Hacks

If you're like me and have a Xbox that was forced offline due to the new Spring dashboard update, here's some news for you. c4eva has announced that the next series of firmware to be released will be LT+ v1.9. LT+ v1.9 will be based off the new official firmwares, support XGD3 originals and will be fully compliant with the new dashboard. c4eva also warns that the use of the LT+ v1.1 firmware is not recommended as a temporary workaround.

Team Jungle has released a new version of Jungleflasher that allows for key extraction operations on drives affected by the new XGD3 dashboard update. (Samsungs, BenQs & Liteons) The previous methods such as PhatKey & SlimKey can still be used to dump the firmware from these drives. Here's the official changelog:

XBox 360 Slim Support In Release Firmware! They said all Xbox 360 models, both Fat and Slim, will be supported from day 1. Slim support was scheduled for firmware 1.2, but thanks to the relentless efforts of their dedicated developers it will now be available in the first firmware.

As the new Spring dashboard begins to roll out to Xbox users everywhere, news regarding the effects of the update, LT 2.0 and a write solution for Liteon 0225 Slim drives has arisen. The lead of Team-Xecuter, Xecuter, provided some information regarding the latest developments.

As leaked a few days ago, Microsoft is rolling out the new dashboard upgrade (2.0.13146.0) starting today. We of course suggest people with a modified DVD FW do NOT update for now until the update has been analysed, but as we know from the beta dashboards this update will probably flash your DVD firmware with a new one (mostly done to support the XGD3 disc format). If you decide to upgrade anyway, we HIGHLY suggest you get your DVD KEY before the update. You can then eventually try to reflash the modified FW after the update is done.

BestPig released a new version of freeBOOT ToolBox - a tool that allows to create and customize a freeBOOT image based on an original or XBR/freeBOOT dump: A small update that will just add support for the 12625 kernel thanks to fbuild 0.20. http://www.bestpig.fr

[k3rn3l] i can tell you all this about the 0225 mod [k3rn3l] there will be 3 flavors [k3rn3l] 1. 100% free instructions for the scene to do it yourself [k3rn3l] 2. A pro modders kit for installers to offer a service [k3rn3l] 3. an addon that anyone can install [k3rn3l] its 1 mod per drive tho (before you cheap ass installers try to rape as much cash out of this as you can) ;) [g***] if you really want, you could buy a 9504 and burn the 0225 fw to it [jsinger47] hell 9504 drives are like 70 bucks USD [glaz] I paid mine $30 [Flazze314] I got a 9504 drive got it $45 o:

With the public release of the XGD3 dashboards dawning upon us, you may think that you are royally screwed if you don't have a backup copy of your DVD key file. However, you're in luck as Electron^- has released an application that will extract the DVD key from the firmwares flashed by the XGD3 update. Not only that, e-Tool injects the dvd Key into the new firmwares in a ready to flash format.

In this past week, Xbox users were able to stream content via the new Hulu+ app added in the dashboard. In the next week, they will be allowed to do even more as Microsoft will release the long awaited Spring 2011 dashboard update to users everywhere. The new dashboard will be rolled out between May 19 and May 30. Here is what Microsoft is planning with this update.

We are a bit late with this but Team Maximus has finally released the latest versions of their GECKO OS & Toolbox to go hand in hand with their 360Lizard product. The two updates now enable the Standalone Mode that was revealed a while back.

The first firmwares of the LT 2.0 era are now completed and in for testing. As c4eva mentioned earlier this morning, LT 2.0 is completed for the Liteon 0225 drive present in Slim consoles and the 0800 ripping firmware for BenQ drives in the Phat consoles. In case you can't recall, the LT 2.0 firmware will be compatible with the upcoming XGD3 disc format. In the case of the 0800 firmwares, they will be able to rip the AP25 patches needed to launch certain games.

UPDATE (5/5/11): It has been confirmed that the 0401 drive functions in the same manner as the 0225 drives. The key is able to be dumped using a X360USB PRO but it cannot be written to. While the scene steadily itches past the protections present in the Slim Liteon 0225 drive, Microsoft pushes a new Liteon drive version. Paintball9 from Xbox-Scene picked up a 4GB Slim unit manufactured last month to find a Liteon drive with the 0401 firmware flashed to it.

x360key has licensed the key extraction technology used in Maximus Lizard. This means that x360key will be able to extract the unique key from all Xbox 360 drives; Samsung, Hitachi, Benq, Liteon, and Slim Liteon - including the latest 0225 model. Xbox 360 DVD Drive firmware flashing is *NOT* required to use x360key. However, this is a feature that may be added in a future x360key firmware update.

Team WODE, the guys behind their Wii Optical Disc Drive Emulator has announced that they will enter the Xbox 360 scene with a brand new product called XODE. Like the x360key, XODE is an optical drive emulator that promises to be more featured packed at half the price. Take a look.

The rumors hold true as Hulu Plus was unveiled for Xbox Live Gold users yesterday. Hulu is a TV show and movie streaming subscription service similar to Netflix where you can stream content to several media devices and consoles.

Recently, there has been several AP2.5 patches being released that were not obtained using the proper methods. As you may or may not know, these unofficial and otherwise unverified patches are not Live-safe. Although these patches can boot a game when its applied, they are detectable and can lead to a console ban. Ubergeek from Team-Xecuter explains the technical details behind these patches and why they are unsafe for Xbox Live users.

Sneakypeanut has released the newest version of his FreeBOOT image creator for Windows. This app aids in the creation of the image by simply doing it all for you, provided that you use the original NAND for your Xbox.

What's new/fixed:

• Added in more SMC options
• fixed odd.bin,crl.bin error from building leaked 12625 rebooter
• streamlinded some code
• implimented the improved xell
• removed hdmi xell
• fixed overwriting images
• commented more code
• fixed smc selection

Sorry this did not get posted sooner, but here is a nice Device! Not only is the X360USB PRO able to communicate with DVD Drives by utilizing built in PortIO and WinAPI functions giving a level of speed and access never seen before, but it can now also connect to Hard Drives and manipulate the data for the first time over USB using any Windows 32bit or 64bit operating system with just a few simple clicks. What does this mean for you ? You can now convert any off-the-shelf 2.5? SATA Hard Drive and convert it to be 100% XBOX 360 Compatible, saving you a TON of money !

Were you one of the guys disappointed when you opened your Slim console up and it had a Liteon drive with the 0225 firmware or had a mislabeled 9504 drive? How about you guys thinking about the future of backups with the new XGD3 format? If you answered yes, well then here's some news for you.

A bit of interesting news popped up on our Facebook News Feed from Xbox-Scene. Apparently, a new product dubbed the x360key allows you to play Xbox games from any USB drive. According to the manufacturer's website, the x360key:

• User friendly: intuitive interface, no soldering required
• Compatible with all fat (and soon slim!) Xbox 360 models
• Supports most Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 games
• Supports most file systems, including NTFS, EXT2/3/4, and Mac OS X Extended
• High speed USB2 interface
• Stylish USB control pad for selecting games and controlling your x360key
• Powerful embedded Linux system running from Micro SD card (included)
• Linux firmware fully updatable from USB media
• FPGA fully updatable from USB media via built-in, in-system JTAG programming
• Recovery mode - it is always possible to recover from a bad flash
• No drive flashing or JTAG hack required
• AP25 protection emulation

It looks promising but wait, there's more!