Which method is good for reverse engineering?

reverse engineering

does any one know any good methods for reverse engineering.
its part of a project i am undertaking, and i have to reverse engineer it.
and then re do it.

Re: reverse engineering

If it is software written in C that you want to reverse engineer you can use an application EasyCase that will convert C code into Nassi Shneiderman diagrams

Re: reverse engineering

no it is not a software project,its all hardware orientated.

reverse engineering

http://www.reverse-engineering.net/

reverse engineering

if it's a board, then get the datasheets for every interesting chip and begin tracing the paths with a multimeter. it's tedious but that's how it's done. if it's an IC - heh that's a different story altogether.

Re: reverse engineering

Reverse Engineering involves mind-numbing time and thorough analysis. If it involves a certain product then you must consider the mechanical, electrical, firmware and software aspect of it. Mechanical involves tearing down the product as much as possible piece by piece up to its parts. Usually it involves weighing each part, measuring its sizes and dimensions, identifying the material used and then estimating the cost. Electricals focus on the PCBs used on the product. Usually electrical engineers create BOM which at least list all the major components on the board such as ASICs (Analog and Digital), memories (SDRAMs, SRAMs, Serial Flash), NVRAMs, Microcontrollers, AFEs and controllers, sensors and discrete components such as electrolytic caps, inductors, cables (FFCs, etc)and connectors and switches which are visibly obvious. Its not important to trace the connections on the board. Experienced engineers create schematic of the board based from the major components listed above and the function of the product. To estimate the cost of the ASICs, x-rays can be done and then counting the number of transistors inside. Reversing the firmware is very difficult but it can be done and it consumes too much time. But as long as the hardware part has been known already, then firmware can be created based on how the hardware should run. Reverse Engineering should be done as not to upset IPs (Intellectual Property)... =o)

Re: reverse engineering

yoh!..its good to have all the datasheets around, and its good to have the multimeter lying around to do the tracing and stuffs. But mind u, these alone are not enuff to reverse engineer. Fundamentals my friend, the key element to success. I mean that is what i think. Oh, experience is rather a bonus i say..

Re: reverse engineering

i know its not enough but at least you can have an idea of what would it be. you cannot perfectly reversed engineer a certain product but at least you can create a duplicate of it that somehow in someway it operates almost the same...