Save to WAV format - two steps

[divirtual]

I've been using SonicStage 3.2 to upload Hi-MD files from my MZ-RH910 for some months now. Under Tools ... Options ... Transfer ... (Hi-MD) Transfer Settings ... Advanced ... Save in WAV format when importing ... is checked.

Last week, I started getting the "Cannot Save To WAV Format" error message. I had reported this on a thread in the Hi-MD Renderer Forum .

Since my PC is under automatic installation of fixes -- my company doesn't give me a choice -- I suspect that this error is the result of a conflict with a Windows XP fix installation. (I'll see if they can point out a log where the changes have happened).

I used Hi-MD Renderer last week, but a little investigation revealed that if I use the right mouse button on the .oma file in SS3.2's left pane, the "Save in WAV Format" works fine. Thus, it doesn't seem to be a direct problem of the WAV conversion, but instead some associated with the program that kicks it off.

I'm posting this message, and will see if I can track down more details on the installed fixes.

I'm running Windows XP Professional, Version 2002, Service Pack 1. (My company doesn't believe in SP2, because they think it introduces more problems than it fixes.)

[divirtual]

It's XP Security Fix KB902400 that is causing this problem. It was automatically installed on my XP SP1 image on October 18, and it caused SonicStage 3.2 to fail when invoking the conversion to WAV format.

I removed the Security Fix, and the WAV format conversion (i.e. from OMA to WAV in one step using SonicStage) is working as I write this.

Is there someone in the Minidisc Community that could report this problem to Sony or Microsoft, to make them aware of it? (I know that sometime, the automatic installation will happen again, which will probably replicate the problem).

[divirtual]

So, a month later, I've figured it out. There are some issues with DirectX 9.0c interacting with SonicStage, and probably Windows hotfixes. I'm not sure how this is missed when reinstalling SonicStage, so I'll relate the story.

Under SonicStage 3.2, I was using the two step method. The transfer from Hi-MD to OMA worked fine, but then there was a hiccup on the immediate conversion to WAV format. After exiting the error message, I would manually convert the OMA file to WAV.

I thought that installing SonicStage 3.3 would make things better, but they actually made things worse. The transfer from Hi-MD to OMA worked as before, and the hiccup happened, but the manual conversion to WAV wouldn't work anymore.

I was going to use the fallback plan of HiMDRenderer, and noted that it's now at v0.52, whereas I had successfully used v0.31 before. I downloaded the new version, and got a message that DirectSound/DirectX wasn't running at a current version. Thus, HiMDRenderer wasn't working -- although I'm not sure if I had reinstalled v0.31, whether it work.

Taking the error message from HiMDRenderer seriously, I went to the Microsoft site and downloaded and installed DirectX v9.0c. I note that it hasn't changed since 2004, so I wonder what's up with this problem. It's possible that there's some interaction between Windows fixes and DirectX, so maybe reinstalling DirectX 9.0c restores something. (I'm annoyed that my company-owned machine automatically installs urgent fixes in the background now, so I can't, in effect, remove a fix for more than about one day before it gets reinstalled).

Another annoyance I've now had is with SonicStage downloads/installs. I have high speed Internet access, so using the Internet install isn't a problem, but it appears that Sonicstage 3.2 has been expunged from the world. When I try to reinstall SonicStage 3.2, it actually installs v3.3. I looked around minidisc.org, but all instances (still in the cache from Google searches) of SonicStage v3.2 "full installs" are now gone.

I've been trained as a systems engineer, so problem determination is one of my skills. It's hard to do problem determination when Microsoft, Sony, and my company all have moving targets on software versions!

For now, I'm back in business. We'll see if anything changes when Windows fixes start coming down, again ....

[dex Otaku]

It's interesting how the different ways people do things end up showing different problems in software.

I've never experienced any problems either with WAV export or HiMDRenderer, but then, I don't use methods like letting SS export automatically upon the completion of an upload. The destination folder for my exported files changes every single time I do any exporting [because I like to organise things a certain way], and I tend to dislike any function that goes ahead with further steps without my telling it exactly what to do.

This is the same reason things like Firefox's downloads automatically being set to the desktop drives me batty - I prefer being asked where I want something put, so I know exactly where to look for it later, and aside, the desktop is not a place to put files IMO. I don't even have more than 3 prog icons on mine [i do use Objectdock, though].

At the least, in this case it's clear what you're doing [differently from me] that is getting you such different results. The fact that you've been able to trace the problem to a certain number of possible causes is excellent, as well. Thanks for the info.

[divirtual]

Arghh ... Just when I thought I had it figured out ... I got the same problem again. I have yet another story to report. The answer: SonicStage doesn't play well with other applications using audio at the same time.

When I did the DirectX 9.0c installation, it caused a reboot of the computer. I immediately started up SonicStage 3.3, as I mentioned in the last post. I then did a successful OMA to WAV conversion (and posted the prior result).

I went for breakfast, came back, and tried to convert another file. I got the error message again. This didn't make sense! So I tried HiMDRenderer, and got that same DirectSound/DirectX message again! What was different?

Well, it turns out that I've been running Live365 for streaming audio. For the most part, I usually work at home and listen to the radio while I'm doing stuff like uploading and converting audio. The last few recordings I've done have been at client office (and now, I'm in hotel in Finland) where there's no radio. I therefore have been listening to Live365 while waiting for the tedious conversions to happen.

So, on this suspicion, I rebooted the computer, started up SonicStage without Live365 running, and converted the OMA file to WAV. I then started Live365, tried to convert the same file again, and got the error message.

What a long runaround! It's not DirectX or SonicStage 3.2 or SonicStage 3.3 per se, but it's the interactions some how. Most diagnosticians would call this an "intermittent" problem, but I've now figured out the major cause behind all of my problems: not converting audio at home where I have other distractions, but doing so where I have no other ways to relieve boredom than my computer.

Determining this problem has probably burned 8 to 12 hours of my time ....