Sansa E270 Internal Memory not read in WMP

[rogerdm]

Hi, I have had to revert to a backup MP3 player, an older Sansa E270 v.1 - 6 gig, as my Fuse is out of service.  In order to use my 4 gig MicroSD, I setup Rockbox on the player.  Everything works great, all of the music is read by the player on both internal memory and card and all plays just fine.  However, WMP, does not pick up the music stored on the internal memory.  Windows Explorer shows the player as a drive but all of the subfolders are administrative, none showing as music files.  I get a message that there are no music files on the device however I check it.  I do see all of the music files on the MicroSD including all pertinent information as to drive size, amount remaining, etc. on both WMP and WE.  It acts like the player is in the incorrect mode, but I see nowhere in Rockbox to change the player out of MSC mode.  Am I missing something?  Help!

[saratoga]

Windows Explorer shows the player as a drive but all of the subfolders are administrative, none showing as music files.

What do you mean?

It acts like the player is in the incorrect mode, but I see nowhere in Rockbox to change the player out of MSC mode.  Am I missing something? 

Not sure I understand, but rockbox only supports MSC mode for USB transfers. 

[rogerdm]

When I open WMP, I get the normal icons for both the Sansa E270 (Drive E) and F: (Drive F, the MicroSD card)  When I expand F: I see the typical 'Music' subfolder with all the files that reside on the MicroSD.  However, when I expand the Sansa E270 entry I get the typical 'Music' subfolder, but when I try to open it, I get an error message that there are no files on the device.  Likewise, in Windows Explorer, when I open the Sansa e270 folder (Drive E) there are numerous subfolders such as .backup, .rockbox, Photo, Record, et. al.  but no folder named Music.  Likewise also, I can find no music files in any folder.  How do I access them from both places?

[saratoga]

Likewise, in Windows Explorer, when I open the Sansa e270 folder (Drive E) there are numerous subfolders such as .backup, .rockbox, Photo, Record, et. al.  but no folder named Music.  Likewise also, I can find no music files in any folder.  How do I access them from both places?

So you put a folder with music there, but then it disappeared?  Does the folder still appear in rockbox?

[rogerdm]

I did not place a new folder in Rockbox, the music files were already on the player when I loaded Rockbox over them.  Rockbox picks up the files just fine, but they do not show up anywhere else.  Where does Rockbox store the files by default?  Does it not have a Music subfolder by default and store the files there?

[saratoga]

I did not place a new folder in Rockbox, the music files were already on the player when I loaded Rockbox over them. 

I feel like we're just talking past each other since I still don't really understand your questions.  Is it possible you added the music files in MTP mode (in which case they'll be renamed and stored in some internal database by the sandisk firmware)?  In that case you would not see files on the player in Windows Explorer (since they would be renamed and hidden somewhere).

Rockbox picks up the files just fine, but they do not show up anywhere else. 

In the file browser or in the database?

Where does Rockbox store the files by default?  Does it not have a Music subfolder by default and store the files there?

What do you mean by "store"?  Rockbox is a music player.  It doesn't create files, it just plays them.  You choose where to put the files and then when you want to play them you tell rockbox where they are by selecting one.  But rockbox doesn't store anything of its own (well beyond a list of your settings and things like audio recordings or playlists if you create them).

[rogerdm]

You just hit on it.  I didn't think about it but I did add the music in MTP format.  Is there anyway to retrieve that info in a viewable form?  I guess I do not understand you misunderstanding.  I know that Rockbox is a music player, but it also has to have a system of storing (or retrieving stored) files.  It is called a filing system.  (I am a Database Engineer, I understand file systems) What I do not know is what that filing system is in Rockbox.  So, if Rockbox took my existing files and stored them into a database (I can see numerous databases in the index) how do I get Windows to recognize and publish that data?  Are your databases Access based?
Post Merge: April 01, 2012, 04:29:22 PMAs a secondary option, if I create a subfolder in the Root Directory called Music (or some such) will Rockbox detect that folder and play any music I add into that folder?

[bluebrother]

Are you joking?

[rogerdm]

Do I sound funny?  I am trying to not have to start over with a few thousand files.

[saratoga]

Is there anyway to retrieve that info in a viewable form?

Reboot into the Sandisk firmware, switch to MTP mode, plug in the player to your computer.

I know that Rockbox is a music player, but it also has to have a system of storing (or retrieving stored) files.  It is called a filing system.  (I am a Database Engineer, I understand file systems) What I do not know is what that filing system is in Rockbox.

Rockbox uses FAT32 as the file system.

  So, if Rockbox took my existing files and stored them into a database (I can see numerous databases in the index) how do I get Windows to recognize and publish that data?  Are your databases Access based?

Rockbox does not store files in a database, but it does have a database interface that stores metadata about files.  Its documented in the wiki if you're interested.

As a secondary option, if I create a subfolder in the Root Directory called Music (or some such) will Rockbox detect that folder and play any music I add into that folder?

Yes of course.  

[bluebrother]

Do I sound funny?  I am trying to not have to start over with a few thousand files.

Well, actually yes.

I didn't think about it but I did add the music in MTP format.

MTP is not a format you store your music in. It's a protocol used to communicate with the player. Using the MTP protocol the folder structure presented to you by WMP is not necessarily the same as present on the player. When using MSC mode you see the file structure as it is on the player.

I know that Rockbox is a music player, but it also has to have a system of storing (or retrieving stored) files.  It is called a filing system.  (I am a Database Engineer, I understand file systems)

This is where it gets funny (or to be more precise, where I'm starting to wonder if you're joking). A filesystem is a filesystem, not some "filing system". And a file system is a file system. Rockbox needs to use a file system the PC does understand, which is FAT32. However, this doesn't make any difference -- to the PC it's just a removable drive. And that means that Rockbox simply uses the file system. It doesn't have some "filing system". This is nonsense.

Are your databases Access based?

And this is the part you surely must be joking.

[rogerdm]

Thank you, that was all the help I needed.  I am sorry that we seemed to be speaking different languages.  I know what I need to do now.  I design and build databases, I do not write code.  I appreciate your patience.  And sorry, I did not mean Format, I meant Mode.  What are you 15 or something?

[saratoga]

And sorry, I did not mean Format, I meant Mode.  What are you 15 or something?

I think the key point there is not that you used the wrong word, but that you should understand that MSC does not use a database but rather just exposes the file system.  In contrast MTP does not expose the file system, you just give it files and the player decides what to do with them and where to put them.  Rockbox does not use MTP, and so it does not store files in a database like you keep suggesting.  Instead, you store them somewhere in the file system, and then rockbox merely plays them (without moving, copying or otherwise altering anything about their state).

Is that clear?