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Xecuter
3 Installation Tutorial (Rev 1.02)
Pin Header :
v1.6
This
tutorial will guide you through installing
the Xecuter 3 modchip by using the
pin header installation method. If
you follow this tutorial carefully
you should have absolutely no problems
whatsoever. You should be aware that
the Pin Header install is the absolute
most highly recommended method of
installation, after all the LPC port
is SUPPOSED to have a pin header soldered
to it in the first place. A wires
install should only really be used
for those who have the LPC holes filled
in with solder (v1.0) so is not really
recommended for the v1.6. We are assuming
that you have some sort of clue how
to use tools and a soldering iron.
Tools needed: Torx 10 & 20 screw
drivers. Good quality soldering iron
and solder (doesn't need to be expensive
- a basic 15watt $15 iron will do
the job just as well as a $500 iron).
Some flux paste / flux pen is always
recommended along with some electrical
tape. These items are not essential
but guarantee a perfect job.
Rules
for good soldering
Use
a reasonable quality iron of the
correct wattage for the job.
Use "electronic" resin cored solder
of fine gauge.
Make sure all surfaces to be soldered
are "bright, shiny" and thoroughly
clean.
Make sure the solder tip is clean,
shiny and properly "wetted".
Remember the soldering iron tip
is only to heat up the surfaces
to be soldered.
Apply the resin cored solder to
the heated "job", not to the soldering
iron tip.
Remember to visually inspect ALL
of your soldered joints, preferably
with magnifying glasses.
Consider using a multimeter to provide
an "electrical continuity" check
between various parts of the circuit.
You
may also want to check out this website
that offers great tutorials on electronics
and soldering. Don't be afraid IT
IS NOT DIFFICULT !
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Let's
see what you get in your X3 kit. As
you are aware Xecuter always gives
you a great package of options, we
don't skimp on quality of build or
components supplied. We like to make
sure you have all the adapters and
wire harnesses that you would ever
need, regardless if some of the items
are of no use to your particular installation.
Cutting costs = cutting quality and
service. The items that will be used
in EVERY installation are (1) (3)
(4) & (8). (2) & (7) are optional
as the switch module is not actually
needed for everything to work, however
its a cool piece of kit which adds
excellent function to your mod install
(LAN LED, HDD LED, Manual Switches,
Flash Protect, Mod Status LED). (5)
is required for a v1.6 install only.
(9) is required for a pin header install
only. (6) & (10) is required for
a wires install only.
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Use
a Torx 20 Screwdriver. Lift up the
sticky pads in the 4 corners and unscrew
the bolts. You will also find 2 screws
underneath the silver patent sticker
and also underneath the barcode/date
sticker. Now remove the top cover
to reveal the Hard Drive and DVD Rom
unit.
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Now
using a Torx 10 screwdriver, locate
the 3 screws that bolt the DVD Rom
and Hard Drive to the chassis and
unscrew.
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1.
Unplug the Hard Drive Power Connector
2. Unplug the Hard
Drive IDE Cable
3. Remove the Hard
Drive from the Xbox chassis
4. Remove The DVD
Rom from the Xbox chassis
5. Unplug the Hard
Drive IDE cable from the Xbox motherboard
6. Unplug the DVD
Rom power cable from the Xbox motherboard
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Now
you have a clear view of the Xbox
motherboard. The first thing you should
do is locate the LPC port that you
have probably read so much about -
doesn't look that crazy does it ?
This is the area you will be soldering
the pin header to. As you can see
the holes are clean and ready to go.
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Next
job is to remove the Xbox motherboard
from the Xbox chassis. First unplug
all the connectors from the motherboard
to prevent any stress when removing
(2 x Gamepad, 1 x Front Panel, 1 x
Fan, 1 x ATX Power), then use a Torx
10 screwdriver to remove all 10 screws.
The diagram illustrates this clearly
just to give you a little confidence.
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There
you have it. The Xbox motherboard
is now removed and ready to work with.
Not so hard at all was it?
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The
main difference between the X2.3 and
the X3 pin header is that e now use
the entire LPC bus. You should be
aware that the LPC on the Xbox was
DESIGNED to have a pin header installed.
All Xbox Dev kits come with a pin
header from factory - so its obvious
this is the best install method, not
only cleaner but more secure. You
should note that pin 4 and pin 16
is removed as default. For the v1.6
install you must also remove Pin 6
with some long nose pliers (This is
5v on the LPC bus - on the v1.6 Xbox
the LPC 5v is permanently on making
it impossible to cleanly disable the
mod) The pictures show very clearly
how and where to connect this to the
Xbox motherboard. The pin header is
item 9 on the parts list.
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You
may want to tape the pin header to
the Xbox motherboard before turning
it over to make sure you get all the
pins showing to their full length.
After turning the Xbox motherboard
over you can see exactly where you
have to solder. This part is probably
the easiest soldering you will ever
have to do - its fast and simple and
is basic 1 on 1 soldering techniques.
Just take your time and you'll do
fine. As you can see in the pictures
the before and after shots show you
how simple and clean it really is.
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to solder the wires from the RED/GREEN/GRAY
adapter (Item 8 on the parts list).
Green is LAN LED, Red is Hard Drive
LED, Gray is D0. For those that don't
know D0 is used to switch between your
Xbox bios and modchip bios - sending
a ground signal to the D0 line forces
the Xbox to boot from the LPC port,
when a ground signal is not sent then
your Xbox boots as if there is no modchip;
all enable/disable functions are performed
by the modchip of course. These 3 points
are again very easy, they are direct
solder points and no difficult vias
(like the ones where many people had
problems with the D0 on TOP of the motherboard).
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Now
for the most difficult bit - the v1.6
LPC Rebuild. You should note that
this is needed for v1.6 Xbox's ONLY.
We have to do this because 4 of the
LPC outputs (namely LAD0 / LAD1 /
LAD2 / LAD3) are actually missing.
These points are of course needed
for any LPC modchip to work so we
simply connect the "LAD's" to where
the signal is actually live on the
motherboard. All points are relatively
easy if you have some amount of soldering
experience - you may struggle if this
is your first time so take care !
If
you have the v1.6 Rebuild PCB from
your supplier then goto this
link on how to fit it - you do
not need to install manual wires.
YOU STILL NEED TO SOLDER THE HDD AND
LAN WIRES - SOLDER THE D0 WIRE TO
THE REBUILD PCB WHERE IT SAYS D0 NEXT
TO THE LARGE SOLDER PAD.
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is how everything should look once you
have soldered. Like we said before it
doesn't look difficult does it ? Once
you are confident that your solder points
are solid you should tape the cable
in place and attach to the X3 as illustrated.
The X3 is item 1 on the parts list (duh)
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Now
the last bit of soldering - the Alternate
5v Point. This is the easiest solder
point on the v1.6 and we provide a
cable that can easily be plugged on
to the X3 after it has been soldered.
The Alternate 5v cable is item 5 on
the parts list.
NOTE: If you dont use the alt 5v connection
(maybe you used the wire install?)
you must tape up the alt 5v pin (top
right just above the backup flash
rom) to insulate against any possible
shorts - you can also use some rubber
insulation from some power cable as
shown in the picture below. This
is for both X3 and X2.6 mods.
You should always make sure you use
a little diligence and common sense
when toying with electrical components.
On a v1.6 install you should have
used the Alt 5v wire that was supplied
(Part #5).
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Now
we are going to connect the Power/Eject
No Solder Adapter (Item 3 on parts
list).
1.
Unplug the Yellow cable that connects
to the Xbox's Power/Eject buttons.
2. Plug in the Power/Eject
No Solder Adapter
3. Remove the backing
tape and fix to the Xbox chassis
4. Plug the Yellow
cable into the adapter
5. Plug in the X3
Power/Eject cable (Item 4 on parts
list)
6. Connect the X3
Power/Eject cable to the X3 as illustrated
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Here
is an overview shot of how everything
should look so far.
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Now
to connect the external switch. We
are going to route the cable by removing
the game pad port from the left side
of the case (Game Ports 1 & 2).
You will need to use a Torx 10 screwdriver.
1.
Unscrew 2 Torx 10 screws from the
gamepad port.
2. Take care in removing
from the Xbox chassis
3. This is the gap
where we are going to thread the switch
cable
4. Take your time
in thread the cable - do one socket
at a time it can be a little fiddly
5. Connect the X3
switch
6. Remove the backing
paper and stick to the Xbox as shown
7. Re-connect the
gamepad port - take care in making
sure the switch cable is sitting nice
and flat (put some electrical tape
over the wires to protect from any
damage.
8. Connect to the
X3 modchip as illustrated
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This
is how everything should look at this
stage. In fact you are actually done
- that's the entire X3 installation
process finished. I wonder how many
of you are now asking yourself what
all the fuss was about - it's not
difficult at all is it ?
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You're also probably wondering what
the little switch is on the X3 Modchip
itself. Well this is a secondary flash
protection switch. It's for those who
wish to have flash protection enabled
without having the external switch installed.
If you wish to be able to flash your
mod the switch should be to the LEFT
(as per diagram) for both X3 Switch
and None X3 Switch users. |
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Connect
up your DVD Rom and Hard Drive to
the Xbox motherboard and then plug
in your AV cable. Now power up the
Xbox with a quick tap of the power
button. If you have followed everything
correctly you should get a bright
blue X3 logo on your switch panel.
This means that the mod is booting
from the main 2MB Flash Rom and everything
is functioning correctly. Your TV
screen should show FlashBIOS v3.x.
To test disabling the mod simply press
and hold the power button until the
X3 Logo shines bright red. It shouldn't
be longer than a second. You will
now see your Xbox booting with the
X3 disabled and the TV screen should
show your Xbox booting up as normal
with the Green X Logo. To test
booting from your 256k backup Flash
Rom you need to press BOTH your power
button and eject button at the same
time. The X3 logo should sine bright
purple (a mix between the Blue and
Red LED's). Your TV screen should
show FlashBIOS v3.x
SUCCESS
!!
NOW GO HERE FOR FLASHBIOS TUTORIALS
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