Cheap/free DIY Zen Micro/Photo Case and wall charg

Ahoy! I've been on the Head-Fi forums and figured to check out these and didnt find much.
Its simple to make a hardcase for your Zen Micro or Micro Photo, check out mine!
I used a penguins mint tin, (like Altoids but caffinated)
also, the standard wall charger for USB motorola phones will charge your Zen Micro Photo
its still a 5v usb charger, it works and you can find them cheaper than one from
creative
<img border="0" alt="My DIY Case" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/Fev3r/Zen/DSCN087Small.jpg">
[url="http://photobucket.com/"><img border="0" alt="My DIY Case" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/Fev3r/Zen/DSCN086Small.jpg">[/url]
[url="http://photobucket.com/"><img border="0" alt="My DIY Case" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/Fev3r/Zen/DSCN9986Small.jpg">[/url]
This was very easy to do.
Take the mint tin, trace it onto the back of a peice of foam (the white plasticy side)
cut slightly inside the line, about /3 a centimeter.
measure the height of the tin and take about /5 to /4 of a cm off of that and cut straight down the long edge of the foam, its an exact fit (if you want it fitted like mine)
you will need TWO of these, its double layered
Check the fit of the peice before you place anything.
i placed the sides first but do whatever you find easiest.
fold the long peices in half to find the center and just start applying from the bottom of the tin.
next, cut a peice big enough to cover your screen but not the buttons.
take the sticky side off and lay the foam, sticky side up, onto the screen. close the tin.
Your MOST of the way done
now take a dremel (what i used) or what ever else. maybe a nail and hammer the corners and scisor the between? (that may be sharp)
and you have yoruself a great case everyone will marvel at and youll be proud of it, post your pics here or atleast email me at [email protected]
(edited for grammer and aded images and title)Message Edited by HalfTwitch on 0-06-20072:59 AM

I deal with the slight buzzing while the screen is on, i just haev my screen cut off in 0sec of idle and its good to go, thats a known bug.
Also, one time my zen kinda froze booting but that was a fluke adn has been fine since then.
I Love my hard case i made, it has a mysterious ding in it but that just means that i spared my zen from that same ding.
I've been IM'd and asked abotu it overheating in the enclosure and i've used it in the sun for hours on end and the zen itself stays cool, i dont think there is a problem with that at all.
If you rmaking one know that its one layer of foam on the bottom and two on the sides.
the easiest way to apply the screen protector is to peel the sticky off of lay it on the screen, sticky side up and then just close the lid.
I had the idea of putting a hole in the lid where the screen is and glueing the clear plastic from a CD case but scrapped that idea because it would look tacky and get dirty.

Similar Messages

  • ZEN Micro Photo FM RADIO MO

    Hello,
    sorry for my englisch! It is not so good!
    I bought the ZEN Micro Photo Player and I have tried the FM radio Modus.
    It is very bad! Everytime i hear some crackle! Whatever position i try i hear the crackle!
    Someone know what the problem is? It's a great pity, because everything else is good!
    Thank you for a answer
    GOGI79

    You can change your 'theme' in display settings> theme and this will give you a range of colours in FM radio mode. FM radio will usually sound better outdoors. Check battery power also. If it is still really bad, contact customer support.

  • Zen Micro Photo Fre

    I just purchased a Zen Micro Photo 8gb just over a month ago and the screen froze on me. I am not a computer saavy peson, so I have no idea what to do and customer service just gives you links to look it up yourself. Has anyone had this problem of the screen freeze and is there something that I need to do. Please help....

    Try doing a disk clean up. Enter recovery mode by removing the battery and then holding the power switch in the on position while replacing the battery until the recovery screen appears. Then select disk clean up. After it is done with the disk clean up, select reboot. If that dosen't work you may have a defecti've player since it is still so new. If that is the case try returning it or if you can't return it, send it to Creative, and they will be able to replace it for you since it will still be under the warrenty.

  • I'm willing to buy any faulty Zen Micro Photo (black) mp3 players or Zen V Plus (black and bl

    Hi, if anyone has a Zen Micro Photo (black one) or Zen V Plus (black and blue)?that is faulty and wants to get rid of it, contact me and we can arrange something. I li've in the United Kingdom so you must be willing to send it to there. I am happy to pay by PayPal.
    Regards.

    I have a 4 gb black and blue Creative Zen V? Plus..... the screen is fadingg off so i'm getting pissed... and i'm panicing too because i dont thinkg creative will take it back... Your Interested? The physical features other than the screen are probably perfect because i bought a rubber case for it and had screen protection...

  • Zen Micro Photo bugs need to be worked out - firmware update comi

    Hi,
    I've had my Zen Micro Photo 8gb for a month & have discovered some interesting quirks: first, I don't believe mine is defecti've, though I've had problems. I have encountered freezing on both the "Zen Microphoto" logo and "rebuilding library" screen; I scoured this forum and the Knowledge Base for answers, trying all that seemed applicable?- I tried disk cleanup and reboot (leading to rebuilding library freezes), reformats & carefully reloading the latest firmware?a couple of times. I've drawn some conclusions:?) Mediasource software is not working for me; when I switched to using only Windows Media , most problems went away.2) For whatever reason, "rebuilding library" can only be accomplished while my Zen is connected to the computer - should this be the case?3) It seems like the times my screen freezes on the "Zen Microphoto" logo I may have held the "on" switch to the side a little longer than necessary; I'm wondering if this is happening because I'm holding the switch on a little too long?Anyway, I love the size, look and sound of this player, so I hope to keep using it. NOTE: can anyone from CREATIVE tell me if there will be future firmware updates? Thanks
    !!! Steve M.Message Edited by smills on 08-0-20070:24 AM

    I run windows XP pro . sp2, its quite strange.. it should work. ! **bleep** IT SHOULD WORK ! :smileyindifferent: , and the wirld thing is. i also try'ed it on another windows XP machine at work.. and it didient work there either. im beginning to question if this is the product for me. its realy sad though, i love the zen design.. not to mention the price.
    It realy realy bugs me that the zen micro photo isset supportet on windows 2000, i had this vision of syncronizing my work calender with the zen ... and now its just not possible ! unless my boss wants to give me a new laptop.. and i dont think that will happen . hehe
    Well i will keep on working on this issue.. ill let you know guys.

  • Zen Micro Photo Conce

    I am about to purchase a Zen Micro Photo. I am choosing it over the Zen Micro because of the many posts about the headphone problem on the Zen, the clearer screen on the Micro Photo, and the lack of availability of the Zen Micro in the stores - very few stores are selling the Micro and many have only the Micro Photo (which leads me to believe that the Micro is being phased out - at least in the marketplace). I have some concerns about the Micro Photo - there seems to be some posters on this group who have a buzz from the screen. Since many reviews of the Micro Photo say how great the sound is, I am going to assume, perhaps foolishly, that the buzz has been taken care of in the recent releases or this is not as common a problem as some would like to state. My other concern is and question is how fragile are these? There are warnings about NOT jogging with the Micros. I have not seen this with other companies'hd players. I plan to use this in a car. Is this going to be a problem? Sometimes roads are bumpy.
    One of the main reasons that I have chosen the Zen is the bookmarking features. I use the mp3 player for audiobooks and I want to be able to set a bookmark in mid track of a book, listen to something else, and then come back to that same place in the book and continue on - which from the Micro/Microphoto manuals I should be able to do. Is this correct?
    Surprisingly, few mp3 players can do this - the Ipod can't despite it's claim that it can.
    I appreciate any feedback.

    Information on LiON battery lifespans.
    <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.
    Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. (Read more in 'Choosing the right battery for portable computing', Part Two.)
    Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance reaches a point where the pack can no longer deli'ver the stored energy although the battery may still have ample charge

  • Zen micro photo OTG photo trans

    Can anyone please tell me wether pc free photo transfer (from digital camera), is possible with the zen micro photo or vision:m
    Regards & thanks in advance

    you need to get a device that's called "USB OTG Copy Bridge". I got one from Vivanco for 25 euro.
    Here's info on it, but in German
    http://www.vivanco.com/cms/com/detail_produkt?mv_session_id=UURIdUDP&mv_pc=27&mv_ arg=9590&own_key=562
    I'm sure you can find sth similar in your neighborhood.
    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=usb+otg+copy+bridge&btnG=Search
    I bought it also with the purpose of copying my photos to my Zen Mass Storage Data partition. Actually, I haven't used it yet, but it's good to have, I think.
    EDIT : I've seen a few mp3 players that have the OTG function built-in, but these are really few, and were not reputable brands. None of the Creative MP3 players does the OTG directly, I believe. Hope it will be added to future players, though.Message Edited by fred_be9300 on 2-26-2005 :47 PM

  • Zen Micro Photo Price Reduct

    from http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=22
    "Creative has announced a price reduction for its Zen Micro Photo player that puts it up directly against the Apple's iPod nano.
    The announcement follows Creative?s foundling CEO and Chairman Sim Wong Hoo?s comments last year at the launch of the Creative Zen Vision:M launch that the company is going to be more aggressi've in the MP3 player market, the company today has lowered the price of its Zen MicroPhoto player.
    Priced to compete directly against the iPod nano, the 8Gb MP3 player will be reduced from ?99.99 to ?79.99 from today.
    In a press release sent to Pocket-lint, Creative was keen to point out that ?you can get an 8GB award-winning Creative MP3 player for the same price as a 4GB iPod Nano - twice the capacity, with quality and value for money?"
    I know you can already get the micro photo for that price in some places, but hopefully (since im going to be getting one soon), this will mean the shops which are already selling it for cheaper than RRP, will be able to reduce their prices further.

    following up to this
    I've just seen the microphoto for ?65 at dabs.com (uk) and ?60 at ebuyer (uk). While dixons and currys are still selling it for ?200 in stores! lol.
    good news for me and anyone else who wants it.Message Edited by WelshBluebird on 0-3-2006 0:42 PMMessage Edited by WelshBluebird on 0-3-2006 0:42 PM

  • Zen micro photo, Austra

    hey, this is more directed to to the creative people but maybe someone else knows. Currently in australia we have pre oreders for zen micro photos, though only in selected colours, i looked at the australian creative website and they only have 6 of the colours listed on the zen micro photo page. Does that mean only those 6 colours are going to be released here? Because i want the orange one and they hav'nt got that listed, anyone know anything?
    All other country wesites have all colours listed, america, Asia and such
    Thanks
    Ant

    Information on LiON battery lifespans.
    <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.
    Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. (Read more in 'Choosing the right battery for portable computing', Part Two.)
    Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance reaches a point where the pack can no longer deli'ver the stored energy although the battery may still have ample charge

  • Zen Micro Photo gets a boost

    ...8GB @ $249 coming this September / October:
    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,895,847705,00.asp
    This will give the YPod Mini 6GB a major run for the money. Looks like Creative is starting to get a bit more serious (and adult) about fighting the DAP Wars.

    jasperchc wrote:
    i reckon the zen micro is gonna get a major price cut after the released of the zen micro photo.
    Ya, i was thinking the same thing. I was saying to myself, hey, i should get a micro once they go down in price. but then i realized i'd want the photo capabilities and would want the 8GB photo version.
    I guess its a good thing. people can get a nice photo micro. and people can get a cheaper normal micro.

  • Zen Micro Photo C

    I'm Looking for a Case for My Zen Micro Photo...
    I spoted this Cases :
    - The Officiel Creative Zen Micro Leather Case
    http://www.creative.com/products/pro...=449&product=5
    Does it fit the ZMP, because the ZMP has a bigger screen than the ZM? And does it have a screen protection?
    - The Belkin Creative? Sports Case
    http://ch-en.europe.creative.com/sho...=0&product=092
    Which Case would you recommand?

    Jdawg683 wrote:
    So would you recommend i get a 3rd part belt clip then?
    You can probably get a small camera case for not too much money or modify a cell phone or PDA case.
    I found a PDA case on sale for a few $. I made a few modifications and it works very well as a case for my Zen Micro.
    Open
    Closed.
    ^my photo hosting site is acting up. Those pics may not work. Message Edited by skb on -6-2005 08:25 AM

  • Creative zen micro photo

    i have a creative zen micro photo 8 gb and every time i plug it into my computer to put songs on it the player jams at the docked screen. i have tryed it on many computers. i try looking for some up dates. i dont have a clue what is wrong with it. has anybody had simlar problems?

    I had a zen micro, and i have a zen microphoto and a zen sleek photo. dont listen to the box, its dumb .
    the zen microphoto works with any computer i plug it into. if you dont have windows XP then you can get songs onto it with xnjb(for macs at wentnet.com) or use libptp2 (just google it for windows) and DONT INSTALL THE CDs IT COMES WITH. mainley because they wont work on anything but windows xp anyways.
    so feel safe, i was worried too but you can get a microphoto and put any song on it. it doesnt matter were you got the song, as long as its mp3 or wma files. kazaa, napster, itunes, musicmatch, illegal or leagal it dont matter at all. you can put anysong that you can get your hands on, dont worrie.
    if you use a mac, you gotta change your songs into mp3 because itunes uses aac files.
    you can put songs on your zen microphoto, but you cant put photos on easily. even so, i dont put photos on my zen microphoto.
    i just got it because its a beautiful player with 8GB and for the same price as the evil and stupid ipod nano with a crapy 2-4GB storage, let alone the fact that the battery cant be replaced on nanos because they are all-sealed-up.
    feel free to get one nomatter what the box says because i got one on both windows 98 and mac os x and the box is wrong. works fine.

  • Zen Micro Photo Randomly Shutting Down

    &Zen Micro Photo Randomly Shutting DownU Hello there,
    I have a Zen microphoto which I ahve had for about 3 years now and the only problem i ahve ahd before was a software issue that was fixed easily. Now I will turn my player on and it will randomly shut off and reset all of my settings. It most commonly happens when I move it from a desk to my pocket. And sometimes when i boot it up it will be in recovery mode, sometimes not. Other times it will boot and there will be random colored pixels on the screen. I really need some help cause i dont want? to but a new Mp3 player.
    Oh and i have reformatted and reloaded the firmware twice already.
    Can anyone help me?

    Information on LiON battery lifespans.
    <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.
    Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. (Read more in 'Choosing the right battery for portable computing', Part Two.)
    Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance reaches a point where the pack can no longer deli'ver the stored energy although the battery may still have ample charge

  • Help with my Bran-New Creative Zen Micro Photo. [Questi

    <EM>If you don't want to see the backing of my whole story skip to the bold print at the bottom!</EM>I also want you to know I read the FAQs and searched through some topics like this, but haven't found any asking my question.First of all, I'm new to the forum, but I've been researching Creative's Zen for a long time now. I kept observing each one closely before I purchased a product. I then saw the Zen Micro Photo come out. This one won my attention. I loved this, I quickly searched for reviews and went for the buy for Christmas. I told my dad about it and he was "iffy" on the price, but it was better then the iPod in my opinion.Christmas day came and I opened it. Right away I checked everything out I knew a lot about the menu already and all, but not really how to control it. I checked to make sure everything worked. All systems were go. After listening to the defaults (which I loved) I went to go install the software. I already had Media Player 0 and Adobe, oh and I didn't want the freakin AOL toolbar! Lol, so I installed everything else. It took forever, but I hooked it up and I installed the drivers, but as soon as I plug in the USB connector I see: "A HIGH-SPEED USB device has been plugged into a LOW SPEED USB port.After that, I switched USB ports, btu I got same message. I hit the X and then tried to charge. I got the Lightening Bolt, but no dimming of lights. I found out that this computer is not letting me install any service packs, I'm confused about that.My question:Is there anyway I can charge this mp3 player and download music onto my Zen Micro Photo without Service Pack ? Or did I just pay $250 for a really cool glowing mp3 player to be used as a paperweight? (I love this Zen and I ran the battery dead hoping that would make the charging easier).Help?
    My Specifications:
    My Mp3 Player: Zen Micro Photo (Black)What I tried: Switching USB ports and re-installing Service Pack Software: Not sure how to determine firmware without installing something. I'm on a XP Professional and I'm using the Creative Media Source and Creative Media Toolbox

    Thank you DM for responding. I am expecting problems, but it still won't allow me to charge the Zen Micro Photo or even use the Creative Media Source. I can't upload any songs or any contacts on it. I haven't uploaded anything yet, but it's not reading the USB device. When I run Creative Zen Micro Photo Media Explorer I get this message at the top of the screen: "The device is not connected. Please connect your Zen MicroPhoto to the computer. I can't organize anything or add songs... so it just makes all the programs I downloaded useless and my Creative product unusuable.ONe thing it does do though... whenever I plug in my Zen MIcroPhoto to the USB it turns it on and glows, but only shows my battery at the top with one red line and the green lightening bolt filling the battery up.After leaving it like this for two hours the green moves, but the red bar stays the same size.

  • Questions about the zen micro leather case???

    hey everyone,
    i saw the pictures of the zen micro leather case in the US store and was going to get them until i heard that the case is quite useless and annoying with the two-way flap open. Do you still think i should get them or a diiferent one(im DESPERATE to get one!!)
    thanks everyone.

    There are several designs out there including... the flexi-skin (at Boxwave.com as well as eBay), Noreve's, Krussell's?and Vaja. It really comes down to what you want from a case. I've gone for a flexi-skin as I want easy access to the controls, and I kept my screen protector (but screen protectors are easy enough to buy).

Maybe you are looking for