SonicStage screws up hard drive recognition

[hidagu]

I just purchased MZ-RH910 and installed accompanying SonicStage 3.0 software on my Windows XP system. However after I reboot the system, my computer can not recognize my second hard disk. I have to run "Add Hardware" wizard or "Device Manager" to force Windows to find the drive. The device troubleshooter shows that the drive works properly. Unstalling the software doesn't restore my system back. What should I do to recover my system?

Thanks.

[Stuge]

Welcome to MDFC!

Unplug & olug the DRIVE again & see what happens .

Edited April 19, 2006 by stuge

[hidagu]

I tried that for a couple of times, but no luck!

[atrain]

go into control panel -> administrative tools -> computer managment

look for "disk managment" under the storage on the left window. make sure your 2nd disk is healthy & if it has a drive letter assigned.

[raintheory]

I wonder if the Ssaad.exe that SonicStage throws in startup has anything to do with this.

It is "SonicStage Atrac Hard Disk Monitor" after all.

EDIT: also---I'm not sure why this wouldn't happen prior to installing SonicStage but anyway--- are you sure the jumpers on your hard drives are set correctly?

Edited April 19, 2006 by raintheory

[hidagu]

go into control panel -> administrative tools -> computer managment

look for "disk managment" under the storage on the left window. make sure your 2nd disk is healthy & if it has a drive letter assigned.

Disk Management doesn't show the 2nd disk. I have to go to "Device Manager" and right click on "Disk drives" to "scan for hardware changes" to make my 2nd drive appearing. Then in "Disk Managment" screen it will show my 2nd disk and report that the disk is healthy and correct drive letter are assigned.

I wonder if the Ssaad.exe that SonicStage throws in startup has anything to do with this.

It is "SonicStage Atrac Hard Disk Monitor" after all.

EDIT: also---I'm not sure why this wouldn't happen prior to installing SonicStage but anyway--- are you sure the jumpers on your hard drives are set correctly?

I will disable Ssaad.exe to test if it is the cause of the problem.

The jumpers were set correctly to be primary slave. The drive worked for the last nine months since I added it to my system until I installed SonicStage.

[pata2001]

hidagu: have you considered installing SS3.4 instead? 3.4 is the latest version.

[hidagu]

hidagu: have you considered installing SS3.4 instead? 3.4 is the latest version.

I did. I first uninstalled SS3.0 and found the problem doesn't go away. Then I tried installing SS3.4 and the problem still exists.

One thing I didn't pay attention is that I only uninstalled SS, I forgot to check if I need to unistall MD simple burner, or anything else. I will try those at home tonight.

[A440]

SSAAD.exe is very persistent--it will reinstall itself even after you disable it. It reinstalls itself in Startup no matter what you do.

Since yours is a new unit and you have already done a lot of installing and reinstalling you should also contact Sony Support. Forget the live online chat, which is strictly elementary and will waste your time, and go directly to their customer support phone line. Keep saying "escalate" until you get someone who knows what they're talking about.

Also, do you have a System Restore point before the whole problem began? Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore .

[dex Otaku]

RE: SSAAD.EXE ... since it has no apparent function except to take up memory and add time to my system's bootup, I decided to get rid of it.

If you use MSCONFIG or edit the registry manually to delete the startup entry for it, SS will put that entry back the next time you run it.

If you rename the actual file, SSAAD.EXE though - it doesn't come back, doesn't give errors, SS doesn't give errors, everything still works just fine for me, in fact.

[rayzray]

maybe a little OT;; but;; IMO ;; seeing yous with all these probems and the word ((SONY) always involved sure convinces me not to EVER buy another sony product; no matter what..

it seems their software is worth "S***";; and if it's a 3dr world program; then it still boils down to Sony somehow..

am i tight that all this Sony installs and uninstalls are not healthy for a PC;; or am i missing someting here..

as i said;; as long as i see these kinds of threads;; i will NOT buy Sony anymore..

*still wondering if their stupid CD hidden installer is in my PC spying on me!!!!!!!!!!!! i Fw***k** hate you Sony..!!!!

[atrain]

a440 is right, check your system restore points for one before this happened. you wont lose any music or whatever but you may get your disk back.

[dex Otaku]

Other queries:

* Can you hear the disc spinning? [depending on the drive you might be able to]

* Does your computer's BIOS report that the drive is present?

* Have you tried unplugging/reseating both the power and interface cables to the drive?

* In the Device Manager, are there any "Warning" [yellow inverted triangle with exclamation point] or "Disabled" [red X] items pertaining to your hard disc controller?

[raintheory]

I was going to mention the BIOS.

I also think making sure the jumpers on the drives are set corretly is a good starting point.

[hidagu]

SSAAD.exe is very persistent--it will reinstall itself even after you disable it. It reinstalls itself in Startup no matter what you do.

Since yours is a new unit and you have already done a lot of installing and reinstalling you should also contact Sony Support. Forget the live online chat, which is strictly elementary and will waste your time, and go directly to their customer support phone line. Keep saying "escalate" until you get someone who knows what they're talking about.

Also, do you have a System Restore point before the whole problem began? Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore .

I tried the System Restore, but the drive is always in "offline" mode so that I don't have a good restore point to use. It has a message as following:

Changes made to drives E:\ after this point cannot be reversed because the drive was either excluded from System Restore monitoring, or was turned off or removed.

RE: SSAAD.EXE ... since it has no apparent function except to take up memory and add time to my system's bootup, I decided to get rid of it.

If you use MSCONFIG or edit the registry manually to delete the startup entry for it, SS will put that entry back the next time you run it.

If you rename the actual file, SSAAD.EXE though - it doesn't come back, doesn't give errors, SS doesn't give errors, everything still works just fine for me, in fact.

SSAAD.EXE seems not to be the cause of the problem. I removed it and the problem still exists.

Other queries:

* Can you hear the disc spinning? [depending on the drive you might be able to]

* Does your computer's BIOS report that the drive is present?

* Have you tried unplugging/reseating both the power and interface cables to the drive?

* In the Device Manager, are there any "Warning" [yellow inverted triangle with exclamation point] or "Disabled" [red X] items pertaining to your hard disc controller?

I was not able to tell if the disc spinning (I will try harder again). BIOS is able to detect the drive as Primary Slave, just that Windows is not able to detect it at bootup. Something stops it from detecting those plug'Nplay devices? I tried unplugging/reseating of the power and interface cables as well as set the jumper to 'Slave' or 'Cable Select' mode, but none of them make difference.

When Device Manager discovers the drive after I force it to "scan for hardware change" the drive is healthy and has no Warning or is disabled.

I was going to mention the BIOS.

I also think making sure the jumpers on the drives are set corretly is a good starting point.

BIOS detects the drive. It is Windows that seems to be "prevented" from detecting these devices.

I set the drive to either "Slave" or "Cable Select" with jumper settings, but none of them make difference.

How do I find out if Windows is prevented from detecting this device?