Hitachi 46 / Windows Freezes etc etc - PLEASE SOMEONE!!

[replicant69]

Hi all,

Firstly my apologies for long mail, but this is driving me nuts!!
My 360 – Hitachi 0046 (DH?)
My PC – Mobo GA-7N400 Pro - http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=1651&ProductName=GA-7N400V%20Pro
PCI Card – VIA VT6421A (as after reading the forums seems the best card to use)

NOTE:
(I initially understood the sata will not work from this mobo to the 360 so purchased a VIA VT6421A pci card and updated all drivers, this is connected to the pci slot, no raid drivers installed etc, just the latest 07 card drivers)

(However, textbook tutorial states “Hitachi 46 / 47 / 59 These “older version” Hitachi drives can be flashed with basically all SATA chipsets. It should work as long as the SATA supports ATAPI devices (optical drives).”

To start, I purchased the blaster 360 (not the NE version), had all the usual bits in the pack including the serial adapter for the 360 ODD that is to be used with the Hitachi 46/47 models (think this is the fix if im right). I have followed the diagrams exactly, ran the xbox fine after installation and all in working order with green glow on the blaster. I then sat the 360 next to the pc and used a power cable from the pc for the blaster, lights glows blue which is correct, then I used the serial cable from the VT6421 pci card to the 360, couldn’t get this to work / detected in windows, after 5 hours of playing, got fed up and took the blaster out (after reading more posts I understand the blaster doesn’t work with all Hitachi 46 drives)

SO – After taking out the blaster I tested 360 and all works and plays fine, so back to square one.

Decided last night to flash via pc hookup. Followed the textbook tutorial and used the Slax 2 and tried the Slax 2.1 cd to put my drive into mode B, now this is where things went a little weird. The VIA 6421A sata connection and trying with the mobo (sil3112a) both reported back slow port problems and resets and hard resets etc messages coming up, although loads of errors it did put the box into mode b….. however, windows would still not detect the drive?  Is this due to the fact mode b did not work properly, or is mode b going to be mode b regardless??

I had the constant flashing green light, the drive 2 presses to open and close, auto open once closed….it was defo mode b.

I haven’t just posted this without researching, I have used different Sata ports on the card and mobo, same issues with Slax and slow port issues etc….even so, it went into Mode b regardless.

Tried booting into Windows = Froze (I left it for a min or so but it would not boot)
Plugged in sata cable after windows had booted = Froze
Tried at windows loading bar to plug in Sata cable etc = Froze
Used the eject button trick at windows bar = Froze
Sata cable plugged in once windows fully loaded = Froze
Moved the 6421A to different port = nothing still
Unplugged other drives in pc etc = nothing still

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, any helpful advice would be great, Im going nuts and it stresses me out how some have done theirs easy and mines a pain in the b/side – im jealous! but more so FRAUSTRATED!

[Arakon]

eject the drive when it freezes before booting windows, it should continue then.

[replicant69]

Sorry, I dont quite understand ejecting the drive before freezes.... the xbox is fine, responding as normal. Windows is the only thing that freezes as soon as sata cable is connected wether its before boot up, during boot up or after boot up.

[Arakon]

when windows starts hanging, open the drive tray. it should continue to boot normally at that point and you should be able to access the drive.

[replicant69]

Thanks...but tried these tests last night.... I open the tray at loading bar and windows kicks into action again for 1-2 seconds, then sticks, I try to keep openning and closing 360 drive again but never gets into windows, just hangs! Windows just freezes completely, regardless of xbox tray open or close button pressing.....however, as soon as sata cable unplugged it works. So then tried plugging cable back in once booted to desktop and windows freezes again. Any thoughts??

Is it possible the slow port errors with slax getting xbox into mode b (as mentioned earlier) could be causing a problem? or once in mode B it shouldnt matter how you got into the mode as long as it is? Im really racking my brain here....

[gigabite]

ahh I had the same problem as this and there are a fair ammount of topics on this, anyway - get it into modeB in latest Slax and restart (DO NOT unplug the SATA, turn off the Xbox etc etc) while windows is booting (at the section with the blue loading bar) keep ejecting it about 10 times and it should boot or keep booting if it hangs right before it loads the welcome screen after the blue bar has been going normal, don't worry give it time (it's possible it's detecting the new hardware and getting ready to tell you about it)...you should get to windows and all be well (you might need to detect new hardware in device manager if it doesn't do it automatically)

gigabite

[replicant69]

SPECIAL THANKS TO GIGABYTE!!

For anyone who may encounter the problem I had / or similar, then I followed what gigabite advised with a bit extra due to my own mobo being fussy:
Firstly I put my 360 into mode b by using the onboard sata on my mobo - Sil1112A / NForce 2.
Once in mode b (Leaving the xbox ON of course) I turned off the pc and connected the sata cable to the VT6421A pci card.
Then right from start of the pc power up I kept opening and closing my dvd tray up until the point that desktop had fully loaded, no lock, pausing or freeze issues, flashed perfectly, well happy!! 

Thanks again!!

[shocker123]

I am having the same issue, I have tried powering the pc down and with the xbox power on, i keep hitting the eject button. The pc hangs with the blue bar going back and forth. Never boots up.

Any other tricks you can think of? I have tried 3 different sata cables and they all do the same... Not sure what else to try other than calling a friend and trying it on there computer...

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[gigabite]

^^ you keep pressing eject for a bit, then let it load (after it "resumes" from a pause) - otherwise you'll never get anywhere....you also MUST have a compatible chipset (such as VIA)

gigabite