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I got a Creative Zen mp3 player, and I would love to be able to use it in Ubuntu, unfortunately it isn't recognized as a usb mass storage device. Is there a program I can use to copy files to it?
Hi and welcome to LQ. Apparently you can use a program called gnomad2 to access your creative zen in Linux. I have never done this myself, but I found lots of articles on Google (search for "creative+zen+linux) that may help you.
I have a ZEN MicroPhoto and it works perfectly with Gnomad2. But I am thinking about buying one of those sexy new ZENs. Apparently, there is a new and an old Creative ZEN.
The Gnomad Website says that the Creative ZEN is supported but they don't say whether it's the old or the new one. And if - as they say - any MTP device is supported, how do I find out if the new ZEN supports MTP? The specifications page on the Creative website does not mention protocols at all.
I apparently have a "new" Zen. After much searching I have found this difference. The www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids site shows a product ID of 411d for the Creative Zen, my "new" Zen shows a product ID of 4157. The output of /proc/bus/usb/devices lists the driver as (none). This ID is not listed any place I could discover. Does anyone know where to find or how to assign a driver for this device? I would be willing to try the driver for the "old" Zen but don't know how to go about this. Thanks
Last edited by genialself; 03-29-2008 at 12:47 PM.
Reason: Added reference to linux-usb.org
have you actually tried lsusb to see if it's being picked up ( command line; might need sudo dunno)?
i have a creative zen whatsit that can get temperamental with windaes, but it can usually work under linux if I manually mount it ( usually /dev/sda1).
The new ZEN actually works with Gnomad2 if you have compiled it with libmtp7. I think it's in the Ubuntu testing repositories.
You can also mount your ZEN with mtpfs and libmtp7. Then your ZEN is accessible like a folder. Though, the track length ID3 tags get lost with mtpfs which makes it kinda useless.
You can also mount your ZEN with mtpfs and libmtp7. Then your ZEN is accessible like a folder. Though, the track length ID3 tags get lost with mtpfs which makes it kinda useless.
What do you mean? I've used MTPFS for a while and haven't noticed any adverse effects, but maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention. So would this mean that the MP3 player wouldn't be able to tell you how long the song is while it is playing?
Hm..........
I just thought it better because folders are an easy way to view things, especially because Creative's method on Windows is akin to a folder.
:?
What do you mean? I've used MTPFS for a while and haven't noticed any adverse effects, but maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention. So would this mean that the MP3 player wouldn't be able to tell you how long the song is while it is playing?
Hm..........
I just thought it better because folders are an easy way to view things, especially because Creative's method on Windows is akin to a folder.
:?
I have tried mtpfs along with libmtp7 and I transferred some MP3s to my 16GB ZEN (with flash memory). I then noticed that I was not able to fast-forward within a track. The MP3 player does, however, recognize when the track has finished.
Then I checked the file's ID3 tags and I saw that the tag containing the track length was not there. I also later found a bug report somewhere on an mtpfs specific site (don't remember where) that confirmed my diagnosis.
However, if you have a different MP3 player than I have, yours might not at all care about the track length ID3 tag and determine the length itself. In this case you wouldn't notice any difference.
I am now using Gnomad2 compiled with libmtp7 and it all works, including track length. So this must be an mptfs problem. Though, if this gets fixed I would immediately switch back to mptfs because, like you say, folders are an easy (and comfortable) way to view things.
Last edited by maxkueng; 04-09-2008 at 01:27 AM.
Reason: extend
I hate gnomad. Nothing works right for me, like video transfers always fail. I'm trying amarok as a last resort but I hate it already. It's not even installed and already taking up way too much space with QT dependencies and taking forever to compile on my Pentium II. XD
I don't use my ZEN for videos, so Gnomad works for me. But I agree that there is smoother working software around.
I once tried out Gentoo a few years ago on a Pentium III. I made a Stage 2 install and it took me two days to install the basic system and Fluxbox. I understand that on a Pentium II you probably want a system that can be kept extremely slim but Gentoo is, in my opinion, not the easiest and most comfortable system to install software
On Linux Mint I just type aptitude install Gnomad2 and I'm all done. I use Qt myself for work so I don't really care about Gnomad's Qt dependencies.
I have never tried Amarok, though. But I looked at some screenshots and it just looks kinda big. All I need is a way to transfer MP3s to my ZEN. I wish mtpfs didn't have that bug so I could drop Gnomad.
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