I have a Sansa Fuze 2GB, running the latest firmware (V02.02.26A). I have a couple of related issues:
1) I have loaded 3 video files on the device through the Sansa Media Converter. I have deleted 2 of the 3 files through Windows Explorer (running MSC mode) and they do not appear in Windows. On the device, though, the files still appear with filenames De105 and De107. If I try to delete them on the Fuze itself, it still won’t remove them.
2) I load many podcasts, listen to them, and delete them. However, the Fuze never seems to “release” the file space occupied by the files. So, about once a week, it appears there is 600 MB of files on it (by highlighting all of the folders and checking Properties), but checking Properties on the device may show 1.4 GB occupied. I have tried deleting the mtable.sys file and having the Fuze rebuild the database, but it doesn’t work. The only way to fix it is to copy everything off the device, format it, and copy it back on.
What do I need to do to have the device correctly delete the files and release the used space?
Is it possible you are loading some of the files in MSC mode and some in MTP mode? Your computer (unlike the Fuze) can only see one mode at a time.
When it starts to fill up again, try going to Settings/System Settings/USB Mode and look at the Fuze in both modes. Try to delete the files via the PC.
I think you’re on to something, Black-Rectangle. I set it into MTP mode, but neither Windows Media Player nor Windows Explorer displayed the Fuze (though I did hear the familiar Windows sound that something was connected to the USB port). When I set it to MSC and fired up Windows Media Player, it saw the deleted videos even though Windows Explorer did not. When I deleted them through WMP, the space was freed up and they disappeared from the Fuze.
So I got rid of the video files, and that took care of part of it. Now, it appears that I have 866MB of files on there (by selecting them all and checking Properties), but checking Properties on the device it’s showing 1.23GB used. The number of music files in WMP is equal to the number on the Fuze. Any other suggestions on where the remaining space is hiding?
I’d be fine leaving it in MSC mode, because I thought I copied everything onto it through Windows drag-and-drop.
MSC and MTP mode can only be seen one at a time in your computer. (The Fuze sees all the files.) The other mode is invisible.
You don’t need WMP to display things in MSC mode. You can just go through Windows Explorer.
MTP mode works with WMP 10 or 11–not 9, which came with Windows XP.
This is strictly a guess, but:
Is it possible you got files at some point from another computer, in MTP mode, and your current computer doesn’t have WMP 10 or 11? Auto Detect under USB Mode would have gotten files via MTP if it detected WMP 10 or 11. And then you wouldn’t be able to see them with WMP 9, or under MSC mode. Solution: update Windows Media Player, connect, find the mystery MTP files and delete them.
I’m running WMP 11, so the Fuze hasn’t seen WMP 9 in its short lifetime (thank goodness).
What I have done is set the Fuze to MSC, copied everything off, formatted the Fuze using the Settings menu on the Fuze, and copied everything back on via MSC/Windows Explorer.
I see that WMP 11 recognizes the Fuze on MSC, so I copied some files to the Fuze via WMP, then deleted them via Explorer, and the space was freed up. I’m guessing (based on your description) that maybe I had the Fuze on Auto Detect at some point and copied files onto it, which seems like a bad idea now.
The moral is: set the Fuze to MSC, and stay off of MTP and Auto Detect!?
I have to say that this incompatability between formats and how the Fuze handles it is a shame - I’m a techie having problems with it, I can’t imagine if my family or friends had to deal with MTP vs. MSC.
MTP is necessary because subscription services have DRM information that only Windows Media Player will transfer.
And I think that the SanDisk developers were seduced into thinking that WMP would integrate with Sansa players the way iTunes integrates with iPods–so that non-techie types would leave it on Auto-Detect, pop up Windows Media Player when they connect and take it from there.
But WMP has so many tyrannical Autoplay settings and user-unfriendly quirks that just about anyone who thinks technically about the Fuze prefers MSC.
At least MSC is an option. Some players (Toshiba, I think) are MTP-only. Consider that nightmare.
MTP is necessary because subscription services have DRM information that only Windows Media Player will transfer.
And I think that the SanDisk developers were seduced into thinking that WMP would integrate with Sansa players the way iTunes integrates with iPods–so that non-techie types would leave it on Auto-Detect, pop up Windows Media Player when they connect and take it from there.
But WMP has so many tyrannical Autoplay settings and user-unfriendly quirks that just about anyone who thinks technically about the Fuze prefers MSC.
At least MSC is an option. Some players (Toshiba, I think) are MTP-only. Consider that nightmare.
My Zen Mozaic was MTP-only, and although I didn’t have it for very long, it worked fine…of course, I used MediaMonkey and not WMP.
Any device that tries to please everyone and have both MTP and MSC is going to be more troublesome than one that is MTP or MSC only.
My wife’s unit is a MTP unit only and it is beyond user friendly; without a single issue.
If Sansa was going to offer MTP capability, they should have taken the time to develop a user-friendly file management software program instead of relying on WMP or other 3rd party companies. Other Media Player companies have gone that route with success.
Any device that tries to please everyone and have both MTP and MSC is going to be more troublesome than one that is MTP or MSC only.
My wife’s unit is a MTP unit only and it is beyond user friendly; without a single issue.
If Sansa was going to offer MTP capability, they should have taken the time to develop a user-friendly file management software program instead of relying on WMP or other 3rd party companies. Other Media Player companies have gone that route with success.
It does seem that WMP is the fly in the MTP ointment, unfairly leaving a bad taste for the protocol in many mouths. And even WMP wouldn’t be that bad, if MS would change the default settings away from “Auto” (meaning sync everything in sight) or at least explaining ‘how’ it works so the new user or novice could easily understand and decide for themselves how (or if) they wanted to use it. Ususally by the time they figure it out, it’s too late.
As far as I know, Sansa players have the second-largest market share of mp3 players behind iPod–though that’s only around 10-11 percent compared to iPod with around 70 percent.
Still, it’s more “success” than the competition.
Probably, as with beer, what really matters is price–not MSC or MTP specs. Most people probably find out about those after they’ve taken home their cute new toy.
Requiring a proprietary media player for each device does not seem to me like a sensible way to proceed for any company except Apple, which gets away with it due to sheer monolithic size. Multiple media players can get in one another’s way.
Message Edited by Black-Rectangle on 09-13-2009 06:01 PM
