Screwed up my Xbox video settings in XBMP!

[christof_r]

i've been a pc gamer for most of my life. about a week ago, i purchased my first xbox. it came with the evo-x dashboard and xbmc.
yesterday, i tried xbmc for the first time...i was trying to play an avi file of braveheart using xbmc. on my 4:3 tv, the widescreen video was streched to full screen, with no black bars. so i went to the xbmc video options....now i changed it to 16:9 by mistake. (there was a warning that the settings would only take effect when i restarted my xbox.) my xbox crashed. i turned it off, and when i powered it back on...nothing. no picture, no xbox logo, no evo-x logo. nothing.
is it becasue i changed the setting to 16:9 by mistake? how can i undo this? even when i put in a dvd or a game, nothing shows up. how could the xbmc settings effect the evo-x dashboard? please help.

[Anomaly]

hi. are you sure it was xbmc?. perhaps it was xbm(p) which had an altogether way too dangerous video settings section.

if it was xbmc, then all the video modes must have been enabled in the ms dash. by that i mean in the microsoft dash (not evox) you can tell the xbox which video modes your tv can display. whoever sold you the xbox must have preset them all on. if not, you would not have been able to select them in xbmc.

but then, that doesn't explain why even evox won't give you a screen. my bet is that you were using xbmp. i assume that you can still hear the startup sounds?

anyway, you will want to read up about making a video mode switch cd-r to do a blind reset of the graphics mode. that would be my best advise. just search around a bit.

[christof_r]

yeah, now that you mention it, it might have been media player not centre...
so if i set the video to 16:9 and my tv does not have a 16:9 display, the xbox refuses to show video? jeez, that sucks.

looks like it's going to take a while for me to learn the ins and outs of the xbox. thank you for your help....video mode switch cd-r, eh?

on to the xbox scene forums!

[Anomaly]

yes, it did suck majorly but you'd be surprised how many developers supported it despite an almost continual stream of newbies coming into the forum crying that they had no video...
anyway, all you need to do is to search for the video select/switch disc tutorials (try xbox-scene also) and you will find plenty of help.
do try to get rid of your copy of xbmp and go for xbmc when you feel comfortable with how to set it up.

[christof_r]

anomaly,
this is what i've found out...the video format setting is stored in an eeprom on the motherboard. so changing something on the hd won't change anything in this chip.
unfortunately, about the only program i can find that will change the video setting is the 'enigmah video mode switch disc', which switches between pal and ntsc...
does not seem to be anything out there that can switch from 16:9 to 4:3.
also, i can't back up my eeprom. i can't connect my pc to my xbox, cos i don't know the ip address. i'm screwed!
do you have any idea what other information is stored on the eeprom?
thanks...

[pike]

widescreen is switched in microsoft dashboard i believe?
also, there's a tool called magic config or something? :shocked:

[christof_r]

pike,
i did not change the video using the default microsoft dashboard. i was exploring the video settings of xbox media player. when i changed my video from 4:3 (which my tv supports) to 16:9 (which i don't have!), xbmp must have changed the default settings.
now my last option is to connect the xbox to a 16:9 tv and change the settings back to 4:3....but i assume my normal av cable will not do. i might need a different cable. does the red,white and yellow av cable work with a 16:9 tv? do i need a special cable???

i can't change my epprom, i can't connect to the xbox cos i don't know the ip address and i can't use the enigmah video mode switch disc cos that changes from ntsc to pal and vice versa.
i need a tool that will cahnge it from 16:9 to 4:3.

worst thing: i live in india. i bought the xbox from singapore...which means i have zero support here.

[jmarshall]

assuming that whatever program you used (xboxmediaplayer) actually did what you said it did (ie just changed from 4:3 to allowing 16:9 modes) then you would have no problems.

i suggest what it actually did (whether you chose to or not) was select a video mode that your tv does not support (pal if you are ntsc land for instance).

try booting any game - you should hear it starting (ie hear music etc. - even if you don't see a picture.)

if this is the case, then the enigma switching disk is all you need.

if this is not the case, then there may be more at issue (corrupt eeprom perhaps?) in this case, your only real option is to either boot a disk that auto-restores the eeprom (ie put your eeprom backup on a cdrw along with something that you know restores the eeprom and then do it blind) or get a modchip with an os on it (such as smartxx) that allows resetting your eeprom settings.

there are other options if your eeprom backup is on the harddisk - simply boot a bootable cdrw with evox or some other dash on it where the network settings are defined in the settings file on the cdrw - that will then give you ftp access etc.

so you are not screwed at all. you simply need to think through all your options. if you have a friend/acquaintance with a modchip such as the smartxx or xenium etc. then simply pop it in your xbox and boot up - it will let you change the options you need to change.

also, note that versions of xbmp (at least the later ones) had a large warning message attached which indicated that changing the video mode options could cause damage to your xbox.

the very reason we haven't put such options in xbmc is not because they are unsafe - it's simply because if an option is there, people will fiddle with it - even if it's accompanied by a warning message.

[christof_r]

jmarshall,
firstly let me make one thing clear...i do not now, nor have i ever in the last two days blamed xbmp.
"so if i set the video to 16:9 and my tv does not have a 16:9 display, the xbox refuses to show video? jeez, that sucks."
what i meant by this is that it was a mistake on my part. i appreciate the fact that most people like fiddling around with options they don't know much about. i've helped more than one pc user who screwed up a setting they should not have touched in the first place. like i said earlier, i've been a pc gamer for a while now, know the ins and outs of the beige box.
the xbox? new territory to me.....that said, i have nothing but respect for the people on these forums who take time out to help others and nothing but awe for those gamers, coders, whoever that take time out to build something so functional as a xb media player and then release it (and support it!) for free.

now, i read online that to connect your xbox to a 16:9 hdtv, you require a special vga cable as the video data is streamed in a different format. could it be that my video is not set to ntsc at all, but rather streaming in a 16:9 format to a 4:3 tv, thru a cable meant for 4:3 video data?? which is why i get no video, but only audio??? je ne sais pas. anyway, i have just downloaded the enigmah video mode switch disc. will try to do what you suggested. thanks for the feedback!

[christof_r]

just wanted to add that i live in india, where the xbox is not officially available yet. i got mine from singapore.
this means that i dont' have access to mod-chips here. also, since i just got the xbox last week, i didn't know the importance of backing up my data or my eeprom...
i did try to connect to my xbox, but with no idea of the ftp setting, it was a doomed attempt. didn't know that you could boot evo-x with the ip settings defined. will try that is the enigmah swtich fails. i'm not really sure how i'll be able to do it with no video, however.
again, thanks for the help. you too, anomaly and pike.

[jmarshall]

sorry if i came across as a bit harsh in my previous post.

just to be clear, there is no such thing as a 4:3 cable or a 16:9 cable. in fact, between pal 4:3 and pal 16:9 there is no difference at all, except for a single flag in the video stream that tells tvs that can detect it which aspect ratio they should use. the rest of the data is identical. tvs that don't pick up the aspect ratio flag just display as per usual - they will quite happily display a 4:3 or 16:9 signal.

the only reason that a tv will fail to display a signal is if it is a different standard than the signal. this happens:

1. if you have an ntsc tv and try to feed it a pal signal
2. if you have a pal tv and try to feed it an ntsc signal (which it can't handle).

most pal tvs from the last 15 years or so will quite happily handle an ntsc signal, so generally it is the first option above that is the issue.

so you need to be asking yourself:

1. what type of tv do i have?

2. what should my xbox's video mode be set to?

i believe india is pal, though i may quite easily be wrong. singapore i believe is pal as well. please correct me if i'm wrong and i'll update this post.

note that you haven't stated yet whether you get audio on bootup/running a game. if you do, then a simple video mode change will fix it. if not, then it may be more difficult.

cheers,
jonathan

[Anomaly]

also, read up on the use of the video switch disk. you can switch modes blindly by pressing (i think) either the white or black buttons on the controller. i did this myself when a very early version of xbmc somehow (i have *no* idea exactly) reset my video settings for me and i ended up with no video.

a tip that might be of use: i now have the video switch program installed on the hdd and is always selectable as the bottom-most item on the opening evox menu. so if it happens again i can blindly select it and save the day. well, that's the theory anyway...

good luck.

[christof_r]

well,
i had given my xbox to this guy who fixes ps2's....about the only person around with a working knowledge of consoles, since the ps2's been around in india for years.

on his tv, i get sound. on my tv, nothing. and yes, india is pal territory.

[christof_r]

jesus wept!!! i fixed it!!!
i managed to get two versions of the video swtich iso. burned the first one thrice...no go..
burned the second one, fiddles around with the cd..and presto, change-o, eet worked!!!

jmarshall....thanks for the help. anomaly, you're the one who set me on the right track. many thanks. and pike, i love you too...

on a more serious note, jmarshall, i would like to donate to the xbmc project. not sure if anyone around here supports paypal...will definitely look into it. xbmc is one app i'm ready to kill for!!

[jmarshall]

glad you got it working! just keep hold of those disks in case it happens again, and while you're at it, get a new version of xbmc.

donations are always welcome! they enable us to purchase necessities such as new xbox's/modchips etc. when things break, and help pay to run the website(s).

the link (from the main page) is here:

contributions (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/info_contrib.htm)

cheers,
jonathan

[Anomaly]

another happy customer :d . just consider adding the video switch to your evox menu as i suggested - saves messing about with discs that may or may not boot up properly.

[Soule]

try booting any game - you should hear it starting (ie hear music etc. - even if you don't see a picture.)

if this is the case, then the enigma switching disk is all you need.

if this is not the case, then there may be more at issue (corrupt eeprom perhaps?) in this case, your only real option is to either boot a disk that auto-restores the eeprom (ie put your eeprom backup on a cdrw along with something that you know restores the eeprom and then do it blind) or get a modchip with an os on it (such as smartxx) that allows resetting your eeprom settings.
if games can't even start, how do i even boot up the eeprom restore cd?

i am at the case where i can hear the big x screen boots up, but my dash and game cds just can't load.

my evox dash has enigmah, but i can't access it!

mine is a softmod and v1.6. stupid of me to change the video mode!!!

my friend is suggesting putting in an alddin plus chip (which is compatible with v1.6) will that help? or can i just hang around until some utility is invented to save the day?