Sansa Fuze acting strangely

This little MP3 player of my daughter’s (Sansa Fuze 4 gb) is rather goofy right now. She had two identical folders of everything (albums, music, video, etc.) and it seemed like she had two copies of every single song in there. we just attempted to delete everything on there to start over. I deleted the duplicate folders leaving one intact and then deleted all the music in there via her computer (which also has issues that cannot be solved evidently as I have several threads on bleepingcomputer.com for it even in the malware removal forum. alas, no malware was found. and the general consensus is that the hard disk is corrupted…) but get this: everything is still on the player??? I unhooked it from the USB to see if it would refresh. um, nope! also, when I delete stuff off of my player this way(an older Sansa), the stuff gets deleted. I even deleted the duplicate folders but guess what? they returned!!! So, I looked up the instructions online to see if there is a way to delete albums right from the player and I cannot figure it out. It seems the only way is to go one song at a time.  Also, when she deletes one song, she is not able to delete the other copy of that song. Unhappiness-making!  I tried a soft and hard reset, nothing seems to work. so, hoping someone here can help me out.  Thanks in advance for any help.

It’s  possible you have songs on both internal memory and external card (Go down through Music to Folders to see).

It’s possible the songs were sent over twice in two different modes, MSC and MTP. Go to Settings/Systems Settings/USB mode, try each one and look. Your computer can only see one mode at a time, while the Fuze doesn’t care how they got there. 

You could  also reinstall the firmware, which won’t affect the content, from the thread near the top of the forum page. Use the manual method. The updater is unnecessary because there are no more updates.

what’s the difference between the two modes? and which one should we choose?

well, I did look at both and both have the duplicate albums. hmmmm…

edited: I did look in the folders and sure enough, the new one that I created is there (on the player itself) but it shows nothing on the PC when I hook up the player.

so, was going to try the firmware update but I’m not seeing my version which is: V02.03.31A

should I use 02.03.33 instructions?  please advise when you can.

thanks!

oh hey, why not write it all out here then.  just noticed something else strange.  after I deleted everything (or not), we copied a few back and even those show as duplicates! 

one other question that I alluded to in my original post:  would the computer that I use to copy/delete stuff to/from the player matter?  I still need to solve the PC’s issue but wondering if that could have caused this. 

I’d format it, which will not only clear, but also optimize the memory. Then re-load everything. Once. :stuck_out_tongue:

ok but…I’m still not sure how those duplicates are getting there? which mode should it be in? is that the problem?

How are you addiing the files to the player? If you’re using WMP and MTP mode to ‘sync’ them over, this could be causing the dupes. Simplest and most trouble-free method is to set player to MSC mode and just drag & drop (or copy) from your computer to the player. Don’t ever use the Auto Defect mode.

You’re seeing the same files in both modes. That meants there are two copies on there. Your computer only sees one mode at a time.

If you .leave the Fuze on Auto-Detect mode it will (if working properly) go to MTP mode if it finds Windows Media Player 10 or above on your computer. It will go to MSC if it finds no WMP or WMP 9 or under

So if you’re using various computers with various versions of WMP, you may have transferred the same files in both modes.

Clear it off with the built-in Format command (erasing all user content). Set  it in MSC, which makes your computer think it is another plain old disc drive (two of them–one for the Fuze, one for the memory card). Copy your albums on in MSC mode. Done.

okay, I did the format thing and everything is now gone!  finally!!  I also noticed there is no “albums” folder any longer.  Shouldn’t that have come back after reformatting? do I recreate it? I also don’t see “internal memory” when looking from Windows explorer. 

I am struggling with how to drag and drop from Windows Media Player.  It used to be that a window opened when I plug the player into the PC that said something about opening it up (say in windows explorer) in order to copy stuff but I cannot get that message window to open.  I tried rebooting and another PC… So, I opened Windows explorer but  I am not able to click and drag anything from WMP :frowning:  I can click and start to drag but I get that circle with the diagonal line through it.  Is this because the “internal memory” isn’t showing? 

please help when you’re able.  thanks much for the help so far!!

@tobyo wrote:

 

I also noticed there is no “albums” folder any longer.  Shouldn’t that have come back after reformatting? do I recreate it? 

 

No. There should be a Music folder. This is where you would put your files; hopefully under the folder/file hierarchy of Artists (folder), Albums (folder), & Tracks (files). This is the most logical way of organization and how it’s done on your computer.

@tobyo wrote:

 

I also don’t see “internal memory” when looking from Windows explorer. 

 

You won’t if it’s in MSC mode. In Windows Explorer you’ll see 2 new drives, each with their own letter (like F: & G: ). The 1st one will be the player’s internal memory; the 2nd is the card slot. This shows whether you have a card inserted or not.

Only in MTP mode do you see the player’s icon and ‘internal memory’.

@tobyo wrote:

 

I am struggling with how to drag and drop from Windows Media Player.

 

Don’t attempt to drag & drop from WMP. That is used if you want to ‘sync’ the music over. Use Windows Explorer.

@tobyo wrote:

 

So, I opened Windows explorer but  I am not able to click and drag anything from WMP :frowning:  I can click and start to drag but I get that circle with the diagonal line through it.  Is this because the “internal memory” isn’t showing? 

 

As I said, you cannot drag & drop anything from WMP. Only use this if you’re a mindless ■■■■■ and want to turn complete control over to it so it can ‘sync’ your files. It thinks it knows what you want to do, but it causes more problems than it solves, unless you really know how it works and can manipulate it through its idiosyncrasies.

thank you!!!  really appreciate it!