Installing Xdsl

Introduction:

XDSL is a xbox-linux distribution based on Damn Small Linux (http://damnsmalllinux.org). It weighs in at less than 60MBs with a nearly complete desktop, and many command line tools. The small size of bundled programs make it very suited to the Xbox's limited 64mb memory. It can be run as a livecd or installed to your Xbox hard drive.

Preparing the Xbox:

A standard Xbox will only run code authorized by Microsoft, i.e. all executables must be signed with Microsoft's private key. To run X-DSL it is necessay to "mod" your Xbox to circumvent this restriction. For more details try looking on:

  * Xbox Linux Wiki (http://www.xbox-linux.org)

  * Xbox Scene (http://www.xbox-scene.com)

Download:

The XDSL iso is available to download from this site

Burning the CD:

Write the Xdsl iso image file to reliable recordable media which you know works in your Xbox DVD-ROM drive without any problems. Failure to do this will result in weird I/O errors and flaky installation problems, or you may not be able to boot XDSL livecd at all.

NOTE: you are not supposed to burn an .iso image as a single file on the CD. Instead, there should be a separate option in your CD authoring application that is specifically designed for burning CD images and not regular files. Use it. When burning is done, you should see several files on the disc - not just a single file.

Usage:

Pop the XDSL CD you've just made into your Xbox and allow it to boot. You should be presented a choice of video modes (640x480, 800x600, 480p, 720p). 480p and 720p require your Xbox to be connected with component cables to a HDTV. Once you have choosen a video mode XDSL will boot and you'll automatically be logged into X as the user 'dsl'.

You can interact with XDSL by using a Xbox controller to move the mouse pointer. To launch programs right click on the desktop (B on the controller) to bring up the fluxbox menu. If you need to enter any text a virtual keyboard is available from the fluxbox menu under Apps. Alternatively you can use a USB Keyboard/Mouse with a USB adapter.

FTP Install:

If you don't wish burn XDSL onto a cd and have the ability to ftp to you Xbox, it is possible to simply copy across the required files to make a frugal installation . Create a directory E:\KNOPPIX on your Xbox. Extract linux24, minirt24.gz and the KNOPPIX file (found in the KNOPPIX subdirectory) from the iso (using winrar or similar) and copy them into this directory. You should be left with the following files:

E:\KNOPPIX\KNOPPIX

E:\KNOPPIX\linux24

E:\KNOPPIX\minirt24.gz

There should be no subdirectories in E:\KNOPPIX. The filenames are case sensitive.

Now create a file E:\linuxboot.cfg with the following content:

title XDSL

kernel KNOPPIX/linux24

initrd KNOPPIX/minirt24.gz

append root=/dev/ram0 init=/etc/init rw video=xbox:640x480 frugal quiet kbd-reset

Finally if you are not using the Cromwell BIOS, copy default.xbe somewhere where you can run it from your Xbox. Then run Cromwell/default.xbe to boot XDSL. If you then want to peform a loopback/native install simply select your desired option in the Apps, Tools menu.

Retrieved from "http://www.x-dsl.org/wiki/XDSL_Manual"

Download and install from an already running version of Xdsl:

If you already have an older version on Xdsl installed, Then you can download the iso file in xdsl and mount it. If you are using an xdsl version after 0.6 rc2, then just double click on the iso file in emelfm, and it will mount into a directory named /iso in the current directory. If you are using a older version, then issue the following command to give the emelfm the ability to mount the iso:

perl -i -ne 'if( $. == 1 ) { print "iso;iso;sudo mkdir %d/ISO 2>/dev/null && sudo mount -o loop -t iso9660 %f %d/ISO\n",$_; } else { print; } ' /home/dsl/.emelfm/filetypes

Now copy the files over to /mnt/hda50 (xbox E drive) as described in the ftp installation instructions above.

Install directly to the xbox:

It is also possible to install dirctly to the xbox by downloading the zip version of Xdsl with Linksbox or Xbmc web browser, and access the downloaded file using Xmbc, Unleashx, etc. You can then copy over the included files to the appropriate locations as described on the ftp installation instructions.

Passwords:

The default passwords in XDSL are as follows:

user:dsl password:dsl

user:root password:xbox

Installation:

If you are happy running XDSL from a livecd you can skip this section. However if you want XDSL to run from your hard drive you have three options:

  * Frugal install - The XDSL compressed filesystem is copied to E:\KNOPPIX\KNOPPIX. This takes up the least diskspace (53Mbs). Since the filesystem is heavily compressed it is mounted read-only so this is just like running the livecd, except all the files reside on your hard disk   

   * Loopback install - The XDSL filesystem is installed onto a loopback file (either E:\xdslfs or F:\xdslfs). This requires a loopback file of at least 200MBs (you can choose a size upto 2GBs).   

   * Native install - XDSL will be installed onto a linux partition in the extra space on the Xbox HDD for those with hard disks bigger that 8GBs. This will keep the standard Xbox partitions (C,E,X,Y,Z) intact but will wipe all data on the F partition if it exists.

To perform one of these installations open the fluxbox menu and select the appropriate option under Tools. You will then be guided through the install process.

As from xdsl 0.6, it is now advisible to use a loopback or native install with a 120mb swap (you will given the swap option when installing) to enable some of the new functions such as the xbox dvd remote controll and the alsa sound upgrade.

myDSL extensions:

If you are running from the livecd or a frugal install you can load addition programs using myDSL extensions. XDSL should be fully compatible with extensions made for Damn Small Linux. Extensions are available from http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/damnsmall/mydsl/ or via the myDSL icon on the desktop. They should be copied to E:\ to load them when XDSL boots or E:\optional\ to give you the option of loading them via the fluxbox menu. Since each extension is loaded into the ramdisk it is recommend that you use E:\optional\ if possible to save on memory usage.

Xdsl Upgrades:

New for Xdsl 0.6 is the Xdsl upgrades menu. This is on the fuluxbox menu and the jwm menu. This contains extensions that are mainly available through mydsl, but need special xbox linux files or configuration to run properly for xdsl. A loopback or native install is needed for most of these apps to function.

Backing up your settings:

When using the frugal install/booting from a livecd it is not possible to write any changes to the XDSL filesystem. To get around this your settings can be saved in a seperate file called backup.tar.gz. Go to System, Backup/Restore in the desktop menu, type in hda50 and hit backup if you wish to make this file on your E drive. Once made your settings will be automatically saved on shutdown and restored on boot. To change what files are saved edit /home/dsl/.filetool.lst. None of this is necessary with Native/Loopback install methods since the root filesystem can be written to.