scipio

I downloaded and installed SonicStage v3.0, which included Connect Music Store. When I tried to access CMS, I got the message: "Due to licensing restrictions..." - in short, I am not allowed access to download anything. Worse, when I try to access www.connect.com to download the mp3-to-atrac3+ batch encoder (this forum) I am transferred immediately to www.connect-europe.com. Is there a way round this, does anyone know? Apart from removing SonicStage v3.0 and reinstalling the connect-europe version 2.3 I had before, that is. Although back to v2.3 is a reliable solution, it would be more time and money wasted - of which I have done a lot lately...

The "Transfer Mode Settings" Dialog box has a check box option 'Delete the converted files from the hard disk after transferring' which means that if the box is selected the files will be deleted automatically after transfer to the device/media.

So I discovered - but it doesn't work with SonicStage 1.5. Downloading V2.1 from www.sony.com, and V2.3 from www.connect-europe.com do. Thanks for the clarification.

Many thanks for the reply. I have solved the problem, so panic over. SonicStage 2.3 downloads from http://www.connect-europe.com/sonicstage to SonicStage 1.5 with no problems - it uninstalls V1.5 before installing itself - so my new HD is now OK. SonicStage 2.3 is the current version approved for Europe/UK and it is required for the Connect Music Service. When SonicStage 3.0 is approved/required I will upgrade then. Incidentally, this V2.3 download and the 2.1 download from http://www.sony.com download sonicstageinstaller first, which http://forums.minidisc.org/images/SS23ENG.exe does not. Is there perhaps something missing from this reference to SS23ENG.exe?

I suspect that they are in the SonicStage My Library as .oma files? If so, try Wave converter to return them to your PC folder as .wav files free of SonicStage restrictions. (Files imported into SonicStage come under OpenMG/MagicGate licensing control - one copy held on PC, no more than 3 downloaded copies allowed to exist at any one time.)

I have tried to run SS23ENG.exe downloaded from http://forums.minidisc.org/images/SS23ENG.exe as kurisu advised R-H (Upgrade Question - Mar 19 2005 12:16AM) to a hard drive without any SonicStage software on it. When run it gave the error message "The target software for this module is not installed". I then installed SonicStage 1.5.06 and ran SS23ENG.exe again with the same result. I tried to register but was refused on the grounds that the MD model had already been registered. So I cannot upgrade this version of SonicStage. Does this mean that when a hard drive crashes or the installed version of SonicStage becomes corrupted for some reason and has to be uninstalled, that it is not permitted to upgrade SonicStage and the user has to stay with the original version supplied with the netMD Walkman? Worse - does it also mean that upgrades are denied to users who upgrade the hard drive or change computers?

I forgot to say that the NW-HD3 hard disc Walkman ships with SonicStage 2.3 on CDROM, and that the NW-E55/75/95/99 MP3 player CDROMs have SonicStage 2.0. Buying one of these is a way to obtain an offline installation copy if you cannot find any way to access the Internet. Sony Product News (2Mar05 12:12) announced that SonicStage 3.0 will be shipped from April 2005.

Forgive the simplicity but these are routine check and they sometimes work: Is SonicStage otherwise OK? If so, then uninstall and reinstall are probably not needed. Is the minidisc write tab closed? Is there room on the minidisc for the tracks selected? Is the battery charged? Does SonicStage transfer tracks you have not transferred before (try one only)? If so, have you transferred the ‘no-transfer’ tracks three times already (the permitted number)? Does SonicStage read the MD track list and show it correctly in the NetMD/Transfer window? Does SonicStage transfer from the MD correctly and remove the MD copy? If so, the USB connection is probably OK. Can you record from PC Lineout to MD LineIn using the PC soundcard? If so, the problem is localized to the USB connections, cable and SonicStage. Can you try a different USB connector, cable and MD? If these make no change the problem is localized to SonicStage and uninstall/reinstall is probably necessary (it may actually be one of the quicker tests). Recording to the MD, apart from licensed tracks through SonicStage/USB, is only in realtime using the PC LineOut and MD LineIn connections. Any soundcard/software can be used for making individual manual recordings. The Creative Minidisc Center software, however, can be used to compile an album from PC files and record it to the MD automatically, and the freeware winNMD from Christian Klukas (see the forum link) can checkout OMG files. You should be able to use the SonicStage Move function to move OMG tracks from the My Library to a PC folder for use with winNMD checkout. The cost of winNMD is 14 euros via PayPal. If the autoactivation from PayPal fails, email Christian and he will send the activation key. winNMD can also read the MD track list through the USB and then (MD LineOut to PC LineIn) play and record selected tracks to a PC folder automatically.

As Kurisu implies, you need to bring the Internet to your computer. The whole point of netMD Walkman is control of licensed music so it is certain that offline installation of SonicStage will not be permitted. The Model and user need to be registered. If the usual landline is not available, could you take your computer temporarily to an Internet connection? Other possibilities may be difficult or costly depending on your skills and resources - mobile phone or satellite connections are possible. Or you might find a friend with the same computer configuration (MB, CPU, chipset) who would boot up his system on your HD. It is not clear how you have tried downloads if your computer is not connected to the Internet. Simply copying files from one computer to another is not going to work, and any attempt to identify and copy relevant drivers/software and registry entries will almost certainly be doomed. The SonicStage 2.3 upgrade downloads 4 files as a set. The last is the Launcher - which runs automatically and checks for an existing version. If one is present, it prompts and uninstalls it before installing the upgraded version. Presumably, the upgrade (downloaded by a registered model/user) would be installed even if no previous version of SonicStage was present.

Those in the Europe/UK Region may find this helpful for upgrading: register for CONNECT at http://www.connect-europe.com and follow the instructions to download the "SonicStage® CONNECT Europe Edition Music Manager Software". A lot of questions are asked about your music interests (it is a music shop) and there is no indication that the download replaces earlier SonicStage software until the installer is run. Only then does it become apparent that the download is an upgrade - currently SonicStage 2.3. With Wave Converter (from http://sonyelectronics.sonystyle.com/walkmanmc/wav.html), tracks can be transferred through the fast USB comnnection, exported, edited and reimported to SonicStage as finished versions.

Your reply is offensive - there was no need for that. I have read the postings etc - the FAQs state specifically for example, in addition to those I listed above, "continue at your own risk [which includes randomly trashed uploads]". Since I and not you would bear the consequences of failure I prefer to ask for advice from knowledgeable people who are prepared to be helpful. You will know, since I am sure you have read the postings, that your location in Canada makes you irrelevant to my query. You will also know that "dex's options for paranoid users" make it very clear why I was asking for help.

Unfortunately, as I understand what I have read and tried, Sony stress that SonicStage V3.x is for US only and V2.3 is for Canada similarly. Sony also emphasise that their Wave Conversion Tool is for "the United States and Canada". Not living in those parts of the world, I have to make do with V2.1. HiMDRenderer, according to marcnet (and he should know), requires at least V2.3 (which I cannot have), is only Alpha, therefore experimental, is "not guaranteed to work" and may "trash tracks". My posting was asking if anybody knows of a USB way to import/export/edit and reimport, and could say so in simple language - experts sometimes forget how difficult it can be for a newcomer to make sense of piles and piles of often irrelevant advice. Sony obviously intended MiniDisc to be a modern replacement for commercial vinyl and CDs - all it can really do is manipulate final edited tracks into different album compilations. Hence the reliance on freeware and helpful contributors by those who want to use it for their own work before handing control to Sony. I can live with LineOut - I just hoped there might be more. Thanks for the welcome.

I want to upload self recorded tracks to SonicStage from an NH900 via USB, export to a PC folder for editing with a track editor (e.g. Audacity) and then import back into SonicStage for compilation and downloading to minidisc. Could someone advise if that is possible please, or will I have to upload to the PC directly via LineOut in realtime and edit before importing to SonicStage? Many thanks