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Flashing xbox 360 drive with Mac / Bootcamp and USB SATA adapter
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badapples
Newbie
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14. May 2009 @ 22:13 |
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I have read that it is possible and has been done before, to use a Mac, such as an iMac or Macbook, along with a Bootcamp installation of Windows XP, along with a USB to SATA adapter, such as this one to flash a 360 drive with iXtreme. The posts I've read indicated to use Jungle Flasher along with the Jungle USB drivers that are floating around. I've read the posts and readme's in these sw packages, but am a little stuck, so I've come here for some help because I haven't found a guide for this type of procedure. My alternative is to pay someone to flash it for me, but then I'd always be paying when new firmware versions come out and I'll never learn anything that way! ;)
So, I first tried doing this with VMware on my iMac, using the software mentioned above, but after installing Jungle USB drives, then the IOPort driver that came with Jungle Flasher, and now when I try to open Jungle Crasher, my windows installation crashes.. every time. Hmm....
So I am trying to go through with a Bootcamp install and try that way, but I wanted to check here and see if anyone else has had success doing this method. If so, if you could let me know for sure if I should use both the USB driver as well as the IOPort driver? Also, the readme for the USB driver is pretty vague and it wasn't clear if I had to already have had my drive flashed first for it to work.. (not sure what the point of that limitation would be.. )
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. May 2009 @ 22:26 |
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Unfortunately, I don't think anyone here has done that before. I would be very interested to know if you do get this to work, because I have a macbook pro with vmware fusion on it. However, I use my PC that I built to do all my drive flashing.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, and I'll do my best to help with anything I can in the process.
need jtag help? Xbox 360 console repair? PM me or chat |
AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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14. May 2009 @ 23:46 |
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If you are running Windows XP natively on a Mac, I would say it would work. As long as the USB-to-SATA is known to flash 360 drives. PortIO, .net, and JF should all run good. I am also interested to see the results. Please let us know! :)
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badapples
Newbie
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15. May 2009 @ 01:18 |
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Well, unfortunately right now my Bootcamp installation I forgot I had removed it a while back, so I am in process of creating a new one... and oh how fun to install XP... feels so ancient! ... anyway, hopefully be up and running sometime tomorrow..
Is there a list of known USB / SATA adapters that work? My drive is a BENQ drive if that helps.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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15. May 2009 @ 10:40 |
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Here is one, a little pricey, but along the lines of what you will need.
HERE
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Allan90
Newbie
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26. May 2009 @ 15:54 |
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badapples
Have you had any luck with this method
Thanks Allan
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kavedelka
Newbie
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9. December 2009 @ 13:03 |
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Augster
Newbie
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23. January 2010 @ 11:23 |
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I too, have successfully flashed both an OEM and a previously flashed Liteon drives on my 2008 Mac Pro 2.8 8-Core, running Windows XP SP3 using the onboard SATA ports (Intel). I also reflashed a Liteon drive under Windows 7 64 bit as well. I just never got the drivers installed to use the Xtractor.
I used a power connectivity kit (for ease of use) as well as a Maximus USB Xtractor. For XP, I installed the latest .NET framework, PortIO32 drivers and FTDI drivers (Xtractor). For Win7 64bit, I didn't have to install any drivers to reflash my Liteon, though to get the Xtractor to work I probably need to install PortIO64 and FTDI drivers (it was taking forever for Win7 update to download the FTDI driver that I gave up).
I was not successful using the "unused" SATA ports of the Mac Pro so I pulled a drive bay out and used them, and because JungleFlasher can not select Port 1 (at least, I found no way to do so), you must attach to a Port 0 (master). Interestingly, the Xtractor software is able to see both Port types. Anyways, I used Bay 2 which is a Port 0. FYI, Bay 3 is a Port 1.
Unlike Kavey, I didn't want to "hack" my Mac Pro in any way nor its cables, so I simply bought a 7-pin internal SATA 20" extension cable. I actually bought TWO and connected them in series to give me plenty of length to have the drive sitting on my desk (my tower is located on the floor). I didn't even have to lay my Pro on its side and simply felt my way to the internal SATA port and connected my extension to it, and the other to the X360 optical drive. I didn't disconnect any other items from the Pro, other than Bay 2.
The biggest pain was ensuring the power connectivity PCB was firmly attached to the drive as it is a loose fit. I operated the tray a couple times to verify power connectivity, powered down, manually set the drive to half-open, powered back up then did a "cold" boot of the Mac to ensure the optical drive is sensed by the Pro (the Mac SATA ports are not hot-swappable so all SATA devices you wish to use must be connected prior to power-up).
The itemized list of equipment used:
1 - Maximus Xtractor $25
1 - Power Connectivity $17 (optional)
1 - Power Adapter $8 (optional)
2 - 20" 7-pin SATA extension $10 (includes shipping cost)
The Xtractor software is not really used in the flashing of the Liteon drive, though it was useful in scanning for attached X360 drives on any Port so it was valuable in troubleshooting connectivity issues as JungleFlasher would NOT show any devices attached to a Port 1.
I almost freaked when my first attempt to erase the drive failed. I nervously tried again and it worked. Then it failed the first attempt to write to the drive. I started back with erasing and then writing and it worked the second time. Just something to keep in mind to redo the steps in case of any failures (FYI, the JungleFlasher tutorial does NOT tell you what to do in the event of any flashing failures).
Good luck in your quest!
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