Creative zen troubleshooting

http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=700611

The above thread contains a successful use of Creative with Windows 7, keep reading down the page. Other suggestions have been to try Vista drivers rather than XP. And there was the inevitable suggestion to use Windows XP mode on Windows 7 (but not all versions of W7 have XP mode.)

http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=948&subCatID=958&prodID=16424&prodName=ZEN%20Stone&subCatName=MP3%20Players&CatName=Entertainment+Devices+%2f+MP3+Players&VARSET=prodfaq:PRODFAQ_16424,VARSET=CategoryID:948
Copy and paste the above link into your browser's address bar and scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. On the right hand side is a button that will allow you to automatically update the software for your Zen Stone. If that does not resolve your issue, the last link on that very same page, Starter Pack 1.51.03, his starter pack is updated with the latest software and User's Guide for your Creative ZEN® Stone player and Creative ZEN Stone player (with built-in Speaker). It enables you to drag audio files to and from your player using Creative Media Lite. For more details, read the rest of this Web release note. The starter pack can also be found at www.creative.com/zenstone, and it includes the following:

• Creative Media Lite (1.51.03)
  Rips CDs, transfers media files and controls your player's volume restriction level.
• User's Guide
  Provides information on using your player.

Added Features or Enhancements:

• Enables you to drag audio files to and from your player using Creative Media Lite.
• Adds an audio playback feature in the Creative Media Lite window.
• Enables the conversion of unreadable tag properties of audio files in Creative Media Lite.

Requirements:

• Microsoft® Windows Vista®, Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later
• USB port
• Creative ZEN Stone or Creative ZEN Stone (with built-in Speaker)

Note:

• To install this starter pack
  1. Download the ZENStone_PCApp_CLI_L4_1_51_03.exe file into your local hard disk.
  2. Close all application windows that are currently running.

Double-click the downloaded file and follow the instructions on the screen. That should resolve any issues you have by not have the original Start up Disk!

Copy that huge address and it will bring you right to the download page


http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=213&CatName=MP3+Players&subCatID=214&subCatName=ZEN&prodID=15306&prodName=ZEN+V+Plus&bTopTwenty=1&VARSET=prodfaq:PRODFAQ_15306,VARSET=CategoryID:213

Had the same problem and nearly went nuts trying to fix it. Here's what I did:

1. Uninstall all creative driver & creative software.
2. Uninstalled Windows Media Player 11 (Rolled back to WMP 10) and restarted PC.
3. Uninstalled Windows Media Player 11 Runtime and restarted PC.
4. Downloaded and Installed the latest free version of Winamp from http://www.winamp.com
5. Connected my A/C Power Cord to my Nomad Jukebox then connected my Nomad Jukebox via USB cable to the Computer.

The computer should then recognize the Nomad Jukebox as "Found New Hardware" then "MTP Device" and lastly "Your new hardware is installed and ready to use.

6. If you haven't already, go to the creative website and download the Creative Zen Xtra PlaysForSure Firmware 2.10.03 and save it to your computer.
7. Run the Firmware (Make sure Nomad Jukebox is connected) and at this point the Computer should recognize the Nomad Jukebox and begin the upgrade.

After your upgrade is complete, You can go ahead and re-download Windows Media Player 11 and it will recognize the Nomad Jukebox.Not sure what version of windows you have, but I have two computers, one with windows xp and the other has windows 7 and Im able to transfer music perfectly fine with Windows Media Player and RealPlayer on both computers. I hope this works for you. Good Luck!

Your was Creative brought with its own software, wasn't it? Well, this software isn't compatible with Mac. However, you can use a free app so you can still use your creative. http://www.wentnet.com/projects/xnjb/

It should use the same software to transfer music, but you may need to update the software to handle the new players firmware. If you are trying to use the old software from the old Zen, it may have some issues with the new player. The software for the newer Zen players is a bit different than older versions.
Does it give you problems ripping CDs or is it not transferring the tracks?
You may want to use Windows Media Player or another software to rip the CDs into mp3 format (I recommend that over other formats because WMA and mp4 are really hardcore with licensing and copying files to other computers.) and then transfer them using the Creative software or another media manager like WMP or Notmad Explorer or one of the many others out there.

If you have any other questions, let me know. I have worked with Creative players a lot over the years.

Cheers

Try the recovery tool from here (this is relevant to your recovery mode question also), but not all mp3 players will work with Windows Media Player 11 - causes a DB corruption - roll back to Windows Media Player 10 if this is the case:

http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=213&CatName=MP3+Players&subCatID=213&subCatName=ZEN&prodID=14107&prodName=ZEN+MicroPhoto

OK to everyone who messed up the firmware of Zen Micro and run vista, u r all idiots, including me. my zen was stuck in recovery mode and recovery menu as everyone experienced and tried to upgrade the firmware via the firmware updater that didnt work, right? ok through research and time i came to realize that what was causing the updater to fail (...please connect your media player...) is windows media player 11 (ELEVEN !!) zen update firmware will work only with windows media player 10 (TEN !!) installed. y? i dont know and i dont care anymore now that my micro is fixed up and running with the latest released firmware.
method 1:
u can find smne with xp and wmp10 (rare) install drivers and run the updater or
method 2:
u can DIY and since it is impossible to uninstall wmp11 i did the unthinkable, no no not format and install xp to use wmp10 no no.

instead i used a program called VIRTUAL MACHINE WORKSTATION 6.5 (for links keep confidential suppling ur email to me) this program will allow u to install and run several operating systems at a time regardless of your current hardware, it will run as an application in vista O/S. so i installed xp pro (on vmware 6.5) that i had handy somewhere, and then the drivers from the creative disc. then i run the firmware updater and yes it recognises my zen for the first time and loads a brand new firmware. easy as that, zen reboots and main menu appears, what a joy.

so all i used was:
vmware 6.5
xp pro (wmp10)
creative disc
firmware updater by creative

installing operating systems on vmware is very easy and doesnt require restarts etc.. u can switch through vista and xp like a window application just like that.

hope this helps, zen micro is by far the ultimate mp3 player for its sound breathtaking performance and loudness, totally worth the trouble. this is 100% fixable

I got my Creative Zen Sleek Photo from a friend and everything I did wouldn't let Windows recognize it, but then I got it to work almost magically.

1. Make sure you have the proper drivers installed for it that come with the CD. If you don't have the CD, you can download the ISO here.
http://wp.randyr.net/windows-xp/creative-zen-sleek-photo.html

2. Reboot. When it comes back up, plug the cable into your computer, then into your Sleek. The software should sync up. For some reason, my Zen wasn't being recognized from the usb port on my computer tower, but I plugged it into my monitor's USB port and then it worked. Try that, if none of that works, then it may be a problem with your computer not knowing which driver to assign to your Zen, and if so, try the steps below.

----

1. Plug your Sleek to your computer.
2. Open up Windows' Device manager (right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties". Go to the "Hardware" tab, then click "Device Manager").
3. Locate the entry for "Creative Zen Sleek" in your device list. It should appear either under "Sound, video, and game controllers" or under "USB Devices". Once you locate the entry, uninstall it.
4. Unplug your Sleek and wait a few seconds.
5. Plug your Sleek back in and allow the "new Hardware Wizard" to identify and install the drivers for it.

press play/pause, press reset button and slide power button
will bring u to recovery mode

then u reload firmware and it will erase the firmware and will connect it again to windows. then u download and install a new firrware fromc reative site and voilla.

cheers