JTAG/RGH Tutorial

RGH consoles can be a lot of fun. However for some people learning the processes of using them can be very frustrating due to an
overflow of outdated tutorials found on random forums. There is more than 1 way to skin a cat and the same holds true for running content on your now fully unrestricted RGH/JTAG console.

A legit 360 console user will be used to running games via disc or launching xbox live arcade (xbla) titles from the games menu of their dashboard but now with custom dashboards we will have the ability to launch the 360's equivellant of an ".exe" file known as ".xex" files directly. The purpose of this article is intended to inform a new JTAG/RGH user how to install and access the content on an RGH/JTAG console.

The best part about this mod is now new content not normally available due to reigon constraints or liscences will now be available for us. Here I will cover the different methods of installing games, homebrew apps, DLC and compatibility files for other games in detail.

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how do i get my rgh/jtag to launch burned games?

playing burned discs is not the purpose of the jtag/rgh mod. the securities for reading burned discs resides inside the dvdrom. a custom firmware is available for most of these drives called iXtreme.

rgh/jtag does not prevent you from installing ixtreme so feel free to do both
should you require backup disc play. this will not be covered. please look up ixtreme lt+ and jungleflasher to learn more.

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where do the games go?

this can be frustrating at first. firstly there are 2 core methods of storing content to run on a 360. xex and god. traditionally your
360 uses the GOD (Game on Demand) format. the official kinect dashboard finds GOD packages installed to the content folder on xbox
formatted devices such as internal hdd or usb drives formatted for storage by a 360. GOD packages are usually found with eight
character folder titles such as "58410B47". to install you will need access to the xbox partitions. you can access these partitions
via file browser in most custom dashboards easily though. you can transfer files to these partitions using the custom dashboard. custom
dashboards usually emit an ftp address allowing you direct access to its drives from pc. you can also use Xplorer 360 to browse your
xbox partitions via pc directly. the 360 hard drives can be connected via sata normally. you will need to open your phat 360 hdd
enclosure to do this unless you have a connectivity kit for that purpose.

no matter how you gain access to your 360 partition you will want to find the content folder on the root of your drive. find or
create it and its subfolder. it shoudl look like this "hdd:\content\0000000000000000\". here is an example of where i installed the
apples to apples xbla game. "hdd:\content\0000000000000000\58410B47\". copy the content folder to a (fat32) usb device, open file
explorer in your custom dashboard and transfer the file from your usb device to the content folder (\content\0000000000000000\).
restart your dashboard. it should be available from the games section of your dashboard now.

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how do i launch homebrew or .xex files?

you will eventually run into homebrew content that will not be formatted to be placed into the content\0000000000000000\ folder.
you will usually find them with locical folder titles such as "snes360" and it will usually contain a "default.xex" file to run.
you cannot launch it from the ms dashboard and will need to do so from a custom dashboard instead. you can navigate to the app's
folder and trigger the .xex from there. most custom dashboards however will have tabs for content and if you want to use them often
its best to install them for quick access.

xexmenu will want to find them under a static folder called "apps". it will look for the folder whether it is on a usb storeage device or internal hdd. freestyle dash can be configured to find content folders anywhere on any device from any fat32 or xbox formatted partiton.

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how do i copy a disc game to the hdd via the 360?

there are two methods, disc rip and game install conversion.
if you are using freestyle dash you can use the copy disc option to rip
the contents of the disc to the "games" folder on your internal hdd. this is completely self explanitory. this method is good for new
users and it can be easier for manual organization. mw2 hackers would perfer that method for direct access for editing and replacing
files as well. =/ the alternative is to convert games you have installed to god format. to do that install the game to the hdd via
the microsoft dashboard and then launch a homebrew app called nxe2god. this app will find and convert any installed games to a god
packages which are available from both microsoft dash and freestyle dash. god packages can be annying to manage manually since it is
very hard to discern between titles when they are listed with their id titles such as "58410B47". you can always get a content manager
to do that for you though. jtag content manager is a great pc app for this.

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Freestyle Dash or Xex menu?

Many tutorials on the internet will point you towards a program called xexmenu to launch your content. this is a terribly obsolete
program as xexmenu is quite limited compared to its triumphant successor freestyle dash 2. freestyle dash allows you to declare your
own content folders and has a comprehensive scanning method to find content stored on your device. xexmenu simply uses a static folder
setup where you must recreate the appropreate folders it looks for to find content. also xexmenu does not launch xbla games or download
title updates. fsd does. fsd has many many many features over xexmenu and is simple to use and easy on the eyes and updated regularly. win.

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what is dashlaunch?

dashlaunch is a patch for your 360s nand. the nand is where your console stores the files for the microsoft dashboard. dashlaunch allows
a .xex file to be ran at startup automatically or by holding down a button. each button may be assigned. dashlaunch will also update
other areas of the nand to fix bugs or usability features. one of which is update protection so you dont accidentally apply an official
update. we primarily install this patch to trigger freestyle dash to preceed the microsoft(ms) dashboard. most rgh users prefer to have
a custom dash preceed the ms dashboard. this is how its done.

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How do i apply sysetm updates?

this is much trickier than it was before. you need to create your own hacked system update manually using tools on the pc. you will need
a dump of your nand data and the cpu key from your console. you cannot get your key info wrong or you may have to solder nandx back in.
once you have created this update you must apply it via xellous reloaded.

you can access xellous reloaded by powering your console on via the disc tray button. it will display your cpu and dvd key as well as emit a web server for easy access to your key via the pc and your
web browser. at this time the best app to build custom firmware updates is multibuilder. however as this tutorial is dated the app may be
so as well. keep up to date by joining #fw on efnet to find out what the current best tool for building your firmware update.

these tools will ask you for your nand backup and then your cpu key. it should spit out the update in .bin format which you then copy to a compatible usb device to update automatically via xellous reloaded. its always best to remove the update from your usb device afterwards in order to prevent accidental updating in the future. always make sure to keep a backup of this file and your cpu key at all times.

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how do i get avatar data back?


once you are have your console modded you may find that your avatars are no longer visable. if so you will need to find the official usb system
update equivellant of your dashboard version. if you have dashlaunch installed (which you should) it will try to prevent you from damaging your firmware by disabling system updates. if you plan to do this make sure to check your firmware version first and ensure you have a matching system update. you will now have to rename the system update folder to install.

rename the folder from "$SystemUpdate" to "$$ystemupdate".
this is dashlaunches final protection to attempt to prevent you from damaging your firmware. doing so will allow the ms dash to find and install the update. if it is indeed the proper update for the firmware you currently have installed then it will not update the firmware and install the additional data to the hdd instead. to check your consoles version please go to system settings,system information. you will find your current dashboard version there. good luck.

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how do i play classic xbox 1 titles?

in order to play original xbox games you must add support to your 360. you need to create a custom partition and then install compatibility files to it. this can be annoying as (if i understand correctly) freestyle dash will not display emply partitions. you will need to use ftp or good old xexmenu to do this.

find the homebrew apps "hdd_compat_partition_fixer" and "xb1_5805_april 2007-hacked-FIXED" online (from the usual places). run the compatibility
fixer to make the new partition called hddx:\. now just copy the "Compatibility" folder from "xb1_5805_april 2007-hacked-FIXED" to the hddx partition via xexmenu or [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] . restart after your done. this should let your rgh/jtag launch all kinds of xbox1 games it didnt before whether they are even playable or not. you can find compatibility lists online to see what games are playable now.

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how do i install title updates?

xbox live users get new title updates regularly. being on an rgh/tag console can be a concern for this considering you cannot normally
download these updates on pc and your console can no longer access xbox live. luckily freestyle dash 2 will install these updates for you.
just highlight an installed title and choose the manage title updates option. freestyle dash doesnt get its updates from live servers though
so sometimes your update may not be available. to find it manually you must connect to xbox live via a legit console. title updates are stored
in the cache folder on your xbox partition.

to do this yourself, remove all other storage devices from the console. get a usb device and format for 360 use with the xbox.
download a live compatible profile to the usb device and connect to live. run a legit copy of the game you want your title update from and make sure you have your usb device as the only available storage and it will make a cache folder and download the title update to it. place the usb device with the update into your jtag/rgh and copy the cache
folder to the root of your internal drive. "hdd:\cache\".

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how do i get the optional media update for video (.avi file support) offline?

you can find this data online but you may need to unlock it to work on your console. for this i use xm360. this tool will analyze any drm
content for 360 and unlock it for you. simply run the app from the 360, scan and choose unlock on the update.

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how do i access the microsoft kinect dashboard?

if you have dashlaunch set to load a custom dashboard it can be frustrating to try and get back to the original. this is done via a button press while loading the dashboard. the default button to access the ms dash is RB. just press home button and choose dashboard or power on the console then wait for the swirling 360 logo and press and hold RB on controller 1. it will not work for the other controllers. the custom dashboard should be bypassed and you will now be greeted with the official dash.

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how do i access or install a custom dashboard?

this will usually be the first step one would take after applying the rgh/jtag hack. if you created your custom firmware with dashlaunch
patches this is a very simple step. you just need to find a usb storage device and create a launch.ini file that points to your install folder.
you can find examples of the launch.ini from the dashlaunch program. get the dashlaunch installer (from the usual places) online. the contents
of the launchi.ini should look like this:

[QuickLaunchButtons]
Default = usb:\freestyle\default.xex
[Settings]
nxemini = true
pingpatch = true

the folder your custom dash and executable is located may be different so please edit accordingly. you might prefer to install your custom
dash on the internal hard drive so just edit the USB to HDD in my .ini example.

Default = HDD:\freestyle\default.xex

although it should be sometimes your console may find a console that was not patched with dashlaunch. this is one time i find xexmenu to be
useful. you can find a xexmenu cd version which can be used to copy files to the hdd immediately. this was how it was done before freestyle
and dashlaunch.

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how do i play online?

you may not be able to access xbox live servers anymore but that isnt the end of the line for online play. freestyle dash has xlink kai
built in. as long as your game supports system link play you will be able to use this service to connect with other players. personally i
keep a spare 360 around and pay for live so this topic is not going to be covered. system link is great but barely any titles support it. look at your game collection now that your likely a fully seasoned pirate and justify the purchase. xbox live is worth paying for.