The Firmware Page

I am in need of help with my TS-L633N Optical Driver. I have a Compaq CQ62 Notebook PC, It was recently "Restored" back to the beginning, around the factory default settings. And now the driver only reads, or shows discs with data on them, such as pictures. It will not even read any type of media Disc. I have done A TON of research and have tried many different things, but nothing is working. i went into the registry and checked for upper or lower filters, and there were none. The problem I am having is Cross flashing my driver to the Samsung SN-S083N SB02. I am going off of this thread, viewtopic.php?t=47088 Where "CVS" explains in steps on what to download, and how to do it. I have downloaded the Firmware and made it into a .bin file, and i have downloaded the " Samsung Stand Alone Flasher", and the " ala42's MCSE". I am using the program called JZip, b/c unlike Winzip, or Winrar. It is actually free, and I dont ever have to deal with extracting files, so no point in paying for it.
I am confused about a couple steps, maybe because I can't get this process to work, so I'm trying to go over my steps to make sure they're done correctly. It says to " Extract the SN-S083N_SB02.bin firmware file from the Samsung flasher you downloaded by using WinRar/WinZip". So, from my JZip, what is the order i open these archieves in. I tried my original idea, and it didnt work, so i tried different ways. I loaded the SB02.bin using the MCSE program, and checked the RPC1 Box, then saved as SN-S083N_SB02_speedpatched.bin. The step I have actually been having troubles with is " Start the tsdnwin.exe flasher from a command line with the -nocheck parameter: tsdnwin -nocheck" I am not familiar with command prompt, and am not sure what the -nocheck parameter means. What should the exact commands be in opening and starting the tsdnwin? Basically I have tried numerous steps, in getting these steps correct. But when using tsdnwin, When i try loading the SB02, It says " Can't find suitable drive for F/W"..

I did realize that this post of directions was like 2 years ago, so maybe it isn't as accurate anymore? Any help is Greatly appreciated! And sorry if I broke any rules with this post, I just dont know where else to go for help..

Cheers all,
Geoff

Geoff,

a little correction first: Your hardware is a drive, a driver is pure software.

A command prompt environment is the basic input/output way of a computer, it was there even before any GUI based window environment like Windows was even there.
DOS is no witchcraft, once in DOS you can use HELP /? to get more info about commands and options.
The "-nocheck" parameter is only there to allow crossflashing which the normal methods wont allow. So you have to know what you are doing when using that parameter.

What is not working? Burning to DVD?
You need to use a proper burning app like Nero or Imgburn!

And BTW, a system restore will never ever change any firmware of a drive installed.

Thank you Chef for all this information.

I will say, that i do not know what I am doing with the " -nocheck" parameter, which is why I just need to know how to open the Flasher, and use the command to do it. I have used HELP, but I just still wasn't sure . I feel like I am very close, I just need that command in the prompt, to get the flasher to do the "-nocheck", like you were saying. So that i can open it in the flasher without it saying "Can't find suitable drive for F/W"..

And I now of those apps, but I am not trying to burn a DVD.. I am trying to Watch a dvd, a movie. Or even listen to a copyrighted Music CD, from a store. No type of media disc is being read in the drive. When I put a brand new DVD movie in the drive, it still says it can not be read. I have checked for the filters in the registry, but they're isn't filters in there. And I didn't think that Restoring a computer could do that, but the driver didn't start acting weird until I did this. that is all i did, restored it, then later tried to put in a movie, and it wouldn't work. I later put a disc in the drive that had only pictures on it, of my GF and myself, A Data CD, and it was able to read, and it worked. But the media ( movies, music) will not be read, to watch or listen. Even putting a blank writeable disc in the drive will not be read, If i were to try and burn music to a disc, it wouldn't work, b/c it can't read the blank CD. I hope this was explained deeply enough for you to now exactly what is going on or wrong. Thanks again for your help!

A blank (CD,DVD etc) wont be read technically, can only be accessed and recognized by a burning tool such as Imgburn.

In case you insert a movie DVD and nothing happens (the light on the drive should at least lighten up), then just start your player software manually because the autostart feature may be disabled (which is a good idea mostly to prevent autostarting unwanted tools/spyware etc).

OK, make sure you have all files in the same folder, eg. flash.
Now, from the command prompt, you navigate to that folder with "cd X:\flash" and hit ENTER where X stands for the drive, normally C or D.
Enter the command "dir" to make sure all files are there.
Enter "tsdnwin -nocheck" and then continue with step 7 from cvs' guide.


Good Luck!

Great, thank you! I will try that now! One small question before i begin this though. I placed This folder on the desktop which is just called " New folder", containing "Tsdnwin", which i'm sure you know, is the flashing program, and the firmware file "SN-S083N_SB02_speedpatched". Now, are those the only 2 items that should be in the folder, before running the command? The firmware is "speedpatched" after using the other program to save it as a RPC1.

Also, I did open 2 different programs used for playing video/audio after inserting a brand new DVD movie into the drive, "windows media Player" and "Cyberlink Power DVD V8". Both came with error for not reading the disc, or " no disc in drive F:". I also went into my computer where it shows the drive "DVD RW Drive (F:)", opened it there,and it said no disc in driver. This is what lead me to try the cross flash.

Ok, I did get it to work in the command prompt!!! It opened flash, and shows the SBO2_Speedpatched file is in the F/W file bar.. These are the specs that it shows.
-Target Drive: hp CDDVDW TS-L633N 0300
-Current Version: 0300
-New Version: SBO2
-Status: Ready

So it is ready for me to click Download, but the versions that are different, is that going to affect it? or is the OEM still the same? I have read that by doing this wrong, I think it said, either it can mess up your computer, or the driver itself. So if you do not mind. i would like for you to see if this is correct before i go further. I understand you are assuming your decision. But your knowledge is much stronger then mine with this stuff . So i trust your decision. If something still goes wrong, oh well, I tried. It wont be a problem to buy a new driver.. This is an experiment, and a learning experience. Everyone makes mistakes ^^..Hopefully my lack of knowledge, will help someone else with the same problem, so that they dont have to be walked through the process . I Appreciate your input!! Thank you Chef.

Cheers,
Geoff

Actually they dont need to be in the same folder, but its easier.

Just run the "tsdnwin -nocheck" command, then choose the SB02_Speedpatched and make sure no media is in the drive.
Then proceed and it may work.

Ok, Im back, I ran the flash, the lap top rebooted. but right before i continued the download, before the reboot, it said if driver isn't working properly once its done, to run the process again, reboot, then it will work... So how would i do this again if my driver isn't the same. I went to device manager, and looked at the updated driver status. it is now a Toshiba MK2565GSX, should i try updating the driver and see if that will work? or do you have any options for me to try? I really appreciate that help Mr. Chef you got me over that last bump, and now, its so close, just a couple more things I'm sure. I will look into it as well, while i wait. But watching the Download, it appeared as if it processed correctly, and safely.

A special Cheers to Chef!!!

Good, you flashed the patched SB00, so you should see a Samsung SN-xxxx in the Device Manager.
I would just shutdown and switch fully off after the flash, wait 2 or 3 mins, then startup again, maybe in SAFE MODE first (hit F8) and checking Device Manager.

Toshiba MK2565GSX is your internal harddisk.
Look under Optical Drives or CD/DVD drives.

Your right about the drive, my mistake . I looked at the wrong one, It does say samsung.. i tried turning off for a few, then turning back on. Went into safe mode, looked in device manager, everything there. My laptop has had this Note on the first screen of a start up, and it says somethinga bout the battery being bad, and that optical performances, could be affected or something like that... Can a bad battery cause this type of problem? cause the optical drive not to work properly? is that what it means? There was another screen saying something about the computer not being able to start up correctly because of something i recently added. and it "recommended" that i let hp dyagnose this issue.. so i hit that, and it optioned to do a system restore.. So i went ahead and rebooted the laptop, and decided to continue to start up. The laptop seems to be running fine, so I'm not sure what this means. But the driver Still does not read discs. Would a restore even change the driver back? i thought once you flash it, you couldn't change it back.

A weak or slowly dying CMOS battery is a big big issue .....but can be easily resolved. It holds the BIOS settings and prefs and without them a computer would not even boot up in many cases.
Within Desktop computers you have some CR2032 batteries, maybe with Laptops too but they are covered, which is not easy as with Desktops.

OK, just boot up into SAFE MODE, go into Device Manager, klick on your optical drive and choose properties.
What can you see there? Drive model, firmware revision and RPC state should be mentioned.
You could also run Discinfo and post its output here.

At this point, I would just uninstall the drive from Devicemanager, and then reboot.
Because you only uninstall a DRIVER (software), it should be redetected and properly installed after a restart.

After doing that, you should test the optical drive with an bootable CD *and* a bootable DVD (either windows install disc or a linux distro).
It's a good sign when the drive can boot from both discs properly.

You could also use the free Imgburn to verify some disks, both CD and DVD types.
Also try to burn with Imgburn, with testing mode enabled if you wish.

Ok, I am going to put a couple screen shots from discinfo on here, while i try the things you adviced me to do..

Summary:


DISCINFO VERSION : 1.7.0 BETA.12
VENDOR : TSSTcorp
MODEL : CDDVDW SN-S083N
REVISION : SB02
VENDOR SPECIFIC : SB
LOADING MECHANISM : Tray
SERIAL NUMBER : ---
NUMBER VOL. LEVELS : 256
BUFFER SIZE : 2048KB
TOSHIBA CODE : OEM SB
TOSHIBA MODEL :
INTERFACE : ATAPI
RPC2 SCHEME : NO
ANALOG AUDIO PLAY : YES
COMPOSITE OUTPUT : NO
DIGITAL PORT-PORT1 : NO
DIGITAL PORT-PORT2 : NO
READ UPC CODE : YES
MULTISESSION READ : YES
MODE 2 FORM 1 : YES
MODE 2 FORM 2 : YES
READ ISRC CODE : YES
READ BAD CODE : NO
BUFFER UNDER-RUN : YES
MT. RAINIER : NO
CAN READ CDR : YES
CAN READ CDRW : YES
CAN READ CDRM2 : YES
CAN WRITE CDR : YES
CAN WRITE CDRW : YES
CAN TEST WRITE : YES
CAN READ DVD-ROM : YES
CAN READ DVD-R : YES
CAN READ DVD-RW : YES
CAN READ DVD-RAM : YES
CAN READ DVD+R : YES
CAN READ DVD+RW : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-R : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-RW : YES
CAN WRITE DVD-RAM : YES
CAN WRITE DVD+R : YES
CAN WRITE DVD+RW : YES
MAX CDR READ SPEED : 24
MAX CDR WRITE SPEED: 24

Well, I was going to post the capabillities, but i couldn't get my screenshot to change to URL so i can put it here. Oh well. There is the summary tho. Thank you.

OK, the drive is regioncode FREE.
You need to use a tool like RegionKiller to make your whole system regioncode free: viewtopic.php?t=239