SDFtool Flasher

[Teddyboy]

My first post here. I just bought a ASUS BW-161DHT drive and usb enclosure from Amazon. It took me longer to install the drive into the enclosure then to flash it with UHD friendly firmware. I simply picked the drive from the list then picked the firmware from the mk firmware folder, and I’m now ripping my first 4k disc with AnyDVD! I have a second drive I bought from a seller here on the board that’s on its way. I’m going to get more bare drives to speed up the ripping process and to have as spares. This was such a easy process to flash the drive.

I read the entire thread and the procedure to make sure I understood it. For me it was much easier then I initially thought it would be.

Thank you all so much!

[taigovinda]

I bought the LG WH16NS40 a few years ago and wanted to get another; found out my first one was 1.02 and this new one is 1.05; amazon reviews brought me here. (Side note, I paid for new and Amazon first shipped me a heavily used and very dusty 1.03 made three years ago, but I rejected that one...).

I've not had any 4k discs yet; the old one was working fine for me to rip my collection in MakeMKV. I first flashed the new one to current/1.05 with enc? checked; then flashed both of them to this MK version that you recommended: HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.02-NM00100-211810291936.bin

Thank you Mr McNutz!!!

Tai

PS - A couple of tips in case anyone makes the mistakes I did. I hate to admit it, but I killed an hour doing both before doing the correct process in 90 seconds.
1. Don't have a disc in the drive.
2. Don't have MakeMKV open.

[Ampera]

Hello, I'm presently trying to flash MK firmware to my BP60NB10 with this tool, for the purpose of enabling LibreDrive, but I'm running into problems.

I am using a Windows 10 VM running on QEMU, with USB device redirection through SPICE, on a Linux host. The drive can rip DVD's just fine using this setup, so it works at least that far. It is a brand new drive.

MakeMKV drive info is as follows:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: E:
Current profile: DVD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BP60NB10
Revision: 1.02
Serial number: SIK06KBRF0611
Firmware date: 2120-05-07 09:35
Bus encryption flags: 17

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)

I downloaded this tool, along with the MK firmware pack from https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 19&t=19113 and chose the file HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BP60NB10-1.02-NM00800-212005070935.bin from /MK/HL-DT-ST/BP60B10 within the extracted contents of the archive. I also chose the appropriate drive, and since this drive has encrypted firmware (as far as I know), I checked the enc? box.

Upon selecting START, an error message box is immediately product with content "Command produced error code 0x8f056103" along with a .NET exception with the following trace

Code: Select all

System.FormatException: Input string was not in a correct format.
   at System.Number.StringToNumber(String str, NumberStyles options, NumberBuffer& number, NumberFormatInfo info, Boolean parseDecimal)
   at System.Number.ParseInt32(String s, NumberStyles style, NumberFormatInfo info)
   at sdftool_flasher.Form1.<>c__DisplayClass36_0.<<button_START_Click>b__2>d.MoveNext()
--- End of stack trace from previous location where exception was thrown ---
   at System.Runtime.ExceptionServices.ExceptionDispatchInfo.Throw()

Continuing causes the program to remain in the state it was before I selected START.

What I have tried:
- Running the tool as administrator
- Ripping a DVD via MakeMKV to retrieve the SDF binfile, present within tape archive "_private_data" inside of .MakeMKV present within my home directory.
- The modified ASUS flashing tool, as the ultimate UHD Drives Flashing guide states to do for my drive here https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 16&t=19634
- Running the tool with a DVD in the drive
- Running the tool with no DVD in the drive
- Pressing START with enc? unchecked
- Using a different SPICE client to redirect the USB device to the VM (used Remote Viewer and Virt Manager)

What I have not tried:
- Using a real USB port on a real Windows 10 machine. While I do have Windows 10 machines, all of them are presently in storage and not hooked up, so I wanted to make sure there wasn't some other obvious problem with what I'm trying to do.
- Using linux native versions of the command line sdftool, as I'm under the impression the firmware needs to be encrypted first somehow.

As of now, the drive is still working perfectly fine, so I haven't bricked it or anything.

Any suggestions or help as to why it's not flashing would be greatly appreciated.

[MartyMcNuts]

Yeah, I don't think it works in a VM. Do you have .net framework 4.7.2 installed and MakeMKV version 1.15.1 or above?

I suggest either connect drive to a Win10 machine and flash that way or use the sdftool command line.

[Billycar11]

it can work on a VM but the drive needs to be fully passed through.
and most vms dont do that by default
its really not worth the effort just use a windows pc or learn the commands

[Ampera]

In the great universe of dumb coincidences, of course it was to happen that the moment I posted that reply, it should immediately work perfectly fine. I verified that there was no disc in the drive, and MakeMKV was closed, then it worked without any problems. I don't know why it didn't when I did that before, perhaps when I did it before, I hadn't yet gotten the SDF binfile.

At least take this to prove that SPICE/QEMU with Windows 10 is a working configuration for at least this USB drive.

[hotpocketdeath]

Thanks to all the people that make this possible.

I just got a new WH16NS60 from Amazon. Hooked it up to my USB to SATA adapter and ran the flash tool to update it to the 1.03MK Firmware. Checked the box for ENC and it flashed first try, no problem. It's currently ripping my first 4K disk as I type this.

[turok_t]

If you use AnyDVD at all, or plan on writing discs at all, then this is the best firmware for this drive. If you don't care about disc writing or using AnyDVD, then another firmware option is WH16NS60 1.02 MK. This firmware is a bit faster and removes the sleep bug.

Presumably, switching to the WH16NS60 firmware on the Asus drive is reversible if disc writing capability needs to be restored? I may drop it onto mine to see how it compares to 3.10.

Yes. I use NS60 1.00 on my BW16D1HT.

Hey Marty! Thanks so much for all your help and support on this forum! I spent 6 hours reading this forum, 5 minutes opening up and installing my new Asus BW-16D1HT and literally less than 1 minute to flash it to 3.10MK and it worked flawlessly! You are amazing.

I just have 3 questions if you don't mind, I saw from your quote (above) as well as from SamuriHL's quote (also above) and was just wondering:

1. Is it best to use WH16NS60 1.02 MK or WH16NS60 1.00 to remove the sleep bug? I'm not going to be burning or using AnyDVD, I'm simply just going to be using MakeMKV to rip UHD's. Which firmware is better?
2. Would there be any adverse effects to my Asus drive if I cross flash it to these LG firmwares to remove the sleep bug?
3. I currently flashed my Asus BW-16D1HT to 3.10MK using the SDFtool. Do I just simply use the SDFtool again, select either WH16NS60 1.02 MK or WH16NS60 1.00 to flash my drive to remove the sleep bug?

Thanks again for all your help!!

[MartyMcNuts]

If you use AnyDVD at all, or plan on writing discs at all, then this is the best firmware for this drive. If you don't care about disc writing or using AnyDVD, then another firmware option is WH16NS60 1.02 MK. This firmware is a bit faster and removes the sleep bug.

Presumably, switching to the WH16NS60 firmware on the Asus drive is reversible if disc writing capability needs to be restored? I may drop it onto mine to see how it compares to 3.10.

Yes. I use NS60 1.00 on my BW16D1HT.

Hey Marty! Thanks so much for all your help and support on this forum! I spent 6 hours reading this forum, 5 minutes opening up and installing my new Asus BW-16D1HT and literally less than 1 minute to flash it to 3.10MK and it worked flawlessly! You are amazing.

I just have 3 questions if you don't mind, I saw from your quote (above) as well as from SamuriHL's quote (also above) and was just wondering:

1. Is it best to use WH16NS60 1.02 MK or WH16NS60 1.00 to remove the sleep bug? I'm not going to be burning or using AnyDVD, I'm simply just going to be using MakeMKV to rip UHD's. Which firmware is better?
2. Would there be any adverse effects to my Asus drive if I cross flash it to these LG firmwares to remove the sleep bug?
3. I currently flashed my Asus BW-16D1HT to 3.10MK using the SDFtool. Do I just simply use the SDFtool again, select either WH16NS60 1.02 MK or WH16NS60 1.00 to flash my drive to remove the sleep bug?

Thanks again for all your help!!

1. Either. There's very little diff between them. Most people go 1.02-MK these days. 1.00 is good if you also use DVDFab.
2. No, it won't hurt your drive.
3. Yes.

[turok_t]

If you use AnyDVD at all, or plan on writing discs at all, then this is the best firmware for this drive. If you don't care about disc writing or using AnyDVD, then another firmware option is WH16NS60 1.02 MK. This firmware is a bit faster and removes the sleep bug.

Yes. I use NS60 1.00 on my BW16D1HT.

Hey Marty! Thanks so much for all your help and support on this forum! I spent 6 hours reading this forum, 5 minutes opening up and installing my new Asus BW-16D1HT and literally less than 1 minute to flash it to 3.10MK and it worked flawlessly! You are amazing.

I just have 3 questions if you don't mind, I saw from your quote (above) as well as from SamuriHL's quote (also above) and was just wondering:

1. Is it best to use WH16NS60 1.02 MK or WH16NS60 1.00 to remove the sleep bug? I'm not going to be burning or using AnyDVD, I'm simply just going to be using MakeMKV to rip UHD's. Which firmware is better?
2. Would there be any adverse effects to my Asus drive if I cross flash it to these LG firmwares to remove the sleep bug?
3. I currently flashed my Asus BW-16D1HT to 3.10MK using the SDFtool. Do I just simply use the SDFtool again, select either WH16NS60 1.02 MK or WH16NS60 1.00 to flash my drive to remove the sleep bug?

Thanks again for all your help!!

1. Either. There's very little diff between them. Most people go 1.02-MK these days. 1.00 is good if you also use DVDFab.
2. No, it won't hurt your drive.
3. Yes.

Thanks for the response Marty, I greatly appreciate it!

[FlyByWire1]

Hi there,
I own a MATSHITA BD-MLT UJ272 S 1.00 (Labels as TechPulse 120). Doing some research, but got confusing information. I read it is a Panasonic, or Pioneer device. Otherwise, it's said it is an LG BU40N. Anyways, I would like to get it UHD friendly if possible. Right now it's only BD capable. Would it be possible to unlock UHD function by flashing the firmware?
I already tried to use the flasher from this thread viewtopic.php?f=16&t=18873#p70284, but it did not work, cause the flasher doesn't recognize the drive (probably due to the controller in the external housing). The SDFtool Flasher, at least, recognized the drive, so I thought this might be working?

Which fw would be correct. I'm overwhelmed with all the different information, sorry for asking.

[Billycar11]

Hi there,
I own a MATSHITA BD-MLT UJ272 S 1.00 (Labels as TechPulse 120). Doing some research, but got confusing information. I read it is a Panasonic, or Pioneer device. Otherwise, it's said it is an LG BU40N. Anyways, I would like to get it UHD friendly if possible. Right now it's only BD capable. Would it be possible to unlock UHD function by flashing the firmware?
I already tried to use the flasher from this thread viewtopic.php?f=16&t=18873#p70284, but it did not work, cause the flasher doesn't recognize the drive (probably due to the controller in the external housing). The SDFtool Flasher, at least, recognized the drive, so I thought this might be working?

Which fw would be correct. I'm overwhelmed with all the different information, sorry for asking.

post your makemkv drive info section

[FlyByWire1]

Screenshot 2021-04-10 100712.png (5.17 KiB) Viewed 18766 times

[FlyByWire1]

Meanwhile, I made some progress. The drive was not an BU40N, but I found another one in my shelf that is an BU40N.
With the help og Billycar11 I installed fw DE 1.00.

Screenshot 2021-04-10 155626.png (38.33 KiB) Viewed 18749 times

Any DVD is still reporting an error.

Screenshot 2021-04-10 160612.png (4.02 KiB) Viewed 18749 times

Would it be wise to install MK fw 1.04? I could not find out what's best.
Extracting the movie to mkv with MakeMKV worked.

[MartyMcNuts]

Meanwhile, I made some progress. The drive was not an BU40N, but I found another one in my shelf that is an BU40N.
With the help og Billycar11 I installed fw DE 1.00.

Screenshot 2021-04-10 155626.png

Any DVD is still reporting an error.

Screenshot 2021-04-10 160612.png

Would it be wise to install MK fw 1.04? I could not find out what's best.
Extracting the movie to mkv with MakeMKV worked.

God no! 1.04 sucks. Stick with 1.00