Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

[IamNemo]

Hi everyone! I'm trying to set up a Sony VGP-XL1B(3) and a Powerfile C200 on the same PC running XP Pro SP2.

I have each changer connected to its own FireWire bus. One bus is the motherboard's and the other one is an added PCI FireWire card.

I can see each changer separately but not both at the same time.
Also: I can see the 2 drives in the Powerfile in XP but only one seems visible from FreeChange. I can also see them in CD Ripper but can only choose one drive.

Any suggestions? Anything? Anyone out there running Sony + Powerfile on the same PC? Thanks in advance! Nemo

[bhoar]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

I can also see them in CD Ripper but can only choose one drive.

You mean one is greyed out? You need to re-run the batch ripper configuration.

-brendan

[IamNemo]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

You mean one is greyed out? You need to re-run the batch ripper configuration. -brendan

You were right! Thanks Brendan

Now here's the situation in Windows XP Explorer:

1) If I turn the Sony ON first (say it becomes drive E: ) and then turn ON the Powerfile I don't see the Powerfile drives at all;

2) If I turn the Powerfile ON first (say it becomes drives E: and F: ) and then the Sony (which becomes drive G: ) I loose the second drive letter (here F: ) on the Powerfile!

In situation #2 above if I run FreeChange to test I get an exception error panel (no details). Same thing if I hit the "Re-Scan HW" button.

In this case in dBPowerAmp Batch Ripper Config I see the three drives but F: is marked with a "?" in red. If I run tests on the other drives (Powerfile E: and Sony G: ) they work perfectly. I took care to assign proper device & drive numbers:

Powerfile drive#1 ( E: ) is defined as --changer="0" --driveid="0"
Powerfile drive#2 ( F: ) is defined as--changer="0" --driveid="1"
Sony drive ( G: ) is defined as --changer="1" --driveid="0"

As you can imagine I'm open to all suggestions, please :D Thanks! Nemo

[bhoar]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

i wonder if spoon can recommend some debug steps with cdgrab.exe that might indicate the problem with F: in that scenario.

-brendan

[Spoon]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

It is at an OS level, nothing much to debug...I think you are seeing an incompatibiliy between the 2 units.

[bhoar]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

Nemo,

Does the F: drive show up in my computer? If you get the right-click properties of that drive in my computer, do they differ in any meaningful way from the properties of E:?

In the device manager (windows key + pause/break key, hardware tab, device manager), dvd/cd rom drives, is there a problem with the F: drive or any drive (e.g. a question mark, etc.) show in the device manager? If so, what is the error show in right-click properties?

-brendan

[IamNemo]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

Thank you guys for your help but after a full day of unsuccessful attempts to make this work I gave up on the idea of connecting both changers on the same computer. I'm now trying to connect the Sony to computer A and the Powerfile to computer B (a notebook running XP SP3 now).

The Sony is now ripping without a problem. On the other hand the Powerfile C200 is giving me a hard time on the notebook. I see both drives F: and G: in Batch Ripper. I start a batch (of 10) and I get this message "Unable to locate medium changer - Do you want to rip anyway" I click OK and it starts to rip the first disc in drive G: (why?) and while doing it rejects all the others (even the empty slots) from drive F: and then both drives.

I checked in FreeChange (which doesn't work very well with Powerfile compared to the Sony): I can see from the NVRAM that the 10 first slots are FULL and the rest EMPTY or UNKNOWN so the changer knows where the discs are.

I applied the following "rules" to the best of my knowledge:

* Stop the RSM (Removable Storage Manager) service in Windows.

* Turn off Autorun on the Powerfile and Sony drives using TweakUI (from the PowerToys tools for XP from the Microsoft site).

* Check under HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\ the 1394 and SPB2 registry entries. These tend to grow over time. You just need to grant permission on these two keys so you can delete all references to PowerFile (and Sony?).

* Install SP3 which includes the Microsoft XP Hotfix for Powerfile changers (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/891570).

* When you reconnect the device(s) you make sure windows gives them the same drive letter designation. If this does not happen you will need to reconfigure the drives in dBPA Batch Ripper Configuration and recalculate the AR offset.

* Never daisy-chain or connect two devices to the same FireWire (1394) adapter card.

But it doesn't work. Do you see anything else I missed? Do you have any idea where the problem(s) might be? Thanks!! Nemo

[bhoar]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

Does anyone else have both drives in a powerfile working?

-brendan

[IamNemo]

Re: Using 2 changers under XP: Sony + Powerfile

Does anyone else have both drives in a powerfile working?

A member here, Steve Redmyer (sredmyer), does it on a regular basis; I'm sure he will chime in. You can also check his web site at www.RipItDigital.com Nemo