PC DVD drive in TSOP'ed XBOX

[Marty]

I have a PC DVD drive (NEC 2500A) in a Ver. 1.0 TSOP'ed XBOX.
The drive will play my game backups if I boot with them in the drive, but they are not visible in XBMC or other file managers.
The drive works fine for boot my Slayer's and HeXeN disks...I can use all the utilities without any problem.

Apps like DVD2XBOX and XBMC just show "TRAY OPEN" or no media messages. BTW, I'm on the xecuter2 5035.06 BIOS, but I have the same issue with Evox and IND BIOS'es.

Any other information I can give, please let me know. Thanks.

[Marty]

Oh...and also...

...Greetings from Canada!

[GoTeamScotch]

If you're using a PC DVD drive, you have to wire up the eject/CD ready signals in order for the Xbox to know that the tray is closed and such. If you just have power and IDE hooked up, the Xbox doesn't know what the drive is doing. This process varies depending on what drive you're using and can be complicated to work out.

Xbox-linux.org has some great info about this topic but the site is no longer online. You can see a snapshot of this page here. I'm going to copy the content of this page here just in case the backup gets deleted and this info is gone forever.

Introduction

The Xbox is connected to a DVD drive with a 12 pin 50-mil signal and power connector from the motherboard, in addition to the standard IDE connector. The signal and power connector is not a standard on PCs, so many of the signals the Xbox requires must be accessed from the internal PCB of the PC-DVD. Most PC-DVDs will require external logic to provide the required signals.

In addition, the Xbox is not compatible with all DVD players, even with the electronic interfaces described here. The information right now is that the Xbox expects the DVD to always be spinning, and never spin down. Data errors occur if the drive goes into a spin down mode.

The drive that is supplied with the Xbox is made by either Philips or Thompson and has special firmware to recognize the special format of the Xbox game DVD. If a PC-DVD drive is connected to the Xbox, then only experimental programs can be loaded, in addition to DVD movies and audio disks. Commercially distributed Xbox games will not load due to the absence of the special firmware present in the Xbox DVD drive. Also, the DVD drive distributed with the Xbox appears to have been adjusted to make it difficult to use CDs and DVDs that were not commercially recorded. Some CDs and DVDs recorded on a PC work, some don't. It depends on the recording drive and varies from Xbox to Xbox, even within the same manufacturer. So adding a PC-DVD can make it easier to use CDs and DVDs that were recorded on a PC, for developing experimental, interoperable programs.

Connector Signals

The following signals are present on the DVD connector (signal direction is with respect to Xbox motherboard):



Configuration

The PC-DVD is configured to SLAVE mode.

Interfacing

In order to interface a PC-DVD, the cover of the DVD drive must be removed and appropriate signals located. Usually, signals such as OPEN, CLOSE, and EJECT can be found. This are normally low true signals, in spite of the names, so they likely correspond with TRAY_IN, TRAY_OUT, and NEJECT, respectively. The CD_READY signal is the most difficult to locate. On one drive, a signal called DMUTE was located that worked as needed. This was the DVS DSR-1600H, however, this drive is not compatible due to spin down. The Toshiba SD-M1302 is a compatible drive, but requires some logic to delay a signal so that the CD_READY signal is not active until the drive is really ready to provide data.

In addition, if it is desired to have the eject button on the PC-DVD inform the Xbox that the CD has been ejected, then a connection must be made from the NEJECT wire to the back of the Eject button on the front panel. The correct trace is the top one through an opening in the metal shielding. From the back, you can see four PCB pads, and the top two are connected together with a PCB trace. This is the location to connect the NEJECT signal, through a 3.3K resistor for a wired OR connection.

A schematic of the connector pinout and a sample interface circuit for the SD-M1302 is provided here:


Compatible DVD Drives

Toshiba SD-M1302

Non-compatible Drives

DVS Korea DSR-1600M (Sold as CenDyne)
Toshiba SD-R1002 (CD/R)
Conclusion

To interface a PC-DVD to the Xbox is not an easy task. It requires an oscilloscope and a DVM, some basic engineering knowledge, and a little luck and patience in locating the right signals. But with skills and perserverance, it can be done.

[Marty]

I picked up a Sony DDU1612 for $5 at my local electronics shop today. I've ordered a couple of NAND gates, as they're required for the drive mod to use this on my XBOX.

I was wondering, most guides stress the importance of locating the TRAY_IN, TRAY_OUT, EJECT and DISK_READY points on the dvd drive. Would using these points with a NAND work on many XBOX's, or just the handful that
have been established by modders for a long time? (Samsung SD-616T...etc...)

[Marty]

I'll note one more thing...

...occasionally a disk will be recognised using XBMC's file manager and I'll be able to run the game by choosing it's default.xbe file. If the game shows up in the XBMC file manager, then I launch DVD2XBOX, I'll then again be greeted with a "Tray Open" message.