The Complete Guide To Producing , Extracting, And, Burning XBOX ISO Image Files (PC & MAC) Options

[painkiller]

Hey HSDEMONZ,

I have a good one..... 4Gb, Extracted the rar file and made a iso with Xiso v.0.9.1 YURSOFT.
Burned it with Alcohol 120% at 1 speed. Now trying with with other games.

The iso's i extracted to 'rar' files, are extracted with an older version of Xiso could the problem be in de extraction programm ? Maybe it has something to do with CRC ?

GrEeTz

[icepik_69]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]
hey guys, GREAT WORK on the guides, i am kinda confused on a few things though, im gettin my xbox tommorow and my XODUS chip is in the mail, but i cant seem to get this burning thing planned out perfectly for my first attempt.

I read HSDEMONZ's guide and it's great but the part about burning to CD-R(w)'s has gotten me quite confuzzled, why do u want to convert the ISO to another format if you've already got one that's burnable to CD-R(w)????

And i'm sure most games are over 650mb(rw) or 700mb®, so how exactly do I burn all those files onto seperate discs??? well actually i think i sorta got that part, BUT do i have to then copy each disk to the XBOX's HDD? cuz i was not planning on adding another HDD along with the default HDD and if so, this method will not work for me. So for all us guys out there who dont have a DVD-RW or the money to get one, AND don't want to add another hard drive to our XBOX, what can we do to play burnt games????

Thank you for your time and keep up the great work guyz

[GRiFFBALL]

hsdemonz i think u should write some info on downsampling, it would make a great addition to the tut
up to now its great thanx

[xxALxx]

Well tried the CDR method, it works fine for me.

XBox = Version 1.1 with Philips Drive
PC = Win XP, Liteon 24x10x40 CDRW (Latest Firmware), D-Tools 3.26, Clone CD 3.3.4.1, Fireburner 2.1.7

CDR = Datasafe 40x Silver Premium

Will test other types of CDR and amend post.

oh and a big thanks to HSDEMONZ

[rawland]

This is probably a dumb question, but I am new to this process. I take it you must use a DVD burner to make the disks, but can use CDR media in the DVD Burner? You can't just use a CD Burner?

Thanks

[HSDEMONZ]

You may use a...

DVD-RW to burn CDR, CDRW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW

DVD+RW to burn CDR, CDRW, DVD+R and DVD+RW

DVD + & - RW combo, can do ALL of the Above! (SONY)

Many units can also read an write DVD-RAM (no good for XBOX)

Hope this helps.

BTW.. try some of the CDR techniques. They may not work for you.. but you have nothing to lose!

[erexx]

HSDEMONZ:
Awesome info.
I must live under a rock.
I am not worthy!
Thank you.

This post has been edited by erexx: Dec 27 2002, 04:40 AM

[samrouche]

Bravo for this guide HsDemonz !

I have gone through it without any errors and my burns on either CD-R or CD-RW (with a Samsung SW-212B recorder) haven't given anything, my Xbox still can't read anything which is unnerving since I'd like at least to get the Evox dashboard booted to enable multi-region DVDs hehe.
Welllll I'll keep trying with different medias I guess ! Happy new year !

[HSDEMONZ]

Section 6 “BAD BURNS” They do happen.

POST MARKER: BADBURNSDOHAPPEN

Your XBOX was designed to read and play only 2 types of media… RETAIL XBOX GAMES.. and RETAIL CD AUDIO. The fact that it reads anything else is a bonus. As mentioned earlier.. each XBOX is it’s own beast.. with subtle differences.

To make matter even more interesting… a SUCCESSFUL BURN.. that may not be readable in an XBOX.. may in fact be an EXCELLENT BURN… and still be worth keeping around.

Many people have problems getting SOME of their burns to read PROPERLY in the XBOX. They may burn dozens of disks, and find a % of them simply don't read 100% fine in the XBOX.

After even more research.. both personal, and in forums on key XBOX Sites... I investigated further. Finding some interesting facts regarding the readability of apparent DUDS. I was fortunate that I throw out almost nothing!

As an afterthought to the RE-READ / DUPE of DUPE (section 1.1) just added... I found I had more questions. Turns out that MOST "NOT PERFECT" burns... ones that would work kinda sorta sometimes were burned JUST FINE. Problem is two fold... quality of blanks, tolerance levels of the various XBOX Readers. All of the DUDs I've ever produced, that were iffy but playable, and even some that wouldn't boot in XBOX at all... were all PERFECT Burns by PC standards.

They could all easily.. and FLAWLESSLY.. be read and REREAD perfectly using RECORDNOW MAX to produce a new WORKING ISO! (*NOTE: ISO produced in this manner by RNM will be BYTE Identical to the original, so if it was originally XISO produced, the new one is XISO'd, and if it was GDF'd, the new one is GDF'd!)

From there... the files can be extracted with listed methods, then safely FTP'd to an XBOX. All games and EVOX duds would play properly 100%.

So.. next time you think you have burned a DUD / Coaster.. keep it. It may not be your IDEAL backup... but at least you will be able to send it to the XBOX via FTP and play there!

Worked with ALL Media Blanks! Multiple Brands, multiple original burn techniques!

This post has been edited by HSDEMONZ: Aug 22 2003, 03:29 AM

[HSDEMONZ]

Section 7: Trouble-Shooting

POST MARKER: TROUBLESHOOTINGNOTE

Before you deem a disk is bad… consider some of the following…

Does the Disk Start Up at all? Many “duds” will not even start up. Reasons range from poor media…(sometimes burned too fast with cracked firmware) to using the wrong method or procedure. I have documented what appears to be the best.. and most reliable methods to burn an XBOX Backup in this guide. If you choose to use one of the other less successful or unadvised methods… then you may see a higher percentage of “DUDS”.

Some won’t start because they are custom compilations placing 2 or more titles on a disk, sometimes using one of many boot menu systems available. A single error, or a single omitted filename can cause an otherwise fine disk to not boot. If you forget to place a DEFAULT.XBE in the root directory or folder of a disk.. it will of course NEVER boot (but the disk is fine otherwise) Missing files are responsible for so many dysfunctional burns. May forget to compare source disks with files on the PC… to determine if they have everything.. and if the files are BYTE for BYTE comparable!

In the case of a wrongfully placed DEFAULT.XBE file… simply use a navigation tool like BOXplorer to navigate to the actual position of the DEAULT.XBE file, and execute it from the position you find it. Usually.. this will work fine! Of course.. you will need Evolution X Dashboard / BOXplorer installed on the XBOX HD.

Other reasons for Disks not booting period are the differences in NTSC/PAL game differences. There are actually 3 systems used…

PAL – Europe, Australia, and a few Asian / African Countries.
NTSC / U is used in North America.
NTSC / J is used primarily in Japan, and some other Asian Countries

(Some may support more than one system.. but none to my knowledge)

Most new TV’s handles all 3 systems perfectly fine… with no timing or display issues whatsoever.

Some games may actually be booting fine on your XBOX.. but you have a TV that does not support the particular method (NTSC/PAL) that the game uses. Variations on this problem include games that do start up.. but appear to be B&W… or rolling images, or gameplay and sound timing issues. All of these problems are related to the difference in the 2 (kinda 3) broadcast standards. Some Games will Boot fine.. but one may simply play faster than the other. A quick fix that solves many of these NTSC / PAL problems (but not all) is the VIDEO MOD SELECTOR v2. This program is widely available in Newsgroups and in some IRC channels. With this tool.. it sets the XBOX to run in the other coutrnies mode. This fixes some problems.. but not all. Still a handy tool to acquire.

The dread “DIRTY DISK” error… so many reasons for this popping up on a backup… usually though.. it is due to a poor burn, on a poor quality media. We all love to burn on the CHEAPEST stuff available… but if it gives you grief.. you are not saving anything! Sometimes… you do get what you pay for!

[HSDEMONZ]

Section 8: Firmware for DVD-Burners (hacked or otherwise)

POST MARKER: DVDBURNERFIRMWARE

There has been a lot of discussion about FIRMWARE. Firmware.. is a small program residing physically in a device, in a memory chip (sometimes re-writable). It usally controls how your hardware will operate, and determines under what conditions it will function properly.

Many manufacturers can correct production and design flaws using this software, in the form of a firmware upgrade. Usually downloadable from the net… it can be run from a bootable floppy disk (sometimes in windows). Recent firmware upgrades officially released from DVD Burner manuafacturers include features like increased reliability with CHEAPER media, increases in write speed, and bug fixes.

However… some of these FIXES.. sometime can make Media that used to work for you just fine no longer burn properly. In these cases.. you may actually need to downgrade to regain your former functionality.

You can also consider using what is called a cracked or hacked firmware. These.. found on many WEB SITES… are simply the same firmware releases, altered in such a way to enable or disable key features wanted by the public.

Some for example all 1X media to be burned successfully at HIGHER speeds like 2x and up. Having used some of these myself… with incredible success… I recommend at least trying one out!

NOTE: This is where I warn you.. using a cracked or hacked firmware upgrade may damage or computer, your burner, and may render it useless, or it could make burning coasters your new hobby! Use cracked firmware at you own risk!

The following.. are pointer to some official and cracked firmware sites. Some of these sites may have firmware for other devices you own too. Again.. use at your own risk.

Firmware Downloads:


http://forum.firmware-flash.com/dl_all.php + http://www.firmwares.co.uk/

Simply one of the best forums on Firmware Discussions

http://www.dvd-recordable.org/

[HSDEMONZ]

Section 9: Beta Mod Patch

Beta Enigma / Extender Mod Chip users… who do there own backups, may need to pre-patch some backups to get them to work properly with their particular chip. The problem is the the ENIGMAH on it’s own deal with the Media Types Flag properly. Patching fixes these problems.. allowing backups to be burned and fully playable.

There is a universal patch, by ADR.UK.COM ADR Xbox Beta Mod Patcher 1.21 Purpose : Fix RETAIL releases to work on Engimah-X / X-Tender 1.0 Beta Mods. Updated for new media checks. New improved file handling routines for games that contain a lot of files on root directory (2000+).

You can find some individual game patch on ADR.UK.COM here X-Box Individual Game Patches

If you feel adventurous.. you can try HEXEDITing your backup yourself… (thanks to Xeero of X-S)

Change byte offset 214-217 from...

02 00 00 00 to FF FF FF FF

This Offset may have changed in newer titles.. so it may no longer be considered a universal method of patching your backups!

Also.. you may need the PPF program called PPF Version 3.0 Full Distribution

Update: (thanks IPS) Beta modchip patcher v0.2 is updated to search the xbe for the media types flag so its not a completely blind patch of the offset and will work for some of the newer xbe's where the offset changed.

This post has been edited by HSDEMONZ: Jan 3 2003, 05:27 AM

[HSDEMONZ]

Section 10: Downsampling

POSTMARKER: DOWNSAMPLINGMOVIES

Many of you would like to know how to downsample audio and video files included on some of your retail games, so that they can fit as either CDR sized backups, or possibly as multi-game DVD-R backups. I don’t have the expertise to instruct on this matter… but will included pointers to files used, common web references, and any instructions I run into.

.BIK BINK Video is a common video tool used today for both PC, and XBOX video game development. They were nice enough to give us everything we need to play with their .BIK format files. Download : BINK Video RAD GAME TOOLS

.SFD files can also be manipulated using instructions found on Internet Convoy Documents (thanks AussieHack)

.XMV files.. clearly a version of Windows Media Video 2 format… No direct editor currenly exists… however.. the format is well documented by Zziggy00 of X-S.

.xmv format..

File Type : XMV
Duration : 73773 ms
Packet Size : 24576 byte
Stream Count : 2

Stream #0
------------------------------
Type : Audio
Format : ADPCM
Channel Count : 2
Samples Per Second: 44100
Bits Per Sample : 4

Stream #1
------------------------------
Type : Video
Format : WMV2
Size : 320 x 240

A tool from the XDK called XMVTOOL.EXE produces .XMV Files

Another huge quote from Zziggy00

Usage:
xmvtool [options]

-d <file name> - dumps the information about the file
-s - dump statistics about the resulting .XMV file
-p <size> - set the packet size in K, from 4-512 in multiples of 4
-t <time> - set the mimimum length of a packet in milliseconds
-i <file name> - add all streams from the input file to the .XMV
-ic <file name> - add and compress all streams from the input file
-v <file name> - add only the video stream from the file
-a <file name> - input only the first audio stream from the file
-ac <file name> - input and compress the first audio stream from the file
-o <file name> - name of the .xmv file to create

-d must be the only option on the command line. The difference between
-s and -d is that -s dumps the information about the .XMV file that would
be produced while -d shows information about the specific file.

Only one of -t or -p may be specified. Specifying neither defaults to a
minimum packet time of 100 ms.

-i, -v and -a can be used to build an XMV file out of multiple video and
audio files. Specifying more than one video stream will result in an
error. Multiple audio streams can be specified and they will be stored in
the XMV file in the same order that they appeared on the command line.

-ic and -ac will store compress the audio streams using ADPCM compression
and store it in the XMV file. These switches have no effect on the video
stream which will always be compressed.

Only one output file may be specified via -o. If the file is not defined
then the tool will display statistics about the file it would have created.
(i.e. no -o will automatically imply -s.)

This tool can import audio and video data from .XMV, .WMV, .WMA, .AVI and
.WAV files. Importing audio data from .WMV and .WMA files is currently
very slow and should be avoided if possible. The video can only be
imported from .WMV files created with the WMV8 video encoder.

Thanks to Zziggy00 we have enough info to produce our own files, use this tool to convert them so we can REPLACE existing files.

This post has been edited by HSDEMONZ: Aug 22 2003, 03:36 AM

[TrUnX]

umm i read ur guide, and i sounds really usefull, but being the noob i am... when u talk about burning the games and such, i dont have a dvd burner.. i only have a cd burner... i was wondering which types of files i can burn to a single disc (or 2) iso or udf, i have downloaded some .rar files of games i already own , sry if u explained all this in ur tutorial but i read it and i couldnt find where u said anything about if u can use a normal cd burner... thx in advance

This post has been edited by TrUnX: Jan 5 2003, 07:00 AM

[HSDEMONZ]

A CD Burner can be used to burn ANY backups that will fit on a CD. Less then 10% do! However, many games can be ripped or downsampled to FIT on a CDR.

So.. any ISO file that is around the 700MB mark (give or take) will fit on a standard 80MIN blank! Up to 850MB will fit on some of the higher capacity CDR like 90 and 99 MIN CDR! (Many CDR Burner will not burn the extra time on these)

Keep in mind.. despite 2 methods of burning CDR, CDR may or may not work on your XBOX! I encourage all to try CDR burning regardless of which drive is installed in the XBOX... as I have had success getting various brands of CDR to work on ALL 3 Currently available XBOX DVD Readers! I've also successfully burned CDR in the 90 - 99 MINUTE range and have had no ill effects when using them in the XBOX!

I'm a believer in the TRIAL and ERROR method! You will quickly learn what will and won't work for you! I also believe that GOOD hardware is important. I attribute much of my burning successes to my PLEXTOR 24x CDR Burner and my Pioneer A04 DVD Burner.

My new Purchase.. a Black Tray PLEXTOR 48X is my new sweet toy. Burns 700MB in seconds shy of 3 minutes! Burned 48X on Cheap PRINCO CDR that played fine in the XBOX' equiped with PHILLIPS, THOMPSON and SAMSUNG DVD Readers!