PC CD-ROM firmware to read GD-ROMs

How useful would it be in the modern era to have a hacked PC CD burner firmware that supported reading GD-ROMs? I know that it is possible; it's just not that necessary to read GD-ROMs to PC these days.

If such a hack were made today, it would likely make it so that when you insert a GD-ROM, Windows or Linux showed the files on the disk. The reason it would work so well is that GD-ROMs are just multisession CD-ROMs at their core.

The only difficult part of this hack is finding the code in the firmware that calculates how far to physically move the laser sled in order to seek from the current location to a new location. This calculation changes on GD-ROMs due to the higher density.

The other firmware hacks required are straightforward, known quantities: you need code to recognize Dreamcast disks, code to inject a fake B0 record into the TOC of Dreamcast disks to make them act like multisession disks, code to support MSFs A0:00:00-C2:02:00, and code to treat MSFs higher than 89:59:74 as positive rather than negative.

 

There's no big need for such an solution, because nowadays It's relatively easy to rip/read GD-Rom's with using a stock Dreamcast + BBA or SD-adapter. That being said, it would be very convenient to have said feature on PC CD-ROM drives. I for one would definitely be interested in this!

 

I read somwehere, a long time ago, that such a hack already exists for a yamaha cdrw drive..
Or was it that that particular drive plays gdroms oob?
I don't remember the details but this is supposed to be out there.

 

I know it was possible to read dreamcast games with some samsung and Lite-on drives with a hacked toc. I imagine it would be much easier if we could have a firmware though. (I imagine the hacked toc wouldn't be needed any more)

 

Here's the well known story about the Yamaha drive. The problem is that Kalisto doesn't say what specific CDR-400 drive the firmware is for. Unless it's the CDR-400, not CDR-400t.

A lot of info about gdroms on a pc can be found here:
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?19485-Possible-ways-to-read-GD-Roms-on-a-PC

 

The CD-R 400 legend is because the gd-burners hkt-0400 are based on cdr400 yamaha burners. Though I do own a cdr-400 and the legendary firmware but it's simply is a HKT-0400 firmware that's compatible with cdr400, but doesn't make it read GD-Roms. You can flash the cdr400 with the hkt-0400 firmware and it's detected as a SEGA GD-ROM 199 or something like this, but it doesn't read anything. IIRC it detected blank gd-r in the sdk but didn't wanted to test-burn.

I alkso got the samsung drive (300S or S300 IIRC) and the other legendary bios and it doesn't do much except not working until reflashed to retail firmware.

Also for the LiteOn ltd-165h drive, here's a little something I wrote years ago, in french but it should google-translate well: http://www.dreamagain.fr/tutos-dreamcast/94-soft-ripper-un-gd-rom-avec-le-lecteur-de-son-pc

I did my researches on this topic some years ago as you might see

Feel free to ask any questions!

FG

 

I think alot of kids bricked theirs burners trying to burn that firmware released by Kalisto. I wonder why did they release it at first place, just for trolling?

 

It's not breaking anything. Just reflash a retail firmware and it's fine.

 

Basilisk of Kallisto has confirmed for me that the firmware they released actually DID work. I didn't ask for what Yamaha model they used.

 

Well, I for one flashed this firmware to my cdr400t and while it "worked" as in "didn't break anything" it certainly didn't allow me to read gd-rom. IIRC (I did this like 6 years ago) I also verified it to be byte-for-byte the SDK GD-Writer firmware. (That SDK was pretty much impossible to get a hold of a the time Kalisto made releases, for mere mortals anyway.)

If you can contact him for more infos, or direct him here, it'd be greatly appreciated.

 

It's been atleast a year since I had that conversation with him. Anyway here's a quote of what he wrote:

 

Which is not surprising.
You may want to edit the name of the guy out of your message, BTW.

 

It doesn't really matter now. Basilisk was already arrested and sentenced in 2004's Operation Fastlink for his involvement with Kalisto and Fairlight. No wonder he said that part of his life is over.

 

We all know that but still.
You don't need to be sentenced to have concerns about your privacy.

 

Last edited by petterk; 3 Days Ago at 01:48 PM.

 

I just want a stinking slot drive to put in my Dreamcast. Is that so wrong?

 

I don't want to rip discs or anything. I just want to replace my GDR drive inside of my dc with a slot drive. I don't care if it's just simply ripping a slot drive's guts out and sticking the GDR drive stuff inside of it... as long as it slides in and out and plays DC games on my Dreamcast!!!! Are you saying you've done the research and it's undoable via firmware or just swapping parts? If so, my life just took another crappy turn. Nothing can go my way... nothing.

 

Sorry bro, but the cdr400 we're talking about isn't to replace the DC's GD-Rom drive, but allegedly to read gd-roms on pc, although I amde a lotta tests and it seems it doesn't allow it, not by jst flashing the firmware anyway.

So not of use for you sorry.

But you might try to contact the guy who made that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yruN_oTKSH0
https://picasaweb.google.com/hyphre...thkey=Gv1sRgCOmH0eWviuaNggE&feat=embedwebsite

Good Luck!

 

I've been staring at that video far to many time the last 3 weeks. The video is of too low quality, and there is too dark to figure out what he has done.

Thanks for the picture album, hadn't seen that one before. That seems to show a different mod, more like the one I'm currently making, ie building something that ejects the whole mechanism with the tray.

 

Be easier to build a SATA->G2 interface.