File / Folder browsing problem in Clip+

[stridr]

I just got an 8 GB Clip+ yesterday. One of the biggest reasons why I got a Clip+ is because it has a file/folder browsing mode, and I plan to use that a lot.

One problem that I've encountered is that in the file/folder browsing mode, there is a string of numbers (and sometimes letters) in front of most of the folder names.

So for example, a folder that is named "Beatles" will show up as "14030000_Beatles." (This does not happen to all the folders, but is an issue with most of them.)

This may not sound like a big deal, but the folders show up in alphabetical order and so the numbers screw up the order of the folders. I can't just scroll over to the "B's" and find the Beatles Folder.

Second, the screen of the Clip+ is very small the number string basically pushes the "real" folder name of the screen. So to see the real folder name I have to highlight it and then wait for the name to automatically scroll to the right. This is a very slow and irritating process.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there anyway to get rid of these number strings? Or am I stuck with them?

[CrowdAds]

[defaultluser]

Are you running the device in MSC or MTP mode?

I run in MSC mode, and whatever I copy over is what I end-up seeing in folder mode (%100 match). It's possible that you're using MTP mode, and somehow it's mangling the folder names with random numbers because of naming conflicts, or corrupted metadata..

You can change the mode under Settings -> System Settings -> USB Mode. After you change to MTP, when you connect the player, it will show-up as a drive in Windows Explorer. Copy your music to the MUSIC folder.

FAIR WARNING: you should delete all the songs you copied over via MTP before you switch modes!

[stridr]

I just checked and it is MTB mode. What happens if I switch over without deleting all the files first?

[quintets_man]

Originally Posted by stridr

I just checked and it is MTB mode. What happens if I switch over without deleting all the files first?

You might have problems accessing or seeing them on the Clip+ for one. Just delete all your files and re-transfer them in MSC mode.

[stridr]

OK, I switched over to MSC mode, deleted the folders and recopied them.

It did not fix anything. I have the same problem as before. Any other suggestions?

[mattbatt]

what are you using to sync the folders. When the Player is in MSC mode It looks like an external drive. SO you can just drag and drop the folders into the music folder.
You should delete the files while you are in MTP mode because you created them that way and for some reason the player puts all of the folders in a subset MTP folder that is invisible unless you are in MTP mode.

[dgb52]

what if you create the folder on the clip and then just drag the songs over to it?

i have the clip+ and have no problems with any of the folders

[WalkGood]

Sounds like either corrupted data on the clip, which would require you to format and reload tunes. This deletes all the files on your clip, when you disconnect it rebuilds the db and typically fixes any corruptions, then just reload tunes. If that doesn't fix the issue, I would check the tags to see what’s written there, correct any bad ones and delete all v1 tags, as the sansa’s don’t like them. You can use an app like mp3tag to look at them, it’s free.

[mattbatt]

I don't think it is the tags since he is browsing using folder view instead of the "normal" way.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by mattbatt

what are you using to sync the folders. When the Player is in MSC mode It looks like an external drive. SO you can just drag and drop the folders into the music folder.
You should delete the files while you are in MTP mode because you created them that way and for some reason the player puts all of the folders in a subset MTP folder that is invisible unless you are in MTP mode.

What Mattbatt said... it would be more or less impossible that folder names get altered when dragged'n'dropped over in MSC mode. This is something only WMP/MTP and similarly terrible apps do while "syncing", but not something that can happen with normal file/folder transfer.

While you're at it, you might format the Clip+ with the Panasonic SD formatter app first, it makes transfer speeds a bit faster than a normal format.

[dave61430]

There seems to be a lot of confusion around the MSC and MTP modes of operation and the Sansa documentation does nothing to clarify the issue.
To my way of thinking, if you are using music services, particularly if this involves protected music, use MTP and forget about folder names, let either WMP or Rhapsordy manage your music.
Personally, I only use MSC mode and tag my music manually if need be. For the clip+ which has the folder option, MSC mode is the only one that makes sense if you want to use folder names.
What doesn't work at all well is to mix and match the two modes.
Sansa would do well to spend some time making the manual more compehensive.

[stridr]

To clarify, the problem is with Windows folders that were "dragged and dropped" in MSC mode using Windows Explorer (Windows XP OS).

I did NOT use Windows Media Player or any "sycning" software. (I don't WANT to use any of this--that's why I got a player that claimed to support drag and drop and file/folder browsing.)

All of the folders were transferred in MSC mode (and in fact I'm not even able to drag and drop using Windows Explorer in MTC mode.

The only reason why the player was in MSC mode was that after the first batch of folders had been transferred and I saw that there was a problem, I changed modes thinking it might help (this was before I knew anything about how the different modes worked).

I asked on the Sandisk forum and the only advice they gave me is to try reformatting and reloading. I am going to try that and I'll let you all know how it works out.

[stridr]

Following the advice given on the Sandisk forum, I just spend an hour reloading the player. I didn't want to just copy the folders back to my hard drive and then copy them back to eliminate any chance that any data that had gotten corrupted would be transferred back on.

Here's what I did:

1. Reformat the player using the command in the player's settings.
2. Reset to default factory settings.
3. Reformat again, just for good measure :-)
4. Reload everything from scratch.

Sadly, it did NOT work. Almost every folder has that annoying number in front of it.

I am beginning to think that either there is something wrong with my hardware, or there is a serious bug in the software.

I am open to all suggestions as to how to proceed, but I'm reluctantly reaching the conclusion that I will likely need to RMA it...

[Mikerman]

I've never faced the pre-numbering issue you've been facing. I know various people have seen it and discussed. You may want to telephone SanDisk about it--hopefully, they have a solution.

The one thing I have seen mentioned repeatedly is, this is an MTP mode issue (I avoid MTP mode like the plague, personally). After you reset your player to the factory defaults, did you switch the USB mode on the Clip to MSC, before you reloaded the files? Otherwise, I think that the default USB setting is Auto, in which case the Clip tries using MTP mode, if that mode is possible; if not, only then does it fall back to MSC mode.

[Dalmane98]

What software do you use to rip your Music and tag your files?

What software do you use to transfer your music? Try teracopy...Just click the link to download it. I use the Pro version as it can test the files/folders for errors

Please post a real example of what is happening...Like a couple of screen shots using Mp3tag of the extended properties window.

Hope something here helps...

[JK98]

"I didn't want to just copy the folders back to my hard drive and then copy them back "

That is your problem. Don't copy the music from the player back to the pc. Format the player using its menu, and then copy the original mp3 files(not ones that were on your player) to your player.

[Mikerman]

I think that's what he did. But I didn't see mention of setting the Clip back to MSC mode.

[dgb52]

maybe you should try it on another computer, to see if it does the same thing

[dgb52]

Originally Posted by stridr

To clarify, the problem is with Windows folders that were "dragged and dropped" in MSC mode using Windows Explorer (Windows XP OS).

I did NOT use Windows Media Player or any "sycning" software. (I don't WANT to use any of this--that's why I got a player that claimed to support drag and drop and file/folder browsing.)

All of the folders were transferred in MSC mode (and in fact I'm not even able to drag and drop using Windows Explorer in MTC mode.

I am able to drag and drop with my Clip+ in MTP mode

could this be some kind of file protection issue?

[FreeZ5]

First, I don't have a CLIP+, but I do have a FUZE. Here is the test that I performed

0. Starting with Fuze in MSC Mode connected to an XP laptop
1. drag & drop folder called TEST containing two songs to Fuze MUSIC directory
2. disconnect Fuze - find & play both songs in TEST successfully
3. change to MTP mode
4. find & play both songs in TEST successfully
5. plug Fuze in MTP mode into PC
6. cannot find TEST folder from PC
7. drag & drop folder called TEST2 containing two songs to Fuze MUSIC directory
8. disconnect Fuze - find and play MTP\MUSIC\TEST2 directory
9. find and play MUSIC\TEST directory successfully

It would be interesting to see the results of the same test on a CLIP+. Obviously the CLIP+ and FUZE are different beasts, so maybe there is a difference in how folders are created.

Steve