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General discussion

Sandisk Sansa E100 Series New Firmware

Sep 20, 2005 7:25AM PDT

This must be new, but it certainly addresses most complaints about the Sansa:

http://www.sandisk.com/retail/sansa-firmware.asp

Firmware features:

1. Sort by track number
When you choose "Play Music-->Album" and select album name, tracks are sorted by track number rather than alphabetical order.

Same is true when choose "Play Music-->Artist" and select album name.

2.Favorites list support
You can create favorites list, which is a playlist customer can create without using PC.

3. Default language selection
When customers power on the unit for the first time, language selection menu appears.


Gotta luv Sandisk..They listen!!

Discussion is locked

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Yes!!
Sep 20, 2005 11:47PM PDT

This is great news. The track number thing really bugged me. I'm very happy with this change.

Now, if only they fixed the FM thing -- it always starts out at 87.5 MHz whenever you go to the radio. I don't really need a few seconds of static in my ears.

I'm looking forward to trying out the new firmware tonight. (First step -- remove the track number from the track name and I put there as a workaround).

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Fixed FM playback too
Sep 21, 2005 12:09PM PDT

I just installed the update and tried it out. In addition to fixing the track number thing, they also fixed my FM pet peeve -- it never remembered where you last listened to the radio.

Now, when you go back to radio mode, it goes back to the station you last had on.

Also, the interface seems faster to me and generally easier to move around.

Excellent work by Sandisk.

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You're Right
Sep 21, 2005 1:44PM PDT

The interface is Much more responsive now.
Less latency when scrolling thru menu choices.

Altho I bought the Sansa for MP3 playback,I'm glad they took time to correct the FM starting at 88.7 bug.
FM in Southern Calif. is worse than AM anywhere else, so I rely on Shoutcast, and AMG All Music Guide to keep informed about new music.

It's unfortunate that a lot of reviews of the Sansa are generally less than excellent, because if they'd take the time to use it correctly, they'd be very pleasantly suprised.

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Sansa New Firmware Favorites List support
Sep 23, 2005 1:43PM PDT

Has anyone figured out how to use this new favorites list feature? I see it as a submenu selection of the Plan menu, but I can't figure out how to add songs to the Favorites. I searched the Sandisk website for some documentation on this, and nothing exists yet.

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Waiting for response from Sandisk
Oct 4, 2005 8:02AM PDT

I have an inquiry into Sandisk support regarding the method to use the "favorites" feature. No response yet, but it's been less than 24 hours. Has anyone solved this question?

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Answer
Oct 4, 2005 10:08AM PDT

Press (or hold) the center round button while playing the file to add it to your favorites list, which you can access from the "play music" directory

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firmware upgrade
Oct 11, 2005 11:08PM PDT

I upgraded to the new firmware last night, but still have the track problem. Opened a ticket for help, but real response yet. Has anyone else upgraded and it fixed the track problem?

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Check the track numbers
Oct 12, 2005 12:00AM PDT

I had a similar problem with some of my albums. One of my ripping utilities (iTunes, maybe, or possibly MusicMatch) sets the track number to this format:

3/12
4/12
...

rather than:

03
04
...

For those albums that had that format, I used MP3 Tag Tools to change the format to 03, 04, ..., and now the Sansa has no problem with them. Sometimes, the Sansa doesn't update its data unless it finds new (not just modified) tracks. So, I deleted the affected albums from the Sansa, turned it on (so it realized they were gone), reconnected it and reloaded the tracks. When I then turned it on, it rescanned the new tracks and everything was good.

Write back to here and let me know if that was your problem.

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Check the track numbers
Oct 12, 2005 1:49AM PDT

Thanks for your reply. I followed your instructions but it still doesn't play by track numbers. I even made sure that the tracks were 01 02 03 etc. If I look at the files thru windows explorer (on the Sansa) they appear as 1 2 3 etc. These are wma files I'm editing. What program are you using to edit the id3?

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MP3 Tag Tools
Oct 12, 2005 5:46AM PDT

The program I use is called MP3 Tag Tools (or maybe ID3 Tag Tools -- I'm not at my home computer right now). If you search on this forum, you can probably find a link. Or, search on Download.com (part of cnet).

If you haven't already done so, you might want to double-check the firmware version on the player to make sure it got through. Also, try the delete-powerup-reload sequence I mentioned so the Sansa rebuilds the playlist. Finally, make sure you're going to the track view from the Album list or the Artist->Album list -- I think that's the only time it cares about tracks (i.e., it doesn't care about tracks when looking at Genre, All Songs, Year, etc.).

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MP3 Tag Tools
Oct 12, 2005 6:35AM PDT

After the firmware upgrade looks like the Sansa plays MP3's in the correct track order,just not WMA's. Are you playing MP3's or WMA's? Also can you check and see what tag editor you are using when you get home?

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I use MP3s
Oct 12, 2005 10:36PM PDT
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Sansa firmware update
Oct 14, 2005 5:20AM PDT

After considerable work, Iv'e discovered that the firmware fixes the track problem if I use MP3 format. But if I use WMA's the track don't work.

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Tagging WMA's
Oct 13, 2005 2:20PM PDT

MP3 Tag Studio probably doesn't tag WMA's. I tried it several months ago.
I too decided to stick to MP3.
I use TagRename. It DOES tag WMA's, so I'm sure it'll work for you.
Good luck!

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Sans e100 Language Hack/Other Options?
Nov 5, 2005 5:18AM PST

Hello.
Good half of my MP3 collection is Russian music with font names in unicode.
Anyone is aware of possible fix or hack to be able to see the file names properly on the device?
What I get now is 'alt' char values on the file names and tags.
Thanks.
Shluft.