Olympus Digital Wave Player 2.1.4 VN-3100PC/VN-4100PC

Olympus doesn't have it available for download from their website. Olympus is out of stock of their replacement CDs (probably permanently). Their digital audio recorder is useless without the software.

Here's the software you need to download:

olympus_digital_wave_player_for_windows.zip
Olympus VN-3100PC x64 Driver.zip

Works on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10, 11.
~~I have not gotten it to work on Windows 11. I'm looking into it.~~
Update: April 2, 2024 I tried it again on Windows 11 and this time it worked! My only guess is there was a Windows Update which fixed the problem it was having with recognizing the Olympus as a USB device.
My Windows 11 desktop last update was 2024-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5035853). Maybe that fixed something.

The other possibility is the cable I was using was bad. Try replacing the cable with a different one. Also try a different computer. See Troubleshooting below.

Installation Steps:

Download olympus_digital_wave_player_for_windows.zip from the link above
Unzip the file
Run: Olympus_Digital_Wave_Player_for_Windows\setup.exe
This will install the program.
Run: Olympus_Digital_Wave_Player_for_Windows\DigitalWavePlayerUpdate214\Vista+AMD\DWPUP5EN.exe
This installs the 2.1.4 update.

Note: The other files in that folder are identical except for the display language used in the GUI and Help menu:

DWPUP5EN.exe — English

DWPUP5ES.exe — French

DWPUP5FR.exe — German

DWPUP5IT.exe — Italian

DWPUP5RU.exe — Russian
Disable Olympus Device Detector 3 from running on startup (this is necessary as this Olympus Device Detector tends to just cause a lot of problems):
1. Go to Task Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC)
2. Click "More details"
3. Select the "Startup" tab, then right-click on "Device Detector 3" and select "Disable".

Run Olympus Digital Wave Player

Under the start menu find "Olympus Digital Wave Player" folder and run "Digital Wave Player":

Connect VN-3100PC (VN-4100PC)
Device driver for device should install
If device driver does not install, try downloading Olympus VN-3100PC x64 Driver.zip above and install that driver. See if that works.
Now in the Olympus Digital Wave Player program see if you can copy the audio files off your VN-3100PC (VN-4100PC). The documents may be copied to a folder such as:

Documents\Digital Wave Player\Message\FolderA\

The audio file names may be something like: DW_A0014.wav

Troubleshooting

When the Olympus VN-4100PC is plugged into the computer, the Olympus screen should say "PC". Make sure the "Hold" button on the side is slid down away from the "Hold" position.

Device Manager Showing Olympus Digital Wave Player VN-4100PC

Open Device Manager. When plugged in, the Olympus should show up like this:

Olympus Digital Wave Player VN-4100PC plugged into computer

If a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark shows:

This indicates the Olympus Device Driver is not yet installed.

Another possibility I've seen is you might see this instead:

"This device cannot start. (Code 10)"
In this case I suggest try a different cable. I had this problem and then it went away. It seems to work now on all my computers. My guess is either I bought a new cable, or a Windows Update fixed the problem.

Linux

There appears to be a Linux version named "odvr" (which I assume stands for "Olympus Digital Voice Recorder") at:

https://code.google.com/archive/p/odvr/downloads
"odvr is a user-space driver for Olympus digital voice recorders that do not support USB Mass Storage. Not all formats are directly supported (sandec/PULCOD), and functionality is limited, but basic download and listing capabilities are implemented."

A static x86 linux binary is included as odvr.x86.

DWPUP5EN.exe	—	English
DWPUP5ES.exe	—	French
DWPUP5FR.exe	—	German
DWPUP5IT.exe	—	Italian
DWPUP5RU.exe	—	Russian