Beta Cromwell release

Hi guys,

A lot of work has been put in to the Cromwell bios/Xromwell XBE for the next 
release, which is likely to be numbered 2.4 - presently called 2.33-dev.

I would like to get as much feedback/user testing as possible before releasing 
it, however.

It incorporates a number of new features, (likely to translate into a number 
of new bugs), such as:

1. The ability to boot multiple kernels (linuxboot.cfg syntax change). A 
frequently-requested enhancement.
2. A heirarchical text menu system, allowing you to change video mode 
(PAL/NTSC/NTSC-J), lock/unlock your hard disk, reflash your bios from CD 
(broken, known to be!), and reboot/power off your xbox.
3. Xbox IR remote working (slightly glitchy still) again.
4. Menus controllable by multiple Xpads/remotes/keyboards, which are now 
hotpluggable.

It also has, for the first time in its existence, a manual. Hopefully, this 
should explain how to use some of the new features.  It's not exhaustive, and 
I hope to find sections to revise based on your feedback.  It is located:

http://www.xbox-linux.org/Cromwell_Manual

A build of the 256k CVS version as of tonight (30/11/04) is available here:

http://www.davidmpye.dyndns.org/cromwell-test.bin

The md5sum is: 891bae895fca099d2ddeaf631dafb471

If you have a modchip, please could you test it, and confirm it boots your 
current installation, and better still, that the new features, such as the 
linuxboot.cfg syntax, and text menus work as expected.

If you don't have a modchip, and would otherwise have to TSOP flash it, it's 
best to sit this first round out, and wait for the final released version.

Known bugs (probably many more, but...):

Hang with too many USB devices connected at startup
Flash bios from CD menu doesn't work.

As usual, at your own risk, but I've tested it fairly thoroughly here, and 
would welcome a wider audience to squash any remaining bugs.

Please mail your feedback to me directly, or to the list.

Thanks a lot,

David Pye


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