Deleting Songs From a Sansa M250

MP3 players All other MP3 players
1

I have found a problem…I am able to delete Mp3’s from my player but unfortunately can not delete songs that i

transferred from a CD to the player.  When I open the music…it shows there are no songs on there but yet when i go on my player I have 113 listed and these are songs that I put on from a CD.  How do i delete these if I cant find them?  My player is MSC mode.

3

Here’s something I’ve learned that should help you.  I know you probably don’t need the “step by step”, but there will be others reading this who may.

 

SanDisk tech support recommends formatting the m200 series in both MSC and MTP modes to completely clear out all work areas,"fragments" and residual data. The m200 has a very basic Operating System that doesn't have a defrag option. According to tech support, the m200 needs formmating occasionally to keep it working smoothly. I learned that formatting will also clear up intermittent hang-ups.  I format mine each time I reload it.

Format in MSC Mode

  1. With the m200 not connected to the PC, power it on, press the menu key. Select " Settings", then USB , then MSC.
  2. Connect the m200 to the PC via the USB cable.
  3. Right click on the " Start" button.
  4. Left click on " Explore"
  5. Find the m200. It will show as a hard drive, for example: “SANSA M250(E:)”
  6. Right click on the m200 device and select " Format"
  7. After formatting is complete, click on the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon on the System Tray and stop the device.
  8. Disconnect the m200 from the PC.

Format in MTP Mode

  1. With the m200 not connected to the PC, power it on, press the menu key. Select " Settings", then USB , then Auto Detect.
  2. Connect the m200 to the PC via the USB cable.
  3. Right click on the " Start" button.
  4. Left click on " Explore"
  5. Find the m200. This time it will not show as a hard drive but as a music device, for example: “SanDisk Sansa m250” Note there is no drive letter in MTP mode.
  6. Right click on the m200 device and select " Format"
  7. After formatting is complete, disconnect the m200 from the PC. There is no icon to stop the device.

Your m200 device is now formatted and ready to reload.

By the way, MSC mode is mostly for use with other than Windows XP computers.  If you are using WinXP and Windows Media Player 10, you might consider using MTP mode and WMP to manage the m200’s. 

4

THANK YOU WALT!  I had the same problem as Thom. I put about 20 songs on my player from the CD and couldn’t for the life of me get them off. But, came on here followed your steps on formatting and TA-DA. It doesn’ take long to put songs back and there and FINALLY i’m rid of the songs I’ve wanted to remove.

 

Thanks again

5

And the Computer Wizard of the Year award goes to (*drumroll please*)…:smiley:

I couldn’t imagine that so many people were having trouble with these players…I thought I was alone! Thank you so much, you’ve been a tremendous help!

6

Thanks to VVS and sbjboyce for the positive feedback.  I retired in 1992 after over 26 years repairing hardware and software for mainframes and mid-range computers.  I was building home computers long before IBM’s PC in '82. Since Intel and Windows more or less removed the “tinker” factor, it was refreshing to be able to take an m200 apart and play with it. The above information and much more is on my personal website at:

http://www.tnni.net/~walterjmoore/m250/index.htm

I finally gave up on the m250.  I just expected too much of it.  I have over 500 CD’s I’ve converted from old phono records and wanted convert them to MP3 and listen to them randomly. The m200 doesn’t do random at all and doesn’t do playlists very well.  After a couple of months frustration, I got a clip. It works perfectly and doesn’t lock up (how boring).  At the time the m200 was developed, it was the greatest, but time marches on.

7

Walt,

Thanks for your great posts.

I have recently ordered an m250 and it should be arriving any day.

I’ve been reading all the posts here.

Do you recommend doing the firmware update first.

Do you recommend formatting the device before I start using it?

I can’t figure out whether to be using MSC or MTP mode.  I have winXP sp3 and WMP 11.

(Can you delete files in either mode?)

Lastly, do you rip your music from a new CD into WMF or MP3?  

I’d appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks so much!

8

I noticed this line in the ad where I bought my m250:

“Playback at 128 kbps MP3, 64 kbps WMA. Capacity reduced when formatted”

It doesn’t say how much capacity is reduced, and if the device is not working well, formatting makes sense, but I thought I would point this out.

Also, can someone please explain… I’m new to this:

If you use Windows to move music to the m250 (drag n drop in MSC mode) and you do so for many albums, is it still organized for playback by albums or do you have to scroll through a long list of tracks?  Do you need to put the album/artist name in the WMF file name for you to know what that track corresponds to?

thanks!

9

To dma44

Do the firmware update first. If you are buying a refurbished unit, they usually take a return, update the firmware, format it and consider it usable.  If it has a intermittent problem, they don’t catch it.

Yes, do the formatting first.  My first one (brand new from Circuit City) wouldn’t sync until I formatted it. It’s also a good idea to go through Part A: Prepare the Player and Windows Media Player on my web page for playlists:

http://www.tnni.net/~walterjmoore/m250/playlists.htm

The step to “Clear History” and “Clear Caches” tells the PC to forget everything it knew about your player, so it starts out fresh.  My first one had two devices showing in Windows Explorer even when it wasn’t plugged in.  This fixed it.

The m200 series was designed when XP and WMP 10 were out.  It was designed to work only with Windows XP and WMP 10.  When Vista and WMP 11 came out, Sansa discontinued the m200 and came out with the Fuze.  MSC mode is for people using other than Windows XP.  With it you can use the device as a flash drive.  Also in MSC mode you can drag and drop music files to the device and listen to them, no playlist support.

MTP mode  (Music Transfer Protocol) must be used to sync from Windows Media Player.  It must be used for playlists.  Also shuffle doesn’t work, it’s really random.  A record of what is played in shuffle mode isn’t saved after a power off. If you want true shuffle on the m200, use playlists and shuffle them with WMP before you sync.  It works great.

I rip my music into MP3 because I have songs that were ripped several years ago and I’m too lazy to change. Seriously, WMF is W indows M edia F ile format.  It is owned by Microsoft and as such, not a universal format like MP3.  I usually use Nero to rip, but sometimes use WMP.

The reason they say “Capacity reduced after format” is formatting doesn’t recover the full 2 gig of memory card.  Some of it is reserved for the firmware and necessary system files (Audio Book programs).

If you drag and drop, the songs play in a different order depending on what you select from the menu. You will need to tag the songs with Artist Name, Album Name, etc.  You can do this from Windows Explorer by right clicking on the file, then select Properties , Summary , Advanced. You can also use the Tag Editor built into WMP.  It works differently in WMP 10 and 11.  I recommend using a product like MP3tag.  It’s free and works great.

If you don’t have any tags at all, the m200 will play the songs alphabetically by filename, or shuffle.

Don’t let the battery run too low, don’t fill too near capacity (leave workspace), format often and expect an occasionaly hangup.  All in all, for the price it’s a great player.

10

Great post but, I do not have a “start” or “explore” icon show up.  Trying to get the songs off of my 250 so I can put new ones on.  Thanks

11

Thanks Walt.

With your instructions I was able to locate and delete the hidden files without deleting all the files.  Appears I had files under MSC and again under Auto Detect.

I could see all of them on the device but only one section at a time on the PC.

Thanks for sharing.

12

Thanks for sharing and guving information it surely helps all sansa user. :wink:

13

plug your M250 into the comp, turn it on.

Click start then computer, right click on what ever drive its plugged into, and choose format. DONE

14

@robsub wrote:

plug your M250 into the comp, turn it on.

Click start then computer, right click on what ever drive its plugged into, and choose format. DONE

Did you happen to notice that the person with this question posted it 2 1/2 years ago?

And that it had already been answered?