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Diamond Rio 500

The Rio 500 was Diamonds first USB portable player, its internal memory of 64MB was well received, considerably generous at the time. Memory is expandable using standard 3.3V Smart Media cards, initially only 32MB was supported by the common 1.04 firmware version, however updating the firmwares to 2.15 & 2.16 supports 128MB Smart Media cards. Later versions of the 500 came in translucent colors - Teal and Purple. Compatible with Mp3 and Audible formatted audio files. [View Manual]
It is strongly recommended that uploading files, or firmware only take place on a fully charged battery: if the Rio looses power whilst uploading there is a possibility of either part of the internal memory becoming 'lost' or the firmware going corrupt (leading to what is known as a gray checker board screen). See below for full explanations of these.

USB Drivers

Usage: Unpack the correct zip file, switch the Rio 500 on and plug it into the PC, when Windows detects and asks for drivers, point to the unzipped files. If windows does not recognize the correct drivers, then it is likely the wrong type of USB cable is being used (Rio 500 uses a special cable, others by Sony even though they fit will not work).
Rio500 USB Drivers (Windows 2000 & Windows XP) Alternative 2000 / XP Drivers

Rio500 USB Drivers (Windows ME)

Rio500 USB Drivers (Windows 9x)

Sveta Portable Audio       [Screen Shot]
Description: Replaces the cumbersome program that was supplied with your mp3 player, no longer do you need to go through 1 million steps just to send a file. Sveta Portable Audio does it all:

Rip an Audio CD straight to your portable mp3 player,
Convert and send existing high bitrate files to lower bitrates automatically on the fly,
Send files with just two clicks!
Works with Windows 95 / 98 / ME / 2000 / XP

RIOsitude         [Screen Shot]
Description: RIOsitude is a simple program that allows you to interact with the Rio300 or Rio500. Think of it as a handy alternative to the RioPort software. RIOsitude supports windows 98/ME/2000. It supports sending and receiving files, and internal and external memory (via SmartMedia cards).

Riorio v3.6
Description:  A replacement for Diamond's Rioport software for the Rio 500 mp3 player: Built-in Explorer-style window to easily drag and drop files, m3u playlists, and directories, supports downloading from the Rio to the PC, allowing the Rio to act as a hard drive, create and upload Rio startup animations from BMP files, works in Windows 98/ME/2K/XP, Freeware.

My Rio500 v2.1a         [Screen Shot]
Description:  Explorer like look & feel Upload / Download files, SmartMedia Support. Random Transfer, arrange order of files on Rio500 Read / Write Playlists as Winamp .M3U files.

RioFXP v2.4         [Screen Shot]
Description:  Up and download of files and whole folders (batch up/download) - Upload Queue and Random uploads - Full smart media support ! - Rearranging of files on the Rio (you can upload ANY file :) - File size display - Mem free display - Open Source ! Free !

MusicMatch Jukebox Drivers    Pre 6.1 Plug-in    After 6.1 Plug-in

For Linux: Rio 500 driver utilitiy   command line utility

For OS X: RioVista   command line utility to upload ani files

Firmware Upgrades

It is recommended that older firmwares are not installed over existing newer firmwares (ie downgrading the firmware).

Firmware Version   Windows Download   Mac Download

2.16 98, ME, 2000 & XP   MacOS

2.15 98, ME, 2000 & XP   MacOS

2.14 98 & 2000

2.12 98 & 2000

2.11 98 & 2000

Lost Internal Memory can happen when power is lost during file upload, part of the internal memory becomes 'lost' and even formatting does not recover it, the loss if accumulative over time. At this time there is no known way to recover lost internal memory.

Gray Checker Board Screen again comes from a failed upload, it is characterized by a checkerboard, or gray screen (darker than when switched off). To recover run this Rio500 Recovery Utility v2.15 or this v2.12.

Miscellaneous Programs & Animations

Rio500 Animation Utility add personalized "animation" screens to the Rio500's boot up procedure.

Smiley Don's Rio500 Animations here are some animations created for the Diamond Rio 500.

Animations a bunch of .ani files to be used on the Rio500

MDRio500.dll fixes the Audible #4 format bug, mp3-stutters and track length 0.00 display when using Rio Audio Manager.