Battleangel

This has got to be one of the best buys in a very long time. Woohaaaa. Not only was the drive upgraded to the equivalent of a 411s but now a “safe” hack has emerged that lets you take it up another notch. The patch seems to have been made possible thanks to the work of Zebra over at the Atomicmpc forums. Anyway. Here are the instructions, though slightly edited and spell-checked, as also posted in the forum above:

¤¤¤ 411s@811s EEPROM modification to improve upgrade: ¤¤¤

i) Things to be aware of:

• This modification technique fixes the MAJOR problems with the other methods. DVD-R (minus or negative) writing @ 2X and 4X is now possible with 411S@811S. It fixes the freeze on lead out issues that were synonymous with the previous modification technique.

It goes without saying, it also fixes 8x writing with correct 8x write strategy.

• An EEPROM is like a drives unique fingerprint - it is fine tuned for any given drive. Putting a real 811S EEPROM right onto your 411S is just plain silly.

• This patcher corrects missing 8x calibration data, missing from the 411S drives.

• This EEPROM patcher is NOT a checksum correction method. Hence, it will NOT allow you to use the REAL Liteon windows flashers, only the hacked ones. This will be addressed in another release in the future

• If you patch your EEPROM with this patch, you can go back to a 411S drive at any time via the use of LtnFlash and a .bin of the latest 411S firmware, or even a flashfixed official 411S Windows flasher.

• Lots of talk about the “Safe” tool has materialised. While this method if MUCH safer than the previous method of modification that originated from the Polish, nothing is totally safe. It is naive to think that ANY over clock is safe.

• As every laser diode is unique, every calibration is so. But it will work for 99% of people. The other 1% - this issue is being worked on

• At this time we do not know if ALL DRIVES laser diodes are rated for the needed power at 8x (ca. 30mW). It could potentiality be overpowered as it’s only 4x rated (ca. 18mW). We will know one day if the first drives fail permanently. Its unlikely however.

ii) Instructions

1. Backup current EEPROM using LtnFlash. Put it somewhere SAFE. To do this, run LtnFlash, select the 411S, go to the EEPROM tab then hit READ, then SAVE.

2. Open patch tool executable.

3. Browse to where a backup of current EEPROM is located or drag and drop EEPROM file to patch tool window. It will make a safe backup copy of the original.

4. Once finished, run LtnFlash and using the EEPROM tab, LOAD the newly modified EEPROM into LtnFlash then WRITE the new newly modified EEPROM onto your drive.

5. Reboot computer.

iii)

Your EEPROM is now corrected for 8x +R writing.

NB: Remember - you need a HACKED firmware to successfully implement this modification. These are easily found! At the time of writing HS0K (hacked) is easily attainable!

Sounds easy doesn’t it? And I’m sure it’s driving LiteON nuts. I haven’t tried the hack myself yet but I will do an update once I have. From what I hear, ppl are very pleased with the modification. 8x writing seems to produce better results even than 4x used to do for most people. If you read thru the instructions you’ll realize that you need a couple of things:

- LtnFlash
- Patch Tool Executable
- Hacked 811 Firmware

All are of course available from either the forum above (at least linked) or via the LDW-401S@411S Tweak Page. If you like myself have a 401s @ 411s then just use the current EEPROM as if it really is a 411s. The hack that you once did doesn’t seem to matter. Btw, the latest firmware for the 811s if of course HS0K.