Okay, I understand that this is already out there and I wouldn't be surprised if you guys already had it, but ever since the official site died off, this firmware has been a pain in the ass to obtain these days. Because of that, I thought I'd post it here. Just in case some of you might not know what this is or what it does, it's a special firmware for the LG 8164 DVD Rom drive that allows you to use it as an Xbox DVD drive, in your PC or your Xbox. For the PC, you just install the drive, click the program, and restart. Easy. Then by using a program like MagicISO, you can read the contents of your Xbox DVD in your PC. Keep in mind that even with this flashed drive, you can't open up windows explorer and expect to read the disc's files normally. For use in the XBox, not only do you take the steps above, but you'll need to install a special adapter (requires soldering) so that it's compatible with the Xbox. Makes a great replacement drive and is up to 8 times faster then the original Xbox DVD drives. I personally used this in my desktop PC for years and it worked great (only I couldn't dump Blood Wake (NTSC) with it). Sorry if this post is a bit redundant, just thought I could be helpful to those who don't have modded or debug Xboxes to dump their disc contents. Shogun.
I just use my "Kreon" drive that I have slapped into my desktop PC. I've got a second one I accidentally killed with a bad flash but it appears to have a usable serial connection that can be used to flash it. Just need a MAX232 and I'll have one back in the game. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-HP-GDR-8164...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item3cb0611f04 Though that is a LOT cheaper than the Kreon drives run.
Not sure how it's "made", but I did spot a site that still sells these. I should have saved that link. Unfortunately, $30 bucks might not be cheap for some people. The original was about 20-something.
Its not so much an adapter as locating the signals on the controller board and hand soldering them to the proper wires that normally come out the back of the XBox drive and onto the mobo. Really really easy honestly. http://cgi.ebay.com/H-L-DVD-DRIVE-G...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item3cb795d33f Yep. Tempted to grab it.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=532887 Looks like there was an "adapter". Same concept as what I was thinking of but in a nice, neat package.
True, but most people wouldn't know where those soldering points would be located. The adapter saves us the trouble, but it's not an option if you can't find one, I guess.