Minidisc head cleaner not working on MZ-M200

[Sony_Fan]

I sold a used but working Sony MD head cleaner to a forum member and it he sent me this message today:

Chris,

I received the MD head cleaner today. I inserted it into my M200 and "READ ERROR" appeared. I waited until it shut off, ejected it, and inserted it again. Same error. If I tried to record while the "READ ERROR" was flashing, it wouldn't record but continue to flash. I repeated everything but no go. Then I waited until it went off and pushed record. It started recording until 6 seconds and then stopped with a message flashing, "REC ERROR". This happened twice.

Any ideas what's wrong?

Bob

Is there anyway to fix this? I don't want the guy to think I scammed him. Thanks.

[Strungup]

I sold a used but working Sony MD head cleaner to a forum member and it he sent me this message today:

Chris,

I received the MD head cleaner today. I inserted it into my M200 and "READ ERROR" appeared. I waited until it shut off, ejected it, and inserted it again. Same error. If I tried to record while the "READ ERROR" was flashing, it wouldn't record but continue to flash. I repeated everything but no go. Then I waited until it went off and pushed record. It started recording until 6 seconds and then stopped with a message flashing, "REC ERROR". This happened twice.

Any ideas what's wrong?

Bob

Is there anyway to fix this? I don't want the guy to think I scammed him. Thanks.

First off you dont RECorD onto a head cleaner , second he probably has the 200 in HiMD mode ( head cleaners are specifically Standard MD mode and wont register properly ) have him go into menues and set the Disc mode to MD instead of HiMd , then tell him NOT to Record , just push PLAY .

[Sony_Fan]

First off you dont RECorD onto a head cleaner , second he probably has the 200 in HiMD mode ( head cleaners are specifically Standard MD mode and wont register properly ) have him go into menues and set the Disc mode to MD instead of HiMd , then tell him NOT to Record , just push PLAY .

It's not a lense cleaner, it's a recording head cleaner. The instructions clearly say to push record and let it record for 10 seconds. It may be in standard MD mode and that could be the problem, or it maybe in windows format. Although the disc was working when I used it, it may be my fault for not checking what format it was in. I was pretty sure it was in Hi-MD as I used it on my old RH10 with no problems.

[baturjan]

It's working now.

I changed the disc mode to MD, but that didn't help initially. I connected to SS, but nothing registered as connected. I ejected the disc and re-inserted, and SS registered it, and the LCD on the M200 didn't have the read error. I used SS to initialize the disc as MD, and disconnected from the computer. I then followed the instructions for recording for 10 seconds. It worked. Well, it recorded that is, and no more error messages.

I wish I had this head cleaner when I was studying language in the Taklimikan Desert (2nd to the Sahara for sand moving deserts). The dust and sand was insane.

By the way, I'm a Mac user and I run SS in Parallels. It works great. The only difference is there are a few more steps (mouse clicks) to properly disconnect. I have to do it from Windows and then from the Mac OS. The Mac Hi-MD Transfer software works good to, but far fewer features than SS. It's good for uploading to .wav, downloading, renaming, deleting, and organizing.

Edited September 11, 2008 by baturjan

[Strungup]

I am on Mac as well

[jupitreas]

By the way, I'm a Mac user and I run SS in Parallels. It works great. The only difference is there are a few more steps (mouse clicks) to properly disconnect.

Is there a reason to 'properly disconnect' the MD player? I just yank out the USB cable

[Sony_Fan]

I changed the disc mode to MD, but that didn't help initially. I connected to SS, but nothing registered as connected. I ejected the disc and re-inserted, and SS registered it, and the LCD on the M200 didn't have the read error. I used SS to initialize the disc as MD, and disconnected from the computer. I then followed the instructions for recording for 10 seconds. It worked. Well, it recorded that is, and no more error messages.

I wish I had this head cleaner when I was studying language in the Taklimikan Desert (2nd to the Sahara for sand moving deserts). The dust and sand was insane.

By the way, I'm a Mac user and I run SS in Parallels. It works great. The only difference is there are a few more steps (mouse clicks) to properly disconnect. I have to do it from Windows and then from the Mac OS. The Mac Hi-MD Transfer software works good to, but far fewer features than SS. It's good for uploading to .wav, downloading, renaming, deleting, and organizing.

I'm glad you got it to work. Hopefully you will not have anymore problems.

Is there a reason to 'properly disconnect' the MD player? I just yank out the USB cable

I always push the stop button on the unit, then it says "ok to eject." At that point I disconnect the usb cable. I don't knowif yanking the usb cable harms anything.

[THIS SUCKS]

if you are also transferring data to the disks and not just music you should always eject it from the computer. if you use it just for music then it should be ok just to push stop and pull the cord out.

[baturjan]

if you are also transferring data to the disks and not just music you should always eject it from the computer. if you use it just for music then it should be ok just to push stop and pull the cord out.

Here's what the Mac Hi-MD Transfer manual says. I screwed up a disc/contents by not following these instructions.

Edited September 10, 2008 by baturjan