Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2024

[SamuriHL]

So I don't usually have any issues flashing drives but I'm new to the Mac. My dad got a new Archgon BU40n that came with 1.02. I attempted to flash that with 1.03MK from the terminal on my MacBook Pro M2. Said everything was successful, I power cycled the drive, and it still shows 1.02 non-LibreDrive enabled. Tried it a couple times and all claimed success in flashing the drive but none of them seemed to actually update the firmware. Any thoughts on this?

I will likely try with my own Archgon bu40n even though I have 1.00 on it already just to see if I can fix this process before Wednesday when I see my dad again and would like to try again. He doesn't get his new Windows laptop with USB-C on it til the end of the month and I'm not using USB-A to flash that thing given all the potential power issues. But I thought I'd post here in case anyone had run into this and had any suggestions. I tend to use VS Code and open a terminal inside of it but I also tried a standalone terminal. One thing I didn't try was to SUDO the command. Didn't think that'd be necessary but thinking about it now it's something I probably should have tried.

[d00zah]

So I don't usually have any issues flashing drives but I'm new to the Mac. My dad got a new Archgon BU40n that came with 1.02. I attempted to flash that with 1.03MK from the terminal on my MacBook Pro M2. Said everything was successful, I power cycled the drive, and it still shows 1.02 non-LibreDrive enabled. Tried it a couple times and all claimed success in flashing the drive but none of them seemed to actually update the firmware. Any thoughts on this?

1.02 is on the 'encrypted' list. Are you using 'enc' as part of the command line?

[Billycar11]

So I don't usually have any issues flashing drives but I'm new to the Mac. My dad got a new Archgon BU40n that came with 1.02. I attempted to flash that with 1.03MK from the terminal on my MacBook Pro M2. Said everything was successful, I power cycled the drive, and it still shows 1.02 non-LibreDrive enabled. Tried it a couple times and all claimed success in flashing the drive but none of them seemed to actually update the firmware. Any thoughts on this?

1.02 is on the 'encrypted' list. Are you using 'enc' as part of the command line?

this 100%

[SamuriHL]

1.02 is on the 'encrypted' list. Are you using 'enc' as part of the command line?

this 100%

Oh goddamnit. For some reason I was thinking they did the encryption crap with 1.03. Thanks, guys.

[glc650]

Thinking about picking up a second drive for another PC. Any reason to get a Pioneer BDR-XS07UHD over a Archgon MD-8107S-U3-UHD (besides not having to flash)? Reliability? Performance? Software compatibility?

The Pioneer only works with MakeMKV and AnyDVD software. The Archgon, if flashed with BU40N 1.00 works with all ripping software. The Archgon is a little bit quicker (6x vs 4x). The Pioneer drives are generally a bit quieter.

Can the Archgon with BU40N 1.00 rip as reliably/error free as the Pioneers seem to?

[SamuriHL]

Yes, I have one and my dad just got one which is what my post about flashing is about. The bu40n is a tank. Very reliable drive.

[Billycar11]

1.02 is on the 'encrypted' list. Are you using 'enc' as part of the command line?

this 100%

Oh goddamnit. For some reason I was thinking they did the encryption crap with 1.03. Thanks, guys.

i mean they did after 1.03 so your right its just that archgon is using the Taiwan version of the drive and the version numbers are different 1.02 tw is basically 1.04 us

[chaos58503]

How do I flash this drive using a Mac? I'm lost!!!

[Billycar11]

How do I flash this drive using a Mac? I'm lost!!!

you read the first post if you cant follow that then you should have just bought one preflashed and tested

[SamuriHL]

1.02 is on the 'encrypted' list. Are you using 'enc' as part of the command line?

this 100%

Oh goddamnit. For some reason I was thinking they did the encryption crap with 1.03. Thanks, guys.

i mean they did after 1.03 so your right its just that archgon is using the Taiwan version of the drive and the version numbers are different 1.02 tw is basically 1.04 us

Oh no kidding?? I didn't know that. Jesus they really threw me on this one. I'll deal with his drive Wednesday and get it back to 1.00 like mine. He'll be using his on a new Samsung book3 ultra with an i9 and 4070. Going to be a sweet little setup.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

[SamuriHL]

Yeah take it from me who's flashed several drives using command line on both windows and now Mac, you will need to read and follow it exactly. And know what you're flashing which I clearly didn't. Lol the instructions in the first post are correct. You list the drives to find its id, then use that to flash, making sure to know if the firmware is on its encrypted or not.

Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

I wanted to advise of another Pioneer drive that works right from the box. I just added the Pioneer BDR-XD08UMB-S to my set up and it works just fine. At $140 it's great for what it offers. I recommend downloading the Pioneer BD-Drive Utility from their website as it allows customization of the drive's performance.

Thanks as always for all that you guys do!

Best,

Ralph

[swkeith]

Is there any benefit to the LG WP50NB40 vs BP50NB40 vs BP60NB10? I need to pick one up and wondering if one is better than another after flashing or if they are all essentially the same and just go with the cheapest one. Thanks.

[liamtoh1]

I recommend downloading the Pioneer BD-Drive Utility from their website as it allows customization of the drive's performance.

Did you explore this utility? I did not find any comprehensive documentation regarding various options. I see the explanation at high level but wary of causing long term harm to the drive, by say going to "High Performance Mode". In my case, the "Setting 1" tab is disabled.

[Billycar11]

Is there any benefit to the LG WP50NB40 vs BP50NB40 vs BP60NB10? I need to pick one up and wondering if one is better than another after flashing or if they are all essentially the same and just go with the cheapest one. Thanks.

all the same except the bp60 that can do official playback but otherwise the same
get whatever is cheapest wp50 on amazon is usually $90
best buy some times have the BP50 for $80