XBOX 360

[hitman43]

Product: x360key / xK3y / xkey360
Author: hitman43 / Translator: iCEQB
German Review / Deutscher Testbericht: HERE/HIER
Manufacturer: www.xk3y.com / www.x360key.com
Price: around 80-100.- Euro
Platform: Xbox 360
Catagory: Drive emulator / ODE / ODDE / Optical Disc Drive Emulator
Where to buy: www.codexecution.com, www.modchipsdirect.com, www.modchipcentral.com

Introduction:

The xK3y (also known as xKey, x360Key and XKey360) is the first optical disc drive emulator for the Xbox 360. The guys behind the Wiikey Team (known for Wiikey (Wii), D2Pro (Wii), D2CKey (Wii), HDMIKey (Wii), XenoGC (Gamecube), Qoob Pro (GameCube), Crystal Chip (PS2)) designed the hardware itself, the software comes from the developer TheArtificer who is responsible for the software aspect of the WODE (Wii Optical Drive Emulator) and many other hacks.
At this point we would like to say, that we used a beta sample (we have two different revisions) for the review, so in case that your xK3y looks slightly different, it's because we've got an early beta version of the xK3y.
The range of functions is the same for all hardware revisions, so don't panic, your xK3y will work our beta version.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Hardware:

The hardware of the xK3y optical disc drive emulator for the Xbox 360 is currently unmachted. I have rarely had such nicely manufactured hardware laying aound here, a buddy of mine, who had a look at the xK3y, talked about well-engineered alien technology, well, he doesn't know it any better, but the hardware which includes the NXP3143 ARM9 CPU, 32MB Winbond RAM (Winbond) and Lattice FPGA Chip could definitely come from outer space.
All components, including the slots and the MicroSD card slot (for the included 128 MB SD card) are outstandingly well attached to the nicely manufactured mainboard (xK3y).
The display (xK3y remote) and the buttons, the USB port for the USB drives as well as the MicroSD slot are also flawless.
As for the hardware, there is nothing to complain about.
Merely the external case for the xK3y remote is a matter of taste, I'm no fan of the shiny piano black surface, but as I said, it's a matter of taste.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Installation:

The installation of the xK3y itself is realy easy, merely the dump of the Xbox 360 drivekey could cause problems for some, but you'll find a lot of clues, manuals and tools in our board on how to get it done, or you could assign on of our several sponsors who offer the installation of the xK3y which includes the key dump process that has to be done only once.
A reminder for those who'll get their xK3y installed for them. You will usualy get a warranty on the installation and you don't have to buy any additional hardware, like the Maximus Lizard or X360USB Pro in order to use the xK3y.
For those who are doing the installation on their own and flashed a Xbox 360 drive before, won't run into any struggles.
After taking apart the Xbox 360 you simply have to dump the drive with the usual tools like the Maximus Lizard, X360USB Pro, JungleFlasher and / or via the Pogo Mo Thoin (PMT) method. The resulting dump gets transfered onto the microSD card as "firmware.bin" (Xbox 360 phat) or "dummy.bin" (Xbox 360 slim) of the xK3y and plugged into its slot.

Like this:

Xbox 360 Slim: sd/dummy.bin
Xbox 360 Phat: sd/firmware.bin

Once the dumped firmware, together with the drive key, is transfered onto the microSD card and plugged into its slot, the xK3y gets hooked up between the Xbox 360's mainboard and the drive.
After that you simply connect the xK3y to avoid shorts and reassamble the console, after that you're good to go.

Take care while you put the console back together to avoid pressure on the xK3y, which sits behind the drive where, because of its size, is not much space left. By causing to much pressure you might bend the slots or cables that go to the xK3y or even on the consoles mainboard or its drive and cause damage to one of these components.
Also make sure to gently put the console case back together which might be under tension now. That shouldn't be much of a problem, just make sure not to reassamble it with unnecessary force.

NOTE: In case you get Error E64 or if the xK3y seems to malfunction, check the SD card first and its contents (rootfs & uImage). Make sure to carefully take out the microSD card on your PC and to use the "safely remove hardware" feature under Windows.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Navigation/Menu guidance:

The interface, in comparison to the WODE, is more lucid and includes only the bare necessities, which in my opinion is more than enough.

You navigate with the upper and lower buttons on the xK3y and confirm with the one in the middle.
To get out of the current folder you hold the center button a little longer.
The navigation is easy, clear and fast.

Here is a breakdown of the menu:

Emulation:[LIST][*]Select Game (here you are going to select the HDD and the game)[*]About xK3y (Information about the xK3y)

• App: XX.XX (Versioninfo about the software (uImage & rootfs))
• FPGA: XX.XX (Versioninfo about the FPGA)
• Drive: XXXXXX (Information about Xbox 360's build in disc drive)
• Tray (Shows the drive status)

Passthru:

• About xK3y (see above)
• Tray (see above)

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Emulation Mode & Passthru Mode:

After you've successfully installed the xK3y, you can get right to it and hook up a hard drive filled with Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 backups.
Before we start, I'd like to show you the two modes come with the xK3y. Let's begin with the most interesting one, the emulation mode.

Emulation Mode:

You start your console by pressing the power button to get into the emulation mode. This mode allows you to select your games via the xK3y remote with a connected USB drive and launch them.

Like this:

1. You start your console by pressing the power button (USB drive connected to the xK3y remote).
2. You press eject on the console to open the tray (tray status open), which won't actually happen.
3. Via the xK3y you navigate to "select game" and choose your hard drive which might take a moment, don't panic, this is because a few drives turn off automatically, so they need a while to start up at the beginning. Once the display shows "HDD connected" you are good to go.
4. You confirm your selected game with the center button on your xK3y remote and the press eject again on your Xbox 360.
5. In case the game doesn't launch automatically, it's because you might have deactivated this feature in your dashboard options. In that case you have to do it on your own via the disc icon.

Should "AP 2.5 failed" appear on your screen, you have to make sure to update your xK3y or transfer the "dae.bin" in your games folder. Last thing (most likely) won't be necessary anymore in the coming days, so an update should be enough.
In case that doesn't help, chances are high that your backup is faulty.
Verifying the ISO with ABGX might help.

Passthru Mode:

In order to deactivate the xK3y and beeing able to normally use the disc drive, you need the passthru mode. You activate it by turning on your console via the eject button.
The passthru mode deactivates the xK3y to allow the use of original Xbox 360 discs. That means that you can use your previously backupped discs and start them with your drive again.
So a safe usage of Xbox Live is given, thanks to the passthru mode, since the timing of the drive is more accurate due to the hardware / software combination in comparison to a software-only-solution like a hacked drive firmware. That means, even in emulation mode you should be safer than with a hacked DVD-Rom firmware, which in the end doesn't matterat all, since nobody can guarantee you to be 100% secure on XBOX Live.
At least not with a cash-bach-guarantee.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Navigation & functionality:

This section is all about the emulation mode, since there is nothing more to say about the passthru mode.
Xbox 360 and Xbox 1 (if supported by the Xbox 1 emulator) games go into the following folder:

games

which is located in the root of the HDD as .ISO files (without .DVD file).
For those who want their games to be sorted by genres or alphabetically can do that as well, that means, sub folders within the "games" folder are recognised as well.

Example:

hdd/games/adventure/assassins_creed_brotherhood.iso
hdd/games/shooter/call_of_duty_black_ops.iso

or

hdd/games/a/assassins_creed_brotherhood.iso
hdd/games/c/call_of_duty_black_ops.iso


The "dae.bin" contains AP 2.5/ 2.6 information, which should be integrated into xK3ys firmware soon.
Currently all Xbox 360 work, including XGD3 (Xbox Game Disc 3), AP 2.5 AP 2.5 and multi disc games. Xbox 1 games weren't tested.
XGD3 % AP 2.5 games are supprted and work flawlessly.

Following games were tested:

XGD3 Games:

• Gears of War 3
• Warhammer 40.000 Space Marine
• Driver San Francisco

AP 2.5 Games:

• Call of Duty Black Ops
• Halo Reach
• Assassin Creed Brotherhood

Multi Disc Games:

• LA Noire
• Dead Space 2

All tested games worked flawlessly with the latest xK3y firmware v.1.02. When multi disc games ask you to change the disc, you can simply mount the next disc with the xK3y remote and continue playing.
Don't forget to verify and patch your games with ABGX360. Sadly XGD3 games are currently not supported by ABGX.
The usage is by the way as easy as the installation, no kidding!
In case you are using an USB hub (yes, that works as well) make sure to know on which drive you stored your games.
And don't forget, taht there are certain drives which strain the USB port a lot more than others, so consider a USB Y cable or another power source to avoid the problem.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Updates & Recovery:

It's fairly easy to update the xK3y. You simply take the rootfs (the linux root file system), uImage (the linux kernel plus InitRamFS) and copy both files onto the USB drive.
Once you turn on your Xbox 360, both files (footfs & uImage) will be copied onto the microSD card inside the xK3y.
The xK3y checks the files first before anything gets transfered onto the microSD card to see if there have been any changes made at all.
In case something goes wrong, like a power shortage on your 360, you can still recover the firmware on the microSD card, with the software on your PC.
FPGA updates are also applied via a USB drive. FPGA updates add new hardware functions to the xK3y. To update it, you need a file called "FPGA.VME (upper or lower case shouldn't be of importance).
An FPGA update takes around 50-60 seconds. Whatever you update, you have to restart your Xbox 360 to make sure the xK3y makes use othe update and work correctly.
I never had to use the recovery mode during those 3 firmware updates that I installed about 3 million times, in order to kill that thing.
Downgrading is also possible, since (as said before) the xK3y checks the update files for the differences, so a downgrade isn't a problem.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Coming features/ support:

We've covered the update function above and there'll be several new features coming, not only for the interface itself, but also for the FPGA.
Some of you might know it alreaady, but we still want to mention a few here, since they are already worked on right now and are definitely interesting.

Xbox Live: The xK3y does currently work with Xbo Live and the chance that the xK3y is more secure than a hacked drive firmware is also given.
Like I said above, a firmware with a rootkit like LT+ is great and works fine, but can never reach the complexity of a hardware/software solution.
I'm not saying that the iXtreme LT+ firmware is bad, but it will never be as safe as the xK3y and we've seen such a scenario once in the past and that is not going to change, no matter what somebody tells you, the logic is on the side of the drive emulators and this logic lies inside the CPUs of the ODDEs.
The xK3y can be perfectly adjusted to the drive and can represent a real drive without problems.
Of course there is no guarantee for a 100% secure Xbox Live solution, but an optical disc drive emulator gives you more adaptability without the restrictions of a 256 KB flashmemory.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

KeyDump Feature: The xK3y will be able to dump the drive key on its own and copy it onto the SD card, so that the purchase of additional hardware becomes obsolete.
This feature should be the most interesting one for a lot. Nothing is known right now but the Maximus Lizard technology that got licensed to do this task. Even if the Maximus and Team Xecuter products can be recommended, for an one time use on the other hand, it's definitely not worth it.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

Ripping Feature: The ripping feature is for a lot as interesting as the key dump feature, since you won't need an additional drive (Samsung drive with Kreon firmware or Xbox 360 drive with 0800 firmware) to backup your games.
This feature is going to be more complex, since all files during the procedure need to match, so we have to wait and see how this turns outo n the xK3y without a 0800 firmware.
The coder of the xK3y was definitely on the right path with the WODE and showed us what a modchip can do. So the chance that the pulls it off again on the xK3y is high.

(auf die Bilder klicken zum vergrößern / click to enlarge)

WLAN Feature: A lot of you are going to enjoy this feature, as you'll be able to control the xK3y via a web browser or a possible iPhone / Andorid app or whatever they come up with.
Only the xK3y guys know exactly what will happen, so we can be wound up to a high pitch.

Multi Language Support: The xK3ys interface will soon be translated in several languages. We will take care of the german translation, so for the people who are overwhelmed with the english interface, will soon enjoy the xK3y in their native language.
Not the greatest feature, but definitely customer friendly.

If the support turns out to be as big as promised, we'll have a great time with the xK3y.

Pro	Contra
+ great functionality	- more expansive than a firmware flash
+ cool display	- games "currently" only selectable via xK3y remote
+ Xbox 360 games playable from a USB drive	- Shiny piano black surface a matter of taste
+ Xbox games playable from a USB drive	- a little bit too big, for the installation
+ updateable
+ AP2.5 compatible
+ XGD3 compatible
+ great hardware (Winbond, Lattice)
+ recoverymode
+ easy isntallation
+ Xbox LIVE compatible
+ high compatability
+ works in emulation mode without a DVD-Rom drive
+ great support
+ WLAN feature in in the works
+ Keydump feature announced
+ Ripping feature announced
+ more up to date than iXtreme LT+ Firmware
+ Xbox 360 Slim compatible
+ Xbox 360 Phat / Fat compatible

Conclusion:

The wait was definitely worth it! For those who are looking for an updateable, future proof hardware and don't attach great importance to the reset glitch hack, should definitely pick up the xK3y, which enables you to play your games from a USB drive and therefore protect your real disc drive, original titles and collectors editions. Thanks to the easy usage, even the unexpierenced users can't do anything wrong, since the product works as great as the developer promised it to do. The hardware is so great, that you'll think it's not from this world. The current updates which are still in the beta status work better than those which are for products that are already on the market. For those of you who kept up the long wait can now look forward to features that weren't even announced. Apart from the XGD3 and AP 2.5 support, you are also able to use Xbox Live thanks to a hardware which is more adjustable than a hacked firmware that can only be software wise implemented. If the support stays like it currently is, you're going to have a lot of fun with your xK3y. Definitely a buy recommendation !!!

Total Rating:

[alyssa]

Warum hat der Key im Englischen review 95% gekriegt und im Deutschen 94% ?

[hitman43]

War ein Fehler in der englischen Review, die ist noch nicht ganz fertig, wobei es bei 94% schon fast egal ist ob 94 oder 95%, das Teil ist eh der Wahnsinn und könnte auch 95% bekommen.

[alyssa]

Das stimmt ob 94 oder 95, hoffe ich kann auch bald das Wahnsinns teil testen.

[Superpit]

Zitat von hitman43

[CENTER]


+ Xbox Spiele von USB HDD abspielba

kleiner Fehler

[hitman43]

Thx, ist geändert.

[idog]

Good review and nice product. How exactly are the XGD3 games put on the HDD, also as .iso ? Or as a set of files, jtag like ?

[hitman43]

Yes, you have to put them also as an (.)ISO file onto the USB harddisc.

[Deen0X]

hi. first of all i'm new here and i'm sorry for my poor (and rude) english.

i have a X360Key (XK) to get a review and make some like a tutorial to setup/use, but i have some problems to get the XK to work correctly.

i have this config:
- XBox 360 FAT with Dashboard 7371 (i know is an old dashboard, but if is necessary, i can update to any compatible dash to run XK)
- drive LiteOn 74850C with original firmware (but unlocked, to read the key)
- XK pack with original firmware 1.0, and update 1.02
- DAE.BIN (the only file i found on internet. i don´t know if there is an update)
- dummy.bin from LiteOn (Renamed to firmware.bin)

in the other hand i have a 360Lizard, and i extracted the key using Scorpion2 and all stuff is ok. (i checked dumped firmware using toolbox from lizard, to generate custom firmware from my dump, and lizard check the file and is ok)

- I get the source_dummy.bin and copy on micro SD, together uImage and rootfs, renamed by firmware.bin (must be these name, for X360 FAT)
- put the microSD on XK
- the XK is connected, following the instructions:
SATA: Original SATA cable from Xbox main board to (J3) on XK main board.
SATA: Included SATA cable from from Xbox DVD drive to (J2) XK main board. (90° L Shape on XK side)
POWER: Original Power cable from Xbox main board to (P2) on XK main board.
POWER: Included Power cable from Xbox DVD Drive to (P1) on XK main board.
USB: Connect MicroUSB cable from J4 on XK main board to XK Remote.

when turn on the x360 console, i have a Error E64 (or a jiggly screen with xbox logo deformed), and the XK display "No FW"

if using regenerated original firmware (using toolbox and source_dummy.bin extracted from my drive), XK show "Emulation menú", but X360 display Error E66 (not recognized drive)

finally, i try swapping J3 by J2 (only for testing) and both, XK and X360 start up normally, but when select an iso from XK, show 360 logo static image, and X360 display "closing try", followed by "reading disc" and finally "Open Try". and nothing occurs.

i'm with no idea what happen and i'l be gracefully if any help or clue can get me to continue testing.

sorry for the extense post and apologize again for my english.

and thx in advance!

[hitman43]

Try this:

NOTE: In case you get Error E64 or if the xK3y seems to malfunction, check the SD card first and its contents (rootfs & uImage). Make sure to carefully take out the microSD card on your PC and to use the "safely remove hardware" feature under Windows.

[Deen0X]

thanks for the response.

yes, i checked this part of instructions.

i followed a guide to extract the key using lizard, but is for LiteOn 9345. the mine is 7485 but, the mainboard looks identical.
yesterday extract again the key/dump using spear instead maximus scorpion 2, and get another dump different from original i got before.
generating a CFw with original firm template, and using this my X360 and X360Key boot correctly. (no E64/E66 showed)

now, when i try to load a game from HDD, in XBox appears the "Play this disc", and then the annoying message "To play disc, put in an XBOX 360 consolse".

i'm trying to play games i know run without problems in my console (considerating i'm 7371 dashboard).

any clue?

thanks in advance!

[hitman43]

You have to update your dashboard to the newest one (13599).