Asus BW-16D1HT Firmware Upgrade Assistance

[rblood01]

Hello,
Long time viewer, first time poster.
I was lucky, I think and found several re-furbished Asus Drives. BW-16D1HT.
Firmware 3.00, 3.02, 3.03 (if I understand what I am reading)
Currently have the v3.00 online in my computer (all internal)

BR Asus 3.00.png

BR Asus 3.02.png

I have another LG (should be compatible but running 3.10 I believe encrypted firmware tried the tool to downgrade but got errors. Could be on my end but I watched some you-tube videos to help) I have done some computer work, build my own computers etc. but this is a bit beyond me and I don't care about bricking these drives (about 25 dollars a pop) but, am afraid to do something without the blessing and / or directions of the experts here as these are getting about as hard to find as hen's teeth.

Please advise,
Tool, firmware advised for these to be upgraded .. if needed (note it appears as if the v3.00 works like a dream and is good to go if I read the capture correctly.)

I greatly appreciate the help given. Thank You,

[sandeepsebastin]

Hi rblood,

I am no expert and the advise is based on the info at the following link.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19634

I guess the title of your post should be Asus BW and not Asus B2.

Difficult to comment on the LG drive without knowing the model no. (LG WH16NS60, LG BU40N, LG WH14NS40, LG WH16NS40, or LG BH16NS55). In any case, the recommended firmware for LG drives is WH16NS60 1.02MK for all drives except the BU40N where the recommended firmware is BU40N 1.03MK. Am not sure how the LG is running firmware 3.10 which sounds like an ASUS firmware. Cross-flashing between ASUS and LG firmware is not recommended as it runs the risk of bricking the drive. The LG flasher tool and the firmwares can be downloaded from the following link (thanks to Billy Carr). A PC is required as the flasher tool is an .exe file

https://drive.google.com/file/d/102V7DU ... sp=sharing

Coming to your ASUS drive running 3.0 firmware, I would try to see if it reads UHD's and makemkv is able to copy it. If so, there may be no need to do anything. If it does not read UHD's or you have difficulty reading a number of UHD's it is recommended to upgrade the firmware to 3.10mk for maximum disc compatibility.

Download the modified ASUS FW Flasher + Downgrade Enabled Firmware + the latest MK firmware pack (20/07/2020) from this page (thanks to MartyMcNuts) and unzip the files. Then proceed to install the appropriate firmware.
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=18933

Good luck.

Cheers,
Sandeep

[rblood01]

You are correct with the BW not B2. Sorry, couldn't edit it after posting as it takes so much time for moderators to approve each post ( at least for me)

Your link to help with the Asus is what I needed.

Asus BW-16D1HT on any Firmware directly to > Asus BW-16D1HT 3.10MK

I have flashed 2 of my drives to this already as they were higher firmware with lots of the stuff turned off. I haven't flashed the last one with the 3.00 firmware as I don't know what I will lose if I do. I don't have the firmware to flash back to that and that was before the companies started to restrict things.

BR Asus 3.00.png

You are correct on my LG info. For that I apologize.

BD-RE WH16NS40 .png

I have read many guides and the latest firmware that I have seen was the 1.04. I have the 1.05 and it is quite a new drive. (Got it before I learned that the companies started to block firmware alterations)

WH16NS40 SVC CODE NS50 (Small).jpg

I am looking at the link you gave me and this specifically

How To Flash Videos and commands:

New Updated guide for all Drives and firmware including encrypted firmware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyQV1aPlbow
1. Open cmd as admin

2. Navigate to makemkvs install directory by default on 64 bit systems it is here: cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV"

3. If you have a listed encrypted firmware you must use this command: makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d “ your drive letter here Example: D”: rawflash enc -i “path to your firmware Example: C:\Users\Billy\Downloads\Downgrade-Enabled-Firmware\Auto-Flash\LG-Desktop-NS60-sleep-fix\WH16NS60-1.02-MK.bin”

4. If you have unencrypted firmware use this command: makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d “ your drive letter here Example: D”: rawflash -i “path to your firmware Example: C:\Users\Billy\Downloads\Downgrade-Enabled-Firmware\Auto-Flash\LG-Desktop-NS60-sleep-fix\WH16NS60-1.02-MK.bin”

5. Remove my examples and quotes ”” when you run the commands

Is this the correct direction I should try? I have tried the other flasher tools (I assume that work with unencrypted drives. ) and those didn't work on this drive.

Thank You.

[rblood01]

Second Post...
Thanks for the info on the Asus. Found the firmware and will likely update to 3.10 MK

With much work and struggle I was able to find the thread and info that contained the tools and firmware that I needed to flash my really new, encrypted, LG WH16NS40 drive to 1.05 MK.
Old

BD-RE WH16NS40 (Small).png

New Flashed:

BD-RE WH16NS40 Flashed to 1.05 MK.png

Firmware pack from here:
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=19113

The latest MK firmware pack is available for download at https://www.makemkv.com/download/mk-fir ... 200720.zip .

Download, extract it and then drill down to the file.
mk-Firmware-pack-20200720 > MK > WH16NS40-NS50 >HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS40-NS50-1.05-NM00900-212005061440.bin

Get the SDFtool Flasher
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22896

Here is the updated SDFtool flasher:

sdftool_flasher.zip
(20.67 KiB) Downloaded 10532 times

Extract. Place the MK file in the folder. AS I understand it .. run the "Read" option and create a dump. Then run the Write option to flash. Make sure you click on the enc little box on the far right side of the second entry where you are asked to select the firmware you want.

I believe my problem was I was trying to flash an different version (1.03, 1.02 etc) onto my drive. Flashing over the same version 1.05 in my case (just a couple of months old drive) works. The captures above show the change.

I am assuming that the previous advised firmware of 1.03 has changed due to the newly released firmware which covers 1.05 which I am using on two disk. One DVD and another StarwarsThe force Awakens Blu-ray. So far all seems to be good to go.

[sandeepsebastin]

Sounds good. Hope the disc ripping goes well.

May the force be with you.

Cheers,
Sandeep

[rblood01]

It is going pretty well. No problems so far. Only question I had was the advised version is 1.02 on his guide and the MK firmware (recently updated) has 1.05. I was able to find another source that has the 1.02 on that same guide. Flashed to 1.02 now However, I am still not 100% if this is the proper firmware for this model. For Asus it is quite clear to me (3.10 MK version)

Drive Information
OS device name: K:
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH16NS60
Revision: 1.02
Serial number:
Firmware date: 2118-10-29 19:36
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 50

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 1.02
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

I assume the "microcode access re-enabled" is the signal that I have installed an MK firmware for my device. Sorry for the stupid questions that might be common sense to most around here. I ask some stupid questions but fortunately, I do catch on reasonably quickly and in a supportive / good community, often stick around and try to help spread the knowledge.