PC USERS MANUAL MD-PortTM I/O PC users manual · Windows 98 · Windows 2000 · Windows ME · Windows XP 1 Getting started There are 3 simple steps to using your MD-Port I/O. Please read through the following carefully as it contains detailed instructions. The 3 steps that you will be guided through take the following general form: Step 1: Runs through plugging the MD-Port I/O into your computer, automatically installing the necessary drivers, and loading the included software on your system. Step 2: Runs through connecting your MD-Port I/O to your MiniDisc or NetMD recorder and recording music from your computer. Step 3: Runs through connecting your MiniDisc or NetMD recorder to the MD-Port I/O and recording music back into your PC. 7. Once the first set of drivers finishes installing, Windows 98SE may require the other two USB drivers to also be installed. This will depend on what USB audio devices have previously been used on your system. Simply follow the procedure outlined above until all the required USB drivers have been loaded. 8. Once all of the required drivers have been installed, Windows 98SE will start. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the MD-Port I/O is now complete. Windows Millennium Edition Note: According to Microsoft knowledge base article Q280127 some systems running Windows ME may require an operating system update for USB audio recording devices to work correctly. We recommend installing this operating system update before installing the MD-Port I/O. The necessary update is called 280127USAM.exe and can be obtained directly from Microsoft. Step one Getting your MD-Port I/O going is as simple as plugging it into a primary USB port of any computer running Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. There's no need to load any special software, but you will have to follow a few easy steps to initiate the Windows USB audio drivers. 1. There's no need to turn your computer off when plugging the MD-Port I/O in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the MD-Port I/O into the other end of the USB cable. We recommend you don't plug the MD-Port I/O into a USB hub - other devices on the hub may interfere with the USB audio data, causing pops and clicks in your recordings. 2. Windows ME will open a New Hardware Found window and let you know it's found the MD-Port I/O. It will then start loading drivers for a USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, or USB Audio Device, depending on what components have already been installed on your system. Click Next. Windows 98SE installation Note: If you experience any trouble loading the USB drivers, please ensure that you have installed all of the latest software updates from your computer manufacturer, especially the ones for your computer's soundcard. If you're still having problems after this, refer to the troubleshooting section at the end of this user manual for further instructions. 1. There's no need to turn the computer off when plugging your MD-Port I/O in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the MD-Port I/O into the other end of the USB cable. We recommend you don't plug the MD-Port I/O into a USB hub - other devices on the hub may interfere with the USB audio data, causing pops and clicks in your recordings. 2. Windows 98SE will open an Add New Hardware Wizard and let you know it's found the MD-Port I/O. It will then start loading drivers for a USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, or USB Audio Device, depending on what components have already been installed on your system. Click Next. 3. 4. Check the option Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended) and click Next. Windows 98SE should already have the various USB components installed and will automatically default to the location of those drivers on your hard drive. Click Next. If Windows 98SE does not have the various USB components loaded, it will tell you that the files could not be found and will request the Windows 98SE CD. In this case, put your Windows 98SE CD into the CD-ROM drive and direct the installer to the Win98 folder on the CD and click Next. 5. The Wizard will now let you know it has located drivers for a USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, or USB Audio Device and will identify these drivers under the heading Location of Driver. This location may be your hard drive, or CD-ROM drive, depending on what drivers your system has had installed in the past. Click Next. 6. The first set of drivers will now install. 3. 2. 6. 5. 4. 3. In the Add New Hardware Wizard, place a check next to the option Automatic Search for a Better Driver (Recommended) and click Next. The Add New Hardware Wizard will load a Windows Driver folder. When it has completed loading the drivers from this folder, the Add New Hardware Wizard will let you know it has finished installing a new hardware device. Click on Finish. If during this process, Windows ME notifies you that there's a version conflict and that a file being copied is older than a file currently on your computer, click Yes to keep the existing file. Once the first set of drivers has finished installing, Windows ME may require the other two USB drivers to also be installed. This will depend on what USB audio devices have previously been used on your system. Simply follow the procedure outlined above until all required USB drivers have been installed. Once all required drivers have been installed, Windows ME will start. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the MD-Port I/O is now complete. Windows 2000 installation 1. There's no need to turn off your computer when plugging the MD-Port I/O in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the MD-Port I/O into the other end of the USB cable. We recommend you don't plug the MD-Port I/O into a USB hub - other devices on the hub may interfere with the USB audio data, causing pops and clicks in your recordings. Windows 2000 will automatically detect the addition of a new USB interface. It will automatically update your USB drivers, including USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, and USB Audio Device. Once Windows 2000 has completed updating the USB drivers, it should automatically set the MD-Port I/O as your preferred multimedia device. 2 3 4. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the MD-Port I/O is now complete. Note: Some computer systems ship with an OEM version of Windows 98SE that does not contain the entire generic USB driver and audio platform or may have a soundcard that does not run Windows compliant drivers. If you cannot select USB Audio Device in the Preferred Device Window, please refer to the troubleshooting section at the end of this user manual for further instructions. In this situation you may not be able to select USB Audio Device even though the USB drivers seemed to install fine when you first plugged in the MD-Port I/O. Windows ME Once Windows ME starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the MD-Port I/O should automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Sounds and Multimedia control panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in both the Playback section and Recording section under the Audio tab. You should also put a check next to the option Use only Preferred Devices that appears at the bottom of the window. To get to the Sounds and Multimedia Properties control panel hit Start, then go to Settings, then Control Panel. The multimedia icon will be in the Control Panel window. Double click on the icon to open the Sounds and Multimedia Properties window. You're now fully loaded. Note: According to Microsoft knowledge base article Q280127 some systems running Windows ME may require an operating system update for USB audio devices to work correctly. We recommend installing this operating system update before installing the MD-Port I/O. The necessary update is called 280127USAM.exe and can be obtained directly from Microsoft. Windows 2000 Once Windows 2000 starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the MD-Port I/O will automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Sounds and Multimedia control panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in both the Playback section and Recording section under the Audio tab. You should also put a check next to the option Use only Preferred Devices that appears at the bottom of the window. To get to the Sounds and Multimedia Properties control panel hit Start, then go to Settings, then Control Panel. The multimedia icon will be in the Control Panel window. Double click on the icon to open the Sounds and Multimedia Properties window. You're now fully loaded. Windows XP Once Windows XP starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the MD-Port I/O should automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Sounds and Audio Devices control panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in the Sound Playback section and Sound Recording section under the Audio tab. You should also make sure that a check appears next to the option Use only Default Devices that appears at the bottom of the window. To get to the Sounds and Audio Devices control panel hit Start, then go to My Computer, then Sounds and Audio Devices. You're now fully loaded. Controlling the output and volume levels The MD-Port I/O's volume and output controls can be accessed by double clicking the standard volume control icon, which will open a Speaker control panel. For the MD-Port I/O's playback operations, the volume is set by the Wave Balance slider. To activate the Wave Balance slider, go to Options and then Properties. In the bottom section of the Properties window, make sure a check appears next to Wave Balance. Click OK once you're done. You should now be able to see a Wave Balance slider in the Speaker control panel. Windows XP installation 1. There's no need to turn off your computer when plugging the MD-Port I/O in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the MD-Port I/O into the other end of the USB cable. We recommend you don't plug the MD-Port I/O into a USB hub - other devices on the hub may interfere with the USB audio data, causing pops and clicks in your recordings. 2. Windows XP will automatically detect the addition of a new USB device and will open a dialog box in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. In the dialog box you'll be able to watch as Windows XP progress through automatically updating your USB drivers, including USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, and USB Audio Device. 3. Once Windows XP has completed updating the USB drivers, it will let you know that the installation process has been completed and that your MD-Port I/O is now available for use. At this stage Windows should also automatically set the MD-Port I/O as your preferred multimedia output device. 4. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the MD-Port I/O is now complete. Setting the MD-Port I/O as preferred audio device in Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows XP . With USB technology, there's never any need to turn off your computer when plugging in, or unplugging the MD-Port I/O. When you want to use the MD-Port I/O, simply close any running programs and plug it into the USB port. Your system will then automatically configure itself. When you're done, you can unplug the MDPort I/O and your computer will automatically revert to whatever soundcard is installed. In both cases, it doesn't matter if the system is on or off. For smooth automatic loading, please ensure all audio programs are closed before plugging in, or unplugging the MD-Port I/O. Note: when the MD-Port I/O is selected as your system's preferred audio device, no sound will come out of any speakers plugged into your soundcard. If you wish to use your soundcard instead of the MD-Port I/O, either unplug the MD-Port I/O from the USB cable, or select your soundcard as preferred audio device in the Multimedia Properties control panel for Windows 98SE, Sounds and Multimedia control panel for Windows ME and Windows 2000, or Sounds and Audio Devices control panel for Windows XP. It's not possible to use a soundcard and the MD-Port I/O at the same time for music playback. Windows 98SE Once Windows 98SE starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the MD-Port I/O should automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Multimedia control panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in both the Playback ...