Xbox 360:Wasabi360

The Wasabi 360 Ultra is an ODE (Optical Drive Emulator) that allows you to emulate your Xbox 360’s optical disc drive and run Xbox 360 or original Xbox .ISOs from an eSATA or USB (adapter required) storage device. The Wasabi device physically sits between your Xbox 360 motherboard and DVD-ROM. The official user manual can be found here. The latest firmware - Wasabi is v1.3 beta 2 - can be found here. Full official documentation and installation instructions can be found in this post.

Features include:

• On-screen interface (DVDMenu or ISO Menu)
• Automatic drive key extraction for Xbox-360 Slim LiteOn 16D4S with firmware 9504, 0225, 0401, 0272, 1071
• Solder‐less installation
• Support for XGD3 games
• Support for AP25 protected games and the console specific dae.bin via "disc profiling"
• Versions produced for both phat and slim consoles
• NTFS and GPT natively supported
• Multi‐disc games supported
• No need to flash or in any way modify your original DVD-ROM
• Hardware selectable pass through mode – allowing games to be played from the original disc drive in a 100% Xbox Live safe manner
• Theoretical capacity support of up to 18 exabytes

Confirmed working on Xbox Live in emulation mode for dashboard v2.0.17559.0. Do not change between emulation and pass-through mode while the Xbox 360 is powered on.

Thank you to /u/pray4rage for this page and offering assistance to anyone regarding the Wasabi.

Precautions

There are some precautions to keep in mind both before using your Wasabi for the first time, and continuing its use into the future. Be warned, failure to adhere to the above precautions could result in your console getting banned from Xbox Live or other issues.

• Do not update your Xbox 360 dashboard past the most recent version tested (see introduction). The latest system software version released by Wasabi is v1.3 beta 2.
• If you wish to update your Xbox 360 console firmware, this should be done in pass‐through mode from USB, from Xbox Live or from an original game disc containing the update. Do not attempt to update your Xbox 360 firmware while the Wasabi is running in emulation mode.
• Do not switch between pass-through and emulation mode while the Xbox is running.

Drive Key

Before you can use Wasabi, you must first obtain the drive key that corresponds to your Xbox 360. Every single Xbox 360 has a unique drive key and you must obtain the one that specifically matches your Xbox 360 through one of two methods, depending on what model your DVD-ROM is:

• Automatic Drive Key Extraction: Wasabi can currently automatically extract the drive key from Xbox Slim LiteOn 16D4S with firmware 9504, 0225, 0401, 0272, 1071.
• Manual Drive Key Extraction: Manually obtaining your drive key through other means. It's recommended the use of a piece of software called Jungle Flasher which can extract drive keys from almost any Xbox 360 drive. You will need a way to connect the drive to your PC in order to use Jungle Flasher; often this will involve additional hardware. Please see the documentation accompanying Jungle Flasher for further information.

Automatic Drive Key Extraction

If your Xbox 360 uses a LiteOn 16D4S drive then you can take advantage of the automatic drive key extraction feature ‐ meaning there is no need prepare key.bin on your hard drive. All you need to do is have the Wasabi extract the key from your drive once, and then the key is saved to the Wasabi's onboard storage for future use. Each subsequent time you turn on your Xbox 360, the previously saved drive key will be automatically retrieved and used to load game ISO's. The procedure for automatic key extraction is simple:

• With your Xbox 360 powered off, hold down the LEFT button on the Wasabi control panel and power on your Xbox 360. Keep the button held down until you see output on your TV
• Once the Xbox 360 has booted to the dashboard, you can navigate to the "virtual ISO" menu system as you would normally do to select games, and view the result of the key extraction operation
• If the operation was successful (which should always be the case) then you should power off your Xbox 360. Your drive key is now saved to the Wasabi's onboard storage. Power the Xbox 360 back on to enjoy your game ISO's

Manual Drive Key Configuration

Once you have obtained the drive key for your Xbox 360, you should have a file called Key.bin which contains the 16‐byte key in binary format. If you have used Jungle Flasher to obtain your drive key, you can generate a Key.bin file by selecting the FirmwareTool 32 tab and then pressing the Save Drive Key button. The Key.bin file must be placed at a specific location on the hard drive you will connect to the Wasabi. In the root directory of your hard drive there should be a folder called wasabi; if this does not exist then create it. Place the Key.bin file inside the wasabi folder, so you end up with the file path X:\wasabi\Key.bin where X: is the drive letter for your external hard drive.

Hard Disk Drive

The Wasabi connects to external hard drives via an eSATA port. Any eSATA enclosure is supported, along with USB hard drives if you are making use of an eSATA ‐> USB adapter. The hard drive must be formatted with the NTFS file system. The Wasabi will only scan the root directory for ISO files (unless specified otherwise in wasabi.xml), so place all your game ISO’s in the root directory of your hard drive. The files must be named with a .ISO extension. As explained above, there must be a folder labelled "wasabi" in the root of your hard drive. This folder is where the firmware update, AP25 database, drive Key.bin (if applicable) and XML configuration file reside.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: When you connect your hard drive to your PC in order to copy files or otherwise modify its contents, ALWAYS remember to use the "safely remove hardware" feature of Windows (or for Linux/etc, properly un‐mount the mass‐storage device). Failure to do so may result in corruption on your hard drive!

Configuration XML File

Various advanced Wasabi settings are configurable via the wasabi.xml file. A copy of this file containing the default settings is included with each Wasabi firmware release. If you wish to customize any of the settings included in this configuration file, then you must edit the XML accordingly and then copy wasabi.xml to the wasabi folder on your hard drive (alongside ap25db.bin etc). Configurable items are as follows:

• automountLastIso ‐ Auto mount the last used ISO when booting the Xbox 360 (default: YES)
• displayLastIsoFirst ‐ Display the last used ISO at the top of the ISO selection list (default: YES)
• blockDashUpdates ‐ Block dash updates from running off a mounted ISO (if you wish to update your Xbox, this should be done from Live or a USB stick with Wasabi in pass‐through mode) (default: YES)
• isoFolder ‐ The path to the folder on your hard drive which holds ISO files (default: /)
• alwaysUseKeyBin ‐ Ignore any drive key stored in Wasabi 360's onboard flash and force the use of key.bin on the hard drive (default: NO)

AP25 Setup

AP25 is a Xbox 360 copy protection scheme affecting some of the more recent games, where the Xbox 360 tries to verify the presence of an original disc by querying data that is derived from the physical structure of the game disc. In order to use AP25 protected titles with the Wasabi, you must have a scan of the physical structure of the corresponding original game disc, hereafter known as the topology data. There are currently two sources for topology data: the ap25db.bin file included with the Wasabi firmware, and topology data embedded in iXtreme LT v3 ISO images. Inside the Wasabi firmware download archive is a file named ap25db.bin – place this file on your hard drive in the wasabi folder. This included database contains verified topology data for most current AP25 games. If you try to play a game for which the corresponding topology data is not found in the database, then the Wasabi will attempt to use topology embedded in the ISO itself. If the correct topology data is not found in the ISO either, then AP25 authentication will fail and you will be unable to play that game. If this happens then you will be returned to the Xbox dashboard with a disc read error message. The Wasabi has special protection in place so that if you experience such an AP25 authentication failure, your console will not be flagged for an Xbox Live ban.

Updating the Wasabi Firmware

The Wasabi ships from the factory without any firmware installed. Before you may use the device for the first time, you must perform the initial firmware installation. Download the latest firmware build from the post linked at the bottom of this page. Inside the archive will be a folder labelled wasabi, and within this folder there will be files labelled wasabi‐update.bin which contains the firmware update data, and ap25db.bin which contains the AP25 topology database. Copy the wasabi folder from the archive to the root directory of your Wasabi’s hard drive, so that you have the following file structure (where X: is the drive letter of your hard drive):

X:\wasabi\wasabi‐update.bin X:\wasabi\ap25db.bin

Make sure you overwrite any old wasabi‐update.bin and ap25db.bin files! Once you have copied the files into place, then you may install the update according to the following procedure:

• Power off your Xbox 360, and power on your hard drive.
• Ensure that pass‐through mode is selected, by placing the mode switch in the correct position – **THIS IS IMPORTANT**
• Hold down the SELECT button on the Wasabi control panel (the button by itself, away from the remaining buttons).
• While holding down the SELECT button, turn on your Xbox 360. A blue LED should start blinking on your Wasabi. This indicates that the update process is underway. **DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR XBOX 360 OR OTHERWISE DISCONNECT POWER FROM THE WASABI 360 ULTRA UNTIL THE UPDATE IS COMPLETE!**
• After a few moments, a green LED should turn on to indicate that the update was successful. If for any reason the update failed, a red LED will turn on instead. Please see the troubleshooting section for more information.
• Once the update has completed, as indicated by either a solid green or red LED, switch off your Xbox 360.
• You may now delete the wasabi‐update.bin file from your hard drive as it is no longer required.
• Select emulation mode by placing the mode switch in the correct position.

Providing you have correctly setup your drive key according to the directions above, your Wasabi is now ready to use. These same steps should be followed whenever you need to install a new firmware release in future.

NOTE: Currently, the Wasabi firmware supports hard drives larger than 2TB HOWEVER when it comes to installing firmware updates, the wasabi‐update.bin file must be stored on a hard drive smaller than 2TB.

Usage Overview

Two fundamental modes of operation are supported, pass‐through and emulation mode. The current mode is selected by the mode switch on the Wasabi. The mode of operation should only be changed while the Xbox 360 is powered off, do not toggle the switch while the Xbox 360 is powered on. See linked images for reference.

• Wasabi 360 Ultra SLIM:

• Wasabi 360 Ultra PHAT:

Please note the difference in the operation of the mode switch between Wasabi 360 Phat and Slim models.

Pass‐through Mode

In pass‐through mode, your original DVD-ROM is connected directly to the Xbox 360, with Wasabi effectively disabled. In this mode you can play original game discs, DVD movies, and safely sign in to Xbox Live to play games online (although it is possible to safely use the Wasabi 360 online in emulation mode – continue reading for more information).

Emulation Mode

In emulation mode, Wasabi is connected to your Xbox 360 and replaces your DVD-ROM. From this mode you can enjoy playing ISO’s directly from the attached hard drive. Wasabi supports two different types of on‐screen menu system, each with its own advantages and disadvantages:

• DVDMenu:
  • Skinnable, customizable
  • Several layouts to choose from
  • Supports displaying game icons
  • A‐Z jump buttons
  • Must be used in conjunction with PC‐side software to generate the menu

• ISO Menu:
  • Fast and efficient
  • Menu is automatically generated each time the Xbox 360 is turned on; no PC‐side software required

ISO Menu

TODO

Usage

TODO

Multi-Disc Usage

TODO

DVDMenu

DVDMenu is a skinnable and fully customizable graphical alternative to the standard ISO menu system. It works by generating a graphical menu system as a DVD movie, which you can then "play" using the Xbox 360 DVD player and then navigate the menu in order to select your desired ISO. The menu is broken down into several pages, each with previous/next page navigation buttons and also 6 alphabetical navigation buttons so that you may jump to a specific page containing game names starting with a specific letter, in order to facilitate simple and direct navigation. Wasabi provided us with two themes, "Icons" and "List". The icons theme displays 4 ISO items per page, using the game icons embedded in each Xbox 360 ISO. The list theme displays 10 items per page, with no icons, for those who wish to enjoy quicker navigation.

It is not possible for Wasabi 360 Ultra to generate the DVDMenu data files in real‐time; rather a PC application must be used. This means that when you add or remove ISO files from your HDD, you must re‐run the DVDMenuTool in order to synchronize DVDMenu with the current contents of your hard drive.

Usage

To use the tool, ensure that you have DVDStyler installed and your Wasabi hard drive connected to your PC. Upon launching DVDMenuTool, select your Wasabi's hard drive, select the theme, and click Start. Once you have used the DVDMenu Tool PC application to generate the menu, re‐connect your hard drive to your Wasabi and power on your Xbox 360. At the dashboard main screen, select "Play DVD", which will launch the menu system.

Navigate the menu and select your desired ISO by pressing the A button. You will then be presented with a message saying "File selected. Stop DVD playback and eject to mount the selected file". At this stage you must "eject" Wasabi either by pressing the eject button on the front of the console, an Xbox 360 remote control, or using the controller to stop DVD playback, navigate back to the main dash screen where you can select Play DVD and then press Y to eject. At this point Wasabi will mount the selected ISO and after a few seconds the Xbox 360 will show that game as inserted in the same way it would with any regular game disc.

Should you wish to revert back to the ISO menu, set the disableDVDMenu property in wasabi.xml to 1.

Multi-Disc Usage

If you are playing a multi‐disc title and need to change ISO’s without leaving the game, this can be achieved in a similar way to the method explained above for ISO Menu. The only difference to the procedure is that you must hold down the RIGHT button on the Wasabi control panel whilst you press Eject on your Xbox 360.

FAQ

Q: Is there a way to check the software/hardware version of my Wasabi?

A: Turn on the Xbox 360 while holding the UP button on the Wasabi control interface, and then navigate to the menu system. Instead of displaying the list of ISO’s, the version information for your Wasabi will be displayed. To leave this mode and revert back to normal operation, simply cycle power on your Xbox 360 and do not hold down any buttons upon the next power up.

Q: Do I need a working original DVD-ROM in order to use Wasabi?

A: According to the Wasabi documentation you do need a working drive. However, damaged drives have reportedly been used with no issue, so long as the chipset is okay.

Troubleshooting

There are several situations which will result in the Wasabi displaying an error message instead of the ISO list when you navigate to Video Library in order to display the menu system. These error messages are explained below:

• ERROR: NTFS cluster size is not 4kb – non‐standard cluster sizes are not supported, your hard drive must be formatted with NTFS using the standard 4kb cluster size.
• ERROR: HDD not NTFS formatted – the hard drive connected to your Wasabi MUST be formatted with NTFS. Other file system formats such as FAT32 are not supported (due to the fact that FAT32 cannot accommodate files larger than 4GB).
• ERROR: HDD not connected – a hard drive could not be detected. Check that the hard drive is properly connected to the Wasabi and reset the Xbox 360.
• ERROR: ODD not connected – the ODD connection could not be detected. The original (or spoofed as original) disc drive for your Xbox 360 must be connected as per the instructions in the installation manual. Check the connection and try again.
• ERROR: \wasabi\key.bin not found – the Key.bin file was not found on your hard drive. Ensure that your Key.bin file is placed on the hard drive according to the preceding instructions.

Other potential error conditions which do not involve such an error message include:

• If more recent games (using AP25 and/or XGD3) do not work, this is probably due to a conflict caused by custom firmware such as iXtreme installed on your DVD-ROM. Reverting your DVD-ROM back to its original firmware should resolve such issues.
• If the Wasabi is partially functional in emulation mode (it shows a list of ISO’s on your hard drive) but when you press eject nothing happens and/or in pass‐through mode you cannot eject the DVD-ROM, then you have installed the power cable incorrectly. The end of the power cable with the red and green wires must connect to the DVD-ROM and not the Xbox motherboard.
• If you get black screen, Exx error messages or generally intermittent failures then there is likely a problem with the cables (either SATA or power). Carefully disconnect all cables and re‐set them. Test your Wasabi again before re‐assembling the Xbox 360.

There are several error conditions that may occur while attempting to update the firmware and are indicated by the state of the LED’s under the buttons on the Wasabi control panel, as follows:

• Red + white flashing – a hard drive could not be detected.
• Red + blue flashing – wasabi‐update.bin could not be found on the hard drive.
• Red flashing – wasabi‐update.bin is corrupt. Please try copying again and make sure you "safely remove hardware".