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phantomo · Apr 18, 2004, 09:43 PM

Anyone tried the the new firmware hack from http://superdrive.cynikal.net/ ?

How's the result?

igorsway · Apr 19, 2004, 09:34 AM

I downloaded the firmware but I don't have the guts to launch it. I want someone else to go first.

bamchum · Apr 19, 2004, 09:50 AM

Well, a guy here:

http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?t=24508

reports success...

YMMV.

igorsway · Apr 19, 2004, 05:58 PM

^bump^

bamchum · Apr 19, 2004, 06:11 PM

Bump, what?

We're all waiting for you to report back how it worked...

igorsway · Apr 19, 2004, 09:49 PM

LOL,

I was hoping for a larger set of empirical data before I brave my own hardware.

At work, I can usually test firmware upgrades on other people's PCs -- but unfortunately, I've got the only 17" PB.

phantomo · Apr 19, 2004, 10:26 PM

I am pretty sure it will let the SuperDrive read multi region DVDs but I am worried if the hack break something else i.e. iDVD burning capabilities or things alike.

Since I got AppleCare with 2.5 years to go, ability to reinstall the original firmware version (from the web site) is also important. Anyone tested the reverse operation also?

Thanks for everyone's input.

igorsway · Apr 20, 2004, 10:26 AM

I just flashed the superdrive on my PB17 and I'm happy to say that it went very smoothly. I tested region 1 and 2 DVDs that were region-locked and now they work fine.

However, I did have to use the Region X utility to emulate the correct region on the drive. You can find this utility at http://superdrive.cynikal.net/files/RegionX_1.0.9.dmg

I have always found region-locked DVDs to be incredibily annoying and inconvenient - this is a great fix.

bamchum · Apr 20, 2004, 11:07 AM

Great! Very brave.

Now, anyone care to test the downgrade process? We need to know that we can get the old firmware back if need be...

RooneyX · Apr 20, 2004, 11:51 AM

I flashed my Rev A 17's drive a few months ago and have no problems. Can I get DVD-RAM to work like a big floppy? Haven't tried.

[APi]TheMan · Apr 22, 2004, 01:55 AM

Originally posted by bamchum:
Great! Very brave.

Now, anyone care to test the downgrade process? We need to know that we can get the old firmware back if need be...

I want to run the firmware updater on my new 15" AlBook with a 2x Superdrive because I want DVD-RW playback. Toast 6 lists my drive as a "Matshita DVD-R UJ-816" but drutil info in Terminal.app lists it as being "-R, -RW".

I inserted a DVD-RW in the drive and my laptop failed to mount it, yet Toast saw the volume when I went to "Disc Info" and I was able to format it. After formatting it the volume still did not mount. Maybe I do have -RW compatability and maybe these Memorex discs are just crap, eh?

bamchum · Apr 22, 2004, 03:55 AM

Your drive should have DVD-RW capability already without the firmware "upgrade." If all you want is that, no need to apply the updater.

I've used Memorex DVD-RWs with no problems on my 15" Albook.

[APi]TheMan · Apr 22, 2004, 09:59 AM

Originally posted by bamchum:
Your drive should have DVD-RW capability already without the firmware "upgrade." If all you want is that, no need to apply the updater.

I've used Memorex DVD-RWs with no problems on my 15" Albook.

Interesting. I'm really curious why Toast was able to recognize the disc and the Finder would not mount it. Good to know about the firmware, though.

Eug Wanker · Apr 22, 2004, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by [APi]TheMan:
I want to run the firmware updater on my new 15" AlBook with a 2x Superdrive because I want DVD-RW playback. Toast 6 lists my drive as a "Matshita DVD-R UJ-816" but drutil info in Terminal.app lists it as being "-R, -RW".

I inserted a DVD-RW in the drive and my laptop failed to mount it, yet Toast saw the volume when I went to "Disc Info" and I was able to format it. After formatting it the volume still did not mount. Maybe I do have -RW compatability and maybe these Memorex discs are just crap, eh?

My UJ-815 is very picky with -RW. Strangely enough, Pioneer DVD-RW didn't work, but the Sonys I tried worked fine. Cheap DVD-RW consistently doesn't work. I've never tried Memorex, but IMO Memorex is a 2nd tier brand for DVD recordable media (but much better than the noname stuff).

[APi]TheMan · Apr 22, 2004, 10:15 PM

Originally posted by Eug Wanker:
My UJ-815 is very picky with -RW. Strangely enough, Pioneer DVD-RW didn't work, but the Sonys I tried worked fine. Cheap DVD-RW consistently doesn't work. I've never tried Memorex, but IMO Memorex is a 2nd tier brand for DVD recordable media (but much better than the noname stuff).

Pioneer DVD-RW media? Never heard of it. Hmm. I'll check around, it does suck, however, that I found that my Sony DRU-510A (DVD+-RW) doesn't want to work in the external case that I made its home. Unfortunately it was a much nicer drive when it worked, and I burned a few backups on it.

megasad · Apr 23, 2004, 04:09 PM

SuperDrive is all well and good, but does anyone know of a firmware patch for the Combo Drive in the new 1.33GHz 12" PowerBook? Does anyone even know its model number?

bamchum · Apr 29, 2004, 01:56 PM

Is anyone else who tried this patch finding that their superdrive only burns CD-Rs at 8x?

My CD-Rs say they're burning at 16x but it takes 2 seconds for every second counted off by Toast. This is on 3 different brands of media: Maxell, TDK and Verbatim.

This happens with the XXJ3 firmware. It also happens when I downgrade to DXJ3, which is supposed to be the officially supported Apple firmware.

I don't think it was happening before.

Can those of you who have used the region-free firmware updater please check your drives and report back?

Thanks in advance.