Xecuter chip advice (please!)

[Old Guy]

I just could use a bit of technical advice. I'm a first time importer (importing Fable in September) so I got the most reasonable chip I could find (Xecuter 2.3B lite, with a xapter, i'm useless at at soldering) and put the thing together.
Now because I'm a complete n00b and have no idea how these chips function

1. can someone please tell me what the three buttons on the control thing do (aside from the obvious on/off)

2. When I turn on my xbox with the chip on, is the xbox supposed to switch itself on and off three times and then just sit there with a black screen and the eject button flashing green and red? would it not do this if there was an import game in the machine?

I won't be getting my import until sept, so I have no clue whatsoever of what'll happen when I finally put my import in. Other than this my machine is fine. I'm just hoping someone can anwser the ramblings of a 30+ old guy. Better yet can some one explain what the chip should do?

[Willei]

2. When I turn on my xbox with the chip on, is the xbox supposed to switch itself on and off three times and then just sit there with a black screen and the eject button flashing green and red? would it not do this if there was an import game in the machine?

Definately not. If the Xbox is FRAGing (Flashing Red and Green) then you've got problems. This can be a symptom of having a badly flashed BIOS on the chip. If you've not done anything with it, then you should have a Cromwell BIOS already on the chip. This is fine unless you have a v1.6 Xbox which it isn't compatible with - although this shouldn't cause your Xbox to frag, only to have no display on the screen.

Much more likely is that your Xapter isn't correctly positioned. Open 'er up again and make sure all the pins have a good contact with the LPC header.

[Destrukticor]

i THINKyou will also need an dashboard alternative as well such as evo-x or avalaunch as those flashing lights do mean there is a prob with it.

pretty certain it will be something to do with this although there are far better people to answer the question than i do you want to use the box just for imports with no LIVE? or do you want live functionality as well?

i think you would need to install an alternate dash board disks like the slayers disk will do most of it for you.

and 30 somethings are COOL!

[Old Guy]

I can't see how there can be any major problem with BIOS. Damn, I should of researched this better. My Xbox is a right old thing though a 1.0 or a 1.1. Could it be something to do with the wire in the D0?

Earlier though I was playing Splitner Cell and it was FRAGing but it was all running fine, wierd.

[g-funk]

It'll just be the no-solder adapter not sitting right on the board. These are notorious for this and that is why most people just go for a solder solution.

If it has worked before then it wont be a bios prob, but if it hasnt worked at all then it could be a bad flash. Did you have to flash it after installing it?

The dashboard wont matter, you don't need a replacement dash to boot imports.

[Willei]

I can't see how there can be any major problem with BIOS. Damn, I should of researched this better. My Xbox is a right old thing though a 1.0 or a 1.1. Could it be something to do with the wire in the D0?

Earlier though I was playing Splitner Cell and it was FRAGing but it was all running fine, wierd.

If it's fragging then you've definately nailed your d0 right on. Did your LPC header have solder in the holes? Every version has these except v1.1. I installed mine with wires on my 1.1 so it was an advantage not to have to clear out the holes, but they need to be filled if you want to use an adaptor.

Wait a minute... d0 is the hardest solder point, if you can do that then you should easilly be able to do the wires to the LPC header!

[Old Guy]

This is just going mad. Last night twice my xbox came up with the bios screen. and again this morning but this was completely random. on top of that I've messed up the screws on the base of my machine so it's almost impossible to get back in. but there will be some way around.

I feel like a complete fool!

[Ciaran]

If its random it sounds like the adapter is not sitting on the points right, most likely d0.


The switches on your chip should be, on/off, a switch to enable/disable flashing your bios and a switch to change if you have more than one bios on the chip.

[Old Guy]

I'm sure I can get this working thanks for the advice.
A question about d0, that copper wire looks really flimsy but does it conduct a good signal?
I think I will have to break the casing as the screws seem to be buggered.

to recap:

ON/ OFF switch: obviously needs to be on if you want to play an import.

Protected/Unprotected switch: enables flashing your bios

Bank1/bank2: switch between bios.

If only I had a soldering iron, I can solder fine, O-level in electronic products taught me something! but I don't so thats that.
Finally can anyone explain why the xbox switched itself on and off 3 times? I'd have thought that would be caused by a bad electric connection rather than a badly placed chip...

Sorry about all the questions, I'm learning. verrry slowly.

[Yod@]

It switches itself on and off and then flashes green and red all as part of the same problem - no valid BIOS to enable the Xbox to boot correctly.

As Willei says, it sounds as though your D0 point is ok (the really small one) - does your Xbox still work correctly if the chip is disabled?

[Old Guy]

yes perfectly fine no problems at all, what confuses me is it seems to be in the right place but it often comes up with nothing and sometimes rarely it comes up with a screen saying "cromwell flash bios" and whole load of specifications. which switches should I have on on the little switch remote thing to play imports?

[g-funk]

The chip is needng flashed, you need to make a disc with a bios on it to put in after the cromwell screen comes up. Thats why it's flashing red/green.

Xecutor chips all come without a bios to stay legal.

[Old Guy]

so its supposed to switch itself on and off?! its not a bad conection? so why does it sometimes give me a blue bios screen and most of the time just play disco lights with the eject button? switch on and off 3 times then just sit there with a black screen. All this just to play imports I thought that you didn't require another bios...

then if I do need a bios disk to make it work can I buy one from somewhere. because my PC is absolute turd. I only want to play imports!

[Willei]

Misinformation!

It is not meant to switch itself on and off three times before finally deciding to not work. But for it to do this, it *must* at least have d0 correctly connected. Although for it to be fragging like that, either the memory bank is blank/corrupted, or the chip is not correctly connected to the LPC header. The later is far more likely to occur with one of these crappy no-solder adaptors.

Are you booting from the same memory bank of your modchip each time? I don't know anything about Cromwell (having an Antique Bioxx chip as I do), but since Xecutors can't be shipped with a BIOS that allows you to play imports off the bat, you have to flash it. For the time-being, the correct outcome of your boot should be the black screen with "Cromwell Flash Bios" written down.

[Old Guy]

I sometimes get a blue screen with swirly patterns and a some text.

It makes sense now. Its most likely a bad connection on the pins, thanks but how this can be I'm not sure as the last time I checked there were dents in the solder tracks where the chip had been pressing down. My only remaining problem is trying to figure out how to get into the damn thing now the screws are messed up (well I got three of them out) and finding a bios to flash to the chip. You guys are Gods cheers