LG GS40N

[biscuit]

I am trying to use MakeMKV with this drive (LG GS40N) and getting very poor read speeds from DVDs, and have a similar problem when ripping flac files from audio CDs. In both cases the rate is limited to ~2x base speed. Reading from data cds runs at the expected rate (e.g. about 20x for CDs).

The problem is apparently due to the LG 'silent play' feature. The problem is more or less the same as the one described here. . I have been unable to turn off this feature directly - there is some suggestion via google to disable it via Win 7, but I tried this within a VM with no success. There are no obvious BIOS settings, hdparm options or any other utilities that seem to work.

I can't get Libredrive info to show for this drive (running through a docker container on unraid). However, I can see in the MakeMKV logs that the SDF files were downloaded successfully and the message

No SDF v05c: HL-DT-ST_DVDRAM_GS40N_1.01

, followed on the same line by what I assume is the firmware release date and drive serial number.

I am unable to locate any copy of the drive firmware online, with all LG site links dead. I tried contacting LG directly to see if they offer a means to turn off this feature, and was told to pound sand (paraphrasing).

I could maybe try dumping the firmware from the drive if that helps, but have not done so yet.

Is there any hope for this drive, or should I be returning it for something else?