Open TypeX3Mod opened 5 years ago
"This very thing was one of my first questions here and the post was deleted (by Mitsurugi-w) due to possible legal issues" https://www.arcade-projects.com/forums/index.php?thread/4494-interest-check-guide-on-cloning-x3-hard-drives/&postID=63083#post63083
"This stuff is very new and could help people clone intellectual property of Taito or newer games that are still business for them. Don't post anything until @Mitsurugi-w and I come with a final position (on how to monetize this)." https://www.arcade-projects.com/forums/index.php?thread/4494-interest-check-guide-on-cloning-x3-hard-drives/&postID=63116#post63116
"Like Darksoft said and we have said in other threads this method can be used in hacking newer games and systems so we want to keep it pretty quiet and not public. You can already find most info by searching Xbox HDD cloning online. If you want to help each other via PM, go ahead. Just not in the open forums. Sorry guys (but I'm not sorry!)." https://www.arcade-projects.com/forums/index.php?thread/4494-interest-check-guide-on-cloning-x3-hard-drives/&postID=63170#post63170
Archived WDMarvel Demo installer: WDMarv_demo.zip
Does this method work on a ttx4? I figured it would be worth asking before trying anything.
Does this method work on a ttx4? I figured it would be worth asking before trying anything.
I was able to clone TTX4 hard drive a bit differently... I unlocked bios by going in, doing the OUGA#110
and choosing development mode in the settings (look around). Then booted into a live linux USB stick I had laying around. I used dd (beginners beware; DD is dangerous for noobz) command and sent the entire drive into an img file to write to a different drive later when I feel like it. You also are able to mount the decrypted partitions because once the PC boots it decrypts the drive regardless of what mode you're in. It has 3 volumes and I copied them all.
I'm not sure how the bios will react to a drive that isn't ATA encrypted, but the procedure above seems like it should work for a TTX4 system. I'll probably try it out later this week if I'm feeling like it.
X3 is protected by an ATA Password. Each X3 has a unique password tied directly to the BIOS of the motherboard. For X3s with Western Digital hard drives, you can read the ATA password, unlock the drive and relock the drive using the following tools.
ATA Password Extraction To obtain the ATA password on a Western Digital X3 drive, you will need to physically remove the drive and either attach it to a local SATA port on your computer (Press ESC when it boots since it will prompt for the BIOS password) or use a USB SATA caddy since WDMarvel supports USB based drive trays.
Unlocking the drive
sudo hdparm --user-master u --security-disable hex:58333A30303030303846433A57645566528C74648D89756A7912345B12345A12345 /dev/sda
Drive Cloning
Use your favorite cloning software to clone the drive to another drive or SSD. To create an exact backup you will have to use a WD drive so you can change the serial number/model/firmware to boot an original game. More information on that later.
Re-lock the drive
sudo hdparm --user-master u --security-mode m --security-set-pass hex:58333A30303030303846433A57645566528C74648D89756A7912345B12345A12345 /dev/sda