Great work on the o-scope, makes a lot of sense now.

I've just compared the firmware used in the flasher with a ripped version of an 8050 and there are differences.

As Wenid stated earlyer there is an area (4000h) that is different, he stated that it was filled with some sort of filler.
The difference is in the filler used, but filler isn't that interesting, the interesting part is that there is a part in the filler on 4f80h that has a small amount of code and that is missing in the firmware flasher.

If i understand correctly the firmware is made up of blocks, and its very interesting to see that the difference is around 4000h, a very round number.

It's a shame that there is no real documentation on how to change firmware for dvd drives.

If we could only find a way to flash the drive back to it's old self, i would gladly make a version of the flasher that has the exact same firmware as the 8050 (if its as simple as it looks), i really dont want another bogus drive around.

Now maybe we're getting somewhere!

Would it be possible to replace the code that is in the flasher with the ripped version and just re-flash?

Great work maximilian0017!

I have confirmed this too. Well spotted max.


The same thing occurred to me. It also starts at 2000h and is 4000h long. I don't understand why our unmentionable benefactors didn't use the firmware image as originally extracted by me, and I don't suppose there's much chance of getting an explanation from them (Lente?)


I take it you mean an easy and inexpensive way


If you're thinking you can just overwrite the mismatched block in the .exe we have with the correct block from the "real" firmware, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I've already tried that. I assume the .exe runs some sort of checksum on the ROM image.


Indeed. What we really need is three flasher programs (or at least three functions -- maybe two or more functions could be integrated into one program)
a) flash an unmodified 8163B with the RIGHT 8050L firmware
reflash an 8163B modified with (any) 8050L firmware back to the 8163B firmware
c) reflash an 8163B that was modified with the wrong 8050L to give it the correct firmware

I don't suppose there's any hope of getting more help from the same source as last time, is there, LenteSubigo?

I found some interesting stuff on the net, there is hope(i hope)

If it looks like an 8163b
(with some strange wires ?!?!":-)

If it reads like an 8163b
(in windows)

It probably is a 8163b again!!, got the drive back from the scrapheep.

Option B done, info soon!!!!
(have to make it user/M$ frendly)

ok, here it is (made this from the top of my head but this should work 100%)
Use on your own risk!!!

1. go to http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechS...-1&lang=English and download the file.
2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions, insert a blank floppy and make sure the program writes to the floppy.
3. open the autoexec.bat from the floppy and REPLACE all text using cut and paste with:

@ECHO OFF
CLS
:LOOP
ECHO.
ECHO Get my 8163b back tool!!! V 1.0B
ECHO.
ECHO This tool wil flash any compatible drive with the 8163b firmware, so beware!
ECHO Make sure you know what you are doing
ECHO The Usage of this tool is on your own risk!!
ECHO.
ECHO 1. Flash drive on Primary Master
ECHO 2. Flash drive on Primary Slave
ECHO 3. Flash drive on Secondary Master
ECHO 4. Flash drive on Secondary Slave
ECHO 5. Quit

SET Choice=
SET /P Choice=Type the number and press Enter:

IF NOT '%Choice%'=='' SET Choice=%Choice:~0,1%
ECHO.

IF /I '%Choice%'=='1' GOTO PRIM
IF /I '%Choice%'=='2' GOTO PRIS
IF /I '%Choice%'=='3' GOTO SECM
IF /I '%Choice%'=='4' GOTO SECS
IF /I '%Choice%'=='5' GOTO End
ECHO "%Choice%" is not valid. Please try again.
ECHO.
GOTO Loop
:PRIM
SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 0 /p /c /f /o /i
GOTO Again
:PRIS
SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 1 /p /c /f /o /i
GOTO Again
:SECM
SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 2 /p /c /f /o /i
GOTO Again
:SECS
SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 3 /p /c /f /o /i
GOTO Again
:Again
PAUSE
CLS
GOTO Loop
:End


4. Save the file and restart the pc, make sure it boots from the floppy
5. Select how your drive is connected and folow the instructions on screen.

Maby someone wants to upload a complete disk to xbins?

maximilian0017:


If you are able to get it to work will you be able to change the drive speed limit so that it will read at 16x??

At this moment i do not have the knowledge to disect firmwares, and at this time it isn't that important.

It will probably take a lot of time to learn all of this, so outside help is needed for 16x speed and cdr hacks.

But first things first, get the drive to work 100% as a 8050

Ok, there's a little error in the post with the script, and i can't edit it anymore.

Ofcourse the dos version used on that disk doesn't support set /p

So here's the new instruction:
Use on your own risk!!!

1. go to http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechS...-1&lang=English and download the file.
2. Execute the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions, insert a blank floppy and make sure the program writes to the floppy.
3. open the autoexec.bat from the floppy and REPLACE all text using cut and paste with:

@ECHO OFF
CLS
ECHO.
ECHO Get my 8163b back tool!!! V 1.1
ECHO.
ECHO This tool wil flash any compatible drive with the 8163b firmware, so beware!
ECHO Make sure you know what you are doing
ECHO The Usage of this tool is on your own risk!!
ECHO.
ECHO 1. Flash drive on Primary Master
ECHO 2. Flash drive on Primary Slave
ECHO 3. Flash drive on Secondary Master
ECHO 4. Flash drive on Secondary Slave
ECHO. ECHO Type the number and press Enter:

4. Make a file on the disk called 1.bat and insert the following text:

SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 0 /p /c /f /o /i

5. Make a file on the disk called 2.bat and insert the following text:

SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 1 /p /c /f /o /i

6. Make a file on the disk called 3.bat and insert the following text:

SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 2 /p /c /f /o /i

7. Make a file on the disk called 4.bat and insert the following text:

SF8163.exe 3026B00A.DLD 3 /p /c /f /o /i

8.Restart the pc, make sure it boots from the floppy
9. Select how your drive is connected and follow the instructions on screen.

Maby someone wants to upload a complete disk to xbins?

Hi Maximillian,
If I understand you correctly, you provide here a way to turn an 8163B flashed in 8050 back in 8163B right?
Then you want to find a way to flash it correctly back to 8050, am I correct?

My question will then be, what's wrong with the old 8050 flash? (except the size matter)
It behalves the way of a normal 8050 the way I look at it. Isn't that your opinion?

Hi all,

I know that this is possibly a tricky question to answer, but how far off are we (or will we in the near future) be able to load 100% of media types in this drive? (DVDR/+R -+RW, CD-R, CD-RW)
Also, are there any other problems besides the drive stopping spinning? (Or has that been rectified or close to?)

Thanks
Morien

Yes u r correct

The drive should behave just like Wenid his drive, the only differences in the drive's are the manufacture date and a few little differences in the firmware.

I really don't think that all the problems we are having with this drive are caused by the manufacture date, and the size of the differences in the firmware could easely contain the code that we need to make this work.

We first need to know a few things instead of guessing, that will make this job a lot easyer.

Does anyone have any info on the .dld format for firmwares?, i really can't find anything on the net

Hi I just got my LG drive in . Now I have done nothing yet do i still need to flash with wrong 8050L then reflash with (return to 8163B) then flash with 8050L again or is there something else I need to or need not to do (besides mod the wires)

Thanks Max,

With your info I was able to reflash and salvage my 8163B. It had gone into a complete failure state while trying to get it to work correctly on the xbox. It wouldn't even recognize a DVD.

Although I did have to add the /r switch to your direction. It kept giving me a No CD/DVD message without it.

Now I'll just wait and see if anyone solves the ready timing issue before attempting the flash again.

thats weird cuz i just got one tonight and it loads faster than my samsung and it plays dvd R way better. It played my Top Spin/NCAA2005 just fine. I like it a lot already I think the only downside i can say about it is that it's noisy every time the laser moves you hear it.

I tried the /r too,but if it isn't needed for normal reflash why use it.

Didin't know that you had a dud drive, otherwise /r would have come up at some time.

But its a nice thing to know, what went wrong with your flash?

Not sure what happened to the flash. It was working good off and on, then it stop recongnizing DVDs. It would only recongnize CD. With a DVD it would just say No Disc.

The XBINS flasher is bogus, don't use it!

After I patched the DLD, pins 49 and 50 magically sprang to life!
All signals now behave EXACTLY like TrueBB photo's. (I have a scope)
Still testing. More info later.

Can anyone say if the "REAL" 8050 can read CDR?

excellent work tiros. So we're on the right track.

@true
Does your stock 8050 read CDR?

Tiros, can you send me the patched DLD?

Thanks.

This is where i get lost. I have a unmodified 8163B PC drive .What do i need to do ? do i flash it with the correct flash (where do i get the correct one or should i say which one is correct?I have the one from DB on my PC I just havent used it yet) and then solder the wires to the correct points. Or do i need to flash it 3 times like the post is begining to lean towards. Can someone involved try and give a short post on exactly where we stand at this point. Look at it from a newbe point of view. If you sit and read the entire post we jump back and forth a few times and there was no real clearification on the correct and incorrect path to go. What is needed is one post to tie everything that has been done so far together and then proceed from there.

Where might one find a working flasher exe?

@Tiros
I just tried reading about 28cd-Rs, and only 2 worked. The two that worked are of the same media, Samsung 650MB/74min 12x guaranteed. Other samsungs of the same brand didn't work, so it seemed inconsistent. So I'd say: NO.




Current status of this project: -plz correct me if I'm wrong.
1. Semi-working 8163B. It works for some ppl if you solder per the french tutorial, aka plagued's post.
Issues:
Flashing it using the firmware GDR-8050L0012.EXE allows you to read original xbox games.
Also eVox displays "Init" when actually opening & when open. Seems to work fine for most ppl.
Solder points, HFM & Tray_in & Tray_out are not exact duplicates of the 8050B xdrive.
I just noticed that plague's post doesn't use the Tray_in & Tray_out signals that I'm using. uC pin 65 (aka TP055) is Tray_in for me. I tested this point, and it behaves the same as a 8050L xdrive, after flashing.
So basically, if you flash it with the above firmware, you'll get Tray_in, serial working, but thats it.




2. Fully working 8163B. Tiros & wenid both have fully working drives, using exact copies of the firmware or at least firmwares binaries that are the same.
The points used are the same from 8050L which are:


End of Cable:

Issues:
Getting an original copy of the firmware onto the 8163B drive.

3. Restoring your now modified 8163B back to the original config so you can do it right. Read maximilian0017 post.



In the meantime...
ppl with a drive and are patient: Wait a few more days... there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel. Read issues item 2 above.
ppl with a drive and can't wait. You can flash it with the file from xbins, and follow plagues post. It may work for you & with the issues I outlined above.
ppl who have already flashed their drives. See item 3 above. Then wait till someone packages the right firmware.

If i don´t care for the 8163B to read original games, can i then forget about the firmware flashing and just do the soldering? And will it then also be able to read cdr´s?

Me too!

I don't care about read the originals, i prefer to read the CD-R!

What is the best solution? (same from 8050L, plaqued's post, ...)

Thank you.

Both of you need to read the tutorials section.
tut1
tut2
The firmware does more than just read originals. It allows the drive to behave the same as an orig xdrive; therefore, the status info from various dashboards will work. What I mean by this is that you can actually eject the drive, put in a disk and eVox will recognize it. Go ahead and use plagued post, see what happens...

But i prefer to read the CD-Rs than the originals games, and i want to keep goods infos in my dashboard when i insert a cd/dvd or i eject a cd/dvd!

If you do not flash but do the wireing mod to the pc dvd to make it work in the xbox . I understand It will not play originals but will it let you FTP with PC to be able to back up original? What i mean is when you go to rip the files to make an ISO will it see the files or not?

If it can't read original, you can't.

It's been a long time since I played around with Hex editing but here's what I found:
There is some sort of cheksum - two of them in fact 16 bits wide.
The first one is at address 20A58 and the second one is at 20A5A

Once the mismatched block is over written with the correct code you must FIRST generate a Checksum-16 from addresses 20A98 through 6267F which will give you 'CF68'. This needs to be entered into addresses 20A5A and 20A5B.

Then another Checksum-16 needs to be generated from addresses 20A5A through 6267F which will give 'DAA7'. This needs to be entered into addresses 20A58 and 20A59

Happy editting!

Now onto better things - 16X's

Thank you, skyhi, with your information, I have just reflash my LG with the original firmware.

Regards.

@skyhi,

the replaced code is cut from 4f80 to 4f93 from file: HitachiLG8050.bin

Right?
Or did you replace all the filler, because I didn't get the same crc16. I got: C30D.

You have to replace it including the filler, feom 4040h to 6040h

Works like a charm!!

Going to solder a little bit later tonight

Forgive a less gifted one, would it be possible to give a list of which code need to be entered at which address, the above kinda went over my head...
How about the cdr issue, is the final word that it won´t read cdr´s?

Well, if everyone keeps up with the firmware hacking, then it might just read cdr's and go at 16x

Yes - I did replace all the code in the flasher with the code that is in the HitachiLG8050.bin file. I used Hex Workshop 3.1 to do the editting and generating of the checksum. Glad to be of assistance as so many of you have already been!

Now if we could only figure out what blocks CDR reading, To the Hex Editor!

I have compared the code of the 8163B to the 8050L with the Hex Workshop and have found about 100 or so differences between them. I've actually saved all the differences into a folder and just need time (and help?) to go through them.

My next step was going to be trying to dissassemble the differences to see if something jumps out - it's been a while since I dug this deep into code - about 18 years!

I've found a dissassembler here: http://www.8052.com/

Sorry for the lack of info, been away past week.
Yes, I patched the DLD with checksum patch, similar to SkiHi, but I used the HP dos flasher.
DO NOT USE THE XBINS FLASHER IT IS NO GOOD!!

Even if you patch the DLD contained in the windows EXE, the drive will only partially flash and you will not get the "good" signals on the controller outputs. The drive WILL report 8050 after the win flash, but don't be fooled.

After a successful flash the drive activity LED becomes inverted, "ready" and other signals become active.

There are still a couple of issues with regard to RF/Servo controller. I recommend cutting 2 traces and adding jumper wire. I will try to get pics, @truebb you may want to compare pin 49 and 50 8050/8163 to see what I mean.

I have a small program that creates a DLD, using the 8050.bin file as input. This board does not seem to allow attachments.

CDR doesn't work after the flash either.
I was hoping it was the RF/Servo circuit difference, but it's starting to look more and more like firmware related. The drive doesn't even spin up disk if it is CDR. The laser pops on briefly as if it's "testing" the disk first. Than it just sits there.

Based on what has been going on here so far, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for someone to patch the firmware for this problem.

AGAIN, DON'T USE THE WINDOWS FLASHER!
EVEN WITH THE DLD PATCH IT DOES NOT WORK!

Board error double posted...


@SkyHi
BTW it's not an 8052....that would be too easy.

I did the following to get to the same point as Wenid and Tiros

1. Used this wiring with 1k resistors on all wires(even eject)
2. Modded the windows flasher as per Skyhi's earlyer post
3. Extracted the dld file from the modified windows flasher(20a58-62680)(269352 bytes in explorer/properties)
4. Put it on the hp dosdisk i made(see earlyer post)overwriting the standard dld file
5. Flashed

After throwing this together i tested for a while and it seems to work 100%, ofcourse without cd/16x support(but the reading is quite fast anyway)

Maby this is interesting to the people who don't want to read origionals and want cd/16x support:
Tiros mentioned the led in front of the drive, i was looking at the same thing earlyer, it doesn't go out after the drive spins down, so that could be a much better alternate ready signal without problems with spindown.
After the mod above it came apparent to me that the origional and the fully modded 8163b do spindown, but they keep the ready signal high.
This hasn't been tested yet, but maby someone wants to take a look at it.

If i understand correctly the processor is a Panasonic AN32 series, there are special tools for programming and debugging.
There is no mention of any code compliance or compability, so this is going to be a tough one to take apart.
Don't really think that hexedit is going to help here....

Perhaps what could be done is to patch in code from the 8163B and watch for changes - time consuming but should show something.

@Tiros / Max

What did you use the extract / create the DLD file. Where can I find that tool? I did some searching but haven't come up with anything yet.

Thanks

Worth a try if you're that keen on getting the functionality back, but getting CDR capability might mean losing the ability to read originals. I'm sure I read somewhere that a shortcoming in some other drive's firmware had been "introduced" deliberately to make room for the Xbox-original-reading code.

Just use any hex editor like Hexedit or Ultraedit
Copy the range i gave in my post and
Paste it into a new file(file-new) and save as 8050.dld or so...

Dvd/cd burners use a datafield to distinguish between different kind of cd/dvd's, it holds al the data to burn that type of cd/dvd.

Maby if the same kind of mechanism is used for reading it will work, otherwise you will probably have a dead drive very quicky..

The only way to know for sure is to try...

When you do a comparison of the code between the 8163B and 8050L it is surprising to see how much of the code is the same - when there are differences it is usually in the form of blocks of code.

One interesting thing Hex Workshop did show is that there is one 'extra' block of code in the 8050L that does not match up to the 8163B.