Tag Archives: xbox 360

abgx360 v1.0.6 Released

Changes affecting all platforms:

- XGD3 support.
- Replaced AP25 replay sector support with support for topology data (for consoles which do AP25 checks — make sure you have LT+ v3.0 or later).
- Added “Min Kernel Required” (to boot the game) when checking an XEX.
- Added improvements to AutoUpload (used by uploaders) including extended C/R for SS (using the original disc) to make sure files uploaded to the database have very accurate angle measurements.
- Added optional command line argument “–speed” for setting drive speed when checking a burned DVD. Example: “–speed 12″ will attempt to set the drive speed to 12x. You can try to set any speed you like, but setting a speed higher than what your media supports may cause read errors if the drive’s firmware doesn’t govern it. “–speed 0″ will set the drive’s default speed.
- Added optional command line argument “–showsstable” for when you want to see the SS C/R data but you still prefer medium or low verbosity. The SS C/R table has also been updated with “Mod?” being split into “Tol” (response tolerance) for the CCRT entry and “Mod” (response modifier) for the drive entry, also “Pad?” has been renamed to “Typ” (type). Thanks Redline99!
- Added vendor specific additional info and bus type when displaying optical drive names (bus type displayed on Windows only).
- Updated the list of optical drive sense code errors.
- Updated the game ratings definitions.
- Fixed a bug which negated the ability to recover from a write error when rebuilding an ISO using the low disk space method. It’s unlikely that a write error would be recovered on subsequent retries, but at least now it will write the data in the correct place if it does recover.
- Fixed a bug which caused “Unknown Media: 0×00000000″ to be displayed if the “Secure Virtual Optical Device” media flag was set and the “XGD2 Media Only” image flag was not set (The “XGD2 Media Only” flag has also been renamed to “Original Media Only” in abgx360 since they are using the same flag for XGD3).
- The archaic caution message about angle 359 was removed, but you are still able to “fix” it if you still have iXtreme < v1.4 (really old and not suitable for XBL anyway).
- Ability to “extract entire video partition (253 MB)” was removed; this doesn’t make sense for XGD3 and isn’t even very useful for XGD2 since it was just including a bunch of padding data that isn’t even part of the real video partition… it was only needed for very old methods of concatenating with stealth files and a game partition to make a working backup.

Note: The way video is checked/fixed is now a little different for both XGD2 and XGD3. The previous way was to check/fix both L0 video and L1 video off of L0, and then to check/fix “SplitVid” (L1 video on L1) afterwards by comparing it to L1 video on L0. Since XGD3 has no room for L1 video on L0, and to keep things consistent, video will now always be checked/fixed according to L0 on L0 and L1 on L1, and the “SplitVid” check is now gone (nominally). The only effective difference is that L1 video on L0 is no longer checked, but this is not a problem… it’s not even supposed to be there and it’s not visible to the host console when using a “safe” custom firmware. You can rest assured that only old and unsafe custom firmwares will read L1 video from L0; newer ones will read it properly from L1 (this is necessary in order to replicate the read/seek performance of an original disc).

There is also a big annoying yellow message if you have “Check/Fix Video padding” enabled and you check an XGD2 game with L1 video on L0 (or any data in that area). To make the message go away you will need to either add command line option “–pL0″ to confirm that you want to blank it out (XGD2 ISOs without L1 video on L0 will appear to have bad video data when checked with older versions of abgx360), or you can simply disable “Check/Fix Video padding”, as it still makes no difference in terms of stealth… this option only exists as a way to make sure ISOs are “clean”, with no extra data in areas that aren’t CRC checked. Note that this version of abgx360 doesn’t care about L1 video on L0… it will pad L0 video with zeroes whenever video is autofixed or manually patched.

Sorry if the command line options are annoying (you can add them under the “Misc” tab of the GUI), but you can be sure that an improved v1.1.0 GUI is in the works…

Note: The GUI has not been changed and will still display version 1.0.2, don’t worry about it as long as the CLI app displays v1.0.6

Download from www.abgx360.net or download abgx360 1.0.6 here

Patch and Play XGD3 Game Backups LT+ 3.0

Tool Needed:
1. Xbox Backup Creator v2.9 Build:0345
2. AP25 Topology Data (See Below)

Patching Current Games:
1. Until the new ABGX is released, games cannot be burned as they traditionally were.
2. Instead We will be using Xbox Backup Creator to inject the new Topology data for your games.

Follow These Steps:
1. Open Xbox Backup Creator v2.9.

2. Click on the Image Tools tab.

3. Change the Action from Extract to Inject.

4. Hit AP25 Sector.

5. Select the ISO you want to Patch. Then Select the corresponding AP25 Patch that you downloaded.

Master Topology Files:

http://www.xbox360iso.com/individual-xgd3-ap2-t536386.html (Need to register)

Thanks to kill_seth for his tutorial

Source: http://www.xboxmb.com

iXtreme LT+ v3.0 for BenQ and Phat Liteons

C4Evas iXtreme LT+ 3.0 in association with Team Jungle & Team Xecuter

- Official release of the iXtreme LT+ v3.0 for BenQ and phat Liteons
- Support for topology data on AP25 enabled titles. Will correctly answer any ap25 challenge eliminating need for dae.bin to create a backup.
- No need to make new backups everytime dae.bin is updated on console
- Topology Data

When ap25 was first introduced C4Eva devised a way of calculating any challenge which he called the silver bullet which I made reference to a long time ago. This was withheld until it was absolutely necessary. It was easier to replay the fixed challenges. With unique per console ap25 challenges it has become necessary to use the silver bullet. A series of measurements are taken across the disk. This topology data is then used to calculate a response to any ap25 challenge. It is very important that the drive used to create the topology data is reliable at reading discs as bad topology data equals bad ap25 responses. Liteon drives using 0800 v3 seem to be more accurate for this purpose. Only ap25 enabled titles require topology data. Activation of ap25 on older non-ap25 games although technically possible is highly unlikely.
Currently topology data for xgd3 titles are similar and topology data from one xgd3 title will pass on another xgd3 title although this is not advisable. Per title topology data is best as there are slight differences between titles and newer titles could have different topology than existing ones.

If you are using the latest dashboard and your xdg3 game backups are not working any more, you will need to get it flashed with LT+ 3.0.

iXtreme LT+ v3.0 to be Released After December 6

Here is some further details about the upcoming iXtreme LT+ v3.0, which is now targetted for release sometime after December 6, 2011. Earlier this week, Microsoft’s Major Nelson announced December 6 as the official release date for the final version of its Fall 2011 Dashboard Update. Scheduling LT+ v3.0 for release after this date will allow c4eva and the team a chance to analyze the final update so as to ensure no additional changes to v3.0 are necessary.

With the new iXtreme LT+ v3.0, original game discs will need to be analyzed by Xbox Backup Creator in order to gain disc topology data. This data replaces the need for AP2.5/dae.bin data and enables any AP2.5 challenge to be answered correctly. C4eva noted that the topology data method is very efficient — using only 24kB of space — and extremely accurate. Due to differences between them, each game will require its own individual set of topology data. A risk of backups being detected poses itself if the same topology data is used between two different titles. This risk is mitigated by using abgx360 to make certain that the backup contains the appropriate topology data.

Backups will remain the same layout, but will either need to have the topology data inserted by the new abgx360, or be re-dumped with the new Xbox Backup Creator. C4eva reconfirmed that all current AP2.5-active XGD2 and XGD3 backups with old AP25 replay data are not backward-compatible with iXtreme LT+ v3.0 and will indeed need to be patched or re-dumped and re-burned. Non-AP2.5 titles, however, will remain unchanged and do not require re-burning.

XGD3 Backups not Booting? Here is a Temporary Workaround

The recent silent DAE update stopped all AP2.5 / XGD3 backups from booting. Until a solid solution is released, here is a simple workaround.

For this example we are going to use MW3.

1. Get a USB flash drive, At least 1GB in size and format it (FAT)

2. Insert into Xbox and goto memory devices. Select USB and configure it as a storage device.

3. Download the this MW3 Title Update. Click here.

4. Download Horizon (Great game modding app btw – JTAG / Glitchers should be using the crap out of this – you can use other apps but this is my tool of choice). Click here

5. Select Tools > Device Explorer

6. Plug in USB device to PC

7. Device will be detected. Select Inject File

8. Load the the MW3 TU that you downloaded.

9. Connect the USB stick to your Xbox. Restart and boot your MW3 backup.

Notes: You may have to delete the system cache after every time you do a fresh boot of the game. But hey, it works.

You can get other title updates from here: http://www.xbuc.net

iXtreme LT 3.0 is coming – DAE/AP25 Gets The Silver Bullet!

iXtreme LT+ v3.0 is on the way! Yesterday, having revealed to the team yesterday an idea for countering the recent dae.bin/AP2.5 update, c4eva has today confirmed that he has in fact completely done away with the need for dae.bin/AP2.5 data. Although it’s early stages, c4eva has successfully completed several tests which validate this new method and classified his solution as the “silver bullet” for AP2.5. Rather than using captured challenge results each time the dae.bin changes, the new method builds a complete set of profile data for each disc and works for all AP2.5 challenges, regardless of how the dae.bin is changed. As a result, the format of backup ISOs will be changing as the AP25 replay sector will no longer be included and the profile data will instead take its place. Though c4eva noted that it will take some development time as it’s not a quick fix, both he and the team will now be putting their full efforts behind bringing this solution to life in the form of new versions of iXtreme LT+, Xbox Backup Creator, and abgx360.

Upcoming Xbox 360 Fall 2011 Dash (2.0.14686.0)

A new Xbox 360 dash will be released soon on the 25th of November 2011 - 2.0.14686.0 (currently in beta phase with few chosen testers) and it will be introducing a new, fresh layout. The new Xbox 360 dashboard update is said to also bring the following new features:

• New Xbox LIVE Dashboard with integrated voice and gesture controls - We’ve updated the dashboard, making it easier to navigate through content, whether you use Kinect or a controller. Use voice and gesture controls to float through the menu and select games, movies, music and applications.
• Beacons – Beacons allow you to tell your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends that you want to play a game on Xbox LIVE, making it easier to jump in and play together. By setting a Beacon, you tell Xbox LIVE what you want to play. Then, Xbox LIVE lets you know when friends are playing or want to play the same game.
• Facebook Sharing – With Facebook Sharing, now it is easier than ever to brag about all your achievements to your social network. With the integrated “share” feature, you can tout your achievements and showcase your in-game accomplishments through instant, direct posts.
• Roaming Profile – With new roaming profiles you can now bring your complete Xbox LIVE profile to any Xbox 360, including game saves, friend lists and your Gold membership, to your friend’s house for more fun.

Do I have to get my console reflashed again with updated firmware since LT+ 2?

Apparently you wont have to, but don’t update to the latest dashboard just yet.  There now appears 2 tables of AP2.5 challenges, with a combined total of 192 challenges. c4eva has reported to the team that XGD2 and XGD3 backups are still booting under LT+ v2.0/2.01.

From team channel: [2011-11-10 08:58PM UTC] <c4eva> backups,xgd3 still booting). However, do not take this as a sign that everything is fine. We can confirm though that these changes will indeed necessitate new versions of and/or changes to Xbox Backup Creator, abgx360, and several other associated tools. It has also been confirmed by the team that drive fw’s are not affected. All the changes are currently being analyzed, and we’ll continue to update this post when further details become available.

*UPDATE* [2011-11-14]

There is still a lot of analysis to do. Unlike the changes to the dae.bin in the previous updates, this time around the changes aren’t so simple. In addition to possibly having to re-burn/re-press, accommodating the changes has a ripple effect across XBC, abgx360, other associated/internal tools, as well as potentially the fw itself. Right now it’s too early to make any definitive statements. It should be clarified in the original post where mention was made that “the drive fw’s are not affected” — this was not in reference to c4eva’s fw, but rather to the ofw re-flashing of non-updated drives. The fw versions those drives get updated to has not changed in this update (e.g. Lite-On phats to 02510C, and Lite-On slim 9504 to 0272). The team appreciates your patience. More concrete info about what these changes entail will be posted in the days ahead as analysis progresses.

*UPDATE* [2011-11-16]

DAE.bin is being silently updated through Xbox Live with an additional challenge table! This happens on the current public dashboard version 2.0.13604.0 and there is no confirmation dialog or any known means to prevent it besides disconnecting your console from the internet.

If your DAE.bin has already been silently updated, AP25 backups that are patched with current AP25 replay data will fail the normal AP25 challenges outright! Note that all XGD3 games use AP25.

Use your originals if you want to play on Xbox Live.

*UPDATE* [2011-11-17]

First and foremost, a warning — at this current time it is advised that you stay offline and avoid playing any AP2.5/XGD3 backups. It has been confirmed by the team that the dae.bin is now being silently updated on all LIVE-connected boxes.

This update is not being deployed via a SystemUpdate or TitleUpdate, but rather occurs in the background without any visual indication or prompt to the user. As such, there is no means by which it can be cancelled or avoided, other than not connecting to LIVE. If you’ve connected to LIVE in the past 24 hours, your system has likely already been updated with a changed dae.bin.

All AP2.5/XGD3 backups that contain the now older AP25 replay data will fail the system’s AP2.5 challenges and indeed flag your system (the flagging has also been confirmed by the team).

Like our news a few days ago, the dae.bin is now being changed by way of an appended challenge table in the same manner on current retail dashes (13604) as it is on the preview dash (14686), however the content of the challenge tables differ. The team has determined that the appended challenge table appears to be unique per console and contains indentifying information. This means that everyone’s dae.bin is different, and can potentially be traced back to your specific console. Therefore, sharing your dae.bin with others it not advisable.

XDG3 Games – iXtreme Burner MAX

The “iXtreme Burner MAX” customized PC DVD burner firmware allows burning 100% of an XGD3 ISO to regular DVD+R dual layer discs. Preferred media for error-free burns are Verbatim MKM001 (burning at 2.4x), and Verbatim MKM003 (burning at 2.4x or 4x). Note: “A” versions have MTK chipset, but are old and untested. “Y” versions have the NEC chipset, which is not supported. All regular features of the burner function as normal, including LightScribe, LabelTag, Smart-Erase, Smart-Burn, Smart-X, and SuperAllWrite. Even with the custom iXtreme Burner MAX fw flashed to the drive, it is still fully functional as a regular burner, not only for XGD3, but also XGD2, and all other ISOs and data, up to 8.7GB worth.

Compatible Lite-On PC DVD Burners:

• iHAS124B (Baseline model)
  
• iHAS224B (Baseline model + LightScribe)
  
• iHAS324B (Baseline model + SmartErase)
  
• iHAS424B (Baseline model + LightScribe + SmartErase (or = 224 + SmartErase))
  
• iHAS524B (Baseline model + LabelTag + SmartErase)
  
• iHAS624B (Baseline model + LabelTag + LightScribe + SmartErase (or = 524 + LightScribe))

Where can I find a compatible burner?

TakeALot sells two of the compatible Lite-on drives – Drive 1 | Drive 2

Either one of these drive will work fine.

Download the iXtreme Burner MAX Firmware:

Click here - Inside the archived file you will find “iXtreme Burner MAX Tutorial.pdf”, follow the instructions on this document. It is really easy and really simple to do, just follow the steps as directed.

Don’t have the Lite-on drive or can’t get hold of one? Check out my post here on an alternative way on how to burn XDG3 Xbox 360 Games.

LT+ 2.0 for Xbox 360 PHAT Released

Official release of the iXtreme LT+ v2.0 for PHAT models (Slims out soon – still in testing phase)

- Support for XGD3 ixtreme backups using LT-MAX for maximum capacity on standard DVD+R DL discs. Passes all security checks for XGD3 including correct capacity.

- Support for large capacity DVD+R DL media (no errors when burning)

I would like to dedicate this fw to the Xbox Live Enforcement Team and the recent false (AP25) bans and subsequent reversal. Keep up the good work guys.

Thanks goes to Team Jungle for their hard work and efforts in the development process. Thanks also goes to Team Xecuter for their support to this project.

How to Copy XDG3 Xbox 360 Games

***INSTRUCTIONS FOR BURNING XGD3 BACKUPS WITH IMGBURN v.2.5.6.0

http://nickthegr33k.eu/XGD3burn.pdf

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BURNING XGD3 BACKUPS WITH IMGBURN v.2.5.5.0

We recommended that you use the latest version of ImgBurn (v2.5.5.0 at the time of writing, downloadable at http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download). Older versions may handle this process differently and/or give a different set of errors.

Although it is set by default in ImgBurn, please ensure that under Tools > Settings > Write, you have “Layer Break (For DL Media)” set to “Calculate Optimal”.

Please ensure that the layerbreak is set as 2133520 in the .dvd file. If you already have the XGD2 (or other) layerbreak value set in ImgBurn, the .dvd of the XGD3 ISO will override that setting and use the proper layerbreak.

As mentioned above, ImgBurn will automatically reposition/limit the layerbreak to 2086912 when burning to regular DVD+R DL discs.

Step by Step:

1. Choose “Write image file to disc”, and after loading the .dvd file, click “Write”.
2. ImgBurn will pop up a notice saying that there is not enough space on the disc to burn the image, and asks if you would like to continue anyway. Click “Yes”.
3. Another message might pop up saying that optimal layerbreak position exceeds L0 capacity. Click “Yes”.
4. An error will then pop up noting that “Set L0 Data Zone Capacity Failed”. Click “Continue”.
5. The image will begin writing to the disc.
6. Nearing the end of the write process, ImgBurn will pop up an error at around 97% or 98% (this is what we want — it’s intentional!). Click “Cancel”.
7. A notice will then pop up asking if you would like ImgBurn to try and perform the “‘Close Track/Session/Disc’ functions”. Click “Yes”.
8. Let the disc finalize, and you’re done!
   

INSTRUCTION FOR BURNING XGD3 BACKUPS WITH GROWISOFS

truncate –size=8547991552 xgd3game.iso

growisofs -use-the-force-luke=dao -use-the-force-luke=break:2086912
-dvd-compat -speed=4 -Z /dev/dvd=xgd3game.iso

XGD3 BACKUPS OVERVIEW

To end the confusion once and for all, *yes*, original XGD3 discs have a higher linear/track density and therefore a higher physical capacity than XGD2 and regular DVD+R DL media. As a result, XGD3 ISO backups are larger as well.

For XGD3 backup support, c4eva has introduced in LT+ v2.0 the LT-MAX feature, which allows for XGD3 backups to use the maximum possible layerbreak for regular DVD+R DL media, and therefore all of the available space (8,547,991,552 bytes) of a regular DVD+R DL disc.

Since there is still not enough space on a regular DVD+R DL disc to hold the entire XGD3 game partition, not to mention the Layer 1 Video partition, this is not at all recommended as being “safe” for Xbox LIVE.

XGD3 backups will still boot and play fine on LT+ v2.0 as long as the last approximately 1.7% of the game partition does not contain any of the actual game assets, which it usually won’t because the end of the game partition is near the inner edge of the disc, and developers will try to keep their game data near the outer edge (middle of the game partition) to maximize read performance.

Another necessary condition to booting and playing XGD3 backups on regular DVD+R DL media is that the kernel or game code itself must not perform any CIV (Content Integrity Verification) checks on any part of this last approximately 1.7% of the game partition (or at least it must not take any action after CIV failures). Even if there are no actual game assets in this area, there is still pseudo-random padding data which can be checked through CIV, and such checks can even be added later to the game code through title updates, or to the kernel through system updates.

Just like XGD2, XGD3 backups still require the correct dashboard version-specific AP2.5 replay data. As they’ve done previously, MS has the ability to change the DAE.bin by way of a system update, meaning you may need to re-patch/re-burn at some point. The abgx360 application and database will be updated accordingly to support XGD3.

BEST PRACTICES AND SETTINGS

The P2P XGD3 ISO rips that were floating around before this point are for ODDEs and are not compatible as-is with LT+ v2.0. Their PFI, DMI and SS sectors are in the wrong PSN (Physical Sector Number) locations and they are missing the critical AP2.5 replay sector and SS replay table. If you intend to play XGD3 backups on a firmware- flashed 360, it’s up to you to make sure you’re using proper ISOs made with 0800 v3.0, and to double-check by running them through abgx360 before burning.

Keep in mind that this is the first of several potential disc-based backup solutions for XGD3. As such, it’s recommened that all subsequent releases maintain the full ISO size and associated layerbreak (2133520) in the .dvd, which will help to ensure that they will be forward-compatible should any media manufacturers step up with new larger-capacity discs (which will be necessary in order to make XGD3 backups as safe as possible on Xbox LIVE).

The actual layerbreak for XGD3 ISOs is 2133520. However, when burning XGD3 ISOs to regular DVD+R DL, ImgBurn will automatically reposition/ limit the layerbreak to 2086912 in accordance with the disc’s maximum Layer 0 data zone capacity (2,086,912 [LBA: 0 - 2086911]). The LT-MAX feature in LT+ v2.0 will compensate for this and allow you to play XGD3 backups with this wrong layerbreak, and therefore wrong game partition data PSN locations.

In the case of growisofs as instructed below, in order to avoid errors when burning XGD3 to regular DVD+R DL, you may choose to first truncate the ISO to 8,547,991,552 bytes, and burn using a reduced associated layerbreak of 2086912. This should give you exactly the same end result as if you followed the instructions below for ImgBurn on Windows.

Sourced from RROD-GOW3.NFO