CrossFlashing ND-3550/3551/4550 to ND-4551

[Coaster]

Hello Folks,

Was surfing and found information on converting NEC ND-3550/3551/4550 to the full featured NEC ND-4551 (DVD-RAM/LabelFlash).

Below is a link the NEC BootCode Flasher Tool.

http://nechack.host.sk/

Below is a link to The Firmware Page Forum posting that provides information on NEC ND-3550@ND-4551.

http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?p=179355#179355

Best Regards,
Coaster

[LTR12101B]

Very interesting... but use caution, as you'll be voiding your warranty!

It appears the latest Nero 6 update has Labelflash support merged into the main Nero version.

One thing, it seems that crossflash users have demonstrated DATA SIDE labelflash.

Top side labelflash may be another matter, there may be a difference in the clamping mechanism on labelflash models, or there may be a positional encoder required to track without the aid of ATIP/ADIP - the head assembly may also be different, so it's a brave or foolish one that first tries a topside labelling on a "converted" drive.


If you want to try, then get it now, as it appears that that author may have been asked to remove it, and it's removal from other sites may be sought... Reminds me of the other one that was controversial, the Liteon 401S@411S hack - as it appears there was a licencing issue with the DVD-R format in that case, and possibly a licencing issue with the Labelflash technology in this case. As in the previous case, I'm sure it will be as "removed from the internet" as ForceASPI was - and remember how that played cat and mouse with Adaptec takedowns.

[LTR12101B]

It seems that BINFLASH 1.25 will fail with this hack, despite being a supposed "fix" for flashing problems - it appears to be deliberate.

Looks like I was spot on with a "get it now" - as it now seems that you would need to hunt down the 1.24 version, to enable this crossflash - not sure how any future flashing would work on any drive already crossflashed.

http://www.cdr.cz/a/16206 - this makes some reference to it, and to another utility that changes the drive id, maybe the drive id change needs to be applied as well, for full compatibility

[nasty mailman]

This info is very interesting... Thanks a lot.

[LTR12101B]

The plot thickens...

Liggy (Admin at CDFREAKS, NEC modder, and apparent author of a private test of the crossflashing) has now pulled another tool (BINFLASH, the flasher) after a new bootcode flasher appeared which defeated the anti-bootflash protection in BINFLASH 1.25 (a feature NOT stated in the history).

This move definitely smacks of "I'm taking my ball back" and the situation appears to be getting more acrimonious by the day, with another regular who had previously complied with a request to remove BINFLASH 1.24, now completely breaking ranks - as expected, his site is now "swear filtered" in the CDFREAKS forum.

http://www.micheldeboer.nl/firmware/ - This is a "GET IT NOW" for either the original bootflash and BINFLASH 1.24
Or the new bootflash and 1.25 - it appears that despite the changes made in 1.25, it is impossible to tell the difference between a "real" LF drive and a crossflashed, so this method is preferable.


If the furore over this means Liggy leaves the NEC modding arena, it will be a loss, but it appears the fiasco resulted from his anger about a leaked tool, rather than (as many thought) ultimatums from NEC.

Of course, good sense must be exercised, and if you break a drive while trying to tweak it up, trying to claim warranty on it is a sure way to have manufacturers crack down on moddability by using encryption and hidden checksums ... in an unpopular move, more recent Liteon models have extra checksums, and inconclusive firmware naming, making tweaking of some models impossible, and others difficult, at a time when their "out of the box" performance is still not really good enough, and far short of the best they can do.

Time to turn the screws onto Pioneer as well, their DVR-109 model is sorely in need of a final firmware roundup, to fix the often reported problems with 16x CAV mode... I prefer to use 8x media that it overspeeds to 12x.


PS. I leave it to the admins HERE, but the previous position (on the 401S@411S) is that we DO NOT censor crossflashing, since none of us are potentially compromised by being involved with it.
However any such crossflashing is AT YOUR OWN RISK and should only be undertaken if you know exactly what you are doing, and understand and accept those risks.

[PC-GUY]

Wow FREAKS upset and its not even over a Plextorcrap!!!

[LTR12101B]

It appears another Freaks admin was contacted, so if you were considering a crossflash.
GET IT NOW

The new bootflash (supposedly undetectable), the 1.25 binflash, and a suitable modded or original (ripped) firmware. You should also save or print a copy of the page.

Don't rush to DO it, but make sure you have copies of all that is required, as things could start becoming unavailable.

[Coaster]

Hello Folks,

I personally do not believe Liggy is telling the real truth. When reading above and below the lines in his posting he keeps twisting and tweaking the soap-opera facts in this on going saga.

Although Liggy has done outstanding work in the NEC Firmware arena and many NEC Burner owners owe him a debt of gratitude his actions in this soap-opera saga is less that stellar. His actions in BinFlash v1.25 are rather dubious and place a dark shadow over his honesty and truthfulness.

The below The Firmware Page Forum posting provides insight on the actions of two key players in this on going saga. Note nec-dude and Liggy comments in this thread.

http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?...r=asc&&start=0

Best Regards,
Coaster

PS – I echo LTR12101B comments – Get your Files now before they disappear!

[scarecrow]

Get your Files now before they disappear!

Good tip- I'm after a new burner, after all.
However, I will rather buy directly a 4551 instead- the price difference over 3550 in that part of the globe is a massive eight dollars sum!

[Coaster]

Hello Folks,

From my prospective what makes this 3550/3551/4550 @4551 crossflash so appealing is that it allows USA customers to have the full-featured ND-4551 DVD Burner. In NEC’s wisdom they decided not to bring to 3551/4551 to the USA. So in many instances the 3550/3551/4550 @4551 crossflash is not about saving a couple of bucks but is to have a product that is not available in their country.

Regards,
Coaster

[LTR12101B]

Agreed, buying a lesser model with the prime purpose of of updating it would be stupid, and not what this is about.

I have still not seen any clear indication if TOP SIDE labelflashing works on "upgraded" drives, I'd be surprised if the positional encoder was installed on non-LF models.

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=21216 - another reference.


PS. Where the drive is not released in Labelflash form, the media probably isn't either.

Lightscribe seems to have much wider availability than Labelflash, but I'd mark them both as dead ducks compared to Inkjet printable.

An Epson R-series printer (do all the R models print CD?) and inkjet printable media = full colour prints, lower media cost than LS/LF, probably faster - even at the low speed / high quality printing modes, unless the printer hangs onto it for a lot of drying time.

[scarecrow]

I agree with LTR on the printer part. Actually my preference are the superb Canon Pixma i4000/i4200/i5000/i5200 inkjet printers (I've got i5000), but again these are distributed to the States without a CD/DVD printing module! Licensing can be a very tough thing for sure...

[LTR12101B]

I suppose a link to some articles showing what the LS and LF technologies are capable of would be useful.

1. http://www.micheldeboer.nl/flash-light/ - A user tests both.
Both took nearly half an hour at "high quality". And as in another test somewhere else, both were improved by going over them a second time!

2. http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/...ghtscribe_dvd/ - and so does Toms hardware

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/...vd/page11.html
3rd disk, is that an original or an inkjet printable.

[scarecrow]

Heh! Sometimes I guess I should keep my mouth shut!
Actually I had ordered 4551, but I had the bad luck of a general strike on naval transportation, which is totally unclear when it will end... so the shop could not deliver the drive.
Solution: I bought 3551 (easily and massively available even here, in a tiny island) and cross-flashed it to 4551. Due to over-selfconfidence I did not read any instructions, and after crossflashing the system was not bootable!
I quickly figured out why though- old firmware was wiped after turning the drive to 4551, and so it could not be initialized (the yellow led was constantly flashing). The solution is rather easy (did not read CDFreaks to see if it was already suggested): Disabling the drive in BIOS, but enabling "reset configuration data"- after that system does boot, the drive does appear in device manager, but it's unusable. Now, you can simply flash the firmware version of your choice via binflash gui 1.24, and have a fully working drive ( I picked Liggy's 1.Z2-RPC1, among many promising ones).