Flashing MT1959

This page provides detailed instructions are for flashing MT1959 drives (e.g. OmniDrive).

Redumper

It's highly recommended that you use Redumper to flash OmniDrive as it is simple, safe, and does not require that you install any programs. Flashing works on Windows and Linux (macOS support is not yet supported). To flash with redumper use Redumper-GUI, or with CLI use following command: ./redumper flash::mt1959 --firmware=HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.00_OmniDrive.bin --drive=/dev/sg0 (use your firmware filename, and the path to the correct drive).

Old MakeMKV Instructions

Note: If you are flashing from a drive that requires cross-flashing, and the drive already has ASUS/BU40N firmware (such as an older OmniDrive version or an ASUS/BU40N MakeMKV firmware), you need to use "Recover" mode instead of "Write" mode, and select the new OmniDrive firmware after pressing recover AND select it again as the firmware to flash at the dropdown. There is no need to flash to an intermediary firmware if you are already on OmniDrive firmware.

Ensure that the latest version of MakeMKV is installed.
Download SDFtool Flasher v1.3.5 (see MakeMKV forum for more info).
Download OmniDrive v1.0.4 (ASUS for half-height desktop drives with JB8 platform, BU40N for slim drives. Do not flash the incorrect one, triple check your drive model!).
Ensure that only your compatible drive is connected to the PC and no disc is inserted.
Run SDFtool.exe, select your drive in the top drop-down, and ensure WRITE Firmware is selected.
On the bottom drop-down, select the downloaded OmniDrive firmware bin file. (Using v1.3.5 there is no need to toggle the "encrypted" option, it will detect automatically).
Press "Start" (High DPI screens may have an issue with SDFtool, the button may say "STA" or similar).
After it has written the firmware and flashing is fully complete (wait 10 seconds after it says 100%), close SDFtool, and power cycle the drive (disconnect USB for external drive, or turn off PC for internal drives).
Your drive should now be compatible with Redumper (and MPF), as well as MakeMKV.

Notes:

Some drive enclosures/adapters may interfere with flashing the drive (e.g. the INIC-3619 chip in some BU40N drive enclosures).
Connect the drive directly to your computer via SATA or use a different enclosure/adapter if you get an Internal error 0x8d000000 when flashing.
After flashing OmniDrive firmware on your drive, it will appear to your computer as if it were an ASUS BW-16D1HT or HL-DT-ST BU40N. This is intentional and has no bad side effects when dumping or reading discs.

If you are burning important discs with your drive, you may want to flash your stock firmware again (use the updating tool provided by the manufacturer). The OmniDrive firmware modifications do not affect burning and tests so far indicate no issues, but use it at your own risk.

Linux Note: The MakeMKV command line sdftool (bundled with MakeMKV) can flash the drive. The version of `sdftool` that is bundled with MakeMKV 1.17.7 is recommended for flashing on Linux as later versions have a bug that has remained unfixed. See this forum post for more details.

macOS Flashing Instructions (BU40N/slim drives)

Install MakeMKV and download the current sdf.bin and BU40N OmniDrive firmware. These instructions were tested with MakeMKV 1.18.4 and OmniDrive v1.0.4.
Ensure that only the compatible drive is connected and that no disc is inserted.
List the drives and copy the correct /IOBDServices/... identifier:

/Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS/makemkvcon f -l

Backing up the existing firmware is strongly recommended:

mkdir -p "/[path to]/firmware-backup" /Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS/makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/DRIVE-ID' -f '/[path to]/sdf.bin' dump full -o '/[path to]/firmware-backup'

Flash the BU40N OmniDrive firmware:

/Applications/MakeMKV.app/Contents/MacOS/makemkvcon f -d '/IOBDServices/DRIVE-ID' -f '/[path to]/sdf.bin' rawflash "main,nocheck,boot=MT1959 Boot BU5 " -i '[/path to]/HL-DT-ST_BD-RE_BU40N_1.00_OmniDrive.bin'

There must be a trailing space after BU5, immediately before the closing quotation mark.
Verify that the displayed drive and firmware are correct, type yes, and wait until it says Done successfully. Do not disconnect the drive during flashing.
Fully power-cycle the drive afterward. For a USB-powered slim drive, unplug all USB connections, wait about 10 seconds, and reconnect it.
The drive will continue to report the internal firmware revision as 1.00. Redumper should identify the installed firmware as OmniDrive v1.0.4.
This command is specific to BU40N firmware for slim drives. Do not use it with the ASUS desktop firmware or an incompatible drive.