jim.hoggarth Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi y'all I am currently stuck trying to sort out a trio of MZ-RH1 machines. Hardware-wise everything is ok, but I just cannot get any of them to work properly under Windows. I am running XP SP2 at present, with Ultimate 4.3 loaded. I have even created a whole new Windows setup just to see if a corruption is a problem, but still I get the same. With any other Hi-MD recorder, the driver switches from NetMD to HiMD fine, when discs are taken out and changed. Similarly, when connected via the USB, the right driver is installed depending on the format of disc currently inside the recorder. But with the RH1, whenever a Hi-MD disc is inserted or is already within the machine when the USB connection is made, Windows shows an error: "USB Device Not Recognized". Insert a standard MD disc, and everything is fine. But after a couple or so tries at swapping disc formats, eventually Windows or the RH1 just get their collective software into a total confusion and even plugging a standard NetMD loaded recorder into the USB causes all sorts of funnies, like ignoring the unit totally, sound the unplugging bing-bong twice, the RH1 staying stubbornly dead (until the USB cable is pulled out), etc. The only way to get back to normality is to plug a recorder in other than the RH1, be it a Hi-MD recorder or just a standard NetMD recorder. This problem is really getting to be a total pain. I have to send these recorders back as repaired, and although they function perfectly away from the PC, the PC->MD link is a farce. I assume the PC hardware is ok. So the problem is drivers, or a fault on the RH1s (but all three with the same problem?). Can anyone shed any light on this? I assume I have the latest drivers, as installed by Ultimate 4.3. I am running 32-bit Windows, so the 64-bit drivers are of no consequence. Or are they? I am at a total loss, any help appreciated. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi Jim 1. is the "disc mode" set to MD or HiMD? Makes a difference 2. have you deinstalled all Mass storage drivers that might be relevant 3. have you done the clean up to get rid of all other NetMD drivers? Once you have done 3 you can use my version of the RH1 driver (netmd052.sys) install for ALL NetMD drivers. This should clean up the RH1's behaviour. I am guessing you have a bunch of v old drivers installed. Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted December 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi Stephen This is on a brand new XP install. I installed afresh just to get around the problem of old drivers hanging around. used the Ultimate install routine. I may try installing the 052 sys file, give it a try. Since putting this question up, however, I have failed to hang an external USB drive off the machine, and one of two USB sticks was having problems. It may turn out to be flaky USB hardware. I don't want to install Windows XP on another of my PCs but it looks like I may have to - problem is I hate Windows totally now. Even doing this simple install on Angie's PC was a total farce. Took hours - had to do it twice because the first install failed. If it had been a fresh install of Ubuntu, I could have done the lot in less than an half hour. GRRR!! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 The worst thing I found lately to interfere with USB is Nero BackitUp (a driver they install) but if fresh install, probably that ain't the culprit..... Had you thought about this: with a fresh install of Windows, perhaps there is some device with unsatisfied interrupts? My top candidate is always the sound card. I can remember many times I installed Windows, and sound drivers, and it took about 3 reboots before sound started to function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxwz Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 I'm having the same problem with an RH1, but in the opposite direction: Switching from Hi-MD to NetMD, I always have to unplug and reinsert the USB connection. Not using the SS 4.3 'Ultimate' install, but the 'regular' SS 4.3, plus the NETMD052.sys driver installed separately. Going from NetMD to Hi-MD works fine, surprisingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfbp Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 I'm having the same problem with an RH1, but in the opposite direction: Switching from Hi-MD to NetMD, I always have to unplug and reinsert the USB connection. Not using the SS 4.3 'Ultimate' install, but the 'regular' SS 4.3, plus the NETMD052.sys driver installed separately. Going from NetMD to Hi-MD works fine, surprisingly. Try changing the disc mode (there are only two possibilities) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trott3r Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 I would try another usb port on your computer. Otherwise use a powered usb hub. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted December 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 I will give the powered USB hub a go - I have one hanging around somewhere. I seem to remember lots of problems with USB ports and MP3 players. What it amounted to is that some USB ports just cannot provide the power that the specs say they should. But this guy wants his RH1 back real soon, so I am sending it back as is and crossing fingers. The fact that all three available RH1s do exactly the same means the PC is flaky, or the RH1 is a bag of s***. To be honest, I am not a big fan of this unit. The build quality is bad. For instance, the plastic display/switch block is held on by just three plastic tabs. They break easily, usually when the user flexes the machine. Plus the FF/FR button is badly designed and needs cleaning every few months. And the disc in switch doesn't make properly when the lid gets ever so slightly distorted (and the switch can break easily). Those are just the problems I have found having opened barely five or six of these units. Personally I wouldn't want one, but it is the only unit that supports uploading and downloading fully. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoe25 Posted December 14, 2011 Report Share Posted December 14, 2011 Jim, you are right Hi-MD is s*it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim.hoggarth Posted December 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Jim, you are right Hi-MD is s*it That's not what I said actually. Hi-MD is not s**t. I happen to think Hi-MD is superb. It is just the RH1 which could have been made so much better, but I think too much effort went into looks and size rather than user friendliness and longevity. From a user's point of view there are too few control buttons, and the reliance on menus is kiboshed by the crappy jog lever switches. And the build quality leaves much to be desired. Too flimsy, not enough metalwork. JimMany thanks to Stephen (sfbp) for pointing out the disc mode setting thing. Although it did not cure the problem, it made other questions I have had before understandable. Also thanks for pointing me in the direction of the thread which describes enabling the display of hidden device drivers - very interesting. As a consequence I could watch drivers loading and verified that only the NETMD052.sys driver was being loaded. This led me down the direction of hardware rather than software or drivers. Not long after I diagnosed the fault as the USB ports. By taking the simple step of using a different USB port pair (on another hub), all the 'Unknown Device' errors just vanished. So, problem solved and thanks to all Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD4ME Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Yep, have to agree with you Jim, the build quality and reliabiility of the RH1 is poor considering the financial outlay to get one. My 'dream machine' would have the case of the NH1 with the screen of the RH10 and the capabilities of the RH1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azureal Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 Yep, have to agree with you Jim, the build quality and reliabiility of the RH1 is poor considering the financial outlay to get one. My 'dream machine' would have the case of the NH1 with the screen of the RH10 and the capabilities of the RH1. Wouldn't that have been a nice unit! I agree with both of you, I love my RH1s and I use one of them daily but it is fragile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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