So, I just installed Leopard on the Macs at home .....

I recorded Piano*Son playing an etude for the Chopin recital on the trusty Zoom H4 and then go to the computer to download it. The computer rejects the device. Say what?

I do a little web research and discover that the existing Zoom software is not compatible with Leopard. I discover also that there is some download that you need in order to reformat the Zoom. The problem is that the instructions are incomprehensible, or actually make no sense.

Here is the information: From the Zoom support website

How on earth does one copy the system.bin file into the root directory of the SD card using a USB cable. The bloody SD card doesn't have a USB connection. It's a silly removable chip inside the bloody Zoom.

Has anyone else dealt with this?

P.S. I hadn't yet switched to Leopard on my office Mac, so that's where I could do the download! Ah, progress.

You may either need to find an adapter to plug in the card to the computer via usb or maybe use a friend's computer to do the upload. I can't be sure if plugging in the device to a computer where it would work will allow access to the sd card like a drive on the computer where you could then do the copying. Maybe you could find a local computer shop that could help you put the file on there without charge.

I'm sure if I lived in Williamsburg, VA I'd be there to help you in a flash. (Oh, terrible flash memory card joke there.)

Depending on how old your computer is, you might have a slot built in to your computer that will accept the SD card.

If not, then you might need to purchase an SD card reader (really cheap, under 20 bucks), or, do you have a digital camera, or a printer that has a slot for SD cards? They will also work.

On second thought, it's a little complicated to use a camera or printer as a diskdrive. Maybe not, eh???

Anyway, if you do not have a card reader, the cable will do you no good, as the Zoom will not allow it (hence the need to get the download on the card from another source).

Another thought. Perhaps a neighbor or friend could load up the card for you, and save you the trip to Radio Shack.

Good luck. Like Anthony, I would pop over in a second if I were close...


Parting thought - do you or Piano*Son have a laptop close? Unless very old, they will have a slot for the card as well.....

Okay, I did this some time ago. Here's the instructions rewritten a little:

1) Download the software to your computer.
2) Unzip the downloaded software.
3) Copy the "system.bin" file into the root directory of the SD card which has been inserted into an SD slot on your computer.
4) Insert the SD card into the Zoom H4 and follow the rest of the steps as outlined on the Zoom web site.

The key is to forget about the USB stuff -- that's misleading.

Ed

Hmmm. I don't know that I HAVE an SD slot on the computer. I'll have to check. I certainly don't see one on my older Mac.

Now that I think about it, I don't think any mac comes with an SD slot. Are there simple adapters that plug into a USB port?

I'll check my laptop at home. Since it is a Mac as well, it may not have the slot.

Piano*Dad: Also, do you have a digital camera? If so, what type of card does it use? If it uses an SD card you may be able to place that card in the camera then hook up the camera to the computer and transfer the file onto the card that way.

Except that now I'm worried that the camera won't be recognized as well. :p

I'll look into the camera angle to see exactly what sort of card it uses. It's kind of funny. If you're not really INTO the technology you tend to forget the details (like what card is in the machine) as long as things continue to work.

Piano*Dad,
I thought that the Zoom could be used as a card reader as well (pg.82 of the manual) - I remember upgrading the zoom firmware this way. Does Leopard not recognize the zoom at all as an external drive? I was thinking of upgrading to Leopard - but maybe not...

No, Leopard generates an error message when you connect the Zoom to the computer. You never get it to recognize the zoom as a device.

Now where's that bloody Zoom manual. I seem to lose everything these days.

Well, darn - macs are usually much more clever than that. Good luck.

I would not use a camera to act as a flash drive reader. The camera will most likely want to format the sd card and you will lose the information you have saved on it.

Yes there are very reasonable memory card readers, check any store that sells digital cameras and memory. Even WallMart will have this. Basic ones that only read a few types of memory are under $20. More advanced ones that read almost every type of memory under the sun may be $35 or so.

Rich

Hi Piano*Dad,

I recently did this for another Zoom product - an MRS8 recorder/mixer. The machine has no direct USB connection so I used an inexpensive and simple USB card reader (as gmm1 suggested). The job was easy - put the memory card in the reader slot, plug reader into computer usb, copy file across, put card back in and press the required combination of buttons on the Zoom to start the internal update. Worked first time.

I also have an H4 and a Mac with Leopard on, so I'll try it, and see if I can get it to recognise it directly through the H4s own USB cable, rather than using a separate card reader. I currently only use mine as an audio interface, not a USB reader, so I'll have to dig out the manual and work out how to reset it via the menu on the H4 first. Did you set your Zoom H4 up its own menu to read the card directly? It presumably won't work if you didn't. Page 82 in my manual. Zoom usually have them downloadable online if you've lost yours.

If it doesn't work then I would try it on another computer. It shouldn't matter what computer you use to do the update on - a neighbour's machine running Windows for instance. Once it's updated the Mac should see it again.

Cheers,

Chris

UPDATE:

I just tried plugging it into a Windows machine, and it was able to to see the contents of the card with no problems at all, as soon as I set the Zoom itself to 'Connect to PC' (PC refers to any personal computer. Mac or Windows) .

As far as I can tell, you have two ways to go. If the problem is that Leopard can't access the memory on your Zoom at all until the update has been done then you either have to :

1) Take the memory card out of the H4 and use a card reader to transfer the file or
2) Use any other computer not running Leopard (Mac or Windows PC).

There are update instruction on P.85 in the manual too.

Good luck...

Thanks,

I think I know what to do now. I really do need to get a reader to handle the card via the USB.

It just seems that the more things change in computers, and supposedly toward a more friendly interface, the truth remains more complex. You still have to be a problem solving ferret.

This thread might help. Good luck

Thanks. I never thought to use the search function. Silly me. And the topic was discussed so recently.

Well, that was easy. I just went downstairs to the laptop, which I had strategically (yeah, right) not yet updated to Leopard. No need for a separate SD reader. I just plugged the Zoom into the Mac and transferred the downloaded software into the Zoom's root directory and followed the instructions on Zoom's web page. All done.

Well, I haven't yet tried it on a Leopard machine, so perhaps I shouldn't talk so confidently. But the Zoom says the new version of its brain is functioning properly.

Maybe it would have helped to mention that slight fact about having another computer around...

I hope it works without further issues on your newer computer.