SanDisk Sansa MP3 Players/c100

This is a good place for adding tips, tricks, bugs and experiences which would help other owners of players in the SanDisk Sansa c100 series, which consists of:
 * Sansa c140 - 1 gig
 * Sansa c150 - 2 gig

While both the European and the American models of these players (for either c140 or c150) feature exactly the same hardware, the wireless, some recording functions and extra high volume settings are sadly disabled in the euro-firmware. In order to enable this functionality you may download and install the American firmware (see the links section, use at your own risk).

Windows
In Windows, the default setting is to use "MTP". In practice, this means you need to have installed the relevant software (Windows Media Player 10). If you don't want to do this, or are using a different computer which doesn't have the software installed, then you can use it in "MSC" mode, and as described below.

Other operating systems
The c100 series can be used as a USB mass storage device. The computer treats it as another hard drive, and you can drag and drop files into the SanDisk player (or copy and paste). This makes it compatible with any standard operating system, including Windows, Mac or Linux.

To use it in this mode, it should be set to MSC, under Settings>USB>MSC. (Auto-detect should make this unnecessary in theory, but it may not work properly).

A method that involves clearing the player's contents
Follow these instructions, and it should work for you.

and press "Finish".
 * 1) Delete all the music on the Sansa (which should be located in the "...media/music/" directory). Also, delete the "WMPinfo.xml" file in the "...media/" directory (if there is one).
 * 2) Create a playlist or multiple playlists (.m3u) on Winamp, or some other mp3 playing program.
 * 3) Start-up Windows Media Player. Since you have deleted all the music on the Sansa, including the "WMPinfo.xml" file, Windows Media Player will "think" that it is the first time you have connected the device
 * 4) Press the "Set Up Sync" button at the top of the Windows Media Player window. A prompt should appear, asking you if you want to set up your walkman "automatically" or "manually". Select "Manually"
 * 1) To get your custom playlist(s) (the one(s) you just made) to appear in WMP's list of selectable playlists (you will see this list of selectable playlists in step 7), locate the ".m3u" file(s) you just created. Drag and drop it/them into the main window of Windows Media Player. Press the "Start Sync" button. It will give you the following error: "Error: Windows Media Player cannot synchronize the file. The Player might not support the file type."

This is okay, since the only reason we were doing this was to get your playlist to appear in WMP's list of playlists.

The following steps (a-d) are optional steps you might wish to take before continuing to step 6: I've noticed that WMP tries to convert some files on its own as it transfers them. Why? I do not know. And sometimes, WMP will say that it cannot transfer a given file because the file is not supported, even if you know for a fact that you are transferring a file that you know is just an mp3. So...to get around this, after completing step 5:

a.) In the top of the Windows Media Player window, there is a bar that says "Windows Media Player" with the Windows logo to the  left of it. Right click it. Go to "Tools->Options".

b.) Select the tab that says "Devices". Your Sansa player should be in the list. Highlight it (by clicking on it), and press the "Properties" button.

c.) Now, there should be two tabs; one that says "Synchronize" and another that says "Quality". Click the "Quality" tab, and uncheck the box that says "Convert files as required by the device (recommended)". A warning will appear asking you if you are sure you want to uncheck the box and you "wish to continue". Click "Yes".

d.) Then click on the "OK" button on the "Sansa c140 Properties" window, and "OK" on the "Options" window. Now...you can proceed to step 6.

6.) Now, press the "Set up Sync" again. A window will appear that says "Synchronization Settings" at the top. Check the box that says "Synchronize device automatically".

7.) Once checked, you will have the ability of checking each of the playlists listed in the window that you want to send to your device. Most of them are playlists that are automatically generated by Windows Media Player based upon your listening habits while listening to your music on Windows Media player. The playlist you created earlier will be in the list. Check the box next to it. Make sure there are no other boxes checked...except for the playlist that you want to send. Note: YOU CAN DO THIS FOR AS MANY PLAYLISTS AS YOU WANT.

8.) Press the "OK" button and...voila! Your music starts to transfer to your device, from the playlist you generated.

When the player is done transferring, even though there will not be any playlist(s) file(s) in the "...Media/Playlists" directory (when navigating via Windows Explorer), when you disconnect the player, and you navigate, via the player's on-screen menu, to "Music -> Playlists", your playlist(s) will appear beneath the "Go List" that is already on the player.

An easier way than wiping out your player and using WMP
Use the Rapsody music management software. On the window to the left that shows devices/drives as well as playlists, you may drag & drop a playlist into the c140. When you unplug your device and navigate, the list will show up in the Playlist menu beneath the "go list."

A way that doesn't require Rhapsody
If you set your Sansa up as an MSC device (it's in the settings menu under "USB"), there's an even easier way. Copy your music to a folder in the Sansa, then the files to an M3U playlist in Winamp (or another music player which supports M3U- nearly all do) and save the M3U playlist to the same folder on your Sansa. In other words:
 * 1) Drag & drop music to your Sansa.
 * 2) Open up Winamp. Drag & drop your music ON THE SANSA into Winamp's playlist.
 * 3) Click List Opts (lower right corner of the playlist), then "Save List".
 * 4) Save the list in the folder on your Sansa that you drag & dropped the music into. Make sure you save it as an M3U playlist, not PLS or M3U-8 (Unicode).
 * 5) Unhook and enjoy. Your playlist will now be in the "Playlists" menu.

Player hangs on startup, no keys work
Try these in order until you get one that works: (when instructions call for RESET, hold down the power button for 20 seconds)
 * 1) RESET
 * 2) Remove the battery, RESET, replace the battery
 * 3) Remove the battery and replace it in the player BACKWARDS, RESET, put the battery back in correctly
 * 4) Use the Recovery Tool to perform a firmware update (NOTE: this will clear the contents of your player)
 * 5) Download the Firmware Update found at the end of this page
 * 6) Unrar the file
 * 7) Carefully read and follow the howto.txt file