doclek

Hi! Have you guys had any problems playing mp3 files on your Cf card using Windows Media player? What happens is halfway or more than halfway thru playback, it just stops producing sound. Initially i thought that it was my cf card (Sandisk 256mb) but then when i played the files using Pocket Music, i did not get any problem. do you think its related to my cf card being a San Disk or is this more of a WM Player specific problem? Thanks!

Alex :)

shadowfox777

It sounds like a WMP problem. If your MP3s are stored on the CF card and plays with Pocket Music but doesn't play in WMP then looks more like a software problem.

I had a 256MB CF Sandisk and I had no problems playing mp3s or videos. Have you tried giving your Axim a soft reset?

frankrentef

I'm having the EXACT same problem. If you find an answer please post it here. I've been working on finding a solution for ~two weeks without success.

THNX

Tim

doclek

Actually, here's a more detailed obbservation of the glitch:
Halfway or more than halfway (but usually random) through playback, my Axim suddenly stops producing sound (though the slider and the timer still keeps on moving). And then when i close the player and run File Explorer, no mp3 files are found on the directory where i placed them. Only when i soft reset my axim do the files "come back" again. I've also used Pocket DiVx and i did not encounter problem using that player.
Got any clues? <sigh> Actually, i can live with this glitch as long as i have Pocket Music and Pocket DiVx. It just annoys me to death to know that the accessory i purchased is not perfect :(

Cheryl

I have music on my SanDisk CF and have no problem. This is really weird. Hope someone can help you out.

frankrentef

Mine is only the first 10 - 12 seconds of a MP3 or WMA formatted track will play. The few times I've gotten a track to play more than that it sounds like the old 45 records skipping and popping. I've tried several players, conversion tools, conversion settings, etc. Should I hard boot?

cageyjames

I wouldn't go that far. If you can play MP3s on your built in storage no problem a hard reboot won't help. Do you have another CF card to test?

frankrentef

O.K., here is what I found (in my case). I checked the format of the SanDisk card, it was 16 bit. Pulled the data off, reformatted to 32 bit. Reconverted my music to MP3, reloaded Pocket Music Player and...it worked! I'm on Windows XP Professional.

I'm guessing in the bit conversion from the PC to the Axim files became "corrupted?"

Hope this helps others

Tim

doclek

I reformatted many times my SanDisk CF card, each time trying different options (eg FAT16, FAT32, diff cluster sizes). I also tried hard rebooting. Still the problem persisted.
Last night i placed newly converted songs (in WMA format using WMPlayer of WinXP) and tried playing them in my axim's Media Player. It ran perfectly!
I guess frankrentef your correct in saying that it must be in the "bit conversion from the PC to the Axim files" that's at fault.

mrclean1727

hey guys....how do I reformat my san disk SD 256....
(one last try before I call dell)
Thanks!:rolling:

__________________
too many crosscheks too da head

doclek

I use Storage Tools and FlashFormat by CNETX to format my CF cards. Maybe u can use it for ur SD card as well (Im not sure though). Just download the files (search for them at google). Hope this helps...

eugener

Hi all!
If you, guys, insist to use WMP on your AXIMs, why shouldn't you use it's "big brother" (I mean WMP for PC) to copy music on your mobile device?
I had troubles before with playing MP3s on my AXIM with WMP.
But if I use "copy to device" option from WMP on my desktop, and convert it to WMA format (WMP does it on the fly, once it set to do so), everything is going very well.

Good luck :D

__________________
When you say, what you think, think, what do you say...

jfabritz

I just bought a refurbished Axim Basic (300MHz) and ran into the same problem with a newly purchased Sandisk 256MB Compact Flash card.

With the card in the PPC, I could copy the file (both as a mp3 and a wma) to the CF folder via 'My Computer' without an error. When I went to select the file in WMP, it would play the first four seconds, then stop audio. The location bar would stop moving and the counter would stop at 0:04. Most of the time I could stop the player and then exit WMP without a problem. Once I locked up WMP and got an error message when I attempted to close it.

So, I tried moving the file from the CF to the main memory. I got an error that it couldn't find the file. Look in the CF folder, no files. Pull out the CF and put it back in. Files are back.

Remove CF all together and copy audio files back into main memory. I was able to play them in WMP without error. It was almost like one of the I/O pins was corrupting data. I don't know what kind of data verification they use (CRC?) to guarantee that what was transfered is actually on the device.

Either this Sandisk CF is garbage, or there are some serious problems with the I/O on this Axim. I have a SimpleTech CF 256MB on its way so I will test the second theory. I will also try an exchange on the Sandisk and see if I got a bum card.

Factor in all the complains on the Secure Digital port plus this thread on problems utilizing files on some types of CF cards and it smells like a class-action lawsuit! :p The failure rate is too damn high for this class of device.

robz2fast

FlashFormat by CNETX will format both CF and Sd cards.

Do you have many things running while trying to use Windows media Player? Also how long are the mp3s, what bitrate(may be too low of bitrate possibly)?

I don't have any problems with mp3s and I usually have like 1 or 2 hour DJ mix shows in mp3 format that I listen to with the axim. Am using Sandisk SD and CF card as well, with no problems mysteriously.

jfabritz

I used Storage Tools to reformat the CF a couple of times in both FAT16/FAT32 formats. Neither seemed to make a difference.

The MP3s is 128kbps and the WMA is 64kbps. They both die out around the same point. They play find on my PC and they place fine if loaded into main memory without the CF inserted.

I have been pretty vigilent about making sure I didn't bog the limited memory with idle programs. Only thing 'running' was the switcher and ActiveSync with both the CF in and out.

It could be a bum card. I will head over to Staples and do an exchange. Unfortunately, the wife took the Axim with her on her business trip so she could read her ebooks on the plane. I have another Axim enroute to me so I will have two devices to check against incase my CF slot is hosed.

To be continued... :rolling: