Halo 2 and restart it and I start getting the Red Ring on the front, and the XBox fails to load up the dashboard, giving this screen:@
Attachment 52552
l have to check again if its error code 7 or 17. Either way no matter what I do it restarts to this screen so I can't go to the dashboard ever, Thing is I can still boot games, including Halo 2 (though attempting to update via Halo 2 menu just restarts the game) and Splinter Cell, including the exploit. Through this method I managed to get a FTP access to my XBox and I am pretty sure that the default dashboard has been removed. (i still have FTP access and feel this is my only way to resolve this...)

So I really hope someone knows or has ideas on how to get the Dashboard back up, so I can update it via Halo 2 and then install Ndure Softmod, I think it's the Evo-X one I wanted to install. I tried dragging over default.xbe files I found on the USB Exploit to the XBox's C:/ drive, but that didn't resolve the dashboard issue.

Thanks I tried to make it as precise as possible as I havent hacked XBoxes before so pretty gutted I F'd it up.

Edit: Note these aren't my screenshots, I googled them so the first image isn't representative of the numbers, but the menu options are the same.

The mistake, I think, was to use Halo 2 to update the dash because that is probably exactly what it did. There is no telling now what was on the Xbox, whether it was softmodded and that was incorrectly removed or whatever. Halo 2 tried to update the dash to the last MS dash and messed something up in the process.

If the 07 error is what your you're now getting that means the Xbox can't find a HDD ie. its timed out. Bearing in mind you can still launch Xbox games I suspect that isn't the case. So what is the error number actually shown?

With the eeprom, which I hope you backed up to PC, you should be OK one way or another but, at worst, it might require you to use XBHDM USB to build a new HDD and lock it with that eeprom. If you have another softmodded or chipped Xbox things could be much easier to fix.

What I'd try first though is cold booting a rescue/installer disc like HeXEn or, current mostly recommended, Rocky5's 2016 Softmod. Whatever you use it MUST be burned DVD-R (the only universally Xbox compatible media) and best done with ImgBurn. If you can get that or another such disc to boot then you should be able to fix the problem easily.

I'd recommend the 2016 Softmod for another reason too and that is because unlike most of the others it is specifically designed to work with almost any MS dash version.

Fingers crossed you can cold boot it.

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Originally Posted by TheAbysmalDark

The mistake, I think, was to use Halo 2 to update the dash because that is probably exactly what it did. There is no telling now what was on the Xbox, whether it was softmodded and that was incorrectly removed or whatever. Halo 2 tried to update the dash to the last MS dash and messed something up in the process.

If the 07 error is what your you're now getting that means the Xbox can't find a HDD ie. its timed out. Bearing in mind you can still launch Xbox games I suspect that isn't the case. So what is the error number actually shown?

With the eeprom, which I hope you backed up to PC, you should be OK one way or another but, at worst, it might require you to use XBHDM USB to build a new HDD and lock it with that eeprom. If you have another softmodded or chipped Xbox things could be much easier to fix.

What I'd try first though is cold booting a rescue/installer disc like HeXEn or, current mostly recommended, Rocky5's 2016 Softmod. Whatever you use it MUST be burned DVD-R (the only universally Xbox compatible media) and best done with ImgBurn. If you can get that or another such disc to boot then you should be able to fix the problem easily.

I'd recommend the 2016 Softmod for another reason too and that is because unlike most of the others it is specifically designed to work with almost any MS dash version.

Fingers crossed you can cold boot it.

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Thanks for your advice, I'll double check the error number and post back!

I think my HDD is okay, I think - I can FTP access it and see all the files there and copy/paste. I kept hitting the DVD drive since it doesnt open normally so maybe i brain damaged it (got to the last stage of replacing the rubber band and gave up).

Someone on REddit said this:

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Download this XBHDM Build.zip now extract the zip and inside the Linux folder there is a C and E folder, FTP the content of the C folder to your C partition and the content of the E folder to your E partition.
You will be asked to overwrite files on the C partition, do so. Now after you have transferred over the stuff restart your Xbox and you will be taken to a new installer menu, press (A) and then follow the instructions. ( there is only 1 )
This is my "Xbox Softmodding Tool" you should never get any issues again after installation.

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Which seems pretty concise and confident, and also straight forward and simple?! But ive heard dif things from dif people so ehh

I do have a 500GB SATA drive I have spare, because I wanted to use that for my XBox backups and emulators/roms. So I could always use that - I didnt know software had to be burned to DVD-R. I have a bunch of cd-r's and tried to burn and use a Rescue disc with that... so I guess it wouldnt work anyway?

With media it depends on the make/model of the disc drive and to a lesser extent the age what it will read. DVD+R is usually OK with all but the Philips drive and CD-R is not liked by one of the two different Samsungs or the Hitachi. DVD-R is known to be compatible with all disc drives so using it removes that being the source of any problems.

Having problems with the eject/close mechanism is typical of the Samsungs if it is a mechanical issue but it can also be electrical ie. trace corrosion or damage/fault on the eject/close button PCB. If it is mechanical then replacing or at least reconditioning the drive 'rubber band' is recommended.

It is good news if you can still FTP because there's a good chance a rescue/installer disc can be cold booted as it suggests the softmod is still working it is just the dash that is missing. If you're getting error 13 or 14 that is a missing or failed to launch dash. In that case it is very important that you keep the Xbox connected to the power supply until it is fixed. If the clock settings are lost, which will happen if it is disconnected from the power for more than a few hours, you'll get an error 16. That is more difficult to fix.

Rocky5's 2016 Softmod has built in help for such situations but that has to be installed first of course.

Unless you want to go the XBHDM route then I wouldn't worry about updating to a larger HDD at this point. Concentrate on getting the existing HDD working and once done then consider the HDD upgrade. Even then I'd suggest using Chimp261812 for the job rather than any other tool. Again Rocky5 has been involved in updating Chimp and that version is now as good as it gets.

BTW he's also recently found a way via his softmodding tools extras disc to be able to install a clean, new HDD almost as easily as if it the Xbox was chipped.

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Originally Posted by TheAbysmalDark

BTW he's also recently found a way via his softmodding tools extras disc to be able to install a clean, new HDD almost as easily as if it the Xbox was chipped.

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That sounds interesting, I mean if it doesn't require much effort.
I've always preferred chipped boxes myself because changing HDD is so simple.

You can zero out the HDD lock key, not sure if this is what is talked about though that does make the process a lot easier to do when replacing a HDD

Because I have an olde IDE PC the process was always very easy, for me anyway to clone the old drive onto the new drive and re-partition it

I have a separate boot CD for each Xbox but they could all have the same HDD lock code easy enough though I never did bother

07 - kernel - HDD timeout is the error (I was getting this on/off with one of my older HDD's I replaced that HDD and error was no more at a guess it was just getting slow because it was full and possibly fragmented), 17 is very unlikely and is an unknown kernal error

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Originally Posted by deadlegion

That sounds interesting, I mean if it doesn't require much effort.
I've always preferred chipped boxes myself because changing HDD is so simple.

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This is this is the man himself explaining the process.:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CbVcr79x5o