Eaton

I have been working with USB devices a little more. 16 GB+ sizes is already great, but there were a few things I still wanted to try:

-USB Extender : if you have an external HDD with existing content storage and have a lot of space still available, FATXplorer’s USB extension tool will allow you to increase the size of your content volume, without needing to backup and put your data back on! Quick and easy process.

-Support for all 5 console USB ports : this is possible and has been successfully tested. Still working on good patches to reduce risks of memory corruption.

In addition, 2.0.6 will be out soon to fix a few more isolated issues. There may be a problem with loading some smaller HDDs and a rare file icon exception was found. Keep the update option checked, because this will be available pretty soon.

Also, just to clarify some confusion, the USB tools will be a licensed-only feature. So if you want them, you will need to purchase FATXplorer. People have already reached out to me about open sourcing it, but this feature has been promised to customers for a long time and I plan to stick with that plan.

As for the release data for v2.5 – undecided. It will be released when it is done.

Now here is something to really look forward to in FATXplorer v2.5: a USB formatter!

Working with Xbox 360 USB devices is much harder than working with HDDs and MUs. There is a lot more involved and it gets really, really complicated. Fortunately, as of Jan 16, I have finally cracked the format completely with almost a year’s worth of research.

This was no easy feat, but I believed that FATXplorer would not be complete without full USB support. After so many hours of late night testing on my console, I am ready to reveal something that will provide the Xbox 360 community with a much easier way of managing content storage.

The Formatter

The USB formatter will be included in FATXplorer v2.5. The bare-bones of it are completed and functional, but a user-interface will soon be completed to allow testers to use this feature.

I have not yet decided if this will be USB “adjuster” or “formatter”. An adjuster would simply change the size of an existing USB and keep all the existing content, while adding more space. A formatter would simply create a clean USB.

More info on what I decided will come in the near future.

What can be done on…

Retail Consoles

Retail consoles will be able to format USB devices anywhere from 16 KB to 16 GB in size. That’s right.. 16 KB! You can now get around the 1 GB minimum limitation!

The new smallest USB size is now: 536,899,584 (about 512 MB).

So if you have a 512 MB USB around, you will be able to use about 16 KB of that on your console. (:

Here are some pictures of the smallest size in use:

JTAG, RGH, and Development Consoles

These consoles will be able to support everything a retail console does, but with an added bonus. Possibly the sweetest bonus of all and the feature I am the most excited to announce…

16.1 GB – 2 TB!!!!!!!!!

That’s right! As stated earlier, this limitation is hardcoded into the system pretty well, but it is now possible to bypass that limitation and use any large USB!!!

FATXplorer v2.5′s USB formatting tool will be able to format USBs from 16.1 GB to 2 TB in size.

You will be able to use any external USB HDD for Xbox 360 content storage. You have an external USB HDD that is bigger than 16 GB? Well, now you can use ALL of the space for your profiles, game saves, and DLC!

*This feature requires several patches to the Xbox 360 kernel and xam.xex. Patches, along with detailed installation instructions, will be included in the v2.5 release. This is why retail consoles cannot support these sizes.

Here is a picture of my external USB HDD, with all of its storage space being used:

Credits

These guys helped me out when I was stuck. This project would have taken a lot longer to complete without their guidance in select parts.

Anthony: Helped me find the last crashing bug.

Unknown v2: Helping me with some PPC every now and then.

*Dashboard 14699 is the version used/patched in the demonstration pictures. Patches for other versions will be available upon release.

Last year around this time, I made a goal to get v2.0 out at some point. That goal was reached and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. For 2012 the goal is similar: to finish the features I have been planning for so long.

I have been hard at work on v2.5 over my winter break. The main core new feature has been finished, but there is still a lot of polishing and bugs to iron out. I would also like to include a viewer that will allow you to see game names, gamertags, etc.

The time over break was mainly dedicated to finishing the secret new feature. This feature forced me to redesign how I handled a lot of scenarios deep within the driver code. Writing a file system driver from scratch is no easy task, but I have succeeded in creating a very stable and efficient driver.

2.5 will also feature simplified licensing. After v2.0 having been on the market for nearly 6 months, I have received a lot of feedback on the licensing mechanism and I think I made it a little too secure. Therefore, the licensing will be dumbed down to the basics to reduce frustration and to reduce the amount of licensing related support requests.

To conclude, 2012 will be another great year for FATXplorer. Possibly bigger than the last. I had this same feeling last year around this time, but I feel that once I reveal this secret new feature I have invested several weeks of effort into, FATXplorer will finally become an essential utility in many gamers’ desktops. More information on v2.5 will be available as the grand polishing phase nears a close.

Have a great 2012!

~Eaton

PS: Existing customers: If you want to be a part of the FATXplorer v2.5 preview program, you should post a comment to get my attention. (:

Most Xbox 360 software would have completed its lifespan by now. However, FATXplorer still lives. It’s been two years since its release on Thanksgiving day 2009. The completion of the code coincided nicely with the holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am still working out some issues for the future of the application, so I don’t have any news on what will be next. However, it will be awesome. (: