SmartXX Tutorial

@xbox

Published in 

xbox

 · 2 years ago

SmartXX

Hidiho!

Here you have (perhaps) the first real tutorial on the “SmartXX” superchip for the xbox console.

Many people have complained about the poor support from the "SmartXX" team. The chip has many functions. This has never been possible previously with a modchip, but it is precisely the amount of functions that cause a lot of confusion. In this tutorial I tried to explain as many functions of the chip as possible, but some are a mystery even for me ;)

Have fun with the tutorial and the SmartXX modchip

Fr@greaver

Table of Contents

1. Installation of the SmartXX modchip
• 1.1 The different installation options
• 1.2 Disassemble the Xbox
• 1.3 Remove the motherboard
• 1.4 Solder the pin header to the LPC port
• 1.5 Soldering the D0 point
2. The functions of the SmartXX
   
• 2.1. Eeprom functions
• 2.2. HD functions
• 2.3. Quickboot
• 2.4. Network settings
• 2.5. Bios/bank configuration
• 2.6. Settings
• 2.7. How do I update the SmartXX?
3. glossary

1. Installing the SmartXX

1.1 The installation options

The SmartXX Modchip offers two installation options:

• Quicksolder
• Pinheader
  

I can only recommend you to do the pinheader installation. With the Quicksolder variant (without a desoldering pump) you will have problems removing the chip.

There can also be temperature problems between the chip and the mainboard. There is a reason if the pin header bar is included ;)

1.2 Disassemble the Xbox

The following material is required:

• 1 Torx 20 screwdriver
• 1 Torx 10 screwdriver
• 1 Torx 15 screwdriver (if you want to replace your hard drive at the same time);

The Xbox from below:

The Xbox from below

Use the Tx 20 to loosen the housing screws.
Then carefully lift off the lid of the xbox.

You should see this:

Now you need to remove the screws that hold the hard drive and DVD drive in place
(Tx 10):

Once you've done that, carefully disconnect the power and data cables from both drives. Now first remove the hard drive and then the DVD drive.

Now you can see the mainboard ;)

xbox motherboard version 1.0

1.3 Remove the motherboard

Now remove all cables from the mainboard. Then remove the screws that hold the mainboard. Once this is done, you have to lift the mainboard slightly at the front and pull it out towards you (careful!)

1.4 Solder the pin header to the LPC port

Take the pin strip that comes with the SmartXX chip and put it in front of you.

You have to remove the pin where there is an "X" instead of an "O", otherwise the bar will not fit. Either use pliers or your fingers, depending on what is available ;)

So. Now you have to find the LPC port on the Xbox mainboard. It looks like this:

This is the same for all Xbox versions (except 1.5).

You can recognize a 1.5 board because the point 2 is no longer connected to ground (beep through) and at point 6 there is no longer any 3.3v (voltmeter). You can fix this by placing a small bridge from point 2 to the small screw on the top left of the LPC port. To get the 3.3v, run a wire from point 6 to an orange wire on the power supply.
But check if there is really 3.3v on the cable!

ATTENTION: You only have to solder the 3.3v and GND if you have a 1.5 box!

There is a tutorial on www.xbox-scene.net to determine its version. With xbox v1.0 you need a desoldering pump/wire to get the solder out of the LPC bus. Now insert the pin header into the LPC with the short legs first (long legs face up). You can fix the pin header with some tape so that it doesn't slip when soldering on the underside.

It should look like this:

from above

from underneath

1.5 Solder the D0 point

So. Now it's getting a bit more difficult ;)

I used bell wire as the cable because it is beautifully. I recommend taking the alternative D0 point on the back side of the motherboard, as the one on the top is complicated to solder ;)

Now you protect the D0 point with some adesive tape so that you don't solder a bridge to the other contacts. Place the wire on the D0 point and briefly heat the wire until the solder melts.

Lay the cable in such a way that you don't get a short circuit from screws and secure it again with adesive tape. Now all you have to do is to place the chip onto the pin header and carefully reassemble your Xbox. Turn on the Xbox with the power button... If you are now greeted by the SmartXX OS, you have done everything right. Congratulation! If the xbox does not boot, please check whether there are any cold solder joints or short circuits. If necessary, solder it again.

In the pictures below you can see the D0 point (above Xbox v.1.0-1.1 | below Xbox v.1.2-1.5). Basically you can solder it in the same way as on the underside. But don't tremble ;)

D0 point on Xbox v.1.0-1.1

D0 point on Xbox v.1.2-1.5

Congratulation. You're done with the installation ;)

1. Eeprom Functions

Save Eeprom to Flash

The chip will ask you if you want to save your eeprom's data on the chip the first time it boots.
Definitely do this, because if you happen to accidentally delete the content of your eeprom, you can restore the backup at any time using the "Restore the eeprom" function. ;)

Video mode

Here you can set-up the output signal of the Xbox. Either PAL (Europe) or NTSC (America and Japan)

Game-Region

Here you can choose between Europe, North America and Japan. If you set the video mode to NTSC and the game region to Japan or North-America, you will have the Parental Controls option available in the M$ dashboard. So you can set who plays what ;)

DVD-Region

Here you can set the DVD region of your DVD drive (1=USA, 2=Europe, Japan)

Show HD_Password

Will show you the password to unlock your hard drive

2. HD functions

All functions, except for (un)locking, are only possible if the target HD is connected
instead of the DVD-ROM

Clone HD 1:1

Copies the (entire) content of your disk to another. Caution: This can take a long time, as the SmartXX only reads and writes the HD in PIO mode (there are still problems with FatX).

Copy operating system

This option pushes your entire c:\ to the target HD

Lock/Unlock the Primary HDD

This feature lock/unlock your hard drive. Locking is necessary if you want to boot your original bios (otherwise error code 5). To unlock you need the right eeprom, otherwise the HD key will be calculated incorrectly and unlocking will not work.

3. Quickboot

This feature is especially useful for Xbox Live users. If you set the original bios as the quick start/quick boot bios in the config menu of the SmartXX OS, then the Xbox boots the original Xbox bios by pressing the eject button and the chip is completely switched off and is therefore for Live and games with copy protection mechanisms invisible ;)

With the Quickboot, soldering the eject line is no longer necessary!

Of course you can also set other bios as quickboot bios.

Plain text: If you switch the Xbox to cracked bios using the power button (e.g. X2 4981). Turn on the Xbox with the eject button --> Original-Bios

You can specify which Bios the Xbox boots with which key in the "Settings" menu by specifying the original Bios for "Quickboot" and the x2_4981 Bios for "Default Bios".

The Xbox then boots as described above (plain text)

4. Network settings

Activate network: This activates the network function of the SmartXX and you can set IP and subnet

IP Address: Here you can set the IP of the chip. However, it should match the IP of your PC (eg: PC: 192.168.0.1 | SmartXX: 192.168.0.2)

Subnetmask: Simply set the following value here: 255.255.255.0 ;)

5. Bios/Bank configuration

You can format the chip in 3 different ways:

• Not at all ;) (it's really not necessary, you then have 3.5 mb for bios versions)
• Low 2mb
• mid 2mb

It is up to you which configuration you choose. It just depends on what kind of bios version you want to load.

Bank Erase: Here you can erase each bank individually. You can also completely format your SmartXX by going to "Erase Config-Sector". ATTENTION: All settings (IP, Bios) as well as the Eeprom, which you have saved on the chip, will be lost.

Flashing menu: Here you can see bios versions that are either on your hard drive or on the inserted CD/DVD, open it and flash it onto the chip. You can also use the "Mirror flash to fit" function to enlarge the selected bios (eg 256 kb 512 kb) so that it fits on the desired bank.

The flash process is started with "Program flash now" and the selected BIOS is written to the chip.

Bank names: Here you can specify names for the individual bios. The SmartXX does this automatically, but if you edited the bios with XBTool, for example, it doesn't recognize it and you have to/can enter a name yourself.

6. Settings

Linux 128mb: If you have 128MB of Ram in your Xbox, it will (probably)
run later Linux distributions.

Extended Memory-Tester: Testing each of the (extra) 16 mb ram chips

Default Bios: Select the bios here that the xbox should boot by default.

Quickboot: Specifies the bios that should be loaded when the Xbox is started with the eject button pressed.

Timeout Boot: Determines after how many seconds the chip starts the default BIOS

Shutdown Time: Determines after how many seconds the console is automatically switched off.

7. How do I update my SmartXX?

Step-by-step instructions

1. Adapt the IP of the SmartXX to that of the computer (e.g. 192.168.0.1=PC, 192.168.0.2=Xbox)
2. Save the settings on the SmartXX chip
3. Open Internet Explorer (or another browser) and enter the following as address: http:\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (smartXX-IP)
4. Now select your "update_something.bin" file (size: 1mb) in the "Flash Bios" menu
   
5. Go to "Go" and confirm with the joypad

This process will take a while, but you will (usually) be rewarded with new features

Glossary

Bios: A kind of "mini operating system" that is present in every computer. It checks the hardware and checks if everything is okay. In the case of the Xbox, the bios also verifies that the hard drive is locked, that the original dashboard is present, and that the software has been digitally signed by Microsoft. All of these protective mechanisms can be bypassed with a cracked bios (eg the Xecuter2 bios). It is a modified bios from Microsoft in which these protective functions are no longer available and copies and other programs (Xbox Media Player/Center) can therefore also be started on the Xbox

Eeprom: In the Eeprom (a small chip on the Xbox board) all settings such as Country settings, Xbox serial number, HD key, online key and Mac address are saved. The difference between bios and eeprom is that you can (almost) completely change your Xbox with eeprom. A bios is not able to do this. It is only used to start unsigned programs. You can change your Xbox serial, Mac address and more. However, this should be done with caution, because if you play Xbox !Live with a self-edited eeprom, you run the risk of being banned and thus no longer being able to play !Live. The eeprom also stores the "HD password", which is used to decrypt the Xbox hard drive during the boot process. If the key calculated by the Eeprom to unlock the HD does not match the password stored on the HD, the hard drive cannot be decrypted and the Xbox cannot be booted. If you install a new hard drive, you should lure the HD with "Config-Magic FINAL" (Eeprom program for the Xbox). This allows you to boot from the original bios, which is not possible with an unlocked hard drive. Is. If you flash your eeprom (power failure during flashing), you can currently only get your Xbox running again with the SmartXX.

Modchip: A small circuit board containing rewritable flash memory. Bios versions can be written to this chip using various methods (EvoX, Flash CD, printer connection, network ;) These modchips are basically soldered (or plugged in like the MatriX or the X BIT) to the LPC bus (LowPinCount bus) on the Xbox mainboard. The Xbox then boots from the modchip's bios, allowing unsigned code to run. The first mod chips for the Xbox (e.g. the EnigmahX) were expensive and complicated to install (you had to solder around 30 cables!). These also only had a memory of 256kb. For comparison: The SmartXX has 16 times (4mb). You could also flash the old modchips if something went wrong when flashing a new bios version.

Then the chip was in the bucket and the box only said one thing:
ON – OFF – ON – OFF – ON – RED – GREEN – RED – GREEN ;)

But luckily that's a thing of the past with the chips of the new generation; these things are as good as indestructible ;)

So I hope this tutorial helped you. I made it to the best of my knowledge and belief. However, I may have made mistakes. If you find any (regardless of whether it is German grammar or whether it is related to content), please send an email to: Fragreaver@gmx.de or talk to me in the EvoX forum. As soon as I get my hands on a display for the chip, I will also write a tutorial about connecting it.

I would like to say thank you to everyone on the EvoX forum. There I acquired all the
knowledge/non-knowledge ;). Stay tuned!

Fr@greaver