I had to update the firmware of the DVD drive with a altered firmware that would make the DVD drive region free. Here is how I did it. First I wrote down the exact type of my drive. You can find that information by pressing Windows Pause, clicking on Hardware and there on Device Manager.

Locate the DVD / CD-Rom drives entry and expand it. If you look at the picture below mine is called GSA-H10N and was manufactured by LG. (You find the company logo on the drive itself normally).

Now that I had the information needed I went to the Firmware page which is a repository for many altered firmwares for a lot of DVD drives. I searched for my drive and found it on that page. I downloaded the new firmware and executed the file. I was able to change the firmware with the click of a button (the only button available is Update) and the new region free drive was available immediately.

I did check the region of my dvd drive with Drive Region.

Related posts

• Enable region free mode on your DVD player (11)
• DVD Sales Down. What do You Think the Reasons are? (13)
• Blu-Ray Region Code Remover (5)
• Would the try & buy model work for games and movies? (10)
• Watch hundreds of full tv shows, cartoons and anime (7)

The process is similar to applying a new firmware – sometimes also called bios – to the device. I have done this numerous times on my old computer patching my Asus motherboard with official firmwares to increase cpu support for instance. I also changed the firmware of my old NEC 3500A DVD recorder so that it would be region free.

Sometimes it is possible to increase the speed of a graphics card by changing it from a lower speed into a higher speed graphics card or increasing the GPU for instance. It is furthermore possible to speed up DVD recorders, increase support for smart cards with a higher gigabyte count or enable a ftp server in your router.

The first step is to find out if it is possible to update the firmware of your device. If it is indeed possible you should take a look at the changes and device if you really need the increased functionality. There is always a risk in applying firmware updates and the original manufacturer will most likely not repair the device if it breaks during the update.

Make sure you backup your bios first before you start applying the firmwares. Most tools that can patch the firmware also offer a way to backup the original one first.

Below now is a list of websites that offer unofficial firmware updates for a lot of devices. This is the main reason why I’m not listing the devices here at ghacks.

Digital Cameras:

Canon – Firmware updates for Canon Digital Cameras.
Fujufilm – firmwares for Fujifilm cameras.
HP – HP firmwares
Kodak – Kodak firmwares.
Nikon – Nikon firmwares.
Olympius – Olympus firmwares.
Pentax – Firmwares for Pentax cameras.
Sony Cybershot – firmwares for Sony Cybershot cameras.

Graphic Adapters:

Mvktech – A site with many firmwares for all popular graphic cards.
Tech Power UP – lots of firmwares for manufacturers like Abit, Asus, Ati, Nvidia and Saphire.

DVD Recorders:

Codeguys – Samsung and LiteOn firmwares
Liggydee – Offers modified NEC and Optiarc firmwares.
Media Code Speed Edit – Change the write speed of your media and add new media codes.
RPC1 – The number one address for DVD Recorder updates.

Routers:

DDWRT – Another possibility to update a number of firmwares.
OpenDRT – Provides a fully writable filesystem with package management for many routers.
FreeWRT – Firmware for several Asus, Linksys and Netgear routers.

Mainboards:

Rebels Haven Forum – lots of bios updates for Asus, DFI and other manufacturers.

You should start by taking a look at the official website of the manufacturer of your mainboard. They normally list bios updates there.

Related posts

• Things to do before you sell your digital camera (1)
• Tag your Photo Collection (2)
• Sort and Rename Pictures by Exif Data (1)
• Photo Recovery Software (6)
• Photo Cropping With JPEGCrops (2)

I tried utilities like speedfan which were compatible with my card but I was not able to alter the fan speed at all. The option was not active. I then found a forum entry from a user who changed the firmware of the card and was able to reduce the fan speed afterwards. I decided to give it a try and it worked like it should. The cards fan is now running at an ultra low level when I´am working and at full speed when I´am playing games. The way it should be.

In computing, firmware is software that is embedded in a hardware device. It is often provided on flash ROMs or as a binary image file that can be uploaded onto existing hardware by a user.

Now, what I want to explain with this little story is that firmware updates might be worth looking at for your hardware. They can make your hardware faster, enable features or get rid of bugs. I decided to create a list of good sites that offer firmware updates for various products like graphic cards, dvd drives, raid systems, motherboards and routers.

Before I start with the list I´d like to remind everyone that firmware flashing is no easy task and could damage your hardware. Make sure you know what you are doing.

DVD Writers:

Dvd writers can benefit in several ways from new firmware versions. Some could get added double layer support, increase their writing speed or disable the regional code.

Flashing a dvd drive is a simple task. You need to know the manufacturer, the model and the firmware version. To find this information do the following: (in windows xp)

Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – System Information

Click on components and select CD-ROM.

Look at the row PNP Device ID. There is a large underline in the middle, after that you see your firmware. Now visit a site like the firmware page and search for your manufacturer. It should show a entry and give you a link to all the firmware versions that are available. If you find one that enables new features download it and follow the guidelines from there on.

General links:

club.cdfreaks.com – A forum with a firmware section.
etnas firmware page
The dangerous brothers
The firmware page

Specific links:

Liteon, Memorex and Pioneer firmwares
Nec firmwares
Nec firmwares 2

Graphic Adapters:

New firmwares speed up your card, enable temperature sensors to work or even change the model of the card into a newer one.

Ati and Nvidea cards need different tools to flash the firmware. I recommend the atitool for ati cards and for nvidea cards a utility like nvflash

Search for your card, download the latest firmware if it adds new features and follow the guidelines of the text file.

General links:

Mvktech
Techpowerup.com

Raid Controller:

I never updated a raid controller. They can be updated to support additional raid and udma modes. A very good site is storage-raid-forum.de which offers downloads for many companies.

You use the same flash utility when flashing your motherboards bios if the controller is an internal one. Take a look at the homepage of your manufacturer to recieve the information on how to flash a motherboard.

Router:

I never flashed a router myself but flashing could enable features or allow you to change parameters. Good sites with lots of information are openwrt.org and sveasoft.com

[tags]firmware, update, bios, flash, rom, ram, dvd, graphic[/tags]

Related posts

• Your keyboard is more dirty than your toilet (1)
• Xbox 360 HD can be connected to your pc (3)
• Why QWERTY was invented ! (0)
• What you should do before bringing the PC in for repair (11)
• Waterproof Keyboards (1)