LG HL-DT-ST UH12NS40 flashing issues

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mkenyon2
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2026 11:17 pm

LG HL-DT-ST UH12NS40 flashing issues

Post by mkenyon2 »

tl;dr; I think my drive should be able to handle UHD, and some of the documentation seems to say I can, but I can't. I may be mis-reading the steps. I was going to use Omni tool, which seems to need my original firmware.

Trying to get my original firmware, using sdftool, it lists my drive:
sdftool -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: \Device\CdRom0, \Device\CdRom0, F:
HL-DT-ST_BDDVDRW_UH12NS40_1.00_211602231042_SIK92G76G182

But trying to read to a bin file, I get:
sdftool -d \Device\CdRom0 -f UH12NS40_1.00.bin
Unable to load sdf.bin
Internal error 0xffffffff

Running MKV 1.18.4 (win x64) I see my drive as
Manuf: HL-DT-ST
Prod: BDDVDRW UH12NS40
Rev: 1.00
Firmware date: 2116-02-23 10:42
Bus encrypt: 16

LibreDrive
Status: Enabled
Drive platform MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.00

(I Can provide more info if needed.)
Billycar11
Posts: 6184
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:49 am

Re: LG HL-DT-ST UH12NS40 flashing issues

Post by Billycar11 »

mkenyon2 wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2026 12:14 am tl;dr; I think my drive should be able to handle UHD, and some of the documentation seems to say I can, but I can't. I may be mis-reading the steps. I was going to use Omni tool, which seems to need my original firmware.

Trying to get my original firmware, using sdftool, it lists my drive:
sdftool -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: \Device\CdRom0, \Device\CdRom0, F:
HL-DT-ST_BDDVDRW_UH12NS40_1.00_211602231042_SIK92G76G182

But trying to read to a bin file, I get:
sdftool -d \Device\CdRom0 -f UH12NS40_1.00.bin
Unable to load sdf.bin
Internal error 0xffffffff

Running MKV 1.18.4 (win x64) I see my drive as
Manuf: HL-DT-ST
Prod: BDDVDRW UH12NS40
Rev: 1.00
Firmware date: 2116-02-23 10:42
Bus encrypt: 16

LibreDrive
Status: Enabled
Drive platform MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.00

(I Can provide more info if needed.)
have you opened/run a disc through makemkv yet so it download the sdf?
Buy a drive from the guide and video maker: viewtopic.php?t=17831
UHD Drive Guide: viewtopic.php?t=19634
Auto flash kit $40 Email Billycar5924@gmail.com No attachments
mkenyon2
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2026 11:17 pm

Re: LG HL-DT-ST UH12NS40 flashing issues

Post by mkenyon2 »

I made MKV files off of a Blu-ray and a DVD, with MakeMKV running as admin. Still no sdf.bin file in C:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV
Sayaka
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2026 3:00 pm

Re: LG HL-DT-ST UH12NS40 flashing issues

Post by Sayaka »

mkenyon2 wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2026 12:14 am tl;dr; I think my drive should be able to handle UHD, and some of the documentation seems to say I can, but I can't. I may be mis-reading the steps. I was going to use Omni tool, which seems to need my original firmware.

Trying to get my original firmware, using sdftool, it lists my drive:
sdftool -l
Found 1 drives(s)
00: \Device\CdRom0, \Device\CdRom0, F:
HL-DT-ST_BDDVDRW_UH12NS40_1.00_211602231042_SIK92G76G182

But trying to read to a bin file, I get:
sdftool -d \Device\CdRom0 -f UH12NS40_1.00.bin
Unable to load sdf.bin
Internal error 0xffffffff

Running MKV 1.18.4 (win x64) I see my drive as
Manuf: HL-DT-ST
Prod: BDDVDRW UH12NS40
Rev: 1.00
Firmware date: 2116-02-23 10:42
Bus encrypt: 16

LibreDrive
Status: Enabled
Drive platform MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.00

(I Can provide more info if needed.)
I am not surprised that this is not working.

This :

Code: Select all

sdftool -d \Device\CdRom0 -f UH12NS40_1.00.bin
Cannot possibly work. You are not even specifying an actual command for sdftool to use (and you are not using -f correctly).

If you want to try to make a backup of your firmware for whatever reason, try this instead (inside the folder where MakeMKV was installed) :

Code: Select all

.\sdftool64.exe -d F: dump full
If you get an error (and sometimes you may get an error even if the firmware is not encrypted, and it shouldn't be encrypted in this case), it means there is no easy way to dump the full firmware.

If you want to make your drive UHD-compatible :

Code: Select all

.\sdftool64.exe -d F: rawflash main -i "C:\replace-this-with-the-correct-path-to-the-following-firmware-file\DE_LG_WH16NS60_1.02_MK.bin"
You can find DE_LG_WH16NS60_1.02_MK.bin inside MartyMcNuts' All You Need Firmware Pack, it can be downloaded from one of the links in this thread : viewtopic.php?t=22896
Sayaka
Posts: 294
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2026 3:00 pm

Re: LG HL-DT-ST UH12NS40 flashing issues

Post by Sayaka »

I've just fixed a typo and replaced the "F:\replace-this[...]" part with "C:\replace-this[...]" since 1) the letter of your main HDD or SDD partition will be different from F: since that's the drive letter for your optical drive and 2) the letter of your main HDD or SDD partition is likely to be C:

My apologies for the typo.
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