Clip Zip not recognized w/ my car Nav unit

I have Rhapsody-loaded music and my own *.mp3 files in my Clip Zip.  I want to connect this to my car Navigation unit through the USB port to listen to my music there.  However, my car Nav unit says no USB device detected.  I’ve connected other mp3 players, like the Coby MP-601, or just a USB flash drive - and they all work fine.   Anybody have ideas of the problem?    My Nav unit is the Kenwood DNX5120.   Thank you!

Sounds like your car probably expects the Clip Zip to be set to MSC (UMS) mode, which can be done from the Settings menu.  Your Rhapsody music would have been synced to the Clip Zip in MTP mode.  Music loaded in MTP mode is not visible in MSC mode, and vice-versa.

Hi Promised,

Thanks for the reply.  I changed the mode to MSC, and now it recognizes the unit (doesn’t say “No USB Device” anymore)!  However, it now says “No Media File” on my Nav unit.  It cannot find any of the *.mp3 files.  When I look at the file structure on my Windows PC for the SanDisk, I accidently left the mode on MSC.  What I found at the was folders for Albums, Audiobooks, Music, etc. and all of them were empty!   This is the reason why it said no media file.

When I changed the mode back to MTP mode (or Auto), the root folder says “Internal Memory”.  Below this are the various subdirectories Albums, Audiobooks, Music, etc. and all of my *.mp3 (Rhapsody and non-Rhapsody) were found.

Also, I should mention that the SanDisk has always said “Connected”. 

Could I sync the Clip Zip in MSC mode instead?  That would be awesome!  If so, all of the Rhapsody music I loaded in MTP cannot co-exist with those in MSC?  If so, then re-format my Clip Zip and start again?

Thank you for all your help!!

“I changed the mode to MSC, and now it recognizes the unit (doesn’t say “No USB Device” anymore)!  However, it now says “No Media File” on my Nav unit.  It cannot find any of the *.mp3 files.  When I look at the file structure on my Windows PC for the SanDisk, I accidently left the mode on MSC.  What I found at the was folders for Albums, Audiobooks, Music, etc. and all of them were empty!   This is the reason why it said no media file.”

The songs you loaded from Rhapsody were loaded in MTP mode.  They’re not visible (although they take up space) when the Clip is in MSC mode, to either your Nav unit or your PC.

“When I changed the mode back to MTP mode (or Auto), the root folder says “Internal Memory”.  Below this are the various subdirectories Albums, Audiobooks, Music, etc. and all of my *.mp3 (Rhapsody and non-Rhapsody) were found.”

Yep, this is how Windows displays an MTP device (“Internal Memory”).  If you had a microSD card in the Clip, you would also see “External Memory”.  (If you were in MSC mode, the two different kinds of memory would show up with two different drive letters.)

“Could I sync the Clip Zip in MSC mode instead?  That would be awesome!”

I believe your Rhapsody music needs to be synced in MTP mode because it is subscription music.  MTP has that extra “oomph” that lets Rhapsody control the subscription of your music … lets you keep playing it on your Clip as long as you keep paying Rhapsody.  The songs themselves contain DRM (Google it) data which are part of this subscription process.

“If so, all of the Rhapsody music I loaded in MTP cannot co-exist with those in MSC?”

They can only co-exist in the sense that they can both be on your Clip at the same time, but only one or the other is visible/playable at any one time, based on the MTP/MSC setting.  This would be the case for any music you load onto your Clip (for example, non-subscription MP3s bought from Amazon), although there’s no need to load non-subscription music onto your Clip in MTP mode (though it can be done).

@promisedplanet wrote:

 

“If so, all of the Rhapsody music I loaded in MTP cannot co-exist with those in MSC?”

 

They can only co-exist in the sense that they can both be on your Clip at the same time, but only one or the other is visible/playable at any one time, based on the MTP/MSC setting.  This would be the case for any music you load onto your Clip (for example, non-subscription MP3s bought from Amazon), although there’s no need to load non-subscription music onto your Clip in MTP mode (though it can be done).

Just to clarify, music files loaded in both MTP & MSC modes are visible to and playable on the player. It doesn’t care; it will see them all.

However, if you connect to another device like your car stereo, it will only see and play those files loaded in MSC mode.

When connected to your computer, it will only see the files loaded in the same USB mode as it is connected in at the time. In other words, to see files originally loaded/transferred in MTP mode, the player must in MTP mode when connected to your computer. Same thing for MSC.

You can see the possibility for mass confusion here, so it’s best to use one mode or the other for all files all the time. Might I suggest that if you use Rhapsody, you stick with MTP mode on the player. For the car stereo, get a memory card and reader, loading it with songs in MSC mode. Memory cards are cheap, and smaller than the player, plus there’s no cord giving potential theives the clue there’s something to steal if they glance into your car unattended. It’s a simple thing to pull the card reader & card and stash it somewhere out of sight when you leave the car, and there’s no cord to have to fiddle with.

As the controls on the player do not work when plugged into your car’s stereo, you are essentially using the player as a ‘dumb’ memory storage space anyway . . . might as well use a memory card. There’s no benefit to using the player.

Well, there’s a benefit in keeping one’s music centralized, as much as one can.  I miss the days in having one jukebox player and simply taking it with me wherever I go, with all my music. 

Thank You Promised and everyone who responded!  It solved my problem and gave me a good understanding of the situation.  You guys ROCK!!

 -vyee_clipzip

“Just to clarify, music files loaded in both MTP & MSC modes are visible  to  and playable  on  the player. It doesn’t care; it will see them all.”

Thanks Tapeworm for the clarification.  My excuse :wink: is that it’s been a while since I’ve used MTP (goes back to my Sansa Connect days, I think) but I should’ve verified this for myself.

Ironic given that I’m considering a Rhapsody subscription!

Although the Rhapsody business model always seems odd to me (rent music?!?), it actually can be a very good deal when you price it out. But it still just seems wrong to me. :wink:

Miikerman, I hear you … I hear you.  I think what’s happened is that I’ve burnt myself out on my own music collection, and I like the music-discovery experience.  Coupled with a lack of DJs and commercials of course.

Slacker delivers a similar experience but after trying Rhapsody today, I think I like Rhapsody’s music selection better.  Plus I love the sound quality of the Sansa Clip* and I don’t have my iPod Touch anymore.  ;)