Computer will not recognize mp3 player

[Treefed]

Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2
Desktop
Gateway, Pentium 4 CPU 1500MHz 1.50 GHz, 896 MB of RAM
USB Mouse and Keyboard

I did not know whether to put this under Hardware or here, so I put it here.

I have a Living Solutions 1GB MP3 Player that my computer will not recognize when I plug it into any of the USB slots. I have tried the two USB slots in the front and two in the back. This is the third computer it has been tried on. I have also tried a different USB chord that I know works. I have used a Zen Microphoto on this computer before and my computer has always instantly recognized it.

This MP3 player's instructions say that I only need to use the drivers on the disk it came with if I am using Windows 98. I tried installing some from the disk anyway, with no luck (I am not sure the program I got from the disk had drivers for XP, but it was the only program on it other than the 98 drivers). I tried the customer service number, and they are supposed to get back with my in 24-48 hours, in which time I may not be here when they call, so I am asking you guys for help.

After searching for solutions on the web I have seen people with similar problems, but no solutions, with other MP3 players. Does anyone have a fix or suggestion for this problem? Do you need more information to help me? Please let me know.

Thanks for any replies.

[Spider]

Hi Treefed welcome to Cyber Tech Help.

With 3 computers not seeing this device it's highly possible the device is faulty.

There is no website for the manufacturer and the CD driver [that came with it] sounds like it's for
Windows 98 only.

You may have to wait for support.
Can you return it to where you purchased it?

[Treefed]

Hello, and thank you for your reply.

The receipt for the MP3 player is missing, so I do not think I can return it. A couple of other things: in the instruction page that came with the MP3 player it said that it only has Windows 98 drivers because anything newer does not require anything from the disk it came with. When I plug the MP3 player into a computer, the MP3 player's screen shows a transfer screen between the MP3 player and a computer, and it charges; so while the computer doesn't recognize that the MP3 player is hooked into it, the MP3 player does seem to recognize that it is hooked into the computer.

The reason I think that I just need some kind of fix for my computer is that I have another cheap MP3 player that my brother gave me that my computer also does not recognize. I figured it might be a problem with cheap MP3 players. I have not ruled out that it might be faulty, but I am hoping it is not.

I did get a call back from the company, but I was not home. They left a message, and told me to e-mail them back, which I did. I am waiting for their reply. While I wait (it is the weekend, and they may not get back to me until next week) I would appreciate any other ideas or suggestions.

Thanks again for your reply.

[smurfy]

The reason it only has a '9x driver is Windows XP has built-in drivers for this type of removable media device.

Plug the device into a USB port and open Windows Device manager.
Look under Disk drives or removable media for any unknown device or device with a warning icon.
Delete it.
Disconnect player from USB port.
Reboot in Safe Mode (tap F8 key as you reboot to get Windows Startup options menu)
Look in device manager from Safe mode and ensure any "ghost" mp3 player devices are removed.
Reboot in normal Windows mode.
Plug in device.

[Treefed]

Thank you for your reply smurfy. I plugged in the MP3 player and opened Windows Device manager, but I did not see any unknown devices or device warnings under anything other than a network card, which was there before (it has not caused me any problems, so I have not messed with it). I also checked in safe mode, but there is not anything there, either.

Thanks for giving me something else to try.