Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2025

[f.zst]

Hi guys,
Is one of these new Asus external drives UHD friendly? Can you use these to rip UHDs?

Asus BW-16D1H-U Pro
Asus BW-16D1X-U
Asus SBW-06D2X-U

[SlippyFist]

[edit] you can delete this post [/edit]

[SlippyFist]

second line.

is it possible to use the SDFtool flasher instead of the command line?

the SDF thread has this in it:

Code: Select all

For the moment, to flash the BP50NB40 SVC:NB52, using the latest SDFtool Flasher, follw the steps below:

1. Flash the drive to BP50NB40 (NB50) 1.03-MK.

Now for the crossflash:

2. Select the RECOVERY option and in the pop up, select the BP50NB40 (NB50) 1.03-MK firmware that you just flashed.
3. Select the BP60NB10 1.00-MK or BU40N 1.00 firmware in the normal drop box.
4. Click START

what is the difference between the WP40NB50 and the BP40NB50? I can't for the life of me find what is different between them. It seems like they use the same firmware upgrade path regardless of which one you get, but i want to make sure i'm not conflating 2 separate things.

There are no differences between the BP50NB40 and WP50NB40.

Yes you can use SDFTool Flasher if you are using 64 bit Windows 10 or 11. I recommend using the BU40N 1.00 firmware as it is compatible with all good ripping software. Just follow the instructions exactly and watch the gif a few times if needed.

I had a question about the "include boot loader" checkbox since it states on mouseover that it helps with the BP40NB50 drives flash, but the instructions didn't specify to check it nor was it checked in the gif, so i left it unchecked and went ahead with flashing it to BU40N 1.00.

It appears to be working as intended! I'm currently ripping my UHD Blu-ray of Ghost in the Shell, with its sequel and Akira next. Very excited!

Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this guide and the hundreds of pages of follow-ups!

Cheers!

[opamp]

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WP50NB40
Revision: 1.03
Firmware date: 2120-05-07 09:29
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 77

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes


So I went through using the guiflasher to flash a WP50NB40. I figured was successful since the libredrive information status is enabled. All that being said I can not get this drive to read any UHD discs. I have tried multiple different ones with no luck. It will read bluray and dvd just fine. Any suggestions on what I can do to troubleshoot as I feel like I followed the steps in that gif exactly.

[SlippyFist]

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WP50NB40
Revision: 1.03
Firmware date: 2120-05-07 09:29
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 77

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes


So I went through using the guiflasher to flash a WP50NB40. I figured was successful since the libredrive information status is enabled. All that being said I can not get this drive to read any UHD discs. I have tried multiple different ones with no luck. It will read bluray and dvd just fine. Any suggestions on what I can do to troubleshoot as I feel like I followed the steps in that gif exactly.

I'm not the expert answer guy, but i have that exact same drive and literally just went through this- i flashed mine earlier today with the SDFtool. right away i see that your Revision and Firmware version still say 1.03 (which i also had) which i don't think will read UHDs.

is the GUI flasher different than the SDFtool? i followed the exact steps in the thread for the SDFtool (including the animated gif) and mine works perfectly (still ripping Ghost in the Shell 2 as we speak lol)

[blind-s33r]

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WP50NB40
Revision: 1.03
Firmware date: 2120-05-07 09:29
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 77

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes


So I went through using the guiflasher to flash a WP50NB40. I figured was successful since the libredrive information status is enabled. All that being said I can not get this drive to read any UHD discs. I have tried multiple different ones with no luck. It will read bluray and dvd just fine. Any suggestions on what I can do to troubleshoot as I feel like I followed the steps in that gif exactly.

I'm not the expert answer guy, but i have that exact same drive and literally just went through this- i flashed mine earlier today with the SDFtool. right away i see that your Revision and Firmware version still say 1.03 (which i also had) which i don't think will read UHDs.

is the GUI flasher different than the SDFtool? i followed the exact steps in the thread for the SDFtool (including the animated gif) and mine works perfectly (still ripping Ghost in the Shell 2 as we speak lol)

The WP50NB40 is as far as I know basically the BP50NB40, which means you need to cross flash it to either BP60NB10 Firmware or BU40N firmware to enable uhd ripping... I personally crossflashed my bp50nb40s to bu40n firmware 1.00 myself but I'd wait for someone else to confirm.

[SlippyFist]

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WP50NB40
Revision: 1.03
Firmware date: 2120-05-07 09:29
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 77

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes


So I went through using the guiflasher to flash a WP50NB40. I figured was successful since the libredrive information status is enabled. All that being said I can not get this drive to read any UHD discs. I have tried multiple different ones with no luck. It will read bluray and dvd just fine. Any suggestions on what I can do to troubleshoot as I feel like I followed the steps in that gif exactly.

I'm not the expert answer guy, but i have that exact same drive and literally just went through this- i flashed mine earlier today with the SDFtool. right away i see that your Revision and Firmware version still say 1.03 (which i also had) which i don't think will read UHDs.

is the GUI flasher different than the SDFtool? i followed the exact steps in the thread for the SDFtool (including the animated gif) and mine works perfectly (still ripping Ghost in the Shell 2 as we speak lol)

The WP50NB40 is as far as I know basically the BP50NB40, which means you need to cross flash it to either BP60NB10 Firmware or BU40N firmware to enable uhd ripping... I personally crossflashed my bp50nb40s to bu40n firmware 1.00 myself but I'd wait for someone else to confirm.

yep i flashed mine to BU40N 1.00 myself earlier today; it's been working great! Just ripped my collector's edition redline blu-ray with it lol (not a UHD but i got it in the mail today lol; i did rip a few UHDs earlier though)

[MartyMcNuts]

is it possible to use the SDFtool flasher instead of the command line?

the SDF thread has this in it:

Code: Select all

For the moment, to flash the BP50NB40 SVC:NB52, using the latest SDFtool Flasher, follw the steps below:

1. Flash the drive to BP50NB40 (NB50) 1.03-MK.

Now for the crossflash:

2. Select the RECOVERY option and in the pop up, select the BP50NB40 (NB50) 1.03-MK firmware that you just flashed.
3. Select the BP60NB10 1.00-MK or BU40N 1.00 firmware in the normal drop box.
4. Click START

what is the difference between the WP40NB50 and the BP40NB50? I can't for the life of me find what is different between them. It seems like they use the same firmware upgrade path regardless of which one you get, but i want to make sure i'm not conflating 2 separate things.

There are no differences between the BP50NB40 and WP50NB40.

Yes you can use SDFTool Flasher if you are using 64 bit Windows 10 or 11. I recommend using the BU40N 1.00 firmware as it is compatible with all good ripping software. Just follow the instructions exactly and watch the gif a few times if needed.

I had a question about the "include boot loader" checkbox since it states on mouseover that it helps with the BP40NB50 drives flash, but the instructions didn't specify to check it nor was it checked in the gif, so i left it unchecked and went ahead with flashing it to BU40N 1.00.

It appears to be working as intended! I'm currently ripping my UHD Blu-ray of Ghost in the Shell, with its sequel and Akira next. Very excited!

Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this guide and the hundreds of pages of follow-ups!

Cheers!

No, the boot loader is not needed when following the SDFtool Flasher thread instructions and gif.

[MartyMcNuts]

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WP50NB40
Revision: 1.03
Firmware date: 2120-05-07 09:29
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 77

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.03
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes


So I went through using the guiflasher to flash a WP50NB40. I figured was successful since the libredrive information status is enabled. All that being said I can not get this drive to read any UHD discs. I have tried multiple different ones with no luck. It will read bluray and dvd just fine. Any suggestions on what I can do to troubleshoot as I feel like I followed the steps in that gif exactly.

No, you have only successfully completed the first flash (step 1 below). You now need to complete the cross-flash by using the recovery option. I recommend using the BU40N 1.00 firmware as it is compatible with all good ripping software. Continue from step 2. Just follow the instructions exactly and watch the gif a few times if needed. If you stil aren't sure, read the title of each file selection window.

1. Flash the drive to BP50NB40 (NB50) 1.03-MK.

Now for the crossflash:

2. Select the RECOVERY option and in the pop up window, select the WP50NB40 (NB50) 1.03-MK firmware that you just flashed and is currently on the drive.
3. Select the BP60NB10 1.00-MK or BU40N 1.00 firmware in the normal drop down selection box.
4. Click START