Embedded Files
Xbox 360 Xenon
October 16, 2022
RGH on a Xenon is apparently a 'different beast' as some have said. To date I had only done RGH3 on Trinity consoles, and a couple of Corona consoles. Moving over to the phat consoles was going to be a change, and the Xenon in particular isn't one that can benefit from RGH3 but I did find a forum thread by N3Star on SE7ENSINS which outlines a process for using EXT_CLK on the Xenon and a Matrix v3 to achieve RGH.
With the Matrix v3 glitch chip in my hands, it was time to continue work on the white Xbox 360 Xenon to see if I could succeed with an RGH mod. If you want to read about the process I worked through for reviving the RROD on this console you can travel back in time to Part 1 of this series here.
To begin, timing files need to be programmed into the Matrix chip. This was a new process for me, but I had picked up a JR Programmer v2 and I plugged it into my Windows 10 station. Windows recognized and initialized the device and I launched JR Runner. From there I chose to Program Timing File and then on the EXT_CLK and Misc tab, I selected the 192 MHz, 59.4 0.9 timing file as per the tutorial referenced above.
I was unable to write the timing file and repeatedly received a 'Device Not Found' error. With no experience with the JR Programmer I didn't know if I had a switch set wrong, something wired incorrectly, or perhaps if inserting the pin header into the Matrix chip just wasn't getting a good enough connection.
After trying several more times, I soldered pins to the Matrix to provide a better connection, but I continued to get the 'Device Not Found' error. I looked at the Windows Device manager and I found that the JR Programmer didn't seem to have the right driver installed.
Drivers are included in the package for JR Runner with Extras under the /common/drivers directory, and I attempted to manually update the drivers.
Driver signing strikes again! Apparently despite what the ReadMe file says in the /common/drivers directory, the drivers are not in fact recognized by Windows 10 without some further work. I proceeded to reboot the system using some advanced options to disable driver signing, and I was able to manually install the driver.
With the driver installed I attempted to write the timing file to the Matrix again, and this time I was successful. I was now able to move on to reading the NAND image from the box using the PicoFlasher
There were no issues with reading the NAND so I could proceed with building and writing the Xell image to the NAND and then move on to the wiring for the Xenon RGH.
CR7R112 needs to be removed for the RGH process, so that was my starting point.
C7R112 before removal
C7R112 after removal
Some preparation is also needed on the Matrix, first to bridge the phat solder points on the board, and then to remove the capacitor above the D/E points to disable the onboard oscillator. Then following the tutorial I was able to wire the three of the four points.
A - RST
F - EXT_CLK
B - POST
C - STBY_CLK
From the pictures included in the tutorial I wasn't able to clearly identify the correct STBY_CLK point on the board. Luckily N3Star was really quick to point me in the right direction.
VCC, GND
With the wiring completed, I turned on the console, and after a few cycles Xell appeared. Although the console did take about 30 seconds to glitch, Xell did eventually boot up. This allowed me to have JR Runner grab the CPU ID through the network, and I built the XeBuild, and flashed it to the NAND.
After writing the XeBuild to the NAND I booted the Xenon, and it came up into the dashboard. The boot timing varies, so some tinkering with the Matrix timing file may be in order, but the Xenon has made it's way from a nearly dead RROD system, to a usable RGH console!
Report abuse