minister_bob Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 I bought the MZ-RH910 6 days ago, and I was happy for a bit. Sony has done SO many boneheaded things that I'm extremely wary of buying any of their products again, but I bit the bullet and got a Hi-MD player, new in box, that was on sale at a nearby Fry's Electronics. Today was the first time I really hooked it up to my computer to do some music transferring. Opened up SonicStage, it saw the recorder fine. I got an old standard 74 min MD, popped it in, formatted it to Hi-MD format, and I thought "yay!" I transferred a couple of albums over and it all seemed fine. I unhooked the player from the USB and flipped through the song list, and found that one album (of 4) didn't seem to transfer. I hook it back up, open SonicStage, and sure enough, even though before I unhooked it the first time it said the album had transferred fine, now it just had an empty group folder with the album name on it. No biggie I figured, deleted the folder, tried to transfer the album again...wouldn't transfer. Tried a couple different times, then figured (since it was originally mp3s at 328Kbps) that maybe there wasn't enough room on the disc, and the first shot was a fluke, converted it to 192Kbps, transferred it over, still was having problems...I figured, forget about it, I'll deal with it tomorrow. I tried to eject the disc, and it gave me the "accessing" message, so I let it sit for a bit. Hit stop 5 or 6 times, waited a few minutes, then got tired of it and pulled the USB plug out of the recorder. Apparently that was a huge mistake, since after I did that, it won't recognise ANY disc I put in to it. Hi-MD, 80 min, 74 min, nothing. I thought, maybe the read/write heads were doing something when I yanked the USB, so they might be stuck, but I have no clue how on earth I'd reset them. Also, it seems to me a lack of graceful error catching if pulling the USB cable out (whether intentionally or accidentally if the player falls, dog runs by, etc) would essentially render the player useless. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas how to fix it? The recorder still shows up when I plug it in to my system with USB, it just won't recognize a disc, flashing "NO DISC" on the recorder over and over until it turns off. Hope someone can help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minister_bob Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Oh boy...I think I've done it now. I figured I'd try some service mode adjustments (specifically the ones I read about at http://www.minidisc.org/sony_mzr_reset.html figuring that maybe I just had to reset the EEPROM in the recorder. So, I fumbled my way through the menus and such (I don't have the remote control, so the "screens" are somewhat different on the main LCD) and I got to the reset all portion, which seemed to work just fine. Now, sadly, I can't figure out how to get it back to a usable condition! If I reset the thing and go back to "normal" mode, it just flashes "ERROR EE" over and over again. Yeah, I figure thats a very bad thing. Thus, I tried to do the adjustment "macros", and every time I try and adjustment, it says "NoTmp!" I am assuming this means that some temperature measurement isn't done, so I've been trying to figure out exactly how to do, or at least to get to, the temperature adjustments. Failing that, does anyone have any clue how to get rid of the EE errors? Or, am I just completely screwed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Hi There,Have you tried taking the battery out for a bit and reinserting? Try another disc as well.Good luck,BobBTW,May be urelated, but one of my NH1's did something similar, ended up being an optical unit, repaired under warranty for the part.Try the battery first, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minister_bob Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Thanks for the suggestion, but thats basically the first thing I tried, sadly I have a repair thingie up from Sony, so apparently all I have to do is send the unit back and they'll send me a new one, since I bought it less than a week ago. Good to know! Maybe if they wow me with their customer service I won't bash Sony's other products so much However, if ANYONE comes across a way to fix the ERROR EE message, please let me know and I'll give it a shot before I send the unit back. Thanks! bobt said: Hi There,Have you tried taking the battery out for a bit and reinserting? Try another disc as well.Good luck,BobBTW,May be urelated, but one of my NH1's did something similar, ended up being an optical unit, repaired under warranty for the part.Try the battery first, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 sorry to say this, but you did cause a bit of the problem yourself by yanking out the USB cable, then you just went into service mode and scrwed things up further in stead of taking it to the repair (while it was still under warranty)... and you are blaming Sony? don't get me wrong, I do feel sorry for you for what happened and sony isn't really innocent (on lots of things), but blaming Sony on this one is a bit far fetched. I the worst case it was a production fault and it would have been replaced under warranty...which I think is good, standard behaviour... but yanking cables, entering service mode without much of a clue... that's your own responsibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minister_bob Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Oh, don't get me wrong...the service mode thing is 100% my own fault, and I'll take responsibility for that. My problem with the system itself is simply that when it encountered an error that seemed to be unrecoverable (as, like I said, I sat there for a few minutes and waited for it to come out) there was no graceful cutoff and no feedback whatsoever. Basically, what it came down to was this...the MD is hooked to my PC through the USB, and when it went into its failure loop, it made Windows Explorer (My Computer) unresponsive. I.E. I couldn't open new files, open other drives, etc. Is that a Windows problem? Likely, yes. However, in my past experience with USB devices (which is extensive) I have been able to remove the USB plug from the device and have Windows gracefully recover and allow me access to the file system again, and I have NEVER lost an entire device because of this. I've lost single files and folders (when you remove a USB plug from an external HD and the data is cached, Windows says "no love for you!") but I have never had an error that completely destroyed any piece of hardware. I think that is an issue on the hardware side. If nothing else, SonicStage (which I was using at the time) gave me no indication of what was going on nor any possibility to kill whatever process was going on to allow me access to my system again. That is a software problem that I think is partially Windows and partially Sony. Thats my only thought. I know that I am not the only one who has had trouble with their software and hardware working together, and that was my point. I'm not here to start an argument, I simply stated my problem, what I thought happened, and asked for help. As it is, I am sending the unit back to Sony on Monday and, with any luck, they will send me a replacement unit promptly and with minimal fuss. I don't know much about Sony customer service, but I am hoping their MD service department is good. The Low Volta said: sorry to say this, but you did cause a bit of the problem yourself by yanking out the USB cable, then you just went into service mode and scrwed things up further in stead of taking it to the repair (while it was still under warranty)... and you are blaming Sony? don't get me wrong, I do feel sorry for you for what happened and sony isn't really innocent (on lots of things), but blaming Sony on this one is a bit far fetched. I the worst case it was a production fault and it would have been replaced under warranty...which I think is good, standard behaviour... but yanking cables, entering service mode without much of a clue... that's your own responsibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 I wasn't trying to start an argument either, just pointed out the (in my opinion funny) sound of it...I would have resorted to waiting for a long time (I'm not really the action type when it comes to such things) and further ctrl/alt/del'ing and forcing SS to quit; if this didn't work, which probably wouldn't, I would have 'pulled the plug as well (but I guess I would first remove the battery)point is, I don't think SS killed the hardware, nor yanking the cable (this can 'upset' the machine a bit, but that should be reset-able by removing the battery)I guess (as Bobt mentioned as well) that it just was a hardware problem to begin with and was elegible for replacement stuff like that happens in these days of low cost production and are certainly not limited to Sony. I had a bike and a skateboard truck (well that was a couple of years ago) fail on me within an hour of purchase... this did not only cause refunds, but also a couple of visits to the doctor so bottom line: yes, the problem probably was Sony-production's fault in the first place; but you didn't really follow standard procedures (which could be problematic if the repair ppl want to be difficult as you are not supposed to enter service mode)sorry if I sounded too harsh, not intended! and I really hope you get a replacement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minister_bob Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Sorry, after playing with this thing for a couple hours, I've been kinda on edge, too I think I just misread your post, so please accept my apologies for being b**chy in my reply...argh!If it is a manufacturing problem, then I have faith that Sony will take care of it. I know that they can tell if you've entered Service Mode, which kinda worries me, but thats the risk we take, huh? However, I will say this...I am learning a LOT more about service mode just hacking around with the thing! All I need to do now...I think...is figure out how to clear the "NoTmp!" message and I might be good to go! We shall see... The Low Volta said: I wasn't trying to start an argument either, just pointed out the (in my opinion funny) sound of it...I would have resorted to waiting for a long time (I'm not really the action type when it comes to such things) and further ctrl/alt/del'ing and forcing SS to quit; if this didn't work, which probably wouldn't, I would have 'pulled the plug as well (but I guess I would first remove the battery)point is, I don't think SS killed the hardware, nor yanking the cable (this can 'upset' the machine a bit, but that should be reset-able by removing the battery)I guess (as Bobt mentioned as well) that it just was a hardware problem to begin with and was elegible for replacement stuff like that happens in these days of low cost production and are certainly not limited to Sony. I had a bike and a skateboard truck (well that was a couple of years ago) fail on me within an hour of purchase... this did not only cause refunds, but also a couple of visits to the doctor so bottom line: yes, the problem probably was Sony-production's fault in the first place; but you didn't really follow standard procedures (which could be problematic if the repair ppl want to be difficult as you are not supposed to enter service mode)sorry if I sounded too harsh, not intended! and I really hope you get a replacement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minister_bob Posted May 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 I think that I'm going to give up for tonight at least. I got to the point where I could do most of the adjustments, but I think without the Adjustment MDs, you can never clear the "ERROR EE" error. I am going to go through the service manual step by step this weekend and see if maybe I can find something else I missed, and if I can't, then Monday afternoon away this unit goes for repair/replacement. It was worth a shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDX-400 Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Wait you're still fooling with the unit? Of course the ERROR EE is not going to go away unless you complete the calibration procedure. Usually this requires getting some volgates from points on the board (disassembly of the unit and soldering/de-soldering is usually required), plus you have to have a pre-record MD (and with Hi-MD you might indeed need the specific test discs which are like $300 each from Sony, LOL.) In other words... STOP fooling with it! LOL. It's not "worth a shot"... You've done enough damage! My advice is just send it back before you make things any worse, and play stupid like you don't know what happened. When you get the new one do yourself a favour and stay out of the service menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minister_bob Posted May 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Welp, I didn't do a thing this weekend with the system, and I'll be sending it back to Sony tomorrow. Nonetheless, if anyone figures out a way to fix this at home, please let me know. I found some interesting articles, but none that helped me. Yes, I think you need to have the Sony official fixer discs...though, at this site: http://www.minidisc.org/sony_mzr_reset.html there was mention that the Rxx series includes some macros that'll automatically adjust the player to its factory defaults, but I was unable to find the correct areas in my player. Ah well, like I said, it's going back tomorrow and I've given up fiddling with it. MDX-400 said: Wait you're still fooling with the unit? Of course the ERROR EE is not going to go away unless you complete the calibration procedure. Usually this requires getting some volgates from points on the board (disassembly of the unit and soldering/de-soldering is usually required), plus you have to have a pre-record MD (and with Hi-MD you might indeed need the specific test discs which are like $300 each from Sony, LOL.) In other words... STOP fooling with it! LOL. It's not "worth a shot"... You've done enough damage! My advice is just send it back before you make things any worse, and play stupid like you don't know what happened. When you get the new one do yourself a favour and stay out of the service menu. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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