I was among those whose Sansa Fuze suddenly stopped being recognized by my computer. Although the message still pops up, I have found a workaround that has returned the Fuze to functionality.
When this problem first started, I was using my old computer, with USB 1.0 ports and Win XP. As I said, I tried all of the solutions people had posted here and elsewhere. At first, plugging in and restarting the computer seemed to help. Then it didn’t help. Next I tried reinstalling drivers, fiddling with the USB controllers, but nothing really resolved the problem. When i plugged the Fuze into a computer running Vista, I’d get the same message, but I was able to restart the computer and the computer would recognize the Fuze and I could see my files. Recently, I bought a new computer with both USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports and Windows 8. I plugged in my Fuze and got the familiar, but disheartening message that the USB device wasn’t recognized. So I opened the Device Manager , selected “Update Driver” and started experimenting.
In the list of Devices, I selected “Other Devices” and selected the “other device” with the exclamation point next to it.
Next, I selected Update Driver Software. I chose “Browse my computer for driver sofware.” Next, I selected “Let me pick from a list of devices” and chose “Portable Devices.” In that list on the left were some familiar choices, such as Standard MTP device. At the bottom of the list on the left, I selected Microsoft. In the window on the right , after selecting Microsoft were two choices, I selected the one called “WPD Composite…” When I did, up poppped a warning that this option might not be compatible. Feeling lucky, I decided to install it anyway. And what to my wondering eyes should appear but my Sansa Fuze in all it’s glory. After the Fuze gets its new driver, it ends up defaulting to “MTP USB device.”
The down side of this workaround is that you will have to repeat the procedure of installing the driver every time you plug in your Fuze. It’s messy, but it works.
