Re: LBA48 partitioning scheme

I've been following this thread with interest.

IMHO, adding support for the flexible partition table scheme can only add
to the usefulness of Xbox-Linux in a "Stealth" operating environment, 
where C through E are preserved for gaming (with original dashboard), and 
F: and G: are available as add-on partitions.

In an ideal setting, I'd be able to patch a Microsoft BIOS to allow me to
recognize F: with any size I want -- not just the standard choices of "up
to 137G" or "all remaining space on your upgraded disk".  Same for G:.  
Looks like the zip file posted earlier allows exactly this.  Thanks!

With the availability of the Raincoat Flasher to read/write a BIOS, and
the availability of small xbox linux distros like Damn Small Linux and
SxbMini (which can run off a USB key), it wouldn't be difficult at all to
produce an "Xbox Utility/Rescue Disk" that could initially run on a
soft-modded box, read in the factory BIOS, apply the patch, and flash the
resultant BIOS.. so it's possible to incorporate this BIOS mod in a 100%
legal manner.  (We provide the tools, the end-user initiates and performs
the upgrade on his own BIOS)

It would be even more useful if such a Utility Disk could be run in a 
standard pc, so that an end-user can perform a complete hard-drive upgrade 
-- initializing the new drive, and then moving  the contents of C: through 
E: to the new drive.  

This is very similar to how the "MFS Tools" cdrom is set up for Tivo end 
users to upgrade their tivo hard drives.

Who knows, this process might even be possible with "locked drives"  if
the Utility Disk can use the locked drive's Administrator or Factory
password to unlock the source drive and migrate the User password from the
source drive to the target drive.  (I hear some underground Xbox HD tools 
do exploit the Admin password to get in..)

Anyway, if this patch is made available, I'll very likely include it in
the XFedora kernels even if the CVS tree doesn't pick it up.  Also, if
such a patch is released, I'd greatly appreciate it if it were extended to
scan drives other than "hda", so that others can construct a Utility Disk 
as outlined above.

Regards,
Laurence Lee



-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.Net email is sponsored by: NEC IT Guy Games.  How far can you shotput
a projector? How fast can you ride your desk chair down the office luge track?
If you want to score the big prize, get to know the little guy.  
Play to win an NEC 61" plasma display: http://www.necitguy.com/?r=20