Brand new Zen won't detect or (seemingly) charge)

[LuckyStrike]

Hello and thanks for reading.

I have a brand new out of the package Zen that will not be detected by XP. Not only that but the blue charging light that I've heard about will not light up either. When I first plugged the device in, before installing Creative's software or Zen drivers, I got a little usb error message in the bottom right of my screen. It said something to the effect that my device could not be properly detected and that there was a possible malfunction. I went ahead and installed the Creative software and Zen driver. Nothing. Nothing pops up when I unplug or plug in the product, not even an error message.

Looking at the FAQ I can tell you this:

1. Zen is plugged into a back USB port that has been verified as working.
2. I have since installed WMP11 (i had 9 before)
3. I have Windows service pack 3 installed

Is this just a matter of waiting for the battery to charge? It's been around 3 hours and nothing is happening.

Thanks for any reply.

[BobbyRS]

Hello LuckyStrike. Welcome. Keep in mind the Zen will not be detected by the computer unless it is powered on and booted correctly (into the firmware or Recovery Mode). When you plug the Zen into the computer, even if it is powered off, the blue power light should at least be flashing, indicating it is charging. If it is not, I would leave it plugged in to the USB port for a day or two to see if it begins charging correctly or eventually powers on. I would also try using a different USB cable to see if you get a different result as well.

[LuckyStrike]

Thanks for the reply BobbyRS (and the FAQ).

I must have messed up connecting the front USB port to my mobo b/c now not only won't my Zen turn on but neither will my ipod. I had never used the front port before last night and didn't put much thought into what I was doing and now it appears that I have 2 dead players.

[shenyue]

to install the files you installed for the zen. plug in the zen into the plug on the back of the comp. go control panel, admin tools, sys management, click on hardware on the left. look for unknown hardware that has a question mark on it. right click it and hit uninstall. unplug zen. restart comp. install files for the zen. then plug it in and see if it works. if that doesn't fix it then i can't help you. not over the net anyways

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by LuckyStrike

Thanks for the reply BobbyRS (and the FAQ).

No problem.

I must have messed up connecting the front USB port to my mobo b/c now not only won't my Zen turn on but neither will my ipod. I had never used the front port before last night and didn't put much thought into what I was doing and now it appears that I have 2 dead players.

I would stay clear of ever using the USB ports built into cases like that. They have a tendency to be missed-wired and many times supply incorrect voltage to the wrong pins and ruin devices that are plugged into them. However, just to be sure.... have you tried another USB cable?

[LuckyStrike]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

No problem.



I would stay clear of ever using the USB ports built into cases like that. They have a tendency to be missed-wired and many times supply incorrect voltage to the wrong pins and ruin devices that are plugged into them. However, just to be sure.... have you tried another USB cable?

Yea, dead Zen with the Zen usb cable. Dead ipod using the (previously working) ipod usb cable.

[BobbyRS]

Originally Posted by LuckyStrike

Yea, dead Zen with the Zen usb cable. Dead ipod using the (previously working) ipod usb cable.

Yeah, but I was referring more to using a second USB cable with the Zen, not just another USB with another device..... and not plugging into the front case USB ports, but the USB ports in the back of the computer.

[LuckyStrike]

No I haven't used another cable to plug the Zen into the back of my computer. But when I use another USB cable to plug my ipod into my mother's computer nothing happened. This led be to believe that the player was broken, not the cable.

[BobbyRS]

No I haven't used another cable to plug the Zen into the back of my computer.

Do you have and can you try another USB cable with the ZEN?

[LuckyStrike]

Originally Posted by BobbyRS

Do you have and can you try another USB cable with the ZEN?

No, I've looked around and to my surprise I don't have another USB cable around.

[BobbyRS]

A new USB cable shouldn't cost much. It may be a good idea to purchase one to have on hand for backup and testing purposes. Since you don't have another USB cable for the Zen, what happens if you plug the Zen into your mothers computer (USB ports in the back)?

[LuckyStrike]

When I plugged the Zen into my mother's computer nothing happened. No error message, no sound of a USB device being detected, no USB device showing up anywhere in any menu. It was as if nothing happened at all.

[BobbyRS]

Yeah, then it sounds like you have a hardware issue preventing connectivity like a bad cable or the Zen itself. I would at least try a new cable.