R
Robert Powell
Okay weird one, at least for me - I've searched the archives and can't get
any answers so hopefully those with almost infinitely superior knowledge of
external storage devices and WinXP vagaries - that'll be you then - will
have an answer.
I've ebayed a 4GB USB MP3/Mp4 player, which is extremely nice - it comes
with quite a few files which aren't so nice (seriously who listens to Barbie
Girl and Say you Say me?) and a host of problems.
I'm running a Dell Dimension 4700, with 1 GB of ram and using WinXP service
pack2 with McAfee Firewall.
When I plug the player into a USB slot (any of the 8 slots on my system)
WinXP recognise the player as an external USB storage device, loads a host
of generic drivers and gives the drive a letter "Removable Drive G:" which
is all well and good.
However when I try to open or explore the drive, WinXP tells me the drive
isn't formatted and asks if I'd like to format it. Happy to lose
barbiegirl.mp3, I click yes and there my problems begin.
Instead of 4GB it shows 4MB
It only allows FAT formatting
It only allows Default allocation size
Figuring if I can at least format the drive, I might be able get it to
recognise the full 4GB, I click Start and it tells me: "Windows was unable
to complete the format." Followed by the legend "The disk in drive G cannot
be formatted"
Okay - thinks I - I'll checkout disk management, where I can see the
following values:
Volume G: Layout = Partition, Type = Blank, File System = (nothing, there is
no entry), Status = Healthy, Capacity = 4MB, Free Space = 4MB, Free Space =
100%, Fault Tolerance and Overhead = 0%.
Now there is certainly less than 100% free space on the drive - the example
files on the drive are close to 30MB.
There should be 4GB on the thing not 4MB - again storing 30mb of files on a
4mb drive is a good trick if you can do it!
And why is there no File system?
There is a CD of drivers - Win98 drivers that is - but in a futile attempt
to get Window's to recognise and access the player/drive I've tried
installing them and it comes with a Player Disk Tool and a Player Update
tool.
The disk tool, like WinXP, only recognises 4MB and when formatting says
there is a Total disk space of, 4169728 bytes, 0 system files, 0 bad
sectors, available disk space of 4169728 bytes, each allocation unit is 2048
bytes total allocation units 2036.
All of which is utter nonsense because as soon as I try the player . . .
blasted barbiegirl.mp3 is still there, and indeed the entire drive is
untouched!
If I run the update it tells me that; "Removable disk is busy, please run
the program after waiting a moment."
The player was sourced from Hong Kong so the documentation is translated
from Chinese - funny and diverting as all heck with phrases such as "The
modification that makes the oneself to correspond clicks the next move
behind:" but is as helpful as a gearbox on a pogo-stick!
The player itself works great and is a serious bit of kit - cheaper, smaller
and with more features than an IPOD nano - Voice Recording, FM Radio, MP3
playback, Video Playback, Games, all look, sound and work wonderfully but
unfortunately they're the ones that came with the player and I can't access
the drive to change anything.
Any ideas of how to get to the contents of the drive/player without using a
large hammer, or why I'm getting such erroneous partial info from WinXP,
would be gratefully received.
Regards
Bobble
any answers so hopefully those with almost infinitely superior knowledge of
external storage devices and WinXP vagaries - that'll be you then - will
have an answer.
I've ebayed a 4GB USB MP3/Mp4 player, which is extremely nice - it comes
with quite a few files which aren't so nice (seriously who listens to Barbie
Girl and Say you Say me?) and a host of problems.
I'm running a Dell Dimension 4700, with 1 GB of ram and using WinXP service
pack2 with McAfee Firewall.
When I plug the player into a USB slot (any of the 8 slots on my system)
WinXP recognise the player as an external USB storage device, loads a host
of generic drivers and gives the drive a letter "Removable Drive G:" which
is all well and good.
However when I try to open or explore the drive, WinXP tells me the drive
isn't formatted and asks if I'd like to format it. Happy to lose
barbiegirl.mp3, I click yes and there my problems begin.
Instead of 4GB it shows 4MB
It only allows FAT formatting
It only allows Default allocation size
Figuring if I can at least format the drive, I might be able get it to
recognise the full 4GB, I click Start and it tells me: "Windows was unable
to complete the format." Followed by the legend "The disk in drive G cannot
be formatted"
Okay - thinks I - I'll checkout disk management, where I can see the
following values:
Volume G: Layout = Partition, Type = Blank, File System = (nothing, there is
no entry), Status = Healthy, Capacity = 4MB, Free Space = 4MB, Free Space =
100%, Fault Tolerance and Overhead = 0%.
Now there is certainly less than 100% free space on the drive - the example
files on the drive are close to 30MB.
There should be 4GB on the thing not 4MB - again storing 30mb of files on a
4mb drive is a good trick if you can do it!
And why is there no File system?
There is a CD of drivers - Win98 drivers that is - but in a futile attempt
to get Window's to recognise and access the player/drive I've tried
installing them and it comes with a Player Disk Tool and a Player Update
tool.
The disk tool, like WinXP, only recognises 4MB and when formatting says
there is a Total disk space of, 4169728 bytes, 0 system files, 0 bad
sectors, available disk space of 4169728 bytes, each allocation unit is 2048
bytes total allocation units 2036.
All of which is utter nonsense because as soon as I try the player . . .
blasted barbiegirl.mp3 is still there, and indeed the entire drive is
untouched!
If I run the update it tells me that; "Removable disk is busy, please run
the program after waiting a moment."
The player was sourced from Hong Kong so the documentation is translated
from Chinese - funny and diverting as all heck with phrases such as "The
modification that makes the oneself to correspond clicks the next move
behind:" but is as helpful as a gearbox on a pogo-stick!
The player itself works great and is a serious bit of kit - cheaper, smaller
and with more features than an IPOD nano - Voice Recording, FM Radio, MP3
playback, Video Playback, Games, all look, sound and work wonderfully but
unfortunately they're the ones that came with the player and I can't access
the drive to change anything.
Any ideas of how to get to the contents of the drive/player without using a
large hammer, or why I'm getting such erroneous partial info from WinXP,
would be gratefully received.
Regards
Bobble