Can't download podcasts into my Fuze

Hi Guys - Thanks loads for replies.

Conversionbox wrote “Try putting your player in MTP Mode and using some software to add them”

I have to be honest, I have no idea what MTP means or how to do it.

But I think it’s very unlikely my problem is to do with any C2C change because absolutely nothing in my Recordings will download without that error message - even simple song mp3 audio files and other podcasts I have from other sources.

Really interesting that you meeting Art and George. I’m in the UK but have been involved with UFOs and weird stuff all my life. I am now 68 - that’s why I am technology paranoid!

I record all the shows - yes I do pay for them but it’s very cheap over a year - and then transfer them to disc or - when it works - load some onto my Fuze when I go walking.

Thanks for the offer somebody to check out my podcasts - no you won’t get in without a subscription but I really think it’s not a problem with the site because the error is not just for C2C podcasts.

Somebody suggested ditching Sansa software and then reloading it which I think is worth trying.

Trouble is I can’t find the instruction booklet…

Could somebody just walk me through how I can get rid of Sansa and then reload it again?

I have made three screenprints of the error notice and my recordings files but can’t quite figure how to include them - I’m such a dummy! 

Go to the Firmware download thread and then follow the instructions to manually install the Firmware. Try reapplying the firmware. Also go to Settings>System Settings>USB Mode> MSC> Press the Center Button and then retry loading.

Sorry Conversionbox - I may have jumped the gun

I have now uninstalled Sansa I hope by going to

Start > Programs > Sandisk > Sansa Updater > Uninstall

I ran the Uninstaller and the programs are gone now.

Now how do I reinstall? Presumably just plug in and it will be self evident?

Then if I can do it, do I then follow your instructions re Firmware download?

I’ll wait this time for some instructions before doing anything

Thanks again

chimpo wrote:

Sorry Conversionbox - I may have jumped the gun

I have now uninstalled Sansa I hope by going to

Start > Programs > Sandisk > Sansa Updater > Uninstall

I ran the Uninstaller and the programs are gone now.

Now how do I reinstall? Presumably just plug in and it will be self evident?

Then if I can do it, do I then follow your instructions re Firmware download?

I’ll wait this time for some instructions before doing anything

Thanks again

You dont need the updater. Forget about it for now. Its far easier not to deal with it until you get your player working. There is no Plug-in there for adding audio.

Go ahead and go and do the manual firmware reinstall and then change the USB Mode like I said and try again. 

SMC is used to convert videos & pictures to work on the Fuze. I don’t think it does podcasts, which are by and large audio files. Perhaps you’ve used another software previously.

Hopefully, Conversionbox’s suggestion will work for you. If not, here’s a fairly bullet-proof way to get podcasts onto the Fuze. It will require formatting the Fuze, which will erase all media files on it including podcasts. If this is OK, then continue:

. Press ‘Home’ key on Fuze: Select Settings | System Settings | USB Mode | MSC.

. Press ‘Home’ key on Fuze: Select Settings | System Settings | Format | Yes.

. Connect the Fuze to the PC. Open Windows Explorer. You should see a SANSA FUZE entry with a drive letter following. Click on it to see its contents. There should be a PODCASTS folder.

. Open another Windows Explorer window and navigate to your podcast folder on the PC. To transfer podcasts, drag the desired files from the PC folder to the Fuze’s PODCAST folder, and drop them there. For faster transfer, you can select multiple files with use of the Ctrl or Shift key, before drag & drop.

. Wait until the files have finished copying. Ascertain that the copied files are in the SANSA FUZE’s PODCAST folder. Disconnect from the PC.

. Wait for the Fuze to finish refreshing its database. Select Music | Podcasts, and the podcasts should show up there.

Message Edited by TomJensen on 02-28-2010 03:09 PM

PS  As an aside Kyle - I see you come from Toledo, Ohio - a place I have only heard of from a song by John Denver who says it’s the most boring place on earth - he spent a week there one day!. Is it really that bad?

Here are the lyrics

Saturday night in Toledo, Ohio, is like being nowhere at all
All through the day how the hours rush by
You sit in the park and you watch the grass die

Ah, but after the sunset, the dusk and the twilight
When shadows of night start to fall
They roll back the sidewalks precisely at ten
And people who live there are not seen again

Just two lonely truckers from Great Falls, Montana
And a salesman from places unknown - ces unknown
All huddled together in downtown Toledo
To spend their big night all alone

You ask how I know of Toledo, Ohio
Well I spent a week there one day
They’ve got entertainment to dazzle your eyes
Go visit the bakery and watch the buns rise

Ah, but let’s not forget that the folks of Toledo
Unselfishly gave us the scales
No springs, honest weight, that’s the promise they made
So smile and be thankful next time you get weighed

And live and let live
Let this be our motto
Let’s let the sleeping dogs lie - ping dogs lie

And here’s to the dogs of Toledo, Ohio
Ladies, we bid you goodbye

Words and music by Randy Sparkes

Hi Guys

I am sorry but I am totally confused.

I uninstalled - I thought - the whole Fuze thing and then plugged it in expecting to install it again.

But when I plug it on the Fuse black panel comes up as usual with Sansa at the top with the white space rectangle with ‘import items’ in the center - the panel I usually drag mp3s into.

So I think how is this possible when I thought I uninstalled everything?

Anyway I open my Recordings and try dragging across an item and still the dreaded error notice comes up which I mentioned at the start of this thread.

But here’s a strange thing. At the top of that panel I mentioned is a tab called Add Media files which I presume is an alternative to drop and drag.

So I push the tab and find my Recordings file and click on the files I know are full of mp3s. But absolutely nothing shows up as if they are empty. I look at the bottom drop down menu and make sure it says ‘media files (all types)’ but obviously it is not including mp3 files because nothing shows up.

Does any of this make any sense or give anyone any clues as to what’s happening here please?

Does this board not make it possible for me to display to anyone some screenshots of what’s happening?

Or can I send them to somebody’s email address? Thanks and sorry to be such a pain.

Message Edited by TomJensen on 05-03-2010 06:04 PM

Thanks for your reply Tom but is anyone actually reading what I am writing.

It’s NOT a problem with Coast to Coast because as I have said several times the Fuze won’t load ANY mp3s regardless of their source.

I have checked the link you give but that doesn’t help.

I know that the files I download are in simple mp3 format because I can transfer them to disc using Nero.

I think I have already uninstalled Sansa Updater as you suggest and I have just uninstalled SMC as you suggest.

Now when I plug in the Fuze it makes that connection sound but no Fuse panel appears at all for me to drag anything into!

So please how do I proceed from here.

Has anybody any ideas re my earlier letter which made the point that the Fuze doesn’t seem to be recognising mp3s at all on the drop down menu.

Many thanks

I would respectfully suggest the same, that you read that has been written by others.

Again, you do not need programs or applications, from Sansa or any place else, to add mp3s to your Fuze (assuming that it is working properly). Open two Windows Explorers windows, one pointed to the Fuze’s PODCAST folder, and the other pointed to your podcast folder on your PC, then drag&drop from the PC folder to the Fuze folder.

All of errors you cited stem from using whatever apps you’re using (which I have no idea of). Stop using them and try drag&drop with Windows Explorer.

Message Edited by TomJensen on 05-03-2010 06:04 PM

THANK YOU SO MUCH TOM!

I have done just as you suggest here and IT WORKED!!

I can’t quite believe it.

It’s a different system to using the Fuze software with the white panel that seemed to work before, but who cares as long as I have found a way to do it.

Presumably if I need to load the Fuze with music mp3s then I just drag them into the music folder etc?

I am very grateful to you and everybody else who has tried to understand my non-techie ramblings.

A BIG THANKS FROM THE UK.

Dave

Message Edited by TomJensen on 05-03-2010 06:04 PM

Hi Tom

Thank you for this - it looks like very useful info.

But because I’m a bit paranoid about doing the wrong thing I have gone into this as you suggest

"Switch to MSC: From Fuze’s home menu, scroll wheel to select Settings | System Settings | USB Mode | MSC.

I find that it is already in MSC mode.  I do get titles coming up - well from Coast to Coast it’s dates not titles which is annoying but I think that’s an issue with them.

BBC podcasts come up named and songs already in the Fuze when I bought it, are named.

But I notice that titles I insert in my Recordings files, don’t seem to transfer when I drag and drop - so it seems I get titles from web named items but not from self named items. Does that make sense?

I also went here as you suggested: Format Fuze: From Fuze’s home menu, scroll wheel to select Settings | System Settings | Format | Yes.

I got as far as the question - do you really want to format - yes or no and I chose No just in case that’s the better option in view of the fact that I was already in MSC mode.

Could you please clarify for me what it is best for me to do? eg If I appear to be already in MSC mode, do I need to reformat?

Thanks Tom

Dave

Dave,

Good heads-up call. If you are already in MSC mode, then you are right, there is no need to reformat.

To see track (song or podcast) info: While track is playing, press the bottom of the scroll wheel to access the options menu. Scroll to the bottom to select ‘Track Info’. This shows all the info fields, and should tell you if any is missing.

The MP3 info tag that the Fuze recognizes has to be in a certain format, called ID3 v2.3. All MP3 programs on the PC allow you to add or change this tag.

Example for Winamp: While track is playing, press Alt-3 to access track’s info tag. Click on the ‘ID3v2’ tab to see or change the tag info. Other MP3 programs have similar functions.

If the Fuze can’t see a track’s info tag, it defaults to using the track’s filename, leaving the info fields (title/artist/etc) blank. The track will play fine without a valid info tag, just that there’ll be no info showing when it is playing.

Some people don’t use tags, but instead use filenames and/or folders to store track info. Something like: Artist - Album - track # - Song title.mp3. It’s a simple and fast solution for those who don’t want to deal with the hassle of tag management.

If you use this method, then you would want to use the Fuze’s folder browsing mode: Select Music, then scroll all the way to the bottom to select Folders. Here, tracks are shown by filename and folder name. This pertains to music tracks, i.e. tracks within the MUSIC folder, although you can place podcasts in the same MUSIC folder and they’ll display/play the same way.

It sounds like the program you’re using to insert titles into your recordings isn’t using the correct info tag, or not in the proper format. If so, suggest you install Winamp and use it for simple tag management. If you have a large MP3 library, then there are dedicated MP3 tagging programs available for efficient batch tag management.

Coast to Coast can be quite entertaining indeed, great company on a long night.  Regarding your difficulties in locating podcasts (or any audio file, for that matter), that is renamed on your computer:

When you rename a file, you are doing just that: the file name may change, but the Sansa sees these files by their integrated tags.  You can find your files by file name using the Folder Navigation option on the Fuze.  The Sansa indexes and locates your audio files based upon their ID3 tag data.  This data is an integrated part of the audio format, providing song track, artist, album, and genre information, plus more.  This information is separate from the individual file names, though in many files, they are indeed named the same as the “song” tag.

Podcasts are from many different sources, and quite often, this data changes from day to day as the podcaster posts the day’s episodes.  Sometimes, you may see an episode named simply by episode number or date.

The MP3Tag utility, available via download, is quite useful for editing the ID3 tags.  There are many other ways of editing the tags, even Windows Media Player has the Advanced Tag Editor feature, though it isn’t as powerful as a proper utility can be.  In MSC mode, you should have no problems with drag and drop.  I’d suggest putting your podcasts in the Podcast folder (check is the genre is set to “podcast” ), so you can have automatic bookmarking for those long broadcasts.

To play podcast files, go to Music > Podcasts.  When you leave the file to play music, you can return to the podcast, and the Sansa can resume playback where you left off.

microsansa

Message Edited by microsansa on 03-16-2010 11:13 PM

Dave, hope you sorted it out. I’m also from UK. :slight_smile: I always use MSC mode for anything in Fuze and browse only by FOLDERS. I transfer my CTC files by going in My Computer, opening Sansa Fuze icon, and dragging&dropping the named Coast to Coast folder into Podcasts folder. To playback I go strait to FOLDERS option (I wish they put a separate icon on the front screen!!!) and choose the first file of the show I want to listen. This type of folder browsing (MSC) doesn’t rely on tags and more reliable. Never had  a problem with folder drag&drop transfer.

(I wish only that Coast to Coast engineers could enhance the bitrate from 48kbps to 64kbps. It would make a big difference in quality and I doubt it would affect their traffic greatly  :slight_smile:

 

Message Edited by Etoja on 03-17-2010 04:21 AM

@tomjensen wrote:

The Fuze has two modes of access: MTP (the default, what you’re probably using) and MSC … Drag&drop only works correctly in MSC mode. Since switching between modes can cause confusion, would strongly suggest you stick to one mode. For simplicity, would suggest you use MSC mode, and use drag&drop for transfers.

Switch to MSC: From Fuze’s home menu, scroll wheel to select Settings | System Settings | USB Mode | MSC.

The USB mode on my Fuze is set to “Auto Detect”. After connection to the Windows PC the Fuze icon appears but without a drive letter. Drag&Drop seems to work, but I cannot use the Windows function to properly disconnect Hardware, I can only pull the USB plug of the Fuze. Do you think that this (Auto Detect) might cause trouble in the future?

Message Edited by TomJensen on 05-03-2010 06:03 PM

@tomjensen wrote:

Fuze icon + no drive letter = connected in MTP mode

 

On my platform (Win XP Pro SP3), drag-drop in MTP is buggy as tag info is ignored. It may work or may not work for you. For drag-drop, suggest using MSC mode.

 

Note that files transferred in one mode isn’t accessible by the PC while in the other mode (the Fuze sees files in both modes). This may cause confusion. Suggest using only one mode.

 

For flash storage, you can remove device any time data isn’t being written to it (for Fuze, it’ll say ‘Writing’).

Thanks, this sounds convincing, so I will change to MSC before transferring more files to the Fuze.