First things first: ================== I (whacker) DID NOT MAKE THIS PROGRAM! This is a simple code-addition/replacement to the original Compaq/Hitachi GD-3000/GD-5000 RPC1 Program Hacker By Hunter & XVI & whoever discovered the trick originally. (C) Hunter 2000. XVI provided me with the needed info, i just put it all together, that's it. You may consider me as the 'current maintainer' ;-) This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. (Get the license from GPL.TXT within this archive) WARNINGS: ======== THIS PROGRAM IS NOT MADE NOR APPROVED BY HITACHI OR COMPAQ. Hitachi is a registered trademark of Hitachi America, Ltd. Compaq is a registered trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation. THIS PROGRAM SHOULD NOT BE USED BY NOVICE USERS. MISUSE MAY CAUSE YOUR DRIVE(S) TO FAIL, POSSIBLY PERMANENTLY. THE AUTHOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT OCCURS THROUGH THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. NO WARRANTY: SEE FULL LICENSE AGREEMENT. How it works? ============= At first, this program needs Windows 98,SE,ME,2000,XP to work. You will also need to have a PROPERLY installed ASPI layer. If you don't know how to check this, you may want to visit Adaptec's webpage (www.adaptec.com) and look for a program called 'checkaspi' In the same site you will be able to find the ASPI installer which will install the ASPI layer to your computer (both files are less than 300k). Another way to do it is to locate a program called 'ForceASPI' on the net. It does the same job. Installation. ============= Unzip, place it wherever you like, point & double-click on it's icon and then *IF* your drive is in the compatibility list, you will be able to choose the next region your drive will be reseted to. Then click on the HACK button. Then click OK to the next window as soon as you first read everything it's written on it. There you go! Region Counter was settled to the desired Region, and you have 4 more times left... What drives are on the list? =========================== The following drives are on the support list: HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-7000 HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-7500 HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-8000 COMPAQ DVD-ROM GD-8000 HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-S200 HITACHI DVD-ROM GD-S250 HL-DT-STDVD-ROM GDR8160B COMPAQ DVD-ROM GDR8160B HL-DT-STDVD-ROM GDR8081N HL-DT-STRW/DVD GCC-4080N Compaq DVD-ROM GDR8081N NOTE: As of today (August 3, 2002) I have removed support for ==== the HL-DT-STRW/DVD GCC-4240N DVD. It seems that it doesn't operate with the current ASPI command that the other drives do. We are working on a solution regarding this, maybe a new utility that supports this and the future DVD models that LG & Hitachi manufacture... MINIFAQ ======= NOTE 1: This program WILL NOT WORK with Ahead's Nero Wnaspi32.dll. ====== ------------- NOTE 2: I will NOT reply to emails that will say that Microsoft ====== doesn't support the ASPI layer under Win2000/WinXP. The program was developed under such platforms and works like a dream WITH the ASPI layer installed. If you don't want to take any risks, just delete this file and try something else to reset your drive's counter. NOTE 3: WinXP and Hitachihack ====== Many people have been asking me about this so I guess I had to make a post about it at farzeno's forum. I am posting it here as well: If your drive IS on the support list (read above) and you cannot reset it, it's because you simply don't have ASPI layer installed properly (or at all). The only way to do this (and I am tired to say it over and over) is to locate 'FORCEASPI 1.7' on the net and unpack it. Then run a) killaspi.bat and b) instaspi.bat - reboot and you're all set. In some cases this might not work though (it usually happens to some 'custom made' windows versions shipped with certain laptops and/or desktops) The only way there is to locate the ASPI files (they are 4 in total) and remove them manually. Then install the ASPI again. All the above have a meaning, more to win2k/winXP users, as the win9x platform is coming with ASPI layer installed. In the case that you have ASPI installed and you tried the utility with your Compaq GD-8000 DVD and the HACK button isn't enabled (that means your drive isn't on the support list) please email me with a screenshot of the Hitachi Hack window. (Most possible you have a different identification string version than what Hitachi Hack supports - It's no problem, I can add this drive as well...) That's all... NOTE 4: 'Unable to create list of devices' error ====== It's simply the case of a mixed ASPI layer - ie, you have some files from 4.6 and some from 4.7 version. Refer to the above statement to solve the problem with ForceASPI 1.7 Source code =========== I will provide the source code here too, as it's the way i found this program and thus respect the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE. Please do the same if you decide to do a similar thing in the future. Eventhough, despite the GNU license, the source files of the program are coming ENCRYPTED within the same archive. I will not change the way the ORIGINAL author(s) wanted the archive distributed, whatsoever. Please do not email me about this with arguments on this matter, they will be ignored. (Original author's message) '...The source code is in SOURCE.ZIP, but it is encrypted. The code is potentially dangerous, and I don't want unqualified people messing with it. The password to he ZIP is the 4 letter word, in caps, that is the S in "ASPI"...' =================================================================== IMPORTANT NOTICE =================================================================== I will hereby have to state something that's pretty obvious. This is not a personal work, but instead a unified attempt of many people to make this program useful to anybody who may need it. PLEASE: *DO NOT USE IT* if you don't accept all the above statements or you don't want to take any risks of ruining your drive. You *REALLY* don't have to. Also, i will not alter, in any way, *EVER* the way the original author wanted the source code to be distributed. So, DO NOT email me about it, your email is gonna be ignored. Thanks for spending your time reading all this. =================================================================== Updates ======= If i have the time needed i will update this program in the future. You will be finding it at : 1. http://www.gameland.gr 2. http://www.cdrinfo.com 3. http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/ =========================== Whacker, August 3, 2002. ===========================