Troubleshooting Gadgets

From openSUSE

MP3 Players

SanDisk Sansa View MP3 Player

Problem

The Sansa View MP3 player is not always correctly detected when plugging in. Sometimes you get a new device (/dev/sda1 or /dev/sdb1 etc.) and (in KDE or GNOME) a window with the content of the player, sometimes you don't. When it is not detected, you get messages in /var/log/messages like this:

   usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning
   usb 5-1: reset high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3

Solution

Force USB mass storage mode on the player:

- Make sure the Sansa View MP3 player is not plugged to the computer's USB port.

- On the Sansa View MP3 player, move the "Hold" switch on the left side of the player to the "Hold" position (all the way down). An icon with a padlock appears on the player's display.

- While the player is in "hold" mode, press the left side of the scroll wheel (on players with directional buttons instead of a scroll wheel, press the left button) on the player and keep it pressed.

- Connect the USB cable to the computer and to the player. Keep the left side of the scroll wheel pressed while doing this.

- You should now get a new USB mass storage device. In the KDE or GNOME desktops, you should also get a new window with the content of the player.

You have to repeat this procedure each time you plug the player in. There is no known way (yet?) to set this permanently on the player. The proposed solution from the SanDisk support forum does not work: There is no "USB mode" entry in the "Settings" menu.

Tested Versions

SanDisk Sansa View 16 GB with Firmware 01.02.09F

(openSUSE version doesn't matter, this is an issue of the MP3 player)

Technical Background

The player seems to have two communication modes: USB mass storage or MTP. On MS Windows this is not a problem since the supplied SanDisk software takes care of the details. On Linux the player needs to be told how to behave.

Links

SanDisk support forum