Hi:
I have several computers and one Fuze. I move it around from computer to computer but one of the things I find puzzling is the absence of any way of “ejecting” or “shutting it down.” There are no icons on the task bar. There is nothing in the media converter. Howcum???
There should be one. Do you connect in MSC or MTP? When I connect in MSC with Windows 7, I do get the icon on the taskbar to safely disconnect.
Windows has a general-purpose icon for “Safely Remove Hardware” that will show you a list of connected devices, including the Fuze.
Look for it on the right side of the taskbar–you may have to click to show all the icons there.
(If it’s Mac or Linux, you’re on your own–sorry.)
But if you’re not transferring files, you can generally just unplug the Fuze. Occasionally when you do that the screen will turn white and freeze. Just hold up the power button until the screen goes black and continue holding it for an extra 10 seconds to reset.
Please decrypt MSC and MTP. I’m using Xp SP2 and SP3, one on Pentium D and the other on Athlon 64 4000.
The Fuze doesn’t show up on “Safely Remove Hardware” at all. Never has.
Usually I just plug it in to charge. Occasionally I’ll add files but seldom erase any.
The only place it shows up is under “My Computer” as an “Other” device. When I access it, there is no eject or any other method of removing it safely.
@allthunbs wrote:
The Fuze doesn’t show up on “Safely Remove Hardware” at all. Never has.
Usually I just plug it in to charge. Occasionally I’ll add files but seldom erase any.
The only place it shows up is under “My Computer” as an “Other” device. When I access it, there is no eject or any other method of removing it safely.
You are connecting in MTP mode (or Auto Defect which defaults to MTP). In MSC mode, your player will show up in Explorer (My Computer) under Devices with Removeable Storage as 2 separate drives, each with their own drive letter (one for the player, one for the memory card slot). The “Safely Remove Hardware” icon only is available if you are using MSC mode, not MTP.
As a precaution, check the players’ screen before yanking the plug. If it says Writing or Reading wait until it no longer says that, but simply Connected and you should be OK.
Settings/System Settings/USB Mode governs how files get to the Fuze via USB.
It shows MSC, MTP or Auto Detect.
MSC is a generic USB connection and makes the Fuze look like two flash drives (internal memory and card slot) to your computer.
MTP controls the unit through Windows Media Player as a virtual device.
Auto Detect goes to MTP if you have Windows Media Player 10 or above on your computer, MSC otherwise, and is not entirely reliable.
Your computer can only see files transferred in one mode at a time. If you are in MTP, files that went over via MSC are invisible to the computer. (The Fuze itself doesn’t care how they got there.)
I use MSC. If you are using MTP (by choice or Auto Detect) then you may not need to worry about ejecting the Fuze.
Unless you love Windows Media Player for playlists, etc., or you have DRM files (audiobooks, subscription services) that need codes sent via MTP, then MSC gives you simpler and more direct control. But if you have been using MTP without problem, enjoy it.
If you do want to switch modes, you’re going to have to take the MTP files off the Fuze and transfer them again via MSC, or just be aware that you may need to change mode to see all your files via computer.
But practically speaking, if you are not in the middle of a file transfer you shouldn’t have any problem just unplugging the Fuze.
Black Rectangle and Tapeworm:
Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed. When the manual is inadequate, ask.
What do you guys think about “MediaMonkey”? Does it actually do better than the native interface??
Allthunbs wrote:
What do you guys think about “MediaMonkey”? Does it actually do better than the native interface??
Not sure exactly what you mean? MediaMonkey is a music management program (for lack of a better term), kinda like Windows Media Player. It is not a program you can install on the player. If you are referring to WMP as “the native interface” as far as managing your music collection on your computer then yes, MediaMonkey is assuredly better; just abut anything else is.
Personally, I’ve tried MM and didn’t care for it, but there are many who swear by it for ‘managing’ their music, creating playlists, etc. Foobar2000 is another one that is quite popular. I myself use Winamp, but sparingly. I drag & drop (copy & paste) all my files from my computer to my player (set in MSC mode) so I really don’t have a need (nor desire) for anything that ‘syncs’ or otherwise ‘manages’ my music; I prefer to do that myself. I do use Winamp though for creating playlists; it’s very helpful for that.
And most don’t recommend WMP, for a variety of reasons, although it has its own fan base too.
Media Monkey and Winamp both use the MSC connection. So you’d need to re-transfer your music.
Easiest thing to do is try them. There is a free Media Monkey and if you want to get the crucial feature of the gold version, all you need to do is replace the lame.exe file–the mp3 encoder-that’s in the free MM with the one from LAME.
http://lame.sourceforge.net/download.php
Winamp also has a free version. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include an mp3 ripper unless you pay. Foobar is all free, but not as fancy an interface.
There is, however, an advantage to WMP (and Winamp). They use the CDDB tag library–the official, commercial, licensed source-- to tag your albums. Media Monkey uses freedb, which is user generated with all the fun inconsistencies and errors you might expect, and usually no tag info for brand-new releases. CDDB isn’t perfect–it tags Young Marble Giants as Young Marble Gaints, no lie–but it’s better, and actually has tags the minute an album comes out, if not before.
And speaking of library software, there’s an obscure little program called iTunes. Minuses: It is a big bloated resource hog that also installs its unnecessary Bonjour networking software (to which I say Au Revoir) and tries to seize all your default filetypes.You also have to burrow into Edit/Preferences/Advanced to get it to rip mp3s at 320 kbps instead of the m4a files the Fuze can’t play.
However, iTunes does give you free CDDB tags. They are, unfortunately, ID3 v2.2 and the track numbers are 1/12, 2/12, etc… The Fuze can’t read the slash, so 10/12 and 11/12 will play before 2/12 unless you have wisely installed mp3tag
and used the Tool called Auto Numbering Wizard to change it to track numbers with Leading Zeroes: 01, 02, etc. You can also make mp3tag’s default Write into the Fuze’s favorite: ID3v2.3 ISO-8859-1 (Windows text encoding).
When a CD comes along, I use iTunes for ripping, mp3tag to fix tags (Auto-Number them, which also changes the ID3 version by my defaults), and Winamp for playback. All that to spite Windows Media Player. But that’s just me–and the real audio heads will tell you that the iTunes mp3 encoder isn’t as good as LAME.
I don’t use playlisting, which it seems to me is the main reason to deal with any music library software. I just drag actual albums over via MSC and…listen to them the way the musician hoped I would.
| Legal | Terms of Use | Privacy Statement | Forum Terms of Service |
|
| © Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Western Digital Technologies, Inc. is the seller of record and licensee in the Americas of SanDisk® products. |