Creative Zen Touch

[daveyjay]

Does anyone know of a way to get Windows Vista to recognise my Creative Zen Touch. I`ve been searching for a solution to this problem for months, still can`t find anything very helpful online. I`ve just visited the Creative website in the hope that they may, at long last, have got their act together on this issue, but still nothing. All the articles re this problem online are from years ago - has everyone just given up? One solution I have seen is to download some new firmware, but this, as far as I can tell, involves having to erase all existing tracks and starting again from scratch - surely there`s a better way.

 

[Tonya]

If by "Zen Touch" you are referring to the most excellent Zen X-Fi, there shouldn't be a problem at all.

I'm been using one on a Vista PC and a Windows 7 PC without a hitch.
Even the original Zen from years ago still works on both laptops.

My advice is to backup your songs and ensure the Zen firmware is the latest version.
I seem to remember that flashing the firmware keeps the songs intact as they are stored in a separate folder, but always backup just in case!

Have you tried connecting your Zen to someone elses PC running Vista?

 

[daveyjay]

Tonya, I`ve never heard of the X-Fi. I`m talking about the Creative Zen with the narrow, touch sensitive strip running down the lower half centre of the player. It`s about the size of a deck of cards. There is definately an issue with the player and Vista - I`ve googled it on a number of occassions. Trouble is, nobody seems to have come up with a simple answer.

 

[daveyjay]

Right. I`ve just had a proper read of the articles pertaining to this issue on the Creative website. It looks to me like I`m going to have to find a pc running XP with WMP 10 in order to download new firmware before I can use my Zen Touch with Vista. Can any of you computer guys/girls explain to me why it has to be so complicated. I`m no computer ace, obviously, but my player ain`t all that old. Is this just Creative`s why of trying to force people to get a more up to date player?

 

[Tonya]

I actually still use one of those old Zens and mine works fine with Vista and Windows 7.
There has been an awful lot of compatability issues with Vista and it is generally regarded as a bit of a dog in most technical circles so I guess your probem lies there.

As with any computer operating system, it evloves and changes over time as new patches and drivers are downloaded and installed, which tends to move the goalposts a bit for a lot of companies that depend on the various installations to work.

Creative are usually on the ball when it comes to firmware updates and various fixes.
The Zen is an excellent workhorse but you should give the Zen X-Fi a listen, it's amazing!

 

[Pete Shields]

Coincidentally I got my old 40gig touch out of the garage at the weekend (long ago moved over to the ipod nano and now the iphone) to use as a backup device for my photos. Vista 64 picked it up no problem. There were serious problems years ago I remember with XP64 and then vista. From memory,

I a few years ago I updated the firmware on the thing - at the time it still didn't work (ended using an old xp system to convert songs over) and remember reading there were compatability issues with the USB and vista.

Also make sure you are using the correct usb lead. I have accumulated over the years 3 different (but same plugs) gadget leads and only one (which I assume is the Zen lead) that works.

 

[daveyjay]

Reckon I`m gonna have to bring all my new cds to work and load on to my Zen using XP. I`d have to back up all the existing tunes on XP anyway, would I not?

 

[daveyjay]

Has anyone else heard the Zen X-Fi?