Messing around with the bios appearance

Changing the "Xboxlogo" with FTT/KernelBasher

Ok those who are just after the .x file get it here- i've also included a really lame hand-cam recording of what it looks like- don't watch if you get travel sick

, my arm wasn't very steady when i was trying to record it.

If you don't actually know what I'm on about but would like to do it- what you will need is:

A bios (Required):

Xecuter: any x2 bios (though you won't be able to preprocess a x2 4983 bios)
Evox: Anything Upto to and including M7

XBtool (optional):

To do any pre process ing of the bios- what would i want to do in that i here you ask?

Well:
1. Change of boot sequence- I boot XBMC from the "F:\Apps\XBMC" location
2. Changing Fan speed
3. Changing the Colour of the the big "X" and the colour of the "XBMC" logo (in my example I use black xbox/xbmc text on a white splash backgorund- that has to be done here- default is green (like the green xbox logo on the M$ dash start up). The button that controls this in xbtool is the "XBOX Text" button/palette.
Would also be a good idea to remove the xecuter/microsoft logo if you are using xbtool- to do this uncheck the "Splash Logo" box in xbtool
4. Eeprom/Hdkey embedding- if you don't already know what this is don't bother with it- you could fubar your xbox

For help on Xbtool please read the tutorial provided by the author it is very comprehensive

If your Modchip doesn't use a 256k bios (maybe 512k or 1024 k), either at this point or in FTT repack the the 256k bios (that usually is the size from the "usual places") to the correct size for your modchip- to do this in XBtool select the correct size in the "File Size" box at the bottom

Kernelbasher (Essential) (Formerly FTT):

Get this great little prog from the link above. If you want to make your own "xbox" replacement Logo then follow their tut either here (no need for the bios unpacking and repacking stages anymore with FTT :-)) or in the pdf accompanying the FTT .exe file, it is very easy to follow- heck even I managed to do it. You can also direct q's to the experts in the bios forum of xbox -scene

If however you just want XBMC then you can use the xbmc-real.x file included in the zip file.

1. Fire up FTT

2. Add your bios (if u want to do any editing in xbtool do it first cos i'm not sure xbtool will be able to open it after processing in FTT)- thats the bottom right box (File options)

3. Change the xbox logo- use your own .x file (Circled Bottom Left Box)

4. Play around with the colours of the flubber etc. If you want to have the coloured xbmc logo on a white back ground set the colour of the logo in xbtool of the "Xbox" logo (the buttons at the top left of xbtool labelled "XBOX Text") and tick the "White splash background" circled in the picture. If you don't then you have the usual black Splash background, like in the standard M$ Dash

If your Modchip doesn't use a 256k bios (maybe 512k or 1024 k), either at this point or when preprocessing the bios in xbtool repack the the 256k bios (that usually is the size from the "usual places") to the correct size for your modchip- to do this in FTT select the correct size bios in the top right hand box (Resize Options)

5. Hit save- a flubbered.bin bios will be created in the last directory you opened (either to load the bios file or .x file depending on which you loaded last)

Here's what mine looks like (white splash screen, black "xbox logo" text, default colour scheme for the X-logo (just make the "lip colour" white), Splash logo turned off, and the camera setting was 5):

My thanks go to clogicgmather, Klutsh, PID, for making the user friendly FTT tool, for the very easy to follow tutorial, and for helping me getting this working- Without these guys you would have had an xbmc logo in the "Times New Roman" font

. And obviously to everyone at XBMC

and finally

FTT is in beta stage at the moment- in the guide it says don't attempt if you are using a single bank tsop (i'd add single bank modchip too). As you can see it works on my xbox (but i have only tested it with x2 4981), but don't come crying back here or flaming if you fubar your modchip/tsop on account of a bad flash, or a corrupted bios due to user ineptitude.

Replacing the Evox Logo in M8 Bioses

Along with many other great features, Evox M8 has a little evox logo in the left hand corner of the boot sequence that is replaceable with NghtShd's great EVtool get it here (Please read all the accompanying the documentation). To those who are familiar with XBtool then you'll be familiar with EVtool.

Please note the following though:

This version only works with modified M8 ROM files which are pre-patched for LBA48 and IGR. You will have to look for these in the usual palaces. Future versions may handle non-pre-patched M8 files.

Basically its not the official m8 bios at "the usual place"