Ultimate UHD Drives Flashing Guide Updated 2023

[MGislv]

Hi,

I've never flashed a drive before, I fear I might brick it.
I bought a WH16NS40 in late 2022, from what I understood all I need to do is flash the "WH16NS60 1.02MK" firmware to enable UHD ripping.
The section about newer firmware versions says that newer versions have firmware checks, do I need to worry about this?
Makemkvcon says my drive firmware is this: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE__WH16NS40_1.05_212005061440_M42M7PB5639

Thanks.

[gregoliver]

So, i have th same drive in a Vantec NST-540S3-BK enclosure. I use Linux for everything in the house, so if you do not - sorry!

This flashed my drive (shipped with 1.05) back to 1.02 with no issues.

makemkvcon f -f ./sdf.bin --drive=dev_21:0 rawflash enc --in=HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.02-NM00100-211810291936.bin

firmware was from the All You Need package and also, it did tell me that a slim drive model was detected, but I went ahead and typed yes anyway and it worked.

**note**

I did try this though a virtual machine (Qemu / KVM) passing through the JMicron device first and it failed, so I plugged it directly into my laptop and it completed successfully.

[MGislv]

So, i have th same drive in a Vantec NST-540S3-BK enclosure. I use Linux for everything in the house, so if you do not - sorry!

This flashed my drive (shipped with 1.05) back to 1.02 with no issues.

makemkvcon f -f ./sdf.bin --drive=dev_21:0 rawflash enc --in=HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_WH16NS60-1.02-NM00100-211810291936.bin

Thanks man! That was exactly the command I needed, enjoying my 4k blu-rays on linux now

[Fanofurban]

Hey everyone, there is a lot to read through, so I thought I'd post a quick message just checking to see if there have been any updates for my specific drives. I have two LG drives:

WH14NS40 rom version 1.03 manufactured in 2014 SVC CODE: NS40
WH10LS30 rom version 1.00 manufactured in 2010 no mention of SVC CODE

Are either of these capable of being flashed to read 4k discs?

Thanks so much!

[Woodstock]

I thought I'd post a quick message just checking to see if there have been any updates for my specific drives.

Both were built before the standard was set, so no, there would be no updating to make them do 4K UHD. No need to change software.

[Fanofurban]

Ugghh....I was hoping updates might have possibly been made to change that, but thank you so much for the reply and confirmation .

[Woodstock]

No problem. 2015 is the transition year - early in the year, unlikely, but there were SOME drives built in LATE 2015 that could do UHD.

Generally, though, 2016 is when things became more likely to do UHD.

[jimmyg]

Hello !

I have a problem to flash my drive.
I have a TechPulse120 with the following information

Code: Select all

Informations lecteur
Nom du lecteur SE : E:
Fabricant : HL-DT-ST
Produit : BD-RE BU40N
Révision : PA03
Numéro de série : *****
Date micrologiciel : 2118-12-24 16:02
Marqueurs d'encryptage bus : 1F
Version AACS la plus haute : 76

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

Aucun disque

I have downloaded the firmware and started the following command :

Code: Select all

makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d E: rawflash enc -i D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

The message I got is the following :

Code: Select all

D:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d E: rawflash enc -i D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

Reading input file D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Sending image in encrypted format
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_PA03_211812241602_***
Ready to write drive flash memory. (auto confirmed)
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
 100% Operation finished
Operation started: Programming flash
 100% Operation finished
Done successfully

But when I restart makemkv, nothing changes in the drive information. And I can't rip 4K movies.

Any idea what I am doing wrong ?

Thank you very much !

[Billycar11]

Hello !

I have a problem to flash my drive.
I have a TechPulse120 with the following information

Code: Select all

Informations lecteur
Nom du lecteur SE : E:
Fabricant : HL-DT-ST
Produit : BD-RE BU40N
Révision : PA03
Numéro de série : *****
Date micrologiciel : 2118-12-24 16:02
Marqueurs d'encryptage bus : 1F
Version AACS la plus haute : 76

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

Aucun disque

I have downloaded the firmware and started the following command :

Code: Select all

makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d E: rawflash enc -i D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

The message I got is the following :

Code: Select all

D:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d E: rawflash enc -i D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

Reading input file D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin
Flashing flags = 0x0 : 0 0 0 0 : ---- ---- ---- ----
Sending image in encrypted format
Current Drive ID: HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_PA03_211812241602_***
Ready to write drive flash memory. (auto confirmed)
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
 100% Operation finished
Operation started: Programming flash
 100% Operation finished
Done successfully

But when I restart makemkv, nothing changes in the drive information. And I can't rip 4K movies.

Any idea what I am doing wrong ?

Thank you very much !

No enc that fw is old

[jimmyg]

No enc that fw is old

Thank you. I tried without "enc" and got this error.

Command produced error code 0x82052400

Code: Select all

D:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d E: rawflash -i D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

Reading input file D:\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_PA03_211812241602_***
Ready to write drive flash memory. (auto confirmed)
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
  98% .................................................
Write DRAM NG 05/24/00

Command produced error code 0x82052400

It seems that this guy had the same FW : viewtopic.php?p=132851#p132851

It seems like we cannot flash this drive and I will have to purchase a new one. Any good references that we can purchase in Europe (Belgium more precisely) ? Thank you.

[CovertRain]

Sorry if a dumb question. I am looking at the recommended drives list but then there is a comment about not buying any Pioneer drives for 4K (UHD). Is that still the case? Also, should I not bother trying to find a drive that does 3D? I was hoping to rip those as well. Sounds like trying to find something that works out of the box on Amazon is a lost cause.

[Billycar11]

No enc that fw is old

Thank you. I tried without "enc" and got this error.

Command produced error code 0x82052400

Code: Select all

D:\Program Files (x86)\MakeMKV>makemkvcon64.exe f --all-yes -d E: rawflash -i D:\HL-DT-ST-BD-RE_BU40N-1.03-NM00000-211810241934.bin

Reading input file D:\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_PA03_211812241602_***
Ready to write drive flash memory. (auto confirmed)
Operation started: Sending flash image to drive
  98% .................................................
Write DRAM NG 05/24/00

Command produced error code 0x82052400

It seems that this guy had the same FW : viewtopic.php?p=132851#p132851

It seems like we cannot flash this drive and I will have to purchase a new one. Any good references that we can purchase in Europe (Belgium more precisely) ? Thank you.

i see yeah techpulse had a batch of bad cases that dont pass libredrive or flashing

[Millmaster]

I just purchased a new WH16NS40 (Manufactured: May 2023)
I flashed it a couple different times trying to resolve this issue and to no avail.
It throws all sorts of errors when I open a disk and never opens it.
I Did have success once when I switched computers and it had V17.4, but then it ran into errors too.
I updated to 17.5 and still errors.
The one that I did successfully on V17.4 ran completely normally - didn't throw errors, but there were a couple spots in the resulting .MKV file that were garbled for a few seconds.
Tried to attached a log and screen shot but the attachment status says "Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached."
Recommendations?
I flashed using the Utility and then also using command line when I was getting errors.
I am surprised it still reads WH14NS40 since I flashed it with the WH16NS40 Firmware.
Any help appreciated.

The drive info shows:
Drive Information
OS device name: E:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH14NS40
Revision: 1.02
Serial number: KLFN5GE3324
Firmware date: 2115-12-11 15:03
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 57

LibreDrive Information
Status: Enabled
Drive platform: MT1959
Firmware type: Original (unpatched)
Firmware version: 1.02
DVD all regions: Yes
BD raw data read: Yes
BD raw metadata read: Yes
Unrestricted read speed: Yes

[CardMe]

Sorry if this has been asked a lot. Too many pages to go through. The first post says:

"drives that Currently work are:

BDR-XD08UMB-S Slim top load USB Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-XD07UHD Slim top load USB Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-XD06JUHD Slim top load USB Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-S12UHT Internal 5.25 sata Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-XS07UHD Slim Slot load USB Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-212UBK Internal 5.25 sata Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-211UBK Internal 5.25 sata Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-UD04 Slim 9.5mm tray load slim sata Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-S13U-X Internal 5.25 sata Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins
BDR-S13UBK Internal 5.25 sata Rip speed 4x BD 66 ~1 Hour BD 100 ~1 hour 35mins"

Does this mean these can be used as is without flashing?

Thank you.

[Woodstock]

Does this mean these can be used as is without flashing?

You missed this VERY IMPORTANT part:

PSA now most Pioneers come with new fw that prevents them from be crossflashed or downgraded do not buy one for UHD at this time

So, generally speaking, unless you can be sure the drive was built with prior firmware (before December 2022), these drives do not currently work for UHD.