Convert to XviD

Right, here goes,
I bought a surround sound system with DVD upscaler and the unit/upscaler has a USB slot and the instructions say flash drive.
I want to use my Hard drive in it but I don't know if it works. Here's the two drives I have:

Freecom, 2.5" SATA, 160GB, NTFS, USB powered
Toshiba, 3.5" SATA, 500GB, FAT32, Mains powered

I tried the freecom but it wasnt recognised, the Toshiba is recognised but I have an issue, It says in the manual it can playback XviD files, nothing else.
Im using DVDVideoSoft and DVDFAB8, Ive converted the 2 odd hour long video numerous times taking over 3 hours from disc to file each time. Tried it in different ways with each programme and the player still won't play the file.
With DVDFAB I set the conversion to "generic" which apparently includes XviD format, didnt work, Tried MP4 (supports DivX, XviD) using DVDVideoSoft and still no luck, tried a different sub option in DVDFAB and still no luck, Converted a 700MB AVI clip to save time and tried it in both my Toshiba drive and a flash drive incase it was the player being incapable of playing off a HDD. NO LUCK WHAT-SO-EVER!!!

Any body know any software that will give me a file in XviD extension format, Not MKV or FLV or AVI or anything. Its really annoying me now

For DVD to avi I would try AutoGK. If you set the quality percentage high it does a very good job in 1 pass. Also it autocrops so those "letterboxed" DVDs usually come out as 16x9 avi. It uses xvid. For just about anything else try Quick AVI Creator.

You can download both from
VideoHelp.com - Forum, Guides, Tools and hardware lists

edit: btw Quick AVI Creator uses xvid_encraw. If you look at the xvid.presets file it's obvious how to add your own One Pass Mode if 2 pass seems too slow. I found the results fine provided you give it sufficient bit rate. The program tends to set the bit rate way too low. For a DVD with 90 minute to 2 hour movie, you should use about 2000 for standard def. In AutoGK as I mentioned, just set the quality to about 92%.

edit2: With Quick AVI Creator, after it demuxes and processes the audio, it will pop up AvsP editor so you can add AviSynth filters. If you don't need to add subtitles or anything just go into Tools menu and select Process the Video. Then select your pass mode from the drop-down and bump up the bit rate setting. Hit the Go button and wait 2 hours. :)

Thanx for your help guys, havent quite gotten round to trying ut yet but ive read the manual over again and it says it plays back MPEG-4 so i guess I need MPEG-4 format on XviD codec.
Can you verify exactly which freeware will give me exactly that?

Pre-emptive thank you