Frequently Asked Questions
11
What measures should be taken if the mp3 player is not being recognized by the
computer?
1. Try running Windows Update to see if there are any Service Packs they have available. This
can be done by clicking on the start menu. Open the Control Panel. Then, open Windows
Update. Also, try simply entering in the URL:
www.windowsupdate.com
2. Scan for hardware changes. To do so, open Device Manager. This can be found by right-
clicking on My Computer. Choose Properties from the menu that appears. In this System
Properties menu, click on the Hardware tab. From this Hardware tab, click on Device
Manager. Within Device Manager, there should be a listing for Portable Devices. If there
isn’t a listing for Portable Devices or the listing it shows is highlighted with a question mark,
right-click on Universal Serial Bus Controllers and select Scan for hardware changes.
3. If no devices connected to a USB port can be recognized, try connecting the mp3 player to
a different USB port. If all the USB ports are unable to recognize the device, try shutting
down your computer and removing the power cord from your tower. If you have a laptop,
disengage the laptop’s battery. Let the computer sit for thirty minutes to an hour before
reconnecting the power. The voltage level that your USB ports receive can sometimes be less
than the threshold voltage required to activate and communicate with your mp3 player. This
process should return the power levels back to their original default setting.
What is the difference between MTP and USB transfer modes?
• The USB mode uses a file transfer class called the MSC (Mass Storage Class). This was
developed as a way for files to be transferred onto an external drive such as a flash drive
or an external hard drive. In this mode, your mp3 player will look and function like an
external hard drive in that it will appear in My Computer as a separate drive. This transfer
class is not very specific to the transfer of media files so the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
was introduced. The difference with media files (music files) is that they demand more
management.
• Downloading services can require special licensing and a limit on the number of playbacks a
music file can have. The acquisition, restoration, updating, and backing up of these licenses
as well as compatibility issues with file type and compression ratio within these digital music
players demanded a more user-friendly and functional approach to file transfers.
• You will need to have Windows Media Player 10 available on your computer to utilize
MTP. Those who have Windows Media Player 9 on their Windows 98 SE and Windows
Millennium Edition operating system will need to install a driver update using our Download
Center and transfer music using the USB transfer er mode. N OTE: Users of Windows 98SE/
ME/2000 will only be able to transfer music using this USB mode, and are unable to transfer
DRM-protected music files.
• If possible, we recommend the use of MTP over the USB mode because it is designed
specifically for the transfer of music files than general data files. It also allows the transfer of
DRM-protected music.
