[size="+1"]Disclaimer[/size] The methods described in this thread have worked for me without problems and have always resulted in a quality burn that meets the KProbe specs outlined by Team Xecuter. There are MANY variables that can affect burning and disc quality, this includes, but not limited to; external enclosure, drive revision (124, 224, 624, etc...), processes running in the background, EEPROM settings on the LiteOn Drive, etc.... The moral of the story is that you will need to experiment to determine what combination of options gives you the best repeatable results. [size="+1"]1.0 Introduction[/size] Now that the Burner Max firmware for the LiteOn iHAS *24-B drives has been released, everyone shouldONLY be burning FULL XDG3 backups... that means DO NOT TRUNCATE YOUR ISO FILES! Truncated backups WILL inevitably fail CIV checks that have been introduced since Forza 4. By not burning a full backup, you're gambling with being flagged/banned and who knows what tricks MS might introduce in later Dashboards. You might as well be safe than sorry! You have been warned. [size="+1"]2.0 Before Your Start[/size] Before we get started you'll need a few things; An XBOX Flashed with LT+2.0 LiteOn iHAS drive flashed with Burner Max Firmware (Official TX Guide) X360USB or External Enclosure (or any other means to connect the LiteOn to your Mac) isoBurn ($4.99 from the Apple App Store) Windows XP / 7 (ie: Bootcamp or a VM like Parallels) EEPROM Utility v6.2.0 (Download) KProbe2 (Download 2.5.2 and Tutorial) Verbatim MKM-001 (2.4x) or Verbatim MKM-003 (4x) Blank Media (Preferably Made in Singapore) [size="+1"]3.0 Dual Layer Media[/size] The Burner Max firmware was written and designed to be used with Verbatim Dual Layer Media, specifically with Media Codes MKM-001 (2.4x) or MKM-003 (4x). There are ways to use various other brands of media, but I strongly recommend you only use Verbatim. Aside from the few tests I did to determine my optimal configuration, I have not burned any XGD3 coasters and all have passed KProbe quality tests and installed perfectly onto my XBOX HDD. We're now pushing the media to the max.. and QUALITY DOES MATTER. You can verify the media code of your blanks by doing the following: 1. Insert a blank DL disc 2. Open Disk Utility (located in the Utilities folder under your Applications) 3. Select the iHAS drive from the left hand side 4. Click "Click for more information" beside Capabilities at the bottom. 5. System Profiler will open, select the iHAS drive again, and in the bottom window under "Media" you will see "ID". This is the media code of the blank disc. This should be either MKM 001 or MKM 003. [size="+1"]4.0 Burning Your Backup[/size] Using isoBurn, the burning process is ALOT easier than before. 1. Close down everything running in the background, (i.e. Safari and any apps you may have running in the background) I also disable any power saving features to avoid any interruptions while burning. 2. I also recommend rebooting before you start your burn - this will make sure your system is fresh. 3. Connect the LiteOn iHAS drive to your Mac, and make sure it is detected. (NOTE: I use an X360USB to connect to my MacBook's USB) 4. Start Up isoBurn and Drag & Drop your ISO file 5. Select the iHAS drive and set the Layer Break: 2133520 and Speed to 2x (MKM-001) or 4x (MKM-003) 6. Once you've set the Speed and Layer Break, just hit "Burn" and wait! NOTE: I use Verbatim MKM-003 and burn my backups at 4x Once the burn is finished, I strongly recommend performing a KProbe quality test (see next section). [size="+1"]5.0 Checking Your XGD3 Backup Quality[/size] Since we're pushing the blank media beyond it's intended capacity, we need to verify the quality of the burn. Poor quality burns can fail CIV checks, be unreadable, not install, etc… Unfortunately there is no Mac version of KProbe2, so this is where you need a VM like Parallels or as in my case, I use BootCamp. Verify the quality as follows; 1. Open KProbe2 2. Use the default settings; ECC PI Sum 8 and PO(PIF) Sum of 1 and Scan Speed 4X CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) 3. Run the Test and wait. 4. Your results will appear once the test is done. Here are the results needed for a quality XGD3 burn; PI MAX should be 100 or less & PI Average should be 5 or less PIF MAX should be 4 or less & PIF Average should be 0.20 or less Here is a screenshot of my Gears of War 3 backup I had just burned; Update: KProbe2 Scan of my COD:MW3 Backup 5. If everything checks out, toss it into your 360 and you should be good to go! [size="+1"]6.0 Advanced Settings - Burn Quality[/size] Since no two setups are identical, and there are MANY factors that can affect burn quality (media, SATA chipset, programs running in the background etc...). You will need to experiment to determine what combination of settings gives you the best quality burns. 6.1 EEPROM Settings 1. The iHAS EEPROM has some settings that can be enabled/disabled, and you can adjust these settings in Windows using EEPROM Utility 6.2.0 2. Open EEPROM Utility and select the iHAS Drive 3. Choose the Options tab and you'll see this screen. I have the following settings ENABLED and it works well for me. Smart Burn Force Hyper Tuning Online Hyper Tuning 4. Simply choose whichever options you want enabled and when you're done, exit the program. 5. I recommend Power Cycling the iHAS drive after you make any changes. 6.2 Clearing OPC History In addition, through reading the TX forums, some members have noticed that clearing the OPC History before every burn helps burn quality. I've tried this a few times and it seems to consistently work for me. So I would recommend clearing the OPC history if you are having quality issues or large spikes in the PI. 1. To clear the OPC History, open EEPROM Utility 6.2.0 again, select the iHAS drive and go to the "Options" tab. 2. Click the "Clear OPC History" button. 3. Done - Go ahead and burn your backup. All credits go to SaturnX over at ixtreme
