Hard Disk Hotswap HOWTO

From Xbox-Linux

This article is also available in: Deutsch

by Michael Steil

The Xbox hard disk is protected with an ATA password, i.e. it has to be unlocked by transmitting the 32 byte password to it at boot time, or else any read and write requests will be rejected. A recent article on heise.de (http://www.heise.de/ct/english/05/08/172/) describes the technology.

Just putting the hard disk into a Linux computer results in loads of errors when the kernel tries to read the partition table, but the hard disk type and layout are correctly detected. To be able to access the data, there are two possibilities:

• Find out the ATA password and modify the Linux kernel so that it unlocks the hard disk at boot time.
• Make the Xbox unlock the drive and use it in the Linux computer.

Making the Xbox unlock the drive is the easier way, so it will be described here. Just follow these steps:

1. Open your Xbox so that you can see the hard disk and move the console right next to your computer, so that the computer's Secondary IDE and power cable can reach the Xbox hard disk. Disconnect all other devices from the Secondary IDE cable.
2. Connect the computer's power cable to the Xbox hard disk. You can skip this step, but you will have to keep the Xbox turned on as long as you work with the hard disk.
3. Turn on the computer and pause in the Linux boot manager.
4. Turn on the Xbox and wait until the main menu appears.
5. Unplug the Xbox hard disk IDE cable and connect the computer IDE to the hard disk while both machines are powered on.
6. Boot Linux on your computer. The hard disk will be detected as /dev/hdc with an unknown partitioning scheme.
7. If you have used the computer's power cable, you can now turn off the Xbox.

You now have full access to the Xbox hard disk /dev/hdc.

You can also hotswap the Xbox disk into an external (USB or FireWire) disk enclosure that is powered on and connected to your Linux computer. You don't have to open up or reboot your Linux machine if you do it this way. Your disk will appear as a SCSI disk (/dev/sda, sdb, etc.); check the system log or run dmesg to find out which device it is.

A much easier method, which sadly uses MS Windows, would be this: Step1: Same as above.

Step2: also same as above.

Step3: with xbox still off, boot PC into windows.

Step4: now turn on xbox. Right as the intro flubber animation is finishing, initiate the hotswap.

      You should have the drives xbox ide connection severed BEFORE the little white "Microsoft"
      logo is on screen.

Step5: now, in Windows, go Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager. Right click in applet, and

      choose "Scan for hardware changes". It should lurch a couple of times RIGHT AWAY, then be
      thru. If this is the case, your all done! If it takes a extended amount of time (2-5min)
      to detect the drive, you've failed  ;(