Hacking the Xbox

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Hacking the Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering
Mass Storage Replacement
The Xbox contains a DVD-ROM drive and a hard drive, both of which
use the PC standard IDE interface for talking to the Xbox motherboard.
The DVD-ROM drive also has a proprietary power and DVD tray state
connector. A popular and sometimes necessary hacking activity for the
Xbox is replacing these drives.
Users replace or tweak the DVD-ROM because the native Xbox DVD-ROM
drive is unable to read CD-Rs and many types of CD-RW media. This can
be particularly annoying for those who are trying to install Xbox-Linux for
the first time, or for users who are trying to rip music from their CD-R
collection to the Xbox hard drive.
There are many methods for replacing and tweaking the Xbox DVD-ROM
drive. Some Xbox DVD-ROM drive models can have their laser intensity
adjusted to improve their ability to read CD-R and CD-RW media. This is a
potentially risky operation, since you can permanently damage your DVD-
ROM drive by improperly adjusting the power output of the laser, but
many hackers have reported that a properly executed procedure results in
better media compatibility. I suggest a web-search for the latest news and
techniques since the style and model of DVD-ROM drive used in the Xbox
varies frequently. In addition, the Xbox DVD-ROM drive can be replaced
outright with a standard PC DVD-ROM. The problem with this method is
twofold. First, a regular PC DVD-ROM drive cannot read original Xbox
game disks due to physical security measures built into an Xbox game disk.
Second, a PC DVD-ROM drive needs to be adapted to the custom DVD
power and traystate connector on the Xbox motherboard.
The easiest, but ugliest,way is to install a standard PC DVD-ROM drive but
leave the Xbox DVD-ROM drive connected through its proprietary cable. In
this method, the gray IDE cable is connected to the standard PC DVD-
ROM drive (set to slave mode through jumper configurations on the drive),
and power is stolen from the hard drive’s power connector using a standard
power splitter cable. The Xbox DVD-ROM drive remains in place, but with
its IDE connector empty and with the proprietary yellow power-and-traystate
cable installed. The purpose of the Xbox DVD-ROM drive is to serve
as a dummy drive that is used to manually relay the state of the DVD drive
tray to the Xbox. In other words, the user needs to manually replicate the
state of the standard PC DVD-ROM’s tray using the Xbox DVD-ROM’s
tray during a media change event.
The exact procedure for operating an Xbox in this configuration varies
depending upon the particular PC DVD-ROM drive model and the nuances
of the Xbox hardware configuration, so again, I suggest a web-search for
the latest information. There are also some websites that describe how to
adapt select PC DVD-ROM drive models to work with the Xbox’s proprietary
tray state and power connector. A project like this is a good intermediate-level
one for hackers who are basically comfortable with soldering and
screwdrivers. The modifications performed on the standard DVD-ROM