Falcon JTAG E79 questions - SMC bugfixes and/or AUD_CLAMP rewiring?

[pez2k]

I currently have a SMC / JTAG-hacked Falcon console that will occasionally give me E79 / 1033 on boot. I didn't modify the console myself, so I've had to figure out how it was wired. I'm trying to work out which tweaks will make it more stable. I have the original NAND, plus backups of everything, CPU key, KV, hacked NAND etc. It's using the original JTAG wiring of DB1F1 / ARGON_DATA with diodes, and the SMC is v2.3.

This post suggests that the mentioned bugfixes can help with E79 issues, has anyone had noticable improvements with just the SMC fixes alone or is it Zephyr-specific? Blackaddr's SMC Utility reports that the PCI mask bug is present in my current SMC, is this the same bug? Would I also be right in assuming that the current SMC Utility v1.2 is the best way to patch a fully bugfixed SMC from my original too? Is there any major difference in using the console's original v1.6 SMC compared to v2.3?

Secondly, if SMC changes don't sort it out, is DB1F1 / AUD_CLAMP still the generally recommended most stable setup? I realise I'd have to edit the SMC anyway to change the I/O.

Third, I don't have a NAND reader / writer. It looks like I would have to use an application on the 360 to flash the NAND with the SMC edited for AUD_CLAMP, then the console would be out of commission until I rewired. Any mistake on my part would essentially leave me screwed, correct? In that case, what would be the recommended easy-to-use NAND writer hardware to buy? As little soldering as possible would be preferred, I bought myself a pre-mod mainly because I don't really want to be soldering anything too important if I can avoid it!

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps, I used to be up-to-date on original Xbox modding back in the day but I've just never kept up enough when it comes to the 360. Once I figure out what I'm aiming to do, then I'll start reading up on how to actually do it, building NAND images and so on.

edit: well, I went ahead and replaced my SMC with a bugfixed v1.6, I guess I'll wait and see if it makes a difference. It only took one false start with an E72 to get it done, luckily Xellous was there to reflash with.

[Xb0xGuru]

I generally use standard SMC wiring on all consoles without issue, with the obvious exception of Zephyrs which prefer the DB1F1/AUD_CLAMP route.

If you're getting sporadic E79 errors and you've tried both ARGON_DATA and AUD_CLAMP, it may be a problem with the GPU or connections therein. Remember that TMS and TDI go directly to the GPU via 1.5k resistors and it wouldn't be the first time I've had to reflow a GPU in order to resolve similar issues. In one instance I had to replace the GPU completely.