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I have almost had it with Sony and Minidiscs!

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jrussellc

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Using a MZ-NH600D and MZ-RH10 for a while now, primarily for music but I like to use them for data file usage as well. I like the idea of having inexpensive, portable data storage that is not common enough for an average person to access. Recently I have been having a very frustrating problem:

Using Windows XP SP2, I will open up a new minidisc(usually 80 min version), pop it in my unit and connect it to my computer via a USB cable. Drag and drop file saving used to be no problem. Recently, whenever I unplug the unit and then reinsert the disc and replug the unit back into the computer I get a BLANKDISC notification on the unit and all my files are gone. This happens every time now and I have just about had it!

Has anyone had this type of problem?

Is it something I am doing?

Should I go back to the old sonicstage software? I seem to remember an older version that had a "Data Format". I could be wrong though.

I hate to stop using minidisc tech, but if I cannot solve this problem I am saying goodbye to minidisc (and Sony) for good! I am getting tired of playing their games!

One of the reasons I still enjoy using Minidiscs is because of the great Minidisc community that has grown up around this technology. I am able to find solutions to many of my past issues by browsing this forum in the past. I have not found any answers so far.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would be greatly appreciative!

Thanks for any help.

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In the manual for the RH1 (should be similar for all Hi-MD devices), it says that the disc must be in HiMD mode. It also points out that there should be a folder containing disc management files and these must not be deleted using Windows Explorer. If you reformat the disc, it must be done through SonicStage. It might be worth checking these things first.

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Using Windows XP SP2, I will open up a new minidisc(usually 80 min version), pop it in my unit and connect it to my computer via a USB cable. Drag and drop file saving used to be no problem. Recently, whenever I unplug the unit and then reinsert the disc and replug the unit back into the computer I get a BLANKDISC notification on the unit and all my files are gone. This happens every time now and I have just about had it!

What you may want to do is either use the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon to stop the device before unplugging it from the USB port or pressing the stop button on the MD unit when connected to change the display from "PC-MD" to "Eject OK" before removing the disc.

*Moved to Software Discussion

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I think I have narrowed down the problem. This only happens when I use the MZ-RH10. When I do the exact same procedure with my MZ-NH600D everything works fine. The disc can hold data and even if I then put the disc back into the Mz-RH10 I can add attitional files.

It seems as if my RH10 unit wants to re-initialize any new, blank disc I put into it but if a disc has already been initialized with my 6000D then it will act ok.

I cannot trust the RH10 for data use however. I see no way to adjust the settings in this unit.

Thank you Hungerdunger and richyhu for you help, this forum has strong minidisc support. (one of the reasons I still like using the format)

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A few years ago with a Mz-N1 I had a strage problem. MD´s I would pop into the unit would be rendered blanck and I lost some significant amount of recordings on the course of it´s rebellion. I believe it was due to some kind of mulfunction on the unit (perhaps the laser). The screen would only display "blank disc", even if I had just finished recording and was Toc-editing.

These are very fragile machines, considering we use it for recording, editing and also casual or frquent listening. Either way, there is a lot of moving parts and I know a bunch of friends and others who also had problems in their MD units. Some from missuse, some not.

My point being, even being newer, if it´s showing any signs of bad behaviour watchout for important or irreplaceble data/recordings you may have. Perhaps clone it, back it up whatever.

Not being apocalyptical. Just a thought.

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You are right, I am a teacher, and every semester I collected all of the relevent data associated with the classes I taught (Grade Sheets, Syllabus, Exams) on a minidisc. I mostly carried the 600D unit around with me because I did not want to scratch up my newer, nicer RH10.

Well, as it turns out, the 600D is still going strong, and the RH10 is flaking out. I suppose I could still use the RH10 but everytime I unwrapped a new minidisc, I would have to make the first initial recording using the 600D. After that, the RH10 reads and writes files just fine. Pretty strange huh?

At this point though, I simply cannot trust minidisc technology for anything but music I have ripped from my CDs. This particular line of Sony products cannot be considered "safe" enough to store my data on.

Bye-bye minidisc (for data anyway), and maybe bye-bye Sony altogether. Sony's products used to be the gold standard for portable audio, in quality and in features. No more though. Nobutoshi Kihara has left Sony, and so has product quality.

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