Unable to create playlist for external memory

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1

Hi,

I’m been trying to create playlist for my songs stored in the external memory of clip zip. Spent a few hrs on it but without any success.

I’m currently using MSC mode and my songs are organized in different folders.

For example:

Folder ‘English MP3’ - contains 5 songs.

Folder ‘English FLAC’ - contains 10 songs.

All these folders are placed in the root folder of my microSD card.

At first, I tried to use MTP mode and create a playlist using the ‘select and right-click to create playlist’ method which creates a .pla playlist. Sure, my clip zip have no problem reading the .pla file when I move the .pla file into the ‘MUSIC’ folder of clip zip’s internal memory but when I reconnect my clip zip to my PC, strangely, the .pla playlist got wiped…

After which, I decided to use MSC mode but I have no idea how to create a m3u playlist that reference my songs stored in my clip zip external memory or where to put the m3u file for it to work. Tried many ways (using winamp, etc) mentioned in this forum to create a m3u playlist but all failed.

Can anyone help me? Thanks.

2

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Clip-Zip/How-to-creat-playlists-for-your-micro-sd-card/td-p/254068

The firmware update gave me problems. The biggest issue I have is that if I add playlists a seond time it empties the previous playlists. You have to create all of your playlists and the same time and move them to the internal memory at the same time. That takes a long time.

3

@nemesis443 wrote:

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Clip-Zip/How-to-creat-playlists-for-your-micro-sd-card/td-p/254068

 

The firmware update gave me problems. The biggest issue I have is that if I add playlists a seond time it empties the previous playlists. You have to create all of your playlists and the same time and move them to the internal memory at the same time. That takes a long time.

Finally… a method that works or me. :smiley:

Isn’t it weird that all the methods work differently for people? That seems very odd to me.

Thanks to everyone for the help… I appreciate the responses – even those that did not work.

4

I am having a similar issue.  I am trying to create a playlist accessing songs from both internal and external memory, by creating a .pla file with Windows Explorer (see link)

http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Clip-Zip/Sansa-Clip-Zip-is-changing-my-playlists-zapping-external-memory/td-p/264153

When I disconnect the USB, everything is fine - it plays from both internal and external memory.  But if I reconnect via USB and just look at the .pla file, all the references to the external memory songs are gone (the internal memory songs are still there). Actually, I can connect via USB and the playlist remains intact as long as I don’t navigate to it in Windows Explorer (i.e., I can connect to recharge).

The SanDisk support team suggest I reformat the Clip Zip, reload the 01.01.18 firmware and all my songs, but that sounds a bit drastic.

It just seems odd that just navigating to the .pla files corrupts them, no matter where I save them.  I made several copies that I thought would be “backups”, but they all get zapped.  And I was hoping I could save the .pla somewhere on the computer, but apparently that doesn’t work either.

(btw, I connect in MTP mode)

Any recommendations?

5

@msb3200 wrote:

 

(btw, I connect in MTP mode)

 

 

Any recommendations?

Yeah, don’t use MTP mode.

MTP = Most Troublesome Protocol

MSC = Mode of Sansa Champions

:smileyvery-happy:

6

:laughing:

I was using MTP because I wasn’t seeing the albums in internal memory via MSC. 

Anyway, is it really possible to create a playlist that combines internal/external songs and make it “persistent” (that is, entries don’t disappear)?  Or is that a fruitless effort?  It seems that I can create them OK, and they will work until I plug it into the USB and do any  activity beyond just charging.

7

My goal was to easily send playlists and music files to the external memory of my Samsa Clip Zip.

I have the Clip Zip with 32 gig external memory.  All my music is on the external memory.  After trail and error with some hints by people on this forum, the following works for me.  My computer runs Windows 7 64 bit and I use WinAmp to manage my music, but some of what I’ll report could probably be used by other arrangements.  It assumes you already have a playlist set up in WinAmp.  My music is organized artist> album>song (I do not know if this matters)

  1. Using Setting>System>USB, set up the Clip Zip to run in MSC mode (NOT automatic, NOT MTP).  Do this with the Cip Zip disconnected from a computer.

  2. Connect the Clip Zip to the computer.  It should say Transferring which is good.

  3. via the computer’s Task Manager, make certain that no instance of WinAmp is already running

4.  Start WinAmp.  Wait until WinAmp “discovers” the Sansa player.  This could take minutes.  WinAmp should find both the internal and external memory.  The external memory  will be designated by a letter (F; G: H:…) which will differ on each computer. Figure out which is for teh external memory for the Sansa and make note of it.

5.  From WinAmp show the contects of your playlist, highlight all the contents and then Enqueue the contents.  If your WinAmp is set up properly, there should be both a playlist window and an enqueue window.  The same songs should be in both.

  1. Using WinAmp send the play list to the designated external memory letter you noted in 4.  WinAmp will send music files not already on the Clip Zip and send a complete m3u playlist file to the root of the External memory.

7.  You may wish to check that the above worked.  Using something like Windows Explorer locate and take a look at teh m3u file.  Lines should start with /MUSIC/Music  the file where music is kept on the external memory.

  1. Disconnect and allow Sansa to refresh (which can take minutes).

NOTES: 

  1. I have only tried this with one playlist at a time.  Others suggest a maximum of 400 songs per playlist.

  2. To remove a playlist, use something like Windows Explorer to delete the m3u file.  The Clip Zip uses this m3u file to make an internal playlist file.  After the next refresh the play list will be gone.

  3. Sansa uses information about the song which is held in the WinAmp database and embedded within the music file.  It does not use your computer file names.  Avoid characters which are illegal in file names.  For windows this means :   and others.

4.  This looks far more complicated thn it is.  It just took me a long time to get there.