Zen Micro Owners sign in! v. ineedadvice

hey guys...
i've been on various forums searching for the right mp3 player for me.
i am currently stuck between the m:robe, and the zen micro. however, in this thread i wish to have some things clarified about the zen micro (and if you know anything about the m:robe, please do share )
just to make it easier to answer here are my questions:
. headphone jack issues, is this a prominent problem on the zen players? i would like to have a solid player, and the m:robe seems to be build very well.
2. firmware updating. i have windows 2000, and i read somewhere on the forums that the firmware needs to be updated on a computer with windows xp? can anybody clarify this?
3. restore os / firmware problems, it seems like a lot of people on here have problems with their computer not recognizing their ZM which in turn, leads to an RMA or return to the factory. i do not want to deal w/ any hassles
4. button problems, i also read a thread about the buttons only working well with the headphone plugged in / buttons only sometimes responding? is this a big issue with the players?
5. batteries, do all the new units come with 2 batteries? i also read that some ZM's still eat batts even when the unit isnt in operation?
and lastly
6. anything else you think i should know before buying this unit's (buying mrobe instead?, or any common problems that i might wanna know)
thanks very much for reading
mrn

mrobenoob wrote:. headphone jack issues, is this a prominent problem on the zen players? i would like to have a solid player, and the m:robe seems to be build very well. 2. firmware updating. i have windows 2000, and i read somewhere on the forums that the firmware needs to be updated on a computer with windows xp? can anybody clarify this? 3. restore os / firmware problems, it seems like a lot of people on here have problems with their computer not recognizing their ZM which in turn, leads to an RMA or return to the factory. i do not want to deal w/ any hassles 4. button problems, i also read a thread about the buttons only working well with the headphone plugged in / buttons only sometimes responding? is this a big issue with the players? 5. batteries, do all the new units come with 2 batteries? i also read that some ZM's still eat batts even when the unit isnt in operation? and lastly 6. anything else you think i should know before buying this unit's (buying mrobe instead?, or any common problems that i might wanna know) thanks very much for reading mrn
Silver Zen Micro Limited Edition, bought in the US almost 2 months ago.
. No headphone jack issue over here.2. I wouldn't know. I run WinXP.3. XP recognized it pretty well after installing the drivers. Then swiched to MTP (PlaysForSure) Firmware, now it's recognized on computers that don't have the drivers installed too.4. Buttons work great. Scrolling can be a bit difficult at first, you'll get used to it.5. If you're planning on getting a free 2nd batt, hurry. I bought mine almost 2 months ago and got a Limited Edition. If possible, check whether you'll be getting a LE or not before buying (Extra batt ~40$) The Zen Micro does eat batt power while turned off (about hour playtime for the first 24 hours it's off... if you leave it off longer, it'll eat less batt power), but if you can recharge it everyday, this won't affect you much. (If you take the batt out, you'll have no problems with this issue)6. Some people have had troubles with Napster2Go service. If you're planning on using that, check with other users of the service!

Similar Messages

Brothers a new Zen Micro owner. He has a few battery questions..

Hey all,
I convinced my older bro to get a white Zen Micro, and he has a few questions. I answered most of them, but afterwards, he went online, and found info that told him otherwise (from what I told him, which is what I read here at the forums). Here are his questions....
. Is it safe to leave the Zen Micro charging overnight?
I told him yes, that it was. Someone from Creative here at the forums said that it would "turn off" automatically. He went into the Creative "Knowledge Base", and found this: http://dmzweb4.europe.creative.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=732,E=00000000000490764,K=5277,Sxi=0,Kb=ww_eng lish,VARSET=ws:http://us.creative.com/,Case=obj(669),Kb=ww_english
2. When charging the Micro, does the adapter/charger go by a set timer, or charge accordingly to how full the battery already is?
Thanx in advance .

i've left mine plugged in a few times and have NEVER noticed any type of heat build up. it usually shuts off after full charging and then cools down after that. maybe i'm killing my battery, maybe not who knows. i have some players that don't automatically shut off and i've noticed those DO get heat build up and i never leave those plugged in but with my zen xtra and micro it *appears* that the shut off feature prevents the heat buildup....that being said, the micro's owners manual says DON'T leave it plugged in or it will get heat buildup....who knows.

Zen Micro Owners, just how many of these things have fatal proble

Here and elseware, I have been reading on the Zen Micro and have seen endless lists of people who've had problems with them (in many cases right out of the box). This thread is intended as a sort of roll call for those who've had major problems vs. those who haven't (who you tend to hear from less), to see sort of what my odds are or whatever.
Thanks.

Had problems with first one, did the "Reload Firmware" command - it would never be recognized by any computer again. Replaced by Amazon. #2 player did well for about 4 weeks, one day was working fine, turned it off. Turned it back on, and it would work only on power cord, not on battery. Bought a new battery from Amazon - did not work. Bought player #3 from Best Buy with $30 two year replacement policy (would never have bought another one without this assurance). It works fine so far (2 weeks) - and even more interestingly, a fully charged battery from the working unit will not in any way work in the broken one, so it is definitely NOT a battery problem with player #.
So I have a dead Zen 40 days out - and will have to call Creative tomorrow, thank God that one is still in the 90 days. I would never buy another MP3 player of any brand mail-order, without a replacement policy. I don't care what anyone says, they are very temperamental gadgets.

Petition: Zen Micro's "Standby" time length to be user selecta

Currently, when you turn your Zen Micro off, it actually goes into "Standby" mode. The Zen Micro stays in a "Standby" ready state for 24 hour from the last time it was turned off. After 24 hours, the Zen Micro goes into a "Deep Sleep" mode.
"Standby" uses considerably more power from the Zen Micro's battery than "Deep Sleep" mode does. The difference between the two modes is that your Micro will be ready to use almost instanty if turned on from "Standby" and will take approximately 5 seconds to be ready to use if turned on from "Deep Sleep".
This petition is for a user selectable menu item to be added to the Zen Micro's "System/Player Settings" menu to adjust "Standby" - anywhere from a setting of "off" to "24" hours in whatever increments Creative feels are appropriate with 24 hours as default.
If this option were implemented, those who did not mind waiting 5 second for their Micro to be ready to play music would find their batteries last longer if leaving the Micro idle for some time because it would not be draining power in "Standby". Those who use the Zen Micro often, could leave "Standby" at 24 hours, so the player would be ready immediately for them. It's a win-win option.
Please note, this petition isn't a discussion thread - it's simply to show Creative if there is interest from Zen Micro owners for such an option being added to a future firmware update from Creative.
Thank-you and please consider signing.<Update (March 28th, 2005): 45 signatures collected in this petition at the time of this edit! Thank-you everyone and please keep them coming!JazzMC has taken the initiati've and written a sort of FAQ with all the information to date gathered in one place regarding this power drain of the Zen Micro while off (in standby). It's a great read for those who want more information about the subject and you can view the document by clicking here: Zen Micro Power Loss. Thanks JazzMC!Message Edited by Moxy on 03-29-2005 2:39 PM

Moxy wrote:
This petition is for a user selectable menu item to be added to the Zen Micro's "System/Player Settings" menu to adjust "Standby" - anywhere from a setting of "off" to "24" hours in whatever increments Creative feels are appropriate with 24 hours as default.
I couldn't agree more!
Signed.
Bianca

My Zen Micro is a dead BR

My zen micro is about 4 months old and has developed the common headphone jack problem experience by every zen micro owner..well..eventually. That was one problem I could handle by just turning the headphone jack a certain way. Now, however, my micro is dead. It had frozen while it was connected to my computer. I disconnected it and tried to restart it and it went as far as the Creative logo. I proceded to going into recovery mode and attempted to format the hard dri've, which decided to freeze on me also while it was formating. I then restarted it again in recovery mode and tried to reset the firmware, which worked fine, however, when i tried to put the new firmware onto the micro the computer said it had failed. I disconnected the micro and turned it off intending to do a simple restart, however, it has not turned back on since. My zen doesn't light up or turn on when i plug it in to the computer or the wall charger, i've tried several times to go into recovery mode again but it does not turn on. I have tried every possible way to turn it back on but it just sits there..useless..like a brick..
I've read countless other posts about people having the same problem but I haven't found a fix yet. Has anyone found out exactly what is happening? What can I do to fix it's
ANY feedback would be incredible help
Thanks

ok this has happened to me a couple of times. the only thing i've noticed that is consistent is it happens when the battery gets very low...say after 2 hours of running time (ha! when I think back to the 9- hours running time they told it would have when they sold me on this over the ipod)
anyway...when it happened before i have had some luck by taking the battery out holding the power button to the on position and reinserting the battery. it's very important to get the charge strong on the battery..
we'll see if it works this time. i'm here today for the same reason as everyone else... I think I'm at 4 months..

How do I turn off a Zen Micro

I honestly have no idea
How to I turn the **bleep** thing off !!
I can pause it but i mean OFF off !!
Please help

ya know, there is a small and very general instructional booklet that comes with the zen micro that does happen to tell you how to turn it off..., and why such offensi've language?
I thought Zen Micro owners were better than that.........................................

Zen Micro: Is the gap between tracks nor

I bought a Zen Micro mainly because I was told that it does not insert a gap between tracks. The trouble is that mine does insert a tiny, but incredibly annoying, blip between tracks.
I would really appreciate if another Zen Micro owner could tell me if this gap is normal or there is something wrong with my unit. I have tried 3 different levels of firmware, various formats and bit rates, but each time media player plays tracks seamlessly, but the Zen Micro inserts the gap.
Thanks in advance,
Ian

There is a somewhat technical reason as to why mp3 files cannot play seamlessly. Its because each part of the mp3 is split up into frames. You can only have frames, you can't have half frames or /4 frames. So I guess when a song ends, the little gap is the rest of the frame filling in space so it can be read properly. There is only one player that I know of that can actually skip the blank part of the frame and play gaplessly, I think its one of the Rio players but I can't remember to be honest
If I'm completely wrong in my explanation, someone please correct me

Zen Micro for £99.99

Anyone know where I can pick up one of these for under a ?00. I swear I saw one recently for ?99.99 but deleted the link as I already had one. Now I have gone and broken mine, I wanna get another one. Maybe its because it christmas and people have put their prices up.
Any advice would be gratefully received
Cheers
Alex

mhayward259 wrote:
Hi, Before you waste your ?00 have a look at the problems experienced by Zen Micro Owners on this forum. There are hardly any that have had trouble free use of a Micro, over 80% of them suffer total failure of the device within 6 months of ownership. The One Year Old Zen Micro Owners Cub has extremely limited membership, see details in this forum.
Before you waste time listening to mhayward259 remember that his figures have no basis in reality. The only folks who know the real reliability of the Creative players are Creative.

MP3 Zen Micro Music Purchasing Progr

I'm thinking of buying the Zen Micro but I don't know where i can buy songs that are supported by the Micro. Where does everyone get their songs?

I would recommend the Napster-To-Go service. I can't even imagine paying $.99 cents per song, and never have. For a flat $5 a month, you can download a mountain of good music, and stuff your new Zen Micro to the gills. I loaded a gigabyte of music into mine just this afternoon, sure would not have happened at 99 cents a pop.
I wish I could have turned Rhapsody into Napster-to-Go - I much prefer it, but they are still on the insane 99 cents a track plan if you want to take the music on a portable device (as the monthly fee is $0). What I love about Rhapsody is the great depth of genres to choose from. When I saw the Napster genre list I almost fell over it was so simplistic. It can also be a pain if the music you want to smack on your Zen is in Napster as a "buy" for 99 cents, but I can li've with that.
Since my son and I would fight over one music account anyway, we've decided to keep one Rhapsody account, and one Napster, and we're pretty well covered, still prefer Rhapsody on the home computers. I can open both at once, and go through the Rhapsody lists I spent eons building to help pick out the music for Napster lists to put on the Zen.
I have just one warning for you if you are a new Zen Micro owner - never under any circumstances hit the "Reload Firmware" command. I, and many others on this board, ended up with a pretty paperweight. Luckily I killed it in the first 30 days from Amazon, I sent an email that mine was defecti've, and received a replacement less than 48 hours later - have 30 days to return the broken one.

PETITION - ZEN MICRO UPGRADE PROGRAM TO ZM PH

The Zen Micro has cause a lot of heartaches, disappointments and have left a lot of customers frustrated with the quality, stability and effecti'veness of Creative's customer service, yet, they are still pushing for the Fall/Winter to come out with the Zen Micro Photo:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/234000630054279
I petition that if Creative is going to come out with a newer version of the Zen Micro, that should allow customers and a chance to upgrade their Micro, to HOPEFULLY *fingers crossed* a more stable version of the Zen Micro with a possible small fee or difference.
The latest claims, which Im sure will be disproved by the Customer Testers of the Micros:
5hr battery life
8GB Harddri've
0 Colors
$250 US
SIGNEDMessage Edited by chadownight on 08-25-2005 05:28 PM

This idea doesn't make any sense to me, other than letting current Micro owners get something better for cheap, which is not the business that Creative is in. (When I say "better" I mean more features, not better quality.) What about owners of other Creative models? Should they get this upgrade? Should owners of the Zen Xtra and Touch get upgrades to the Sleek? Creative would have to hire an entire new department just to handle these upgrades.
If you had problems with your original Micro why didn't you take it up with Creative? They should have been able to do something to help you out with it. If you did take it up with Creative, you should be satisfied with the Micro you have by now. Creative told me last week (before I got my Sleek, when I was still considering the Micro) that all the hardware issues had been resolved; presumably this means all new Micros have corrected hardware. So if to resolve your complaint they sent you a new one, it would be the improved one, the Zen Micro 2.0, if you will.
I could see perhaps if Creative offered some nominal discount to owners of Zen Micro (non-photo) who wanted to send their old unit in for recycle; then the user could get, say, a $20 off the Micro Photo. Otherwise this isn't really a good marketing decision; it's just pandering to Zen Micro owners. If you want the Micro Photo, buy it. If you want to switch to another brand, do it.
Another two cent contribution.

PETITION: ABLITIY IN ZEN MICRO's ORGANIZER TO...

be able to make and delte notes on the calander and contacts list from the player its self and not on Microsoft Outlook!!!This would make the zen micro even more versitile. the apple ipod can do it, why can the zen micro?
-signed-

DM wrote:
Nice suggestion..... But if the Zen Micro can play WMA files, why can't the iPod? Somethings just aren't needed....
signed...
But DM, are you serious... Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are like mortal enemies... I doubt the ipod will ever support WMA's, for the same reason it'll probably never be able to play subscription music files, until apple comes out with a subscription music service for itunes.

Zen Micro Windows XP Dri

:smileyindifferent:
:angry:
Any idea where I can get the Creative Micro Zen drivers for Windows XP Home ?
After installing the software using the Installation CD included /w my 2-Zen Micros, it seems like Windows XP Drivers are not included.....
Whan I connect either Zen Micro I get the Found New Hardware - Creative Zen Micro dialog box as expected. After selecting Install Automatically - After a few minutes, a messag appears - Cannot Install this Hardware...
After viewing the Installation CD contents The ONLY files located in \Drivers\English\ directory are:
Drv_Jb3.EXE
DRV_JB.EXE
DRV_NM2.EXE
Seems like these are for Nomad Jukebox products...
Please help !!!!!!!!
Seems like I am another new Zen Micro owner with issues...

I first tried one of the Installation CD's, that started as autorun.... During the install process, numerous error messages appeared... DoInstall fails to launch
H:\CMS\CMS3\CTEngine\setup.inx
H:\CMS\CMS3\CTShared\CTRedist\quddvset\Setup.inx
H:\CMS\CMS3\CTShared\CTredist\Cadi\Setup.inx
... as well as several others...
I then removed Zen Micro Drivers, & Creative MediaSource, via the installation CD, rebooted the PC, and used my second Installation CD... Everything SEEMED to install correctly... (No error messages)
You are insisting that the CD contains the drivers... What is the specific name of the INI file to search for ? If I call Creative Support, will they be able to email me the required files?
Please advise...

Zen Micro: EAX, Start up picture, inaccurate batt indicat

Zen Micro owners - can you update your startup picture and EAX settings via the PC? The options are grayed out on mine.
I have only installed the Zen Micro driver only, and did not install the Creative Media Source, and am on Win2K.
The battery indicator also doesn't seem too accurate - it goes down quite quickly to one bar (from three), but the player still plays for quite a while. Any of u experienced this too?

I thought only MediaSource could change the picture, so if you don't have this installed how are you finding a "grayed out" option?
The battery indicator is just that, an indicator. Don't depend on it for an accurate depiction of the battery life (not really possible with 3 blocks anyway).

Petition: Zen Micro Removable Disk memory space up to 5

Hi happy owners of Zen Micro Player!
First of all, I would like to congratulate Creative for their Zen Micro Player which is really great. But as usual, customers still want the best and try to get a product that really answers their needs. That's why I'm writting this petition to improve the Zen Micro Player options.
I simply ask Creative to update a firmware in which it would be possible to set up the Removable Disk memory space up to maximum capacity that is 5Go instead of limiting it to 2Go!
So follow me, sign my petition and ask for more, ask for more USB mass storage memory!!!
Thank you very much!
Hello from France to everybody!

you mean Gb, Gigabits.
And if you have firmware 2.00.2, connecting your player to any XP system will make it show up in "My Computer" as a removable device. You can browse it using explorer and drag&drop files as you wish. This means you can use up all of it's available space for files.
But, I think you got a point. It will not be recognized on 9x systems, unless you enable the removable dri've option, and it would be nice to be able to use it as a removable HD if you needed it.
Consider this your first signature.

ZEN MICRO won't hold it's charge!!!!!!!!!!

I have owned a 5GB Zen Micro for about 3 years. Up until about 4 months ago I had no problem with the unit holding it's charge for several hours. Now I can't get it to last for more than 0-5 minutes when using the FM radio. By that time the battery indicator shows hardly any charge left and then it does dead. Any [email protected]

krw99 wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I had considered the possibility that the battery may indeed be at the end of it's life. As it turned out I also googled the model and battery name, and came up with a Canadian site that had?them on ?sale and decided that with postage it would be just as cheap as getting it'sdirectly from?the US with higher postage costs and the exchange rate. I love this model so much I hope to keep using it for years to come provided I have no further more costly problems. Despite it's greater thickness compared to similiar models it is a very attracti've looking unit.
The reason I chose?the Zen Micro?in the first place, as opposed to an iPod?was because I could replace the battery if need be, and also for it's FM radio capability. I?did have to have the chip that contains the earphone jack connections replaced last year, as many other owners have also had to do. But it was worth the $60 it cost me.
Cheers,
KRW99
I had originally planned to buy an iPod back in '04, because everyone else had one, but after I saw? this video I decided to do some more research. I ended up with a 5 Gb Zen Micro in February '05 and wondered why anyone buys an iPod, when a far superior product was available from Creative.
The original battery started? to go about a year and a half ago, so I popped a new one in and kept on enjoying it. I thought that I would finally have to say goodbye to my little friend when I accidentally dropped it onto a tile floor. The dreaded click/whirr...click/whirr...click/whirr... of a dead hard dri've.
I read a few posts on the Say Goodbye to My Little Friend (Zen Micro)? thread and replaced the dead hard dri've with a SanDisk 8Gb? Ultra II Compact Flash card, using the instructions on? this page.
I was so happy to see it boot up aain and once the firmware was loaded, I started filling it up with some of my favourite music. It's nice to have an extra 3 Gb of storage space too!?
Notes about the iPod's Dirty Secret video can be found here.

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