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General discussion

Hacked Xbox/Win XP/ accessing files from a formatted drive

by cbs071379 Jul 29, 2007 7:13PM PDT

Simply put, all I have to do is to change a file name on the xbox drive. I screwed up and rebooted the xbox before I changed the file name and now I can't boot up my OS.
That really isn't the issue though. I am just letting it be known that all I need to do is edit a file name on this other drive. My question/problem is that I have no way off accessing the file on the xbox and have since taken the drive out and put into my desktop as a slave drive, but windows doesn't see it. It sees it in the hardware manager and in the bios, but not in "My Computer". I know this is because it is a unformatted drive and windows needs it to be formatted to recognize it. My question is, is there anyway I can access the file to change the name without formatting the drive. I don't want to format because that will erase everything. Is there a program I can use, or maybe I can access the drive in DOS or something like that. Like I said, all I need is to access the C drive and change a file name and all my problems are solved. All help is greatly appreciated and thank you all for taking the time to read my problem. Take care.

Dell Dimension 4300
120GB HDD (Western Digital)
WIN XP

Original Xbox
120GB HDD (Seagate)

Discussion is locked

7 Posts
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That doesn't seem easy.
by Kees Bakker Jul 29, 2007 8:08PM PDT

An XBOX drive is 'locked' (to prevent access on a PC) and password protected.

http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/pc-hdd.php
tells you how to unlock it.
http://www.copying-xbox-games.com/tutorials.php?tutorialid=00000032 tells how to lock it afterwards.

Just two google hits, I don't have any experience with this. Let me note some risks:
1. You screw up the unlocking or the password doesn't work.
2. You can't edit the data on your PC after the unlocking.
3. The relock doesn't work.
4. The xbox refuses to read the data from the relocked drive.

This seems rather hopeless to me, frankly speaking. Maybe somebody else is more optimistic.

Kees

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If...
by jackson dougless Jul 30, 2007 12:27AM PDT

The Xbox has a modchip in it, and can thus boot backup discs, you can download something like AID (Auto Installer Deluxe). Aside from being a great wealth of Xbox homebrew software, it's also a bootable disc running a dashboard that has a built-in FTP server. So, the HDD would be unlocked by the Xbox bios/firmware, and then you could FTP in to rename the file in question.

If you're using a softmod, you're probably going to have to brute force crack the password on the drive. You also need a program that can read the FATX filesystem used by the Xbox. Windows can only read FAT12/16/32 and NTFS on its own.

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Thanks
by cbs071379 Jul 30, 2007 3:33AM PDT

Thanks to both of you, but it sounds like dougless has a little more insight into the problem, so I will go with his suggestion. Let me ask you this.
As it stands now, I have a xenium chip and am still able to boot to their OS. I also have evox (zipped) and unleashx (zipped) on my desktop. Would it be easier for me to use another bank on the xbox, and load evox to that other bank? Then once I'm in with evox, ftp in and change the file name so that my 1st bank will act normal again? That's what I was feeling was my only option last night, but really didn't want to go that route since it has been 3-4 years since I did it the first time and really don't remember how to do it all. What I do remember from 3-4 years ago, was that it was a lot of reading and a lot of coasters with evox. Let me know what you think and thanks again for helping me out. Sorry, I should've mentioned that I already had evox and the current build of unleashx on my desktop. which would probably make it easier.
My thing is, how funny is it that if you don't change the name of default.xbe to evoxdash.xbe, the whole system becomes useless. That's just crazy to me. There should be some failsafe put in place for idiots like me.

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Well...
by jackson dougless Jul 30, 2007 4:50AM PDT

No, that won't really work. Aside from the SmartXX chips, I don't know of any that have an FTP server built into the BIOS, and dashboards like UnleashX and EvolutionX (EvoX) have to be stored on the Xbox HDD.

So what you need is a BFM (Boot From Media) disc, such as Auto Installer Deluxe (AID). Of course you could always make your own as well if you got a BFM BIOS off the #xbins FTP. Something that will have an FTP server either running by default or available.

And the lack of safeguards is because the Xbox wasn't really intended to be used like you and I are using it. Which is why I like to keep a copy of AID handy in case I screw something up. It will let me get into the system to fix things, or even format the drive and start over. I'd either grab a copy AID, or look for some other kind of rescue disc. Then keep it handy in case you ever need it again.

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so which to use?
by cbs071379 Jul 30, 2007 4:58AM PDT

slayers auto install or AID? you say AID will allow me to look in the HDD and change the file name? might as well go with that right?

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Doesn't matter
by jackson dougless Jul 30, 2007 6:55AM PDT

Either of those should work fine, but AID is a little more up to date, and seems to be more actively maintained than Slayers.

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oh yeah! SLAYERS!!!!!!
by cbs071379 Jul 30, 2007 8:41AM PDT

haha it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i used slayers and FTPed and changed the name. thanks a lot for your help!

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