Geek Speak.

PLEASE NOTE

This tutorial is provided for informational purposes only and is pretty out-dated. You're really better off using my bootable CD and building your Xbox hard drive with that. This method does work, but there are really easier ways now. So use this tutorial at your own risk!

By Nate Rice

v1.00 ( 07/22/04 ) - Original Release

WARNING! As always, perform this modification at your OWN RISK. We have done our best to ensure that the information in this tutorial is accurate, but we can not guarantee that it is. We will not take any responsibility for any damage to your Xbox, your computer, or yourself by performing this modification.

In this tutorial we will be re-enabling the factory Microsoft dashboard. We will be able to launch the dashboard from the EvoX dashboard menu option "Launch MS Dashboard". This is a completely optional step. Some people like to use the Microsoft Dashboard for its ability to rip audio CD's, browse your save games, or some other functionality.

The idea for this tutorial will be to create two copies of the Microsoft dashboard. One copy will boot and launch the font exploit files. The other copy will launch with the factory font files and start the Microsoft dashboard. The problem is we will have to modify one of the copies of the factory dashboard so that it looks for the renamed factory fonts instead of the font exploit files. Got it? Good.

In this tutorial we will assume that you have completed Parts 1 - 2. We will also assume that you are familiar with the concepts that we established in Parts 1 - 2. Some of these concepts include signing XBEs and unpacking compressed archives. We will do our best to hyperlink to the respective FAQ answers from within the tutorial, so it is your responsibility to follow those links if you have any questions.

This tutorial has only been tested on Xbox versions 1.0-1.4. It has not been tested with versions Xbox's beyond that. If you don't know your Xbox version you can figure it out by visiting the Xbox-Linux website at the following URL: http://www.xbox-linux.org/docs/versionsfinding.html .

This tutorial has not been tested with Xbox Live. There are known issues with modified Xbox's and Xbox Live. Xbox Live has been known to update the dashboard when logged on. Use Xbox Live at your own risk. If you don't plan on using Xbox Live with this Xbox, you can safely continue with this tutorial.

Buttons, icons, menu items, and other things you click or double click on your computer will be formatted like this within the tutorial:

[Okay]

This is simply a visual indicator to you that you should be clicking somewhere on your computer.

This tutorial has been written in such a fashion that it would be easy to skip between steps. Each sub-step is simply detailing how to perform each step. If you know the details of how to perform the individual steps or have performed them in the past, feel free to skip reading the intricate details of the step and simply perform the step. Don't be intimidated, this isn't as complicated as it initially seems.

1) Requirements

Hardware:

• Soft Modded Xbox (With EvoX installed)
• Xbox Power Cable, Video Cable, and One Controller
• Computer with a FTP Client (Note we will be referencing Windows XP)

Software:

• FTP Client (Note we will be referencing FlashFXP)
• XTF2XFT-Patcher

If you meet all these requirements you are ready for step 2! Obtain ALL of these requirements before you move on to step 2. Trust me on this. You will save yourself a TON of time by simply meeting all these requirements before you start poking around inside of your xbox.

2) Copy and Modify the Microsoft Dashboard

Here we will copy the Microsoft dashboard to your computer. Modify it with our XTF2XFT-Patcher tool. Rename it and copy back to the Xbox hard drive.

2.1) FTP into your Xbox and browse to the C partition.

2.2) Copy the file "xboxdash.xbe" located in the root of C to the same directory as the XTF2XFT-Patcher tool on your computer.

2.3) Run the XTF2XFT-Patcher tool to modify your copy of the Xbox dashboard.

2.3.1) OPTIONAL: If you are not running the PBL (Phoenix BIOS Loader) yet then you will have to "fonts sign" the XBE.

2.4) Rename the patched copy of "xboxdash.xbe" to "msxboxdash.xbe"

2.5) Copy this file to the root of the C partition on the Xbox dashboard.

3) Rename Factory Font Files

Here we will rename the factory font files. We will be renaming the extensions "XTF" to "XFT". We are doing this so that the modified copy of the Microsoft dashboard has something to load when it goes to load font files.

3.1) FTP into your Xbox again and browse to the "C:\Fonts" folder.

3.2) This folder should contain 4 files. Two of the files will be the original Xbox font files (bert.xtf and ernie.xtf) and the other two will be the original font files. Rename the factory font files (or verify that they are named) Xbox.xft and Xbox Book.xft.

4) Verify the EvoX.ini.

For those of you who are not using a SuperTrick.net release of EvoX you may have to modify your EvoX.ini file to look for the proper location of the modified Xbox dashboard. Look for the following entry in the Evox.ini:

MSDashBoard = "c:\msxboxdash.xbe"

And verify that it is correct.

5) Reboot and Enjoy

Reboot your Xbox and enjoy. The "Load MS Dashboard" option on the EvoX menu should now be fully functional.

NOTE: The process involved loading a Microsoft dashboard from EvoX using the soft mod and PBL goes something like this.

Factory BIOS Starts -> Factory BIOS Loads MS Dashboard -> MS Dashboard Loads Font Exploit (Bert & Ernie) -> Font Exploit Crashes MS Dashboard and Loads PBL -> PBL Boots Hacked Bios -> Hacked Bios Boots EvoX -> EvoX Boots Modified Copy of MS Dashboard