20 Most Recent Rio Carbon MP3 Player - Page 7 Questions & Answers

U will have broken your hard drive...

try replacing it with CF card

Everybody says that this does not work but it definitely does!

My Rio got dropped and I completely buggered the hard drive so after reading many forums saying that it didn't work I read one that said that someone had told them that sandisk ultra II ones worked (very vague!)

Because I had nothing to lose I went out and bought a 1GB sandisk Ultra II CF card. I then took apart my rio and replaced the hard drive with the CF card. Still not thinking it was going to work I plugged it into my computer and installed the latest firmware (from the rio website) and then HEY PRESTO!!!!!! it works.

I have yet to try an 8GB ultra II card but when I do i will keep you posted.

If you don't believe me then I don't blame you but If you send me a request then I can send you pictures and more details...

Rio will live on

Hope this helps

Mowcius

I presume you are using windows...

Go into start,
Then My Computer,
Your Rio carbon should show up as a removable device, double click on it,
Then you should have 2 or more folders: Music and recordings,
double click on music and all of your music will be in there,
you can then just copy and paste it to your documents or other folders as a backup.

Hope this helps

Mowcius

If you pry a small screwdriver round the side you will see 2 clips inside attached onto a black bit (the hard drive holder) there are also 2 smaller ones near the top and 2 at the bottom but you will only have to unclip a few before the back comes off. To unclip them simply put your screwdriver below and lever off your rio and they should pop up... I have taken the back off many times and fixed my volume control and hard drive... Fixing the volume control is quite easy. Once you take the back off you will be able to see where it locates on, then you can just stick it back on with a bit of super glue etc.

Hope this helps

Mowcius

Hi Allyson,
This is a problem which I have encountered alot with my Rio Carbon.
A solution which always works for me is to hold the player face down in my left hand and then slap the back of it with my right palm a little harder than I would if I was winding a baby.
Best wishes, I hope this works for you as it does for me.

Make sure it's charge up, then use a paperclip to 'reboot' it.
Do not stick it in the front 'pinhole' because that is the mic.
The hole you want is on the top of the unit, to the right of center.
My Carbon has locked up a couple times while playing, and that clears it up.

~fz

fz,

Battery
I have had my Rio since they first came out and have had no problems. It gets daily use and has seen many drops and lots of travel. I got 23 hours when new, now more like 15+.

I have not found a replacement battery yet but will post when I do.I found the company but not a distribution source.

Hard Drive Upgrade

If you are going to replace your hard drive because of the issues you mentioned, you might be interested in what I just did:

I just (today) upgraded my drive because the 5GB was not enough. I love the Rio simple interface and wanted more space so I took a chance and bought an 8GB Seagate drive. I just finished installing it and it works great.

Upgrade procedure:

0. Buy the drive

I Used Seagate ST1.2 Model: ST68022CF

I got the certified repaired drive for about $35 at digitalet.com. I figure if it dies, I have music backed up anyway and it was cheap.I didn't want to spend much on a test. I will now look for larger capacity drives to see if they work as well since I like the Rio form factor so much.

I purchased the drive here:
http://www.digitalet.com
Digitalet Item #42399184
8GB Seagate ST1 Compact Flash CompactFlash CF II Card
Price: $33.95
Inventory SKU: DMC-ST68022CF-R

1. Offload music

... from existing 5GB Drive. I simply used Windows Explorer and dragged the entire Music directory on the Rio to my laptop HDD. This preserved the music in folders which I like.

2. Open the case

I found instructions somewhere on web but cannot remember where. At the end of the day, it is an exercise in patience and feel. There are 4 clips that hold the back cover to the unit. Use 2 small flat ***** drivers or a thin metal blade.


3. Remove existing drive

Remove the drive from leaving the cable that goes from the board to the drive attached tothe board (you can remove it but I wouldn't). The end of the cable has traditional pins that mate to a CF card so be careful not to damage them as you remove the cable.

4. Install new drive

Being careful not to damage the pins.




5. Turn on the power and Flash the firmware

You will see the message UPGRADER on the display .Go to the Rio support site and download the firmware. Follow the instruction on the site to upgrade the firmware. http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/support/rio/

6. Reload Music
Once upgraded, the drive is formatted by the Rio and you are ready to reload your music files. There is about 7.6GB free space after the upgrade. I used the Rio Music Manager to reload the music onto my player.

-end-

I have bad news - I was completely unsuccessful in dragging tracks from the rio to my computer. You can load songs, but you can't "unload" them with the Rio Carbon.

Just in case your computer has capabilities that mine does not, try this:
Double-click "My Computer" on your PC desktop
Double click the Rio Carbon icon
Double click the "Music" folder
Try dragging a single music file from the "Music" folder window to your PC desktop - it will either work, or it will say that it cannot copy the file to the specified location.

Good luck!

The writing message may appear for a good forty minutes after completing the firmware upgrade - make sure your player is fully charged and just let it sit for an hour on that writing status - it will stop eventually.

Here is where to get the software for your Rio:
http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/support/rio/

Rio went out of the Mp3 business before vista came around, so you may need to get in touch with Microsoft to find out if Rio can be made compat with Vista.

Wrong product section - go to dodge section for better results.

But you may want to start here:
http://www.dodge.com/en/owners/manuals/index.html

Go to this part of the Rio website, and get the Plays for sure firmware update - even if you don't transfer any WMA files, this will help you get around the Windows Media Player 11 compatibility issue:
http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/support/rio/product.asp?prodID=234
(WARNING: make sure the player is fully charged before doing this, or your player will be permanently lost)

Use the reset button locate on the top

you are suffering from the Digital licensing information encryption from the majors, which ITunes will NOT agree to. That's how the music industry is making it's muscle show, with this sort of tawdry nonsense. I don't believe there's a s/w upgrade on this, unfortunately. There is a slight possibility that your software might have an interpreter, yet your Rio being that old, not for certain.


got backup?

look for a tiny pinhole and insert a pin while powered up to reset the device

No - iTunes files are AAC format, which Rio will not accept. Sorry.

-Tha Mp3 Doctor

Did it shatter? Does it power on? If it powers on,then just perform a reset by inserting a small #1 paperclip into the reset hole either on the front or the top of the device -hold it in for 20-30 seconds, release and wait. The Rio should pwoer back on.

If it shattered, then we are in trouble. Rio no longer manufactures mp3 players. The Geek Squad will charge more to repair it, then it would cost to get a new Mp3 player.

-Tha Mp3 Doctor

Welcome to the world of Microsoft Windows Updates - late 2007-early 2008. Ever since the mid-Novemebr Windows Updates, there have a been a rash of problems with players that worked just fine previously. The protocol before was that every mp3 player was an MSD or Mass-Storage Device. Now the protocol is that most players have to be a MTP or media transfer protocol device.

Try resetting the device by inserting a small #1 paperclip into the reset hole. Hold it in for a good 15 to 20 seconds - the player will shut off and then power up again.

When you say that the firmware upgrade failed, did it fail to upgrade the firmware, or did the firmware upgrade fail to resolve the freezing issue? I know for a fact that the firmware upgrade is good on the website.

As far as the computer not recognizing the device, I have often found that restarting the computer rather than the player will resolve the issue. In fact, I had more trouble with my Rio back in 2005 than I do now. In those early days, I was always restarting my computer over and over to get it to read.

Let me know if you have continued problems.

-Tha Mp3 Doctor

http://forums-riovolution.com/index.php?showtopic=12674

It sounds like there is a problem with the device firmware..update the device firmware and that should solve the problem you are having...

Upgrade the device firmware and that should solve the problem you are having..