Sony Digital Voice Recorder INCOMPATIBLE

NBR,
I use a Sony ICD-ST25 digital voice recorder to record a ~40 minute message every week. With Sony's Digital Voice Editor software, I convert the Sony proprietary format file into a WAV to burn to CD for archive. I then convert the WAV into a WMA for web/email distribution. I have used a Sony digital voice recorder for over 5 years; this is my second Sony. They have worked well under Windows XP and Vista.

Now that I have upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium (x64), I can no longer use the hardware. Apparently, Sony does not develop drivers for their digital voice recorders for 64-bit OSes. I can install the application, however, the driver installation always fails/does not initiate because there is not a 64-bit driver.

Any suggestions? It would be ridiculous to dual boot Vista Home Premium (x32) and 7 Home Premium (x64) just to use this device. Is dual booting one 32- and one 64-bit OS even possible? Because Sony has not developed a 64-bit driver, I do not see how I can use this device with Home Premium (x64).

All help appreciated.

Jeremy

 

Look into the Win7 "Windows XP Mode". http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

If your machine supports VT (Virtualization Technology) and you can switch to Win7 pro or ultimate, you can run "Windows XP mode" it is a fully functional Windows XP system running WITHIN Win7. And whats more it is fully integrated with Win7. So you can install your voice recorder app in the WinXP portion and have the app show up in your Win7 start menu. When you start the app from Win7, it starts the XP virtual machine and your app. The app will even have access to your Win7 "My documents" folder and other resources like USB drives etc. It's really slick. A much better solution than dual booting.

Your needs are precisely the sort of thing Windows XP Mode was designed for!

Gary

 

Thanks, Gary. So will XP Mode work as a virtual 32-bit OS inside my actual 64-bit OS? Or will XP Mode be a virtual 64-bit OS inside my actual 64-bit OS? I could set up a VM since XP Mode is not included with 7 Home Premium. However, I am unclear on how the 32- and 64-bit architectures integrate.

Just to clarify, the version of the operating system is not the problem here. I am sure that I could use this device and software with Windows 7 Home Premium (x32). But I have moved on to a 64-bit OS and this looks like it is the only device and application that could not come along.

Jeremy

 

I believe it will, but can't say for sure. I remember that hosting a 32 bit OS in a 64 bit OS was the reason some folks were clamoring to get VT turned on in their BIOS on some machines. But I don't remember the context of that conversation. It may have been VMWare or this new Win7/WinXP mode. I have not made the jump to 64 bit yet.

But you are going to have to move from Home edition to try this out. Check the link I sent. You might find more specifics there.

Gary

 

http://ron.ozrock.net/tech/sony-dvf-files/

Just a bit of Googling turned that up. Best bet is to move away from the Sony software.

Theoretically, dBPowerAMP can also convert the files.

 

Thanks, Pitabred. The link you posted points to rather old information. The problem is this: because Sony does not offer a 64-bit driver, I cannot access the propriety format file still inside the digital voice recorder hardware. I do not have a problem converting the file. But without the driver, I have no way to access the file.

I found the following on Microsoft's website:

Does Windows Virtual PC support 64-bit Windows XP as a guest operating system?

No. Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode was designed to help small business with application compatibility from Windows XP to Windows 7. The majority of business applications currently run on 32-bit versions of
Windows XP.​

This answers the question I had after Gary's post. So I think it would be possible to install the Sony driver and application in Windows XP Mode because that mode is 32-bit. Now if I would have purchased Windows 7 Professional (x64), I would have Windows XP Mode available to me for experimenting...

Jeremy

 

sony HAS 64-bit drivers:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?upd_id=4527&mdl=ICDST25

just install the vista drivers in compatibility mode.

 

Now THAT sounds like the best solution oif all!

Gary

 

This is exactly the download I have tried to install...three times. The application works great. But because the driver package for the ICD-ST25 device are 32-bit, they are not available to Windows or the application after installation. After the installation process restarts the computer, only drivers for ICD-PS series devices are available.

When I wrote, "Apparently, Sony does not develop drivers for their digital voice recorders for 64-bit OSes" I wasn't making a dig against Sony. Rather, I was referencing an email message I received from Sony's support.

Jeremy

 

That's odd because the package on the E-support site said it is specifically for the ST25 and specifically mentions 64 bit compatability. Have you tried totally uninstalling and REMOVING all previous versions of the software AND the drivers. (Just uninstalling driver is not always enough, you sometimes need to delete them too.)

Gary

 

Yes, Gary. I uninstalled the application and deleted all folders and ran CCleaner to remove registry entries. The problem is that the driver package for my specific device is not 32-bit compatible even though the application is.

Notice Sony only states that the application is 64-bit compatible. There is a separate link further down that page to a compatibility list for these devices. Check this out: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?news_id=174. The ICD-ST25 is not mentioned in the 64-bit compatible chart.

It would be great if they would drop the whole driver scheme for these devices like they have with the newer models. The newer models are simply recognized by Windows as a USB mass storage device. To make this change, they would probably need to flash the firmware in older digital voice recorders.

So, to resolve and never repeat this problem, I ordered a Roland Edirol R-09HR. This device will record to SD cards and be recognized by Windows as a USB mass storage device.

Jeremy

 

That doesn't really make ANY sense. How can the app be 64 bit compatible, but there are no 64bit drivers for the hardware? What good would it be to have the app without the hardware? I think we are missing something here. What I was suggesting was not a deletion of folders and a CC Cleaner. What I was suggesting as actual deletion of the drivers. Neither a deletion of the folder nor CCleaner accomplished that. Google "removing drivers" for a host of articles describing the process. You need to dig into the "innards" of the Windows sub folders to accomplish this.

Like I said in the first sentence above, it seems a bit odd that there would be a 64 bit app and no drivers.

Gary

 

Thanks again, Gary, for trying to wrap your mind around this with me. When the application installation begins, it installs the Sony Digital Voice Editor software. As the installation progresses, the drivers for various model ICD recorders are unpacked and placed deep in a TEMP folder. The installation program asks me to click to restart Windows. After restarting Windows, the drivers are gone from the TEMP folder. When I open the application, there is no driver available to the program to enable it to recognize my device. Windows just gives a fail report when this USB device is connected.

Your question, "What good would it be to have the app without the hardware?" is my question. When I sought help from Sony, they were quick to tell me:

> Thank you for contacting Sony Support.
>
> I'm sorry to inform you that the IC Recorder is not supported for use with
> the Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit Operating System. However, you can
> transfer the files from the IC Recorder to the Computer using the
> following steps.​

The steps they outlined in the rest of the support message required that I play the digital voice file back through my notebook sound card and use a program to record a line-in feed. Uhhh... no.

Jeremy

P.S. Sony ICD-ST25 for sale...

 

By any chance did you happen to look at the temp folder to see if maybe there was a compatible driver there? There have been a number of cases where folks have been unable to get a Sony supplied driver to install using the provided installer and have copied the temp file contents off and manually installed em.

Gary

 

Yes, Gary, I looked in there. I also copied the driver installer for my model before it was flushed out after the reboot. After Windows 7 rebooted and the installation of the device failed, I ran the installer for this device separately. Nevertheless, the Sony application is only capable of seeing ICD-PX Series devices.

Also, Windows lists my device in the device manager with an exclamation mark. When I try to "Update Driver..." by using the driver files I snagged from the TEMP folder, Windows reports, "Windows could not find driver software for your device." By the way, the three files that the installer should see are all dated 2002 and 2003.

I am attaching a snip of the device driver fail dialog and a snip of the Sony application drop down window that ordinarily lists my ICD-ST Series device. The ICD-ST Series is just not there.

So today I am learning how to use a new Edirol R-09HR...

Jeremy

 

One last strategy... I tried to install the device using the Add Hardware Wizard (hdwwiz). When I tell Windows where to look for a driver (*.inf), it reports, "The folder you specified doesn't contain a compatible software driver for your device. If the folder contains a driver, make sure it is designed to work with Windows for x64-based systems."

Informative error message. But no success.

Jeremy

 

Time to buy a new recorder and move away from Sony 'closed architecture' mentality.

Seriously, they remind me of Apple at times. Expensive equipment that can only be used with a few things.

 

Deathwinger,
Sony's newer models are recognized by Windows as a USB mass storage device. They seemed to have learned an important lesson. However, their newer models with expandable storage still use the Memory Stick and Memory Stick Duo. YUCK!

I have moved on to an amazing Roland Edirol R-09HR for digital recording. Windows just sees the device as an SDHC card when I connect it via USB. And the recording quality is absolutely worlds away from the Sony ICD-ST25. What was I thinking using that Sony for all these years!?

Jeremy

 

I am having the same issue with my office's ICD-MS515: Sony made the software 64 bit, but not the voice recorder's drivers. Nice.

I have succesfully set up Windows Virtual PC to run the XP Mode 32 bit virtualization (which was a free download since my office uses Windows 7 business- I think the lowest version of Win 7 doesn't include the rights to use XP mode). I am able to use XP Mode to download the recorder files, and then use the regular Win 7 environment for everything else. Not a big deal, but annoying.

EDIT: Getting XP mode was actually really painless. However, we're lucky our new systems have the cirtcuitry to run in "hardware virtualization" mode- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/configure-bios.aspx

I'm ordering one of those multi media card readers. I'm hoping that I can just plug the Memory Stick in my recorder into the USB and download the files for the Voice Editor software.

I.P. in Houston, TX.

 

I am (sadly) glad to see that your experience confirms my experience. XP Mode, or some other Virtual PC solution, was an option. But my Sony digital voice recorder was the only device I would have needed XP Mode for. So I replaced the device and use Windows 7 Home Premium x64 exclusively.

And, by the way, the quality of the recordings I make now with the Roland Edirol R-09HR is absolutely amazing. Seriously, imagine everything you record sounding like it was mastered in a studio and burned to a CD. That is the sound quality I can produce with the Edirol. My Sony ICD-ST25 never even came close.

Jeremy