Minidisc USB cable installation

This page assumes that you already have a USB cable for your minidisc recorder and want to know how to install it. USB-minidisc cables are sometimes bundled and sold with minidisc recorders, or you can buy them seperately. A well-known manufacturer of these cables is .

In order to successfully record from yopur USB port to your computer, you must have all of the following:

• A USB-to-minidisc adapter. The Xitel models are the AN-1 (analog) and the DG-1 (digital). Cables from other manufacturers could have different model names.
• Windows 95 OSR2 with USB supplement, or Windows 98, Windows ME or Windows 2000. The "regular" versions of Windows 95 will not support USB.
• Your Windows disk(s). This is important and if you do not have your Windows disk(s) available, do not proceed further.

The USB cable package itself will include:

• A standard USB cable
• An adapter
• A miniplug optical or miniplug analog cable
• A CD-ROM with software (such as Xitel's MusicMatch) may also be included with some packages. However, it is not necessary

Instructions for installing the USB cable:

As is specified above, the CD-ROM which commonly comes with the package is not actually needed. It contains some software which is helpful for recording MD's and is similar to Winamp in appearance; but this is not needed for the installation. Do NOT insert the CD-ROM into the computer before beginning.

Connect the three pieces together (USB cable, adapter, and miniplug).

Boot up your computer.

Locate the USB ports on your computer, and plug the USB adapter into the port.

Windows should display "New Hardware Found", and begin installing drivers. Depending on your computers' configuration the exact description of the drivers to be displayed could vary. However, at some point Windows may prompt you to insert your Windows disk(s) so that it can load necessary drivers.

Once this is finished, the USB device will already be installed.

From this point on, every time you plug in the USB minidisc cable, your soundcard will be bypassed and all computer sounds will be routed to the USB device automatically. When you disconnect the USB device, your computer will automatically change back to using the computer's soundcard. You can use Winamp or any other audio player to play audio and record it through the USB cable.

The MusicMatch software that sometimes comes with the USB adapter is not actually necessary to install, but it can be helpful in creating playlists and generally helping to make recording to minidisc easier. It is similar to Winam in that it allows the creation of playlists from your computer's audio files. It also has other additional miscellaneous functions to help make recording easier.

To install the MusicMatch software, simply insert the MusicMatch CD-ROM into your computer and follow the on-screen installation instructions. This software installs like any other software, and you can actually use it also while recording from your soundcard (the USB cable is not actually necessary in order to use this software).

Enjoy your recordings!