arfows Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 I have a couple of extra 500GB HDs laying around and wanted to upgrade the XBOX HD. I have the SATA to IDE adapters and the 80 wire cable, but since I would like to put some XBOX games and emulators on there, I'm trying to minimize the file space taken up by XBOX games. When it comes to maximizing storage efficiency of XBOX games I have a couple of questions: 1) In researching this topic i have heard of a bunch of terms (ISO, XISO, redump, CCI, xiso redump, (HDD ready - is HDD ready a particular format or is it a generic term for games that can be played from the hard drive), other names etc) ...but i'm not sure exactly how they all relate or which is the most size efficient for either of my A) Cerbios TSOP or B) softmodded 1.6. What is the file size hierarchy of the various formats, is it from largest to smallest: redump > iso > xiso > CCI? Is there any I'm missing in there (still not sure if HDD ready would be included in there or if its a generic term for a ripped game). When DVD2XBOX rips a game, what file format is that considered? Right now I have folders that have the games in it, for example, Star Wars KOTOR II 19,256 files at 3.81 GB, Call of Duty 3 517 files at 3.3GB, and Burnout 3 Takedown 715 files at 1.98GB. From what i gather these have been trimmed already since they aren't a full 7-8GB, what file format would they be considered? Assuming CCI is the smallest file size per game, would I save much space converting them to CCI to be used in the XBOX that is Cerbios flashed? I understand that there are a few games that can't be compressed without issues but I don't have the full library anyway so if a couple don't work, so be it. 2) If a drive is a soft modded unleashX drive that for some reason has 220GB on the F partition and the rest on G partition and both partitions have Games on them, and i try to resize the partitions to put it all on the F partition, I will lose all the games/data on the G partition correct? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dempsey_86 Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 HDD Ready is a term used by the community, its nothing else than the game in a folder with all loose files. The name comes from the past when there was released a pack called "hdd ready pack for og xbox" to download. Then you have the other terms: Redump: a full raw copy of the dvd disc, the xbox will not play it in this state, it needs to be at least converted to xiso. This file is the start point to create a good rip. Stay away from pre ripped packs like the hdd ready pack. Xiso: This is a redump with the video partition removed so its playable. Xiso also keeps the original dvd structure intact for the best compatibility. These xiso files are created with repackinator extracted-Xiso: These are also xiso files but they are build using another process. Where the xiso build by repackinator keeps the original structure, with this kind of xiso the dvd structure is deleted. Because of this the compatibility is a little bit less for some games but has most of the time smaller files than xiso by repackinator. A tool to buid these is extract-xiso CCI: These are Compressed Cerbios Images. They are just compressed Xiso build by repackinator. Here the original structure is also intact. With some games there is a penalty in loading times. HDD ready: These are like said before loose files in folders, these games are patched by dvd2xbox to be able to play. There are lots of games that are not running as hdd ready. You can find the cerbios compatibility lists here 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfows Posted April 3 Author Report Share Posted April 3 (edited) Great info, thanks! So as I understand it basically what i currently have is HDD ready files. In general, comparing the three games I referenced in my OP to the file sizes shown on the compatibility list you graciously provided, it looks like xiso files save roughly 20-30% space but the CCI files are roughly the same size as the HDD ready (aka larger than the xisos). To make sure that wasn't an anomaly I randomly checked 10 other games and it held true 8 out of 10 times. If CCI are compressed ISO, I must not be understanding something as that is confusing. HDD ready can't be compressed or repackaged into an xiso since that is completely different, correct? if so, I would have to find corresponding iso's or extracted iso's for each of the games and then create CCIs from that to realize any storage efficiency? Edited April 3 by arfows clarity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dempsey_86 Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 Yes, you have hdd ready files. extracted-Xiso, cci and hdd ready games are more or less the same in file size. Xiso made by repackinator are bigger most of the time (mind in the list I linked, the xiso files are splitted in 2 files). You can make extracted-xiso's from hdd ready files, but this is not recommended because if you rip a disc with dvd2xbox then this program adds patches to the game. These patches can give problems with insignia (xbox live). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfows Posted April 3 Author Report Share Posted April 3 Oh the iso split into two files makes sense. I was wondering why there were two listed per game. Then it doesn’t appear to have much benefit to go iso/cci unless it is used with insignia or there is a problem with an HDD ready rip. If that’s the case is there a known complete list of games that need an iso due to Hdd ready not working properly and/or insignia issues? I’ve seen some partial ones but nothing comprehensive. I guess one benefit for iso/cci could be that the reduced file count/large couple of files in an iso/cci may make the ftp faster. side question, does GLO mean “global” (as in universal compatible region) in the region on the compatibility list? and finally does anyone have any insight into question 2 about data viability if a drive is repartitioned? Thanks again, this is all great info that is much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostyMaGee Posted April 3 Report Share Posted April 3 44 minutes ago, arfows said: Oh the iso split into two files makes sense. I was wondering why there were two listed per game. Then it doesn’t appear to have much benefit to go iso/cci unless it is used with insignia or there is a problem with an HDD ready rip. If that’s the case is there a known complete list of games that need an iso due to Hdd ready not working properly and/or insignia issues? I’ve seen some partial ones but nothing comprehensive. I guess one benefit for iso/cci could be that the reduced file count/large couple of files in an iso/cci may make the ftp faster. side question, does GLO mean “global” (as in universal compatible region) in the region on the compatibility list? and finally does anyone have any insight into question 2 about data viability if a drive is repartitioned? Thanks again, this is all great info that is much appreciated! If I recall correctly dvd2xbox will split the rip, if you’re ripping to an iso rather than files, in to two separate ISOs if it exceeds 4gb due to the single file size limitations of fatx. If the game is less than that it’s just a single file. If it didn’t (or like when you create an xiso that’s larger than 4gb) when you tried to ftp that single file to an Xbox it crashes the transfer or continually errors out once that 4gb limit is exceeded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dempsey_86 Posted April 4 Report Share Posted April 4 4 hours ago, arfows said: I guess one benefit for iso/cci could be that the reduced file count/large couple of files in an iso/cci may make the ftp faster. If you are building a hdd with games, it's better to build the hdd on a pc. FTP will take ages. There is a program called FATXplorer Beta for pc that can read and write FATX partitioned hdd's. Here you can find a tutorial to build a hdd for ogxbox with FATXplorer beta. 4 hours ago, arfows said: side question, does GLO mean “global” (as in universal compatible region) in the region on the compatibility list? Yes 4 hours ago, arfows said: and finally does anyone have any insight into question 2 about data viability if a drive is repartitioned? If you repartition a xbox hdd you lose everything on the drive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfows Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Thanks, great info!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikeymikey Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 On 4/3/2024 at 9:49 PM, arfows said: Oh the iso split into two files makes sense. I was wondering why there were two listed per game. Then it doesn’t appear to have much benefit to go iso/cci unless it is used with insignia or there is a problem with an HDD ready rip. If that’s the case is there a known complete list of games that need an iso due to Hdd ready not working properly and/or insignia issues? I’ve seen some partial ones but nothing comprehensive. I guess one benefit for iso/cci could be that the reduced file count/large couple of files in an iso/cci may make the ftp faster. side question, does GLO mean “global” (as in universal compatible region) in the region on the compatibility list? and finally does anyone have any insight into question 2 about data viability if a drive is repartitioned? Thanks again, this is all great info that is much appreciated! The big benefit with using ISO/CCI is that it is just 1 or 2 files on the HDD. When you have an extracted game you have potentially 100's or 1000's of files, these files can sometimes be just a few kb in size. The issue with this is down to the cluster size used on the HDD. Its very likely that many of these files are smaller than the size of the HDD cluster. Therefore each small file will take up 1 cluster each, which when you have a lot of games can result in a lot of wasted space. Some games are better optimised than others and will not have this issue, but there are many that do. There are also a few games that will not run form an extracted rip due to filenames being to long, these normally need to be patched (not all can be) and running them from an ISO/CCI just works straight up without any issues or patching required. I recently swapped all my consoles over form extracted rips to CCI files (minus the handful that have compatibility issues) and have not looked back since. This topic here goes into the HDD cluster size thing in a bit more detail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfows Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Thanks for the great info Nikey...I have a couple of isos and I'll have to compare them to the HDD games. Read the thread you linked, thanks for sharing. Your example of Emustation being a huge offender is also well received. Even though the 32kb clusters for my size HD means I won't see near the same amount of wasted space from what you are experiencing it does make me rethink my plans as I was going to include ALL the artwork: boxart, 3d, screenshots, title, carts, etc so that people could swap back and forth about what previews are shown on the game selection screen if they so chose - but now I'm re-evaluating that -- wonder how much space the artwork takes up, synopsis txt files as well, especially for the NES with over 1000 games...and using a PC to look at folder size doesn't mimic that because they are NTFS based and so cluster size they use is different? Meaning the only way i would know in advance of the end result of the size on disk on the XBOXwill be is to format a Hard Drive connected to the PC in FatX format and then dump the games/artwork in there? I've got a spare 120GB that's fairly free I could use to test if that is the case. How many emulators/artwork did you have loaded that resulted in 53GB of wasted space? Again, with a smaller drive I won't see that much but I may be able to squeeze a couple more xbox games in there if I cut out some of the art and its dead space. This is great info that I looked at before and started to work on but didn't get too deep into it. If I find my previous work I'll post the results on here. Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikeymikey Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 Use FatXplorer on a PC and you can view the HDD in windows explorer just like any other drive. Then you will be able to see the space wasted. You will need to use a USB adapter of some sort unless you have a spare SATA port on your motherboard. FatXplorer is the SINGLE best PC based Xbox utility created in the last 20 years imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfows Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 (edited) Awesome, will do. I just unplug my DVD drive and use that port. thanks!! Edited April 7 by arfows Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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