Why doesn't my computer recognize my MP3 player, and other travails.
June 17, 2008 4:03 PM   Subscribe

Help me smooth out the glitches with my Samsung YP-T9 MP3 player.

I have a Samsung YP-T9, which I love. However I seem to have some technical difficulties and I'm not sure how to resolve them. I'm not sure if they're related in any way. I've tried googling for info and have combed the Samsung site and haven't found anything helpful, so any and all help from the MeFites will be appreciated.

Problem 1: When the device is hooked up to my computers (via a cable from the USB port on my PC), it is...somewhat but not completely recognized.

On my desktop PC, which is too outdated to run/load/use/whatever the driver for the MP3 player, the computer knows the player is there and looks for a driver til I tell it to knock off the search. The MP3 player charges through the USB connection, so sometimes I just stick it on this computer to recharge.

On my laptop, which *is* current enough to run the driver and which has the Samsung Music Player software--so this is the machine I use to load new music, etc, on the player--the MP3 player seems to be recognized not as a portable device, but as an auxiliary piece of hardware. By which I mean: it shows up in the "My computer" file, but it doesn't show up as something I can disconnect/dismiss through the little green disconnect arrow on the bottom toolbar. As a result, I just always just disconnect when I need to take the MP3 player off, and it always has a little panicked "USB disconnected!" icon for a sec. I think this ain't the way it wants to be, but I don't know how to resolve it.

Problem 2: when the MP3 player is connected to the laptop, the Samsung Media Studio program recognizes it, but not completely. As in, I can transfer music to the MP3 player, I can see what files are on it, etc, but not all of the options for portable media players are live on the Media Studio menu when my MP3 player is plugged in. For instance, there are menu options for updating firmware and for removing the portable media player safely--neither of these is lit up when my MP3 player is plugged in. The latter makes me wonder if this problem is related to problem 1.

Problem 3: Sometimes, but not always, my MP3 player won't turn off. As in, I turn it off, but it will immediately restart itself. If left undisturbed, it will turn itself off from lack of activity...then restart immediately again. Rebooting by pressing the A/B and menu keys simultaneously doesn't stop this cycle. If left unchecked it'll go on til the battery runs out. I believe this is also related to something about how it's abruptly removed from the USB port, because the only thing that will stop it is by attaching/removing the MP3 player from the computer again.

I've tried troubleshooting along the lines of turning things on and off and restarting my laptop, but not more than that, because I don't know which direction to go. Reinstall the device driver on my laptop? Reformat the MP3 player? Reinstall the Media Studio software? Update the firmware (if I can figure out how, getting around the Media Studio software somehow?)

Thanks for any and all suggestions. In its intended use, it's a kickass little MP3 player...I just wish things were smoother when I interface it with the rest of the computer universe.
posted by Sublimity to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)
 
I had issues with that mp3 player not recognising properly.
You need the latest version of windows media player, and their software installed.
posted by PowerCat at 5:24 PM on June 17, 2008


You might want to try downloading the korean firmware from the samsung yepp site (video). This makes the device recognized as a flash drive instead of forcing you to use the samsung media program. It also apparently includes flash games.

If this is too much for you, I would suggest just updating the firmware via samsung media studio and seeing if that helps. All samsung devices have "factory resets" on the mp3 itself somewhere in the settings menu so that is another option if these problems are new (note: this will delete all your songs).

I went the korean firmware route with my t10 and am super happy with it now...
posted by shownomercy at 6:28 AM on June 18, 2008


Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions. It's nice (?) to know these bugs aren't mine alone.

I'll definitely check out the firmware options and see how it goes. I noticed the guy on the video did an "unsafe removal" or whatever, too, right in the middle of it there. Guess I'm not alone in that, either!
posted by Sublimity at 3:02 PM on June 18, 2008


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