Okay, so when I first got my Fuze, I had a few problems getting it to show up after connecting it. I’m not exactly sure what I did, but I finally got it working properly and filled it with music. I’ve been using it since then and it’s been working fine, but recently I tried to connect it and change the music that’s on it, and now it won’t show up again. It starts charging when I connect it, but doesn’t show up under my hard drive or in any media program (Rhapsody, etc.). For a while, it wasn’t showing up under the Device Manager at all, and then I tried updating Windows Media Player and my version of Windows XP, thinking that maybe I wasn’t meeting the system requirments. Now it shows up under the Device Manager as “USB Device” with a yellow question mark. I’ve tried updating the driver and uninstalling it and then scanning for hardware, and the same thing happens both times. I get a message about installing software for the “USB Device”, and then the wizard can’t find the software and tells me to insert a CD or give a specific location. As far as I know, my Fuze didn’t come with an installation CD of any kind, just a small CD with Rhapsody on it. I’ve tried the Sansa Updater, and it tells me that “no updatable Sansa product has been recognized”. I’ve also tried messing with the modes, switching it to MTP, MSC, even starting it in forced MSC. Nothing works. The player works fine, it charges, I just can’t do anything with it. I really don’t get why it worked initially and then stopped. Anyone have any ideas?
It could be the cord. Different pins carry charging power and data.
But first, try to force the MSC connection. Turn the unit off. Slide the power switch down to click into Hold position. Connect the USB end of the cord to the computer and open Windows Explorer (Computer or My Computer). Hold down the << side of the wheel and connect the cord to the Fuze. With luck it will pop up in Windows Explorer.
If not, you can try getting a replacement cord. Generic ones from cellphone places, Amazon or Ebay are under $5. Don’t use an iPod cord–you want a sync cord for Sansa Fuze or E200.
Nope, no luck. I have two cords (the original and another one which came with an accessory pack), and I’ve tried both. I’ve tried the forced MSC thing, too, a few times. It’s really, really annoying, because I have two microSD cards I’d like to fill with more music and audiobooks, but I’m stuck with what I managed to get on the player’s drive when it was working briefly. This thing was supposed to be for a summer road trip I’m on right now, and it’s been practically useless since I didn’t put any of my audiobooks on it and can’t change the music selection.
Is your fuze a reburbished one? If not and it’s new, then you have a one year warranty in the U.S., two in Europe. You can contact Sandisk tech support and get a warranty replacement.
What I suggest is that you download the firmware from here. Follow the manual download instructions for your player’s version, either v1 or v2. The file comes zipped. You can unzip it and just keep a copy of the firmware file on your computer. If your player ever is able to connect to your computer, you can try reinstalling the firmware by dragging-and-dropping the .bin file into the root of the player.
If it’s a hardware problem, then that wouldn’t do anything, but with a card slot, you can load your cards with the music and audiobooks that you want by using a card reader and then just insert the card into the fuze.
Maybe it’s your computer that’s having the problem right now. Try using a different computer, and see what happens. Ohterwise, you’ll have to try for a replacement.
