Creative MP3 Player Is Not Detected (Recognized)
Creative MP3 Player Is Not Detected (Recognized)
Keywords / Key Phrases: mp3 player not detected, win xp, vista
Summary: |
- This is a step by step guide in troubleshooting MP3 players not
being detected in Windows XP (SP2) or Vista.
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Windows XP will automatically install the necessary device drivers for a player when it detects such a device has been connected to the PC. For non-MTP players, a generic driver from windows will be installed for it to be detected by the computer.
For your reference, the following players support MTP/PlaysForSure either out of the box or through the available firmware upgrade:
ZEN (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 GB), ZEN Vision W, ZEN Vision:M, ZEN Vision, ZEN V Plus, ZEN V, ZEN Sleek Photo, ZEN MicroPhoto, ZEN PMC, ZEN Micro, ZEN Sleek, ZEN Touch and ZEN Xtra.
For a ZEN Micro, ZEN Sleek, ZEN Touch and ZEN Xtra, the firmware version will show 2.XX.XX if the player has been upgraded into its MTP/PlaysForSure firmware. To check your player's firmware version number:
- Turn on your player.
- From the main menu, select System and Information.
For ZEN Xtra, select Settings and About. The firmware version number is indicated under "Version".
In some cases, an MTP player may display an error message in Windows Device
Manager; in other cases, Windows Media Player or other PlaysForSure applications
may fail to detect an MTP player even if the player is reported "working
properly" in Device Manager.
Note: |
| Before starting the step by step guide, make sure your PC meets a
minimum system requirement of Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher. Please do also try the steps in this article
before starting on the guide. |
If you are not using Windows XP or higher, please refer to the Knowledge Base article SID 8113, Installing MTP (PlaysForSure) MP3 Players under Windows 2000, Windows ME, or Windows 98SE.
Do try the steps in the decision tree by clicking on the icon below. If it is unable to resolve the issue, do come back to this article to verify the rest of the steps:
If the decision tree above does not help, do perform the following checks:
If your MP3 player works fine by itself but your PC does not detect it, check the physical connections between the player and your PC
- Check all cable connections to ensure that the USB cable is firmly connected to both USB ports on your PC and the player itself.
- Try a different USB cable, or switch to a cable that is known to function properly.
- Try a different USB port, or switch to port that is known to function properly.
- Temporarily disconnect other USB devices such as cameras, scanners, or printers, etc.
Some software applications and services require Windows XP or later. These applications and services include Windows Media Player 10, online music subscription services, Creative MediaSource and Creative Media Explorer shipped with MTP (Media Transfer Protocol ) enabled players (ZEN Vision:M, ZEN Vision, ZEN Sleek Photo, ZEN Sleek, ZEN MicroPhoto, ZEN Micro, ZEN Touch and ZEN Xtra).
If you are using Windows 98SE, 2000, or ME, you will need to install Windows Media Player 9 from the Easy Start CD included with your MP3 player. If you cannot locate the Easy Start CD, please contact our Customer Support to request one. You can also download the necessary drivers from our support site, the file name is P4S_PCDRV_US_1_01_00.exe.
Note: The Easy Start CD referenced is currently available in North America only. In some regions, MTP devices are still only supported under Windows XP or later.
If you have a flash memory based player such as ZEN Nano Plus, ZEN Nano, or any MuVo players, you will also need to install the device drivers under Windows ME, and Windows 98SE, otherwise, the players will not be detected.
For more information about MTP, PlaysForSure, subscription services, please refer to Knowledge Base article SID 6773.
Typically, Windows XP will automatically install the necessary device drivers for an MTP player when it detects such a player has been connected to the PC.
However, in some cases, an MTP player may display an error message in Windows Device Manager; in other cases, Windows Media Player or other PlaysForSure applications may fail to detect an MTP player even if the player is reported "working properly" in Device Manager.
To resolve this difficulty, follow the procedures below.
- Make sure that the latest Windows XP Service Pack is installed in your PC.
To verify the Service Pack version, right click on My Computer in the desktop, and select
Properties. Click on the General tab, and verify the Service Pack version.
For more information about Windows Service Pack and where to download it, please refer to
Microsoft Knowledge Base KB322389.
- Verify the device status in Device Manager. Click on Start, Control Panel, System, Hardware, and then Device Manager.
- Click Start, Control Panel, System, Hardware, and then Device Manager
- The MTP player should be listed under Windows Portable Devices.
If there is an error or a yellow exclamation mark next to the device, right click the player listing and select Update driver.
Alternatively, you can uninstall the device, and reinstall it. Highlight the MTP device listing, and press the Delete key on your keyboard, which will uninstall the MTP device; click
Actions, and then click Scan for new devices. Windows will install the necessary drivers.
If the player is missing from the Device Manager, it may be listed under Other or Unknown Devices.
If the player is properly detected and reportedly "working properly" in Device Manager (no exclamation marks), yet Windows Media Player, Creative Media Explorer, or other PlaysForSure compatible applications fail to detect it, you will need to modify a registry entry.
If an MTP player is reported working properly in Device Manager, but it is not detected or listed in Windows Media Player or Creative Media Explorer, it will be necessary to modify a permission setting in the system registry.
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Important: It is strongly recommended that you print out these instructions, and back up your system registry before making any changes.
Making any changes to the system registry other than the specific ones listed can cause system instability and may require the OS to be reinstalled to fix.
Please note that changing registry permission rights has inherent risks, especially if it is not done properly.
For a detailed procedure on how to back up, and restore the system registry or a subkey of the registry, please refer to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;322756.
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- Log on to Windows as an administrator, or as a user with administrator rights before making any changes to your system.
- Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then Backup.
The Backup utility is not installed with Windows XP Home edition. For information about how to install the Backup utility for Windows XP Home Edition, please refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302894/EN-US/) HOW TO: Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition
- Click the Advanced Mode button in the Backup Utility Wizard.
- Click the Backup tab, and select the check boxes for any drive, folder, or file that you want to back up, select the System State check box.
This will back up the System State data along with any other data you have selected for the current backup.
- Click Start and then Run. Type regedit and then click Ok to open the Registry Editor.
- Click on the plus sign (+) next to My Computer to expand it. Continue to expand the following entries: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ENUM
- Locate and click the USB category. In the menu bar, click Edit, and then Permissions.
- Select "Everyone" under the "Group or user names" section.
- In the "Permissions for Everyone" section, check the "
Allow" box for "Full Control" and "
Read".
Note:
If you can not change the permissions for Everyone, click Advanced, highlight Everyone, uncheck the boxes next to "Inherit from parent the permission.. ", and "Replace permission entries.."
If the Everyone entry is missing from the "Group or user names", click Add and type "Everyone" into the "Enter the object names to select" dialog and click on the "OK" button. In the "Permissions for Everyone" section, check the "Allow" box for "Full Control" and "Read" (see above). (see above).
- Click on the OK button.
Creative MP3 players do not require a driver to be installed in a Windows XP system, so you can try the player easily in a different PC.
If the firmware update reportedly could not detect or recognize your player connected to your PC after you have installed the latest Windows update and Windows media update, and tried a different USB cable and USB port, it is recommended that you try the player in a different PC to rule out any hardware or software conflicts between your PC and the MP3 player.
If the player displays any errors, it can prevent it from being recognized by a PC. To resolve any errors, you can reset it, and run Clean Up or Format by accessing the player's Recovery Mode.
For specific instructions on how to access the Recovery Mode of an MP3 player, please refer to Knowledge Base article SID 4794.
Last Updated: March 23, 2009
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