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ZunePet · 09-04-2007, 08:24 AM

(selective replies)
> I haven't attempted to write an update program yet but I'll give it a go....
It was meant as a challenge to all the wanna-be hackers out there (including certain H&M team members ;->)
Probably the easiest 'hack' you can come up with. Instant fame. Lots of attention. Get written up in Engadget and Slashdot. Details on what is needed is already on this thread.
You can likely get it working with under 200 lines of code and a few days of experimentation.

If nobody rises to the challenge, I may post something next weekend.
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> I'll assume given the fact that we're writing a new program that we shouldn't modify the Zune executable, Am I correct? And what version of ZUNE.EXE does your updater rely on? The oldest one I assume? How can I obtain this version?
FWIW: I've done it with a simple patch to the DLLs in the official ZUNE.EXE (current version). Like all of these mods, Microsoft can easily change their program to break it in future releases.
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> Is it possible to add codecs through this method?
Unfortunately it is very limited. The 'hack' is installing fonts that the system was already designed to handle (it already knows about UNICODE/Asian characters, but they didn't bother to install the 30+ MB of fonts necessary). The 'hack' only adds more fonts. It can't add more functionality.

It may be possible to find a true-type-font exploit to run homebrew code. If someone finds one, then everything will be possible (including WinCE hacks, RockBox and Linux).
Thanks for the pointers to older font hacks.
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re: uploading firmware
This approach can be used to update/downgrade the Zune to any officially released version of the firmware (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4). Not very exciting, but it works.
Any changes in the .BIN files will break the digital signature and the Zune will reject the modified version
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re: firmware in flash ROM and on hard drive
The EBoot.BIN and Recovery.BIN are stored in the small flash ROM. There are copies on the hard drive too (used to update to newer versions)
The larger NK.BIN is only on the hard drive. It won't fit in flash.
http://zunerama.com/forum/index.php?topic=1273.0

09-04-2007, 08:24 AM	#53 (permalink)
ZunePet Zuner Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 74	(selective replies) > I haven't attempted to write an update program yet but I'll give it a go.... It was meant as a challenge to all the wanna-be hackers out there (including certain H&M team members ;->) Probably the easiest 'hack' you can come up with. Instant fame. Lots of attention. Get written up in Engadget and Slashdot. Details on what is needed is already on this thread. You can likely get it working with under 200 lines of code and a few days of experimentation. If nobody rises to the challenge, I may post something next weekend. ---- > I'll assume given the fact that we're writing a new program that we shouldn't modify the Zune executable, Am I correct? And what version of ZUNE.EXE does your updater rely on? The oldest one I assume? How can I obtain this version? FWIW: I've done it with a simple patch to the DLLs in the official ZUNE.EXE (current version). Like all of these mods, Microsoft can easily change their program to break it in future releases. --- > Is it possible to add codecs through this method? Unfortunately it is very limited. The 'hack' is installing fonts that the system was already designed to handle (it already knows about UNICODE/Asian characters, but they didn't bother to install the 30+ MB of fonts necessary). The 'hack' only adds more fonts. It can't add more functionality. It may be possible to find a true-type-font exploit to run homebrew code. If someone finds one, then everything will be possible (including WinCE hacks, RockBox and Linux). Thanks for the pointers to older font hacks. ---- re: uploading firmware This approach can be used to update/downgrade the Zune to any officially released version of the firmware (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4). Not very exciting, but it works. Any changes in the .BIN files will break the digital signature and the Zune will reject the modified version ---- re: firmware in flash ROM and on hard drive The EBoot.BIN and Recovery.BIN are stored in the small flash ROM. There are copies on the hard drive too (used to update to newer versions) The larger NK.BIN is only on the hard drive. It won't fit in flash. http://zunerama.com/forum/index.php?topic=1273.0 Last edited by ZunePet; 09-04-2007 at 08:26 AM.