useless MP3/MP4 player - cant find drivers

Sniipe

I got this mp3/mp4 player from Ebay. Ideally to use while out cycling. I already have a creative zen, but its too bulky while out on the bike.

Anyway, this mp3 player is not being recognised by my machine at all.

http://www.surpassinfinity.com/sdp/417156/4/pd-2297306/1998818-1151455.html

^^ thats what it looks like exactly... unfortunately I don't know where to look for drivers for it. Any help would be really appreciated. There is no name on the bloody thing so I can't give much info on it.

hopeful

All the manufacturers links state it needs no drivers.

If you are using XP it shouldn't need drivers at all...XP should just see it as a removable drive.
Does the device work at all? I mean if you turn it in does the screen show anything?
Try a different USB port...preferably one directly attached to your mainboard rather than any external ports.

Sniipe

hey hopeful, thanks for the input. Yeah the thing works fine on its own, and I've uptodate drivers on my computers. I've tried the USB ports on the motherboard. Thing is that its not being recognised. Its powering it ok, but I can't access it as a portable device as it says usb device unknown.

What does happen is when i plug it in, it starts to link with the PC, but then the device restarts, then tries to link again and it does this forever... I don't know what I can/should do next...

fifib

knew i shud av looked here first! i just got one on ebay myself.
is it really that bad?

hopeful

I've no idea where to go from here. Is your copy of XP fully up to date with updates/patches etc?

Can you try it on another PC to see if it works?

If none of this works I'd try to contact the seller for advice and possible return.

Skatedude

i'm afraid you may be screwed, the player you have is almostly certainly one of the hacked memory players, myself and friends at work bought about 2 dozen of them between us, all were hacked units which did not actually have the memory capacity stated,(ps, they pretty much are are hacked as the return address is the same reguardless of who you buy them from)
And a number of them packed up with the same problem you have, at first they worked, then stopped powering up properly with the hourglass staying on the screen, and or they start asking for drivers when they shouldnt need them,
In that case you can try a dead unit recovery, which involves reflashing the firmware,theres a guide to do so here.
http://www.s1mp3.org/en/

The hard bit is getting the right firmware, as the player shows up as an s1 mp3 player by wilson ind, but its not, its a bit of trial and error finding the right firmware.
If you do get it sorted, be sure to re-partion the memory as the correct amount which can be done with the mp3 disk tools which came with the player, the players are much more reliable once they are formated with the correct capacity. the site has a lot of info to help, its not too difficult, just takes a bit of practice

Sniipe

^^ Skatedude, I'm glad you gave your input; I'm convinced that I have the same problem as you. I remember after I bought it that it worked for a while, then I went to ebay and said thanks to the seller and gave him A++ seller... but then a few days later it packed up.
I assume instead of a 4gb, I prob have a 2gb... I will try out that site tonight.

Skatedude

easy check if its still working, most come with an mp3 disk tool on the cd,run that and look at the partion tab, it will tell you there what the maximun capacity is, its recommended that you use it to re-partion the drive,probably only 1 or 2 gigs, then format it, if the mp3 disk tool wont format it after you have partioned it, windows can.
They tend to be much more reliable once th drive is formated to its correct size

Sniipe

I tried ^^ that but its not recognising that its plugged in.

Skatedude

you will have re-flash the firmware, and its not always going to work,
This guide is a bit easier to follow then the other one, but again, finding the right firmware is often the problem,
http://www.mympxplayer.org/dead-player-recovery-guide-vt567.html

Good luck with your paper weight

subway

be warey of that mp3 player...

the screen is GLASS, rather than plastic.
i had one shatter in my pocket.
be very careful and do not give to a child under any circumstances.
there was a big thread in "bargain alerts" about 8-10 months ago

TerrorFirmer

I don't understand how people still buy these pathetic players. I wouldn't buy one again even if it was 5 euro. I've used a few, they all use the same software, buggy as well, and all inevitably broke after minor use.