Suddenly getting "Cannot copy..." error.

[Anthrax_Mouthwash]

Greets. New member here.

My backside has been in this chair trying to solve this problem for about 10hrs now. Zero sleep for me last night. Thinking maybe somebody here has seen this prob... Or should that be hoping?

The problem? Oh yeah...

Just last night I started getting a really weird error. When I try to xfer totally normal files (MP3/WMA/AVI/WMV) I get this dialogue a second after it's about to start sending the file. It says: Cannot copy 'Whatever.avi': the video file is not valid or not recognized.

Seriously, I even tried renaming and uploading files that are already on my ZEN (just recently put on it) and it gives the same error for everything.

So, I've been here for 10hours trying to sus if maybe I have disabled a service on the service list that I shouldn't... no, I haven't; disabled the BS, but kept what I need.

But in the process, I came across yet another bug in WindowsXP where disabling the Portable Media Serial Number Service renames the instance of the service in the registry key for Svchost\netsvcs with a typo. Bug solved, but it had no effect on my problem and I might as well disable it again.

Anyway, uh, all the Creative software still keeps failing to txfer files. Gives me that weird dialogue box, you know.

Incidently, updating firmware works fine. Yeah, I got sidetracked by all the cool firmware-hacking trends that I never heard about before. I put Lucida Sans Unicode on my player -- plain, but thicker. And unicode, so the word Queensrÿche displays the "Y" properly.

Please, please say somebody has some idea as to a solution to my prob.

Oh, if it helps with a solution, I should point out a few things:
#1 I uploaded stuff to my player a couple of days ago. Fine.
#2 My player is working 100% good; firmware updates/hacks work.
#3 My player is in great condition and the HD was formatted a few days ago.
#4 Nothing about my machine or installed software, settings, etc has changed since I last put something on my Zen.
#5 My battery is charged (duh).
#6 It's not locked (duh).
#7 This prob has appeared really suddenly.
#8 Yes, I *have* reinstalled the Creative CD.
#9 Yes, I did a clean up from the recovery menu. Bupkis.

BTW, #4 isn't exactly true *now* because I've installed the stuff for hacking the Zen firmware. But none of that made a difference to the problem.

Thanks.
Any help is appreciated.

Long post, huh? Thanks for reading it... if you did.

[BobbyRS]

Welcome to ABI!

Your issue sounds like a firmware problem? Have you tried reloading the firmware by booting in recovery mode and selecting the reload firmware option? This way differs from a regular firmware upgrade/reload because it removes the current firmware installed in case it is corrupt, allowing you to install a fresh version. When you get that error, are you able to copy the file over anyway? If so, does it play or error out?

[Anthrax_Mouthwash]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Your issue sounds like a firmware problem...

Really? I disagree. To me it sounds just like a software issue with the Creative software (eg conflicting with something) or a service has been stopped that is needed by the Creative software. The latter has been tested, and doesn't seem to be the case.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

When you get that error, are you able to copy the file over anyway?

No. This is a standard error msg. My only choice is to skip that particular file or all files. Or cancel. You know what's really dumb? Cancel by definition does the same thing as skip all.

Have you tried reloading the firmware by booting in recovery mode and selecting the reload firmware option?

No. But that will change right now...

{recovery mode.... reload firmware.... yes.... 'reload it now'.... firmware upgrade.... yes.... blah blah blah.... rebooting....}

Bummer. All the settings get reset. I know it makes sense it would happen, but it didn't happen with the regular firmware update. Now I'm back to blue ripples and orange highlight -- and the nasty thin-line font. Now I gotta reload the Mena Suvari wallpaper and reload a Lucida Sans Unicode firmware hack. Then re-do the custom EQ to get it flat for my (kinda cruddy) Sennheisers. Then all the other settings.

I hope, for all the effor that it's gonna be, it works now....... No. It doesn't.

Same thing again.

Cannot copy 'Whatever.avi': the video file is not valid or not recognized.

Same thing with audio, btw, like mp3/wma/etc. But it says "the audio file" instead of video (duh).

Thanks for your help, though.




EDIT:

I just tried WMP. It manages to upload the file. BUT, the files it uploads are not appearing on the ZVM. I can quit WMP, re-open WMP and WMP tells me the files it just uploaded are there (even after refresh), but they are not on the ZVM. I tried a clean-up, it did a full library rebuild (took a while as usual) but still the files are not showing. They certainly seem to be there, because I get no vague errors when deleting them from within WMP. Different files have been tried with the same result.

My next adventure? Trying the other machine in my studio. It's running Win2k, so a bit more reliable with regards to useless background services running. Yeah, yeah, the ZVM is not supposed to work, but it does work under win2k if you use WMP and the back-ported MTP driver. Or at least I had it working before... lets see if I get the same effect.

[Anthrax_Mouthwash]

UPDATE:

First, many thanks to anybody reading all this.

I mentioned in the above post that I'd try another machine.

I just did. Guess what: no problems at all. And that was running win2k. Seriously, I just uploaded a 300+MB AVI (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, if you wanna know). Yes, it shows up and plays perfectly on the ZVM. It's just this machine (the one with winXP and running the proper Creative Zen Browser) that's having problems.

To hell with it, I know I hate winXP, but I don't wanna have to wipe it and reinstall everything on this machine. It takes days. There's so much stuff!


Does the Creative software or Zen driver rely on the HID support service? Only I disabled that, and now I can't get it to restart. I can't see what the HID service would have to do with the Zen or its software. However, the description of the HID service in the services admin browser mentions "multimedia devices" or something.

[FrododorF]

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

.

Oh, if it helps with a solution, I should point out a few things:
#1 I uploaded stuff to my player a couple of days ago. Fine.
#2 My player is working 100% good; firmware updates/hacks work.
#3 My player is in great condition and the HD was formatted a few days ago.
#4 Nothing about my machine or installed software, settings, etc has changed since I last put something on my Zen.
#5 My battery is charged (duh).
#6 It's not locked (duh).
#7 This prob has appeared really suddenly.
#8 Yes, I *have* reinstalled the Creative CD.
#9 Yes, I did a clean up from the recovery menu.

is it full, or does it think it is full? check the info under system, i believe that it just gives the standard cannot copy error when it is full not a there is not room on the device

[ZenChick]

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

Does the Creative software or Zen driver rely on the HID support service? Only I disabled that, and now I can't get it to restart. I can't see what the HID service would have to do with the Zen or its software. However, the description of the HID service in the services admin browser mentions "multimedia devices" or something.

Sounds like your XP machine has some serious issues. Between the apparent software conflicts preventing proper upload of files to your player, and services that cannot be restarted, I'd say you're on the verge of needing to slick and reload that computer.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

I just did. Guess what: no problems at all. And that was running win2k. Seriously, I just uploaded a 300+MB AVI (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, if you wanna know). Yes, it shows up and plays perfectly on the ZVM. It's just this machine (the one with winXP and running the proper Creative Zen Browser) that's having problems.

I just tried WMP. It manages to upload the file. BUT, the files it uploads are not appearing on the ZVM. I can quit WMP, re-open WMP and WMP tells me the files it just uploaded are there (even after refresh), but they are not on the ZVM.

OK, what you did here basically tells me that there may be an issue with MTP (or the USB host drivers) on the WinXP system. Using Win2000 with the legacy drivers is different then a full MTP compatible OS like Vista or even WinXP SP2 (sort of). First lets shoot for MTP... What version of WMP are you running on the WinXP system?

Another program you can try installing or upgrading to for MTP framework related is the .Net Framework. You can download the latest version here.

I would be surprised if it ended up being a service as the cause.

[Anthrax_Mouthwash]

Originally Posted by ZenChick

Sounds like your XP machine has some serious issues.

... Yes, it's running XP... that's a very serious issue on its own. I wouldn't expect anything less than bugs, slow performance and more bugs. To be fair, that's what I've got out of this machine since installing XP, so by expecting it I'm not particularly disappointed

Originally Posted by ZenChick

I'd say you're on the verge of needing to slick and reload that computer.

Only recently installed XP. Installed it for the purposes of using the ZVW60, if you must know. That's a whole other issue that could turn into a big anti-microsoft rant....

[off-topic rant]
Microsoft are desperate to get people to buy Vista. One of the ways they are doing this is to bum-out (sensible) people still using Win2k who want to use MTP devices. Presumably, same "sensible" people will opt for the non-mainstream options and avoid the iPod. The ZVM/W is a popular choice then. Originally, a back-ported version of the MTP drivers was released by Creative which included in the list of supported device IDs the ZVM (and still does). Microsoft have asked Creative (more like demanded) not to support less than XP with any newer MTP devices. The result is XP/Vista-only devices since the ZVM60. And the back-ported MTP driver has never been updated. That's fair enough. But if I try to write my own MTP driver to support the ZVW60, I have the problem of not knowing or being able to obtain the device ID to add it to the INF file. I actually emailed Creative about this and they said... *ahem*... "We are not authorised to disclose this information". What BS. Microsoft have got the throttle round them and they are saying yes to everything MS ask. Look at Archos. They are doing the opposite and telling MS where to go. The result? Standard-installed MTP driver support for the Archos devices on Win98SE+. I don't know what Creative are getting out of obeying MS, but I can only assume and hope they are getting money. That's enough rant. The result is this: the sort of people running win2k who are gonna buy a ZVM/W are using win2k because they are totally anti-XP. Hence, they end up going for Vista. Microsoft make out. Creative p**s off their customers.
[/off-topic rant]


Only recently installed XP; only recently started using the Creative software (obviously). But it's been working for a while... even *since* disabling all the junk services. Like I said, nothing has changed on this machine since I last put stuff on my player fine. Just suddenly decided to have this error.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

there may be an issue with MTP (or the USB host drivers) on the WinXP system

Yeah. That's what I'm getting at.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

What version of WMP are you running on the WinXP system?

WMP 9.0 build 4503. Hmm... that's strange. I have the v10.0 build 3650 codecs installed. Bear in mind, no matter how strange or dodgy that sounds, this has been the case the whole time I've been using XP and been able to successfully upload WMAs, AVIs, etc to the ZVM. But it's a place to start.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

...the .Net Framework...

Install .net framework? Do I really want to take bug-riddled XP as it stands and introduce more bugs? Why not...

.net's a no-go. I've installed v2, neither v3.0 or v3.5 will install. The bootstrappers fail after downloading the stuff (no suprise there) and the redist release of v3.0 fails at the start of the install. I get errors about RGBRast, then errors related to other stuff not finding RGBRast. But that was in the error log file.

Does .net v2 solve the problem? No. But I'm just about to update WMP properly. I have a feeling that this weird part-v9-part-v10 situation might have something to do with it all. How it got like that is anyone's guess.

I'll edit this post in just a hot minute...



EDIT/UPDATE:

I just installed WMP10 fully. Took a while. Even restarted my machine afterwards (it didn't require me to... surely it should?)

The good news? The ZVM shows up in MyComputer as an acessable removable disk. Sweet. I'd rather be using that than the Creative Browser/Explorer method.

The bad news? The problem is not solved. If I transfer files from MyComputer, I get a simmilar but slightly different message telling me the file is not supported by the device. All I can do is skip it/them. I've tried (again) uploading files that are already on the player (but renaming them, so they don't overwrite) and in MyComputer it tells me the files are not supported by the player... yet they're on there already and play perfectly and were uploaded not long ago on this very same machine. Like, whaaaaaaaat???

[sigh] looks like I'll be reinstalling everything on this machine. It *is* a last resort, though. Being that I've only just done it a few months back.



Oh, and by the way...
"Is it full?" is a funny question. No. Nowhere near full. It's maybe 20GB free ATM. I don't have many videos on it, but quite a lot of albums in high-Q WMA format. I've filled it before and it does actually say "device is full" or something (at least in WMP it does), not a vague error like this. You know why I don't like using WMP to upload stuff? It insists on re-encoding my well-encoded WMAs to CBR160kbps and does a really bad job of it. Using a direct approach I can upload high-Q WMAs without any intermitent re-encoding.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

... Yes, it's running XP... that's a very serious issue on its own.

It is always a good idea to get OS problems worked out before moving on to other software that may be having a problem. It does nothing but make it harder to troubleshoot.

[off-topic rant]But if I try to write my own MTP driver to support the ZVW60, I have the problem of not knowing or being able to obtain the device ID to add it to the INF file. I actually emailed Creative about this and they said... *ahem*... "We are not authorised to disclose this information".

Careful..... don't want to be another Daniel_k now do you?

WMP 9.0 build 4503. Hmm... that's strange. I have the v10.0 build 3650 codecs installed. Bear in mind, no matter how strange or dodgy that sounds, this has been the case the whole time I've been using XP and been able to successfully upload WMAs, AVIs, etc to the ZVM. But it's a place to start.

WMP9, even with the version 10 codecs is not a compliant MTP version of WMP. WMP10 or WMP11 needs to be reinstalled.

Install .net framework? Do I really want to take bug-riddled XP as it stands and introduce more bugs? Why not...

Yes, there have been issue in the past with Creative's software not working correctly that have been related to the .Net framework. You had the Creative software installed at one time. Installing the .Net framwork update was in case the Creative software has interferred in this way.

.net's a no-go. I've installed v2, neither v3.0 or v3.5 will install. The bootstrappers fail after downloading the stuff (no suprise there) and the redist release of v3.0 fails at the start of the install. I get errors about RGBRast, then errors related to other stuff not finding RGBRast. But that was in the error log file.

If the bootstrappers failed, are you sure it downloaded properly? RGBRast is the software rasterizer for DirectX. Do you have the latest DriectX version installed? In fact, how long has it been since you have done a Windows Update? Oh, I don't remember if you have said that you have Service Pack 2 installed on not for WinXP. SP2 is a requirement here.

The bad news? The problem is not solved. If I transfer files from MyComputer, I get a simmilar but slightly different message telling me the file is not supported by the device. All I can do is skip it/them. I've tried (again) uploading files that are already on the player (but renaming them, so they don't overwrite) and in MyComputer it tells me the files are not supported by the player... yet they're on there already and play perfectly and were uploaded not long ago on this very same machine. Like, whaaaaaaaat???

Just to eliminate USB issues..... try:

1. Make sure you are running WinXP SP2.

2. Open Device Manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers, and uninstall everything listed.

3. Restart the computer and allow it to reload all the USB drivers and then restart again.

4. Continue restarting until everything under Universal Serial Bus controllers in Device Manager is loaded correctly again.

5. Plug in the Zen and check Device Manager again to make sure the Zen drivers are not having issues.

[sigh] looks like I'll be reinstalling everything on this machine. It *is* a last resort, though. Being that I've only just done it a few months back.

That may not be a bad idea. It really sounds like you need to get Windows in a working order before continuing on with getting the Zen to work correctly with Windows XP on that system. You seem to be a tweaker, like myself. Here is quick order of what I would do:

1. Boot from WinXP CD/Wipe out partition/Recreate Partition/Format partition/Continue with install.

2. Make sure all device drivers are loaded/Install XP SP2/Do a Windows Update/ Then install WMP11

3. Try connecting the ZVM/Make sure drivers load properly in Device Manager/Then try WMP to sync

If it works, great! Then go and try all your personal tweaks with services, software, etc. If it stops working then, you know if was something you did.

Let us know....

[Anthrax_Mouthwash]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Careful..... don't want to be another Daniel_k now do you?

.... what? who?

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

WMP9, even with the version 10 codecs is not a compliant MTP version of WMP.

WMP10 *was* installed. But for some reason the player was saying WMP9. But it doesn't matter now.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

If the bootstrappers failed, are you sure it downloaded properly?

Just to clarify: I also DL'd the redist version and had the very same problem.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

RGBRast is the software rasterizer for DirectX. Do you have the latest DriectX version installed?

Yes. I had it then, the new Mar 2008 release. Again, it doesn't matter any more.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

In fact, how long has it been since you have done a Windows Update?

Recently. XP was only recently installed and updated.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Oh, I don't remember if you have said that you have Service Pack 2 installed...

At the time I had the "pre-release" SP3.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Just to eliminate USB issues..... try....

Yah, yah... already did all of those at the beginning. No USB issues, no ZEN driver issues. Again... doesn't matter any more.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

That may not be a bad idea.... You seem to be a tweaker, like myself.

Tweaker? Put it this way: only *one* of many, many machines I have owned in my life was built by someone other than me. And that was the first machine I had... when I was about 6... an 80286DX . Add to that the fact I spent most of my life up until about 16-18 as an ameteur software devver. Yep, since I was about 7-8. Just don't have time for it any more, or any great interest.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

1. Boot from WinXP CD....

Or a better alternative... boot from Vista DVD.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

...try all your personal tweaks with services, software, etc. If it stops working then, you know if was something you did.

I just did much the same thing with Vista: even disabling services that windows was reluctant to let me disable (task scheduler, defender, blah blah blah). No worries, so I have *no* idea how the prob started with XP. I'm a lot happier with Vista, anyway. It's about 400% faster and much more stable. Seriously, XP took about 6mins+ to finish starting up. I've got everything installed on Vista now and it takes about 90sec. Sweet.

I Haven't installed the ZVM/ZVW CD, but I don't have to. The ZVM30 appears in My Computer (or 'Computer' as Vista calls it... I guess all property is theft ). The slightly annoying thing is it shows me a generic drive within the device. Eg, ZVM30\Generic Storage Drive\Music\Cool Band - Cool Album\01 Cool First Song.wma.

Never mind.

Yes, the problem is solved.

What's the solution? Well, for the record... just get Vista and do a fresh install. Or, more to the point, stop using XP.

Big thanks to ZC, Bobby, and everybody for your help!

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

.... what? who?

A guy who wrote his own drivers and Creative didn't really care for that. Search it out.....

I Haven't installed the ZVM/ZVW CD, but I don't have to. The ZVM30 appears in My Computer (or 'Computer' as Vista calls it... Yes, the problem is solved.

What's the solution? Well, for the record... just get Vista and do a fresh install. Or, more to the point, stop using XP.

Good to hear! I am one of those that have been running Vista since it's release and love it as well.

Big thanks to ZC, Bobby, and everybody for your help!

No problem!

[ZenChick]

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

.... what? who?

See this post.

Originally Posted by Anthrax_Mouthwash

At the time I had the "pre-release" SP3.

That may well have been part of the problem, though I have no way to tell for sure, as I have converted my last XP-running computer over to Vista just the other day... An old Socket "A" system with a Sempron processor, no less! The only other computer I have that isn't running Vista is my file server, which is running Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty, Server Edition).

Anyways, glad you got it all working again!

[Anthrax_Mouthwash]

For clarity:

I was actually ranting about Microsoft, not Creative. Although I am quite annoyed that Creative have been cowards with regards to Microsoft's requests.

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

A guy who wrote his own drivers and Creative didn't really care for that.

Really... gee, I wonder why :P
All I intended doing was using the MS MTP porting kit. Totally legal, totally conventional. But I needed the ID for the ZVW60 and Creative just wouldn't give it to me. I blame MS for that. Though, MS are back in my good books having discovered that none of the crap I heard about Vista is true; Vista is actually a step in the right direction: a step back to Win2k. Well done, MS.

Originally Posted by ZenChick

That may well have been part of the problem

Not possible. I hate repeating myself in forums, but (from the first post up top):
#4 Nothing about my machine or installed software, settings, etc has changed since I last put something on my Zen.
I had the pre-release SP3 installed from the beginning. My Zen worked fine for a few months, then the prob suddenly appeared. Welcome to the Twighlight Zone.

You know what will really annoy me? If in a few months, I'm posting a thread here saying "I've got the same prob AGAIN". LOL.

Originally Posted by ZenChick

I have converted my last XP-running computer over to Vista just the other day

That's even freakier. ["oohs" the Twilight Zone theme].

You were probably installing Vista at the same time I was!

Ugh, yeeeeaaahhh... it's like we, uh, did something "dirty" at the same time in two different places... like, on our own

So, how was it for you? I'd offer you a cigarette, but I don't smoke, so how's'about a Jolly Rancher? I've got some jelly babies, too; can I offer you a jelly, baby? Malteaser for the teaser? Look, a pack of Bourbon biscuits! No? Perhaps something more savoury? I've got a Ginster's here. How's'about some Pringles? Wait, I know, a four cheese pizza. Would you like fries with that?

This is the point where someone tells me all of that was totally inappropriate and not funny because ZC is, like, 14. And then some armed police knock down my door...

Bah, she knows I'm joking. I just hope saying that in court will work

Originally Posted by ZenChick

...which is running Ubuntu...

Sweet. [nods].

Ubuntu 7-04: when you've absolutely positively gotta run every mutha-file on the drive... no substitute.

Though the same can be said about most of the Linux derivatives/successors.

Originally Posted by ZenChick

Anyways, glad you got it all working again!

Yeah. Thanks.

So far, so good.

[BobbyRS]

An old Socket "A" system with a Sempron processor, no less!

Ouch! I hope there's a decent size of memory in that system.

The only other computer I have that isn't running Vista is my file server

Win2003 RC2 is outstanding for File Servers! DFS works really good.