I've just finished installing an Xodus Matrix into my V1 Xbox. Despite this being a solderless chip, I had a few hassles with the install. I *think* this is because my chip had initially been tried (and failed) in a v2 Xbox, and then sent to me from Norway. I figure that somewhere along the way the contact point oxidised, or got dirty, but the net result was that I spent ages trying to align the thing until I finally cleaned the contact - at which point it worked first time.
However, the point is, there were a few unanswered questions I had during installation, and a few things that would have made debugging/troubleshooting a little easier, so I'm putting them up here in case someone else can learn from it!
- What the LED should do
If you're in debug mode, then yes, the led should flash green to indicate alignment or red to indicate non-alignment. However, flashing green doesnt always equal alignment as I found out a few times. In the end I switched to mode 3 (Swap Mode) and just powered on with the bootcd in and checked if it booted. Of course if your bootcd has been burned on a non compatiable CD-RW then this isn't going to work, but hey.
Sometimes (in Mode 3) I found the led on the Matrix would flash on briefly, then turn off. It should stay on, and green - unless you've activated swap mode.
- What the power on/off thingie means
A couple of times I powered on the xbox, only to have it turn itself off, then on again, then off, then on again, only to stay on with no signal on the TV. This is apparently a sign of incorrect chip alignment. First time I encountered this, I thought I'd fried the mod chip, the XBox, or both.
- Applying pressure and where
For some reason I got the impression that the cruicial points were the row of solder points under the mod chip, when in fact the main large pogo peg in the middle of the 3 alignment holes is the pressure point. I realise most people will know this, but I somehow got the wrong impression.
- Rubbing alcohol / eraser
After about 7 hours spent trying to align the thing, I finally wondered if I should try some rubbing alcohol. I didn't have any, and I couldnt think of much that would be open at 2:30am to buy some, so a friend (thanks Kharos!) suggested using a white eraser to rub the pogo pin. I did this, and it worked first time. If you're having alignment problems, and ESPECIALLY if applying pressure with your finger during power on helps, then give the peg a clean with rubbing alcohol or an eraser.
- Spacer thingie
I've heard mixed reports about the spacer. Some people aren't using it. Some people thought it was supposed to go on top of the mod chip. I didnt have any success until I removed it.. its sitting next to the keyboard.. if the xbox blows up I'll update this, but at the moment I'll say if you're having contact issues, then you might wanna try taking the spacer out of the equation.
- The Microsoft Logo
A small point, but someone told me you were supposed to see a "Matrix" logo/text instead of the Microsoft text that appears after the green Blob, and under the XbOX (tm) logo. So clearly during tests I was checking for this - however, you see everything as normal until after you've installed whatever software you plan to use, so the only way to tell if you have the chip aligned correctly is to put your CD-RWw bootcd in and check if it boots or not. Again, if you have an incorrectly burned boot disk or you're using an unsupported brand of CD-RW then you're going to be there all night aligning.
Thanks to MG5 for putting up with my IRC sulking and for sending countless install guides / rom images / etc etc, Kharos for the eraser suggestion, and to the Xbox & mod chip for not blowing up despite my poor anti static precautions.
Apologies if any of this reads badly, its 3:30am and I'm just writing this stuff down while its fresh (and painful) in my brain.