Archgon MD-8107-U3 absolutely not flashable - New Revision?

[DonDonkey]

Hi Folks,
thanks in advance for helping or giving a hint.
I already have an archgon Drive bought last year which came with firmware 1.02 preinstalled.
i flashed it with SDFTool to Version 1.04 from the mk-firmware-pack-20200720.
Works like a charm.

Now i bought a second drive from the same reseller. It also comes with Version 1.02 preinstalled. The only difference i can see is that it uses another cable. it now has a usb-c port. My old one has this weird wide micro usb for usb 3.

Anyway.
There is no chance to flash this thing. I tried the terminal version for mac. Leawo trial told me it cant read the firmware: ERR_100113
SDFTool does absolutely nothing. i cant even dump the firmware.
Same with Asus ODD FW Changer. -> Updating Failure #1

I also ordered a second (third) one but no difference. Saving Blurays is no problem. The Drive works. But i just cant flash it. So no UHD's. Also tried the 1.03 from MartyMcNuts - same.

Please tell me im a Moron and did something wrong.

[d00zah]

...
Please tell me im a Moron and did something wrong.

It's a tempting invitation, but this seems to be a special case. I'm thinkin' there may be 'surgery' involved?

The guide says:

USB enclosures/sata adapters that work with optical drives but don't support flashing:

archgon md-8107s-u3-uhd

[blind-s33r]

The Enclosure is currently unable to be flashed from, but if you want to, you can remove the drive from the enclosure (screws under back two pads) and place it in the old drives one and flash it from there, I just did that on one I just got and it works nicely. I appreciate the usb c port so much more than those old usb3.0 ports...

[pb-rad]

Not meaning to necro this post, but I recently bought this same drive. MakeMKV info below.

Drive Information
OS device name: G:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.02
Serial number: MO1P55K0230
Firmware date: 2120-12-01 17:16
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 72

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Harware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.02
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)

No disc inserted

I tried the SDFtool Flasher to flash the drive. After clicking Start, it just freezes for several minutes. There is no status change other than it saying Ready... where I assume is a progress bar. The drive I have also has the USB-C connector. Is it correct to assume this is the same issue due to the USB-C adapter not allowing the firmware to be flashed? Just wanted to confirm before removing the cover and proceeding further with connecting it a different way.

[MartyMcNuts]

Not meaning to necro this post, but I recently bought this same drive. MakeMKV info below.

Drive Information
OS device name: G:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.02
Serial number: MO1P55K0230
Firmware date: 2120-12-01 17:16
Bus encryption flags: 1F
Highest AACS version: 72

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Harware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.02
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)

No disc inserted

I tried the SDFtool Flasher to flash the drive. After clicking Start, it just freezes for several minutes. There is no status change other than it saying Ready... where I assume is a progress bar. The drive I have also has the USB-C connector. Is it correct to assume this is the same issue due to the USB-C adapter not allowing the firmware to be flashed? Just wanted to confirm before removing the cover and proceeding further with connecting it a different way.

The drive must be removed from the enclosure to flash. Apparently for libredrive/UHD readability it must also be used out of the enclosure.

[Billycar11]

The drive must be removed from the enclosure to flash. Apparently for libredrive/UHD readability it must also be used out of the enclosure.

the fact they did this on purpose is just shows how much they hate their customers
the us supplier for these was calling our fw illegal lol they were defiantly pushing for this
its like calm down man its like an old os people have a choice what they want to run
they are probably so happy now that they get so many more returns
and in the end i think mike can work around it

[pb-rad]

I've been thinking about posting a separate DIY topic on this particular drive since I see a few posts already on it.

I opened up the case and took a good look at it. It is a standard laptop drive, but we already knew that.

I have an older Coolermaster Elite 120 Mini ITX case that has 1 5.25" drive slot that had an older CD/DVD drive in it. I plan to put this adapter in it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004O9T5GS

And use this cable to convert from that 13 pin connector to a standard PC SATA connector.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009JXKQ9O

Total cost is around $35 to make that external drive into an internal drive. This is of course for those who still have computer cases that have 5.25" drive bays.