NWZ-A816 and win explorer

rangor gubbins · 7 Jul 2008 at 21:26

my a816 arrived today.
I plugged into my comp via the usb cable and i can transfer files onto it via winamp. in the device manager it comes up as a 'portable device'. but for some reason it won't come up in win explorer. I was under the impression i could add and remove files via win explorer if i wanted.
Whats the beef? Anyone know why i can't see it in explorer?
(i turned off many 'unnecessary' services when i install windows following Black Vipers guide, so maybe i turned off something i shouldn't have. I can't find any info on what services are required for the walkman to connect to my comp though).
Don't know if this makes any difference, but i don't have (nor do i want) win media player installed.

any ideas?

cheers.

p.s. all you sony-o-philes were right. the A81*s really do sound great.

Greenlizard0 · 7 Jul 2008 at 23:20

They certainly do.

It should come up as WALKMAN in my computer. Does it not? Have you tried unplugging and allowing your machine to redetect it (uninstall if necessary first). What OS do you have?

If you've gone and removed something by accident you *may* have to use the drivers provided on the little disc/download them.

rangor gubbins · 8 Jul 2008 at 07:29

it comes up as WALKMAN in winamp and in device manager. just not in explorer.
Tried unplugging and reconnecting a few times.
Don't think i've removed anything, just disabled some unnecessary services, as my comp can link up with the mp3 player I don't think i have any services missing.
will try uninstalling and reinstalling.

Greenlizard0 · 8 Jul 2008 at 07:52

That sounds really odd to be honest, if it's in device manager and you're able to use its functions it still should appear in Windows Explorer / My Computer etc.

rangor gubbins · 8 Jul 2008 at 08:07

Greenlizard0 said:
That sounds really odd to be honest, if it's in device manager and you're able to use its functions it still should appear in Windows Explorer / My Computer etc.

my sentiments exactly.

When you have your sony plugged in does the taskbar icon of an MP3 player stay? The icon in my taskbar disappears after the device is recognised. If pops up and asks if i want to either use winamp with this device or 'take no action'. No option to open Explorer.

Also I've noticed when i disconnect the device (but don't physically disconnect the USB cable), the circle and 'connecting USB (MTP)' message remains on the screen of the player. Is this right?

Greenlizard0 · 8 Jul 2008 at 08:55

Nah, that doesn't happen to me. What OS are you using again?

When it's plugged in the player does have the "connecting.." message onscreen, but there's nothing in the taskbar. There is a little icon/shortcut of the player in my computer and I'm able to navigate it like in Window's explorer.

When I disconnect it the player states that it is updating the library and then shifts onto the main 9 shortcut menu. It disappears from my computer completely.

I'm not sure how else to help you really, I don't think your problems are typical of this player nor any other plug and play storage device :confused:

. I hate it when people say this to me, but has a quick Google helped at all?

Greenlizard0 · 8 Jul 2008 at 08:57

rangor gubbins said:
When you have your sony plugged in does the taskbar icon of an MP3 player stay? The icon in my taskbar disappears after the device is recognised. If pops up and asks if i want to either use winamp with this device or 'take no action'. No option to open Explorer.

I don't have this either on the initial popup box, I just have a Winamp, WMP and Import pictures option.

Worse comes to worse fella, if the player itself works fine etc., and you're still able to use it fairly normally (i.e. put on and remove music or whatever) then perhaps that's not really a bad thing

rangor gubbins · 8 Jul 2008 at 14:36

Greenlizard0 said:
I don't have this either on the initial popup box, I just have a Winamp, WMP and Import pictures option.

Worse comes to worse fella, if the player itself works fine etc., and you're still able to use it fairly normally (i.e. put on and remove music or whatever) then perhaps that's not really a bad thing

ok. yeah you're right, its no biggy as the player works fine.

I'm win XP SP3 x86.

tried google last night but came up with nothing.

rangor gubbins · 8 Jul 2008 at 22:35

ok. more weirdness. I can't see the player in the control panel->admin tools->computer management->disk management section either.
All my other devices show in there (USB drive, mobile phone, etc), just not my walkman.
Yet it shows in my device manager under 'windows portable devices->WALKMAN'

SoundsGood · 8 Jul 2008 at 22:46

test

test678

rangor gubbins · 8 Jul 2008 at 23:43

don't fancy reinstalling windows.
I think the only version of wmp i have is the classic version that comes with the k-lite codec pack. can't imagine its ought to do with that though.

I should prob try installing wmp 11 and see if that helps

. is there a way to install it without it taking over everything?

bee · 9 Jul 2008 at 02:21

i had this on one of my pc's on windows xp, i followed this from the sony site and it worked perfectly after

# Connect the player to the computer.
# From the computer, select start - Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance - System.
# System Properties is displayed. Select Hardware tab, and open Device manager.
# Open Universal Serial Bus controllers, and select USB Mass Storage Device or WALKMAN NWZ-XXXXX.
# Select Action - Update Driver ... from the menu bar. Welcome to the Hardware Update Wizard is displayed.
# A dialog on Windows Update connection will be displayed. Select No, not this time., followed by Next.
# Select Install from a list or specific location Advanced, followed by Next for the hardware install method.
# Select Don't search. I will choose the driver to install., followed by Next for the search and install option.
# Check Show compatible hardware, and then select MTP Device in the model list, followed by Next. The device driver is installed.
# Completing the Hardware Update Wizard message is displayed, and confirm MTP Device message. Click Finish.

rangor gubbins · 9 Jul 2008 at 14:15

bee said:
i had this on one of my pc's on windows xp, i followed this from the sony site and it worked perfectly after

thanks for the info, but it didn't work for me

rangor gubbins · 9 Jul 2008 at 22:59

have found some kind of work around using Bee's info.

If i want to use the walkman like a flash drive i have to change the driver to a USB driver. Then the walkman pops up in explorer, but i can no longre use winamp to transfer files.
If i want to use the walkman like a mp3 player linked with my music software (winamp), then i need to reinstall the MTP driver.

Greenlizard0 · 10 Jul 2008 at 17:40

Ahhh...something just triggered a flashback (don't worry I wasn't bum rushed as a child haha!), I think that MTP is best used with Vista. I don't think it's best for Win XP. Can you connect to a USB port without using it?

rangor gubbins · 10 Jul 2008 at 19:53

Greenlizard0 said:
Ahhh...something just triggered a flashback (don't worry I wasn't bum rushed as a child haha!), I think that MTP is best used with Vista. I don't think it's best for Win XP. Can you connect to a USB port without using it?

I can remove the MTP driver for the player and install the USB driver instead. is that what you mean? If i do this i can still connect the player and transfer files by explorer, but then i seem to lose the ability for winamp to transfer files. I've read that if you just transfer files using explorer the NWZ-A8** don't recognise the ID tags on songs - i've not tested this though; if you want song names you have to use media software to transfer the songs e.g. winamp, WMP, etc.

Glad you weren't bum rushed as a kid.