Dumb Fucking Question #221

[Dubversion]

so.

bought an mp3 player. installed it at work no problem

brought it home.

correct installation procedure:

install software from Cd, then connect player to finish (then restart).

When i connect the player, the installation software tells me it's all good but i get the usual plug and play windows installation guff. First time, i just cancelled it. Told me the hardware wasn't installed properly, player wasn't read.

So i wiped the software, started again. this time as well as the usual software install, i tried to let Windows do its stuff as well. however i tried, it couldn't find the drivers it wanted on the fucking installation CD and wouldn't install.

so now i can't use the bloody thing.

any hints?


i hate computers

 

[Bob_the_lost]

What is the mp3 player?

 

[Dubversion]

a Creative Vision M - 30gb

i did everything i was told

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Your first mistake was not buying an iPod, everything flowed from there...

 

[Dubversion]

yeh, yeh.

Ipods are shit, as is I-tunes. Creative Jukeboxs are better to use, do more and are cheaper.

But thanks for your valuable fucking input

 

[audiotech]

any hints?

Be diligent!










Any use?

 

[Dubversion]

yeh, thanks folks

 

[Kid_Eternity]

yeh, thanks folks

Hey it's not our fault if you make stupid purchases.

 

[souljacker]

yeh, yeh.

Ipods are shit, as is I-tunes. Creative Jukeboxs are better to use, do more and are cheaper.

But thanks for your valuable fucking input

He's right you know.

Reinstall through device manager? Try it a few times? It'll sort it self out eventually.

Can you see the device as a removable drive in explorer?

 

[Kid_Eternity]

He's right you know.

Reinstall through device manager? Try it a few times? It'll sort it self out eventually.

Can you see the device as a removable drive in explorer?

My advice is simple, sell on eBay, buy iPod. Problem sorted!

 

[girasol]

have you rebooted your computer? (make sure the device is fully uninstalled first)

when you start it again, plug the device in and let windows ask for the cd (it should auto-detect)

there's more info on drivers here

 

[Dubversion]

He's right you know.

Reinstall through device manager? Try it a few times? It'll sort it self out eventually.

Can you see the device as a removable drive in explorer?

tried everything, my IT matey's been doing remote assistance and the lot.

It installs all the software but somehow this doesn't do anything to let the PC recognise the player. Doesn't appear as a remote drive.

we've done system restore, we've tried attaching the player without the software.

whatever we do eventually windows does the 'found new hardware', goes looking for the drivers or whatever and can't find them. but i know it all works cos I did it at work earlier.

getting really fucked off with ostensibly simple things proving really difficult. we've checked the Creative knowledge base as well - nothing the same.

tits.

 

[The Boy]

sounds like exactly the same problem that my flatmate had with his mp3 playing mobile. If noone has come along with a solution I will check with flatmate when he gets in and find out how he sorted the problem.

 

[Radar]

whatever we do eventually windows does the 'found new hardware', goes looking for the drivers or whatever and can't find them. but i know it all works cos I did it at work earlier.

Have you looked at the CD to see if there are any drivers on it (look for .inf files). If there are, when windows sees the new hardware and asks if it can go and find drivers, try crossing your fingers and pointing it at the CD instead.

Its a long shot, but I once had an ISDN pccard that did just that. For some wierd reason the main install didn't install the actual drivers. If you plugged it in pointing the new hardware wizard at the CD it sorted it.

e2a: There another thread that suggests disconnecting your PC from the mains at the socket via the socket switch, leave it for 30 mins then power it up and see if the player is now recognised. The theory is there's some electrical gremlins causing problems, and usb2 devices seem particularly sensitive.

it could all be bollocks, but we've all seen PCs pull some pretty weird shit before now

 

[DrRingDing]

I think I know the problem here Mr Version....because I'm a kindly soul I will tell you the possible problem.

At work your machine has a USB2 connection, so no problem there, BUT at home you computer sounds like it has only the original USB.




....and you really should of done a quick search for previous threads about the creative player..

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=175898

 

[ChrisFilter]

yeh, yeh.

Ipods are shit, as is I-tunes. Creative Jukeboxs are better to use, do more and are cheaper.

But thanks for your valuable fucking input

Agreed, the Vision M is so hugely superior to the iPod in every way that it make KE look a little amateur.

 

[ChrisFilter]

Let me know if you want me to pop round and have a look, Dub.

 

[ChrisFilter]

....and you really should of done a quick search for previous threads about the creative player..

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=175898

One person's back experience does not equate to a poor product.. you're the only person I've known to have a bad thing to say about the Vision M.

 

[DrRingDing]

One person's back experience does not equate to a poor product.. you're the only person I've known to have a bad thing to say about the Vision M.

Don't get me wrong the screen is lush and the sound is fantastic.

But

The software is dodgy as fuck and the device is not as versatile as it may first appear. e.g. meeting a fellow traveller in a web cafe trying to charge his Vision M on a USB port, which doesn't work and even if it was USB2 it would take literaly all day to charge off the USB.

 

[ChrisFilter]

Never tried charging off USB, so you may be right, but usb chargers a ten a penny anyway..

Never had any probs with software though.. I just sync with WMP

 

[Mapped]

The software is dodgy as fuck and the device is not as versatile as it may first appear. e.g. meeting a fellow traveller in a web cafe trying to charge his Vision M on a USB port, which doesn't work and even if it was USB2 it would take literaly all day to charge off the USB.

Too fucking right, I've got a 60gb Vision and the software has completely buggered my machine. Windows explorer freezes all the time now, even when the player is not plugged in and my brand new Dell PC at work won't charge the thing. I've reinstalled the software a few times and I still get the explorer freeze problem

I had no probs at all from my old Creative Jukebox, that's why I went for a Vision, but I'm far from impressed with thier windows explorer interface.

 

[Dubversion]

I think I know the problem here Mr Version....because I'm a kindly soul I will tell you the possible problem.

At work your machine has a USB2 connection, so no problem there, BUT at home you computer sounds like it has only the original USB.

nope, it has several USB2 slots.

and i have the charger from my old Zen, which works too, so i'm not stuck trying to charge it with the USB2 connection

 

[untethered]

My advice is simple, sell on eBay, buy iPod. Problem sorted!

Obviously. That's why there are no forums full of thousands of questions for technical help for iPods, Apple don't need to run any customer service for them and even a warranty is unnecessary.

I spent years tinkering around with computers and gadgets before I realised that all my problems could be solved at a stroke simply by paying money to Apple.

 

[tastebud]

i installed mine on my own computer but then when i tried to install it on someone else's computer who also uses creative, it wouldn't do it. (similar to what's described above).
most annoying as i wanted an easy way to steal all his music.

my creative zen is pretty fucked nowadays - the connection seems to be broken, thus music only comes out of one ear phone - no, it's not the ear phones, it happens with all the ones i've used/new ones, etc. bloody annoying as i just forked out fifty quid for a new battery, only a few weeks ago.

now i really want that 60gb creative one, but am wondering if creative *is* such a good idea.
i can't *bear* the idea of an ipod though.

edit to add: and whilst i think about it, the first one they sent was broken (i had to send it back), in a similar fashion to the way that my (now old) one is also broken: the "lock" switch gets so jammed that it's really hard to unlock it. they seem to be shoddy, but at the same time (when they do work) are really good.

 

[DrRingDing]

I presume you are running XP, what service pack are you on?

Make sure you are up to date.


I think a good next step would be to......

Remove the creative app you have already installed.

Make sure you have checked the service pack is up to date.

Restart the machine

Download the latest software from creative.

Install.

Restart you Vision M.

...and hope for the best.

 

[mattie]

I had a similar problem with a usb broadband modem. Turned out that an unsuccessful install left a registry entry somewhere that had to be manually removed. I did it all under the prompting of the telephone support people so I'm afraid I can't recall any details, although someone else on the boards may know where to look.

 

[tastebud]

but then again, i did throw mine under a tube train once & also some little shit spilt coca cola on it in the street one lunchtime.
little runt.


back to zen: the embedded battery thing pisses me off too. so when the battery runs out (after a year or so) you have to send it off to them to get the battery replaced - or, pay fifty bloody quid on tott. ct. rd.
the 40gb one, you can remove the battery yourself: much better, but i just looked at the 60gb one and it seems that this one has an embedded battery too. bloody fucking rubbish design

i think the best one to get is the older 40gb one - doesn't have an embedded battery: you can replace it yourself & it doesn't even have the lock function at all, so no danger of this bit breaking, like they seem to do so commonly. can't find them online though - dunno if they still make those ones

 

[Neva]

Yep Creative do have utterly appalling software.

 

[Mapped]

i think the best one to get is the older 40gb one - doesn't have an embedded battery: you can replace it yourself & it doesn't even have the lock function. can't find them online though - dunno if they still make those ones

Creative Zen Jukebox 30gb With Removeable Battery

£90 from Amazon and you can remove the battery with this one, the software worked well for me with this version, which it doesn't on the Vision.

Downsides: it is a brick, can't play videos and doesn't have an FM radio

 

[tastebud]

well this afternoon i have mostly been reading all about the many problems with creative... thousands of people had that headphone jack problem for example. pages & pages worth of people on the creative bulletin board. i might just buy that one from amazon (thanks btw n1buoy).

despite all this, i still really like creative. ipods suck big time. i like my clunky piece of equipment thank you very much. ipods are for losers & muggers.