Jtag Kernel Update, the old way, one final time...

Myrddin

Ok with both of my Jtags up for sale, I should probably update them to current levels before passing them on. Now, I've had a bad experience with an all-in-one GUI tool before, which resulted in me having to plug in a soldering iron in order to fix...so ever since then I just use the old fashioned command line method for updating. It's never once let me down, is nowhere near as complex as it might first appear, & because it's step by step I think you're less inclined to make a mistake.

So this will be my last time doing this, & thought I'd document it as such. I;ll be taking excerpts from Touching Virus' already written excellent write up, & adding in screengrabs & pics of the process along my way. So, without further ado, one last time....

For simplicity you need the following:

1) Your CPU Key
2) A copy of your nand (original or FreeBOOT) and SMC
3) Dashboard Data (Google for "xxxxx Dashboard data" where XXXXX is the version number e.g. 12611, 13599, 14699, 16197
4) xeBuild (xbins -> /XBOX 360/development/xeBuild/)

I've my cpu key contained within a text file, a copy of the most recent nand image for this console & the modified smc for this console type {Big Block Jasper}, the newest Dashboard Data {16203 as of now}, & the most recent xeBuild {1.07 as of now}.



Ok, onto step 2:

Download xeBuild and extract it to a folder - say C:\xeBuild

Open your dashboard data zip file and extract the contents to C:\xeBuild\<version_number> e.g. for 16203.zip, extract the contents to C:\xeBuild\16203. The folder should already exist in C:\xeBuild anyway.

Edit C:\xeBuild\1blkey.txt. On the first line is a dummy key - replace it with DD88AD0C9ED669E7B56794FB68563EFA.

Edit C:\xeBuild\mydata\options.ini. Scroll down until you see where the cpukey goes, paste it in there. You can also add the 1bl key to this file, it goes directly over the cpu key line. Both are filled with dummy codes, so just overwrite them with the 1bl key as provided, & your consoles cpu key. Close the text file then, saving any changes.

That's all just straight forward stuff, no need for any pics there. Just follow it exactly.

Step 3:

Extracting KV and SMC_CONFIG.bin
Open up 360 Flash Tool v0.97 and click Settings->Options. Tick the box that says "Extract ibuild compatible files". Then open your nand and click extract on the bottom. Tick the box for 'config blocks' and 'Keyvault' and click OK. Choose a folder for these files. When extraction is done, go to that folder and there'll be a folder called freeBOOT, click into it, then into data and you will find two files - kv.bin and smc_config.bin. Copy these two files to C:\xeBuild\mydata.

Ok, using the mentioned 360 Flash Tool program, I followed the above instructions. And as promised, the two needed files are where they should be:



So again, as per instructions, I move them to C:\xeBuild\mydata



Step 4:

Picking the right SMC (not for Xenon consoles)
This step is very important if your console is not a xenon - flashing the wrong SMC can end your JTAG If the nand file you used to extract the KV.bin and SMC_CONFIG.bin files in the previous step was taken from your previous dashboard updflash.bin, or was taken from a dump you took off your currently working JTAG, then use the same steps above but check the box labelled SMC. You'll find an SMC.bin in the same place you found KV/SMC_CONFIG.bin.

If you're using your original nand (not recommended unless you know your wiring scheme), then you will need to pick an SMC for the JTAG wiring in use. You can find SMC files for the AUD_CLAMP method of wiring (the preferred choice) in this file. Remember: Using the wrong SMC file can b0rk your JTAG, to play it super safe, take a dump of your nand using Flash360, and extract the SMC from that using 360 Flash Tool

Copy smc.bin to C:\xeBuild\mydata

This step never worked for me, I always just got two files called smc_dec.bin & smc_enc.bin which I'm not sure what to do with. So, knowing this Jasper console has had the boxddr method of jtag done, I use a pre-patched smc file specifically used for Jaspers, pictured above called jasperbb.smcio_v1.2. This is crucial, & can ruin the console if you use the wrong file, so if in doubt, ask for help or research it more. Make sure to rename the smc file you use to smc.bin, & move it to C:\xeBuild\mydata



Step 5:

Place an existing nand dump into the 'mydata' folder of xeBuild. This will allow xeBuild to determine various system variables. You need to rename the dump file to 'nanddump.bin' without the quotes.

Straight forward enough



Step 6 - Build Time:

Build freeBOOT

Open a command prompt, go to C:\xeBuild and type the following

Code:
xebuild -t <image type> -c <model> -d mydata -f <dashboard> updflash.bin
<image> is either glitch, jtag or retail
<model> is either xenon, falcon, zephyr, jaspersb, jasper256, jasper512 etc etc
<mydata> is where your per-console files are, cpukey.txt etc
<dashboard> is the name of the folder holding the dashboard files (e.g. 16197)

xeBuild will build freeBOOT as updflash.bin - copy it to USB, boot to Xellous and flash it.

I open an elevated command prompt, as the resulting file will need to be written to c:\ {root}. So in my specific case, the build instructions were:

xebuild -t jtag -c jasper512 -d mydata -f 16203 c:\updflash.bin

So -t was set to Jtag, as it's a Jtag image I'm looking to build.
-c was set as japser512, as it's a jasper chipset with 512MB memory
-d was set to mydata, as that's where I put my console specific files earlier
-f was set to 16203, as that's the version of dash we're looking to build.
& then I wanted the output file placed in c:\, & named as updflash.bin hence c:\updflash.bin.

If you've done everything right & placed everything where it should go, the build log will be error free:



Ok that's the build process finished. If you look where you set your output file to be placed, you should see a shiny new updflash.bin. Next step is to flash it to the console itself!

Myrddin

Ok so, now that we have the new 16203 image file ready to go. I'm going to flash it to the console using Xellous. What I simply need to do, is place the new updflash.bin file on the root of a USB stick, & place the stick in the consoles usb slot. I then boot the console by pressing the eject button, rather then the power button or joypad, this boots Xellous & will automatically look for updflash in a connected usb stick when booting.







This is the most nerve wrecking part. Shut the console down as per instructions, & perform a power cycle {disconnect the psu for at least 30secs}. Then reboot. If you've made any errors along the way, chances are you'll find out at this stage when your console no longer boots. If you've done everything correctly, you'll be warmly welcomed...





Thank {insert expletive here}!

Next step, the MS dash/system/avatar update!

Instructions & link provided by MS themselves - http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/system-updates/system-updates-info?icid=furl_update#77da3aa82f6e40cab89a34cf67b2a948

The link will change address when the update version changes number, so if its a dead link at some stage in the future, just google "MS Xbox360 system update usb" & it should take you to where you need to get.

Here's the update package, extracted & placed on the root of a fat32 formatted usb stick. Some users have the change the name of the folder, adding or removing $ signs, I've never had to change it though.



So boot the console, & once at the dash, place the usb stick into an empty usb slot on the console.It might take a few seconds to be detected, but it should pop up like so:





You'll then be advised of a reboot, & upon restart, you should have some really 'radical & awesome' avatars!



That's essentially it, you're now on the latest dash with the latest updates.

Myrddin

Ok, usually all your stuff like FSD & Dashlaunch will all be where they were & everything will remain unaffected by updating the dash, but seeing as I'm selling this console I've decided to just throw an old 20GB hdd onto it. This means it's fresh with nothing on it, so I may as well briefly run though how I install FSD & Dashlaunch while I'm at it.

Ok, FSD. I got the latest version from here & downloaded it to a new folder.

Here is the extracted downloaded archive, contained within a folder called FS3 for simplicity



I'm just going to transfer this folder to the console via usb, it can be done via ftp/cd etc too obviously. So, you can see here from within Xexmenu, I've transferred my FS3 folder, to the root of the hard drive of the console



From within the FS3 folder, I can then launch the default.xex file which is the executable for FS3. Doing so, launches FS3





First things first, I manually increase the speed of the fans to about 70%. This makes the console quite a bit louder, but you can see the temps come down in the display, & it without a doubt ensures the console will live a much longer & happier life, so I can put up with the increased noise! You can of course return the settings to auto, but I'd advise putting up with additional noise for the sake of keeping the console cooler.



You would then normally define the path to content, but seeing as there's no content on the hdd, nor have I any external hdd's with content on them, the paths remain blank.



Once you define game/content paths, the Games section will display the games the console finds, retrieve cover art & screenshots for them, & you can browse them using the awesome coverflow system. No content here though!



That's essentially it for FS3, but we don't want to have to turn the console on, load up XeXmenu, find the FS3 folder, & launch the default.xex file every single time we turn the console on do we? Of course not! We now turn to Dashlaunch, will will do all that lovely work for us, & load up FS3 as the default dash when the console turns on...

Myrddin

Ok so, Dashlaunch. As I mentioned above, this is a program that sits between the 360, & the OS, allowing us to load a new default dash {FS3 in this case} amongst other things. I downloaded the latest version, 3.07 as of now, & extracted the archive to a new folder.



All we need to go is transfer the Installer folder over to the console, & run the default.exe contained within it to begin the installation & configuration process





We can then configure things to work the way we want. Paths refers to the location of the different dashes that you might want to run instead of the official one. Seeing as our FS3 is located at, hdd:\FS3\Default.exe we simply point Dashlaunch to that location from within the Paths section. Simple! There's many other settings & parameters to look at, but be careful, some of them are dev settings so if in doubt, leave them as they are.



We then point Dashlaunch to where we want to save the settings we entered, I changed it from usb to hdd, & then saved them. They save as launch.ini



That's it, after a reboot, the new default dash is FS3...ready & waiting for content to be added



Again, to finalise, these are all the old-school, manual methods of installing these programs. There are things like jrunner, which can build your jtag/rgh images for you, & auto installers for FS3 too. But if you get the jist of what's going on manually, you'll have an idea of how to fix problems when things go wrong..more so than you will using easy all in one tools. That's it, the fat lady has sang, & my jtag days are over!

TouchingVirus

Most excellent guide, and with pictures too

Myrddin

TouchingVirus wrote: »

Most excellent guide, and with pictures too

Cheers TV It prob looks like a long, drawn out procedure from the above. As you know yourself though, it's really straight forward & simple if you follow the steps.

I know you've since been converted to Jrunner/the GUI darkside...perhaps next time you're building an image that way you might take some snaps of the procedure & throw them up?