Trouble syncing with Media Player or Rhapsody

Ok, I downloaded some MP3 music and wanted to put it in a playlist and put it on my clipzip. In Media player it said if you want to put it on your clip zip, to move it to the sync tab. Ok I did that. (it was 3 songs - the first ones I got - there was nothing else on the device yet)

So it starts syncing and then it says the device is full!! I look and the darn thing has tried to put every picture on my computer onto the device!!

How do you make it sync with only the music - no pictures? I can’t find a way to turn that off. It does it in Rhapsody too. But in Rhapsody you can also just drag and drop files manually into the device so I was able to do that - what a pain!

You can also simply drag & drop your files to your player usinifg Widows Explorer too. There’s no need to get WMP or ‘syncing’ involved.

But if you’re dead-set on using it, you have to change WMP’s default Auto-Sync setting to Manual. This way _ you _ select what exactly you want to sync, and what you don’t. Otherwise, it will try to sync everything including the

to the device. :stuck_out_tongue:

You can also simply drag & drop your files to your player usinifg Windows Explorer too. There’s no need to get WMP or ‘syncing’ involved.

But if you’re dead-set on using it, you have to change WMP’s default Auto-Sync setting to Manual. This way _ you _ select what exactly you want to sync, and what you don’t. Otherwise, it will try to sync everything including the

to the device.

LOL tapeworm… I was hoping you’d direct me to a button where I could choose what type of files were synced, not direct me to the kitchen. BUT it does work to drag.
And if I use Rhapsody instead of WMP, you can drag right there on the desktop instead of syncing.
For some dumb reason, I just thought there might be a way to make sync work without having to stand on my head and juggle 3 floppy disks to make it happen- shoulda known better :laughing:

From what people write here, sync indeed works well via WMP or other music management software, once you understand how it works and have the software set to what you want. For some reason, though, it just confuses me, as distinct from good ole’ drag-'n-drop.

@meenie wrote:

LOL tapeworm… I was hoping you’d direct me to a button where I could choose what type of files were synced, not direct me to the kitchen. BUT it does work to drag.

There is such a button, or setting within WMP. Neutron_bob is our resident WMP specialist, and I know he’s posted directions to it here before. I don’t use it anymore, so I really can’t help in setting it up for optimum use and control, but if you search around you’ll most likely be able to find one of Bob’s posts.

I prefer not to use it and simply copy the files over manually.

Microsoft changed the Windows Media Player interface when WiMP12 debuted with Windows 7.  WiMP11 has a similar function, found “hidden” as a little button at the bottom edge of the Sync tab.

In WiMP12, look for the little icon just below, and to the right of the tab.  In either case, the function is called Set Up Sync.

Automatic synchronization can be both a blessing and a curse, as it allows WiMP to tinker with your files on the device in strange and amusing ways.  It’s nice if you have regularly updated podcasts, as the latest ones are sent to the device, but let’s start with the set up part, as it can be a real pickle.

The first time set up is opened, using WiMP12 as an example, a mask pops up that lets you choose whether you’d like to clear the device and start fresh.  There’s a list that pops up, in Windows fashion, with the choices of what types of media you’d like to have synchronized automatically. At the bottom of this list is the evil choice, “all media”.  By all means, be sure to remove this one, unless you’d like everything including the kitchen sink sent to your sansa.  The menu works backwards, so select the choice on the right and then click on “remove”.

The oddball choices like “tv shows from the last week with three stars” and such make little sense to me.  Remove those ones too.  Same thing for “all photos”, as this is indeed bizarre.

Tapeworm  doesn’t like the auto sync, or WiMP either, for a logical reason.  If you have mastered manually deciding what you’d like on the device, this is an easy task.  I choose the middle road, using the Sync function manually  without using the auto-sync option.  Simply plug in, click the sync tab, and drag-and-drop what you’d like transferred over to the sync pane on the right.  Of course, nothing will be sent over until you click on the Start Sync button- this omitted step might be why many folks wonder why there’s nothing on the Sansa after unplugging.

If you have a collection of devices, the Sync options make managing multiple devices very simple, since WiMP remembers your preferences for each individual device.

Ah, one final thought!  Don’t worry if WiMP sent everything over to the device.  Leave it plugged in (or plug in from scratch), select the Set Up Sync function, and remove  all the choices you don’t want.  Once you click on the Start Sync button, Windows Media Player will undo the mess it made on the first try automatically.  Trying to correct the disaster manually does take some time, so it’s much better to let the media player fix the sync for you.

Bob  :wink:

@tapeworm wrote:

  Neutron_bob is our resident WMP specialist, and I know he’s posted directions to it here before.  


TA DA!  Mention his name and he appears.  It’s…

…to save the day!  :smileyvery-happy:

Syncing and playlists will frustrate you. I avoid playlists except for the go list on the player which I have used a few times. With creative use of the genre tag, album tag, and track numbers, I find that my browsing needs are satisfied. Others make creative use of how things are organized in folders, then navigate to the music>folders submenu. Having items in a folder with a numeric prefix before the filename(so they sort in the order you want) and navigating by folders is a way to bypass the use of a playlist.

I use Windows Explorer to copy and paste folders of songs to my player. I use a folder for each artist, and a subfolder for each album. That keeps everything simple and well organized. I have music on my pc that way as well, so if I ever do need to format my player, I can have the music back on it very quickly. Even though I still have all the CDs, I made backups of all my mp3 files on DVD discs, as reripping all those CDs would be a pain.

I usually play music an album at a time.

@jk98 wrote:

Syncing and playlists will frustrate you. I avoid playlists except for the go list on the player which I have used a few times. With creative use of the genre tag, album tag, and track numbers, I find that my browsing needs are satisfied. Others make creative use of how things are organized in folders, then navigate to the music>folders submenu. Having items in a folder with a numeric prefix before the filename(so they sort in the order you want) and navigating by folders is a way to bypass the use of a playlist.

 

I use Windows Explorer to copy and paste folders of songs to my player. I use a folder for each artist, and a subfolder for each album. That keeps everything simple and well organized. I have music on my pc that way as well, so if I ever do need to format my player, I can have the music back on it very quickly. Even though I still have all the CDs, I made backups of all my mp3 files on DVD discs, as reripping all those CDs would be a pain.

 

I usually play music an album at a time.

I prefer the external hard drive solution…because at last count, my collection of lossy files would eat up roughly 26 or 27 DVD’s, and it’s a pain to break it up into the 4.4 GB chunks for each DVD. I have CD’s that have failed over the years, so CD’DVD discs are not infallible over the long haul…so I opt for backups on two external hard drives. I have a 1TB desktop and a 500GB portable HDD, and fortunately I bought them both before the flooding in Thailand.

Most people don’t have over 100GB of music, so backing up on DVD discs is convenient enough. I also make two backup copies, however my data is only several discs(which includes more lectures and podcasts than music, and photos) Even if 25 or so DVD-R discs would be needed for your backup, it would still be much cheaper than using a hard drive. As for which is more reliable, hard drives or DVD discs, I guess it depends how long the data is to be stored for. Magnetic storage is not so good for long term storage. Granted an external hard drive is easier to fill than a number of DVD discs.