Read only path claim

Terabyte wrote on 6/5/2011, 10:08 AM

My apologies up front for my frustration, but I’m at my wits’ end.

Perhaps I should have learned my lesson with Vegas Movie Studio 9, but I just bought a new Sony HDR-CX160 camera at the recommendation of their presales reps and while I have to say I’m disappointed at the HDR-CX160, I’m even more disappointed at Vegas Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0. In 9.0 I had it whine at me constantly that I was trying to write to a read only location and had a ticket opened for a long time about it and all I got was canned responses and some KB article, http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/kb4435, that was supposed to fix it, but alas it didn’t. So now, I’ve upgraded this software twice, spent hundreds of $ on Sony equipment and accessories and I have a NON-functional video system.

BTW, if you buy this CX160, you get 10 minutes and 40 seconds of recording before it starts a new file because it only records 2GB per file (Panasonic and Canon both record to the max 4GB allowed by FAT 32 on SDHC cards so honestly, I think Sony is on its way out as the top tier video vendor. If I cannot find a permanent solution to this “Read only or invalid path. Please correct it.” warning that’s bogus because I’m logged into my Windows 7 x64 Ultimate SP1machine as a domain administrator and every path I’ve tried, including C:\hold (created specifically for this test and following the rights description defined in their KB article) it whines no matter what. The last time it took me weeks to get anyone from Sony to talk to me, this time if it’s not fixed I’m returning ALL of it, putting a hold on the Sony charge for the upgrade on my credit card, and going to Canon or Panasonic and Adobe and leaving this junk behind.

I’m happy to do what it takes to fix this, but Sony has known about this bug since 13 January 2009 and it’s June 2011, I find it very hard to believe they can’t find a viable solution in 2.5 years (BTW, this happened in Vista 32-bit as well as now in Win7 which they claim their software is fully Win7 compatible, sounds like false advertising to me). Any thoughts?

Comments

Terabyte wrote on 6/5/2011, 10:27 AM

BTW, I took a fresh Dell with Win7 x64 SP1 on it and tested there and get the EXACT same results. Different machine, different model numbers, different install dates of Windows 7 x64 SP1, same result. Sony, perhaps it's time to admit you have a problem?

MovieExpert wrote on 6/5/2011, 2:09 PM

I have the same problem. Recently I upgraded from Vegas 9 to Vegas 10 Platinum. Unfortunately this bug is still there. Wenever I intend to render the result of the project as an MPEG or other file (the file type is of no importance) I get this message saying that the directory is read-only. I try it again and the same message shows up but the rendering begins. So I can go around the hurdle. But it is annoying. Concerning the Sony cameras I tend to agree with you. Until now I have used three sony camcorders. The first one failed after 5 years due to mechanical problems. The third one is practically unusable in bright daylight, but they do not tell you that when you are buying it.

Terabyte wrote on 6/5/2011, 4:48 PM

Bingo. It's becoming clear to the entire world that Sony's IT departments are clearly lacking.. They've had 2 major hacks in as many months and can't fix a simple bug like this? Clearly they need to fire a bunch of IT folk, hire some new ones, and get their act together or get out of the technology business.

MSmart wrote on 6/5/2011, 8:54 PM

I know this doesn't address your problem, but Sony Creative Software which develops the Vegas family of software is a subsidiary of Sony. As such, they would have different "IT folk".

musicvid10 wrote on 6/5/2011, 9:10 PM

Terabyte,
Have you tried turning off your antivirus software and disabling it from loading at startup? McAfee, Kaspersky, and Norton have all been implicated in this type of interference with Vegas at various times, although not always or often.

Whether this suggestion helps you or not, issuing such a blanket indictment of Sony over a rarely-reported issue is counterproductive, and a change in tone might even improve others' willingness to help you find a solution. Just a thought.

;?)

Terabyte wrote on 6/6/2011, 12:06 AM

Sony Creative Software may be a subsidiary, but it appears from this side of the street to be a corporate attitude problem. IT suffers because of it from the top down at Sony, regardless of what division. For that matter, their newest HD camcorders even have a limit of 2GB files (all of 10 minutes 40 seconds at highest resolution) when their competitors take advantage of 4GB file limits of FAT32 and we’re not even talking about exFAT so I have serious doubts that Sony is a viable company in 5 years if they don’t get their IT act together, from the VERY top down.

Terabyte wrote on 6/6/2011, 12:09 AM

I'm running Symantec EndPoint Protection 11.06 MR3, Symantec's enterprise AV product. That Sony can't work with McAfee, Kaspersky, or Norton, let alone Enterprise AV software, 2.5 years after the issue was first reported tells me they have zero intentions of fixing it and if I have to run unprotected to process video in Vegas why shouldn't I dump Vegas and use Adobe that doesn't require it? If Adobe can write software that doesn't have this problem if Sony would hire some developers who knew what they were doing they wouldn't have it either.

BTW, just tried it with SEP Symantec EndPoint Protection disabled and same error. Since lots of us are seeing this, there are plenty of other examples in other forums, it's time for Sony to fix this. I will be calling my CC company in the AM to place a hold on the charge until I have a fix. Sony won't get paid until it's fixed, that's the nice thing about using a credit card when you buy buggy software.

musicvid10 wrote on 6/6/2011, 12:18 AM

Yes, I definitely think you should dump Vegas and go over to Adobe. The sooner the better.

Best of luck.

Terabyte wrote on 6/6/2011, 5:56 AM

Sarcasm at its finest, thanks for the help... Now, anyone at Sony with any idea why your product, even after being rev’d to 10.0, continues to have the same bug it had 2.5 years ago?

Steve Grisetti wrote on 6/6/2011, 6:43 AM

That would be a good question to ask Sony.
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/technicalsupport.asp

Terabyte wrote on 6/6/2011, 7:33 AM

Been there, done that. Got canned responses with zero help. They gave me http://www.custcenter.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4435 which doesn't fix it so to talk to a human you have to pay them $30/call to fix a bug they've known about for 2.5 years. We should NOT tolerate this and my bank has already stated if they don't provide a fix quickly they will issue a charge hold on the purchase until they do. Basically Sony won't get paid until they fix it. It's that simple.

Jack S wrote on 6/6/2011, 10:28 AM

If you get the 'Read only' error message when you try to create a new project (as was happening to me), forget about creating a new project. I simply open up VMS10 ignoring the 'Create New Project' option, define my project properties using 'Project' -> 'Properties' -> 'Match media Settings', then use 'Project' -> 'Save As' to save my project where I want to. It may seem a bit long winded to do it this way and I know you shouldn't have to do this but I've tried all ways to create a new project without getting the 'Read only' error and have failed. I'm resigned to putting up with the small failures of VMS10 because as far as I'm concerned, on balance, this is a great piece of software for the money.

Terabyte wrote on 6/7/2011, 11:57 AM

I don't normally use the wizard to create projects. I've always done what you do, starting from a blank template and managing it myself, but you are correct, I get the same error when I attempt to create a project using the Project, New, wizard...

FlyboyTR wrote on 12/22/2011, 2:01 PM

I have never had this problem untill recently. It just stareted out of nowhere. Anyway... I started having the same problem, could not start a New Project. I was getting the same Invalid Path.... reply. I tried many of corrective actions as suggested on many forums...but nothing helped.

My solution was similar to one posted here. I cancelled the New Project window, clicked on File, Open, and clicked on one of my old projects. After it opened, I deleted all the media and then clicked Save As. I named the empty project as "New Project Template." and saved it to my Folder of choice.

Now when I want to start a new project, I just Cancel the New Project Window, Click File, Open, New Project Template. After it opens, I immediately Click on File, Save As, and give it the name of my new project. that way I don't accidently mess up my empty Template.

Regardless of your cure...this problem sucks!