Hungerdunger

Yes, you're right Stephen - I'd forgotten about that. But at least for someone who doesn't want to lose a cherished legacy recording you can definitely transfer that using a protected disc.

But whether or not that's the case, surely the important thing for the average user is that no changes can be made to the disc by SonicStage when transferring files. I don't know how you can prove this conclusively, but when I put a protected disc into my RH1, I can't make SonicStage delete tracks or format the disc.

EDIT: In this post I was giving instructions on using Regedit, but you beat me to it, so I've deleted them!

I've just tried uploading an old SP recording using my RH1. You CAN protect the disc first - it still works fine. As others have said, you have an option of saving the file in PCM or 256kbps ATRAC, and additionally you can save in WAV format. The file DOES lose the original timestamp. Assuming you haven't already installed SonicStage, don't use the installation disc; get the "Ultimate" installation from this site. In SonicStage, click on the "briefcase" icon, then "Advanced" then "Import Settings" where you make your selections for how you want to save the files.

From my experience with these batteries, which I have used in the NH1 and RH1, when they are new you'll have charging times of up to one hour, but as they lose their capacity the charging time becomes shorter until it is limited to around 15 minutes.

Unfortunately your choice is either record in real time or buy yourself an MZ-RH1/MZ-M200. They are the only machines which can do what you want.

I've just bought Barock1's two RH1s. He offered them at a very reasonable price; was easy to deal with and dispatched the goods quickly. I can recommend him as a vendor. I just hope he doesn't regret getting rid of both of them!

Your main problem will be if you want to record to the unit (either by microphone or from a hi-fi). You might not be able to see the settings for your recording, including recording levels and time marks. Also, as a minor point, you wouldn't be able to set the clock. Other than that, I can't see any other problems. As to whether it might be on its way out, I'll leave that to more technically-minded people.

PM sent.

Hi Stephen, Would that account for the first fault where it can only be turned on via the remote? If so, is it an expensive repair? (I don't think it's anything I could attempt myself).

I hope some of the more technically-minded people here might be able to help diagnose this problem and tell me whether its likely to be fixable. I bought one of my NH1s some five or six years ago and having tested it put it away until I dug it out last week. On trying to get it going I discovered two faults: 1) It is impossible to start it playing from "sleep" from the unit itself. None of the buttons have any effect. However I can start playback using the remote (although it sometimes takes two presses to get it going), and once the machine is "live" all its buttons work fine. It is also OK if I open the clamshell and close it (which activates the display) and then operate the buttons before the display disappears. 2) When I drop it into its charging cradle it refuses to charge. I've tried different batteries, both of which work in my other NH1. Any ideas?

When you say "crashes on startup", what exactly happens? Do you get an error message?

Apologies - I should have read your post more carefully.

Can you elaborate on this Stephen? I thought the Ultimate (or Pro) versions were only necessary if you wanted to run Simple Burner on virtual XP. Won't your Net MD 760 files work with any version? I've just tried it (with W7 Pro 64 bit) and get the message "MD Simple Burner does not support this operating system." You can still install it if you set up a virtual machine running XP (for which you do need Ultimate or Pro), but from my own experience, by the time you've got XP up and running you might as well have used SonicStage.

It's a fairly standard USB to Mini USB cable. You don't say where you are, but if you are in the UK have a look at this; alternatively, to be on the safe side you could take the NH-900 to most electrical stores (such as PC World in the UK) who will be happy to overcharge you!

I'd never heard this expression before (and I don't think sfbp has either), so I Googled it and came up with this:

No, you're not missing anything - once you've opened the cover the battery should just slide out. Did you buy the RH1s from a dealer? If so, and assuming they still have the original batteries in them, I'd take them back and ask them to sort it out. Otherwise it may be a case of using brute force. I've just taken the back off an old RH1, as I thought it might get you access the battery compartment, but unfortunately it doesn't.

I might be interested in a couple of those. If you order them could you let us know the shipping charge to the UK?

How about this one?

Not necessarily. I bought a new PC in October running W7Pro 64 bit, and for the first few weeks SonicStage ran faultlessly. It has now developed a problem which I described here, but fortunately with the Pro and ultimate editions you can install and run XP as a virtual machine, so I'm up and running again with that and although I haven't tried it yet should also be able to run Simple Burner.

Well I have to say a huge THANK YOU to Stephen (sfbp) who over the last few days has worked extraordinarily hard trying to get SonicStage to work for me, coming up with loads of ideas. Unfortunately it has so far been unsuccessful, and he suspects there may be some serious problems with my W7 installation. However, if anyone else comes across this thread having had the same problem and can provide a solution, I'd love to hear it (I think Stephen probably would as well). In the meantime, because I fortunately have the W7 Pro edition, I have at least been able to run SonicStage successfully in XP mode.

Other people may disagree, but my advice is (assuming you've tried more than one disc and get the same result every time): if it isn't working, send it back. There's obviously something not right with it, which you may be able to fix or you may not. There are still plenty of RH1s around, so hold out for one which works straight out of the box.

Thanks for replying Stephen. Yes, Windows 7 does have restore points, but I've tried restoring without success. No, I didn't switch users, and no, I haven't got Excel 2003 or later. It was working on Friday morning, but not in the evening, and I can't recall installing anything or changing any settings in between. I'll try uninstalling and re-installing SS tomorrow to see if that helps, but it never helped the people who had this problem with Windows XP, so I'm not too hopeful.

I bought a new computer a month ago running W7 Pro 64 bit and have been using SonicStage nearly every day with no problems - until yesterday. Now when I try to start it, I get a window saying "Updating SonicStage database. SonicStage will be restarted after the updating has completed", I then click OK in the window (or the "X" button) but nothing happens and according to Task Manager SonicStage is NOT running. Searching the forums I've found several old threads about this and it appears that the usual fix was to run the MDAC Repair Tool. I've downloaded and run that but it hasn't helped, and in fact I don't know whether it is relevant to Windows 7, as the previous posts concerned XP or earlier. I've also found this Sony Support page which suggests a fix, but again it appears to be only for XP, as does the Microsoft page they refer me to. Before I spend too much time on it, I wonder whether anyone has had this problem with Windows 7, and if so how you fixed it. Even if you haven't had it, any suggestions are welcome.