Xbox-360 firmware
From Wiki-Scene
The Xbox 360 Dvd drive currently can be modified to allow games backed up on DVD+DL media to boot on the Xbox 360 console. Be warned that any modification of the DVD Drive and its firmware will void the warranty of the Xbox 360 Console, and has a high risk of being banned. If you are unsure if you want to take that risk, then do not attempt to modify your console.
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DVD Drives
There are a variety of different branded DVD Drives that are available for the Xbox 360, and each have there own method to be flashed with modified firmware. Before we look at the available firmware, lets have a look at the different DVD drive models available
Toshiba/Samsung TS-H943A
The Toshiba/Samsung TS-H943A drives can be some of the easiest drives to flash, but they are currently out of production and can only be found in V1 Xenon consoles. There are a few models of the Toshiba/Samsung drive (also known as Samsung).
Toshiba/Samsung TS-H943A MS-25
The MS-25 is the easiest out of the two Samsung Drives to flash. All you need is iPrep to prepare your bootable media, and use MTKFlash to flash the drive within DOS. No special hardware is needed to flash a MS-25.
Toshiba/Samsung TS-H943A MS-28
The MS-28 has the same drive mechanics as the MS-25, but it has a feature known as Firmguard. Firmguard locks the TSOP so it cannot be read/write in its current state, but it can be read/write when the drive goes into Recovery Mode. MTKFlash is able to get the drive into Recovery Mode using software, but requires a VIA 6241 SATA Chipset to be used. anything else will simply fail
BenQ VAD6038
The Benq has a different models but they don't really vary that much and can all be flashed quite easily. the BenQ also locks the MT1359SE TSOP and can only be software unlocked using a VIA or nForce SATA Chipset along with Dosflash. You can also unlock the drive by soldering a switch to momentarily cut the power to the TSOP to force the drive into recovery mode, this method can be used with SATA chipset.
Hitachi HL GDR-3120L
The Hitachi drive uses a different approach. They are locked using what is known as Mode B, which is the Hitachi's Debug Mode. there are many ways to get different drives into Mode B, with the Live SLAX boot disc being the most common method. The only Hitachi drive that cannot be forced into Mode B is the Hitachi 0079FK and Hitachi 0079FL]. one benefit to a Hitachi drive is that they do not require any special SATA chipset to be flashed, and some of the older versions can even be flashed using a SATA-USB adapter.
Hitachi 46/47/59
The Hitachi 46/47/59 drives all work basically in the same manner, and can be flashed using SATA, or a SATA-USB adapter. These drives need to be in Mode B for Windows to detect the drive, and can simply be flashed within 360fwtoolbox.
Hitachi 78FK
Pretty much the same as the 46/47/59 drives and can be flashed using 360fwtoolbox. A SATA-USB adapter will not work
Hitachi 79 FL/FK
The Hitachi 79 is the short end of the straw. It is the only drive that requires a Passkey to be soldered to the drive, to bypass code that stops the drive from being read/written to. Once a Passkey has been installed, it can then be flashed using 360fwtoolbox much like the other Hitachi drives.
Lite-On DG-16D2S
The Lite-On drives are now appearing in consoles all around the world. The firmware is embedded within the Drive controller, which allows the console to to disable any part of the firmware code leaving the drive as everything it needs to directly communicate with is within the same chip.
Currently C4eva is in the process of modding the drive, and will most likely require a mod chip instead of the traditional firmware flash with the other drives. More details will be released once they are published.
Firmware
As iXtreme is the current firmware available. All previous Xtreme releases are buggy and are easily detectable on Live, so they should not be used.
iXtreme 1.4
All hackable drives currently use iXtreme 1.4, with the exception of BenQ's iXtreme 1.41 which just fixed a few bugs in the BenQ firmware.
The firmware comes with 5 different 'versions' :
- 2x*
- 5x*
- 8x*
- 12x*
- Non-Stealth*
The 2x/5x/8x/12x firmwares are set to the 'obvious' restricted speed, with 2x being the lowest and the 12x being the highest. its up to the user to choose which one they would prefer, by finding the 'sweet spot' between speed and noise. 2x firmware is only recommended if you are having read problems with your DVD-Drive.
The Non-Stealth firmware is for people who have old backups without being patched with the SS, DMI and PFI . The 2x/5x/8x/12x iXtreme firmware will block out any game that is missing any of these things from the backup to protect the user from being banned from Xbox Live. The Non-Stealth firmware will allow any game to boot regardless. **BE WARNED, NON-STEALTH FIRMWARE SHOULD ONLY BE USED ON A XBOX360 THAT WILL NEVER USE LIVE, OR ONE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN BANNED**
ReadMe
The following is taken from the ReadMe.txt provided with all iXtreme 1.4 Firmware
------------------------------------------------------ iXtreme firmware 1.4 for TS-H943 Xbox 360 ------------------------------------------------------ Media Stealth, Disc-Jitter, Disc-Lockon, FirmGuard, Xbox 360 backup firmware modification! Features ----------------- (v1.4) Disc jitter fix (v1.3) Fixed PTP DVD Movies (v1.3) More Secure for Xbox Live (V1.3) Multiple Speed Versions (v1.2 Rev2) Failed Stealth backups report normal disc information (v1.2) Extra verification performed on Stealth backups (v1.1) Extra verification performed on Stealth backups (v1.0) Defeats all current Xbox Live detection attempts (v1.0) Boots ONLY Stealth Xtreme Xbox 360 backups (v1.0) Boots ONLY Stealth Xtreme Xbox 1 backups (v1.0) Boots all Xbox 360 originals (v1.0) Boots all Xbox 1 originals on Xbox 360 Use on Xbox Live at own risk Technical details ------------------------ Defeats all current Xbox Live detection attempts. Keep up the good work everyone. Creating Ixtreme Benq firmware ------------------------------ Copy your orig.bin into the appropriate folder Run the "Make iXtreme firmware" batch file This will create a ix14.bin file for flashing Use the excellent Doshflash program by Schtrom or MTKFLASH to flash your drive with the ix14.bin file
