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'Format Disc error' on HiMD

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Hi,

On a recent trip Indonesia I encountered a problem - after taking over 80 sound recordings (many of them of real value and importance to me) my Sony Hi-MD MZ-NH700 stopped working, showing 'format disc error' despite working perfectly normally just 5 minutes previously.

I have used the minidisc in such conditions for several years and never encountered any problem before or since.

Could anybody please point me in the direction of help or offer any advise on what can be done to retrieve the data saved on the minidisc as it really would be soul-destroying if I have lost all the recordings I had made!

I should add that I have tried the disc in other players without success and the player itself is working fine with other discs. I have not re-formatted the disc.

Many, many thanks in advance,

James

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James, was this a 1GB disk by any chance? Or a 74/80 disk reformatted to HiMD? Or were you using the NH700 as a plain old MDLP or SP or mono recorder? Unless you have the RH1, it sounds like you were probably using HiMD, in order to be able to upload.

I might suggest first that you take a brand new disk (of the same original capacity as the one which may have failed) never used before, and attempt to see what it can do. It's not much to say that the recorder can READ disks, if there's a suspicion that WRITING might not be working.

Try recording something on it, a few seconds with a microphone.

Make sure you complete the recording.

Make sure you can take the disk out and reinsert it, and it still works.

Make sure you can upload from it to your PC (assuming my supposition is right).

If all the above is working fine, you mostly got a bad disk due to a glitch. But it could easily be that the laser power is borderline. If the above fails, you have most likely a busted overwrite head.

If you can read and write 1GB but cannot read and write 74m/80 in HiMD mode (and vice versa), there's a laser power problem for sure.

DO NOT try to fix the disk, please. I will consult and see if I can suggest some options.

Thanks

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Many thanks for the swift replies, much appreciated.

It is a 1GB HiMD disc that I was using. I had been using it all day and for the previous two years without any problems at all. Since that happened I have tried using other discs, just standard MD discs without any problems at all, both reading and writing. (I only have 1 HiMD disc)

I have tried the damaged disc since I did this and the same problem occurs unfortunately - It can't read the disc, listing the same 'format disc error', depsite other discs working fine.

Any suggestions as to how to get it to work, or anywhere I can get it repaired? I contacted Sony US but they do not offer a repair service for MD any more :-(

Thanks

James

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In that case, it's well and truly dead, at least for you.

If Sony won't do anything any more, perhaps some kind soul with a HiMD unit in England will see if they can read it. But given what you said - that you had used it and only it (I'm guessing 1000's of times) for years, there's not a lot of hope.

However: the fact you see nothing at all, might conceivably mean the electronics of the drive. If you can't check with another 1GB disk or with another HiMD unit, you're stuck. I have seen 1GB playback and recording go wrong when normal playback and recording is fine - this is a sign that the laser power needs adjusting from scratch.

Whatever you do, you must eliminate the NH700 as the source of the error. Start by getting a few 1GB disks, and go from there. If they don't work properly, the drive is worth fixing. In my experience, the NH700 is about the most reliable HiMD unit from this point-of-view.

Don't even **try** to fix the disk medium, if you value it. Get it to someone that can read it. Someone here may offer.

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Many thanks for the instructive replies, it is greatly appreciated. I will see if I can get hold of another HiMD player, I know someone who has one, just means I'll have to post the disc to them etc.

If anybody is on here and reading this and thinks they can fix the disc, or download the content I would be more than willing to pay a fee for this.

Indeed I have found the NH700 to be excellent and never has it faulted in all the years I've used it - which is why I have been so late moving across to a SD card recorder.

Regards,

James

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Hi Stephen,

Well, if you are tempted to give it a go, I would be more than happy to send it over to you to see what you can do with it!? I would be highly appreciative.

Which side of the world are you on? If you are willing, please let me know your address - my email is jamesaeaton AT yahoo.co.uk otherwise, how can I get hold of Jim Hoggarth if you are unable to attempt retrieving the data?

Many thanks once again

James

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Maybe you should send the machine to Jim and the disc to me. But I can probably at least look at the machine. If it's actually blown he will be better for replacing it. But I would guess it's either completely undamaged or in need of adjustment, which I probably can do.

I will PM you.

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