Xbox 360:RGH/S-RGH

From ConsoleMods Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Exclamation-triangle-fill.svgThe steps on this page are considered risky for your console, as there is a chance you can brick it. Please have someone else mod your console if you are not experienced in soldering!

S-RGH (Sped-Up RGH) is an improved version of RGH2 which is far more reliable and quick. While Jasper phat consoles can use S-RGH, it is unreliable and will not be covered here.

Equipment Needed

(Corona Only) Postfix Adapter

File:5lY3TID.png
Postfix adapter diagram

On later Corona motherboards, the trace to the bottom POST pad has been removed, so you need to use a postfix adapter to be able to attach a pogo pin to the POST connection underneath the CPU. Use the provided diagram to determine if you need one or not. As shown in the diagram, you can install it by carefully sliding the larger piece of the adapter onto the left side of the CPU (when looking at the CPU from a readable position). Gently press the PCB inward toward the CPU to depress the pogo pin, and slide the smaller PCB part over the other side of the CPU, interlocking the two PCBs together. Solder the four anchor points on the edges of the postfix adapter to prevent it from coming loose.

Reading your NAND

4 GB Corona/Waitsburg/Stingray

4 GB Xbox 360 S/E SKUs made after mid 2011 use an MMC NAND (Corona) or eMMC chip (Waitsburg/Stingray/Winchester) and require different tools to dump and flash the NAND compared to the 16/64/256/512 MB NAND chips. These 4 GB consoles require that you use an xFlasher 360, PicoFlasher, Element18592's 4GB USB tool, or an SD card tool. Consider the pros and cons below and choose the method that’s right for you.

A guide on how to dump and write to a 4 GB NAND can be found here.

Device Pros Cons
xFlasher 360
  • Reads NAND fast in 40 seconds to 4 minutes
  • Can also program glitch chips
  • Actively supported
  • USB-C
  • More expensive than other options
PicoFlasher
  • Usually has inconsistent dumping behavior
4GB USB Tool
  • Reads NAND fast in 40 seconds to 4 minutes (same as xFlasher)
  • Cheap
  • Comes with a header for the NAND pads, making future NAND reading easier
  • You will need a programmer to flash glitch chips
SD Card Tool (any brand)
  • Super cheap
  • Easy to find
  • Easy to DIY
  • You will need a dedicated programmer to flash glitch chips
  • Sometimes has inconsistent compatibility with SD card readers

All Other NAND Types

There are a few different tools for reading your NAND chip: xFlasher 360, Nand-X, JR Programmer, Matrix USB NAND Flasher, PicoFlasher, various SD card tools, or a LPT cable. Consider the pros and cons below and choose the method that’s right for you. An LPT cable is not recommended as it's extremely slow, requires more work than other options, and cannot be used to program glitch chips.

A guide on how to dump and write to a standard NAND can be found here.

Device Pros Cons
xFlasher 360
  • Reads NAND fast in 40 seconds to 4 minutes
  • Can also program glitch chips
  • One of four options for 4GB NANDs
  • Actively supported
  • USB-C
  • Most expensive flasher
  • Not sold on common marketplaces like Amazon or AliExpress
  • Can't be used for flashing Sonus Sounds
PicoFlasher
  • Reads NAND fast in 1-8 minutes
  • One of four options for 4GB NANDs
  • One of the two options for Sonus flashing
  • Super cheap
  • Easy to find
  • Can flash glitch chips with this J-Runner Fork
  • Due to how the currently available PicoFlasher firmware is programmed, it often has many bugs with getting consistently good non-corrupt NAND dumps or being detected by J-Runner.
  • Can sometimes have spotty reliability on Xbox 360 motherboards due to their SPI and eMMC logic being up to 5v, whereas the Pico uses 3.3v.
JR Programmer
  • Reads NAND in 3-10 minutes
  • Can also program glitch chips
  • One of the two options for Sonus flashing
  • Cheap
  • Easy to find
  • More expensive and less common than PicoFlasher
  • Does not support 4GB NANDs
Nand-X
  • Reads NAND in 2-8 minutes
  • Can also program RGH glitch chips
  • More expensive than most NAND flashers
  • Does not support 4GB NANDs
  • Can't be used for flashing Sonus Sounds
Matrix USB NAND Flasher
  • Cheap
  • Can’t be used for programming glitch chips unless you modify it
  • Does not support 4GB NANDs
  • Requires unsigned drivers
  • Reads NAND in 7-26 minutes, which is quite a bit slower than most options
  • Can't be used for flashing Sonus Sounds
LPT Cable
  • Cheap
  • Requires PC with a native parallel port and more equipment
  • More difficult
  • Does not support 4GB NANDs
  • Can’t be used for programming glitch chips
  • Can't be used for Sonus flashing
  • Takes 30-150 minutes to read NANDs

Programming the Glitch Chip

  1. Plug the cable from your programmer into the chip programmer.
    • If you are using an xFlasher, ensure the switch is set to SPI.
    • CoolRunner: Slide switch to "PRG".
  2. Open J-Runner with Extras. Click "Program Timing File" in the upper left, select the S-RGH tab, and the relevant radio button for S-RGH timing file.
    • You can use the timing assistant in the bottom left to auto select a safe timing for your motherboard revision.
  3. When complete, unplug the cable from the glitch chip.
    • Coolrunner: Set the switch back to "NOR".

Glitch Chip Installation

Motherboard Points

Slim (Trinity)

Slim or E (Corona/Waitsburg/Stingray)

Glitch Chip Pinouts

X360ACE (V1/V2/V3), DGX

  • C - POST
  • D - RST
  • E - i2C_SCL
  • F - i2C_SDA

Glitch Chip Diagrams

X360ACE (Trinity)

X360ACE (Corona)

DGX/RGX (Trinity/Corona without Postfix)

DGX/RGX (Corona with Postfix)

Decrypting the NAND

  1. Connect Ethernet and power on the console. The glitch chip should blink once or more times, and then the console should start into XeLL RELOADED.
  2. Once XeLL finishes, it will display your CPU key and some other info. There is also an IP address.
  3. Enter the IP address into the box on the lower right of J-Runner and click "Get CPU Key". J-Runner will pull the info from the box, and decrypt the NANDs automatically.
    • If you don't want to or aren't able to connect the Xbox 360 to a network or directly to the PC, you can also manually type in the CPU key from XeLL into J-Runner.

Writing New NAND Image (NAND Flasher)

  1. Power down the console, and connect your programmer to the motherboard.#*If you are using an xFlasher, ensure the switch is set to SPI.
  2. Open J-Runner and select ... next to the Load Source field and select one of your original NAND dumps if not already selected. In the upper right of J-Runner, ensure the Glitch2 radio button is selected.
  3. Click "Create XeBuild Image". This will take a few moments.
  4. Click "Write NAND".
  5. Disconnect your NAND programmer from the console's motherboard when the process completes.
  6. Check if the console boots to the Microsoft dashboard. If it successfully boots to the dashboard, it is an indication that you've successfully hacked your console.
  7. Boot the console several times and ensure it boots consistently. If not, make sure your wiring is clean and neat and avoids noisy areas. Run the wires near the X-Clamps for best results.
  8. Tune boot times if necessary.
  9. Continue in the Cleaning Up section.

Writing a New NAND Image (XeLL)

Exclamation-circle-fill.svg4 GB Corona varients do not support currently support NAND flashing through XeLL. If XeLL is the only thing flashed to the NAND, it is required to use a NAND flasher.


  1. Open J-Runner and select ... next to the Load Source field and select your nanddump1.bin or nanddump2.bin if not already selected. In the upper right corner of the window, select the dashboard version you chose for the patched dump that you wrote to the motherboard and make sure that the Glitch2 radio button is selected.
  2. Click Create XeBuild Image. This will take a few moments.
  3. Copy updflash.bin to a FAT32 formatted USB storage device and plug it into your powered-off console.
  4. Turn on your console. It will boot into XeLL and begin flashing your NAND. Once it has finished, it will power off your console.
  5. Turn it back on, and it should boot to the Microsoft dashboard, which is an indication that you've successfully hacked your console.
  6. Boot the console several times and ensure it boots consistently. If not, make sure your wiring is clean and neat and avoids noisy areas. Run the wires near the X-Clamps for best results.
  7. Tune boot times if necessary.
  8. Continue in the Cleaning Up section.

Tuning Boot Times

As the glitch chip pulses, a green debug light will flash a pattern. Using this pattern, we can know roughly how to adjust the tuning. Let's start with some examples. The ideal is slightly "below" the edge of Long/Short, closer to Short. You want to see more Short than Long cycles.

If you get good light behavior, mostly Short but also Long sometimes, but the console still does not boot well, try to recreate this scenerio with other timings/pulse length. If using Corona with Xecuter Postfix V2, try moving wire to a bigger number pad. This will allow you to adjust for the length of POST.

  • 2 Short Blinks, then Short
    • .....##...##...................##............
    • This means that the checks were passed, but the console failed to start.
    • The timing is probably is too low, or the pulse length is too large.
  • 2 Short Blinks, then Long
    • .....##...##...................##############
    • This means that the checks failed.
    • The timing is probably too high, or the pulse length is too small.
  • 4 Short Blinks, then Long
    • .....##...##...................##...##...................##############
    • This means there is a problem with RST wiring problem causing pulse length to be very big. Try to use alternate points or longer wire.
  • No Light Blinks or Always On
    • This means either your wiring is bad, or the timing file was not written sucessfully.

Cleaning Up

Remove your NAND programmer wires and clean the points. Clean all flux off the board, allow it to dry, and test it once more before re-assembling.

Installing XeXMenu

  1. Plug a flash drive into your Xbox 360 and navigate to Console Settings > Storage. Select the flash drive and allow it to format the flash drive as a system drive.
  2. Extract the CODE9999 folder from the XeXMenu 1.2 rar to your Desktop.
  3. Plug the flash drive into your PC. Create a new folder on the flash drive and name it 0000000000000000 (16 zeroes). Open the new folder, then drag the CODE9999 folder into it.
  4. Select Drive > Close, then close Xplorer360. Safely eject your flash drive and plug it into your Xbox 360. Navigate to the Demos section of your dashboard, and it should list XeXMenu there. Select it to launch it.

You can install XeXMenu to your hard drive by going to Console Settings > Storage, and copying it from your flash drive to the hard drive.

From here, you can install any homebrew or mods that you want. See this page for a list of recommended modifications and applications to install.