trying to get an old mp3 player working

pwc101 · 04-26-2006, 01:32 PM

First things first:

Kernel: 2.6.12-1.1381_FC3
Distro: Fedora Core 3

I have an old mp3 player (3 or 4 years old) which I'd like to use in Linux, if possible. It used to work fine in Windows 2000 (in fact, it still does), but it stopped working when I upgraded to Windows XP. However, since I've moved over to Linux full-time now, I was wondering if I could resurrect it.

I plugged it in, and not a great deal happened. So I checked a few logs and messages and got this:

Code:

cat /proc/bus/usb/devices

T:  Bus=01 Lev=02 Prnt=02 Port=02 Cnt=01 Dev#=  7 Spd=12  MxCh= 0
D:  Ver= 1.10 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=16 #Cfgs=  1
P:  Vendor=0471 ProdID=0888 Rev= 1.00
S:  Manufacturer=TAMUL MM. Co.
S:  Product=TAMNO
C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=80 MxPwr=200mA
I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 4 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=(none)
E:  Ad=01(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  16 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  16 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=82(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS=  64 Ivl=0ms

Code:

lsusb

Bus 002 Device 002: ID 045e:0039 Microsoft Corp. IntelliMouse Optical
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0471:0888 Philips 
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0924:fffb Xerox 
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 03eb:3301 Atmel Corp. 4-port Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

Code:

dmesg|tail

application firefox-bin uses obsolete OSS audio interface
usb 1-1.3: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 4
application xmms uses obsolete OSS audio interface
usb 1-1.3: USB disconnect, address 4
usb 1-1.3: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 5
audit(1146070246.052:5): avc:  denied  { unlink } for  pid=3276 comm="ntpd" name="drift" dev=hda7 ino=343680 scontext=user_u:system_r:ntpd_t tcontext=system_u:object_r:file_t tclass=file
usb 1-1.3: USB disconnect, address 5
usb 1-1.3: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 6
usb 1-1.3: USB disconnect, address 6
usb 1-1.3: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 7

[I have plugged and unplugged it in several times here - but the green lines are from the last time I plugged it in]

It seems my computer recognises there's something there, but I have no idea where to go from here. What worries me slightly is the output from cat /proc/bus/usb/devices stating there's no driver for this. Well, that doesn't really surprise me since I couldn't get it to work in Windows XP even with the installation CD, but it suggests this could be very difficult to get to work.

From what I remember of it working in Windows, it had some software which put the songs onto the mp3 player. It was never possible to see if as storage device (like some more modern ones) and just copy files over. I don't know if this will prevent me from ever getting it to work.

Anyway, thought I'd try and see if you folks had any ideas, so any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated

EDIT: I've just noticed that in the output from lsusb, the mp3player is listed as something made by Philips, although this is not the case, as I believe it's actually made by Tamno, as suggested by cat /proc/bus/usb/devices

fraz · 04-26-2006, 02:36 PM

You might want to tell us what the make and model is to make things clearer.
My feeling is that you will require some kind of software (and driver) to correctly locate the files and possibly if necessary write indexing files if the device needs them.
The fact it shows up as philips probably just means its usb interface is made by philips, not necessarily the device itself.

pwc101 · 04-26-2006, 02:49 PM

there isn't really a make or model - I bought this mp3 player because it was cheap, and as such, it's not really got a "make"; all it says on it is Digital Audio Player - Pro. Not much help, I know! Whenever windows tried to load it, I remember it installing a driver called pdap_usb, although a google of this doesn't throw much up besides updates for XP (which I never managed to get to work in XP)

fraz · 04-26-2006, 02:57 PM

Hmm bit mysterious then, fraid I can't help