SH-S183L OEM code? (firmware upgrade)

Trying to install firmware SB02 on my SH-183L over here, but I'm just getting a message about the drive being incompatible.

On Samsung's pages I read that I can upgrade to firmware SB02 if my drive is SH-S183L and OEM code is "SB". Using their Wininquiry program I check the OEM code for my drive, and the OEM code is "1"??

What is that code anyway? And does this mean I can't upgrade the firmware?

What are you using to flash it with? I use the .bin file and SFDNWIN version 3.27.11.

Hi,
this is correct.
There are retail drives, and there are OEM drives that are sold to computer manufacturers like Dell, HP etc. Retail drives have OEM code "SB", OEM drives have different strings there, so the retail firmware can't be installed.

Additional comments:
Something is going wrong there, as this is the second thread about this issue.
See http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=222460

If OEM code is not SB, then the firmware flasher (version does not matter) will refuse to do its job, unless it is forced to ignore OEM code.

These drives are either OEM drives not intended to be sold to end customers, or they are defective.

So there are two solutions:
Forced flash (see FAQ) or return to the shop.

Michael

Interesting info Michael. I wonder what the locations are these oem drives are showing up at.

Hi,it's merely kind of speculation, but I don't see any other reason for that.In the first post, the drive was bought at Fry's. And you are right, I am also interested to know, where cdtrazan bought his.

Michael

Good ol' Fry's and doesn't surprise me any. That means they are here in USA.

Perhaps also in Europe. Let's see, what cdtrazan reports back.

Oh, I'm in Norway. Bought it from a rather large online shop here.

I should probably talk to that shop before I force anything upon this drive....?

I would

Thanks for the location reply.

In Texas, more specifically. Do any Samsung techs read here? I can't make any progress with tech support, either by phone or by website. As another firmware code "1" drive has shown up (albiet on another continent), it's probably something that Samsung should be made aware of.

Hi,It would be great if they would
I have another idea
Is there any possibility to install the drive in another computer and check the OEM code there? I am asking this, as I remember that firmware upgrade issues were reported for the old SH-W163A and VIA chipsets. This was even mentioned in a document available on Samsung website.

@cdtrazan: Could you please tell us, what chipset your mainboard has?

Michael

Mainboard is an Asus A8V Deluxe which I believe uses the VIA K8T800 Pro chipset.

Hmmm, so there are at least two drives, that won't report back the correct OEM code on VIA chipsets.

Any chance to try in another computer with different chipset?

Also, please make sure
- your SATA controller is not set to RAID mode and
- latest VIA Hyperion Pro drivers are installed.
If the latest driver is installed, you might try to go back to a previous version.

Michael

A week ago, because of its respectable reviews, I purchased a retail version Samsung SH-S183L burner at Best Buy. I had the identical problem that cdtrazan has, and even more damaging, the "Nero Speed Test" never went higher than 2.5x with a CPU usage of 45% at 1x and 83% at 2x. Additionally, when I downloaded Samsung's "Magic Speed" and attempted to install it, I got the error message "We cannot find Magic Speed Drive". I called Samsung Tech support and after speaking to two different tech support reps, they could not offer any suggestions and they had no idea why "WINQUIRY" was showing an OEM Code of "1", which I'm sure is why I cannot update the firmware. I returned the drive to Best Buy for refund and ordered an OEM version from New Egg (got it in 2 days). Guess what, identical problem right down to the ridiculous Nero Speed Test results. Here's the kicker, my motherboard is the same one as cdtrazan, an ASUS A8V Deluxe. The chipset is a VIA K8T800Pro as cdtrazan said, but the SATA Raid controller is a VIAVT8237. I downloaded & installed the latest drivers from ASUS for the Raid controller but it had no affect on my problem. The SATA burner drive is the only SATA hardware I have on the board. I now am sure that it is a compatibility problem with the MB but I do not know if it is only with the SH-S183L or is it not compatible with any SATA CD/DVD drives. Unfortunately the Samsung is the only SATA burner that Best Buy carries, and Circuit City doesn’t carry any SATA burners. I would welcome any comments or suggestions before I return the drive to New Egg. Unfortunately, it would be a waste of time to get a replacement, so I'll probably have to pay their 15% re-stocking fee. Any recommendations for an equivalent (price & performance) IDE burner?

Welcome to CDF's

And never mind.

Hi and Welcome!Magic Speed is only useful for CD applications btw.
Please check your BIOS settings. The SATA controller must not be configured as RAID controller! I run a MSI K8T Neo2 (same chipset), and I am offered SATA and RAID as only options for the SATA controller.
If there is some BIOS update offered, then install it, maybe that helps, too.
Also, get latest Hyperion Pro driver package from www.viaarena.com Before installing that, it is a good idea to uninstall the previous version.
In that case, a classic IDE would have been better There is not much information available yet, but this seems to be some chipset incompatibility, not just a mobo problem. I remember an outdated document on Samsung ODD website stating that firmware updates don't work with VT8237 southbridges and their SH-W163A Sata drive. Maybe this problem persists with the newer drives, too
My opinion: There is no need for a SATA drive if there are enough PATA connectors available.
SH-S182D or 182M are exactly the same drives, but with PATA interface. I have a 182D running on my system (mainboard mentioned above).

Michael

I'm running my SH-183L off a PCI add-in card that uses the VIA VT6421A chipset. I've also got a hard disk hooked up to the other channel, but I've tried the firmware read with the hard disk disconnected and the burner hooked to the other channel, but it still always comes back with firmware code "1". My Dell GX620 PC at work has on-board SATA. In the next couple of days, I'll pull the burner from my PC at home and hook it up at work.

Also, as an aside, the VT6421A has severe difficulty with WD SATA 3 Gb/s drives, even when jumpering the drive down to 1.5 Gb/s. No trouble with Maxtor or Seagate 3 Gb/s drives however...

Hi,That would be a great idea. If OEM code is properly reported there, then it is proven, that there is some kind of issue with VIA SATA controllers or their drivers.

Michael

Thanks for the quick comments & suggestions. I just downloaded & installed the Via HyperionPro update as per Michael's recommendations. It definitely improved my burning problems. The Nero Speed Test improved from 2.5x to a high of 12x, but the average was only 9x. The CPU usage went from 83% to 8% at 2x. Unfortunately, the OEM Code still shows as "1" and I cannot update the firmware from SB01 to SB02 with either the Live Update or manually with SFDNWIN. As per Michael's other comments, there are no bios options for the VIA VT8237 controller, and the only options the Promise Raid Controller offers are Raid Mode or IDE Mode. I have 2 (IDE Mode) hard drives connected to it. I wanted to go with an SATA burner for a couple of reasons. ExtremeMhz's review of the SH-S183L states that the CPU usage, lightscribe performance and seek times are greatly improved over the SH-S182M. Also, with my present hardware configuration, I have no free IDE connections. I currently have 5 hard drives and a CD/DVD drive connected to the 6 available IDE connectors. I didn't want to replace the CD/DVD drive with an IDE burner because my original, expensive Plextor PX-716A burner (which I loved) failed after only a year and half. I want to get more service life out of a burner and so I figured I could get less wear & tear on it if I only used it for burning and used an IDE CD/DVD drive for everything else. I guess I can live w/o "Magic Speed", the question is, what am I losing without the ability to update? I'm concerned about using the "forced flash" option you mentioned to cdtrazan. How safe is it? I'd like to know how cdtrazan made out with his/her problem.

At least I'm giving up on Samsung support. I'm wording myself as best I can, trying to explain that I do know what the hell I'm doing, but I just get the same pre-made answer every time:"To ensure you get he correct update for your drive you should use the Live UpdateProgram you can download this program from our homepage:
www.samsung-odd.com/eng/"...yayayaya

Anyway, if any of you can try the burner in another puter, please let us know if the OEM code changed. If it did indeed shows "SB" in a different pc I think I may just try to force flash this thing

I took the SH-S183L to work and connected it to my Dell GX 620, which has an Intel SATA controller. The burner identified properly as OEM code SB, and I was able to upgrade the firmware to S02.

So, it looks like various VIA chipsets cannot deal with the Samsung OEM code. Lovely...

Jbhtexas, thanks for testing and confirming my theory.

There seems to be indeed a flaw with VIA controllers and at least the Samsung 183 series drives.
As there is this problem, I am not sure if a forced flash is a good idea.

Michael

Alright the work around.........but not everyone will be able to do this either.

Hi,Looks good. Nothing to complain about there.
That seems to be an issue of the VIA controller at all. Also stay clear of any Live Update tool.
Normally, you should be able to switch the onboard (VIA) SATA from RAID to non-RAID and vice versa in BIOS. I can't believe, Asus has disabled that.
Does your Promise controller offer SATA connectors? I have to admit, that most Promise controllers don't work properly with ODD at all, but to have a look at the OEM code it might be good enough.
My MSI board is equipped with a Promise PDC 20579 (SATA II 150). My (now dead) SH-W163A SATA worked good, no problem with firmware updates, but my PATA connected SH-S182D sucked. Firmware updates nearly failed (I would have killed the drive if I had klicked "OK to restart" button)

Probably possible. But I doubt, the advantages were significant. And at the moment we are learning that VIA's SATA controllers don't like optical drives
You may consider replacing one or two HDDs by SATA drives (and put the old one in an USB enclosure). This would free up an IDE connector for an additional optical drive. Or get just an USB burner.
If you stick with well-known quality media, then there won't be any need for updating the firmware.
That is the point. It might kill the drive, as there seems to be some communication issue at all with the chipset. At the time I thought about a forced flash, I was not aware, that there is an issue with the controller. So we need a volunteer, who is ready to sacrifice his drive for CDF science

The better way for firmware updates: Have a friend with an Intel (or Nvidia) based mainboard and install the drive there in order to flash the firmware.

Michael

Further data....I took the SH-S183L home and reinstalled it on the VIA SATA controller. The firmware is now at S02 after the update done on the Dell. The OEM code is now "0"!

Anybody here a member of the VIAArena forums, and who would be willing to post this issue over there? I think I belong to enough forums already...