The A-Z's of 360 Modding Vernacular (modding dictionary)

The place for more technical questions about modding your Xbox 360!
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Jman 31
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The A-Z's of 360 Modding Vernacular (modding dictionary)

Post by Jman 31 »

We've compiled a ongoing list of "terms and phrases" dealing with xbox 360 modding. They are supposed to be in alphabetical order to simplify things for the viewer. If you come across a term that you think should be added, please post it below and we may add it if we deem it necessary.

10 Second Trick:
This is a procedure specifically for the Xbox 360 Samsung brand DVD drives version MS-28 or MS-25 thats been crossflashed to an MS-28. Basically before you can read/flash the MS-28, you have the drive powered on, run the command to read/flash and before selecting the port that the drive is connected to, turn the power off to the drive, select the port, wait 10 seconds and power on the drive. This basically catches the drive in it's initialization phase so it can enter programming mode.

3rlod aka RROD :
Three Red Lights of Death. Specific to the Xbox 360, and error in which there is a hardware problem. Throughout the past, investigations have revealed that this error is linked to a problem with, predominantly, the GPU of the 360 pulling away from its BGA mounting points (See BGA). Although it could also involve the CPU or RAM chips and Power Brick.

79 Passkey:
A device made specifically for the Xbox 360 Hitachi brand DVD drive revision 0079. This device, which is soldered onto the circuit board of the drive, allows it to be placed in Mode B so the firmware can be read/flashed.

AT Power supply :
This a power supply that has been took from a old computer.This is used with a Connectivity Kit to power a 360 dvd drive.Powering the drive this way is the best way to keep the hit drives in mode b when you have to reboot the computer.There is some debate that powering the 360 dvd drive with the 360 could in the future be a way for M$ to tell the box has been modded.

Backups:
Backups are copies of original store bought games. These are only playable with hacked firmware.

Banned :
M$ bans a console when they catch that the 360 has been moded in some way or that backup are being played on live.
The ban only affects the console ability to get on live.It does not affect the account you have on live.The console will still play original games and backup.M$ will just not let that console get on live.


BGA :
Ball Grid Array. This is a technique used to mount chips to a motherboard or other circuit boards. The most command use of this term will be in reference to an Xbox 360's CPU, GPU or RAM chips in situations where the 360 is getting the error where 3 red lights are flashing on the ring of light. Chips that are mounted to a circuit board in this fashion do not have the typical pins that connect into a socket on the board. Instead, the chip has solder pads where the pins would ordinarily be. On the circuit board, it has pads as well, but a layer of flux is added to those pads and little balls of solder are placed on top of the pads. The the chip is placed on top of the solder balls and the whole thing is literally baked in an oven until it reaches a pre-determined range of temperatures over a set period of time to achieve proper melting of the solder thereby bonding the chip to the board.

Block error :
Bad sata or usb cable.
There maybe other things wrong.

Bricked Drive :
When a 360 DVD drive does not have a working firmware in it.The console and the dvd drive must have the same key or it will not work for games. This drive will not play original or backed up games.It will still play dvd movies most times. Keep a copy of your original key to stop this from happening to you.

Connectivity Kit:
A device made specifically for Xbox 360 DVD drives to convert a Molex connector from a PC power supply so it will connect to the 360 DVD drive to power it. There are a couple different versions and a couple different brands. Team xecuter has a version 1 and a version 2. Version one has a built in eject and Mode B buttons. Version 2 has the eject and Mode B Buttons in addition to a power switch. Xeno is the maker of the other kit and it is exactly the same as the Xecuter version 1.

D1 not flashing (for BenQ) :
What that means is the computer is not seeing the 360 drive.There are many different thing that can be causing this problem.
Chipset will not work.Most sata ports on the mobo will not work.
Try a different port on your sata card.The port closest to the front most of the time is the one to use.
Try a different sata card.This a card that is known to work
http://tekgems.com/Products/la-pci22-vt6421a.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Try a different sata cable
Put the sata card in a different pci slot
I would try this just for kicks before the next step.Try a floppy maybe that will do it (don't hold your breath)
You may even need to try a different computer.This is rare how ever it will happen some time.

Def File :
When a new firmware comes out you have to update the def file so IpreP can Load the firmware.You can find the def file on Xbins and robinhoodsplayground.com : To replace the def file it is just a drag and drop then yes to replace

DMI Sector (Disk Manufacturing Information):
This sector is also contained within the lead-in and contains information about the Disc manufacturer, such as Company name, batch id etc. This is currently different for each Xbox360 and Xbox1 game in each region.
Any requests for this information is now redirected to the the DMI sector now at $04FB1E (for Xbox 360 backups) or $0605FE (Xbox 1 backups).
A pre V3 backup will always return blank information for this. (A possible detection method.)

Dump:
The act of or the result of reading a firmware.

Dump Freezing :
Use a different usb flash to boot on.
Try a floppy
Try a different sata card
Try a different sata cable
Put the sata card in a different pci slot
You may even need to try a different computer.This is rare how ever it will happen some time.

DVD Key:
In specific reference to the Xbox 360, this is a set of characters that is injected into the firmware of the DVD drive. This "key" has to match what the motherboard of the 360 has or no games will play at all.

Exception Processing Message :
Disable the floppy in your bios.
Most people get that error because their computer does not have a floppy drive, but it is still on in the bios.Go in to your bios and disable it.

Firmtool : aka (samtool)
This is a program wrote by Caster420.This program will build your Hacked firmware after a dump/read.This program takes the key out of your original firmware and then inserts this key in the Hacked firmware.This enables the firmware to then be flash to your drive.


Firmware (fw):
The dvd drive in the 360 has its own built in code(firmware). When you flash the drive you are changing the code(firmware).

Flashing a drive:
When you flash a dvd drive you are changing the existing built in firmware (fw) with a modified firmware allowing it to read backup game disks.

FUBAR:
"Fu**ed Up beyond All Recognition" Commonly refers to a 360 when the user has become so frustrated with it that they smash it with a hammer or throw it across a room. It is also what happens when someone unwittingly flashes a firmware from a dump that has an incorrect key, also commonly referred to as brick/bricked/bricking.

Hacked Firmware:
The dvd drive in the 360 has its own built in code(firmware). When you flash the drive you are changing the code(firmware). This new code is commonly referred to as "hacked firmware".

Hot swap :
This is a way of backing up your original games with just a store bought dvd DL drive with no special firmware flashed.

Img burn :
This a program that many use to burn to a Dl disc there backup of a game.This is a free program and one of the best around.

I/O :
In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system (such as a computer), and the outside world – possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it. The term can also be used as part of an action; to "perform I/O" is to perform an input or output operation. I/O devices are used by a person (or other system) to communicate with a computer. For instance, keyboards and mouses are considered input devices of a computer, while monitors and printers are considered output devices of a computer. Devices for communication between computers, such as modems and network cards, typically serve for both input and output.

IPREP 101 :
This is a program that is used to read(dump), erase and write firmware from/to the BenQ and Samsung DVD Drive.This is a free program from Klutsh at X-projects.org

Ixtreme firmware :
This is the newest firmware.It was released after the first wave of bans to help prevent 360 consoles from being baned.The Ixtreme firmware will only play backup game that have all the stealth file in them.

just-in-time (JIT) debugging
Most of the time you will get this error on a computer that is running "Vista"
To fix this,Right click on Iprep and then run as admin.

Mode B:
A specific mode of operation of the Hitachi brands of dvd drives of the Xbox 360. It is diagnostic mode and allows for the reading/flashing of the firmware. This is not inclusive of the Hitachi 0079 which requires a 79 passkey to attain Mode B.

No valid firmware loaded :
The Def file in Iprep101 need to be updated

PFI Sector (Physical Format Information):
This sector is contained within the lead-in and contains information about its physical format. Disc booktype, start PSN and end PSN and Layerbreak are contained here. Currently all Xbox360 and Xbox1 games have the same PFI information, but that may change.
On Writable media (our backups), this also contains media specific information such as Media Code/Manufacturer ID and Media Product Revision number.
Any requestes for this information is now redirected to the the PFI sector now at $04FB1D (for Xbox 360 backups) or $0605FD (Xbox 1 backups), if it exists. If it does not exist (pre V3 backup) a seperate embedded PFI is used for Xbox 360 and Xbox 1.

PSN Lockdown:
This is a two part process:
-Before disc authentication (security sector,challenge response) is performed the drive will only allow vaild PSN reads as defined in the PFI sector. This is currently the standard video partition. Any request to read outside this range is not allowed - as per originals. (No more reading of the backup PFI,DMI,SS sectors.)
-After disc authentication is performed and the drive is unlocked only valid PSN reads are allowed from the range defined by the Security Sector, this is the standard game partition. Any request to read outside this range is not allowed - as per originals.

Samtool : aka (firmtool)
This is a program wrote by Caster420.This program will build your Hacked firmware after a dump/read.This program takes the key out of your original firmware and then inserts this key in the Hacked firmware.This enables the firmware to then be flash to your drive.

SATA
Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA, IPA: /ˈseɪtə/ or /ˈsætə/) is a computer bus primarily designed for transfer of data between a computer and storage devices (like hard disk drives or optical drives).
The main benefits are faster transfers, ability to remove or add devices while operating (hot swapping), thinner cables that let air cooling work more efficiently, and more reliable operation with tighter data integrity checks than the older Parallel ATA interface.

Serial Number :
The number on the back off your 360.It is a unique number that that all 360 have.You will use this ser number when you read/dump your samsung or BenQ 360 dvd drive.

sh-d162c dvd drive:
This is the most widely used dvd drive for dumping an original game to your computer as a file that can then be burned to disk.

Split-vid
Its just a way to build the iso that you burn on a DL disc.
Doing it that way is said to make it look more like a orig disc.
The "big guy" say it don't matter at this time if you burn it with a split-vid iso or not.
I think most of us (at this site) build our iso WITH the split-vid just be be on the safe side.

Stack overflow
Most of the time this is fixed by resetting your bios to default.
One person did this.
"I went to the bios and i changed the IDE to RAID"
This also can be from a computer that does not have a floppy drive installed but, the floppy is enabled in the bios
Go in the bios and dic able the floppy.

Stealth Media
This is to clear up a few misconceptions about what Stealth Media is and how it works. This is not firmware stealth. Reading the firmware itself for changes is not controlled by the firmware itself, it is a low level hardware function which cannot be stopped by firrmware code.
Stealth Media is all about making a backup disc appear to the Xbox360 host exactly the same as an original. Although this was already done by the Security Sector and the challenge/response, there remained a number of differences on the disc that are currently not checked for. It would be very easy for the dash or the particular game to perform these extra disc checks. There are four main aspects to Stealth Media:

Unhandled exception has occurred
Most of the time you will get this error on a computer that is running "Vista"
To fix this,Right click on Iprep and then run as admin.
Also if you don't have a floppy installed on your computer go into the bios and make sure the floppy is "Disabled"

USB Flash Drive:
Also known by "stick drive, thumb drive, or simply flash drive"- These are the little memory sticks that plug into the usb port. These are not always bootable which has been known to cause problems when using a program to allow the user to create a bootable flash drive.Not all computer will boot on to a Flash drive.

WinRaR :
This is a program that will unzip files and program.Most thing coming from Xbins and other sites will have there file RaR to save space on there server.Once this program is installed on your computer you right click on the RaR file and extract here.This will unzip the file.

Xbins :
This is a (file transfer protocol) FTP site only.You can find most things that have to do with Xbox and 360 Xbox modding here.The xbins auto loader is by far the best way to get to Xbins.

Xbins auto loader :
This program will auto run all the steps needed to get you to xbins.Once you see the FTP program open.Your computer is on the left and the Xbins computer is on the right.You then navigate to where the file or program is you want to download.There is a limit to the number of files you can download in a 24 hour time.

Xtreme firmware :
This firmware is the older firmware.It was used before the first wave of bans.It would play backup game that did not have the stealth files in them.It is now considered unsafe to use this firmware if you every go on live.



This list was started at Robinhoodsplayground.com
It is a ongoing project to help the beginner to understand the words and programs they will be hearing and using in there 360 modding.
I want to thank everyone that has contributed to the project.
CoFree
ROBINHOOD'S PLAYGROUND
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Re: The A-Z's of 360 Modding Vernacular (modding dictionary)

Post by dollmaker »

Very informative. Thanks for taking time to write these details.
My Computer Specs :

Processor: Motorola 68020, 16 MHz
Hard Disk: 40 MB
RAM: 10 MB (that's the max)
VRAM: 256 KB
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Monitor: Macintosh 12" RGB
Resolution: 560 x 384

The img is to big man
you can put it back but smaller
thanks
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Re: The A-Z's of 360 Modding Vernacular (modding dictionary)

Post by kikncans »

Great info!! Thanx for posting
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Re: The A-Z's of 360 Modding Vernacular (modding dictionary)

Post by CoFree »

updated
"FIGHTING TYRANNY in a TECHNOLOGICAL NOTTINGHAM"
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No Questions by PM.
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