Terence Kelly

I believe that the files will import with the album and title information intact..at least they have the few times that I have tried it. Since about SS 3.1 there is an option to rip without copy protection. Early versions of SS added the copy protection automatically so you could still be out of luck. For the future, make sure your friend turns off copy protection when ripping his music. You should be able to get the latest version of SS (4.3 for English speakers) here at Atrac Life. --Terry

Well, there are a couple of possibilities. If your friend has a Connect account (the music service is closed but account management is still available, he should reinstall SonicStage on the laptop and register the laptop with his account. Connect will consider it to be a different computer. He will then be able to use his HD1 as before provided it too was also registered. If he never registered the HD1 then he will have to erase all the music on it before he can reconnect it to SS. You can still rescue the files on the HD1 if they were ripped without copy protection. If they were not copy protected you can copy the various folders to the laptop using Windows explorer and then import the files into SS using the import folder option in SS. If the files were copy protected you cannot save them except by making an analog copy in real time. In the future, he should use the Connect account and use the SS backup tool before wiping the system. Sony really went out of their way to copy protect their first HD player. I still think it's the best sounding music player I've ever used, but the copy protection scheme is a PIA. --Terry

This is a stock reply to any question about SS and Connect. I am now on my third exchange with support. The second reply from Sony seemed to be surprised that losing the servers would affect us seriously. Whoever is answering doesn't appear to have ever used an Atrac device. I suggested they try hooking up an unregistered HD5 to more than one computer to see what happens. I also suggested three options: maintaining the servers, updating Sonicstage to always authenticate a device or database, replace all active atrac devices with new walkmen that don't require authentication. My wife says that I received a call from Sony yesterday. I'll post what they say if I manage to Connect. (bad pun intended) --Terry

I made a complaint to Sony, who wrote back and said I would still be able to use my Walkmen. I then pointed out all the things that you won't be able to do without authentication and they have not responded. If I continue to hear nothing I will start making complaints to Better Business Bureau and other consumer sites about Sony's shabby behaviour. I would encourage everyone to complain loudly directly to Sony. They set up this system. They need to honor it. --Terry

I just happened to check in at this forum and was alarmed when I saw the post about the authentication servers being dropped. I understand if Sony needs to lose Connect, but the authentication servers are necessary for the proper use of an Atrac walkman. Sony designed the devices to be crippled without authentication. Without them, you cannot use your walkman with more than one computer, you cannot restore your library without completely erasing your walkman, you will not be able to use any music with copy protection, etc etc. Sony sold those devices under certain terms. Removal of the authentication servers will negate those terms and I believe it is grounds for a class action suit. A major company like Sony should be told in no uncertain terms that it cannot walk out on its agreement with its customers without serious penalty. I have seven working Atrac devices in my family. I want them all replaced at Sony's expense. --Terence Kelly

I should add that unless you had a connect account, the HD5 will only play files from one computer. To play files from your Vista computer you have to reinitialize the HD5 in SonicStage (which reerases all files on the HD5) so that it becomes mated (for life) to that computer. Go ahead and get a Connect account so that you can avoid this problem again. Terry

The early Sony Hard Disk players were heavily into copy protection. Chances are that the files on your HD5 were put on with copy protection that was designed to keep you from moving the files to another computer and using them from there. To use multiple computers with the same device you needed to register with the Sony Connect service. You could then register up to 5 computers that you could freely move your songs to and from with the same device. If your original XP computer was registered, you should register the new computer to your account, if not I don't think there is an easy solution. The latest version of Sonic stage allows you to eliminate copy protections from songs as you take them from CD. You should make sure you select that option for the future. In the short run, if you weren't registerecd with Connect you would have to reimport the files from CD. Wish I had a better option for you. --Terry Kelly

Well I would have hoped that reset would at least give you normal access to the menu. Then you could reformat the unit. Barring that, the only thing I could think of would be to leave it on until the battery dies -- May be that will reset it? --Terry

By locked, do you mean you cannot play them in Sonicstage or that you simply cannot transfer them anymore. Did you have a Connect account? --Terry

You mentioned you see a data access indicator. Does the walkman show up as a drive in Windows? TK

Without access to the original laptop you might be out of luck. If you registered the original laptop and your HD with Connect they you could register the new computer to the same Connect account. Then you should be able to move your songs from your HD to the new computer even if they have copy protection. --Terry

I don't think you can just set up folders anyway you want, and I don't think SS or Sony players support nested folders. However you can name the albums anyway you like and move songs to those albums. Or the 706 supports intelligent playlists, i.e if you create a playislt with songs from various albums that are already on the 706 SS will not place the songs on there twice. On the 706, those essentially become folders with anything you want in them. I think that's the closest you can come to organizing in folders. T. Kelly

If your files were not copy protected you should be able to import them into Sonicstage by treating your player as a hard drive in Windows and importing a folder. If they were copy protected and you had registered the device to a Connect Account, you should be able to register the new computer to your Connect account and transfer the files via SonicStage. If they were copy protected and you never had a Connect account you may be out of luck. TK

Are you using SonicStage? You should be able to import oma files without copy protection into SonicStage. If you had copy protection then you must be on the same machine to put the files back into SS. If you have a different machine and your original was registed to Connect, you can get the new one to import if you register it as well. TK

That's curious. I don't see that feature listed on the 005 nor do I remember seeing it in 005's menu. (My daughter has one.) The normalizer doesn't cause any distortion on the 705, but I am listening to classical Atrac files. There might be a difference between how it handles Atrac and mp3. TK