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Disney Mix Stick Challenges with Win XP & WMP 10

Started by peppers13 , Jul 31 2006 12:17 PM

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#1
peppers13
Posted 31 July 2006 - 12:17 PM

peppers13

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I recently purchased a Disney Mix Stick MP3 player for my daughter from disneyshopping.com The product is manufactured by Memorex.

The MP3 player came with a CD-ROM that contained WMP 10 for computers running Win XP. Also, the CD-ROM had software for WMP 9 along with a driver for computers running Win 98.

It states clearly in the manual that if you have Win XP, the device will automatically be detected when you put it in the USB port (no driver needed). Once in the USB port, it needs to charge for 4 hrs. before it will work.

My computer (about a 3-4 year old Sony VAIO) will not recognize the device at all, and therefore, it will not charge.

The Disney Mix Stick is bulky, and it will only fit into one USB port at the front of the computer. I have not tried to put it into the USB port in the back of the tower.

The puzzling thing is...that USB port has worked fine with digital cameras AND another MP3 player (made by Memorex!) that I own. I do not understand what is going on...truly hope someone can assist me. I got nowhere with Memorex's customer service.

I got out my laptop (which I rarely use) which runs Win 98. It IMMEDIATELY recognized the Disney Mix Stick, and I was able to install the driver just fine. Sadly, there is not any music on the laptop, and it would be an extreme inconvenience to have to transfer music files to it, etc., etc. The Mix Stick was able to charge from the USB port in the laptop.

So, obviously, in some capacity, it works, but why can't it work with my regular computer?
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#2
†Gladiator†
Posted 31 July 2006 - 01:22 PM

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i am venturing a guess that your regular computer probably has usb1.1 and the disney mp3 player has ubs2.0 which shouldn't be that big of a problem, (usually a ballon pops up saying that a Hi-speed device was plugged into a slow port etc.) If you are certain that the front usb port is working correctly (try plugging in a usb memory key or a mouse or anything.) check if the mp3 player is 100% inserted into the port. You said it was bulky so maybe it's tightly jammed and a bit on an angle so the contacts are not touching. Give the back usb ports a try, it should be able to work. If that doesn't work than go to device manager and check if you have any yellow question marks.
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#3
peppers13
Posted 31 July 2006 - 02:10 PM

peppers13

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i am venturing a guess that your regular computer probably has usb1.1 and the disney mp3 player has ubs2.0 which shouldn't be that big of a problem, (usually a ballon pops up saying that a Hi-speed device was plugged into a slow port etc.) If you are certain that the front usb port is working correctly (try plugging in a usb memory key or a mouse or anything.) check if the mp3 player is 100% inserted into the port. You said it was bulky so maybe it's tightly jammed and a bit on an angle so the contacts are not touching. Give the back usb ports a try, it should be able to work. If that doesn't work than go to device manager and check if you have any yellow question marks.


Yes, I have a feeling that my computer has usb 1.1 as often times, I get a balloon msg stating that a "Hi-speed device was plugged into a slower port." Even that balloon does not appear when I plug in the MP3 player into the USB port.

The mp3 player is definitely inserted into the port. Unfortunately, my computer has one other USB port in front where the device cannot fit due to the bulkiness of it. At the back of the computer, the USB ports are located closely to other cable connections, and I can't get it to fit back there either. One of the rear USB ports was fried during a lightning strike over a year ago.

No yellow question marks in Device Manager. Any other ideas? Appreciate your assistance. I did place another call to Memorex. The guy kept saying this was "weird," and to exchange the product...would rather not deal with shipping it back to the company as I bought it online, but if I need to, will obviously do so.

Edited by peppers13, 31 July 2006 - 02:10 PM.

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#4
†Gladiator†
Posted 31 July 2006 - 02:22 PM

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it's the computer, that's for sure and if you said that it has been fried before that i would say that a low voltage port might be the problem. Other devices that doesn't require the same amount of power might work fine off the port but the mp3 player might not have enough juice. i have a few sub 10 dollar solutions that you might consider
1. get a usb hub and hook it up to the back usb's
2. get a usb 2.0 pci card and install it

you can get these things anywhere and it should solve the problem if not, it might just be a "weird" hardware conflict problem. Who knows maybe Sony really hates memorex.... but i doubt it. anyways hopefully you can get the mp3 working for your daughter just remember teach her about hearing protection as 30% of teenagers will go deaf before the age of 60 due to mp3 players.
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#5
peppers13
Posted 31 July 2006 - 02:26 PM

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it's the computer, that's for sure and if you said that it has been fried before that i would say that a low voltage port might be the problem. Other devices that doesn't require the same amount of power might work fine off the port but the mp3 player might not have enough juice. i have a few sub 10 dollar solutions that you might consider
1. get a usb hub and hook it up to the back usb's
2. get a usb 2.0 pci card and install it

you can get these things anywhere and it should solve the problem if not, it might just be a "weird" hardware conflict problem. Who knows maybe Sony really hates memorex.... but i doubt it. anyways hopefully you can get the mp3 working for your daughter just remember teach her about hearing protection as 30% of teenagers will go deaf before the age of 60 due to mp3 players.


How complicated is it to install a 2.0 pci card?

Perhaps the hub might be the easiest route. Is there a particular brand you would recommend?

Again, thank you so much for your help...so appreciate it!

Edited by peppers13, 31 July 2006 - 02:29 PM.

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#6
†Gladiator†
Posted 31 July 2006 - 03:10 PM

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hmm pci card

open side of case, take card in left hand switch tor right hand and insert card into an avliable pci slot (remove the slot cover of course). turn on the pc and it will be ready to rock

for your purposes you don't really need any thing fancy interms of the hub or the card. Any local computer store should have them for fairly cheap also try plugging the device in another winxp computer and see if it works just to make sure.
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#7
peppers13
Posted 31 July 2006 - 03:12 PM

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Great...thank you again so much for your help! :whistling:
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#8
peppers13
Posted 01 August 2006 - 04:11 PM

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Just wanted you to know, gladiator, that your suggestion worked perfectly. Got a USB hub for under $13 at Wal-Mart, and my computer IMMEDIATELY recognized the Disney mix stick. Thank you SO much again! :whistling:
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