FREEZING GAMES?

Turn off IGR (Evolution X)

Problem:
The IGR in Evolution X has been known to have issues with some setups. Turning it off and using an IGR in your BIOS will alleviate any potential problems with games locking up on the "loading" screen.

Solution:
IGR (or In Game Reset) is toggled on/off through your evox.ini. It resides in three separate places: [Misc], [FTP] and [RDTOOLS]. Make sure each instance of IGR in the evox.ini file looks like the following:

IGR = No

You can either do this in Evolution X through System Utilities/Settings (remember to save and exit) or by editing your evox.ini file and uploading it to your Xbox via FTP.

Patch the Game

Problem:
A media check (read: copy protection) in games causes the game to lockup during loading.

Solution:
The game can be patched any number of ways.

Backup to DVD (PC)
You can use a patching program such as Craxtion, Qwix or ADR Patcher. These programs are designed to go through the XBE files on your computer and actually patch them to remove the media checks.

Backup to Hard Drive (Xbox)
There are programs that will auto patch games while backing them up to the hard drive. These programs include dvd2xbox and Px-HDD Loader.

BIOS Upgrade
Newer BIOS versions (Xecutor 4977 or later, Evox M7 or later) can auto patch games on the fly. This allows you to play backed up games on your modded Xbox even if they contain the media check.

Set Your System Clock

Problem:
Games tend to freeze during game play. This will often happen when games are auto saving and run into errors (i.e. the Xbox reporting a date of 11-15-2001).

Solution:
Set your system clock through MS Dashboard/settings. If you leave your Xbox unplugged for 4 hours or longer the clock will need to be reset when you boot it back up.

Clear Your Cache

Problem:
When you load games, the loads are temporarily stored in "cache" to speed up load times.

Occasionally these cache files will get corrupted or will not erase properly. This and causes a game to freeze or not load properly.

Solution:
Delete your cache files. The following directories can be emptied (delete all the files inside, not the directories themselves).

E:CACHE
X:
Y:
Z:

Game Specific Patches

Problem:
Some games have long file names that work fine with the DVD file structure but don't work on the Xbox hard drive's "Fat-X" file system. There are only a few games that have this problem (most notably: Enter the Matrix).

Solution:
In order to run these games on the Xbox hard drive, the filenames have to be changed and the game has to be patched to look for the new, shorter, file names.

Delete Save Game Files (Last Resort)

Problem:
A corrupted save game file makes it impossible for a game to launch properly or the game freezes when trying to load a game.

Solution:
Delete the save game files for that game. Obviously this is a last resort because no one wants to lose all the progress they've made in a given game. Your game saves are located in the following directories:

E:TDATA
E:UDATA

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Dirty Disc Error aka DDE

The Obvious Reason: A Damaged Disc. (DVD)

Problem: A scratch or blemish on the disc causes it to be unreadable.

Solution:
Sometimes simply wiping the disc down can make the disc become unreadable. If the disc is damaged beyond repair (deep scratch or chip) then there isn't much you can do.

A File is Missing or Corrupted (DVD/HDD)

Problem:
This can happen if a file fails to transfer properly via FTP, or copy to the HDD properly.

Solution:
Check your FTP log after you transfer and make sure that all the files transferred properly. If files fail to transfer it could be one of three reasons:

The disc is scratched or dirty (see problem #1).

The file has a long filename and cannot be written to the HDD's Fat-X file system which will only accept 42 character long file names. The filemanager you use skips files when it encounters errors rather than alerting you. I would suggest using a good, reliable filemanager. IMHO the best backup tool/filemanager by far is WiSo's dvd2xbox. Make sure you're using the latest version. He comes out with new releases very frequently.

You ran out of HDD space during the backup.

Bad ISO Image (DVD)

Problem:
The ISO you have created is not a valid Xbox ISO file.

Solution:
Use a proven reliable ISO maker (i.e. Craxtion, Qwix or SimpleX). DO NOT USE xISO.

Faulty DVD Drive (DVD)

Problem:
The DVD drive in your Xbox is no longer reading games properly.

Solution:
Some drives (particularly the v1.0 Thomsons series) can reach a point where they have trouble reading discs (retail or backup). This, of course, isn't a problem exclusive to Thomson drives. Any drive can stop functioning properly at any time but the Thomsons have the reputation as the drive that causes the most problems.

Here are a couple of solutions to this:
There are ways to tweak the DVD drive to make it do a better job of reading discs. It can be a risky proposition as you could do further damage to your DVD drive in the process. It is also possible that this will only work as a temporary solution.

Getting a new DVD drive. This can be costly but is probably the most effective way to fix the problem. Sadly it often isn't too much less expensive than buying a new Xbox.

Faulty Hard Drive (HDD)

Problem:
The Xbox HDD has failed and can no longer access data properly. This is not common but it does happen.

Solution:
Sorry to say but just about the only fix is to get a new hard drive. It's a good idea to stay in the habit of backing up your Xbox HDD data frequently just like you would on your computer. The most imporant directories are C (system files) and E (save game data).