Flashing firmware on a Mac for LibreDrive

[garygomm]

I had some 'fun' figuring this out, this might be helpful for other Mac users to allow LibreDrive to work with the drive. I actually did it because the Region had not been set on the drive (It came with ZERO software) and some of the other software I was using was complaining that the region was not set. This killed 2 birds with one stone in that after the drive was flashed the LibreDrive functionality is available and the drive is now Region set as well (Region set to 'all')

I am on macOS Catalina 10.15.6 on a MacBook Pro 2020 and was able to successfully flash my MD-8107-U3 using titbits of info from this forum and elsewhere.

You can leave the files where you would like and not copy them as I did (Step 4) and not even change into the application direct (Step 5.) - it just means you will have to add the paths to where they are located for you in step 8.

Steps taken
1. download sdf.bin
2. download mk-firmware-pack-YYYYMMDD
- where YYYYMMD is the date of the latest firmware pack

3. Extract the file you need for your drive from mk-firmware-pack-YYYYMMDD -> In my case this was -> HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.04-NM00500-212005061142.bin

4. then in terminal on the MacBook
- I then copied sdf.bin and the firmware file I extracted from the mk-firmware-pack-YYYYMMDD into my /tmp folder .
(this only to make sure both files in same place and nice easy path to type).


5. then in terminal change directory - > cd /Applications/MakeMKV.app/MacOS/Contents

6. type -> ls - al

you should see a directory listing and one of the objects in the listing is 'makemkvcon'
this step just confirms you are in the right directory


7. the type -> ./makemkvcon f -l

This will allow you to find your drive identifier, in my case -> ''/IOBDServices/D5D25996'
from the following output:
Found 1 drives(s)
00: /IOBDServices/D5D25996, /dev/rdisk3, /dev/rdisk3
HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.01_211910161032_MOFK6283224


8. to actually perform the update, type -> ./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/D5D25996' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /tmp/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.04-NM00500-212005061142.bin

you will then be prompted to type in 'yes' to flash the firmware;

Reading input file /tmp/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.04-NM00500-212005061142.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.01_211910161032_MOFK6283224
Ready to write drive flash memory.
Type "yes" to continue, "no" to abort
yes

9. Once you type in yes and hit Enter - you should get the following output:

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

After hitting Enter the upload and flashing took about 20 seconds.


Hope this helps other Mac users!

[Cannikin]

Holy cow does this really work?? I installed VirtualBox and a Windows VM and then used the standard Windows tools to do mine. This would have been much easier!

[andrew_clark]

Has anyone tried to perform the firmware flash from a Mac and run into any errors?

I am having some difficulty performing the update due to the following .bin file "not found" error…

MacPro2009PLEX:~ plex$ /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS/makemkvcon f -d /Users/plex/Desktop/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS40-NS50-1.05-NM00900-212005061440.bin
Drive "/Users/plex/Desktop/HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS40-NS50-1.05-NM00900-212005061440.bin" not found

Both files are on the Desktop, so I am unsure how to proceed.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

Andrew

[dcoke22]

The -d argument is to tell makemkvcon the optical drive you want to flash the firmware to. You're missing that part in your command.

[smokeywhitetown]

The -d argument is to tell makemkvcon the optical drive you want to flash the firmware to. You're missing that part in your command.

I'm bewildered by all of this. I just wish to make my external LG optical drive region-free (BD-RE WP50NB40). Where does the "-d argument" part go? I haven't opened Terminal yet. I'm trying to find out what I need to do. Where are the files I need to download located, for example?

[dcoke22]

In some of your other posts on this topic I see you've already been pointed to the big drive flashing sticky thread: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19634

That includes links on where to download files. It really is a good resource and is worth studying a bit.

@garygomm's post at the top of this thread is quite detailed in the steps necessary.

As an overview, included with MakeMKV is a command line only program called makemkvcon. You can use that to find the identifier for your drive. You can then use it again to actually flash the new firmware onto your drive. Steps 1-6 are what you'll need and where makemkvcon is likely located on your system. Step 7 is finding the drive identifier. Step 8 & 9 is actually flashing firmware onto the drive.

As MartyMcNuts suggested (viewtopic.php?f=19&t=20967&p=99413#p81430), it looks like you're looking for Firmware WP50NB40 1.01-MK. The MK designates that firmware as being one that enables LibreDrive in MakeMKV.

Also, as MartMcNuts suggested, if you want to do this via a GUI, your only choice is to do it via Windows. There is no GUI to do this on the Mac.

[flyingtigerfan]

Just wanted to say thanks for this. I had zero issues flashing my drive using these directions.

[qrwilson]

So, I seem to be having a problem. I enter the following command

./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/29928A8B -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /tmp/BOB.bin

the files are in tmp and those are the name of the drive and the files and I am in the MacOS Contents of the MakeMKV app.

I am on Mac OS Big Sur version 11.1 running the Bash shell on Terminal. Although I also tried it on the zsh shell as well and got a similar weird prompt.

When I execute the command, I get a ">" prompt, but no question. Not sure if I did anything wrong or if it is just due to the difference between our OS versions. I am on a Mac Pro and trying to downgrade the firmware on an Archgon 8107 which is an LG BU40N at its heart and came upgraded to 1.01

I am using the file DE_flash_HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_BU10.bin which should downgrade the firmware from 1.01 to 1.0

Any help would be appreciated.

[dcoke22]

./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/29928A8B -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /tmp/BOB.bin

If that's really your command, you seem to be missing a trailing '

try:

Code: Select all

./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/29928A8B' -f /tmp/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /tmp/BOB.bin

I have no idea if this works on Big Sur. Let us know if it does.

[bachelorbob]

I successfully flashed a BU40N on a MacBook Pro (OS X.13.6) in an external enclosure down to firmware 1.00. You can read about it, starting at about post #25 here:

https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 3&start=17

[wssrstrm]

Just confirming that using these instructions I successfully flashed an LG SN40 in an OWC enclosure from factory 1.03 to SN60 1.02MK, as per the current recommendation. I'm running macOS 11.2.1 Big Sur.

Still haven't gotten VLC playback to work tho -- that's my next little project.

[michaelsft]

Thanks very much for this guide, after some trial and error I was able to flash my drive. I kept getting 'file not found' errors even though the bin file was right there so instead of copying in the complete command I had to drag the files in one by one. I made a copy of the contents folder on my desktop and dropped in the sdf and firmware bin files and ended up with this command. Finally it asked and I could type yes and after 20 seconds I saw 'Done successfully'

./makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/53FD3922' -f /Users/username/Desktop/Contents/MacOS/sdf.bin rawflash main -i /Users/username/Desktop/Contents/MacOS/ASUS-BW-16D1HT-3.10-WM01601-211901041014.bin

In MakeMKV I now see:

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 3.10
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

Success! For reference I have ASUS-BW-16D1HT on 3.10 and I've connected it to my Mac using the Unitek Y-1039.

[swsmith1971]

In MakeMKV I now see:

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 3.10
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

I own a Pioneer BD-RW BDR-XS07, was wondering how to find out this information above for my drive.

[d00zah]

In MakeMKV I now see:

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Patched (microcode access re-enabled)
Firmware version: 3.10
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

I own a Pioneer BD-RW BDR-XS07, was wondering how to find out this information above for my drive.

Run MakeMKV. That's a portion of the output displayed in the Info pane.

Sadly, if your goal is LibreDrive fuctionality, I don't believe any Pioneer drives are currently supported.

[AgentB9]

Thank You! These instructions worked flawlessly for me. Currently running Big Sur and a LG Drive.