I've recently bought a NEC ND3500AG DVD-burner, and it came with firmware version 2.16. (RPC2 etc)

I don't like the region control, so I downloaded TDB's windows flasher, and tried to upgrade to (first)2.17 and (later, when it came out) 2.18 (I've tried the 'original' as well as 'rpc1' versions).

So far all well, but my problem is that I don't seem to be able to flash the firmware! The windows utility shows the progress bar, and then tells me to reboot. Once rebooted, however, I've still got the old firmware (2.16) according to DVDInfoPro.

What am I doing wrong? (Undoubtedly something very silly...)

Welcome to CDRinfo's Forum!

You can also try with DOS Flasher.

(in reply to Popup)

Please use the Binflash software with the bin file we provide at the sticky topics

(in reply to Iggy)

2c8_SE has flasher included.
http://www.cdrinfo.com/forum/tm.asp?m=82995

Otherwise use BinFlash
http://binflash.cdfreaks.com/

(in reply to emperor)

quote:

ORIGINAL: emperor
Please use the Binflash software with the bin file we provide at the sticky topics

Thank you!
I'll try that as soon as possible.
(I've got a baby at home, who tends to absorb any and all free time, so it might take a while though.)

(in reply to emperor)

OK, I've now tried the (windows) binflash utilivy (v1.02). No success.
It managed to read the old firmware. (Or at least it didn't complain when I asked it to. I haven't actually checked out the dumped file with a hexeditor to see if it looks legit.) But, when I tried to flash it with the new firmware it hung. It started showing the progress bar, and then promptly stopped responding. (The first time I tried it I left it sitting for about 10 minutes, before I realized that it wasn't doing anything.) Funnily enough it didn't even succeed in erasing the flash. (It still shows up as v2.16).

I haven't tried the DOS flasher. Mainly because I haven't got a floppy drive, and I haven't had time to make a bootable DOS CD.

Could there be any incompatibilities with my bios/OS?
I'm running XP-home (SP1) on an Asus pundit-r (barebones Asus with Intel P4 / ATI chipset).

(in reply to Popup)

If you search for a while you'll find out that you can do the same with a USB instaed of floppy.

(in reply to Popup)

Redownload the firmware. you might have a something missing that didn't get downloaded the first time.

(in reply to Iggy)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Iggy

If you search for a while you'll find out that you can do the same with a USB instaed of floppy.

I wish I could. However my BIOS doesn't support booting from USB! (If I've understood it correctly.)

quote:

ORIGINAL: G_IvanAwfulitch
Redownload the firmware. you might have a something missing that didn't get downloaded the first time.

No, I've downloaded several versions, and I can't flash with any of them.
Is it possible that there's some kind of 'write-protect' on the flash?

(I'm not very up-to-speed with DVD-firmware, but I've worked a lot with flash memories, and one thing I find VERY confusing is that my drive still works... The first thing you do when writing to a flash is to erase it to 0xffffffff, before writing the actual data. (When writing to a flash memory, it is only possible to set bits from 1->0, to change a bit from 0->1 you need to rerase a whole sector.) If this was the case, the drive wouldn't 'boot' at all. So, somehow not even this erasing works. In the 'bad old days' of dual-voltage flashes, I could have explained this as the 'write-voltage' missing, but nowadays all flashes are single voltage. And most flash memories don't offer independant write-protection for the entire memory.
How does the NEC ND-3500 drive work? Does it somehow have a 'backup-firmware' that's loaded if the default flash is corrupted?)

(in reply to Iggy)

*bump*

Nobody got any idea?

(in reply to Popup)

Hello All!

This is my first message in this forum!

I have exactly the same problems with my 2510A in Asus Pundit-R! None of win flashers (even from oficial NEC site) work in this system except MAD DOG 2.F8 Windows from http://tdb.rpc1.org/. So try to flash MAD DOG firmware...

BR,
Pazag

(in reply to Popup)

Thank you pazag, I will certainly try that!


Does anyone know how the Pundit-R bios can have any effect on this?

(It seems like too much of a coincidence that both pazag and yours truly have the same problem and happen to have the same hardware...)

By the way, pazag, as one pundit-r owner to another.... I'm using the speedfan software to control the CPU fan, to reduce the noise. It doesn't, however, manage to control the PSU fan. Have you managed to silence that fan somehow? I find it a bit noisier that I would have wished for,

(in reply to pazag)

Hmmm, I tried the MAD DOG 2.F8 and 2.F9 firmwares, but to no avail.

I might just have to bite the bullet and live with the NEC stock firmware. The bitsetting doesn't bother me much, and I can live without the riplock. And fortunatelly the RPC2 can be circumvented by software.

It's still a bit of a dissapointment, though.

(in reply to Popup)

Put it in a buddy's computer and flash it.

(in reply to Popup)

quote:

ORIGINAL: G_IvanAwfulitch

Put it in a buddy's computer and flash it.

Yes, I suppose that's the solution. (I do actually have two PCs, so in theory I ought to be able to do that fairly easilly.) I'll see if I can somehow manage to do that.

(in reply to G_IvanAwfulitch)

Hi Popup,

to reduce the fan noise you must upgrade BIOS. Use ASUS update utility included in Motherboard support CD. After upgrade to AMI 1002.006 noise level is much lower.

It is strange that MAD DOG firware didn't work. Try to disable IMAPI CD-Burning COM service in XP before flashing. Maybe it will help.

BR,
pazag

(in reply to Popup)