I bought my new machine, a Compaq Presario at Best Buy specifically because I wanted to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10. My old computer just had too old of processor. I’d bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred edition specifically because I wanted to be able to use my digital voice recorder. I wanted to be able to record blog posts while driving to and from work. Or any other times when I have spare time. I was able to hook up my USB microphone to the machine and record using NaturallySpeaking. But I had also recorded some blog posts on my digital voice recorder which is a Panasonic RR-US 360 digital voice recorder which I’ve had for years. I bought it because I can download recordings into my machine via a USB port. I download the recordings onto my machine at work, and transferred them to a USB drive. I was able to copy those to my new machine. And after training the NaturallySpeaking software, I was able to transcribe some of those posts from a digital voice recorder. But when I went to set up my USB Panasonic RR-US360 digital voice recorder on my new machine I got an error saying that the driver was not installed. I had installed the Voice Studio software that came with the digital voice recorder. Apparently it didn’t install the driver or the driver was not compatible with Windows 7. Searching around on the Internet, I found many sites mentioning a Windows 7 driver for the Panasonic RR-US360 digital voice recorder. But many of these seem to be spam sites with little or no content. The page title would mention Panasonic RR-US360 digital voice recorder and Windows 7 driver, but when you went there the pages were full of ads or if you followed through the links they would ask you to click on advertiser links to be able to download the driver. I went to Panasonic’s website to search for new drivers but there were no download sections there, not even for the older drivers or software. I submitted a tech support request asking about Windows 7 drivers for the Panasonic RR-US360 digital voice recorder and got a prompt reply back from Panasonic.
“We regret to inform you but your RR-US360 is not compatible with Windows 7. It can only be compatible with Windows 98, 2000, millenium ed. and XP. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
I e-mailed backasking clarifying that they would not be releasing Windows 7 drivers for the Panasonic RR-US360 digital voice recorder “So you are telling me, you are not coming out with new drivers for Windows 7? And so I have an expensive paperweight?”
They responded back thanking me for my patronage of Panasonic. “Your patronage as a Panasonic customer is truly valued. Therefore, we appreciate this information regarding your experience with our product. We do regret to hear of your dissatisfaction. Be assured all consumer comments, whether favorable or not, are appreciated. All comments are investigated and given careful consideration in our continuing effort to produce high quality products, and customer service that consumers expect from our label.”
One of the reasons I bought this digital voice recorder was because it was USB and figured that being a plug-in to a machine would be fairly standard. But apparently my digital voice recorder will not work with Windows 7 ever. Because they will not be releasing new drivers for Windows 7. And mine is just one of a bunch of Panasonic digital voice recorders that came out about that time. So they are basically abandoning all of those older digital voice recorders, leaving all of the users in the lurch with useless pieces of hardware. I e-mailed back to Panasonic tech-support saying that I will no longer be buying any Panasonic products. If this is the way they support their products, I have no interest in buying any more. Why would I buy a new Panasonic digital voice recorder if when Windows 8 or Windows 9 or whatever comes out, I will longer be able to use it. It’s not like it’s some sort of specialized piece of hardware that should be limited to by the operating system. I can still plug in my digital camera, and printer and scanner, and they work fine. Though for my scanner I did have to download a new driver. Plustek, the company that made my scanner is much smaller than great big Panasonic. But they managed to come out with a new Windows 7 driver. So Panasonic sucks, and I will no longer buy any Panasonic products. I’m currently looking at a new digital voice recorder made by Olympus.
Same situation here with me. Have you found a way to use the recorder with Windows 7? Oh, how I need a driver to download all of my records.
Comment by same_boat — June 7, 2010 @ 7:07 am
Hi there
I have essentially an even more aof a dramatic problem with panasonic. I have XP but cannot extract because I dont have the original Voice editing software. i have the rr-us450 that originally came with a voice editing premium 2.0 but is now useless even in xp… I went to future shop to get a disc from there- i.e. buy a new recorder use the disc, return the recorder, but their new recorders dont come with cds anymore… softwre is preloaded onto the recorder from now on. so i am looking to download the driver because the recorder is full. for some additional reason i cannot download torrents… rapidshare is fine- i have microsoft office 2011 activated, but i cant find this voicce editing from panasonic. i called panasonic, got the same as above… they said i can buy the discs… but from an unrelated company in mississauga. there they said it would be $10.00 per disc- 2 discs in canada, voice editing and the drivers??? they said its going to take 2-3 weeks since they have to order the disc from Japan. tell me if this is normal, i have to wait 2-3 weeks to pay 20$ so i can use the voice recorder that I HAVE… if it were possible, i am inquiring with the people i know if they have a panasonic recorder, if there is a way i can get the executable file for installing the digital recorder, feel free to assist me. My email is: 77077@live.co.uk i thank you in advance for your assistance
Comment by ernest — June 18, 2010 @ 1:44 pm
I finally eliminated the last of the XP machines in our household, only to discover that my RR-US360 is now a brick…arrrggghh. Guess I’ll have to find someone with an old XP machine to extract my recent recordings.
My unit is only about 4 years old and shouldn’t be obsolete just yet, but it is. Anyone know the address for Panasonic’s US President of Consumer Electronics? I’d like to send him my digital recorder and tell him to keep it. I’ll think twice before buying Panasonic products again.
Comment by Ken — July 15, 2010 @ 1:15 pm
That is exactly my issue! I bought a RR-US450 and now with my new laptop with Windows7, this voice recorder needs to be considered garbage ! Last time I buy Panasonic!
Comment by Paulo Uchoa — July 25, 2010 @ 5:33 am
Tive o mesmo problema! Me sinto enganado, SERIO! Vc compra um gravador que não é barato e eles te deixam sem driver..! Obvio que não compro mais panasonic…!! Tenho tb um gravador da Sony que é mais barato e me deixa muito mais feliz!!
Comment by Rodrigo Guardia — August 6, 2010 @ 2:17 pm
I hear you! I so have the same problem.
What is drivig me crayz is that you can download an update from panasonic global site. YOu have to type the serial no to be able to do it . But when I type it it does not recognize as a valis serial no – what a load of rubbish!!!
We need to tweet about blog about make a lot of noise
Comment by Patricia — September 3, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
NEVER again Panasonic ! I went a got my new prosario on sale at best buy and now my RR 360 from panasonic is worthless because you dont and wont make a driver for windows 7 BY BY ! and I own a business and buy tons of this crap you should feel the crunch pretty soon from your loser company.
Comment by eric watson — October 13, 2010 @ 12:02 pm
use the headphone jack to mic jack and record it on any windows 7 file you want. same boat with mine once it is a file you can use the voice edit software.
Comment by ken — November 18, 2010 @ 6:40 pm
I also have the same problem and will be sending a message to panasonic. We all have to get angry at them before they do something. the last post says to use the headphone jack to mike jack, but that means another wire. USB is so much simpler. thanks for that idea though.
Comment by Jeff — November 23, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
About entering the serial number….I had a similiar problem until I left off the last letter R in the serial number then it accepted the serial number.
Same problem as everyone else using an RR-US470 — no Windows 7 driver available.
Expect if their service guys call me back in the next 48 hours, I will get the same runaround as everybody else…but still holding out some hope…
I did do the software update to Voice editing 2.1 but this made no difference on Win 7 Pro — still no driver to transfer files to Win 7.
Lucky I still have my old XP computer…was hoping to benefit from the huge speed increase of my new Win 7 computer tho…
Comment by James — December 2, 2010 @ 1:28 pm
Update — after getting a callback from Panasonic they gave me a website to go to:
http;//panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/info/windows7.html
This site has info for products still apparently supported under Windows 7.
The Voice Editing software version 2.1 can be downloaded if you have the serial number of your voice recorder (leave off any extraneous letters on the end).
This is supposed to work for Vista and Windows 7…
It appears to do the update to version 2.1 as this version is displayed under the Help About menu BUT…
There still is no driver for Windows 7 installed and you cannot download files from the recorder as Win 7 cannot find a driver in the program data or on the internet…
I looked at the .inf file for the driver in the program data files list and see that its signature is $CHICAGO$….I am not sure that this is a correct value for Windows 7 though…
So no progress was made…
Comment by James — December 6, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Microsoft’s site says that 64-bit versions of Windows MUST HAVE 64-bit driver software for hardware devices.
So that is the basic problem — Panasonic simply has to recompile the 32-bit driver and create a 64-bit driver for users of these devices who are using a 64-bit operating system… this should be a minor expense for such a big company.
Comment by James — December 8, 2010 @ 7:12 pm
I ran into the same problem with my RR-US360. I am running Windows 7 Pro so I downloaded the free Win XP virtual machine from Microsoft. I figured that it would load the old Windows XP drivers and run okay. It worked! It is a bit of a pain launching the virtual machine every time I want to use the IC recorder, but it works. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx . Hope this helps.
Oh, one more thing: once you get XP mode up and running and go to install the software from the Panasonic disc, make sure you run it from the “networked” CD-ROM drive. I tried off the D: drive and it failed over and over. I then tried the “mapped” drive and it worked fine. Good luck!
Comment by Keith — December 24, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
I agree Panasonic… you suck!… I bought a new Sony that plugs direct into USB port of ANYTHING and I can just copy the files off without a bunch of CRAP software that needs to be installed. So you think you have this great “guarded secret”… well GOODBYE!!!! (And I buy LOTS of ic recorders (I have 5 Panasonic Suck Shit devices now, thanks!)…
Comment by Derf Johnston — March 5, 2011 @ 12:30 pm
It is so obvious that this panasonic devices are such a piece of crap! I feel know so stupid having bought it for the first and last time two years ago. I hope no one in the world will buy this again!!! It is such a non sense product!!!!
Comment by Ximena — April 14, 2011 @ 11:59 am
a Very Good Brand.
Comment by PanasonicBlog — April 28, 2011 @ 12:58 pm
The above comment by PanasonicBlog is false.
Oh and I completely agree with Keith. Why can’t it be like Sony where it’s literally plug and play? It took me forever to get the Panasonic programs installed and then figure out how to get around the authentication key. (Hint: just type in something, or else the recorder won’t be recognized. Unplug and re-plug it in while the program is running to reset the key.)
Comment by anomaly — May 11, 2011 @ 11:33 am
We have a Panasonic RR-US395 recorder in my office.
When my computer was upgraded to Windows 7; the Voice Editing program stopped working. Fortunately, I was still able to use it on a colleague’s computer, which was not running Windows 7.
Don’t know what happened – maybe our IT department did some updates – but the Voice Editing program no longer works on her computer either.
So…I have a recording trapped in the recorder.
What to do?
Comment by ConcurEr — May 17, 2011 @ 12:15 pm
Try to find another computer with Windows XP on it.
Comment by Rob — May 17, 2011 @ 12:57 pm
The website link just doesn’t work. I will never buy Panasonic product anymore. Panasonic will just produce front end but never care about backend service and software updates. Basically, when I upgrade my desktop and laptop, my IC Recorder and my alll in one printer just become obsolete.
The biggest joke is that when my printer was faulty, the replacement of a pc board cost was almost 60% of the cost. Really rediculous. I swear, no more Panasonic for the rest of my life, they just couldn’t co
E with pc trend and make your investment depreciate within such a
short time.
Comment by Calvin — May 24, 2011 @ 2:30 am
I think everyone is blaming the wrong people. The mfg.’s should not have to keep reworking all their products. Microsoft stinks with Windows 7 and almost nothing that you have will work with it. How is that the mfg.’s fault? Microsoft should be shot in the foot!
They stopped supporting XP and you are forced to purchase new computers with Win 7. Oh, I wish I could afford a Mac and get Microsoft out of my hair. I hate Windows 7 and they have the nerve to be coming out with Windows 8? ha ha….that will probably be another fiasco…..you think they would have learned something with Vista screw up.
I have a camera and a scanner that no longer can be used on new computer. Thanks so much Muchosoft!
Comment by Diane — June 9, 2011 @ 12:54 am
The problem is the 64 bit operating system with Windows 7. The XP used 32 bit unless it was Professional for companies usage. Most all the products were not made for 64 bit….totally new configuration of products is required. See…Microsoft selfish stupidity in design programming!
Comment by Diane — June 9, 2011 @ 1:00 am
Tenho 2 gravadores ou seja estou sendo prejudicado por 2 vezes pela Panasonic que era minha marca favorita. Voltarei ao passado e buscarei no lixo o velho PC para utilizar os gravadores. Isso é lamentável.
Comment by cesar santos — June 19, 2011 @ 7:51 pm
No, it’s not MS fault, it’s the mfgs. It is SO simple to recompile the driver in 64 bits that there is NO reasons other to force good paying customer to upgrade their hardware. It’s not as if it would take weeks and thousands of dollars. Suck us dry…
Comment by Fed up with Panasonic — August 9, 2011 @ 7:33 pm
So I think this device is really worst solution to buy. Never again buy <Panasonic more.
Comment by Pan fan — August 11, 2011 @ 1:45 pm
I agree the Panasonic support sucks and abandoning already-produced technology that isn’t ancient is BS. I probably won’t buy Panasonic again, either. Bad taste in my mouth. BTW, Diane, I just bought a Mac after 30 years working on PC – and I will NEVER go back to PC … I’m shocked how great the machine is – and I shouldn’t be shocked that something does what it’s supposed to do. But Panasonic does not support Mac – go figure. I have wasted so much of my life waiting on or working around issues w/ PCs … sigh.
Comment by Jaco — September 8, 2011 @ 4:42 pm
Donc a ce que je viens de lire, moi aussi j’ai un RR-USB360 et il ne fonctionne pas sur Win 7 64 bits. Donc si Panasonic ne fournit pas de driver pour win 7 64 bits, c<est donc une compagnie de merde et moi aussi je n'achèterais certes plus jamais de Panasonic et vais faire les mêmes recommandations a mes amis.
Comment by Laurent Tremblay — October 14, 2011 @ 6:58 pm
Had to buy a Sony voice recorder due to Panasonic’s inability to integrate with W7. We had an “Office Space” type of celebration out in the parking lot with our Panasonic RR-US360…felt so good. Panasonic, suck it!
Comment by Rich — January 30, 2012 @ 2:19 pm