Frosted BIOS Loader 1.0

Configuration Reference

 

INTRODUCTION:

          You are now viewing the Configuration Reference for Frosted BIOS Loader 1.0. Good for you. Thanks for using FBL! Please remember that the original functions were taken from Yoshihiro's Phoenix BIOS Loader 1.4.1 Source, so he and Phoenix deserve credit as well.

 

MAIN CONTRIBUTORS:

Tomilius (creator, implementer of new features, author of this reference)

Ldots (MethodL and assistance with PBL Reloaded)

Rmenhal (MethodR, Nkpatcher and helpful assistance in implementing them)

 

TESTERS:

You

 

NOTES:

This guide is for people who want complete control over FBL. A newbie can get by fine without it in most cases.

 

 

CATEGORIES:

GENERAL

HARDWARE

NKPATCHER

NOOB PROTECTION

TEXT & TIMEOUTS

+ TIMEOUTS

TRAY STATE CHECKING

VIDEO OUTPUT & RELATED

+ FADE

+ TEXT-RELATED VIDEO EFFECTS

 


 

GENERAL

Command

Default

Description

Romfile

xboxrom.bin

Path to the BIOS to be loaded. Looks for this file in the directory of FBL or in the subdirectory BIOSES.

RC4Key

no (string)

RC4 key used in decrypting the 2bl. Required to load a BIOS.

EEPROMKey1_0

EEPROMKey1_1

EEPROMKey1_6

no (string)

EEPROM key. Different for version 1.0, versions 1.1+, and version 1.6. Key is chosen based on Xbox version.

XBEFile

no (string)

An XBE preference to load either on error or with tray state checking.

MethodR

TRUE

Modifies the code segment size before calling 2bl. Allows for BIOS loading in kernels 5530+. Thanks to RMENHAL!

ForceXBE

FALSE

Forces the loading of an XBE rather than a BIOS.

ForceBIOS

FALSE

Forces the loading of a BIOS rather than an XBE. Should have pretty much no effect in this build, as it was created to override the kernel version check.

 

HARDWARE (MISC)

Command

Default

Description

LedSequence

no (4-char string)

Sequence of the Xbox's LED. Within a time period of approximately 500ms, the LED switches between 4 different LED colors. These colors may be red, orange, green, or x for "off." E.g., a solid red would be rrrr. A fast-blinking red would be rxrx. A slower alternation between orange and green would be oogg. A BIOS will likely override this.

KeepLED

TRUE

Causes the LED sequence to persist after FBL has finished its loading procedures. In other words, it doesn't reset the LED before something is launched like it would with FALSE.

FanSpeed

0

Sets the fan speed to the value desired in percentage between 20 and 100. Anything outside of that range is ignored. A BIOS may override this.


NKPATCHER (by RMENHAL)

Command

Default

Description

Nkpatcher

TRUE

Uses Nkpatcher whenever an XBE, rather than a BIOS, is to be launched.

JustDash

TRUE

Launches an XBE in the ordinary way, making it so that a Quick Reboot after the desired XBE is loaded brings you back to the launched XBE (dash) rather than checking for a disc. To Quick Reboot the way a BIOS would, set this to FALSE and use Nkpatcher.

 

NOOB PROTECTION

Command

Default

Description

RequireKeys

RequireRC4Key

RequireEEPROM

AUTO (TRUE)

These commands work in an obvious manner. RequireKeys is automatically TRUE, making the others TRUE along with it. However, if either of the two bottom parameters is specified, RequireKeys becomes 0 but does not overwrite their values. At least, that's how it should work… When TRUE, if the specified parameter is not set, an XBE will be launched instead of a BIOS being loaded.

DieProtect

TRUE

Uses a simple method to allow recovery from a kernel crash that occurs before the code "hands itself over" to an XBE or a BIOS. The file DOOM.DIE is created in FBL's directory with the pointless text "DEATH" in it near FBL's start. This file is deleted before control is handed over. If the file is detected at the next load of FBL, the typical fallback procedure begins (an XBE will be launched, not a BIOS).


TEXT & TIMEOUTS (see VIDEO OUTPUT for text-related effects)

Command

Default

Description

HideText

FALSE

Disables text output. Does not apply to errors. (see ShowErrors)

ShowDebug

FALSE

Displays debug output onscreen.

ShowErrors

TRUE

Displays errors onscreen.

HandyHelp

AUTO

(!ShowDebug)

Displays handy help in various situations onscreen.

UselessInfo

AUTO

(!ShowDebug)

Displays useless info, such as the cable identification number, kernel version, and fan speed, onscreen.

UseLaunchText

TRUE

Displays "Launching" and "Loading" text.

DebugLog

debug.log

Text file to output debug or error text to. Set to "no" for none.

ClearDebug

TRUE

If DebugLog is specified, removes it before each load of FBL.

TIMEOUTS

VTimeout

0

Timeout to occur before final load step of XBE or BIOS ("V" stands for "View.") Gives you time to view the text output.

RTimeout

10000

Timeout to occur before a required reboot (rare).

ETimeout

5000

Timeout to occur after an error is displayed.

 

TRAY STATE CHECKING

Command

Default

Description

CheckTray

FALSE

Checks the tray and performs an action when the TrayState condition is met.

TrayState

open

open/true/1 – Condition is met with tray open

closed/false/0 – Condition is met with tray closed

TrayAction

0

0 – Loads XBEFile at TrayState

1 – Loads TrayCommand XBE at TrayState

2 – Loads TrayCommand BIOS at TrayState

TrayCommand

no (string)

Multipurpose string for use with certain TrayAction settings


VIDEO OUTPUT & RELATED

Command

Default

Description

KillOutput

0

1 – Kills the video output before a BIOS is loaded. Does not apply to loading an XBE.

2 – Kills the video output near the start of FBL. When loading an XBE, the video may never be restored…

Thanks to LDOTS and RMENHAL!

NoVideo

FALSE

Makes no form of video initialization whatsoever. That means the framebuffer is not initialized. That means it isn't cleared. That means – screen corruption when loading a BIOS with this TRUE! So leave it FALSE.

SaveFB

TRUE

Grabs the previously-initialized framebuffer location and uses it. To make a long explanation short, you can see text on the M$ logo. Thanks to Moi!

MethodL

TRUE

Simply initializes the framebuffer. No further video initialization. Prevents screen corruption. Thanks to LDOTS!

ClearBeforeLaunch

FALSE

Clears the framebuffer before the launching of an XBE. There's no reason to.

FADE

FadeOut

TRUE

Fades the screen out before a BIOS is loaded. Does not apply to loading an XBE, as they are perfectly capable of keeping the framebuffer.

SlightFade

AUTO (FadeOut)

Fades the screen out a bit before the text is displayed.

FadeOutStep

10

Amount to subtract from each color of a pixel per frame when fading out.

SlightFadeOutStep

AUTO (FadeOutStep)

Amount to subtract from each color of a pixel per frame when slightly fading.

SlightFadeOutMax

14

Amount of frames to generate for a slight fade.

Subtraction from pixels = (SlightFadeOutStep * SlightFadeOutMax)

TEXT-RELATED VIDEO EFFECTS

TransFonts

TRUE

Ignores the black pixels of a font, preventing a box-like appearance.

 

 

 

 

Contact me at the Frosted BIOS Loader thread, or if you must, at: tomilius@gmail.com