+## Candidate21 Linux Xbox DMI boundary correction
+
+Candidate20 proved the complete Linux GDR-8050L Xbox command and data path:
+direct SG_IO challenge delivery, both game-view transitions, XDVDFS metadata,
+drive-captured game lead-in, partial GAME-XDVDFS output, controlled
+cancellation, hashes, native reporting, and STOP UNIT.
+
+Candidate21 preserves that exact Windows-sequence control flow and SG_IO
+handshake. It corrects one remaining MMC boundary: standard READ DVD STRUCTURE
+uses CDB byte 7 for the Format field. Candidate20 incorrectly wrote the format
+to byte 11 (Control), so DMI format `0x04` was not captured and the media ID
+remained empty.
+
+Candidate21 also adds persistent PFI/DMI capture diagnostics and a source
+contract that compares the portable request against the proven copied Windows
+`GetMediaID()` request.
+
+The generic Xbox path still contains no RecoveryKick, generic media-auth kick,
+or synthetic LBA-zero recovery sequence.
+
+Linux vendor-command work continues to require a normal-user process with
+`cap_sys_rawio=ep` on the exact validated executable. Rebuilding or replacing
+the executable clears that capability.
+
+See [`docs/LINUX.md`](docs/LINUX.md) before Linux hardware use.
+
+## Candidate11 Linux Xbox parity baseline
+
+Candidate11 begins the Linux parity campaign without replacing the validated
+Windows/MSVC GDR-8050L path. The Windows copied-reference implementation remains
+unchanged for challenge drives. Linux now uses the existing portable MMC/Xbox
+dump path with a shared XDFS/XBE metadata reader, XBE-derived default filenames,
+exact native-report result handoff, partial/full hashes, and consistent Xbox
+title, media ID, and region reporting.
+
+Candidate11 subsequently completed real Linux GameCube validation on a
+GCC-4244 B101, including an exact full-dump hash match. Candidate12 retains that
+transport and dump behavior while correcting resource discovery and evidence
+wording. The development-only XGD1 layout and raw-ID probes remain separate from
+ordinary Linux ISO/XISO user paths.
+