HUGE BUG in new Sansa Updater

SanDisk MP3 players Sansa® Fuze™
1

OK, I’m going to try and be polite about this and trust me, it’s hard right now.

The new Sansa Updater toasts my USB audio.

I have Logitech Z-Cinema speakers which use a USB connection.  The latest Updater seems to somehow grab on to it (that’s my guess) because immediately after installing it, all audio becomes problematic, from playing sound files to audio in video files.  By “problematic” I mean that it simply stops working.  Foobar 2000 gives the best clue by providing an error message that the device is for all intents and purposes locked.

Immediately upon uninstalling the Updater AND REBOOTING the problem is solved.  I’m running Vista x64 (upgrade to 7 pending).

This is unacceptable.  Continually polling a device to the point that other resources can’t use it is sloppy programming - at best.

Kindly fix this mess.

2

First of all, you are right.

Second, there might be a solution. I don’t have USB speakers, but it might still work.

Try finding your speakers in the ‘Manage Hardware’ control panel. Under advanced options, there should be an option ‘Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device’. Uncheck this checkbox.

Here’s a screenshot of how it might look: http://www.win2008workstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/sound3.jpg

Also … why use Sansa’s updater at all? Personally I don’t like any kind of automatic update and seeing Sansa’s firmware updates have the odd bug in them I would want to wait and install upgrades manually.

3

Thanks for the reply.

I use the Updater because it was my understanding that Sansa had discontinued manual upgrades (which I very much prefer).  If this isn’t the case, then that junk software gets tossded immediately. :)  I despise extraneous junk on my system, especially ADWARE junk (yeah Sandisk, those chintzy Slotradio ads adware spam).

The only problem with the workaround is that I use ASIO which LOVES exclusive use of audio hardware.  I’ll give it a whirl but I’m not holding my breath.  WASAPI is the same way.

We’ll see…

4

Perhaps it’s better then to stop the updater from running when Windows start, and run it manually when you want instead.

It’s indeed not much of a workaround and if you want or need AISO/WASAPI it’s no workaround at all.

I hope you’re not wrong about no longer offering manual updates. I refuse to run any background programs that are not needed, including Sansa’s updater.

The fingers are crossed for a real solution.

Message Edited by 7o9 on 12-11-2009 06:27 AM

5

You’re wrong about requiring the updater. As I understand it, the updater IS now required to get Sansa Media Converter (though I’ll bet there are still copies floating around online). But the firmware updates can still be done manually.They’re so infrequent that the updater is a waste anyway.

And rather than wait for an update on SMConverter, just get video4fuze.

In other words, get that stupid updater off your computer. If for some crazy reason you want to keep it, go into Start/Run/msconfig and uncheck it from the Startup list. 

But I see no reason to have it installed at all. 

6

Thank you very much. :slight_smile:

I have absoluytely no reason whatsoever for that POS to be there.

Consider it obliterated.

7

roj: 

I despise extraneous junk on my system, especially ADWARE junk (yeah Sandisk, those chintzy Slotradio ads adware spam)

There’s a way to turn the slot radio ad off. I think you already heard of it anyway. It’s as simple as Settings/Radio Options/FM Region:World. I guess since the slot radio cards aren’t sold outside the states, the developers deduced that it would be no use to spam the other countries.

Have a good day. 

8

Hmm, maybe you are talking in the old firmware?

I have the new buggy firmware installed and even if I change my FM to WORLD I still have a nasty slot radio icon, and if I accidentally click it I get spammed…

Also in the updater software… I have to press the SKIP button to use the updater because some #$%#% (disrespectful name here) decided I needed to be reminded where to go for preselected content cards… 

So, just tu use this product I am forced to see ads for a service/product I will NEVER install or purchase, and I have an extra useless option to scroll past when I try to use my player…

I can hardly wait for a Fuze V2 Rockbox port…

If it wasn’t for my love life I would have ulcers from this product’s “features” that I will never want to use…

It would be nice if SanDisk would see fit to make a stripped down firmware with only Audio play, video play, and no slot radio garbage.

With less options to get in the way, it should be easier to program without BUGS…

How about a BUG FIX release guys? Feature freeze time…

How about it?

9

BDProductions wrote:

I can hardly wait for a Fuze V2 Rockbox port…

 

I don’t see much choice.:stuck_out_tongue:

You might better see if you can find someone with a V1 that isn’t interested in Rockbox and see if they will trade.

Either that, or just sell it and move on to something that doesn’t stress you out.Life is too short to get all worked up over a slotradio ad, or an updater that you don’t need.

10

LOL, I was joking somewhat… if my love life were not doing so well I might be stressed… but at the moment my life is full of happiness mostly…

There’s more to life than music or movies…

I just find it sad that SanDisk would force ads (the same ad) on us every time we check for updates…

And I find it just as sad that they would do the same every time we click while trying to scroll past the Slot Radio icon in the player’s menu.

I just don’t get it… promoting it as anything other than a prefilled SDCard just seems wrong… It has no tuner… and unlike a radio, the songs never change!!!

You can’t rewind or fast forward according to the slotradio web pages… you can only skip songs…  

OBviously Slot Radio was a desperation move…  If users in the forum were polled I bet SR would not exist today… For $39 I could buy more microSD cards or just one and a bunch of 2nd hand CD’s (More likely to have music Fuze Owners would like, instead of 3 good and 997 they want to skip after 2 weeks)

Maybe someone who had no internet connection and no computer might like one?

Sure, there are a few users out there that might like preselected music, but for how long will they listen to the SAME playlist that they can’t alter?

 “Updater you don’t need” - And how does a new user determine they don’t need the updater? (until it is too late)

That’s actually rhetorical… many users won’t know they don’t want the updater  until it is too late… and then they will find that they do need to run it sometimes, after first checking the forums… but that is only if they bother googling for a fix…

I wonder how many people take back their Fuze V2’s, give them away, or sell them? (because they don’t want the aggrevation of fixing something that never should have been broken by an update)

I am about 60% happy with the newest firmware… compared to 90% before the upgrade from hell…

I am not saying Rockbox would shoot up to 99-100%… but at least I would know what the consequences were for any given upgrade.

From what I am reading SanDisk will force users to use the updater from now on…  (Where’s the link to the Sansa Video Converter update, other than through the updater interface?)

Of course I am not too worried, with 3rd party software working better for video conversion, and programs like WinAmp and Songbird supporting music syncing without a rhapsody requirement… (Smaller application filesize and memory footprints too)

So, now I know to check in the forums first, and if a new piece of sansa software comes out I can look here for problems before installing updates with the updater.

It’s too bad that SanDisk hasn’t seen fit to link to the forums on the “Rhapsody Install disc” or printed instructions that ship with each Fuze (or other products)

Anyway, it’s even more of a shame that SanDisk isn’t likely to read or even care what you or I write in here, as long as it doesn’t violate the terms in these forums…

(by SanDisk I mean those in control of policy in regards to the Sansa product line)

That’s my $0.02 worth… being bored enough to read the forums and finding no solutions even weeks later… (Shall we go for weeks?)

Thanks for your response, Marvin_Martian

11

I’m not even slightly interested in SlotRadio - I view it as a cheap knockoff of another ripoff - iTunes - and take the viewpoint that you have to be pretty dim to even consider it.

Extra storage via a slot?

Excellent!

SlotRadio?

How stupid do you think consumers are, Sandisk?

So - how to put this politely - STUFF your built-in ads.

As it stands, your Updater is a piece of ■■■■ anyway and I wholeheartedly recommend any and all Sandisk users To Ditch It.  Immediately.  Anything that grabs on to a USB port the way it does was programmed by a trained chimp - actually, that’s an insult to chimps.

The instability of the latest firmware builds is another case in point.

At the very least overhaul your QA process.  If it’s not the quality of talent on your programming team, it’s the quality of your management - plain and simple.  My money’s on the latter - the whole “let’s cut corners and save time and money” STINKS of a MBA.  ATI came to a crossroads and did that a couple of years ago - the entire driver team paid an intimate visit to the unemployment line.  The quality of drivers improved dramatically.

So, here’s a dose of Reality:

I’m the Consumer.

You work for Me.

You don’t get a dime unless I spend it.

You need to do some re-thinking.

12

BDProductions wrote:

LOL, I was joking somewhat… if my love life were not doing so well I might be stressed… but at the moment my life is full of happiness mostly…

 

There’s more to life than music or movies…

 

( snip)

 

 Thanks for your response, Marvin_Martian

 

 

 

Don’t misunderstand me.:smiley:

I do believe you have some valid concerns, and I am not trying to brush them under the proverbial rug.  I really had only two issues with my Sansas, and I did move on to different players. But I stick around here because there’s a bunch of good folks here, and I still remember enough to be able to try to help when I can.

13

Marvin_Martian:

 Thanks for sticking around!!!

  If I knew more about the sansa Fuze’s firmware, I would attempt disassembly to patch it myself…

2 points would make me happy:

  1. remove slot radio icon (it just gets in the way (for that matter, I will never record any audio with the Fuze, so that would be removed also))

  2. replace replay gain code from the last firmware with the previous code (I am assuming someone typoed a memory address or JMP instruction somewhere)

Such a firmware would make me 90+% happy with this player.

I don’t use the EQ either, but it isn’t in the way…

I don’t even use playlists, since a random shuffle with repeat rarely repeats the same song 2 times in a day. (it did when I rated songs so I removed all music and reimported it taking care to never rate it)

I do play by artist sometimes, and I do play videos thanks to video4fuze, and I may one day want to show people pictures (of what with such a small screen? who knows…)

I actually was quite impressed by the FM Radio sensitivity, bringing in more clear stations than a friend’s Sony player…

I don’t want Rockbox for it’s games, and as much as I would like crossfading songs, I don’t NEED crossfading…

For me I have not had any issues with the new updater and any devices or software on my computer…

But then I am running XP Pro SP3…  Vista and Vista Seven are for people who don’t mind Beta testing for Microsoft, in my opinion (and it is just that, my opinion)

Now my wife is home, so I am off to dinner…