Creative ZEN xtra MP3 player will not install properly in Vista

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msny

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Initially Vista detected the device and installed the drver. Thats when the fun begins. I then tried to install both the drivers from CD (XP compatable, run as Admin). With the XP software everything installs, but when I try to access the player with nomad explorer or the music organizer the software crashes to the desktop. A Vista message appears telling me go to the creative website and a solution is avaialable there. So I go and find nothing specific, but they have Vista software which I try to install. It gives me a vague error code on the
installshield program and fails. I also have the latest firmware installed on the player.

Device manger shows the ZEN installed. Creative sync manger does not see the player at all. If I remove the ZEN from device manger, it redetects it again and installs a driver and the same process occurs.

I have all the same software installed on my Shuttle box which is XP and it works nicely.

Any ideas on this?
 
Wait...wait. Are you suggesting a Creative product has trouble with Vista? Liar!!!

;)
 
I have a Vista Business build with a creative ZenV player that connects to it, I've ran into the occasional issue, but nothing this severe. I'd suggest uninstalling and starting from scratch with the proper and most up-to-date firmware.
 
dot_Zen said:
I have a Vista Business build with a creative ZenV player that connects to it, I've ran into the occasional issue, but nothing this severe. I'd suggest uninstalling and starting from scratch with the proper and most up-to-date firmware.
Click to expand...

Thanks but I have already tried that 3 times. They call that an out in baseball...

Each time Vista installs the driver and each time I try to install the software. If I try to go directly to the Vista software it complains that "no device by that name is connected to the system". I've already updated the firmware as I mentioned above to the latest version.

As I said all works fine on the XP shuttle box but not Vista.
 
msny said:
Initially Vista detected the device and installed the drver. Thats when the fun begins. I then tried to install both the drivers from CD (XP compatable, run as Admin).
Click to expand...

Can I ask why you tried to install another set of drivers when Vista already installed a set for you?

msny said:
With the XP software everything installs, but when I try to access the player with nomad explorer or the music organizer the software crashes to the desktop. A Vista message appears telling me go to the creative website and a solution is avaialable there. So I go and find nothing specific, but they have Vista software which I try to install. It gives me a vague error code on the installshield program and fails. I also have the latest firmware installed on the player.
Click to expand...

As it should, you brute forced XP drivers on to the system for a device which had Vista support in the box. Creative's Vista software is designed to work w/ the Vista driver package so it's likely tanking in seeing the XP stuff all over your system (i.e. not being able to find the device).

msny said:
Device manger shows the ZEN installed. Creative sync manger does not see the player at all. If I remove the ZEN from device manger, it redetects it again and installs a driver and the same process occurs.
Click to expand...

It's pointed back to use the XP drivers, it's the same as running in a circle. ;)

msny said:
I have all the same software installed on my Shuttle box which is XP and it works nicely.

Any ideas on this?
Click to expand...

Plenty, most portable devices in Windows Vista now use a class User Mode Driver rather than requiring a driver from the vendor. That is provided the device reports itself as an MTP device (which the the Zen does if your firmware was updated at some point in the last year).

I've got a ZenXtra in my office, but I'm using WMP 11 to synchronize it right now, I'll try the Creative package and see what happens though.
 
Well that didn't take long;

ZENCast Organizer sees the device just fine, the rest of Creative's Media software does not see it at all right out of the gate until you install the Creative "PlayForSure" plug in.

WMP11 has 0 problem synchronizing w/ the device right after you plug it in the first time.

All this was done just using the inbox Vista drivers.
 
der_jackal said:
Can I ask why you tried to install another set of drivers when Vista already installed a set for you?



As it should, you brute forced XP drivers on to the system for a device which had Vista support in the box. Creative's Vista software is designed to work w/ the Vista driver package so it's likely tanking in seeing the XP stuff all over your system (i.e. not being able to find the device).



It's pointed back to use the XP drivers, it's the same as running in a circle. ;)



Plenty, most portable devices in Windows Vista now use a class User Mode Driver rather than requiring a driver from the vendor. That is provided the device reports itself as an MTP device (which the the Zen does if your firmware was updated at some point in the last year).

I've got a ZenXtra in my office, but I'm using WMP 11 to synchronize it right now, I'll try the Creative package and see what happens though.
Click to expand...

NO! Did not install the driver twice. Let me clarify what I did.



1) pluged in the player
2) vista installed its driver - ok in device manger
3) put my XP CD in to install the software, orgnizer ect. and it installs
run as Admin, in XP mode else will fail - did install program instal driver again dunno?
4) start the organizer, find the player and click on it
5) program fails back to desktop and refers me to creative wesite for upgrade fix with message
6) download vista software there and try to install, install fails

Been building and installing software.hardware for many years, never had this kind of issue.

? ?
 
msny said:
NO! Did not install the driver twice. Let me clarify what I did.

1) pluged in the player
2) vista installed its driver - ok in device manger
3) put my XP CD in to install the software, orgnizer ect. and it installs
run as Admin, in XP mode else will fail - did install program instal driver again dunno?
4) start the organizer, find the player and click on it
5) program fails back to desktop and refers me to creative wesite for upgrade fix with message
6) download vista software there and try to install, install fails

Been building and installing software.hardware for many years, never had this kind of issue.

? ?
Click to expand...

Your OP said; I then tried to install both the drivers from CD (XP compatable, run as Admin).

Which sounded to me like you installed the drivers and the software from the CD. If you just ran a root setup package on the CD it's likely it did attempt to install XP drivers for the device.

So;

What drivers does device manager say you are using?
What's the friendly string name of the device in Device Manager?

For the record; I downloaded the Vista software from Creative's site; the ZENCast thingy, the Media Organizer and the PlayForSure Device plug in.
 
der_jackal said:
Your OP said; I then tried to install both the drivers from CD (XP compatable, run as Admin).

Which sounded to me like you installed the drivers and the software from the CD. If you just ran a root setup package on the CD it's likely it did attempt to install XP drivers for the device.

So;

What drivers does device manager say you are using?
What's the friendly string name of the device in Device Manager?

For the record; I downloaded the Vista software from Creative's site; the ZENCast thingy, the Media Organizer and the PlayForSure Device plug in.
Click to expand...

About ready to give up, nothing should be this complicated.
I'm not seeing anything now in device manger for the driver.
Tried to just install mediasource 5 and it complains there is no compatible device.

I made sure the driver file in Windows/system32 was CTDRVINS.EXE
download from Creatives website (which it suggests replacing). But there is a driver entry in control panel under programs. If I try to remove it there says "logfile not found".

http://193.95.171.84/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=466,E=0000000000212329538,K=4305,Sxi=9,Case=obj(12675),Kb=ww_english_add,VARSET=ws:http://us.creative.com/

I may have installed the XP driver initially, then removed it in favor of the Vista one. So I can't remove any of the programs I do have to start over because installshield complains of error -1055 whatever that is.

Like I said about ready to give up on this.....
 
msny said:
I may have installed the XP driver initially, then removed it in favor of the Vista one.
Click to expand...

Unless you deleted the OEMnn.inf and OEMnn.pnf from the system or plugged the device into a different / new USB port, you haven't removed that driver. Even if you uninstall the device from Device Manager, if you don't select "delete software from system" those drivers remain on the system and they are used every time you plug the device in (even in a new USB port in some cases).

The first part of the problem is getting the device recognized in Vista.

Unplug the device.

start >> run
inf

Sort by name and you can look at the last few instances of OEMnn.inf / .pnf.

Look in the inf file for anything that says "Creative" in the header of the inf file. Do a search in that inf for ZEN.

If / when you find it, delete both the inf and the corresponding pnf file.

Check a few of them to make sure there aren't any more hanging around.

You should be able to plug the device back in and have it show up in Device Manager as a "Portable Device".
 
der_jackal said:
Unless you deleted the OEMnn.inf and OEMnn.pnf from the system or plugged the device into a different / new USB port, you haven't removed that driver. Even if you uninstall the device from Device Manager, if you don't select "delete software from system" those drivers remain on the system and they are used every time you plug the device in (even in a new USB port in some cases).

The first part of the problem is getting the device recognized in Vista.

Unplug the device.

start >> run
inf

Sort by name and you can look at the last few instances of OEMnn.inf / .pnf.

Look in the inf file for anything that says "Creative" in the header of the inf file. Do a search in that inf for ZEN.

If / when you find it, delete both the inf and the corresponding pnf file.

Check a few of them to make sure there aren't any more hanging around.

You should be able to plug the device back in and have it show up in Device Manager as a "Portable Device".
Click to expand...

OK I see those files in the inf folder but have not yet deleted them. If I delete them will this allow me to also remove the old software under programs or should I not worry about them at this point?

After rebooting, then plugging in the ZEN it shows up in device manger under "USB controllers". There is nothing under "portable devices" so I assume thats the goal.

If I get this sorted out and get Vista to install its driver what Creative Vista software needs to be installed then?

I appreciate your help!
 
msny said:
OK I see those files in the inf folder but have not yet deleted them. If I delete them will this allow me to also remove the old software under programs or should I not worry about them at this point?
Click to expand...

Infs first, software later. You can also look in the INF folder for the setup.dev.log file and search for Creative Zen it will tell what OEMnn.inf files it's tied to.

msny said:
After rebooting, then plugging in the ZEN it shows up in device manger under "USB controllers". There is nothing under "portable devices" so I assume thats the goal.
Click to expand...

If you View devices by connection, does anything show up dangling off that USB port?

The ultimate goal is to get your Zen showing up like this;
zendev.png


msny said:
If I get this sorted out and get Vista to install its driver what Creative Vista software needs to be installed then?

I appreciate your help!
Click to expand...


Just go to Creative's Web Site, select your OS as Vista and your device as a ZenXtra and download their MediaSource and Play For Sure Device Plug In.
 
der_jackal said:
Infs first, software later. You can also look in the INF folder for the setup.dev.log file and search for Creative Zen it will tell what OEMnn.inf files it's tied to.



If you View devices by connection, does anything show up dangling off that USB port?

The ultimate goal is to get your Zen showing up like this;
zendev.png





Just go to Creative's Web Site, select your OS as Vista and your device as a ZenXtra and download their MediaSource and Play For Sure Device Plug In.
Click to expand...

I only have my 2 printers under "portable devices" nothing else. As I said I see an entry only under "USB controllers" when its plugged in, otherwise it goes away.

I'll be working on the INF file issues tonight and tommorrow.

Thanks!
 
No worries, if you want we can take this off line and then just post the resolution here.
 
Removed 2 of the .inf files. Uninstalled the entry for the device under
USB controller. Pluged the ZEN back in, detects the name and asks for a driver. It does not find it automatically. I assume this is crdrvins.exe? So it puts an exclamation mark device name under "other devices".

If this is not it what is the name of the driver it needs, I apparently don't have it now.
 
msny said:
Removed 2 of the .inf files. Uninstalled the entry for the device under
USB controller. Pluged the ZEN back in, detects the name and asks for a driver. It does not find it automatically. I assume this is crdrvins.exe? So it puts an exclamation mark device name under "other devices".

If this is not it what is the name of the driver it needs, I apparently don't have it now.
Click to expand...

Drivers for the Zen come w/ Windows Vista. It's merely using a class driver that ships within the operating system.

Please PM me. I'm going to have you send a couple of log files so I can have a look at it and see what all is up.
 
der_jackal said:
Drivers for the Zen come w/ Windows Vista. It's merely using a class driver that ships within the operating system.

Please PM me. I'm going to have you send a couple of log files so I can have a look at it and see what all is up.
Click to expand...

See your PM
 
I have it installed and working in Vista and XP....

Many, many thanks to der_jackal for his help on this and sticking with me in emails. Also after reading a few hundred posts in the Creative forum here is the answer.

To summerize the fix, there are a lot of hoops to jump through but they worked:
1) Do NOT install using XP drivers or software THIS IS HUGE - backup your music files first on an XP box
2) Make sure that you upgrade the firmware using Creative version Play for Sure 2.10.03 minimum for Vista
(you MUST do this on an XP box first or else Vista will NOT work!)
Also, the firmware will NOT install if you have WMP11 installed, remove it back to WMP 10 or less and try the firmware upgrade again. (this is on an XP machine)
3) Uninstall any Creative XP software you may have already installed. Either rollback or choose F8 when booting for safe mode (or run msconfig) IF you cannot do it using add/remove in the control panel.
You can then manaully delete any left over creative XP files.
3) Plug the device into a Vista box and it should be recognized
4) Install the rest of the software in THIS order as of 4/2007:

A)Creative Mediasource Player/Organizer 5.10.38
B)Creative Play for Sure Devices Plugin 5.00.38
C)Creative CD Burner Plugin 5.01.31

These programs can be found here for your specific player
http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

Other things
* Vista will use a "native" driver of it's own to detect your player.
Do NOT use Creative software for XP as it will try to use an XP
driver that will gum up the install by default
* Some Creative MP3 players are incompatible with Vista check with
the Creative knowledgebase on these - they may never work
* When detected properly by Vista device manger will show an entry
under "portable devices". Other entries are invalid

Any questions post away.
 
I just screwed up my Zen Xtra by trying to upgrade the firmware so i could install it on Vista. Now I have a dead player. Every time I turn it on it says "Firmware Error" and its not detected properly in WinXP so I cant run the firmware upgrade again to see if that would solve the problem. :(

Windows sees it as a Portable Device, but the firmware program says there is no player detected. I spent all morning searching round to see if there was a fix but it looks like i'm screwed.
 
metallibloke said:
I just screwed up my Zen Xtra by trying to upgrade the firmware so i could install it on Vista. Now I have a dead player. Every time I turn it on it says "Firmware Error" and its not detected properly in WinXP so I cant run the firmware upgrade again to see if that would solve the problem. :(

Windows sees it as a Portable Device, but the firmware program says there is no player detected. I spent all morning searching round to see if there was a fix but it looks like i'm screwed.
Click to expand...

NO!!!, your not screwed at all. I also had the "firmware error" problem
and could not get past it until I did this procedure.

Also read my previous post carefully, but here is more detail:

1) Go to an XP machine that was used previously and worked with your player
2) Make sure that WMP 11 is REMOVED and it will fall back to the previous version - use add/remove programs
3) Make sure that XP machine has the latest Play for Sure firmware on it version 2.10.03
4) Plug in the xtra it should be detected now
5) Run the firmware installer again and if it says it already installed
just do it again and overwrite it
6) If that works go to a Vista box and plug it in should be detected
7) Install the Vista software in the EXACT order I have it

Follow my previous post and its steps.

I bet I made the same mistake you did, not knowing that WMP 11 was the issue until I did the research.
 
I installed my zen xtra on vista way back when and didn't have any problems with it at all. I used version 1.30.3.0 XP drivers, media source 5.10.38 and nomad plugin version 5.0.22 (the non-plays-for-sure version), I don't recall ever upgrading the firmware on my zen, for what it's worth =p
 
msny said:
NO!!!, your not screwed at all. I also had the "firmware error" problem
and could not get past it until I did this procedure.

Also read my previous post carefully, but here is more detail:

1) Go to an XP machine that was used previously and worked with your player
2) Make sure that WMP 11 is REMOVED and it will fall back to the previous version - use add/remove programs
3) Make sure that XP machine has the latest Play for Sure firmware on it version 2.10.03
4) Plug in the xtra it should be detected now
5) Run the firmware installer again and if it says it already installed
just do it again and overwrite it
6) If that works go to a Vista box and plug it in should be detected
7) Install the Vista software in the EXACT order I have it

Follow my previous post and its steps.

I bet I made the same mistake you did, not knowing that WMP 11 was the issue until I did the research.
Click to expand...

Thanks msny, I'll give that a go over the weekend. I was trying to resolve the problem on XP machines at work, and havent tried to plug it back in at home, so that still has a working configuration on it.
 
nsigma said:
I installed my zen xtra on vista way back when and didn't have any problems with it at all. I used version 1.30.3.0 XP drivers, media source 5.10.38 and nomad plugin version 5.0.22 (the non-plays-for-sure version), I don't recall ever upgrading the firmware on my zen, for what it's worth =p
Click to expand...


The firmware only needs updating to the play for sure version IF you want to use it on a Vista machine also. Otherwise, its fine for just XP. Vista uses a different model for detecting portable devices than XP.

Not sure how you did it, but good luck with that.
 
Know this is not new here but for your consideration...

I had exact same issue in Vista...booted into XP, updated firmware, then booted back into Vista...Instant success.

Good Luck.

-Dave
 
Not wanting to rez an old post. But I d/l the firmware update on my XP comp, installed it onto my Zen, and then hooked up said player to my vista comp. However, Vista gets jammed up just doing a plug n play install. It seems like this post presupposes that vista will find it. Am I missing something? Thanks!
 
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