Attempting to flash in macOS

Discussion of LibreDrive mode, compatible drives and firmwares
Billycar11
Posts: 3766
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:49 am

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by Billycar11 »

dash16 wrote:
Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:22 am


I've got the drive connected via a VanTec CB-ST00U3, which apparently won't work for firmware flashing in Windows but I figured I'd try my luck in macOS,
What adapters won't work in windows for flashing won't work in mac os thats why I have that stuff posted.
Buy a UHD drive from the guide and how to video maker: https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 20&t=17831
UHD Drives Guide: https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 16&t=19634
Auto flash kit $25 Email me for one Billycar5924@gmail.com
o-ver
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 3:21 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by o-ver »

dash16 wrote:
Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:22 am
I'm considering lugging out an old PC and getting that up and running for a direct SATA connection to the drive simply to firmware flash, but before I tear apart my garage looking for all that mess I figured I'd see if I'm missing something dumb first.
Sorry, I forgot o mention: Flashing did not work with two adaptors laying around. I ordered a USB3.0B-to-USB-C-Cable to flash succesfully direct connected to my MBP!
j_dot
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2020 12:01 am

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by j_dot »

Apologies for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to post a full set of instructions for someone looking to flash a drive on MacOS X:

Start by navigating to the MakeMKV application

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cd /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS
Get the latest SDF file; write it to the local directory (you can also write it to your home directory or someplace more convenient)

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curl -O "https://makemkv.com/sdf.bin"
Find the drive identifiers

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./makemkvcon f --list
Look for your drive. You should see something like this (in this example, I have two drives attached, each with a disc in; as the first post in the thread points out, though, the /dev/rdisk* won't work):

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Found 2 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/65961856, /dev/rdisk2, /dev/rdisk2
  PIONEER_BD-RW___BDR-212U_1.00_SFDL000221WL

01: /IOBDServices/C01417F1, /dev/rdisk5, /dev/rdisk5
  HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS60_1.03_212005081010_KLFK7LA5541
I was looking to flash the WH16NS60, and I had downloaded the latest MK firmware pack, so:

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./makemkvcon f -d /IOBDServices/C01417F1 -f sdf.bin rawflash main,enc -i ~/Downloads/mk-firmware-pack-20200720/MK/HL-DT-ST/WH16NS60/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.03-NM00600-212005081010.bin
Note that I needed to use enc because the 1.03 firmware is encrypted; leave that off if your current firmware is unencrypted.

After doing this, and turning my drive off and on just in case, I was able to rip from a UHD disc. (And, for faster reads: https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=93341 )
pmhCH
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2019 8:46 am

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by pmhCH »

Thanks for this fine "how-to-do" ;)

My problem is only, that my drive is not in the patch list, even if is has the status "possible, not yet enabled" in makemkv:
drivejpg.jpg
drivejpg.jpg (80.32 KiB) Viewed 30432 times
Can anybody help me here? ;)
Samsung 78" (still with 3D), ATV 4k (64Gb) running Infuse, Hue Sync + Sonos "5.1"
Coopervid
Posts: 1145
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:32 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by Coopervid »

Your drive can not be made UHD compatible. Those must be based on the MT1959 chip.
pmhCH
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2019 8:46 am

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by pmhCH »

Yes, just saw MIke's post about those Samsung drives and mine seems not supported and probably never will be:
drive2.jpg
drive2.jpg (116.91 KiB) Viewed 30428 times
So one wonders why it still says "Possible, not yet enabled" in makemkv...
Samsung 78" (still with 3D), ATV 4k (64Gb) running Infuse, Hue Sync + Sonos "5.1"
MartyMcNuts
Posts: 2460
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by MartyMcNuts »

pmhCH wrote:
Sat Oct 10, 2020 11:43 am
Yes, just saw MIke's post about those Samsung drives and mine seems not supported and probably never will be:

drive2.jpg

So one wonders why it still says "Possible, not yet enabled" in makemkv...
It means that someday (now seems unlikely), your drive may support libredrive (but still, it will never be UHD capable!)
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://www.uhdenableddrives.com
aeharding
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2020 11:36 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by aeharding »

j_dot wrote:
Wed Oct 07, 2020 12:22 am
Apologies for bumping an old thread, but I wanted to post a full set of instructions for someone looking to flash a drive on MacOS X:
Just flashed my LG WH16NS40 on an m1 (arm-based) 2020 Mac Mini with Big Sur 11.1. Couldn't be easier. Cheers! :D
bachelorbob
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:42 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by bachelorbob »

o-ver wrote:
Thu May 28, 2020 5:03 pm
Extraction of sdf_0000006d.bin to my home directory
HOW did you extract sdf_0000006d.bin? I have sdf.bin. Replacing 'sdf_0000006d.bin' with 'sdf.bin' did not work.
bachelorbob
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:42 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by bachelorbob »

j_dot wrote:
Wed Oct 07, 2020 12:22 am

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./makemkvcon f -d /IOBDServices/C01417F1 -f sdf.bin rawflash main,enc -i ~/Downloads/mk-firmware-pack-20200720/MK/HL-DT-ST/WH16NS60/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.03-NM00600-212005081010.bin
Using this exact command line, except for my personal paths to files (e.g. '/Applications/MakeMKV/firmwares/DE_LG_BU40N_1.00.bin') and drive ID (e.g. '/IOBDServices/82D49293'), I get:

Unable to load sdf.bin
Internal error 0xffffffff


Does anyone have any idea why?!
dcoke22
Posts: 2560
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2020 11:25 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by dcoke22 »

You might try fully qualifying the path to sdf.bin on your system.

I assume you've read this: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23129
bachelorbob
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:42 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by bachelorbob »

bachelorbob wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 12:51 am
Does anyone have any idea why?!
I needed the full path to 'sdf.bin'

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/Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS/makemkvcon f -d /IOBDServices/82D49293 -f /Applications/MakeMKV/sdf.bin rawflash main,enc -i /Applications/MakeMKV/firmwares/DE_LG_BU40N_1.00.bin
Viola… I thought. Despite getting a result of:

Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
100% Operation finished
Operation started: Programming flash
100% Operation finished
Done successfully

…MakeMKV still shows a LibreDrive status of "Possible, not yet enabled"

Help?
Last edited by bachelorbob on Sat Jan 09, 2021 6:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bachelorbob
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:42 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by bachelorbob »

Got rid of the "enc" part of the command line. (My drive being quite new, I expected it to be firmware encrypted.)

Viola!

Screen Shot 2021-01-08 at 19.06.12.png
Screen Shot 2021-01-08 at 19.06.12.png (112.84 KiB) Viewed 24713 times

So, it *IS* possible to firmware flash on a Mac (OS X.13.6), without a virtual/boot camp Windows. For the record, my drive was an 'hp HLDS BDRE BU40N' with firmware BW42. It now considers itself an 'HL-DT-ST BD-RE BU40N' with firmware 1.00.

I am staying on FW 1.00 because I use DVDFab to do whole disc copies (.ISO). If anyone knows that DVDFab will work with a later firmware (1.03, 1.04), or a reason to use an MK firmware, please let me know.
bachelorbob
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:42 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by bachelorbob »

I also successfully flashed my BU40N on a MacBook Pro using this generic, low-quality, low-cost USB3 enclosure from AliExpress:

White-USB3-0-SATA-Optical-Drive-Case-Kit-External-Mobile-Enclosure-Blu-ray-Case-For-Notebook.jpg
White-USB3-0-SATA-Optical-Drive-Case-Kit-External-Mobile-Enclosure-Blu-ray-Case-For-Notebook.jpg (74.6 KiB) Viewed 24614 times
bachelorbob
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:42 pm

Re: Attempting to flash in macOS

Post by bachelorbob »

I have successfully copied (to an ISO image) the film '1917' from a UHD disc, using my MacBook Pro mid-2012, an external BU40N flashed to FW 1.00, and DVDFab 11.0.7.5. That said, I never attempted to extract a UHD under the stock FW of BW42. This was the first UHD I had in hand, and it arrived after I downgraded the firmware.
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