Add Usage Instruction

[halotroop2288]

I've been able to bumble my way through most of the setup using old tutorials, but I get confused when IDA starts asking questions that aren't asked in older versions. So I think the usage instructions should be kept up-to-date in the README.

So far, I've figured out the following:

Step-by-step

You must use IDA Professional because IDA Free does not come with support for PowerPC architecture.

You should first dump your game, application, or library file from your console. That will not be covered.

Setup

1. Install a supported version of IDA Professional (I'm using IDA 9.0.240925)
2. Download the corresponding release from this repository (So I download idaxex 0.41)
3. Extract the loaders and til folders from the idaxex zip file to the IDA installation directory

• By default, on Windows it goes in C:\Program Files\IDA Professional 9.0
• These files should be present afterwards:
  • C:\Program Files\IDA Professional 9.0\loaders\idaxex.dll
  • C:\Program Files\IDA Professional 9.0\til\ppc\x360.til

For Xbox 360:

I'm working with Xbox 360 files so the rest will be about that.

1. Launch IDA Professional, click "New" in the Quickstart menu
2. Change the file type in the selection dialog to "All Files (*)" and select the XEX file you want to decompile
3. Press OK to close the memory mapping info window
4. Confirm load settings and press OK to load the file
   • Under "Load file ... as" ensure that "Xbox 360 XEX2 File [idaxex.dll]" is selected.
   • Under "Processor type" ensure that "PowerPC -> PowerPC big endian" is selected.
   • Select "Load resources" if desired
5. When prompted to "Load PDB file" choose "No" in most cases.
6. ???
7. Profit

[emoose]

Eh that's a bit more involved than it should be, did you try loading the XEX itself with IDA with the plugin in place? It should detect the XEX format and let you open it straight from there, no need to extract basefile / mark sections / etc:

If no XEX option shows up on that screen then the loader plugin hasn't loaded in for some reason, maybe incompatible IDA version or PPC is missing.

There are old guides that talk about grabbing basefile but those were mostly written before IDA loaders showed up for XEXs afaik, you usually only have to set things up manually if you're looking into xboxkrnl.exe/HV now.

[halotroop2288]

Oh thank goodness. I didn't think of doing that since .xex is not an option in the Open File dialog. Switching to "All Files" and selecting a XEX file simplifies it greatly!

I've updated the step-by-step guide. This time, it actually works!

[hayleyxyz]

I would also add.. select "Processor Options" and enable "VMX128"