Can't download music or firmware update--(Fuze a nightmare to figure out)

Sariah, I understand your frustration to some extent as I am in a somewhat similar situation today.  SanDisk pulled one of those stunts that so many computer related businesses are doing these days - put the user manual online rather than including it with each device.  Go to this link for the user manual:  http://www.sandisk.com/sansa/assets/English/products/Fuze/fuze_userguide_en.pdf

That said - you came to a forum of Fuze users for help and then came down really, really hard on the product.  I agree that the lack of a user manual & the updater error are valid complaints, but I also agree with the responders that what definitely comes across as frustration that you can’t make it work like or with iTunes is unreasonable  (I wish they were less proprietary, too, but that’s business).  

The forum members who are helping you are here because they are Fuze users, & while I have no doubt that you were hoping SanDisk was reading your responses, it didn’t come across as particularly considerate of those content Fuze owners you were bashing indirectly in the process.

Once I found the user’s manual here at the top of the forums, the device was extremely easy to use.  SanDisk is remiss in failing to explicitly & directly provide that link in their package info if they’re going to cut corners that way.  And like you, I do hope that they are noticing the completely unnecessary frustration they are creating by not being more upfront about it.

@sariah wrote:

Thanks so much everyone.  Both DH and I have spent hours today on this.   We have come to the conclusion that this product is deficient in many ways, not the least of which is the extreme difficulty of downloading songs easily.   I am very sorry I purchased this. 

 

We called tech support and they are closed!   On Christmas day, when people are getting these things as gifts and are unable to use it due to the convoluted  instructions that don’t work and are not clear, the firmware update that does not work so that a laborious manual process is necessary to see if it ‘might’ work.

Just out of curiousity, did you call Apple support on Christmas day to see if they were open?

What’s funny is, I know people who say “Apple products just work.”  However, when you peruse forums for their products, they have just as many issues as well.  Everyone who got a Nano for Christmas will be dealing with firmware upgrades as well.

As far as a comparison, Sansa products are, hands down, the easiest to load music onto.  How much simpler can drag and drop be?  And, if iPods are so easy, why did I get a call from my brother when he bought his son an iPod and nothing they did could get the thing to work; let alone, put music on it?

But I agree with others that say take the Fuze back.  It is obviously not for you.

It amazes me that so many people complain when their Sansa doesn’t work with itunes, or when it doesn’t play AAC files. I wonder how many people complain that their ipod won’t play protected WMA files, or that their ipod won’t sync with Windows Media Player. Yes, the Fuze manual is sparsely written, however there are other sources of information on the net about using Windows Media Player or creating MP3 files. Yes, the Sansa updater is a pain, but updating firmware manually is so easy, so the updater should be avoided. Many had problems with SMC. Imo video on the Fuze isn’t worthwhile, and photos can be reduced in size for the Fuze by using any regular photo editing software. The Fuze plays regular JPG photos as long as they are small in dimension. Windows Media Player is so easy to use, and making mp3 files from CDs using it is so easy. Those who are obsessed with using itunes with their Fuze won’t be happy though.

Which is exactly what Steve Jobs wants.

If you come from ipod world, you have to convert existed data in AAC file format to mp3 file, which can be done by the newest itune software too.

To me, Sansa is much better and offers more functionalities, like Radio, Recorder and Memory Expanding.

If you are rich, you can always pay more for less, lol.

Message Edited by kevin02454 on 12-26-2008 07:45 AM

As many have said, if you start from the perspective that the Sansa is NOT a Mac product and doesn’t work that well with the Mac tools, you’ll do better.  Just remember that you can’t download to your Nano with Windows Media Player either.  Neither product is all that compatible with the other.

Now, rip a CD in Windows Media Player

Plug your Sansa into your computer

Sync your Sansa with your newly ripped songs.

Unplug your Sansa

Press play.

It works.

If you stop and realize that you have a player from as different a world as the Mac is from the PC, open your mind to that, you’ll like your player.  But you have to unblock this mental resistance you seem to have about this player.  It IS a good player, easily as good as the Ipods.

I’ve read through this thread, because I have the same error message (1003).  I read how to download manually, but where is the root directory on my fuze?  When I open the internal memory, I only have folders for music etc.

Do I just slap it in the internal memory (not in a folder)?

@kaycee1976 wrote:

I’ve read through this thread, because I have the same error message (1003).  I read how to download manually, but where is the root directory on my fuze?  When I open the internal memory, I only have folders for music etc.

 

Do I just slap it in the internal memory (not in a folder)?

 

 

Yes, the internal memory folder containing music folder is the root folder.

All you have to do is download the latest version of Rhapsody. Note: you have to be a computer administrator and make sure that your internet and proxy or firewall allow rhapsody and real networks. After you download it then you can click on library and it’ll have an option to upload all the music from itunes to rhapsody. After that you can try to sync it to your fuze.

Hope this helps! : ) 

Copying music to the Sansa is as simple as dragging and dropping.

  1. Connect your sansa to the computer

  2. Open Windows Explorer

  3. Click on My Computer (XP and earlier) or just Computer (Vista and later)

  4. Open the “Sansa Fuze xGB” Drive that should be listed under your computer

  5. Open the “Internal Memory” folder

  6. Open the “Music” folder

  7. Copy your music (in a compatible format - sansa supports MP3, WAV, WMA, secure WMA and Audible) into this folder

DONE!

You can sync with Yahoo! Music, Microsoft Windows Media Player, and a host of other players automatically (assuming compatible format).

While I’ll hand it to Apple for the ease of use of iTunes Music Store, many of the other stores are usable such as emusic, napster, puretracks, passalong, and many other online stores that sell music in a compatible format. While some record labels require their music to have DRM, many will offer them in the secure WMA format. All of the stores mentioned above can all be accesed from within Windows Media Player (version 11 required for Audible) by selecting the righmost option in the menu in Windows Media Player (usaually has text “Media Guide” but can change if you visited help, online stores, etc.). In this drop down menu item you will find “Browse all Online Stores”. This is where you will find online stores to purchase music. Not at all different from iTunes except you don’t have to update the iTunes every 2 days (ok that was a cheap shot but come on is anyone else getting tired of updating iTunes every time you turn around?) 

As for the Firmware update not working:  

To update firmware you simply download the firmware file for your revision (1.xxxx or 2.xxxx) from the sandisk site and copy the fuzea.bin file into the “Internal Memory” folder and unplug the fuze from your computer and the firmware will be updated automatically. You will see “Firmware upgrade in progress” when you disconnect from your computer… easy.

There are plenty of other music managers that will keep your library in Sync (an example is MediaMonkey)-- some free, some you have to buy.

Hope that helps.

@kaycee1976 wrote:

I’ve read through this thread, because I have the same error message (1003).  I read how to download manually, but where is the root directory on my fuze?  When I open the internal memory, I only have folders for music etc.

 

Do I just slap it in the internal memory (not in a folder)?

That’s it exactly. If it is showing as ‘internal memory’, then your player is in MTP mode; a little different from MSC, but you should still be able to update the firmware. Just drag the extracted .zip file (should now be a .bin file) from wherever you’ve stored it (your Desktop is convenient) to the blank area next to, but not in the folders you see.

Done. Un-plug your Fuze and wait for the magic to happen. :smiley:

Ok, so now I have version 1.01.07A by installing the firmware from the link.  Is that the most recent firmware upgrade?

BTW:  thanks for all the great and fast responses!

@metalzoa78 wrote:

All you have to do is download the latest version of Rhapsody. Note: you have to be a computer administrator and make sure that your internet and proxy or firewall allow rhapsody and real networks. After you download it then you can click on library and it’ll have an option to upload all the music from itunes to rhapsody. After that you can try to sync it to your fuze.

Hope this helps! : ) 

I hope you are talking ONLY about the software and NOT signing up for another propriatary subscription DRM-crippled mess to try and straighten out & convert the Apple files. Even so, this approach sounds like intentionally trying to catch the flu just to get rid of a cold.

Me, no…I don’t have itunes.  I’m a media player kind of girl :)  Media player seems to be the easiest way to go!

@kaycee1976 wrote:

Ok, so now I have version 1.01.07A by installing the firmware from the link.  Is that the most recent firmware upgrade?

 

BTW:  thanks for all the great and fast responses!

No! You should have 01.01.22A which is the latest update for your hardware version player. Did you download it form the link in this post?

Try it again. Make sure to extract the .zip file to your Desktop (it’s the most convenient). It should now be a larger size .bin file. This is what you drag into the root directory.

After you’ve got it right, you can delete the .bin file from your Desktop.

@kaycee1976 wrote:

Ok, so now I have version 1.01.07A by installing the firmware from the link.  Is that the most recent firmware upgrade?

 

BTW:  thanks for all the great and fast responses!

This is an early version.  You can confirm the latest family of formware via the splash screen.  The new update has a Sansa logo that “explodes” into a zillion color pixels, forming the new 4-color Sansa logo.

If you go to Settings > System Settings > Info, check the firmware version.  If it starts with a “01”, the 01.01.22 firmware is here.

Unzip this file.  The bin ary file is dragged and dropped to the root directory (be SURE it is unzipped, or the Fuze won’t accept it.)

You can update in either MTP or MSC mode, the difference being if you see “Internal Memory”, double click on that to open the root directory.  Windows Explorer represents the root directory as the “open box”.  Simply place the bin file in the box, but NOT in any of the folders seen.

There’s a bit of confusion in this thread about “folders”.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

@kaycee1976 wrote:

Ok, so now I have version 1.01.07A by installing the firmware from the link.  Is that the most recent firmware upgrade?

 

BTW:  thanks for all the great and fast responses!

No! You should have 01.01.22A which is the latest update for your hardware version player. Did you download it from the link in this post?

Try it again. Make sure to extract the .zip file to your Desktop (it’s the most convenient). It should now be a larger size .bin file. This is what you drag into the root directory.

After you’ve got it right, you can delete the .bin file from your Desktop.


You should have started another thread. Although the topic was the same, now you (and others) don’t know who’s advice is for who. The itunes reference was not meant for you.

GMTA, Tapemeister.

Bob  :stuck_out_tongue:

You beat me by a nano sansa second, Bob! :smileyvery-happy:

I tried it again, and I know it worked this time because I got the fancy new welcome!

Thank you all so much!  I wish I had found this site sooner!  :slight_smile: