How To: Install Custom Dashboards and Applications

[drew15b]

The following guide will help you setup custom dashboards and homebrew applications. This will only cover what is available in the latest TruHeXEn tool set.

Use Case

This is useful if you want to setup your Xemu Virtual machine to easily navigate between homebrew and ISO's without having to constantly reload discs.

Notable:

• I use Xemu on Windows 11, so this guide is written from this perspective. This may work for other OS's as well, but the guide is not written or tested from these perspectives.
• You may want to maintain 2 Xbox virtual HDD's.
  1. Standard Dashboard, no modifications to partitions.
  2. Custom Dashboard.
• This will not cover any tools outside of the Latest TruHeXEn tool set; however, the instructions are most likely somewhat applicable to other tools.

Prerequisites

• Recommendation: Default Dashboard - See this guide.
• Latest TruHeXEn tool set.
• Optional: FTP availability to virtual HDD for additional skins / tools.

Steps

1. Launch Xemu
2. Select Machine > Load Disc.
3. Find the TueHeXEn 2024 iso.
4. If it does not boot to disc automatically, reset the emulator via Machine > Reset.
5. Select "2. Boot TrueHeXEn BFM for Softmods."
   Note: I have noticed that this tool does not always correctly detect F and G drive filesize at this screen
6. A warning will appear. Since our XEMU instance is similar to a SoftMod more than a hardmod we want to boot this option (it is not emulating any additional hardware for hardmods to my knowledge)
7. Select "Yes" to load the menu. This will load a few screens before dropping us back to a similar looking menu.
8. Select "4. Install Apps / Dashboards."
9. Select "4.1. Install Applications."
10. Select "4.1.1 Install Basic Applications".
11. Select "Yes" on this warning (if following my guides this has not been configured).
12. After installation completes, select "4.1.5. Install DashLoader Toolset."
13. Select "Yes", and "Yes" again on the warnings.
    Note: This tool allows us to have multiple dashboards installed and allow pressing a button on your controller to load an alternate dashboard upon reset of the device. This is useful if you accidentally break your default dashboard, you can boot an alternative one to investigate, fix, ftp files to recover, etc.
14. After installation completes, go back and select Option "4.2. Install Dashboards."
15. Install preferred Dashboard(s). (I personally like the standard XBMC option - AKA XBMC4XBOX).
    Note: If you have not yet expanded your HDD or plan to expand the HDD at a future point then I would not install these options to F at this point in time.
    1. These dashboards will install in any of the following locations:
       1. E:\Apps\<Dashboard Name>\<File>.xbe (typically default.xbe)
       2. E:\Dashboard\<Dashboard Name>\<File>.xbe (typically default.xbe)
       3. E:\<Dashboard Name>\<File>.xbe (typically default.xbe)
16. Once you have finished installing all the desired dashboards, go back to the main menu and select "8. XBox Admin."
17. Select "8.1. File Explorer".
18. Optional: If you want to use DVD2Box easily, follow these steps:
    Note: You should be able to come back to this step later if required.
    1. On the left side navigate to D:\Apps\dvd2box.zip
    2. Use the right trigger to move to right hand navigation.
    3. On the right-hand side navigate to E:\Apps\
    4. Use the left trigger to move back to the left-hand side.
    5. Highlight dvd2box.zip, press left bumper.
    6. Select copy to copy the file to the right-hand side.
    7. Once copied, use the right trigger to move to the right-hand navigation.
    8. Highlight dvd2box.zip and enter file.
    9. Once inside file, press left bumper, select "Extract All Files" option.
    10. Now dvd2box is installed and available for use from dashboard. This tool can be useful for copying legally obtained ISO's and various homebrew ISOs into your virtual drive for quick navigation and launch.
    11. Once files are extracted, you can remove E:\Apps\dvd2box.zip using the left bumper while highlighting the file.
19. Navigate to the following and select it to open the dashboard swap application:
    1. E:\Apps\DashloaderCustomizer\default.xbe
20. This application can be navigated with the DPAD to move highlighted box around until you select the option you want to change.
21. Set the "Custom Dash" to the default dashboard path you want to boot by default.
22. Set the "Custom Recovery Dash" to the backup dasboard you want to boot by default.
23. Recommendation: Set C:\xboxdash.xbe to one of the buttons so you can quickly boot to the standard dashboard if needed for modifying Xbox Live settings.
24. When done don't forget to save settings by pressing START button on controller and selecting "Yes" when prompted.
25. Select Machine > Eject Disc from the main menu.
26. Reset your device and feel free to test all the various dashboards by holding down the associated button for each dashboard you configured during emulation boot.

Afterwords

If at any point you mess up and don't have your default dashboard setup properly, you can always boot into the TruHeXEn disc and use the built-in file manager to launch the Dashloader Customizer application to repair your dashboard configuration.

Now that a custom dashboard is installed, you can now perform any of the following:

• Setup FTP to copy files to and from your virtual drive. <-- This is useful for XBMC skins.
• Expand your virtual drive.
  • Copy legally obtained ISOs to your virtual drive using DVD2Box tool.
  • You can also copy the TruHeXEn ISO directly to your virtual drive.
  • You can also copy the Insignia tool directly to your virtual drive - This is useful because I have seen various homebrew revert the IP to 192 RFC range which can mess up Xbox live. With this tool locally on your HDD you can easily navigate to it, launch it, "Troubleshoot" and have your DNS and IP settings restored.
• If using XBMC, you will want to adjust your menus to add sources for E:\Apps, E:\Games, F:\Games, F:\Apps, G:\Games and G:\Apps so you can quickly find and launch your apps and games.

 

Edited April 3 by drew15b