Sharp NetMD SonicStage+ File transfer

fengari · December 23, 2011

I have a Sharp IM-DR400E(S). I happily ran this with SonicStage and XP. Following a crash I had XP reinstalled. I then reinstalled SS. Now I am unable to transfer files frpm PC to MD. I've downloaded SS ultimate from this site but it hasn't solved the problem.

Being a musician means I have technophobic tendendies. Can somebody explain step by step how to resolve this problem?

I have another PC with Windows 7 64 bit but understand SS is incompatible.

Thanks for any help.

Tony

*Azureal* · December 23, 2011

Music data file transfer has always been "one way", that is from PC to MD, there are no transfers in the other direction with older NetMD gear, the only exception is via the Sony MZ-RH1 which allows uploads of SP/MDLP recordings via USB (other Hi-MD units can upload Hi-MD encoded recordings).

To transfer your recordings made in MDLP or SP mode, you need to playback on the recorder and then record in real time via sound card input on the PC.

This has always been the case, your reinstall did not cause the issue, you were never transferring anything via USB from MD to PC with your Sharp unit.

SonicStage does work well with Windows 7 using the SS 4.3 Ultimate version in the downloads section of the forums along with the 64 bit NetMD/Hi-MD driver package also available. There is a pinned thread which details the setup. It works great!

sfbp · December 24, 2011

I think he's only talking about one-way, J. But I have no clue what the right drivers for Sharp NetMD products are. The driver you need should have come with the unit, and it should work on any 32-bit Windows (Windows 7 and VIsta included). However it likely will not work on Window 64-bits of any description. For that you may need the Sony driver, modified to add Sharp units????

I can't help, being an all-Sony shop.

*Azureal* · December 24, 2011

Yes, good point Stephen, slight oversight on my part... I was not even considering the driver not being a Sony driver. Sorry to the OP. Would be interesting to know if one of the W7 64 bit drivers could work, not likely, but possible if the unit is based on a USB communication chip the same as a Sony unit, although it would have a unique identifier not in the list ...

fengari · December 30, 2011

Thanks Guys

I have only ever needed one way transfer of my own backin tracks - PC to MD.

From your posts I am assuming that nothing can done to restore USB transfer functionality. Real time recording via optical is not practical.

It is rather sad to think I cannot use what I considered to be a great piece of technology.

Tony

sfbp · December 30, 2011

What I did not do (when I answered you before) was to go look myself

1. I suspect that in our own downloads section is the right install file. Was your NetMD driver named MDSHA031.SYS, do you perhaps remember?

If so, look no further than this:

2. The other possibility (you would have to look up the PID by poking about in Windows) would be to add the VID (04DD) and PID (if it isn't 9013 or 9014, in which case step 1 worked just fine) to the NETMD052.INF file and go ahead and install NETMD052.SYS as in my post

3. If and when that works, thereby confirming that Sharp units use the standard Sony protocol, you should ALSO be able to get a 64-bit driver (for your Windows 7) going, by adding the same lines to NETMD076.INF. See and the current state of that file is in our downloads section too.

Either Azureal or myself would be around to help if you decided to attempt either 2. or 3.

Happy New Year!

Stephen

fengari · January 1, 2012

Happy New Year Guys

Fix 1 has sucessfully worked on my XP machine.

I tried the same on my Windows 7 64 bit PC. However SS does not recognise my MD (No Net MD showing in Transfer). Did I need to load any other files other than SS Ultimate and Sharp4xx?

I've looked at your suggested fixes 2 & 3 but do not really understand as I am not knowledgable about the inner workings of PC's. Perhaps one of you could give me some guidance.

Thanks

Tony

sfbp · January 1, 2012

The only reason you really need 2 is for the complication of what happens with USB timing when and if you buy a Sony MZ-RH1 and want to upload things, and your other driver still hangs around. So at least for the moment, not a problem.

But you can test out W7 for us and we will try to add some sharp units in there (to our standard download) if that works.

You will need to add a couple of extra lines to NETMD760.INF (it has to be in two places, also as I don't know if yours needs 9013 or 9014 probably easiest to add both those, so 2 x2 for 4 lines in all). Take a look at the package and see if you can figure out what to do. The critical information is Vendor # and Model # (VID and PID).

The format of your lines is obvious from the context of the 760 driver. Note - there's no reference to any of the other stuff in your sharp .INF file.

Are you good with notepad? That's all you need.

Stephen

fengari · January 1, 2012

Although I am aware of notepad I can't recall using for years. In any event I don't think I have the technical competence or confidence to delve into INF files even if I knew how to find and open them.

Thanks

Tony

fengari · January 1, 2012

I may have underestimated my abilities. I found and opened the Sharp file in the C drive. How do I proceed from here?

Thanks

Tony

sfbp · January 2, 2012

First of all you need to unpack the download from our downloads section to somewhere you can easily find on your hard drive. Let's say we put the three files (netmd760.sys/cat/inf) in c:temp. Up to you, but recommend you don't put in "My Documents" as they may be hard to find later at install time.

Now extract the one file from the Sharp driver package that you need, namely mdsha031.inf, you can put it in the same directory where you have the others, if you look.

You now need to copy (using copy-and-paste is better because you won't mistype anything) the lines in the ControlFlags section, to the end of the same section in the netmd760.inf file. Note that 04DD appears to be the manufacturer's tag for Sharp (Sony is 054C).

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_04DD&PID_9013

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_04DD&PID_9014

Finally you need to copy the two lines that start with %NETMDUSB

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.INSTALL, USBVID_04DD&PID_9013

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.INSTALL, USBVID_04DD&PID_9014

To the equivalent place in the long list of supported units in the 760 file.

The only unknown part is here. You may want to put them in a separate section called [sHARP] or you may want to put them in the same section as the rest, which are all Sony. Actually I think it makes little difference because the label is only significant to one particular mode of the Windows device driver installer, the one where you can pick the devices by one manufacturer. If you don't put them in their own section you may have to pretend these are Sony devices at some point

Save the file (NETMD760.INF). (keep an unmodified copy just for safety, but the modified one must have the name NETMD760.INF).

Now try installing your device again. Probably a good idea to plug it in now. This may or may not mean removing stuff from the device manager. However the simplest route is probably to find the NetMD device and update it. We may have to go through this part slowly, as a lot depends on exactly what state the installer got stuck. When it comes to it, you will have to use the button which is labelled "Have disk", and then point the resulting dialog box at C:temp (or wherever you stashed the files). That's why I suggested somewhere with a simple name, not buried under the "Documents and Settings" tree that My Documents is always stored under.

I realise this is a far-from-complete guide but hopefully it has enough to get you started. Azureal may be able to explain it better (hint hint).

Stephen

*Azureal* · January 2, 2012

Stephen, you have pretty much covered all of the bases I know of... :-)

I am going to go dig out my one and only Sharp unit now and play around a bit. I'll grab a few screen shots if I have success.

*Azureal* · January 3, 2012

So guys, I got my Sharp DR80 out and charged it up today. I was able to tweak the NETMD760 driver configuration file "NETMD760.inf" to include the necessary lines for Windows 7 64bit to load the driver and recognize the DR80. I was also able to transfer several albums from my SS 4.3 library onto a fresh blank.

It works great!

Windows 7 64bit tries to locate a driver for the USB device ID which it cannot find, hence you get the "Device driver was not successfully installed" error message.

The device manager initially places the Sharp DR80 under "Other Devices".

Drilling down on the NetMD device properties and locating the hardware ID string: USBVID_04DD&PID_9014

Using this data, I located the following three sections in the "NETMD760.inf" file and added the text below to each section (I think only two are required for 64 bit install)

Section 1:

[ControlFlags]

; Test Sharp Units

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_04DD&PID_9014 ; DR80

Section 2:

; For Win2K and later

[sony]

; Test Sharp Units

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_04DD&PID_9014 ; DR80

Section 3:

; For Vista 64 and Win 7 64

[sony.NTAMD64]

; Test Sharp Units

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_04DD&PID_9014 ; DR80

Once the inf file is updated, right click on the NetMD device in Device Manager and select "Update Driver Software"

Next select "Browser my computer for driver software"

Use the "Browse" button to locate the driver files from the NETMD760 package which includes the recently modified inf file.

Click "Next"

You will be notified that the driver publisher cannot be verified, click "Install this driver software anyway"

If you are watching the Device Manager, you will see the NetMD icon move into the "USB Devices" section.

You should be good to go.

Remember, as Stephen mentioned, you need to determine the USB Device ID for your unit, the one listed above is for the Sharp unit I have the DR80.

I tried to attach a few screen shots I grabbed but I can't figure out how to include them in my post!

Try this out and let us know how it works, it seems like we can add at least some Sharp NetMD devices into the driver configuration.

sfbp · January 3, 2012

Interesting - I had forgotten about that third section (the one labelled Win2K). Yet I have not so far succeeded in using that driver for Windows32.

Nice work, Holmes!

fengari · January 3, 2012

Hi Guys

I realise that I am completely out of my depth. I'll see if any of my friends are able to help me action your information.

I'll keep you informed of progress.

Thanks

fengari · January 7, 2012

I think I finally worked out the object of the exercise

SS 4.3 ULT + SONY drivers have sucessfully installed - I've tested with a friends MZ-N707.

I've cut and pasted from MDSHA031 to NETMD760. Now I still have a problem in that Windows 7 cannot find/recognise SHARP MD. I've looked in Devices & Printers and Device Manager.

Have you any further suggestions

Thanks

Tony

sfbp · January 7, 2012

did you put BOTH lines (9013 and 9014) in the .INF file?

Can you paste it here?

fengari · January 7, 2012

Here's the amended NETMD760 file

; Sony Net MD

[Version]

Signature="$WINDOWS NT$"

Class=USB

ClassGUID={36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

;CatalogFile=NETMD760.cat

CatalogFile.NT=NETMD760.cat

Provider=%NETMDUSB.Provider%

DriverVer=05/27/2010,1.4.00.05270

[ControlFlags]

; NetMD Devices

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0075 ; MZ-N1

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0080 ; LAM-1

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0081 ; MDS-JB980

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0084 ; MZ-N505

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0085 ; MZ-S1

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0086 ; MZ-N707

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00C6 ; MZ-N10

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00C7 ; MZ-N910

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00C8 ; MZ-NF810/N710

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00C9 ; MZ-NF610/N510

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00CA ; MZ-NE410

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00EB ; MZ-NE910/NE810

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0188 ; MZ-N920

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0101 ; LAM-10

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0113 ; AM-NX1

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_04DD&PID_9013

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_04DD&PID_9014

; NetMD configs for HiMD Devices

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_017E ; MZ-NH1

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0180 ; MZ-NH3D

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0182 ; MZ-NH900

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0184 ; MZ-NH800/NH700

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0186 ; MZ-NH600/NH600D/DH710

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_01E9 ; MZ-DH10P

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0219 ; MZ-RH10/M100

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_021B ; MZ-RH910/M10

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0286 ; MZ-RH1/M200

; PC Link Devices (untested)

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_0034 ; LINK KIT

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_008E ; C7NT

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00AD ; L7HD

ExcludeFromSelect=USBVID_054C&PID_00E7 ; 333NT/373NT (should be the same as each other)

[Manufacturer]

%NETMDUSB.Manufacturer%=Sony,NTAMD64

; For Win2K and later

[sony]

; NetMD Devices

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0075 ; MZ-N1

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0080 ; LAM-1

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0081 ; MDS-JB980

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0084 ; MZ-N505

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0085 ; MZ-S1

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0086 ; MZ-N707

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00C6 ; MZ-N10

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00C7 ; MZ-N910

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00C8 ; MZ-NF810/N710

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00C9 ; MZ-NF610/N510

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00CA ; MZ-NE410

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00EB ; MZ-NE910/NE810

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0188 ; MZ-N920

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0101 ; LAM-10

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0113 ; AM-NX1

; NetMD configs for HiMD Devices

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_017E ; MZ-NH1

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0180 ; MZ-NH3D

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0182 ; MZ-NH900

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0184 ; MZ-NH800/NH700

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0186 ; MZ-NH600/NH600D/DH710

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_01E9 ; MZ-DH10P

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0219 ; MZ-RH10/M100

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_021B ; MZ-RH910/M10

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0286 ; MZ-RH1/M200

; PC Link Devices (untested, originally used pclkusb.sys)

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_0034 ; LINK KIT

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_008E ; C7NT

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00AD ; L7HD

%NETMDUSB.DeviceDesc%=NETMDUSB.Dev, USBVID_054C&PID_00E7 ; 333NT/373NT