Thought I'd write up a little bit on some of the SonicStage tweaks that I've gathered and used over time. Some of the tweaks are based on preference, so feel free to pick and choose whichever ones you'd like to use.

Thanks to all of the forum members who have posted some of these tweaks over the past few years.

These tweaks should work with all current SonicStage versions. 3.4 > 4.3

Tweak #1 - Disabling SSAAD.exe from startup:

Many users have noticed that when SonicStage is installed it registers the mysterious SSAAD.exe to run on startup. I have disabled this on every install of SonicStage, and have had no issues. There seems to be little to no information regarding what this is or why it runs on startup.

Removing this from startup either by using msconfig, or even deleting the registry keys for it results in it being re-registered to startup when SonicStage is launched.

To remove this from startup, simply navigate to C:\Program Files\Sony\SonicStage, and rename SSAAD.exe. I rename the file to SSAAD.exe_bak. Then, it can be removed from startup under msconfig, and will not re-register itself when SonicStage is launched.


Tweak #2 - Removing/Replacing the sound played back when files are finished transferring:

This is user preference, but I have always found the sound annoying. I can see how it could be useful, but when you are transferring files while watching a movie or something like that, it can get on your nerves.

To remove this sound, navigate to C:\Program Files\Sony\SonicStage\Data\Image\se and rename complete.wav. As in the previous tweak, I rename this to complete.wav_bak. You can also use any sound you'd like, as long as it is in WAV format and titled complete.wav, simply place your file in the folder.


Tweak #3 - Removing/Replacing CONNECT Store under Music Source:

Again, user preference. I never use the CONNECT Store, so I've changed the entry to go here to the forums. It can also be removed entirely.

This tweak involved modifying the registry. I strongly recommend making a backup of your registry before you continue.

To remove CONNECT Store, open regedit (Start>Run>regedit) and delete the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Corporation\SonicStage\EMD\HomeURL.

To replace the CONNECT Store with MiniDisc Community Forums, navigate to the kry listed above and modify the following entries to match the following:

"Url"="http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?"
"MenuTitle"="MiniDisc &Community Forums"
"Title"="MiniDisc Community Forums"

The attached .txt file can be used to automatically do the above and replace the CONNECT Store with the MiniDisc Community Forums. Simply rename the .txt file extension to .reg and double-click the file.

Click to view attachment

Thats all for now! Please feel free to ask questions of submit other tweaks!

I like the last tweak!

First I set the URL page to google.. quite nice!

Then I set the set it to D:\Music:

Very cool I can now browse my music in Sonicstage via treeview. It will also darg and drop into the application to import new music etc!

Great stuff - I'll try and add a few of my own tips soon. But for now keep them coming. I'll pin this in the Software Discussion / FAQ's section.

* Thread pinned

Awesome! I might end up trying that one !

EDIT: Love it! Took me awhile to figure out where to drag and drop files/folders, turns out I had to drag them up near the top in order for SonicStage to pull it into the library. Great stuff!

Did you find any way to set the "View" of the folders to the same as the view of the master folder? I can change the latter to Details, but cannot see a way to do this with a folder that I have descended into.

Cheers

Awesome work! Great finds guys!

Yeah this always frustrated me... I haven't found a way around it, but would be immensely grateful to anyone that does!

It looks like a programmed behaviour rather than configurable. Even if I set the view to "details" and go to one of the folders and then back, both the browsed-to folder and the original are now viewed as icons again.

My Bluetooth Places suffers from the same defect. So if there's a way around it, it wouldnt be found by reconfiguring SS, but in some subtle (probably undocumented) behaviour of the Windows Shell.

Couldn't this, by any chance, be linked to the "Remember each folder's view settings" checkbox in Windows Explorer? Try unchecking this box and resetting all folders (these are some of the first things I do after installing Windows).

Did that about 5 years ago

I had quite the voyage today - ended up undoing this change (SS started to crash in all sorts of weird ways) and re importing a bunch of wave files as the encryption keys crashed after the undo. Duh!

I note that I don't seem to connect to "Connect" any more at all. Any ideas why? If it's gone, this means that every time you do a system restore, the program keys will die and you lose all encrypted content. This argues in favour of GREAT CARE and regular decryption. I was lucky, only 1 week's worth of saved sound as .oma had to be chucked out.

Caveat tweakers!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tell me something - is the Atrac Advanced Lossless independent of these wretched keys?

No, it is not...

As simple as it is, this is prolly my fav tweak. Many Thanks raintheory.
A good piece of work and so well written, even I could understand it..!!
Thanks again,