I have read some guides at http://www.xbox-scene.com (I think that's the address) that mention replacing the standard XBOX dvd-rom with a replacement. The replacement drive is modified through some method(that's is described much better in the guides at the site mentioned)to make it read standard XBOX dvd's(from the outside in) My question is does the dvd-rom read the disks from the outside in or does the XBOX itself take the date from the dvd-rom and translate it? If in fact the dvd-rom is responsable for this process someone could(possibly) install one in a pc and vastly simplify the process of copying XBOX games. Is my suggestion/idea plausible or do I need to read more, comments, donations, anything of negotiable value accepted(though for now only comments expected) EDIT: the URL given was incorrect.
I realize that standard xbox drives will not work in a pc, but the modified replacement dvd-roms(moded to read xbox discs) do have standard(pc) power connectors. I really wish to know if the dvd-rom reads the data or does the xbox sort of decode the data. because I think if the dvd drives read the data it could be possible and very easy to copy xbox games.
I visit xbox-scene often and do not believe there are any tutorials that describe how to replace a xbox dvd-rom with a pc dvd-rom and be able to play originals on it. There are tutorials that describe replacing the xbox drive with a pc drive which will only run backups. There are also tutorials on how to connect a pc drive to the xbox to run backups while leaving the original drive to run originals. This requires leaving the xbox case open and swapping the ide cable between the 2 drives. There is also a tutorial somewhere (search xbox-scene forums) on how to install an xbox dvd-rom in a pc but there are no windows drivers for it. Maybe it is possible to use the drive in BeOS or something?
http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/docs/pcdvd.html describes some of the different features of an xbox dvd drive compared to a normal PC ide one http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/docs/gdfs.html descrives the xbox dvd format The xbox game contents are on the 2nd layer of the DVD-9 disk and is reportedly stored on the outside of the disk inwards (as opposed to PC dvd storage and dvd movie data, that starts from the inside outwards (and starts on layer 1)) There are reports that the disk spins backwards in the xbox dvd drive to read the game contents Can anyone 100% confirm this ? Presumably the various commercial DVD copy utilities that claim to be able to copy an XBOX dvd in a normal pc dvd drive are lying Back to the subject of putting an xbox dvd drive in a pc and sorting out the wiring etc Would it then be possible to get the PC to 'rip' the raw data of the xbox game contents NB This is all purely for infomation only and is not condoning or encouraging illegal copying etc. Most people just use the xbox dvd drive in an modified xbox to pull the game contents off the disks. The above discussions mere question whether it would be possible to do it a different way
Follow up question about xbox dvd-9 disks Are there any pc based dvd utilities that can give information on the contents of xbox dvd disks ? DVDDecrypter in ISO mode will show that it is a 2 layer disk But will only see the normal pc /dvd movie layout (from the inside out, starting from side 1) I guess if you want full info about the contents of an xbox dvd disk, you should examine it in a modified xbox running linux ?
