Flashing the bios on an original Xbox in 2024

Something that I have been wanting to do forever is to hard mod an original Xbox by flashing a custom bios to the system, also called a “TSOP flash“. Where the name TSOP (thin small outline package) refers to the type of IC package used on the original Xbox. Flashing the bios is a fairly straightforward procedure if you know how but if you are starting out fresh it can seem like a daunting task as there is so much information available. Hence I thought it would be a good idea share my experience. Disabling write protection The first step… Read More »Flashing the bios on an original Xbox in 2024

Windows GPU passthrough with proxmox

This post will serve as a reference for myself and maybe also others. After successfully setting up PCI (GPU) passthrough on a Ubuntu virtual machine I wanted to see if it would also work with a Windows virtual machine. During this process I ran into some challenges that are documented below: After setting up the Windows virtual machine I found that it did not correctly identify the graphics card. Device manager showed that a device was found but it did not recognize it as a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. This meant that the NVIDIA driver installer was unable to determine… Read More »Windows GPU passthrough with proxmox

Installing Synology DSM 7.X on a HP N54L in 2022

Let me start out by saying I’m a fan of Synology. I have owned a DS216Play in the past and have upgraded to a DS918+ in recent years. In my view Synology DSM is one of the more user friendly interfaces for NAS type devices and so I decided to revisit the XPEnology project when I came across my old HP N54L. While I found several other posts of people already running XPEnology on their N54Ls I did not find a detailed installation post specific to my needs. I decided to visit the installation FAQ and from there the DSM7x… Read More »Installing Synology DSM 7.X on a HP N54L in 2022

WHMCS-VIMEXX

Why this post? I ran into problems while automating domain registration using WHMCS and my registrar VIMEXX. VIMEXX does provide a registrar module but it does not work out of the box with my version of WHMCS. I was able to get it to work and thought it would a good idea to share my experience along with a updated version of the module. About WHMCS WHMCS isĀ an all-in-one client management, billing & support solution for online businesses. Handling everything from signup to termination, WHMCS is a powerful automation & support tool. About the problem The module is fairly straightforward… Read More »WHMCS-VIMEXX

Restoring an encrypted Time Machine backup from Synology

I recently replaced my Macbook Pro (early 2015) with a newer model. As I make use of Time Machine for making encrypted backups on my Synology NAS I thought it would be a great opportunity to actually test my backups as a non tested backup is no backup at all (Schrodinger’s backup). During the initial setup of my new Macbook however, I ran into a problem. The migration assistant found my NAS, I was able to connect to it and see the backups but at the same time I got the following message: “No volumes found in backup”. My heart… Read More »Restoring an encrypted Time Machine backup from Synology

Configure, enable and deploy Bitlocker via Group Policies

In this post I will explain how to configure, enable and deploy Bitlocker via GPO’s (Group Policy Objects). If you or your organisation are able to use or use MBAM (Microsoft Bitlocker Administration and Monitoring), SCCM (Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager) or Intune please use that instead. The clients in this scenario are members of a traditional domain (non Azure AD) and are equipped with a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) that we want to use for storing the encryption keys. In addition a recovery key is generated that will be stored in AD in case the drive needs to be… Read More »Configure, enable and deploy Bitlocker via Group Policies

How to clone MiFare Classic with the Proxmark 3 Easy

In this post I will share how to clone a MiFare Classic card using the Proxmark 3 Easy. Requirements: Hardware Proxmark3 Easy Software The RRG / Iceman git repo (found here: https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/proxmark3) Process: Obtain keys Default keys Non-default keys Dump card content Write dump to empty card Obtains keys Before being able to dump the content of the card, the keys have to be obtained. There are some default keys that manufacturers use and that are never changed. Running fchk with the –dump option will test for default keys and will dump them if successful. Default keys Non-default keys Dumping… Read More »How to clone MiFare Classic with the Proxmark 3 Easy

How to emulate/simulate Amiibo with a Proxmark 3 Easy

In this post I will explain how to use a Proxmark 3 Easy to emulate an Amiibo. I have updated this post on the 19th of May 2023. About the Proxmark 3 Easy The Proxmark 3 Easy was designed and manufactured by Elechouse to be a lower cost alternative to the Proxmark RDV2 and therefor lacks some of the more advanced features. However, it is still capable of much of the same and is readily available from Chinese sellers for a decent price making it an interesting option to get yourself familiar with RFID. Please note that the Proxmark 3… Read More »How to emulate/simulate Amiibo with a Proxmark 3 Easy

How to flash bios chips with Raspberry Pi

This post is an addition to my previous post: “How to flash bios chips with Arduino“. While doing some research online I found several articles/posts from people using a Raspberry Pi to flash SPI flash chips. Apparently the Raspberry Pi  is very suitable for this kind of thing as it has a SPI interface and is able to run linux. I was eager to try this out for myself so I got out my Pi 3 model B and got to work. For this project I used a Winbond 25X80 salvaged from a motherboard I had lying around. Outline of… Read More »How to flash bios chips with Raspberry Pi

Updating TOS to version 1.04

After finishing the drive swap mod on my Atari 1040 STF I continued browsing the Atari forum’s hardware section and found a post/guide on how to update the operating software. In general, updating the OS is advisable as newer versions may contain bug fixes, security updates and increased I/O compatibility. The same goes for my Atari. The last available version for my machine, 1.04 a.k.a. Rainbow TOS, contains all of the above and is found to be faster overall. On the Atari, the OS is stored on two or in my case six ROM (Read Only Memory) chips. As the… Read More »Updating TOS to version 1.04