Repository navigation
Installation
To install the softmod you will need the following items:
- A compatible console (any model except the corona or winchester models).
- Any mechanical HDD you can connect to the console (it does not need to be formatted, genuine, etc, just any old mechanical SATA HDD will work). While some SSDs may work with the Peer Pressure exploit it's recommended to use a mechanical HDD for faster and more reliable boot times.
- A USB stick formatted to FAT32.
- The Rock Band Blitz demo.
- The latest SoftmodInstaller.zip file from the releases page.
Note
Peer Pressure can be installed on HDDs that have ABadAvatar save files without causing conflicts. Peer Pressure safely ignores the bad avatar save files when booted in softmod mode or safe mode. The bad avatar save files will still take effect when booted in retail mode.
To setup your USB stick for install follow these steps:
- Format the USB stick to FAT32.
- Copy the "Content" folder from the RBB demo package to the root of the USB stick.
- Extract the SoftmodInstaller.zip package and copy the "BadUpdatePayload" and "Content" folders to the root of the USB stick. If you're asked to merge with existing folders select yes.
- [Optional] I recommend downloading the 17559 system update folder available here so you can easily install the system extended packages if you need to format your HDD. Once the zip file is extracted copy the "$SystemUpdate" folder to the root of the USB stick.
The softmod installer can also be used to install additional homebrew applications and set various softmod configuration options for your initial install. This makes it easy to automate the process of installing a homebrew dashboard and configuring the softmod to boot to it. In the BadUpdatePayload\SoftmodExtras folder you'll find a SoftmodExtras.ini file which acts as a catalogue file containing information on extra homebrew applications.
Each item described in the ini file will appear as a selectable option when running the installer. Add as many items as you want and you can select exactly which ones to install in the installer UI. The ini file provides an example for setting up aurora and getting the installer to set it as your default dashboard (you'll need to provide the aurora files yourself).
Tip
The softmod installer comes pre-bundled with xell in the SoftmodExtras folder.
Plug the USB stick into your console and you should see the Rock Band Blitz demo in the Games section of the dashboard. Launch the Rock Band Blitz demo and press A at the title screen. You should see the text "Running exploit..." and the LEDs on the console's ring of light should flash a few times. After that the installer should appear on screen. If it doesn't it's likely that the USB stick wasn't setup properly and files are in the wrong location.
The installer will print out a bunch of information, make you accept a disclaimer, and then you'll be at the main menu. From here you can create a system backup, install/uninstall the softmod, and format your HDD. The first thing you'll want to do is create a system backup which will save your console's CPU key, NAND image, and HDD security sectors to your USB stick.
Note
The softmod installer creates a log file at BadUpdatePayload\Log.txt on the USB stick. If you encounter errors while running the installer this log file may contain additional information about the issue.
Caution
It's critical that you create a system backup either during or before installing peer pressure. The system backup contains your console's NAND image, CPU fuses, and HDD security sectors. You will need these to recover your console if anything goes wrong. See System Backup for more information.
This menu is for installing the softmod and has the following options:
- Create System Backup: check this to create a system backup (NAND dump, cpu fuses, and HDD security sector backup) before installing the softmod (only applicable when doing a console or full install).
- Disable XBL In Retail Mode: sets parental controls to prevent your console from signing in to xbox live when in retail mode. The parental control password will be set to "YYYY" if you want to override this. Note this will reset any existing parental controls for game/movie ratings.
- Install Extras: check this if you setup the SoftmodExtras.ini file and want to install extra homebrew, upon checking it you'll be given a list of options for all the items setup in the SoftmodExtras.ini file.
- Full Install: installs the console and HDD parts of the exploit, as well as any selected softmod extras, used for new installs on an unmodified console.
- Console Only: installs only the console portion of the exploit, used when you already have a HDD with peer pressure installed on it.
- HDD Only: installs only the HDD portion of the exploit, used when setting up a new HDD for use in a console with peer pressure already installed.
- Extras Only: installs only the selected extra homebrew items, used when you just want to install homebrew to the HDD.
If you're using an unformatted HDD you'll first need to format it to FATX using the Format HDD option from the main menu. Once the drive is formatted you can continue with the installation process.
For a new install you can leave the default selections set, optionally you can check "Install Extras" and select xell (this will allow you to boot xell when powering on the console via the eject button), and then select "Full Install". Once the install process finishes you can click okay and then a message should appear saying the console SMC needs to be reset. Select okay and your console will be powered off. Once it powers off wait at least 5 seconds before turning it back on so the SMC can reset itself.
When your turn your console back on you should see some LEDs on the ring of light flash a few times and then the boot animation should play. If you setup a homebrew dashboard via the softmod extras the console should boot right to it, otherwise it'll boot to the MS dashboard.
If you press the guide button on the controller, navigate over to the Settings tab, you should see a "Softmod Settings" option which can be used to configure a homebrew dashboard (among other settings). And that's it, your console now has peer pressure installed. I'd recommend skimming the Softmod Settings page to learn more about various softmod settings you can configure.
This menu can be used to diagnose and repair issues that may prevent the softmod from booting. When you first navigate to this menu the installer will scan your console NAND image and HDD and try to detect issues that would prevent the softmod from booting. If any issues are found you'll be given options to repair the console and/or HDD installs.
Depending on what issues are found the Startup Repair menu will have the following options:
- Repair console install: if issues with the console install were found this option can be selected to repair them.
- Repair HDD install: if issues with the HDD install were found this option can be selected to repair them.
- Repair boot animation: if issues with the boot animation were found this option can be selected to repair them.
- Repair Startup Issues: repairs issues based on the selected options.
This menu is for uninstalling the softmod and has the following options:
- Uninstall From Console: select this if you want to uninstall peer pressure from the console.
- Uninstall From HDD: select this if you want to uninstall peer pressure from the HDD.
- Keep Softmod Settings: select this option if you want to uninstall peer pressure from the HDD but want to keep the softmod settings files. The HDD will no longer be able to boot peer pressure but your settings, themes, etc., will be saved if you decide to reinstall at a later time.
- Restore System Backup: this option will restore your system backup and is the cleanest way to uninstall peer pressure.
- Uninstall Without Backup: this option will uninstall without using a system backup.
This menu is for formatting an unofficial HDD and can be used to format drives using the FATX file system with up to 2TBs of usable space. The installer will not let you format an official HDD as this will invalidate the genuine security sector data.
Caution
Formatting your HDD will erase all data that's currently on it, please make sure to backup any data you care about before formatting your HDD.
Important
The NAND dump and CPU key are your console's life blood, back them up and DO NOT lose them! If anything goes wrong with your console you will need these files to recover.
There's two ways to create the system backup:
- By selecting the "Create System Backup" option on the Install Softmod page. This will create the system backup as part of the install process.
- By selecting the "Create System Backup" option on the main menu. This will create the system backup without going through the install process allowing you to verify the backup is valid before continuing.
Note that when creating the system backup the installer will save your console's NAND image to the USB stick, then read it back and compare it against the console to make sure it was written successfully (read twice and verify). If you want to inspect it yourself before installing the softmod you'll want to create the system backup using the "Create System Backup" option from the main menu.
The system backup files can be found in the BadUpdatePayload\SystemBackups folder on your USB stick. The NAND image and CPU key will be saved in a folder named with console's serial number, and the HDD backup will be saved in BadUpdatePayload\SystemBackups\HDD using the HDD serial number as the file name.