I wanted to see if there was any way around this. If you haven't figured it out already, the MS-8348A is based on the Optorite CW4802. Using the firmware and tools readily available, I was able to turn my MSI drive into the Optorite.
To turn your MSI drive into an Optorite, you'll need a few files first. The first file you need is the update.exe from the 140D firmware. You can download this here:
http://download.msi.com.tw/support/dvr_ ... a_140d.exe
Next, you'll need the 150E firmware for the Optorite drive. You can download it here:
http://www.optorite.com/150E.zip
You just want the 150E.bin file. NOT the update.exe.
Next, take the bin file and the update.exe from the MSI firmware and copy it to a floppy or somewhere on your hardware. You will need to boot to DOS to update it. True DOS, not a command prompt. From there, you will need to run:
update.exe 150E. bin /F
The /F forces the firmware update, no matter what the drive's ID string is. Once you run it, it will ask you what drive you want to update. Choose the MSI drive and the firmware will be update. Once you reboot, you should have an Optorite drive.
You can always go back and turn your drive into an MS-8348A again by using the MSI firmware and running:
update.exe 140D.bin /F
Just a few screenshots.
Before:
After:
Is Optorite's 150E firmware the same as MSI's 150D firmware? Unfortunately, no. The media compatibility is on par with MSI's 140D firmware. We can only hope that MSI will release the 150D firmware soon.. or Optorite will release an update.
