sfbp

Hmmm - that looks suspiciously like a Sony controller (non-MD). I wonder if the codes are related? To clarify, it's the only manufacturer who made one with those dimensions and that shape of buttons.

I echo that.... the only thing that appeared to be brand-of-md-related is the report I and others made with some disks with transparent cases (the TD RXG) recording ok, but not playing back well on some other devices eg my MDX-66XLP car MD changer.

So we're thinking the spots are patches of lubricant?

Please note that the (optical) socket doubles as a standard stereo line input when you insert a normal 3.5mm jack. This is not coax digital but line-in analogue.

I think the advice probably originated from wearing out the (finite?) number of button pushes required from some more primitive forms of MD Decks, especially Pre-NetMD. The RM-D20P solves *that* problem, at least for decks. Trying to label things on a portable is IMHO a thankless task.

Glad to hear it. More to the point, don't even consider the sexy-looking full-face labels that stick all over the MD. Mind you, I imagine that it's hard for them to have a loose edge which is in the end what caused your disaster. I'm just rather cautious. Stephen

I have no idea if the "reset drive" even works for the 105FX. I read about it in the 105 manual just now. Sounds pretty nasty. If you get the machine apart you might see if it's something obvious like a broken tooth on the gear/reck which does the ejection/insertion. I have once or twice had apparently intractable problems where the 105FX failed. Leaving it powered down (not standby, but removing the cord from mains supply) overnight fixed the problem. I don't think there's a SM for the 133 either.

Sorry Kevin, that's not the manual for the 105FX, just its ancestor the 105. Up to now we've been unable to find one for the 105FX. Looking briefly I would say there's no belt, so don't get your hopes up. In the 105's manual (the one linked) there's a reference to resetting the drive. I wonder if this is perhaps worth trying? Is the cause of this something sticky on the MD? I am totally resistant to the full-covering and also the side mounted labels on MDs because of this type of problem.

Nope. Don't do it. That's how my CMT-PX3 (DHC595MD) got toasted before I ever received it. When I got the drive back from Jim, I found that same power->100V converter. Magically everything stopped overheating. Our voltage here is closer to 120 than 110, routinely. Not sure about Nova Scotia.

My first reaction would be to say that the power adapter is an excellent device and works perfectly. I have one. My second reaction would be to look at the schematic and see if you can figure out how to modify what's there, rather than putting in a whole new supply. Sony is very very careful about their components, and unless the one you got was from Sony, I would be rather sceptical of its ability to provide noise-free operation. Sadly, this is the most recent deck from Sony (another reason not to mess with it), and I cannot find a service manual. I have a vague recollection from someone describing to me how Sony has (in the past) used strappings of the same power transformer (including a weird loopback backstrap which is the difference between 110 and 100 volts). But as this appears to be a domestic only model (correct me if I am wrong) I doubt if there are any such provisions. I would NOT butcher this beautiful deck.

Sorry theres some "smarts" built into the way tracks are imported. I don't think you can get around it except by changing the track titles. If you are importing CDs, you must be toast. By all means poke around inside the configuration menus, but I have never noticed anything.

You will need our one-size-fits-all download (32- or 64- bits) driver for NetMD. You will need to disable driver signing for one reboot cycle. Google it and look on the site, there are endless descriptions of what to do. Good luck!

This is emphatically not a PC forum, and those of us who do know about PCs (myself included) know next to nothing about VAIO PCs and have never had one in their hands. Having said that, I am aware of similar issues in the land of Lenovo/W10. Initially I had the same problem but one day it started working just fine. You MIGHT try installing W7 bluetooth support over top of whatever you have, assuming their bitness is the same (32- or 64-) between the two setups. Certainly a number of other drivers (not BT) have worked for me "upgrading" to W10 from W7. Your alternative is to try and get a patched version of W7. It ***is*** possible. Let your fingers do the walking, no point in posting links here.

Most W10 are upgrades. Not sure how you force W10 to go into 32-bits though. The ones I have dealt with mainly got there because someone had 32-bit Win7 before that, and upgraded it.

Thanks for this - very useful at some future juncture (for me) and for OP if/when he gets a deck.

I'd forgotten all about this and moved on. It's still sitting in the heap of unfinished projects on my messy den floor. Happy New Year!

You've been watching Die Hard 3, I can tell. (calls in a loud voice "J - E - R - E - M - Y"). That woke me up anyway. Stepsimhon

Thank you Kevin This is terrific for those whose machines have parts which simply fail. As i figured out when upgrading the D40 and D5C, the 5V part is actually easier to work with since 5V is already on the main inter-board connector. Check?

Thank you for the much more precise answer Gyula. Hope you had a good Christmas - we are all very quiet and rather lonely here, as despite no lockdown everyone has abandoned social relationships after listening to the prognostications of our top doctors. I was painting a broad picture, and it turns out that the USB devices were all CXD-2664 whereas the PS/2 devices were CXD-2662. I've no idea if the actual BOARD can be swapped though - seems much easier (!) to swap the OWH. Regardless there is likely to be at least an alignment cycle (correct me if I am wrong on this point or any other), so for those without LPM it isn't easy "just" swapping things. My own experiences of OWH repair are in two parts: portables and decks. The portable (MZ-N505) I and a friend managed to repair, it was a nightmare of not being able to see, trying to heat solder without melting plastic, and pure fiddliness. The only deck that I got fixed (my MDM7 in the PX-3) went off to Jim Hoggarth back in the day. I vividly recall my efforts to fix a stuck MDS-JE510 which ended with it going to the dump. There is a bright side to machines (decks or portables) with broken OWHs - they can be used to erase disks (particularly when you have a disk that won't respond to treatment due to copy-protection after transfer by NetMD).

Me three (King's?)

No chance. The 980 needs the USB means of control, the 940 needs the PS/2 style. Not compatible.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely! I couldn't resist getting that one in in response to your moniker. 1GB of RAM won't buy you the software equivalent of the marmite in a cress sandwich in today's modern operating system. Give up and get busy with Linux if you want to make use of that machine. This is absolutely NOT the place to ask about Vaios but my advice is pretty general - FUHGEDDABOUDID (with apologies to Hugh Grant).

Jim's erstwhile competition! Thanks.

Mine says Gundelsheim on the packet but the guy seems to have run out, if you google him (omit "MD" from your search) and you will find him on at least 3 European Ebays. Your Gersbach listing DOES show option on 17mm ?diameter belt. Maybe this listing is helpful (I don't know about the MDM-X4 but it looks right) https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233834674447 The part number (Sony) is 4-967-656-01 but I have no clue if that matches (they frequently have multiple numbers for the same item). If you have one of the captioned models you can check since this belt appears to be widely available.

It's like most shared open-source projects, you have to go off to github (if not there, somewhere else, you will find it real quick) and scratch your head over that. IIRC dates were not used, period.