Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Discussion of LibreDrive mode, compatible drives and firmwares
MartyMcNuts
Posts: 3345
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by MartyMcNuts »

smallmouse wrote:
Thu Mar 06, 2025 11:12 pm
Bought Verbatim 43888 off Amazon.fr from seller Quality Value Supplies.

Both my computer and MakeMKV detected an LG BU40N.

While it did have the notable Super Multi and Bluray logo on the drive tray fascia plate,

• It did not have the small picture of the drive on the back of the door.

• The Model code of the label on the back of the drive was KIAB, not KIAA.

I will be returning it and trying Amazon.de. Does anyone know if they still send out Pioneers?
I don't think so from what I have heard over the past few days. I think all of the Pioneer 43888's are gone. Only LG BU40N versions from now on.
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG + Others) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://uhdenableddrives.com
austeros
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2025 5:10 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by austeros »

I too received a LG 43888 from Quality Value Supplies via Amazon.de. It was worth a shot.
bubbajonez
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2025 7:52 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by bubbajonez »

I'm a bit confused after reading through this post. I have this same Verbatim (Pioneer/LG/???) drive - purchased from Amazon US.
MKV info:
----
Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.05
Serial number:
Firmware date: 2124-04-23 13:47
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 81

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

No disc inserted
-----
The model on the drive sticker shows KIAB, which I thought from reading this post was Pioneer, but the MKV info leads me to believe it's LG?

Anyway, I've never flashed a drive and don't want to screw it up. Based on reading through the guide because the version is 1.05, it appears that I first need to flash to mk-firmware-pack-20200720\MK\old\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin
I read somewhere that I had to do a "sidegrade" flash instead??

And then I would flash to: mk-firmware-pack-20200720\MK\HL-DT-ST\BU40N-N-Main\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.04-NM00500-212005061142.bin

I know this is easy once you know what you are doing!
Coopervid
Posts: 2681
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:32 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by Coopervid »

bubbajonez wrote:
Wed Mar 12, 2025 8:20 pm
I'm a bit confused after reading through this post. I have this same Verbatim (Pioneer/LG/???) drive - purchased from Amazon US.
MKV info:
----
Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.05
Serial number:
Firmware date: 2124-04-23 13:47
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 81

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

No disc inserted
-----
The model on the drive sticker shows KIAB, which I thought from reading this post was Pioneer, but the MKV info leads me to believe it's LG?

Anyway, I've never flashed a drive and don't want to screw it up. Based on reading through the guide because the version is 1.05, it appears that I first need to flash to mk-firmware-pack-20200720\MK\old\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin
I read somewhere that I had to do a "sidegrade" flash instead??

And then I would flash to: mk-firmware-pack-20200720\MK\HL-DT-ST\BU40N-N-Main\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.04-NM00500-212005061142.bin

I know this is easy once you know what you are doing!
Flash to BU40N 1.03 and you are done. If you also use other ripping software then flash to BU40N 1.00 afterwards.
bubbajonez
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2025 7:52 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by bubbajonez »

Thanks Coopervid. That WAS easy.
PeterMac
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2019 9:40 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by PeterMac »

MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Dec 11, 2024 12:35 am
I have both the Pioneer version and the LG version. From what I can tell, the bottom of the box is a little different and the LG drive tray fascia plate has the Super Multi and Blu-Ray logo's on them whereas the Pioneer version drive tray fascia plate is all black.

The Verbatim 43888 containing the LG BU40N has a picture of the drive in the bottom right corner. Looking at the box may help you if you are purchasing from a physical store...


Verbatim 43888 - Pioneer BDR-UD04.jpg




Verbatim 43888 - LG BU40N.jpg
It's not like you said with this boxes right now

I bought from amazon.pl Verbatim 43888 yesterday, today I receive it, and it's LG drive with trash bins on back righ corner on box, also drive is KIAB.
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MartyMcNuts
Posts: 3345
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by MartyMcNuts »

PeterMac wrote:
Sat Apr 05, 2025 3:44 pm
MartyMcNuts wrote:
Wed Dec 11, 2024 12:35 am
I have both the Pioneer version and the LG version. From what I can tell, the bottom of the box is a little different and the LG drive tray fascia plate has the Super Multi and Blu-Ray logo's on them whereas the Pioneer version drive tray fascia plate is all black.

The Verbatim 43888 containing the LG BU40N has a picture of the drive in the bottom right corner. Looking at the box may help you if you are purchasing from a physical store...


Verbatim 43888 - Pioneer BDR-UD04.jpg




Verbatim 43888 - LG BU40N.jpg
It's not like you said with this boxes right now

I bought from amazon.pl Verbatim 43888 yesterday, today I receive it, and it's LG drive with trash bins on back righ corner on box, also drive is KIAB.
That was back when the 43888 had both Pioneer and LG drives available. It has changed now as there are no more Verbatim 43888's with the Pioneer drive inside. They are all now LG BU40N's inside.
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG + Others) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://uhdenableddrives.com
dramaticaudio
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2025 11:00 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by dramaticaudio »

Hi.
I found this thread after buying a Verbatim 43888 drive off of Amazon (America). It seems it has an LG drive inside and I need to flash it to be able to rip UHD discs. I have 2 questions, if I may:

1. I'm hoping to use this on a MacBookPro but I have a PC. I will dig my PC out of storage to do the flashing with MakeMKV but will I be able to rip discs on the MBP? If possible, what software is recommended?

2. Where do I find the firmware file to do the flashing?

TIA!
dcoke22
Posts: 3651
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2020 11:25 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by dcoke22 »

dramaticaudio wrote:
Sat Apr 19, 2025 11:05 pm
Hi.
I found this thread after buying a Verbatim 43888 drive off of Amazon (America). It seems it has an LG drive inside and I need to flash it to be able to rip UHD discs. I have 2 questions, if I may:

1. I'm hoping to use this on a MacBookPro but I have a PC. I will dig my PC out of storage to do the flashing with MakeMKV but will I be able to rip discs on the MBP? If possible, what software is recommended?

2. Where do I find the firmware file to do the flashing?

TIA!
The Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide has instructions and links to the necessary software. You can even flash the drive on your Mac if you're comfortable using Terminal.

Regardless of which platform you flash your drive on, you can use the drive on any. So flashing on Windows and using on a Mac (or vice versa) will work just fine.

As for what software to use to rip discs… the obvious answer is MakeMKV, which works on Windows, Mac & Linux.
dramaticaudio
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2025 11:00 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by dramaticaudio »

Much appreciated response!
Ok, so my general misunderstanding was that I didn't know there was a MacOS version of MakeMKV. That makes it MUCH easier!
Have a great day :D
darkbreed
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2025 6:20 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by darkbreed »

Hi, new member here and just stumbled across this forum...

I have just received a Verbatim 4388 from Amazon and have attempted to follow the Flashing guide on MacOS (I'm a software engineer, comfortable on the command line) and have an odd issue I'm hoping someone can help with. I'm trying to go from 1.05 to 1.03 as advised.

These are the details I have from MakeMKV:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.05
Serial number: MZFP3DE1751
Firmware date: 2124-04-23 13:47
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 76

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

No disc inserted
----

These are the commands

Code: Select all

(base) USERNAME@m1pro MacOS % ./makemkvcon f -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/8C57567B
  HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.05_212404231347_MZFP3DE1751

(base) USERNAME@m1pro MacOS % ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/8C57567B' -f ~/flashtool/sdf.bin rawflash main -i ~/flashtool/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

Reading input file /Users/USERNAME/flashtool/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.05_212404231347_MZFP3DE1751
Ready to write drive flash memory.
Type "yes" to continue, "no" to abort
yes
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
 100% Operation finished                                
Operation started: Programming flash
 100% Operation finished                                
Done successfully

It says 'Done successfully' however when I check the drive again it still says I'm on 1.05 firmware. Any ideas what could be the problem? Everything I have read here suggests flashing should be possible with this drive, unless I have misunderstood something.

Thanks in advance!
Coopervid
Posts: 2681
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:32 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by Coopervid »

You need to flash with "enc".
JohnnyMnemonic
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2025 11:14 am

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by JohnnyMnemonic »

I also got an LG drive. After flashing, it works like a charm (6x speed). Here is what I did:

1. Read the ultimate flashing guide
2. download and install makemkv (if not already done)
3. download and install the GUI flasher
4.download and unzip the all you need firmware package
5. start the GUI flasher, select the drive and flash the BU40N 1.03MK firmware
MartyMcNuts
Posts: 3345
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by MartyMcNuts »

darkbreed wrote:
Wed Apr 23, 2025 6:28 pm
Hi, new member here and just stumbled across this forum...

I have just received a Verbatim 4388 from Amazon and have attempted to follow the Flashing guide on MacOS (I'm a software engineer, comfortable on the command line) and have an odd issue I'm hoping someone can help with. I'm trying to go from 1.05 to 1.03 as advised.

These are the details I have from MakeMKV:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.05
Serial number: MZFP3DE1751
Firmware date: 2124-04-23 13:47
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 76

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959

No disc inserted
----

These are the commands

Code: Select all

(base) USERNAME@m1pro MacOS % ./makemkvcon f -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/8C57567B
  HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.05_212404231347_MZFP3DE1751

(base) USERNAME@m1pro MacOS % ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/8C57567B' -f ~/flashtool/sdf.bin rawflash main -i ~/flashtool/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

Reading input file /Users/USERNAME/flashtool/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.05_212404231347_MZFP3DE1751
Ready to write drive flash memory.
Type "yes" to continue, "no" to abort
yes
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
 100% Operation finished                                
Operation started: Programming flash
 100% Operation finished                                
Done successfully

It says 'Done successfully' however when I check the drive again it still says I'm on 1.05 firmware. Any ideas what could be the problem? Everything I have read here suggests flashing should be possible with this drive, unless I have misunderstood something.

Thanks in advance!
rawflash enc (not rawflash main)
Cheers :D
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For UHD enabled drives (AU/NZ/SG + Others) & DIY Single Drive Flasher (WW): https://uhdenableddrives.com
D.Poulsen
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2025 5:06 pm

Re: Verbatim 43888 with LG drive?

Post by D.Poulsen »

can anyone help me here?
I'm a bit confused, I just received my new Verbatim 43888 drive,
on the sticker it says KIAB which from what I read should be Pioneer, but I'm still a bit in doubt :-)
and from what I can read it's still necessary to flash the drive,
is that correct and can anyone help me with how to do it?

Drive Information
OS device name: E:
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE BU40N
Revision: 1.05
Serial number: MO5P31I5739
Firmware date: 2124-04-23 13:47
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 81

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible, not yet enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
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