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Yup it's metal I have a LPM. What is missing is the SM for this device. So I haven't a clue what to look for. It was definitely working fine the last time it had an outing. So what single thing (Occam's razor) is the most likely source of it dying? Thanks S

Fixing up my office (which has been a disaster since Covid) I ran into a few MD-related things not working right. The most surprising of these is my Hi-MD player, the captioned item (picture below). No idea why it got rotated, blame the phone for that. Anyhow, with a working battery, or on the charge stand, you can hear it seeking from one end of the travel to the other. Then repeating..... forever. To give the general idea of what is happening, I tried putting in different kinds of disk. With a CD (prerecorded) or LP2/SP disk, the seeking is more or less continuous. With any HiMD (legacy or 1GB), you can hear the characteristic noise as it reads the (low-MD) TOC and then tries to read the Hi-MD information - so a short change in sound whilst it does this. This suggests to me that it is actually detecting the TOC, and then changing gears, so *some* data is probably being processed. I opened it up (and nothing to report. The flexible cable to the OP looks intact. These things are pretty sturdy. And yes, after reassembly, it made exactly the same noises. Ideas? These players are pretty sturdy, so I am quite surprised. Stephen

Hmmm... what's an NH10? Or did I miss something.... Looks to me like that picture is an NH1.

Good morning. I just realised that folks will have a hard time finding this unit online as you have posted the incorrect name, so I have edited your post accordingly. Welcome to SIF!

I'd be inclined to get one of the "sidecar" battery cases, and put a real Alkali (non-rechargeable) battery in that, before you panic. The lugs (that contact the positive battery terminal) on the locking tag/door for the "prism"/gumstick battery is one of the weak points on most of these devices. The other end (there's a sharp point that is supposed to connected to the negative end of the NiMH battery by pressure) is the second. Frequently scratching the bottom of the (NiMH) battery with a sharp knife will wake it up.

There's only one reason I have any CD (MD) disks. Alignment. You cannot do the steps to align the laser unless you have one.

Your phone is very likely a USB C. The jack on the bt spkr is as you say, a micro usb. So you need one of those (with power supply or from PC) to power/charge it. The circular jack is, notwithstanding this being a "wireless" speaker, old-fashioned (wired) audio in 3.5mm. https://www.sony.ca/en/electronics/support/product/srs-xb2/manuals

Wow, so there *is* dout on the onkyo hi-md decks? That's amazing. Sign me up, for one Stephen

The only trick is adding optical out on those decks which don't have it, at least for the MD section (eg MXD-D5C, MDS-JE480). They must all have the same style of firmware, because the "- DA" shows even on those decks that do NOT have optical out. Sadly the Onkyo MD-105FX (one of only a couple of Hi-MD decks in existence) doesn't do it. But that doesn't matter because a HiMD is already completely in the digital domain, and can be played back "directly" by a computer (ie it makes little difference whether the Hi-MD .OMA files are on the PC or on a minidisk, all the reproduction takes place in the computer's sound card, which DOES matter). But it can be done. Easily. Couple of wires and the right TOSlink LED transmitter.

I'm really impressed - this is what the internet is for, to take advantage of our shared knowledge. Well done!

Hello 1. Sonic Stage is not drag and drop. It's unknown to me whether MP3 files, for example, are directly copied to (and played from) the NW-E013F and similar devices. Or whether they get converted by SS and (then) copied to the device. The crash of SS is well-known, you should download the "Ultimate" version from our site here, and this may solve your problem. That crash occurs when SS goes out to a website that no longer exists, during initialization. 2. You may need the NetMD and/or HiMD drivers for Windows 64 bit (because I think the NW-E015F is set up to pretend to be a minidisc device or ATRAC Device). The .inf file you will have (assuming you have a CD or a download with the requisite files) is probably set up for Windows 32 bit. I'm not even sure if Windows 11 supports 32 bits any more. If it did, then the 32 bit Windows would likely solve your problem. However as there is no actual MD (minidisc) device, it is possible that the 64-bit thing is not an issue. But you may still be using ATRAC3 (which is a minidisc format) even if you start with MP3 files, for example. This means you still need a driver of some kind. 3. To support modified .inf files (such as the one I could make for you) is possible but Microsoft made it more and more difficult with successive versions of Windows. Basically you have to reboot the computer in a special mode for long enough to install the driver ("disable signature enforcement"). Once you have done so, all is well (and you can reboot normally), but you have to trick Windows into accepting "insecure" (tampered-with) versions of <whatever>.inf. Most likely, you have to get a driver installed, and somewhere there is a package for that. Maybe that's all you need. Perhaps you can tell us if you had it working before, or whether this is the first attempt on a new (to you) device and/or Windows version. It's also possible that you have to disable some (modern) checks in windows on self-modifying code ("Data Execution Prevention") but unless I had one of these and Windows 11 (I currently have neither) I can not really be sure about this. I hope this helps and that you can get it working. We have lots of people who know about this stuff, maybe one of them already solved this exact problem (your final question) 4. There are more modern (user-supported) software programs than Sonic Stage, though you will have to go through tha same or similar gyrations to get a new device working with these programs too. I am a SS fan, but there are plenty of folks who have experience with the new stuff. One program (out of the box and from Sony) that might work directly with your device is Sound Forge (part of Sony Vegas Studio Platinum) 9 or 10, as it has all the same smarts for reading and converting different files as does Sonic Stage, and will talk to an "ATRAC Device".

Stick around, we may need you (experts at fiddling with the low level stuff are always welcome around here). Do you live in Budapest? We had an excellent techy member from there who left us, sadly.

Right, but the existence of such errors does point to some underlying problem that is nothing to do with alignment. I don't think you can update firmware but maybe you (or someone reading this) knows differently.

Not sure if this helps https://minidisc.org/part_Sony_MDS-JE500+S37.html The page speaks of random retry errors. You might do better with a newer deck - they are not that expensive any more. Kind regards

I don't think SYNC REC works properly for most digital sources. In fact I think it may only work when the S/PDIF signal actually disappears. I'm sure you're aware that the red book specification on CDs always has a 2-second lead in allowing sychronization. Unfortunately for you a lot of CD players will completely hide that 2 seconds. a lot of folks have struggled with gapless recording for the opposite reason to you. Originally also CD tracks used to have the equivalent of track marks in them, but nobody uses that any more (in I would guess 20+ years). (help me you nerds of red book!) The exception to this rule is the PCLK-MN10 (or MN20). It turns off the digital signal so that you see a drop. YMMV. Even when you can get it to work (with the level setting which isn't there on portables), there is a problem where it drops out and makes a track mark you're not expecting. For example in a piece of classical music where everyone is silent for a bar and they come in together double-forte.

(chiming in with the alacrity of the profoundly ignorant, as I have never even seen one of these) Either there's no signal from the head, so the servo system doesn't have the inputs to process feedback, OR the cog on the lateral sled that moves the head is stuck (calcified grease?) or, worse, broken. If it was recently writing, you are in a pickle because it looks to me (again, ignorant) that the design resembles the portables rather than the decks (of Sony), and there is probably a locking mechanism (on the whole drive) for when the write head is engaged ("dropped" in the words of the manual quoted). If so, it's very tricky as you will end up taking it to bits before that will release - unless you can find the right bit of metal to push so that the lock comes off. This is how portable units get permanently damaged, by trying to jimmy the locking mechanism. I know, I've done it. I think you need to see what position the head(s) is(are) in both laterally and vertically. It it possible to show us a picture by unscrewing the protective cover on the drive? Also you may be able to see the problem yourself if you open up BOTH your units in the same way and see what's stuck (i.e. not moving!) on the busted one. You also need to understand the pictures on page 65 of that PDF (it's numbered "5" so this PDF is several documents in one file). In particular it would be nice if there was a problem with the arm/rod/switch at 160/170. You might consider something like this (and there are other listings there): https://www.ebay.com/itm/196223789471 For parts, and the fault, that it has, may well be different from the fault that yours has. In any event the spares will be useful, especially if you have two of these and want to keep them going indefinitely. Or you could buy the whole MD mechanism (but of course a complete replacement unit may be just as cost-effective). KML 252 AAA. https://www.ebay.de/itm/353216727287 Sorry this is probably useless waffling by me. Good luck!

Well, I think what they must have meant (in AD 2000/2001) was via MCrew and the PCLK-MN20. So yes, that absolutely works great. But no direct USB I/O of music. And like all other Sony Devices, no way to get digital OUT without hacking the device. I am sure it can be hacked, but at this juncture I simply don't care, there are plenty of ways to get that on other MD decks.

I had forgotten too - your memory is better than mine. Thanks.

I think it was always there but well concealed wrt NetMD. I think Sonicstage required tweaks/patches but the h/w supported it. It's not an option for *recording*, of that I am relatively sure. Edit: I found it - in SonicStage if you right click a track (file) and select convert, one of the options is 105kbps. Edit 2: looks as if SS does NOT allow transfer to NetMD devices of that format (however they mention it can be copied to AtracCD or an AtracDevice). I am guessing the very first NetMD/MDLP devices had it as an option, but it was withdrawn (there's no sign of it even in the earliest widely available model, the MZ-N1). Anyone?

I now have two PX7's completely working. Blood, sweat, toil and tears and I know more about MD and CD stockers than I ever wanted to. The biggest cost was the shipping, I also have a completely non-working spare MD stocker (including MDM-7B which works) and CD unit (mostly gibbled, a non-working cd laser assembly, and a completely stuck stocker) Happy New Year to all!

Well done Asivery!!! Thanks for the link. I see my recent comment about LP3 (105kbps) leaked through..... <big grin>. Excellent news.

I fulfilled a new year's resolution just now. I got down on my knees and prayed (well, actually I merely wrote a sort of grovelling email) to VLC. About Atrac Advanced Lossless. I had a conversation with Asivery over at WebMiniDisc Pro about this, and it does seem that it should be supported. Indeed my AAL files no longer give codec errors, but step through the seconds of the music. Just that no sound comes out. HNY2U2

Is this a unit that has worked forever, or did you just acquire it? Did you get the "writing" message when the recording was over (when you pressed "STOP")? How long a recording (time) did you do, and on what input? If you have another MD the first thing would be to take the disk and put it in that other unit, and see if anything is there. If it says "Blank Disc" then I think I know your problem. Finally, can you **play** ANY disk in the MZ-R30? Welcome to our forums!

Ignore the post I made (and deleted)... owing to some weird difficulty with seeing Sony's manuals online, I got mixed up, and couldn't see the details. The E95 is an ATRAC device, including ATRAC3 (NetMD) and ATRAC3+. You may need the 64 bit driver for NetMD (and MP3? not sure) but there is no driver needed for ATRAC3+. This (A3+) works like Hi-MD so if you are using the latest user-supported software like WebMinidiscPro you will need to tell it you have a Hi-MD device. The first step is to get some files loaded into SonicStage, and being able to play them on your PC. The fact that the PC won't boot with the device connected is actually a GOOD sign - it means most likely it's hanging up trying to access it. It might need our generic NetMD 64-bit driver. However the entries for your device are not there in that file. We would need to add. Do you have a package of driver files for this NW-E95? If so maybe you can post it here as an attachment (It will be quite small) or at least tell us what .inf files are in the package. I have some later NW devices than yours, and to the best of my recollection they didn't need any special drivers. So I am slightly puzzled.

Well that was fast, Amazon delivered my NiCds. Stuck 'em in, checked the date. CORRECT! (the time was 15 minutes off and I haven't figured how to fix that yet) So Techmoan is only partially right. I think if there's charge in the onboard circuitry it does NOT die immediately. Maybe these NiCads have some other purpose.....? Do we have a SM, is anyone motivated to look? It wasn't without any battery (the outgoing ones were delivering 1.05V apiece, according to a techie friend a sure sign they're almost dead) for only 3 minutes or so, but still I am surprised. Stephen