Firmware Request for ASUS BW-12B1ST

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

I would like auto-resetting region firmware for my Blu-Ray burner. Unfortunately, DiscInfo will not show my drive under my main operating system of Windows 7, but here's the drive:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_produ ... id=0364543

If more information is needed, and somebody could help me find the info using Windows 7 x64, that would be great.

Puma · **Posted:** Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:56 am

did you read the request rules sticky?

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=38756

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

Yep, you mentioned the results of DiscInfo, which I just mentioned won't show my drive.

I do have Nero, but I'm not really sure how to share the outputs of that, would I just take a screenshot of it?

Puma · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:37 am

drfsupercenter wrote:

Yep, you mentioned the results of DiscInfo, which I just mentioned won't show my drive.

I do have Nero, but I'm not really sure how to share the outputs of that, would I just take a screenshot of it?

devilsclaw method did not work for you? use screenshot then for nero.

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

Nope, that method didn't work - it still only shows my DVD burner, not the Blu-Ray burner. It might have something to do with the BD burner being hooked up using SATA3 (My motherboard has half SATA3 and half SATA2 connectors).

Here's the screenshot from Nero InfoTool version 6:

It also gives an option to save the report, which I have done:

Code:

Drive Information
------------------
Drive                      : ASUS     BW-12B1ST       
Type                       : Blu-ray Rewriter DL
Firmware Version           : 1.02
Buffer Size                : 8 MB
Date                       : 2011-03-15
Serial Number              : [Removed]
Vendor Specific            :  2011/03/15 21:00    
Drive Letter               : D:\
Location                   : 5:0
Mechanism                  : Tray
Read Speed                 :  n/a
Write Speed                :  n/a

Read CD Text               : Yes
Return C2 Pointers         : Yes
Read CD-R                  : Yes
Read CD-RW                 : Yes
Read DVD-ROM               : Yes
Read DVD-RAM               : Yes
Read DVD-R                 : Yes
Read DVD-RW                : Yes
Read DVD-R DL              : Yes
Read DVD+R                 : Yes
Read DVD+RW                : Yes
Read DVD+R DL              : Yes
Read BD-ROM                : Yes
Read BD-R                  : Yes
Read BD-RE                 : Yes
Read HD DVD-ROM            : No
Read HD DVD-R              : No
Read HD DVD-R DL           : No
Read HD DVD-RAM            : No
Read HD DVD-RW             : No
Read HD DVD-RW DL          : No
Read HD-BURN               : No
Read Digital Audio         : Yes
Read CD+G                  : Yes
Read VideoCD               : Yes

Write CD-R                 : Yes
Write CD-RW                : Yes
Write DVD-R                : Yes
Write DVD-RW               : Yes
Write DVD-R DL             : Yes
Write DVD+R                : Yes
Write DVD+RW               : Yes
Write DVD+R DL             : Yes
Write DVD-RAM              : No
Write DVD-RAM              : Yes
Write BD-R                 : Yes
Write BD-RE                : Yes
Write HD DVD-R             : No
Write HD DVD-R DL          : No
Write HD DVD-RAM           : No
Write HD DVD-RW            : No
Write HD DVD-RW DL         : No
Write HD-BURN-R            : No
Write HD-BURN-RW           : No
Buffer Underrun Protection : Yes
Mount Rainier              : No
SolidBurn                  : No
Labelflash                 : No
LightScribe                : No
Modes                      : Packet, TAO, DAO, SAO, RAW SAO, RAW DAO, RAW SAO 16, RAW SAO 96, RAW DAO 16, RAW DAO 96

Region Protection Control  : RPC II
Region                     : none
Changes User               : 5
Changes Vendor             : 4

CSS                        : Yes
CPRM                       : Yes
AACS                       : Yes
VCPS                       : No

Does that give the info you need?

cvs · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:19 am

Your drive should be a LiteON clone, an iHBS112 rebadge I would think.

Try to use the Flash Utility (http://codeguys.rpc1.org/utilities.html) to dump the firmware and please post a copy of it in here.

Since you're at it, use the EEPROM utility to backup your EEPROM too and keep it safe.

Try using the EEPROM utility to make your drive RPC1 (region tab). It might or might not work, but as far as I know you should at least be able to clear the region counter (clear all button) manually if setting the drive to RPC1 doesn't work.

There is no auto-resetting firmware available for LiteON drives. When it comes to LiteON drives its either RPC1 (region free) or nothing (RPC2 - region locked) ... or clearing the counter manually which I would guess should work for Asus clones too....

If not, you'll have to use a program such as AnyDVD/AnyDVD HD to achieve the desired region free functionality.

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

I have a Lite-On DVD burner that has automatic region setting. It's sorta like auto-reset, but it just makes the drive's region the same as the disc region, it's quite convenient. (Until I get region-free discs, then Windows starts whining about the drive not having a region)

So Lite-On Blu-Ray burners aren't the same way? I used to have a LG BD burner and had auto-reset on it (though, that one I had to change regions manually)... I bought this ASUS due to no ripguard.

I'll dump my firmware in a bit.

cvs · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 12:00 am

drfsupercenter wrote:

I have a Lite-On DVD burner that has automatic region setting. It's sorta like auto-reset, but it just makes the drive's region the same as the disc region, it's quite convenient. (Until I get region-free discs, then Windows starts whining about the drive not having a region)

Was that meant to read LG rather than Lite-ON?

drfsupercenter wrote:

So Lite-On Blu-Ray burners aren't the same way? I used to have a LG BD burner and had auto-reset on it (though, that one I had to change regions manually)... I bought this ASUS due to no ripguard.

Auto-reset RPC2 firmwares are very common for LG drives, but not for other drives ... I've never seen one for a LiteOn drive yet ...

Until the BluRay drives appeared on the market, making a LiteOn DVD-RW drive region free used to be trivial, without requiring any firmware modifications. Just press a button in a little application such as the EEPROM Utility (and a couple of others) and it was all done. With (at least some) LiteON BluRay drives things are not that easy unfortunately.

drfsupercenter wrote:

I'll dump my firmware in a bit.

Thanks!

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wc3lz8
There's the firmware dump from the ASUS drive.

Quote:

Was that meant to read LG rather than Lite-ON?

Nope. It's an iHAS224 Y drive, I posted about it in this forum about a year ago and got the firmware from a respective page.

cvs · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 3:55 am

drfsupercenter wrote:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wc3lz8
There's the firmware dump from the ASUS drive.

Quote:

Was that meant to read LG rather than Lite-ON?

Nope. It's an iHAS224 Y drive, I posted about it in this forum about a year ago and got the firmware from a respective page.

Yes, that explains it ... the iHASx24 Y drives are actually Sony Optiarc AD-724xS clones based on a NEC chipset, not true LiteON drives and as such the exception from the rule. The iHASx24 Y family is pretty much the only example in recent times of LiteON rebadging another manufacturer's drives and selling them under the LiteON name. The rest of the 24x LiteOn family (iHASx24 A and iHASx24 B drives) and virtually every other modern LiteOn drive are true LiteOn drives based on Mediatek chipsets as expected.

I completely forgot about NEC/Optiarc drives also having auto-reset firmwares available #-o

Many thanks for the dump!

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

So do I just wait for you to look at the firmware and find a way to exploit it?

cvs · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 8:43 pm

Not me I'm afraid, but now that the firmware is available maybe someone like C0deking or ala42 might find a way ...

Did you tried to set the drive to RPC1 using the EEPROM utility? If that doesn't work (which is fairly likely) then for the time being you'll have to use AnyDVD to get around region control ...

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

No, I didn't set it to RPC1. When I tried that on my iHAS drive, *no* DVDs would play at all in software players unless I had AnyDVD running - which to be quite honest defeats the purpose, leaving it as RPC2 region 1 lets me play region 1 (majority of my DVDs) fine, and then I'd use AnyDVD for other regions.

Unless that's not how RPC1 acts?

My previous Blu-Ray burner was a LG one, and I had auto-reset RPC2 on that as well (I just had to manually change the region, just that the number of resets would go back to 5 once it hit 0)

Puma · **Posted:** Sun Oct 02, 2011 5:10 pm

drfsupercenter wrote:

No, I didn't set it to RPC1. When I tried that on my iHAS drive, *no* DVDs would play at all in software players unless I had AnyDVD running - which to be quite honest defeats the purpose, leaving it as RPC2 region 1 lets me play region 1 (majority of my DVDs) fine, and then I'd use AnyDVD for other regions.

Unless that's not how RPC1 acts?

patching is only half the job as we always say. RPC1 firmware is for the drive and not for software, so you will always need to use something to bypass the software counters.

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

I guess I just don't see the point of using RPC1 if I'd need to use AnyDVD anyway, since it'll work with my drive being RPC2.

Unless there's something I'm missing here.

Puma · **Posted:** Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:28 am

drfsupercenter wrote:

I guess I just don't see the point of using RPC1 if I'd need to use AnyDVD anyway, since it'll work with my drive being RPC2.

Unless there's something I'm missing here.

well some don't want to pay out for anydvd, and can use alternatives that are free. Buts its always been the case with software issues. why people tend you try vlc player.

drfsupercenter · **Joined:** Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:14 am **Posts:** 13

I paid for AnyDVD just because I rip Blu-Ray discs as well and there isn't really any good free alternative. I just keep it closed unless I need to rip something, since I prefer not having to wait for it to analyze everything I insert in my DVD drive if it can be played normally.

And I use Media Player Classic for DVDs, it's the most amazing thing I've found, literally.

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