I can't see some folders but the songs are there

Hi, I dragged and dropped a folder containing all my favorite playlists into the music folder and everything appears to have transferred fine. On my computer, I can see all the folders and songs have been copied to the player, but when I unplug the player and navigate to my folders on the player, some of my folders that were copied and visible on the player while viewing from my computer are not visible on my device. However, the songs are there because if I choose to play music by the “Artist” in question, the songs are visible and play fine. I upgraded the firmware but still no luck. Can someone please tell me why a handful of all my music folders are not visible on the player when I try to access through the “Music” folder? Also, if I put any folder in the “Playlist” folder, I can see it on the player when connected to my computer as stated previously, but the playlist folder is empty when I navigate to it from the player directly. What is going on? Thanks, Jeff

@jmbtexas4 wrote:

Hi, I dragged and dropped a folder containing all my favorite playlists into the music folder and everything appears to have transferred fine. On my computer, I can see all the folders and songs have been copied to the player, but when I unplug the player and navigate to my folders on the player, some of my folders that were copied and visible on the player while viewing from my computer are not visible on my device. However, the songs are there because if I choose to play music by the “Artist” in question, the songs are visible and play fine. I upgraded the firmware but still no luck. Can someone please tell me why a handful of all my music folders are not visible on the player when I try to access through the “Music” folder?

Because the player is not reading the folder/file names; it sorts and displays by ID3 tags.

@jmbtexas4 wrote:

  Also, if I put any folder in the “Playlist” folder, I can see it on the player when connected to my computer as stated previously, but the playlist folder is empty when I navigate to it from the player directly. What is going on? Thanks, Jeff

Playlists are a completely different ball of wax. You can’t just drop a folder containing music files into the Playlists folder and expect it to play. While this may sound like the most logical way of doing it, that’s not how this player works. You must create a playlist file with a listing of the music files and where they are located and this then gets dropped into the Playlist folder.

Having said that, there are many ways to create a playlist. Some work, others don’t. And a lot depends on what USB connection mode you are using and/or how you are creating the playlist file itself. In some methods, the playlist file itself does not get placed in the Playlist folder at all as you would think, but rather the Music folder alongside the music files for it to work.

Playlists (and getting them to work properly) are probably one of the most commonly discussed topics here, in every player board on the forum. I suggest using the Search function here to ferret some of them out and/or the SanDisk Knowledge Base to find the best method for you.

Hi Tapeworm!

Thanks for the info.  Ok, let’s skip the playlists for now.

How do I add an ID3 tag to a folder containing music?  I don’t see it on folder properties. 

Thanks,

Jeff

Most downloaded music files already contain ID3 tags and most (if not all) ripping programs that you would use on your computer to convert CD’s to .mp3 format will add them automatically from on-line databases provided your computer is connected to the internet at the time (Note that these are not always 100% accurate, so they should probably be checked and/or edited as needed).

That said, Sansa mp3 players are very picky about what tags they’ll read easily and those they have problems with. So while the tags may be present, they still may be unreadable by the player.

MP3Tag is unquestionably the preferred dedicated tag-editor recommended here and elsewhere. After you download and install it, go into the Tools menu and set the Write default to ID3v2.3 ISO-8859-1. This is the tag format your player is looking for. Simply opening up the file in the program and clicking the SAVE button will save any other format to this new one. And you don’t have to do it one at a time; you can open entire folders and convert them en masse.

But it’s not necessarily this simple. There are other things that can cause the ID3 tag not to be read correctly or cause problems on your player (but maybe not in Window Media Player on your computer). Strange or foreign characters can cause issues, as well as exceptionally long titles (like in classical music), embedded album art that is too large, or text in the Comments field of the tag.

This is a much-discussed topic in all player boards of this forum. I suggest using the Search function here and reading some of them along with the tips that some provide.

One other thing, it is generally best to do this editing to the tags with the files residing on your computer, then transfering them to the player. Sometimes the changes don’t ‘stick’ when you make changes to the tags while the files are on the player.

Ok, thanks for the info Tapeworm.

I know I mentioned it already and just want to clarify:  All the songs are on the player and will play fine from “Artist” folder.  However, in the “Music” folder, where I placed all my mp3 folders, some entire folders are not visible.

I had no idea so many problems could exist with a “simple” mp3 player as this was advertised.  I was trying to dump my ipod because I don’t want anymore Apple products.  I don’t recall reading about any of these problems on customer reviews from Amazon.

Thanks again!

I created a folder and tried to drop two of the folders that don’t show up, and only one of them appeared.  Ha ha.  All of these music folders and mp3’s  were created via the exact same method, so there is no difference in the tagging.  I did read deeper into some Amazon reviews, and it’s a known problem.  I bought this player to replace an iPod which can’t sync on two different computers and makes creating playlists a hassle too.  Maybe Apple should by Sandisk!  ))  I guess I’ll look for another player in the meantime, or is there any solution to this?

First, as I eluded to before, the information you are seeing on the player’s screen in the Music menu (not folder) is that from the ID3 tags; it has nothing at all to do with the names of the folders you can created. Although you can scroll down to the bottom of the music menu and navigate via the Folders option. That should allow you to see and find the music you’re looking for as you’ve created it.

The most obvious, logical and best folder/file hierarchy you can use on your player is:

Music

  • Artist <folder>

    • Album <folder>
      • Track(s) <file)

I know this may be tedious and counterproductive if you have a lot of compilation, or ‘mix’ albums, but if this is the case you may just have to put up with a little confusion as this is the way the player reads and displays the information, so it makes sense to have it organized that way physically too.

In the Music menu listing, do you have an “Unknown” artist category lurking in there? If so, this is where you’ll most likely find your ‘missing’ music. This is how the player categorizes music it cannot identify by ID3 tag.

Have you downloaded MP3Tag yet and looked at the folders/files you can’t seem to find on the player? Chances are, there is some difference in them vs. the other ones that are read and displayed normally.

Hi,

No, I haven’t downloaded it yet.

7 of my 100 folders didn’t show up.

So, I took a folder that does appear, copied it 7 times, renamed it and placed the mp3’s for each artist in the right folder.  I dragged and dropped again and 4 showed up but the other 3 didn’t.  Ha ha.  Please tell me how some folders can show up and some can’t when they were all copied from the same original source folder that is visible in the player.

I just need to do that a few more times I guess to get the last 3 folders to appear.

I see no unknown artists anywhere.

I appreciate your advice and thank you for the time.  I will try your other options if need be.

The bottom line here is that Sandisk needs to make a player that is truly drag and drop because this one is not.  Who cares what the folder looks like and what special features it has…it’s a folder that shows up anywhere you drop it (besides an iPod and Sandisk).

I won’t be buying another one of these.  As I mentioned, I was looking for a HASSLE FREE solution, and this player is full of hassles.  Like I said, Sandisk should be purchased by Apple.  They are perfect for each other.

Hi,

Quote Tapeworm:

“Although you can scroll down to the bottom of the music menu and navigate via the Folders option. That should allow you to see and find the music you’re looking for as you’ve created it.”

I think the whole point of what jmbtexas4 is saying is that when he navigates via the folders option, some of his folders do not show up.

This has nothing to do with the tags on the music tracks.  

(though 7 out of 100 folders isnt the end of the world - just a bit annoying).