Problem with Mat****a SR-8586 DVD-ROM Drive

[Colin05]

Hey folks,

Another newbie here I'm afraid with a problem but please bear with me and I'll try to give as much information as I can.

I'm from the Uk and therfor normally use region2 DVD's (I think !!). Recently though, I was playing a DVD from America which was a different region - region 1 I think. To do so I had to change the region of my DVD player to region 1. I only did so as it said I had another 2 changes left but once I'd watched the DVD, I tried to change it back to region 2 but was told that I'm not allowed to.

So i came to the net to try and find a solution.

Here's some information on the system I'm running:

I'm using PowerDVD for playback and have been doing so with no problems since I bought it.
I'm running windows me millenium edition.

Steps I've taken to try and fix the problem are trying to use a different playback program - I tried cineplayer but this again said there had been an error due to the region of my DVD player.
I then tried to follow several guides on the web to go about making the drive region free. I got to the flashing the drive stage on the following guide : http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/articles/region.html but didn't understand what I had to do once I'd downloaded the correct firmware.

Its frustrating but I thought I'd see if anyone had a soultion or advice for me. Thanks for your time in reading this post and I'd really appreciate any feedback.

Thanks again

Colin
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[Taelon]

Most firmware includes instructions either in a text file that is included in the package or on the website. For us to be able to help you install your firmware we need to know the Make & Model of your DVD-ROM or burner, and which firmware you downloaded. Also that guide seems to be fairly old, but making your system Region Free is generally a 2-step process, making the drive region-free AND making windows region-free.

[Colin05]

Hi there Taelon,

Thanks very much for your reply and apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

As requested, the make and model of my drive is a : Mat****a DVD-ROM SR-8586.

I'm unsure of the exact firmware I tried as it was a couple of weeks ago and I didn't keep it. It would be great if you'd be able to tell me exactly which firmware I should use as I was struggling to make sure the one I found was the correct match.

You also mention that the guide I linked to was outdated, are you aware of anymore up-to-date guides that I could try?

Sorry to keep pestering you but hopefully I won't have to do it for much longer!!

Thanks in advance,

Col.

[Taelon]

Hi Colin, guess the forum doesn't like your drive's name So I'll just call it a SR-8586. You can find out the current firmware version by looking in the main window of DVDDecrypter with a disk in the drive, or with Nero Info Tool in the "Drive" tab. You can find firmware for it here including a couple region free versions.

Sorry I can't help you much with making the drive region-free since I've never had the need to on my system, perhaps someone else will offer you some better advice about the specifics.

[joegib]

1. Download the patched firmware file (8586_3X24RPC1.zip) from the site linked by Taelon & unzip it.

2. Prepare a bootable floppy disk using the XP format disk function, selecting "Create an MS-DOS startup disk" option. Delete all files from the floppy except IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM (this leaves a minimal boot floppy ideal for flashing). Use a good quality floppy.

3. Copy the flash utility (DWL2.EXE) and firmware file (3X24.BIN) to the floppy and check it using Properties -> Tools -> Error checking.

4. Using Nero Infotool, establish whether your DVD drive is set up as Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master or Secondary Slave on the IDE buses.

5. Using the floppy reboot your computer to DOS (you may have to set your BIOS to boot from floppy if it doesn't do this automatically).

6. At the DOS prompt enter: DWL2 N 3X24.BIN — [key Return]

Except that for "N" you substitute a number from 0 to 3 according to the IDE setting of your drive (see Step 4) as follows:

0: PRIMARY MASTER
1: PRIMARY SLAVE
2: SECONDARY MASTER
3: SECONDARY SLAVE

Don't interfere with the computer while the flash is proceeding.

7. After flashing reboot and check whether the drive is now region-free using Nero Infotool -- if it shows the drive as "RPC1" you've succeeded.

8. Flashing the firmware is only half the job — you also have to overcome region-protection in your software player (Power DVD, WinDVD etc). You can use utilities such as Region Killer or Remote Selector for this.

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There is an element of risk in flashing firmware — if the computer hangs in the middle of the process or you have a power cut, the drive will die. If this worries you, you can use software utilities to get around region protection — Remote Selector mentioned above will work without flashing and there are other commercial solutions.

[Colin05]

Again guys, thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated.

Cheers for that link Taelon, I've now got the correct firmware hopefully so I should be able to go through joegibs thorough instructions.

I've downloaded the firmware that you listed joe but am unsure of point 2. You say to use the "XP format disk function" but unfortunately I'm running windows me millenium edition so am unable to do so.

Are you aware of a way in which I could do what you ask but from windows me millenium edition?

Does the fact that I'm running windows millenium edition change anything i have to do in the remaining steps you list?

I'm just going to go through your instructions one step at a time, replying with any problems i encounter while doing so ,to make sure I do this right.

Again, thanks for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon,

Cheers,

Col

[Taelon]

Colin, ME is a bit different here's a way to make an ME boot disk (this replaces step 2 of joegib's instructions) :

Insert a Floppy Disk in your A: drive, click Start -> Accessories -> MS-DOS Prompt; Type: "Format A:" (without the quotes but include the colon) then press Enter

When it's finished, open Windows Explorer located under Programs. On the Tools menu click Folder Options then the View tab. Check the option: "Show hidden files and folders", then uncheck: "Hide file extensions for known files types" and finally uncheck: "Hide protected operating system files".

Now navigate to the Windows\Command\EBD folder and copy Io.sys and Command.com to your Floppy. Now the floppy is ready for the firmware and burning utility.

[Colin05]

Taelon,

Thanks for the replacement instructions for step 2 - that should be step 2 successfully completed.

When checking the folder options, everything was OK except for that I needed to uncheck "Hide protected operating file systems" but this was fine. I've copied those files to the the floppy and went on to step 3:

I've copied to the two necessary files from step 3 so my floppy now contains 4 files, namely: Command.com , IO.SYS, 3X24.BIN and DWL2.EXE . Am i correct in thinking that this is what should be there at this stage?

I've also checked the drive for errors with a thorough error check and all seems fine.

Step 4: I don't think I have the software called Nero InfoTool so I'll away and see if I can find it somewhere on the net - don't suppose you guys have any suggestions as to where I'll find it?

Thanks again folks,

Col

[Taelon]

Colin, Yes sounds like you have what you need on that disk.
Here is a link to Nero Info Tool (Freeware) http://ww2.nero.com/enu/Info_Tool.html
In Step 4 also make a note of the current firmware version, in case of problems flashing the patched firmware. It will be listed at the upper right in the drive tab of Info Tool.

[Colin05]

Thanks for that link Taelon - worked a treat.

I've ran the nero infotool program but can't see where it tells me how it is set up on the buses - ie. as Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master or Secondary Slave.

I've checked to see what the current firmware version is and it is as follows : "3G24" - which is similar to what I am trying to flash I believe.

That infotool program is pretty useful, especially for being freeware.

Can you tell me where exactly to look to see how the drive is set up on the buses?

Cheers,

Col

[Colin05]

I think I might have found out but better check to be sure anyway.

Under the tab "configuration" tab, it lists what is on the primary IDE channel and the secondary IDE channel. My DVD-ROM drive appears under the primary IDE channel and so does my CD-RW. The CD-RW comes after the DVD-ROM drive so am i to assume that my DVD-ROM drive is set up as primary master on the slaves??

Thanks

Colin

[Taelon]

Yes the configuration tab is the right place, but that doesn't sound right. Normally your Harddrive would be the Primary IDE Master Channel. The Optical drives would normally be on the Secondary IDE Master Channel.
Hopefully this image makes it a bit more clear. (Click to Enlarge)



Since that firmware program doesn't have a backup function it would be a good idea to download the 3G24 firmware to have available just in case the new firmware gives you trouble.

[Colin05]

I've double checked and what i said previously is indeed how my computer is set up although I appreciate what you say about how traditional computers are set up !! I must have put the computer back together wrongly at some point in the past.

I went into the BIOS to double check and the detection settings is set to auto so I have not manually put in the wrong device on the IDE line. The BIOS utility knows everything about the hard drive being set up on the secondary master IDE channel so I think I'll go ahead with flashing the drive.

I'm not too sure where to download that firmware from Taelon. I've followed the link you gave me before for the patched firmware but can;t seem to find the original in there or thereabouts either. Any ideas?

I'll let you know how it goes...................

Fingers crossed.

[Colin05]

Crossing those fingers hasn't really done the trick I'm afraid folks !! lol

I'll just list what I did and see if anyone can pick up on what I've done wrong.

I booted the pc from the floppy and into MSDOS.
I then typed in DWL2 2 3X24.BIN (including the spaces between those numbers)
The floppy drive then made its usual chorus of noise for about 5 seconds until the following appeared:

F/W Download Utility for Atapi CD/DVD-ROM Drive
DWL2.EXE Ver 3.79

1. Set secondary Master OK
2. Check Vendor NG (this bit "NG" was in red font while everything else was black.

xxxxxNGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxNGxxxxxxxxxxNGxxxxxxxxxxNGx xxxxxxxxxNGxxxxx"

That last part also appeared in red

I powered the computer off simply by switching the button on the front of the PC off. This is because I don't know the command to power down the PC or load windows from MSDOS. Would this affect the firmware not working?

I'm a bit stumped and could do with a wonder solution to be honest.

Any ideas??

Thanks for the taking the time to read the above and helping me with this problem, its much appreciated.

Cheers,

Col

[Taelon]

Colin, You said the harddrive was Secondary Master, you certainly don't want to flash it!

From what you said earlier, it sounds like the DVD-ROM is the Primary Master.
Please double check that, yes the BIOS is as good a place to check as any and should agree with InfoTool.

If that is the case you need to use this command:
DWL2 0 3X24.BIN
remember, 0: PRIMARY MASTER so the utility should show:

1. Set Primary Master OK
2. Check Vendor OK (I'm guessing NG = no good)

then it should flash the drive

The original firmware is on the page I linked earlier
Matsh!ta (Panasonic) SR-8586 (16X/48X) 3H14 / 3G15, 3G24 / 3S16, 3S3T / 3Y19 / 3322 / 3Z14, 3Z19, 3Z24 / 3J27, 3J30
(I've linked to it here as well
You can copy the 3G24.BIN file to the same floppy, then if you ever need to go back to the original firmware you would use the command DWL2 0 3G24.BIN (Assuming you leave the DVD-ROM as the primary master)